Wedding ideas...We're having a wedding!!!

A check for $10,000 and an elopement.

 

My wife and I were not so generous but it was offered and not accepted.

Rob

 

My husband and I spent a whopping 60 dollars on our wedding, not counting brunch. 30 bucks for the license, 30 bucks for the justice of the peace and I went to work at 4pm that day and he had duty that weekend. That was 20 years ago. The wedding is one day, the honeymoon is maybe a couple of weeks, but a marriage is forever.

 

Invest in a professional wedding photographer who will have a second and a third shooter and will provide albums for the couple and the couple's families, ... and provide for you images ready for you to share on social media. Don't skimp on a novice or a family member or friend to shoot the wedding. These are precious memories and are worth a substantial investment to get the best images of the entire day for both the bride and the groom.

I would also suggest that the entire ceremony and reception be set up to honor God with Scripture and prayer.

I have had some fundamentalist and staunch Southern Baptists argue with me about it, but there is no way I was not going to dance with my daughter at her wedding. The Shag is the state dance of South Carolina. My wife and I took Shag lessons for a couple of months before the wedding. I was very happy to dance the Shag with my daughter to the Motown hit made popular by the Temptations, "My Girl."

 

Just before the vows I read the following to the couple...


Will you join hands and face each other


These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that you are holding you on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other, today, tomorrow and forever….

These hands are the hands that will work alongside yours as together you build your future.


These are the hands that will passionately love and cherish you through the years.


These are the hands that will give you comfort like no other with just the slightest touch.


These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind.


These are the hands that will wipe the tears of sorrow and tears of joy from your eyes.


These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.


And these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with a touch.

 

First of all, congrats to you all! One of the most beautiful (and unique) weddings that we've attended in the past year was held on the 18th hole at a very nice resort. The groom is quite the golf enthusiast and actually paid for a college with a golf scholarship - so the location was a natural. The wedding date was in off-season; as a result, the costs were much lower. Not sure if this could apply in NY, but just a thought.

The one item that seems to drive up the costs more than anything are the open bars at the receptions. (My guess is that you probably won't need to worry about this.) I understand the champagne (or sparkling juice) toasts, but the open bar is totally unnecessary and costly - and has hidden liability.

Overall, I would keep it as simple as possible and save the money for the honeymoon. We went on a cruise (many years ago) and it was a great decision.

BTW, along the same topic -- here is one of the cutest proposals I've seen:

www2.baylor.edu/baylorproud/2017/06/this-flash-mob-baylor-proposal-is-going-viral/