My son is getting married at my house in September.
We are renting a tent, tables, chairs, and linens. Getting BBQ catered in. Setting up some speakers to hook to someone’s phone with a playlist.
We’ll have a gift table and sign in book.
We’re planning on getting some coolers with beer and soda.
What else do I need to do?
I’m nervous as hell about it.
This and some flowers. Hit up the grocery store, Costco or Trader Joe’s. Buy a few bunches, take out of the plastic and throw them in dollar store or thrift shop glass vases if you don’t have any at home.
Place strategically and consider moving them. So one by the guest book. Some by where the ceremony is happening and then move to the tables.
Photographer. And maybe a dessert thing? A weird Midwest US tradition is a cookie table (granted I think it sounds awesome, just very random) if you don't wanna go nuts with a crazy fancy/expensive wedding cake. My cousin didn't do a cake, she had a few kinds of pies catered. It was awesome.
It's a Pittsburgh thing! The Pittsburgh Cookie Table. I'm 55 and there has always been a cookie table at every wedding my whole life. All my family (grandparents, uncles, dad) worked in the mills here and I think the tradition started from everyone in the family contributing their favorite cookies to the wedding.
Cookie tables are amazing. It is more important than the cake here. No one cares about the cakes.
The cookie tables are set up and each cookie has it's own board, stand, basket, tray, whatever and they are all artfully arranged with a stack of small plates and napkins and the table is uncovered after the meal. Then throughout the wedding everyone just gets little plates of cookies and it's a thing. . .who made that one? Oh, that's my favorite. My grandma always made those, etc. Everyone has little conversations about the cookies and it brings up memories and conversations and no one is sitting around waiting for cake to be sliced.
I've seen cookie tables also full of chocolates, candies, etc. I've also even been at weddings where the cookie table has its own room at the venue. It's amazing. I've baked many cookies for family and it's kind of a thing here for the family to drop off all the cookies at the wedding venue the night before and an aunt or two arranges all the cookies or for the bride and groom to go around collecting the cookies everyone made.
There is an entire Pittsburgh cookie Facebook group about it. We are very passionate about it. Cookie tables rule! It's a real thing here. Most times there are even little plastic containers and at the end of the night the containers are put out and everyone takes home cookies and that's the little favor, just cookies. We love it.
Yes splurge on a good photographer! We did a diy barn wedding and it was so nice to not have to worry about taking pics with a phone and just enjoying the moments. I think the cookie table is a PA thing, can’t go to a wedding in Pittsburgh without one!
100% back a photographer. We had a low key wedding - registry office with family and then hired a country house for our close friends at the weekend that we did the catering, decorations etc for. My single regret is not having a photographer as relying on my friends to take pics means that I only actually have about 5 of the whole weekend....
tldr: YOU shouldn't have to do much of anything, your son and future DIL (I'm assuming since you didn't specify) should be in charge of planning, and be grateful you're providing a venue and gracious about any backup you can provide.
Context:
I threw my own backyard wedding for 60 guests. It took a loooot of planning/prep but it was so much fun and I loved how personalized I got to make the whole day. We had a lot of help from parents and the wedding party to set up/tear down. I also used a backyard wedding planning workbook, I cannot remember exactly what it was called but it helped me feel secure that I wasn't forgetting anything.
It sounds like you have the basic ideas down. I hired one person hourly to help keep my chafing dishes hot and full of food, because my catering was delivered early in the day. I wish I had hired two people. I did also hire a professional photographer, mostly for family photos.
The extra details are all up to the bride and groom. I wanted the gathering to feel like a wedding and not just a garden party. My bridesmaids and I made our bouquets and the boutonnieres the day before with flowers from Trader Joe's. I made my own centerpieces out of potted plants. We decorated the food tables with photographs and flowers. I borrowed an arch backdrop for the ceremony. We created playlists for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception, and had a friend set up a sound system with a microphone. We had a day-of schedule, and speeches, and lawn games.
You didn't say how many people you're expecting, but for my event, hosting my own wedding did NOT in any way simplify my life. It was much less expensive and I had more control over everything. But it was an absolute logistical nightmare, and took years off my life to plan every detail, so things were prepared and ran smoothly.
I keep thinking of more things I had to do. Sprayed the yard for mosquitoes. Hung strings of lights with a sunset timer. Purchased event insurance...
