A Princess Bride Wedding...easier said then done?

Re: A Princess Bride Wedding...easier said then done?

• FluffyGumDrop2 member

  

  January 2013

  Hi and congratulations on your engagement!

  
  

  I have a few questions that will probably help us all give you better suggestions:

  
  

  1. When you say a "Princess Bride" wedding do you mean: fairytale princess wedding or a wedding based on the movie The Princess Bride

  
  

  2. How many people are you thinking of inviting? Your guest list size is one of the biggest factors into how expensive your wedding reception will cost so cut it down to only those who HAVE to be there. 

  
  

  A lot of us have the large families where it's expected that 2nd and 3rd cousins or everyone from work will be invited but at the end of the day, keeping some of those guests off the guest list could really help you cut costs. I know this isn't always possible, family dynamics come into play, but I would recommend making sure your guest list isn't too large for your budget.

  
  

  3. What time of the day are you thinking of having your ceremony/reception? 

  Food must match the time of the reception so there's really no right or wrong thing to serve.

  
  

  If you can only afford to host finger foods or cake&punch then have your reception be between 2:00-3:30pm or after 8:30pm; since it's not a meal time you can get away with not serving a meal. In the afternoon you could serve finger sandwiches, punch, cake, cheese and crackers, etc. After 8:30pm you could have a dessert reception where guests enjoy various sweets and treats. These types of receptions typically are shorter, most likely under 3 hours?

  
  

  If your wedding ceremony and reception fall during a meal time (11am-2pm; 5pm-8pm) then you must serve a meal. It doesn't have to be white, gloved plated meals but you must serve something more filling than snacks and cake. People will be expecting a meal during those times and it is considered rude to not host your guests properly. These types of receptions are longer and the more "typical" weddings that people think of.

  
  

  Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with either type of a reception and it will honestly just come down to finding the one that fits best for the two of you. Not everyone enjoys being the center of attention and dancing all night; not everyone enjoys drinking mimosas and eating brunch. The only negative aspect would be not hosting your guests properly. 

  
  

  4. What type of wedding are you honestly envisioning? 

  There's a big difference between the Saturday night blowout dance party and the relaxed Sunday brunch wedding so it'll help if we know what you're hoping to have happen at your wedding.

  
  

  If you picture people dancing into the night then odds are you'll have to serve a meal or people will leave early in search of food, unless you have a later start time and host a dessert reception. 

  
  

  If you are okay with people perhaps not dancing for hours then consider having the reception earlier in the day; the costs will potentially be cheaper and depending when it occurs you could serve a brunch/lunch meal or cake and punch.

  
  

  I hope this helped a little and I wish you luck with planning your wedding.

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• epajic member

  

  January 2013 edited January 2013

  Hello there Gun Drop :-)
              My princess bride wedding would be very much base off of the movie and book, though I am not one of those over the top brides that everything has to be obviously "princess bride" (example: one friend suggest that I make my bouquet and center pieces out of the actual book cut to piece... I would weep over destroying a perfectly good book)

   

  So I guess my theme would be "Rustic Grimm Fairy Tale with Princess Bride highlights"... I sound nuts

   

  I know a small guest list would be less money, we can seat 125 comfortably. (where does that sit in the scheme of scale of weddings? It seems like weddings I see now are really amazing and affordable but the guess list is 50 or less!)   I do want a small personal wedding and I am crossing my fingers that my out of town family will just wish me well from afar, but I know I shouldn't count on that...I've heard the horror stories of brides assuming.

   

  The time is still up in the air, although we are shooting for a Saturday, depending on the venue. But it makes a lot of sense what you said about the whole meal situation...

   

  I do question the whole "They must be fed to dance." I like the idea of dancing, though I understand the risk of making sure people don't have to cut out early to get real food. Again I guess it comes down to the timing.

   

  Most of the time I can think of this being nothing more than an enjoyable party to kick off my marriage... other time I hyperventilate and feel like it's the biggest task ever and it's a make or break ordeal.

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• FluffyGumDrop2 member

  

  January 2013 edited January 2013

  Relax, you're wedding day will be great because it's the day you are getting married. Everything else is just extra.

  
  

  Let's try to tackle some of the things you brought up.

