Thoughts? Is this all just too much?

Knottie1717059 · September 2014

I'm on a budget, (aren't most of us??) and there is major differences between our two families.
Let's start with most of my FI's family doesn't speak English. Like at all. We're having to hire a translator for the ceremony.
We live in Austin TX and the theme across town is "keep Austin weird"
The theme to our wedding, as a dear friend put it is "keep Austin weird, but not too weird. We have Catholics".
Color scheme: red and black (think deep red) with a splash of white. My dress will be white, he will be in either a white and red tux or black on black tux. His boys will be in black and red. All the men will be in J's (the shoe brand) as the groom has a collection of them and is something short of obsessed. My girls will be in knee length black flow-y dresses of which they have several options to pick from and I want them to all be different styles. MOH will have red heels with myself, the rest in black.
On our tables, we will have betta fish centerpieces. To start, we have fish tanks. A 125 gallon saltwater, a 75 gallon saltwater, a 30 gallon saltwater clown breeder tank, a 40 gallon goldfish/cichlid tank, and a 1000 gallon koi pond. We have had betta off and on for the last 3 years. Fish are what people know us by. Fish are what we do on weekends. Fish are our life other than our 2 year old son. Betta fish are something everyone will smile at when they sit down and say "I should have guessed". Since FI has a large family full of nieces and nephews, we will give bettas away as gifts if someone wants one. Otherwise, we won't mind adding them to our watery home.
Another thought we have is instead of a photobooth, a friend will do characature drawings for a few hours during reception. A friend of a friend is willing to come out and it'll cost us a 3rd of the price than a photo booth.

We have a DJ that will be able to do both Mexican music and American. Our wedding song will be Prince Royce's version of "Stand By Me".

I have two goddaughters that will be flower girls, in red tutus. My son will be ring bearer in a little red suit.

Apps will be a chips and salsa bar, with agua frescas and beer and fruit cups con chile.
Dinner will be more American styled with asparagus and salads and chicken max n cheese mashed potatoes.

FI wants to see everyone squirm with the cakes. He says he wants a tres leches mexican flag cake for the groom's cake and the wedding cake to be a subtle navy red and cream white cake. I say no.

My question is this: is this too eclectic? Are we turning our wedding into a gaudy experience?

JCbride2015 · September 2014

Knottie1717059 said:

I'm on a budget, (aren't most of us??) and there is major differences between our two families. Let's start with most of my FI's family doesn't speak English. Like at all. We're having to hire a translator for the ceremony. We live in Austin TX and the theme across town is "keep Austin weird" The theme to our wedding, as a dear friend put it is "keep Austin weird, but not too weird. We have Catholics". Color scheme: red and black (think deep red) with a splash of white. My dress will be white, he will be in either a white and red tux or black on black tux. His boys will be in black and red. All the men will be in J's (the shoe brand) as the groom has a collection of them and is something short of obsessed. My girls will be in knee length black flow-y dresses of which they have several options to pick from and I want them to all be different styles. MOH will have red heels with myself, the rest in black. On our tables, we will have betta fish centerpieces. To start, we have fish tanks. A 125 gallon saltwater, a 75 gallon saltwater, a 30 gallon saltwater clown breeder tank, a 40 gallon goldfish/cichlid tank, and a 1000 gallon koi pond. We have had betta off and on for the last 3 years. Fish are what people know us by. Fish are what we do on weekends. Fish are our life other than our 2 year old son. Betta fish are something everyone will smile at when they sit down and say "I should have guessed". Since FI has a large family full of nieces and nephews, we will give bettas away as gifts if someone wants one. Otherwise, we won't mind adding them to our watery home. Another thought we have is instead of a photobooth, a friend will do characature drawings for a few hours during reception. A friend of a friend is willing to come out and it'll cost us a 3rd of the price than a photo booth. We have a DJ that will be able to do both Mexican music and American. Our wedding song will be Prince Royce's version of "Stand By Me". I have two goddaughters that will be flower girls, in red tutus. My son will be ring bearer in a little red suit. Apps will be a chips and salsa bar, with agua frescas and beer and fruit cups con chile. Dinner will be more American styled with asparagus and salads and chicken max n cheese mashed potatoes. FI wants to see everyone squirm with the cakes. He says he wants a tres leches mexican flag cake for the groom's cake and the wedding cake to be a subtle navy red and cream white cake. I say no. My question is this: is this too eclectic? Are we turning our wedding into a gaudy experience?