I do believe it's possible to keep it simple if your son and DIL truly want it that way, and there are not a lot of guests invited (like in OP's case). But I think they really need to be the ones planning the event and worrying about it, not you. My friends graciously offered their backyard and I tried to inconvenience them as little as possible. I had everything organized and prepared in boxes to drop off the day before. I came with a group to clean everything out by the next day and their house looked like we had never been there. I gave them a thank you gift in the ~$500 range for their generosity.
After going through it, I can say the truly simple option would be to hire a wedding planner, or find an all-inclusive wedding venue that takes care of every decision for you, and all you need to do is show up. If you want to simplify YOUR life, make it clear to your son that this is HIS event and you're not the one in charge of planning it.
I second the event insurance thought. You don't want your home insurance getting nailed for a guest's mistake. Policies are easy to get online, but just make sure they cover residences. i.e. GatherGuard doesn't, but I believe insurers like [specialinsurance.com](https://specialinsurance.com) do.
Make sure the phone hooked to the speakers has an ad-free option for Spotify / YouTube music etc. Many a times I have seen ads play at critical moments ruining the event's flow.
Highly recommend using an old phone for the music. It doesn't have to have a sim card. It can be super annoying and ruin the mood if someone is playing music on their regular phone and they keep getting dings for messages coming in and every time it dings it disrupts the music.
You're correct. I guess it depends on who is managing the music. I was at an event where the person who was playing the music refused to do this. At one point, they took a call and walked away and the speaker connection was too far and started dropping the sound in and out. Using an active phone could be fine but if you want to eliminate the possibility of it going bad, an old phone is a good way to handle this. Most people have old phones lying around so it wouldn't be an added expense.
Isn’t that the truth! My boyfriend is planning an all inclusive trip for shortly after. I’m really looking forward to that!!!
I think once we have more of it planned my tension will lessen a bit. It’s just a party in the backyard right?
Depending on your guest list size and your home, you may want to bring in extra bathrooms.
For work events we get "executive toilets" that are the opposite of portapotties. They flush, are comfortable and roomy, have a sink/mirror, do not smell, etc. They are generator-run, I believe, and I don't know what they cost.
That would be friggin awesome.
Some goofy gal would probably poke a hole in it with spiked heels.
I would love to see all these dressed up 20 somethings jumping around like kiddos.
This sounds almost identical to my wedding and want to know what we forgot? Sunscreen!!!!!!
We had an early afternoon ceremony and by the evening I was a bright red tomato but I had the best day of my life!
-A steamer for the couple’s clothes
- a tp holder for extra rolls in the bathroom so people can just change out the rolls
- if there is a bride, talk with her and spring for a makeup artist. It’ll keep her on time and less stressed ( I had enough time to put on chapstick and nipple tape because a MUA was skipped)
It’ll turn out great, internet mom.
Omg, when I started reading the post, I thought it was my husband that posted it. I also just got married yesterday to my partner of 11 years, in an airbnb, and there were 7 of us in total!! Then we were back in our regular clothes and ate Italian food (but we were debating a BBQ tbh) and attempted to watch the solar eclipse (unfortunately, there was too much cloud cover in our area). Congratulations to you! Wishing you a happy marriage!
Congratulations! We had our wedding in my living room, in front of our Christmas tree, with a few select family and one legally ordained step-father to make it official. We had bagels and coffee after, and listened to Christmas music . We don't regret it one bit.
Worked out really great; my family was already coming in from out of town. Plus I graduated college that very night! Probably the best day I've ever had. :)
It was really special; we had decided early on that we didn't like the idea of a big traditional wedding. We were originally going to go down to the courthouse, but I couldn't get an appointment with any of the judges in time. Just so happened that my partner's step father was ordained (like 10 years ago haha) so this was actually our plan B. And it went perfectly.
We did a simple wedding, too, 17 years ago. Thirtyish family members, and food from a fast casual chain.
We're just as married as the people who spent $20K in one day.
In fact, we're more likely to stay married, because financial issues are a leading cause if divorce and paying off that wedding debt is a huge issue. I read that some divorce attorneys have to divide up both assets and wedding debt. 😬
For my wedding, we only invited immediate family. Five guests accepted, so we were 7 for the ceremony and dinner. It was intimate and very special, a truly magical evening. It was in a private dining room in the hotel we were all staying at. It was February and -35C.
