I was never the girl that thought about her wedding as a child. I didn't plan out every detail at the age of 12. I always knew I would get married some day, but it wasn't something I was worried about planning until it happened. (Which is kind of funny to think about now since I'm such a planner.) Still, when we decided to get married and agreed to have the ceremony of my dreams on our anniversary, I already knew a good number of the "big" things.
I knew I wanted a barefoot beach wedding at sunset. I knew I wanted daisies for the flower. I knew the kind of music I wanted played. I even knew who I wanted for my bridesmaids, flower girls, and ring bearer. As for everything else, I was starting from scratch.
I didn't start planning anything until we actually got married (sounds kind of backwards, I know). After we said our "I do"s (or "Oh yeah"s in the case of my husband) under the waterfall, we went out to dinner. We made the bad decision of trying a new place called "Shiners." (The name should have been our first clue, but it came highly recommended.) It was absolutely wretched. We skipped dessert and went to the grocery store to buy our own version of a "wedding cake." While at the store, I picked up my first bridal magazine, "The Knot," and all the planning began then. Now, four magazines, countless websites, and two bridal shows later, I think I have an idea of what I want. (The problem now is making all of my visions come true, especially with such a restricted budget!)
Since this will technically be a vow renewal, we want the wedding to be rather laid back. Andrew doesn't even plan on wearing a tux or tie. He wants a light colored linen suit. I want a rather light dress without a train. I don't want a veil. I want my hair mostly down while still being out of my face. And, as I said before, I want everyone, guests included, barefoot.
My ideal location right now is Key West (though I'm willing to have it anywhere on the western side of Florida that is close to an airport). That means Fort Zachary Taylor (http://www.fortzacharytaylor.com/wedding.html), which takes up the majority of the western side of the island, is the best place to have the ceremony so the sun sets over the water. I also want the bamboo "alter" (if that's what it is called). I may decorate it with some white lights and maybe some fabric. I also want to incorporate the sand ceremony into the wedding.
Even though we don't really need an officiant, our roommate (who got ordained to marry us the first time) will be officiating. He did an awesome job the first time around, especially considering we were only "engaged" for a total of 13 days and it was his first time officiating. I'm excited to hear his ideas on what he wants to add the second time around.
We would love a brass quintet to play for the wedding. Our first pick is the quintet made up of our old professors from college (http://www.smbq.com/). The only problem is, since four of the five of them are teachers, unless our wedding falls during spring break, the likelihood that they will be able to do it is quite slim. If they can't, we may have to settle on a local quintet, but I worry no one will compare to the other.
In looking at wedding magazines and seeing what I like, I really want my bridesmaids all in the same dress, but if it comes down to it, I am flexible with changing it. I want their dresses to be short and chocolate brown. I want the flower girls (we will have two) in red. The ring bearer, who is the sister of our two flower girls, I have not yet decided. She may wear the same dress as the flower girls with a different colored sash or something, but we'll see.
I want the reception location nearby. I am already worrying enough about how my guests will get to the ceremony venue from the airport if they fly, I don't need to worry about how they will get to the reception. My one worry is that everyone will have to rent rent-a-cars and be very unhappy with me. I have thought of having a shuttle run from the airport to the park, but I have not even begun to think about how much this may cost. I know our families will end up driving, especially mine. But I hope the travel aspect will not be the one thing to keep our friends from making the trek.
I am 100% okay with an iPod for a DJ, but if I find a DJ that I love and comes reasonably priced, I am open to the idea. I just don't want a band.
If the reception site is willing to do a cash bar, that'd be perfect. This seems to be one of the hardest things to find. Most places only do open bars. I am not comfortable with this for many reasons. My idea is to have a cash bar and then give everyone a couple of free drinks on us. Then, if the guests decide they want more, they can buy them own their own. I know a lot of people don't like cash bars, but this is the idea I like the best.
I haven't decided on what to do for food yet. I would love plated dinners. I find them more enjoyable than buffet style. But cost-wise, we just don't have the money to pay $80-$200 a plate, even if we cut the guest list down to 40 people. I have toyed with the idea of just a "cocktail reception" and a dessert bar, but if I can find an affordable dinner, that would definitely be better.
I do want a relatively short reception though. I'm not much of a "partier." A two and a half to three hour reception seems long enough to me. Oh, and I love the idea of a photobooth at the wedding. Whether we make our own version or we rent one, has yet to be decided. We'll check the budget later, but this seems like a must-have at this point.
As for the cake... neither of us are big cake people. We both prefer pie. We have seen many photos of "wedding pies," but I am unsure if that is something I really want. I like the idea of a small cake (or pie) for Andrew and I and then cupcakes for the guests. I love the idea of a dessert bar for sure, even if it just means I make a few different desserts and place them near the cupcakes. The only must-have dessert so far is chocolate-covered strawberries (my favorite!). I also LOVE the idea of a candy buffet. I'm currently trying to work out an estimate for this based on the candies I like. It seems do-able so far.
As for the day of the wedding before sunset, we are still planning on going with tradition and not seeing each other (even though we didn't do that when we got married). I plan on spending the day with my ladies. We may even take the time with the sun to do all of the "all-girl" and "all-boy" photos (at different times of course). That way, after the wedding, we can just do the photos with everyone and the couple shots with the sunset as a backdrop without worrying about losing all the light. We may change this depending on the photographer's opinions. We may want to do the photos with everyone before the wedding too. Who knows!
But anywho... I think that covers most of it. I'm sure many more ideas will be added to this list, and I'm sure many of these ideas will be modified later on. Until then, this is what I want.
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