I know everyone likes to hear stuff from other weddings, so here are some things I liked/didn;'t like. Of course, keep in mind, some of these things are just my opinions.
Ceremony: It was outside and the view was gorgeous. It was on the water, they had that cute sign I've seen on Pinterest about Choose a seat, not a side. In the basket where the programs were, there were bottles of Off mosquito spray. Pros and Cons- I like that they thought to provide that and knew there would be mosquitos there (and there were), but who wants to spray off on them when they are all dressed up for a wedding? I am the person that gets bit in a room full of 45 people, but I still didn't want to put that on. I ended up killing a few and with 2 or 3 bites. Also, it was on the water, and it was a little noisy. There were boats speeding by, a dog across the water on a dock that was barking, and planes overhead. It wasn't too bad, and you could still hear what was going on, but something like this would have really annoyed my mom. So if any of yu are picky about that, really work with your venue to ensure there is no noise. There was also very little guidance, we were all just standing around waiting. The invite said 5:30, but the program didn't have it scheduled until 6. This I get, because it was far and there was rush hour, and they started pretty much on time, but at least give refreshments or tell people where to go for the ones who do get there on time.
Vows: I will not be writing my own vows, because we are just not the types to share those private things in front of people and I would feel uncomfortable. However, they wrote their own vows, and they were AMAZING. They were touching, funny, gave us insight into how they met and what they are like, etc. They were funny too while emotional at the same time. I love that you really feel you got to know them as a couple, just by hearing their vows. Something to keep in mind if yu write your own.
Reception: Cocktail hour was actually a cocktail hour and a half. The bride, groom, and BP did some pictures together during the cocktail hour, and for the last 45 min or so, the bride and groom came in and went table to table in the cokctail room to say hi to everyone. There were plenty of tables too, everyone had a place to sit which I think is super important. Anyway, I LOVED that they came in during cocktail hour and did theur "revcieving" there instead of in a line somewhere. It was more comfortable, we could eat and sit while we waited, and best part, when the reception started, the bride danced to all the 1st songs for like the 1st half hour. She didnt have to waste time going table to table in the reception and could instead enjoy her time. I am also have an hour and a half cocktail hour and I will defintely be attending it and saying hi to everyone there (people I overheard talking really seemed to like this too because they had more time to stand up and mingle, go outside and enjoy the view before it got dark, spend time with the bride and groom, etc.)
Music: DJ was good, lively. What I noticed- he started off the night with Michael Jackson songs, and everyone really liked them. Lots of people up dancing. People also seemed to really like dancing to 60's and 70's music, particularly "Run Around Sue", that "do you remember, (something something) September", the twist, something from that genre. Not as popular- today's hits, like Katy Perry and Sean Kingston. Those tended to clear the dancefloor. The flow of the night was nice: introduce BP, bride and groom come out, they do their 1st dance, break into dance music, people go to their seats for salad, BM toast, and then her brother's did a toast and it was AWESOME. Instead of a regular toast, they did an NCAA bracket-type skit of all the brides old crushes and how they matched up (celebrity crushes, not real people). It came down to the groom vs Bono, and it was hysterical. If you have someone in your WP or family who is creative and funny, I highly recommend letting them plan something. I put FI's 2 best men on the spot about this last night, they have 9 months to come up with something right? lol. She didn't do a father dance (he passed away) so I'm not sure where they would have fit in, but I liked the flow overall.
They had a photobooth and it was so fun. Everyone loved it, we got 5 people in there, there were no lines, and it was not a distraction. It made me feel a lot better about my photobooth, and people were coming up to me saying they hope I have one at my wedding too. e got a copy, and the bride and groom got a copy in a scrapbook.
One thing I didn't like- They had the run of the place, which was nice, but it spread people out a lot. I think more people would have danced if they weren't hanging out around the bar (which was very big), outside on the deck, or outside on the lower patio. People were out there smoikng all night, sitting out there, doing shots at the bar, and not really dancing. I didn't even see them cut the cake. So keep that in mind if you have a lot of space.
Another thing, they had a desster spread, I guess like a vienesse but not in a differnt room. They had like 4 different types of cakes, apple pie and icecream, chocolate fondue fountain with fruit and pretzels, pasteries, huge cookies, etc. The cake was awesome, I thought it was wedding cake, but then found out it wasn't which leads me to another con: no one ate any wedding cake. They finally brought slices around to the tables, but we had all eaten dessert already so who wanted more cake? I took a bite, but it wasn't good, and it was a waste. I am going to put effort into tasting and designing my cake, and I want people to eat and enjoy it because it is such a big symbol of our day. I had already decided that I didn't want to offer tons of other desserts, and this finalized that choice. However, people really liked the chocolate fountain, so I might consider adding that with some fruit. But I really want peopel to eat my cake and was sad no one ate it.
All in all, it was a good wedding, we had fun. I would've liked to dance more, so I hope people dance more at our wedding since they will be more confined in one space (there will be the same group of friends there). We got to spend a lot of time the bride and groom and I thought they spread themselves out well and saw everyone.
This turned into a really long post, but I hope it was at least a little helpful to some of you. If anyone has any other questions about the night, let me know. And let me know what you think!!!!!