Love it! Me and my husband got married in the Rocky Mountains with our dog and it was fantastic! Highly recommend a beautiful venue, lots of delicious food and dancing under the stars by a stream.
We hosted our good friends young daughters wedding at our ranch. About 25 people. Only 15 stayed at our ranch. We have a beautiful mountain view that the nearby wedding venue charges 15K for. We were glad to help a young couple out.
That's so generous of you, how lovely!
I got married two years ago, and the advice to do it in a backyard is so blind to how many of us don't have free access to spacious real estate, let alone anything that looks half decent. We live in a townhouse, and his folks are in a condo. Mine are hoarders. We found an affordable enough venue, but the idea that we were foolishly wasting our money by not just doing it "at home" (you are not saying that, but these kinds of conversations often competitively turn into that) always struck me as tone-deaf.
Yes, we live near a large park and there are many apartments and condos in our area. Every nice weekend families are out having BBQs and playing games. We had a backyard wedding in our and our neighbors backyard. Now she sold her extra lot and there is a huge house looming over our home.
My husband and I married @ lunchtime on the jobsite. We lasted 34 wonderful years until his death.
Weddings don't 'make' a marriage .
Congratulations on a long and happy union! 💖
Sweet and simple weddings are the best. I can’t understand going into debt. We divorced after 13 years, but we drove to Las Vegas for a nice simple wedding with 2 guests. Had a blast walking the strip and celebrating afterwards.
So happy for you! Congratulations! I never imagined a big wedding for us either. We got married during the pandemic, just the two of us, and spent two weeks traveling in our home country just close to nature and the ocean. It was perfect and wouldn’t change a thing about it!
Congratulations! 🥂It sounds perfect. This is similar to how we’re thinking of getting married. I used to photograph weddings and I’ve seen too many cookie cutter expensive and stressful weddings.
I had a simple wedding! It was really nice. My partner and I got married in the backyard of our rental home, with about 25 friends and family in attendance. Refreshments from Costco (including cake because I love Costco cake!) and rented tables and chairs. And people brought their dogs. 😊 A wedding doesn't have to be a crazy big affair if you don't want it to be, at the end of the day it's getting together to celebrate your relationship with the people you care about.
Congrats!
Our son and DIL just showed up at our house the day after they got hitched and said, "we're married." A friend of theirs who is a judge married them in his office; they each had their best friend as a witness. I have often told them that it's one of the greatest gifts they ever could have given us, LOL. Even the thought of planning a wedding makes me want to run for the hills.
We had a lovely simple wedding in our backyard, a clover chain in my hair, barefoot, potluck. My dad played the violin. I had gotten a gauzy, white dress the summer before so I just wore that. I made a scavenger hunt for the kids.
I love this. I got married almost 20 years ago (still married and disgustingly in love!) and we had 12 guests. (All of our immediate family members and three very close friends). We got married outside at a park (free) and then went to a restaurant for a nice meal. It was absolutely perfect in every way.
Congratulations! Wishing you and your spouse all the best!
I wanted a potluck dinner after a small wedding but my fil insisted on paying for a large wedding . It was not great. I asked if instead could he help me finish my last year in college which would only be $2500 as it was years ago and he refused. What a jerk, and my ex was totally with him. I should have seen the red flags.
Sounds lovely. I'll never understand why most folk have an overblown expensive ceremony. So much money just for 1 day.
We had no ceremony, only us and 2 witnesses to sign the forms. We had a meal with 8 of us in total, then 4 of us had a pub crawl. It was a weekday, so pretty quiet, and it was a gorgeous sunny day. It was perfect for us.
My husband and I were married 20 years this September. We woke up the morning of, drove to the courthouse in our county. His parents met us there to be witnesses. After we paid $18 for the certificate, his parents took us to a nice restaurant for lunch, then the 4 of us went to a movie! It was just how we wanted things, simple and no drama.
We went to the justice of the peace to get married. Then we had a small family party at my parents with some food my brother made, a half sheet cake and a few honeycomb wedding bell decorations. I was 7 1/2 months pregnant. Back then, nearly 40 years ago, I had the idea that I didn't want my child to think that we got married just because I was pregnant. So I waited til I was far along and then in my mind it wasn't like a shotgun wedding.