  
  

  1. Your theme is awesome! To be fair I am a fan of the show "Grimm" so I may be biased. This is what comes to mind when I think of that theme:

  Venue: Outdoor woodsy/forested area for the ceremony; courtyard or garden for reception

  Time: Short and sweet whimsical afternoon wedding or twilight (dusk) wedding ceremony followed by reception

  Food: If during the day, I would picture a romantic picnic type atmosphere (Little Red Riding Hood had a picnic basket), serving any of the following: various sandwich fixings, wraps, fried chicken, potato salad, pasta salad, fruit, cheese and crackers, rainbow sherbet punch, and various chips/pretzels.

  
  

  If during the evening then a meal of some form would be required. Buffets are a great way to stay on budget and are normally cheaper than plated meals but of course it depends on the venue. Mexican, Italian and BBQ are great budget options.

  
  

  If later in the evening, after 9pm, then I would serve sweets. 

  
  

  Regardless of when the event is held, if it's in your budget, I think a candy buffet would be very fitting for your theme. A lot of brides use the candy buffet as the favors allowing guests to take candy home with them; you could reference Hansel and Gretel by having a small sign or message on the tags that says: "To help you find your way home - Courtesy of H&G". Cake or cupcakes are always crowd pleasers.

  
  

  Decoration: Twinkle lights overhead; picnic blankets for the tablecloth with little picnic baskets as the centerpieces perhaps filled with things for your guests to enjoy (wine bottles, cheese and grapes); lanterns; wood tables outside
  Colors: Greens, Browns, Blues, pops of red

  
  

  2. 125 guests isn't a small wedding but I wouldn't call it large yet. People tend to travel for weddings, including older relatives who view it as a chance to see everyone again, so always be prepared for 100% acceptance. 

  
  

  Anyone invited to any pre-wedding events, (showers, bachelor party, engagement party, etc), MUST be invited to the wedding. Most of those events tend to be gift giving occasions and it comes off as gift grabby when you invite someone to one of those events but then don't send them a wedding invitation.  

  
  

  Also, any adult who considers themselves to be in a relationship should be invited with their significant other. It doesn't matter if you've never met them or if you don't think they're serious enough. I'm not suggesting you'd do something like this, but it comes up a lot on the etiquette board and some of the posters tend to get vocal about it being a breach of etiquette. Trying to help give you a heads up for any future headaches. 

  
  

  3. Saturday will be the most expensive day of the week. Saturday evening will be the most expensive time of the week. Saturday afternoon will be cheaper than Saturday evening but it'll still cost you more than a Friday or Sunday wedding. 

  
  

  4. Dancing can happen during the day or evening as long as there's a dance floor and music. Even if you have a daytime wedding you can still have a first dance, father/daughter mother/son dances, and invite your guests to dance as well. Typically though, if there's not food, drinking or something going on guests won't hang around for a long time.

  
  

  5. The ceremony is for you as a couple. The reception is to thank your guests for witnessing you get married. While you can't please everyone, try to put yourself in the position of your guests throughout your planning and strive to make sure everyone will be comfortable and hosted appropriately. 

  
  

  6. Make sure you give yourself a realistic time frame to complete any DIY projects. Things take longer than planned most of the time and you don't want to find yourself on the week of the wedding with 5 uncompleted tasks. Keep in mind also that while it's always great to have help from your family and bridal party, do not expect people to want to help with these projects. It doesn't make them a bad friend or bridesmaid. Most bridal party members will probably want to help but never assume people will be able to help so that you can hopefully avoid disappoints along the way.

  
  

  7. Whenever something stressful comes up involving the wedding just ask yourself, "Will this matter the day after?" Things rarely go according to plan so be prepared to be flexible and to let some things go. Unless it's something that will severely affect you the day after the wedding, like not getting the marriage licence, then try to not let it overwhelm you. It's hard to not be disappointed when things don't turn out how we hoped, especially after the amount of effort put in, but try not to let it bring down the wedding. Like you said, at the end of the day it is just a party to celebrate your wedding. There is no need to go into debt or make yourself sick with stress over it.

  
  

  Enjoy your engagement and good luck with your planning!

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• Knottie_22382049 member

  March 2013

  Hello Congratulations on your engagement. 

  
  

  First of all I love your theme (maybe since mine is similar). Here are a couple of ideas I came up with for a Princess Bride wedding.

  
  

  -Use the Theme Song Storybook Love as the processional music if you will be having one.

  -Have the officiant start off with "Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday"

  -Have the groom say "as you wish" at least once during the vows

  
  

  Hope that helps

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