(no subject)
I'm not technically engaged, so I haven't made an intro post. But I've always loved wedding stuff, and therefore, love to see all of your ideas and plans coming to fruition. SO, I thought that I'd contribute by posting reviews of the two most recent weddings I attended.
1) My good friends Louie and Sara were married in late June. Their ceremony was held at The Stoughton Opera House This was an unimaginably beautiful and intimate site for a wedding ceremony.
To me, one of the things that stuck out the most was that Sara was the Queen of DIY craftiness, and made Statler and Waldorf from the Muppet Show. At the ceremony, they were seated in one of the opera boxes! I didn't take a picture of them at the ceremony (sadly), but here they are at the head table at the reception. As you can see, they looked amazing.
Sara had her bridesmaids wear a dress that was one of the 7 colors of the rainbow (each dress was differently shaped, too). In theory, this sounds like it might be ugly. It was beautiful. She had them stand up on stage in the ROY G. BIV rainbow sequence. It was to signify the individuality of each of them and of each of their guests. I *really* wish I'd gotten a picture of this while it was up on stage! Louie and his groomsmen wore white suit jackets with black pants, bowties and cummerbunds--it was very "Sinatra." :)
An example of the Best Man's get-up:
Their ceremony was done by a Unitarian Universalist female officiant. She was great; very warm and personal. It was one of the nicest ceremonies I've been to. The best part, possibly, was having "Hug-O-War" by Shel Silverstein read. :) Most people were in tears over their incredibly sweet ceremony.
Also, they had a really wonderful idea for doing flowers. They had a "flower communion." They had each of their guests bring a flower to add to communal bouquets. Their invitations said something about the bouquets expressing their guest's individual personalities adding to the richness and beauty of their lives. The bouquets (which were set along the stage before the ceremony) were gorgeous--and essentially no money was spent on flowers! They did supply some flowers, though, for people who forgot to bring one.
Afterward, their reception was at the Madison Sheraton. It was a nice space and was beautifully decorated. In keeping with the opera house theme, their cake was decorated to match:
The candle/vases flanking the cake were also on each table. Each table had one or two bowls of skittles on it, too, which was greatly appreciated. During dinner, they had lots of softer 40's-ish music played, Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, etc. It was really relaxing and lovely. Afterward, they had a beer pong-style game played with buckets and a ping pong ball, for which participants could win prizes. Very funny to watch. :) Then the music started and it was possibly the most fun I've ever had at a wedding.
The groom and his best man jammin' out:
We'll end with a picture of the gorgeous bride who always makes me laugh:
2) Yesterday, I went to a wedding held in the assembly room of the Wisconsin State Capitol building. Yes, the assembly room. You know, where legislators gather and debate things. I'd never been in there before, and I'm glad I finally had the chance to! The ceiling was a breathtaking dome of stained glass. The best part might've been that the seats were big leather arm chairs. :) Here's a very pretty picture of the way it looks.
The bride wore a gorgeous Anjolique Bridal sheath dress with a long, sparkly train. I was seriously enchanted by the dress, particularly when it was bustled--so beautiful! She didn't cry, she was just so happy. She laughed throughout most of the ceremony.
The ceremony was short, but very sweet. They had the most hilarious vows I've ever heard. They wrote them for eachother and made the other repeat what they'd written. For instance, "I promise to let you check the oven 5 times before we leave the house, even if you know it's off," etc. The officiant was the bride's brother, and prior to the exchange of vows, he told a story about how the groom had asked the bride out and was rejected 10 times--no, really, 10 times. It was all so funny and adorable. Then, as the groom is Vietnamese, his mother gave the bride a gift of jewelry. It was sweet and touching.
Afterward, everyone walked down to the Overture Center's Promenade Terrace for drinks and passed hor d'oeuvres. They had a wonderful local band playing during the two hours preceding dinner, Caravan Gypsy Swing Ensemble It was very classy and an excellent way to entertain guests while they were out having their picture taken.
Everyone then moved into the Promenade Hall which had the round paper chinese lanterns hung all over the ceiling in their colors (white and light blue). It was so beautiful! Dinner was absolutely divine, as were the favors (and cake topper)--chocolates made by an incredible local chocolatier, David Bacco. They were little chocolate truffle hearts, one in espresso, the other in orange. The decorations were very simple, just a few flowers in vases at each table in both the lounge and dining room.
We ate, danced, and had a lovely time. It was a little disorganized at times (with where you were supposed to go, when, etc), but you hardly noticed since everything was just so laid back. I wish I had pictures of this one for you!