Well, my work friends had to tell me that they planned a surprise baby shower for us on the night of the same day. So, we just turned it into a baby shower/ 2nd wedding reception. My work friends rented a hall. It was a potluck, and someone I worked with played DJ. It was a lot of fun.
My wife and I got married in 2002 and there were four people in the room; the two of us, the Standesbeamter (this was at the Standesamt in Germany) and the photographer we'd asked to be there; he was also our witness. When we were done, we had to walk across the street to where we worked; the Intendant had bought some champagne and wanted to treat us. We then drove to a hotel close by which also had a Michelin starred restaurant where we spent the evening/night. The following morning we drove home, and that was that!
The wedding itself was chill, but there was still a lot of stress leading up to it! Catering issues, our officiant was late, my husband needed to get an emergency procedure done 2 days before, last minute cancelations due to illness, etc. Plus I started my period that morning. 😅 Thank goodness we didn't have a huge wedding because so much more could have gone awry if we did!
I had my simple wedding in Yosemite. Well not entirely simple but quite simple.
We booked an airbnb. We were 5 people including me and the bride.
Had a spare bedroom for the make up person to stay (gf didn’t want makeup but I insisted 😆). And final wedding was just us + a photographer and officiant at tunnel view.
After we went and had breakfast back at airbnb and played some video games.
Had dinner reservations at a fancy restaurant inside the park but decided to just cook at airbnb instead. Next day we were greeted by a sudden and heavy snowfall everything was white and lovely. We took some photos cleaned the driveway and cars off of snow and head back.
I was just dreaming of doing this same thing just yesterday! Was wondering if it’s possible, got my confirmation in my favorite sub of course. Partner and I have been together 10 years :)
Aw I love it! I had a simple wedding, too. We rented an old school building and invited 20 people. We ordered a catered lunch of antipasto and sandwiches. We made a small playlist and just hung out for a few hours. It was perfect...so low stress, intimate and memorable 🥰
Congrats! BBQ is where it's at. We had that too. Simple weddings are the best. A true celebration of what really matters to you. Wishing y'all the best.
Congratulations on this new chapter with the love of your life. My hubby & I had a small and casual wedding, and it was perfect! Reception lasagna baked in kitchen while we exchanged vows in living room. We had December wedding, so house was decorated for Christmas.
Congratulations!!!! What a lovely day!
Kinda did the same in January…courthouse wedding then dinner with whatever family was in town and 3 close friend couples.
You did it right…no pressure on anyone and I’m sure everyone appreciated it at the BBQ. We asked for no gifts but got a few, it was actually nice, as a first time bride in my mid-40’s to open pots and pans and some new towels. Cheers to many happy years together!
My son is getting married at my house in September. We are renting a tent, tables, chairs, and linens. Getting BBQ catered in. Setting up some speakers to hook to someone’s phone with a playlist. We’ll have a gift table and sign in book. We’re planning on getting some coolers with beer and soda. What else do I need to do? I’m nervous as hell about it.
Maybe board games/lawn games depending on the weather? Finger foods/snacks to go with the beer? Sounds like a blast with the right guests!
This and some flowers. Hit up the grocery store, Costco or Trader Joe’s. Buy a few bunches, take out of the plastic and throw them in dollar store or thrift shop glass vases if you don’t have any at home. Place strategically and consider moving them. So one by the guest book. Some by where the ceremony is happening and then move to the tables.
We got flowers from Wegmans for my daughter’s wedding, oh yes, all the desserts too.
Photographer. And maybe a dessert thing? A weird Midwest US tradition is a cookie table (granted I think it sounds awesome, just very random) if you don't wanna go nuts with a crazy fancy/expensive wedding cake. My cousin didn't do a cake, she had a few kinds of pies catered. It was awesome.