Overall: no, this is not too eclectic. It sounds true to your personalities and fun.

A few thoughts:

1) Please reconsider the fish centerpieces. First off, it could be cruel to the fish. You are putting them in an area where people might tap the glass, stick their hands in, or even knock the bowl over. You might know how to care for them, but you can't guarantee the behavior of your guests. Accidents happen. Second, honestly, fish centerpieces seem sort of dated to me, like a trend that has had its day. Third, it also doesn't seem to have much to do with the rest of the wedding theme.

2) The black and red color scheme could be really dramatic and pretty. I don't think it's too much. Make sure you're using a deep, soft red to keep it classy and tasteful.

3) Black on black tux for your Fi sounds stylish and cool. I would recommend against a colored tux. Black is classic.

4) Caricatures sound super fun.

5) All your food sounds awesome and tasty.

6) What's wrong with the cake idea-- do you want a classic white cake? You can always do a classic cake, and keep Fi's idea for the groom's cake.

holyguacamole79 · September 2014

I agree with JC regarding the fish (and everything else, actually).

Regarding the shoes for the men, do all the guys already own a pair of J's? If not, that would be an expense that your FI would need to pick up for them.

I flippin love tres leches cake... You should totally do that for the grooms cake! For the other cake, I'd caution you about navy icing. BIL had his grooms cake with black icing, and it turned everyone's teeth black.

As a Catholic in Houston, your theme made me giggle. Are you going to have it written somewhere?

wrigleyville · September 2014

This sounds really similar to our wedding, so I think it sounds awesome!

We had a lot of deep red and black with touches of white. H wore a black on black suit and shirt, and our best man wore a black suit with red shirt and red pocket square. My MOH wore a black dress with a red crinoline and red heels. We did not have groomsmen or bridesmaids.

This is not us (like I said, we just had a BM and MOH), but we basically copied this picture, flowers and all. It was a huge inspiration for our "look". We did not wear gloves, though, and my dress was a ballgown.

I love the ideas for the cakes, but I'd caution against navy icing. It will dye everyone's teeth and lips navy blue.

You could have a red velvet cake, which is deep red cake with cream cheese (white) frosting. Your baker could add lots of black accents, like scrollwork, a ribbon, etc. We had red velvet cupcakes at our wedding, so I'm biased.

I like the idea for the groom's cake, as the groom's cake should be something fun.

I'd skip the fish centerpieces for the reasons mentioned. We decorated with manzanita trees, which were SUPER easy to DIY. I suck at crafts, but I was able to pull this off:

(Not my picture. It's from Pinterest. We had black, white, and red votive holders, and they were round, not square.)

Viczaesar · September 2014

Please don't use animals as decorations.

AddieCake · September 2014

I think it all sounds awesome except for the fish. I miss Austin! I had the same centerpieces as Wrigley, minus the candles. Love me some Manzanita branches!

JoanE2012 · September 2014

Please don't have fish as centerpieces. Using live things as a prop/decoration is just wrong.

zitiqueen · September 2014

I think you should use kittens as centerpieces instead of fish. Put collars on them, attach a four-inch chain, and nail it to the center of the table. CUTE!

Knottie1717059 · September 2014

I appreciate everyone's honest answer. Except the last rude one. There are ways to say things without being rude and snarky. To everyone else, thank you for expressing your opinion without trying to add drama into an already drama filled world.

zitiqueen · September 2014

Knottie1717059 said:

I appreciate everyone's honest answer. Except the last rude one. There are ways to say things without being rude and snarky. To everyone else, thank you for expressing your opinion without trying to add drama into an already drama filled world.

Yes. Because there's nothing worse than a drama llama.

Thoughts? Is this all just too much?

Re: Thoughts? Is this all just too much?

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