Hi
I've spent a few days lurking here and reading up on the posts. I think my story is a little bit unusual but hopefully you guys won't mind too much!
I actually got married (official paperwork) a few weeks ago. It was a very quick decision because my boyfriend had a health scare and I wanted to be able to put him on my insurance. We've been together for 8 years, so it's not really "rushed."
A friend's minister conducted the ceremony and we had three witnesses - two friends and my BF's aunt. I think it was sweet and beautiful and meaningful... but we both want to have an actual ceremony where our friends and family around the country can come together and celebrate with us.
Photos here!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/selster/sets/72157627709594439/We live in Austin and none of our family lives here except that aunt. I'm from Dallas (Plano, actually) and his family is from north Arkansas, and we lived together in the Dallas area for about 5 years before moving to Austin, so we decided that DFW is the best location for the wedding! It's central for everybody and we have ties there.
My dad has offered to pay (!!!) but I haven't yet discussed budget with him. I definitely want to come under whatever budget he gives me because it's super generous of him to help. I probably won't know the budget until I see him over Thanksgiving and we can sit down and talk about things.
We've set Oct. 2012 (probably Sunday, 10/21) as the date. Would this November/December after we've talked about budget be too late to book a venue?
So I was never the sort of girl who planned my wedding growing up, but I do have some ideas! I'm kind of new to this whole thing. And I'm not really traditional ... mostly I just want a fun party with a very personal ceremony and all the people I love most around me, followed by food and cake. (I'm a "cottage" baker so I'm kind of snobby about cake.)
I was thinking a place that allows DIY might be fun because I don't need the traditional fancy ceremony and I want to have the freedom to pick out a baker I like.
We're looking at inviting about 75 people. I've actually started putting the list together and I've cleared our planned weekend with important friends/family to make sure that it works for them.
I was thinking about just not having bridesmaids. There is serious drama between me and my sister. I really would love to have her AT the wedding, but not involved with it - but it seems like having BM but not including my sister would just be a bad idea. I don't know. How do you decide whether to have a wedding party or not? How do you decide who to include?
Location - north Dallas suburbs is ideal. I like the sounds of the Heard Museum in McKinney, which seems like it might not be too far from Plano, where most of my family lives ... since it seems like all the places in Plano and the immediately surrounding suburbs are super expensive. Have I overlooked a good place? Since the ceremony will be small and we don't need a chapel, I'd like to have the ceremony and reception at the same place, maybe even in the same room. I read on the board that somebody had the ceremony conducted in the same room, and then that part of the room was transformed into the dance floor. I like that idea.
Food - I went to Bread Winners a couple months ago for brunch and was really impressed with their food, and I hear good things about their catering. A possibility?
Cake - I had my college graduation party cake from A&J Bakery and I loved it, but I'm open to other suggestions. I don't want a fancy tiered monstrosity with fondant. I was thinking maybe cupcakes or something. Taste is more important than looks for me.
My boyfriend - husband? - doesn't like sweets so the cake is all up to me.
Dress - I might just wear the dress I wore for my mini wedding. What do you guys think? It's an authentic vintage dress from the 1950s and I bought it for $80 from a local vintage store! I had to do some minor repairs but it fits like a dream... I wanted to use my wedding as an excuse to get a neat dress custom made, but then I fell in love with this one.
Colors - I have absolutely no idea. I've never thought about this before. I guess if I wear the pink dress, that means pink, right? I'm normally drawn to jewel tones but I really am quite girly...
Thank you all if you actually made it through all of that.
I might ask more specific questions in separate posts. I'm just feeling overwhelmed but I am really excited about this!
(And for the record, my boyfriend is healthy now! I'm so relieved. But also so glad we finally decided to do this.)
-Lauren