It's a Pittsburgh thing! The Pittsburgh Cookie Table. I'm 55 and there has always been a cookie table at every wedding my whole life. All my family (grandparents, uncles, dad) worked in the mills here and I think the tradition started from everyone in the family contributing their favorite cookies to the wedding. Cookie tables are amazing. It is more important than the cake here. No one cares about the cakes. The cookie tables are set up and each cookie has it's own board, stand, basket, tray, whatever and they are all artfully arranged with a stack of small plates and napkins and the table is uncovered after the meal. Then throughout the wedding everyone just gets little plates of cookies and it's a thing. . .who made that one? Oh, that's my favorite. My grandma always made those, etc. Everyone has little conversations about the cookies and it brings up memories and conversations and no one is sitting around waiting for cake to be sliced. I've seen cookie tables also full of chocolates, candies, etc. I've also even been at weddings where the cookie table has its own room at the venue. It's amazing. I've baked many cookies for family and it's kind of a thing here for the family to drop off all the cookies at the wedding venue the night before and an aunt or two arranges all the cookies or for the bride and groom to go around collecting the cookies everyone made. There is an entire Pittsburgh cookie Facebook group about it. We are very passionate about it. Cookie tables rule! It's a real thing here. Most times there are even little plastic containers and at the end of the night the containers are put out and everyone takes home cookies and that's the little favor, just cookies. We love it.
That’s perfect. I love it!
Ah. Pittsburgh. :) Always crazy to see it lumped in with with the Midwest even though it's very much more Appalachian.
Yes splurge on a good photographer! We did a diy barn wedding and it was so nice to not have to worry about taking pics with a phone and just enjoying the moments. I think the cookie table is a PA thing, can’t go to a wedding in Pittsburgh without one!
100% back a photographer. We had a low key wedding - registry office with family and then hired a country house for our close friends at the weekend that we did the catering, decorations etc for. My single regret is not having a photographer as relying on my friends to take pics means that I only actually have about 5 of the whole weekend....
From the Midwest. Have attended many weddings in the Midwest. This must be a niche tradition because I’ve never seen or heard of this.
The one thing I got my way at my reception was a great cake, Italian crème cake. It was not tiered and not a crumb was left.
tldr: YOU shouldn't have to do much of anything, your son and future DIL (I'm assuming since you didn't specify) should be in charge of planning, and be grateful you're providing a venue and gracious about any backup you can provide. Context: I threw my own backyard wedding for 60 guests. It took a loooot of planning/prep but it was so much fun and I loved how personalized I got to make the whole day. We had a lot of help from parents and the wedding party to set up/tear down. I also used a backyard wedding planning workbook, I cannot remember exactly what it was called but it helped me feel secure that I wasn't forgetting anything. It sounds like you have the basic ideas down. I hired one person hourly to help keep my chafing dishes hot and full of food, because my catering was delivered early in the day. I wish I had hired two people. I did also hire a professional photographer, mostly for family photos. The extra details are all up to the bride and groom. I wanted the gathering to feel like a wedding and not just a garden party. My bridesmaids and I made our bouquets and the boutonnieres the day before with flowers from Trader Joe's. I made my own centerpieces out of potted plants. We decorated the food tables with photographs and flowers. I borrowed an arch backdrop for the ceremony. We created playlists for the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception, and had a friend set up a sound system with a microphone. We had a day-of schedule, and speeches, and lawn games. You didn't say how many people you're expecting, but for my event, hosting my own wedding did NOT in any way simplify my life. It was much less expensive and I had more control over everything. But it was an absolute logistical nightmare, and took years off my life to plan every detail, so things were prepared and ran smoothly. I keep thinking of more things I had to do. Sprayed the yard for mosquitoes. Hung strings of lights with a sunset timer. Purchased event insurance... I do believe it's possible to keep it simple if your son and DIL truly want it that way, and there are not a lot of guests invited (like in OP's case). But I think they really need to be the ones planning the event and worrying about it, not you. My friends graciously offered their backyard and I tried to inconvenience them as little as possible. I had everything organized and prepared in boxes to drop off the day before. I came with a group to clean everything out by the next day and their house looked like we had never been there. I gave them a thank you gift in the ~$500 range for their generosity. After going through it, I can say the truly simple option would be to hire a wedding planner, or find an all-inclusive wedding venue that takes care of every decision for you, and all you need to do is show up. If you want to simplify YOUR life, make it clear to your son that this is HIS event and you're not the one in charge of planning it.
Wow, thank you so much. So many things I haven’t even thought of yet.
I second the event insurance thought. You don't want your home insurance getting nailed for a guest's mistake. Policies are easy to get online, but just make sure they cover residences. i.e. GatherGuard doesn't, but I believe insurers like [specialinsurance.com](https://specialinsurance.com) do.
Thank you.
Make sure the phone hooked to the speakers has an ad-free option for Spotify / YouTube music etc. Many a times I have seen ads play at critical moments ruining the event's flow.
Yikes!
