Wedding Tribulations

As you many know, putting on a wedding includes a tremendous amount of attention to detail, no matter what the size. Our circumstances have been no exception to that rule. Considering that over 300 invitations went out this week for our extravaganza of a wedding, 3,000 miles away, makes organizing all the more interesting.

As we discussed in a previous entry, we choose to finance our wedding by saving for the event ourselves. Including many other benefits, it has given us the opportunity to be in control of our own wedding and make the choices we see fit for how things play out in the planning process. That said, there have been a bunch of potential pitfalls that have come up.

For example, one major issue is managing people who don’t necessarily get along. For example, James’s mom and dad are divorced and so are his aunt and uncle. For some reason, weddings can be very emotional events and when you add alcohol to the mix, its anyone guess what can happen. We anticipate at least one drunken outburst, by someone. We’ve talked to our relatives and hope to have some contingency plans in place by the ceremony to cope if this comes up.

Another hazard is drunk driving. Since the wedding is at vineyard out in the country, everyone will have to drive. It’s possible that someone may have a drink or two more than they should, and may want to get themselves home via automobile. We’re planning on asking the groomsmen not to imbibe so they can be on the lookout for possible problems. Hopefully this won’t happen.

As usual there are a bunch of last minute issues that come up. For example, Mile’s father is still trying to get the band nailed down. When Miel’s sister, Darcy, got married a couple of years back he paid for a fabulous seven piece swing band. Alas, this year it looks like we are having some trouble getting the band booked, so now we are now scrambling to take care of this. As we all know, good bands or DJs are hard to find and book up quickly for summer weddings. Now we have to weigh the benefits of having someone else take care of the costs, versus the hassle of having to include outside influences into the decision making.

All this aside, we are very appreciative of all the contributions of time, effort, and support from our family members. Thank goodness, at least the rehearsal dinner, which should be over a hundred people, has been generously taken care of by James’ moms and his aunt Sarah. There are ton of other details which have needed addressing also: this includes favors by Miel’s sister Darcy (wine tags), jewelry by James’ aunt Cathy, Sunday brunch by James’ mom Carol, flowers by Miel’s mom Janis, a picture perfect five tiered cake from a family friend, and the final touches of putting the big day together. In the end, it will all work itself out *knock on wood* and will be one hell of a party!!!

-Miel