I will, at this point, put in a shameless plug for this wedding's photographer, Jennifer Andersen. She and her husband are friends of ours (and sat with us last night). She's so fantastic--both as a photographer and a person!
1) My good friends Louie and Sara were married in late June. Their ceremony was held at The Stoughton Opera House This was an unimaginably beautiful and intimate site for a wedding ceremony.
To me, one of the things that stuck out the most was that Sara was the Queen of DIY craftiness, and made Statler and Waldorf from the Muppet Show. At the ceremony, they were seated in one of the opera boxes! I didn't take a picture of them at the ceremony (sadly), but here they are at the head table at the reception. As you can see, they looked amazing.
Sara had her bridesmaids wear a dress that was one of the 7 colors of the rainbow (each dress was differently shaped, too). In theory, this sounds like it might be ugly. It was beautiful. She had them stand up on stage in the ROY G. BIV rainbow sequence. It was to signify the individuality of each of them and of each of their guests. I *really* wish I'd gotten a picture of this while it was up on stage! Louie and his groomsmen wore white suit jackets with black pants, bowties and cummerbunds--it was very "Sinatra." :)
An example of the Best Man's get-up:
Their ceremony was done by a Unitarian Universalist female officiant. She was great; very warm and personal. It was one of the nicest ceremonies I've been to. The best part, possibly, was having "Hug-O-War" by Shel Silverstein read. :) Most people were in tears over their incredibly sweet ceremony.
Also, they had a really wonderful idea for doing flowers. They had a "flower communion." They had each of their guests bring a flower to add to communal bouquets. Their invitations said something about the bouquets expressing their guest's individual personalities adding to the richness and beauty of their lives. The bouquets (which were set along the stage before the ceremony) were gorgeous--and essentially no money was spent on flowers! They did supply some flowers, though, for people who forgot to bring one.
Afterward, their reception was at the Madison Sheraton. It was a nice space and was beautifully decorated. In keeping with the opera house theme, their cake was decorated to match:
The candle/vases flanking the cake were also on each table. Each table had one or two bowls of skittles on it, too, which was greatly appreciated. During dinner, they had lots of softer 40's-ish music played, Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, etc. It was really relaxing and lovely. Afterward, they had a beer pong-style game played with buckets and a ping pong ball, for which participants could win prizes. Very funny to watch. :) Then the music started and it was possibly the most fun I've ever had at a wedding.
The groom and his best man jammin' out:
We'll end with a picture of the gorgeous bride who always makes me laugh:
2) Yesterday, I went to a wedding held in the assembly room of the Wisconsin State Capitol building. Yes, the assembly room. You know, where legislators gather and debate things. I'd never been in there before, and I'm glad I finally had the chance to! The ceiling was a breathtaking dome of stained glass. The best part might've been that the seats were big leather arm chairs. :) Here's a very pretty picture of the way it looks.
The bride wore a gorgeous Anjolique Bridal sheath dress with a long, sparkly train. I was seriously enchanted by the dress, particularly when it was bustled--so beautiful! She didn't cry, she was just so happy. She laughed throughout most of the ceremony.
The ceremony was short, but very sweet. They had the most hilarious vows I've ever heard. They wrote them for eachother and made the other repeat what they'd written. For instance, "I promise to let you check the oven 5 times before we leave the house, even if you know it's off," etc. The officiant was the bride's brother, and prior to the exchange of vows, he told a story about how the groom had asked the bride out and was rejected 10 times--no, really, 10 times. It was all so funny and adorable. Then, as the groom is Vietnamese, his mother gave the bride a gift of jewelry. It was sweet and touching.
Afterward, everyone walked down to the Overture Center's Promenade Terrace for drinks and passed hor d'oeuvres. They had a wonderful local band playing during the two hours preceding dinner, Caravan Gypsy Swing Ensemble It was very classy and an excellent way to entertain guests while they were out having their picture taken.
Everyone then moved into the Promenade Hall which had the round paper chinese lanterns hung all over the ceiling in their colors (white and light blue). It was so beautiful! Dinner was absolutely divine, as were the favors (and cake topper)--chocolates made by an incredible local chocolatier, David Bacco. They were little chocolate truffle hearts, one in espresso, the other in orange. The decorations were very simple, just a few flowers in vases at each table in both the lounge and dining room.
We ate, danced, and had a lovely time. It was a little disorganized at times (with where you were supposed to go, when, etc), but you hardly noticed since everything was just so laid back. I wish I had pictures of this one for you!
I will, at this point, put in a shameless plug for this wedding's photographer, Jennifer Andersen. She and her husband are friends of ours (and sat with us last night). She's so fantastic--both as a photographer and a person!