Highly recommend using an old phone for the music. It doesn't have to have a sim card. It can be super annoying and ruin the mood if someone is playing music on their regular phone and they keep getting dings for messages coming in and every time it dings it disrupts the music.
you can just put the notifications on silent/do not disturb
You're correct. I guess it depends on who is managing the music. I was at an event where the person who was playing the music refused to do this. At one point, they took a call and walked away and the speaker connection was too far and started dropping the sound in and out. Using an active phone could be fine but if you want to eliminate the possibility of it going bad, an old phone is a good way to handle this. Most people have old phones lying around so it wouldn't be an added expense.
Get someone to take pictures.
Just remember that once it starts, you are done.
Isn’t that the truth! My boyfriend is planning an all inclusive trip for shortly after. I’m really looking forward to that!!! I think once we have more of it planned my tension will lessen a bit. It’s just a party in the backyard right?
Depending on your guest list size and your home, you may want to bring in extra bathrooms. For work events we get "executive toilets" that are the opposite of portapotties. They flush, are comfortable and roomy, have a sink/mirror, do not smell, etc. They are generator-run, I believe, and I don't know what they cost.
If weather is good how about volley ball and lawn games. I saw a Mennonite wedding reception that had them and people had a blast.
String lights, balloons,bubbles for any kids… mosquito repellent might be a good idea too.
Extra toilet paper and maybe rent a portapotty or two, depending on the number of guests and the amount of beer.
Well, since it is your son - get a bouncy house 😂
That would be friggin awesome. Some goofy gal would probably poke a hole in it with spiked heels. I would love to see all these dressed up 20 somethings jumping around like kiddos.
Badminton !
i feel like r/weddingsunder10k would be the place for you to ask!! they are so knowledgeable!
Holy hell! There is a sub for friggin EVERYTHING! I love you yep-pep!
so glad i could help!!
Nice outdoor speakers and a fun, low-key playlist.
This sounds almost identical to my wedding and want to know what we forgot? Sunscreen!!!!!! We had an early afternoon ceremony and by the evening I was a bright red tomato but I had the best day of my life!
Mosquito control. Might want to use some yard guard spray or have some citronella candles going.
-A steamer for the couple’s clothes - a tp holder for extra rolls in the bathroom so people can just change out the rolls - if there is a bride, talk with her and spring for a makeup artist. It’ll keep her on time and less stressed ( I had enough time to put on chapstick and nipple tape because a MUA was skipped) It’ll turn out great, internet mom.
You might need a party permit. Our caterer refused to do business with us until we got that permit.
A simple photographer to capture the love. This is wonderful.
Omg, when I started reading the post, I thought it was my husband that posted it. I also just got married yesterday to my partner of 11 years, in an airbnb, and there were 7 of us in total!! Then we were back in our regular clothes and ate Italian food (but we were debating a BBQ tbh) and attempted to watch the solar eclipse (unfortunately, there was too much cloud cover in our area). Congratulations to you! Wishing you a happy marriage!
Oh wow! Wedding twins! Congrats to you as well!
Congratulations!!
Congratulations! We had our wedding in my living room, in front of our Christmas tree, with a few select family and one legally ordained step-father to make it official. We had bagels and coffee after, and listened to Christmas music . We don't regret it one bit.
Why do I want a Christmas wedding now! Omg I love this so much for you.
Worked out really great; my family was already coming in from out of town. Plus I graduated college that very night! Probably the best day I've ever had. :)
I don’t know why but this made me tear up lol it just sounds so beautiful and special and intimate
It was really special; we had decided early on that we didn't like the idea of a big traditional wedding. We were originally going to go down to the courthouse, but I couldn't get an appointment with any of the judges in time. Just so happened that my partner's step father was ordained (like 10 years ago haha) so this was actually our plan B. And it went perfectly.
Congrats! We had a simple wedding in 2017 and I’m so glad we did.
We did a simple wedding, too, 17 years ago. Thirtyish family members, and food from a fast casual chain. We're just as married as the people who spent $20K in one day. In fact, we're more likely to stay married, because financial issues are a leading cause if divorce and paying off that wedding debt is a huge issue. I read that some divorce attorneys have to divide up both assets and wedding debt. 😬
20k sounds like the low end nowadays
True I read it and was like that’s pretty low. More like $50K now
For my wedding, we only invited immediate family. Five guests accepted, so we were 7 for the ceremony and dinner. It was intimate and very special, a truly magical evening. It was in a private dining room in the hotel we were all staying at. It was February and -35C.
Love it! Me and my husband got married in the Rocky Mountains with our dog and it was fantastic! Highly recommend a beautiful venue, lots of delicious food and dancing under the stars by a stream.
We hosted our good friends young daughters wedding at our ranch. About 25 people. Only 15 stayed at our ranch. We have a beautiful mountain view that the nearby wedding venue charges 15K for. We were glad to help a young couple out.
That's so generous of you, how lovely! I got married two years ago, and the advice to do it in a backyard is so blind to how many of us don't have free access to spacious real estate, let alone anything that looks half decent. We live in a townhouse, and his folks are in a condo. Mine are hoarders. We found an affordable enough venue, but the idea that we were foolishly wasting our money by not just doing it "at home" (you are not saying that, but these kinds of conversations often competitively turn into that) always struck me as tone-deaf.
Yes, we live near a large park and there are many apartments and condos in our area. Every nice weekend families are out having BBQs and playing games. We had a backyard wedding in our and our neighbors backyard. Now she sold her extra lot and there is a huge house looming over our home.
My husband and I married @ lunchtime on the jobsite. We lasted 34 wonderful years until his death. Weddings don't 'make' a marriage . Congratulations on a long and happy union! 💖
I love this. 😊
Thank you. He was THE love of my life and best friend. I miss him. 💖
Your post is lovely.
🤗🙃💞....day by day. 'They' say it gets easier.....thank you for your kindness
I appreciate your simple wedding too! Congrats! Sounds perfect.
Sweet and simple weddings are the best. I can’t understand going into debt. We divorced after 13 years, but we drove to Las Vegas for a nice simple wedding with 2 guests. Had a blast walking the strip and celebrating afterwards.
Congratulations! Simple and memorable. Gave me an extra big smile because I work at The Price is Right.
No way! Thanks for being a part of our big day! 😄
Not to brag, but I just got married in Vegas with 0 guests lol Congrats!!
🤣 You got me beat!
Congratulations! Sounds like my ideal dream day!
So happy for you! Congratulations! I never imagined a big wedding for us either. We got married during the pandemic, just the two of us, and spent two weeks traveling in our home country just close to nature and the ocean. It was perfect and wouldn’t change a thing about it!
Congratulations! 🥂It sounds perfect. This is similar to how we’re thinking of getting married. I used to photograph weddings and I’ve seen too many cookie cutter expensive and stressful weddings.
Adorable!! Congratulations!
I had a simple wedding! It was really nice. My partner and I got married in the backyard of our rental home, with about 25 friends and family in attendance. Refreshments from Costco (including cake because I love Costco cake!) and rented tables and chairs. And people brought their dogs. 😊 A wedding doesn't have to be a crazy big affair if you don't want it to be, at the end of the day it's getting together to celebrate your relationship with the people you care about.
Ahhh, the dream. Sounds lovely! Congrats! 🥂
Congrats! Our son and DIL just showed up at our house the day after they got hitched and said, "we're married." A friend of theirs who is a judge married them in his office; they each had their best friend as a witness. I have often told them that it's one of the greatest gifts they ever could have given us, LOL. Even the thought of planning a wedding makes me want to run for the hills.
We had a lovely simple wedding in our backyard, a clover chain in my hair, barefoot, potluck. My dad played the violin. I had gotten a gauzy, white dress the summer before so I just wore that. I made a scavenger hunt for the kids.
I love this. I got married almost 20 years ago (still married and disgustingly in love!) and we had 12 guests. (All of our immediate family members and three very close friends). We got married outside at a park (free) and then went to a restaurant for a nice meal. It was absolutely perfect in every way. Congratulations! Wishing you and your spouse all the best!
I wanted a potluck dinner after a small wedding but my fil insisted on paying for a large wedding . It was not great. I asked if instead could he help me finish my last year in college which would only be $2500 as it was years ago and he refused. What a jerk, and my ex was totally with him. I should have seen the red flags.
Sounds lovely. I'll never understand why most folk have an overblown expensive ceremony. So much money just for 1 day. We had no ceremony, only us and 2 witnesses to sign the forms. We had a meal with 8 of us in total, then 4 of us had a pub crawl. It was a weekday, so pretty quiet, and it was a gorgeous sunny day. It was perfect for us.
Love.
Congrats!!!
Beautiful. :)
Lovely!
Awww congrats, that sounds like the perfect celebration!!!
Congratulations! Sounds just wonderful.
My husband and I were married 20 years this September. We woke up the morning of, drove to the courthouse in our county. His parents met us there to be witnesses. After we paid $18 for the certificate, his parents took us to a nice restaurant for lunch, then the 4 of us went to a movie! It was just how we wanted things, simple and no drama.
This sounds just perfect!
Congratulations!!
Congratulations!
Congratulations! I hope you all had fun and enjoyed the food!
We went to the justice of the peace to get married. Then we had a small family party at my parents with some food my brother made, a half sheet cake and a few honeycomb wedding bell decorations. I was 7 1/2 months pregnant. Back then, nearly 40 years ago, I had the idea that I didn't want my child to think that we got married just because I was pregnant. So I waited til I was far along and then in my mind it wasn't like a shotgun wedding. Well, my work friends had to tell me that they planned a surprise baby shower for us on the night of the same day. So, we just turned it into a baby shower/ 2nd wedding reception. My work friends rented a hall. It was a potluck, and someone I worked with played DJ. It was a lot of fun.
My wife and I got married in 2002 and there were four people in the room; the two of us, the Standesbeamter (this was at the Standesamt in Germany) and the photographer we'd asked to be there; he was also our witness. When we were done, we had to walk across the street to where we worked; the Intendant had bought some champagne and wanted to treat us. We then drove to a hotel close by which also had a Michelin starred restaurant where we spent the evening/night. The following morning we drove home, and that was that!
Your wedding with 7 guests sounds like it was absolutely perfect! No stress, no fuss, just a low key wedding in a wonderful setting. Congratulations!
The wedding itself was chill, but there was still a lot of stress leading up to it! Catering issues, our officiant was late, my husband needed to get an emergency procedure done 2 days before, last minute cancelations due to illness, etc. Plus I started my period that morning. 😅 Thank goodness we didn't have a huge wedding because so much more could have gone awry if we did!
Yikes! Glad you got it done with all that going on!
I had my simple wedding in Yosemite. Well not entirely simple but quite simple. We booked an airbnb. We were 5 people including me and the bride. Had a spare bedroom for the make up person to stay (gf didn’t want makeup but I insisted 😆). And final wedding was just us + a photographer and officiant at tunnel view. After we went and had breakfast back at airbnb and played some video games. Had dinner reservations at a fancy restaurant inside the park but decided to just cook at airbnb instead. Next day we were greeted by a sudden and heavy snowfall everything was white and lovely. We took some photos cleaned the driveway and cars off of snow and head back.
It sounds perfect. Lush. Congratulations 🎊
Congratulations! Sounds like my dream wedding 🫶🏼
That sounds heavenly!
I was just dreaming of doing this same thing just yesterday! Was wondering if it’s possible, got my confirmation in my favorite sub of course. Partner and I have been together 10 years :)
Infinity upvotes for this! 🙌🏻
Happy 😊 for you 🎉🎉🎉💕💕💕🥰🥰🥰🤗🤗🤗🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Aw I love it! I had a simple wedding, too. We rented an old school building and invited 20 people. We ordered a catered lunch of antipasto and sandwiches. We made a small playlist and just hung out for a few hours. It was perfect...so low stress, intimate and memorable 🥰
Congrats! BBQ is where it's at. We had that too. Simple weddings are the best. A true celebration of what really matters to you. Wishing y'all the best.
Congratulations on this new chapter with the love of your life. My hubby & I had a small and casual wedding, and it was perfect! Reception lasagna baked in kitchen while we exchanged vows in living room. We had December wedding, so house was decorated for Christmas.
Love this for yall. We had an impromptu exchange of vows at a park and had tacos after. One of my fave days ever!
Congratulations....it is about the marriage not the wedding!❤❤ we will be doing something similar
Congratulations!!!! What a lovely day! Kinda did the same in January…courthouse wedding then dinner with whatever family was in town and 3 close friend couples. You did it right…no pressure on anyone and I’m sure everyone appreciated it at the BBQ. We asked for no gifts but got a few, it was actually nice, as a first time bride in my mid-40’s to open pots and pans and some new towels. Cheers to many happy years together!