Vacation From the Wedding - Part 1

Vacation From the Wedding - Part 1

April 22nd, 2009 @ 11:03 am by Mrs. Joey
Share

Our good friends Dani and Jer got married over the weekend in at the beautiful Darlington House in La Jolla, San Diego. It was the best wedding I’ve been to. I had a great time, and Mr. Joey even danced!!

The funny thing about attending someone’s wedding while you’re planning your own, is that your mind races with every new and interesting detail you see. First, the ceremony. They were married by a friend and had a non-religious ceremony. They also broke the ceremony up into sections:

Welcome and Meaning of Marriage
Reading 1
Vows and Exchange of Rings
Reading 2
Sand Ceremony
Reading 3
Closing Words and Introduction of New Couple

I really like the flow of the wedding. It looked like it would be long, but it wasn’t, or it didn’t feel that way. They did something interesting called the Sand Ceremony. Each person had a container of sand representing their individual lives, and together they poured them into a new container symbolizing the grains of their lives coming together. I thought it was a great personal touch.

Vacation From the Wedding - Part 1 : wedding ceremony Danian

image: Leslie Spero

The readings were also great. The first was from the movie, When Harry Met Sally, and the second was the poem Hug-O-War by Shel Silverstein, and the third was an excerpt from the The Velveteen Rabbit.

I SO want to do something similar but it isn’t really permitted in the ceremony. Oh, well…

The silver lining in all this is that watching Dani and Jer share their vows made Mr. Joey think about what it’s going to be like for us. Mr. Joey was hesitant about having a Catholic blessing, but agreed to it. After our last meeting with the officiant, he officially checked out of the ceremony planning. All the rules and regulations and limited flexibility in the ceremony was too much for him. I set about collecting readings and gospels for him to look at but he ultimately said whatever I wanted was fine. I wasn’t happy with the answer, but I was OK with it. Then, something happened to Mr. Joey during the ceremony this weekend, and suddenly he has all sorts of ideas.

For Example:

Doing the first and second readings in Sinhalese (Sri-Lankan Language) and Tagalog (the Filipino language my family speaks) with English translations in the program. He said he thought it would be something nice for my parents, particularly my Dad. Seriously? I almost started to cry. Mr. Joey isn’t really the sentimental type, so this was a big gesture.

Adding a third reading of something we both love. I really love Mrs. Kitten’s idea about using, Oh, the Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss. It could work. The readings we’re thinking about from the bible are super short. Maybe if we did an excerpt, we could fit something else in.

The bride’s processional. He said that if I didn’t mind, he wanted to come up with something special that would be a surprise. Again, seriously? Are you sure you’re Mr. Joey?

Did you FI suddenly get interested in an aspect of the planning that he previously ignored? What made him do so?

Tags: ceremony |

Share |

Latest Gallery Pics

Hot Pink and White with Zebra 36" Lighted Spandex Ostrich Feather Centerpiece

13 Responses to “Vacation From the Wedding - Part 1”

Bee

Miss Bear Cub (message) 1,566 posts, Bumble bee

Honestly - after I got my Mr. to read the offbeat bride book, he started coming to me with ideas for the ceremony!!

4/22/09 @ 11:08 am (reply)

Hostess

chelseamorning (message) 2,252 posts, Buzzing bee

Maybe you can incorporate these fun things into your reception? Like you could make decorations that feature texts from Dr. Seuss, or poems you like, or movies that are special to you.

I had a Catholic ceremony too and personally I was moved by the way all the readings and music were so rooted in history and have stood the test of time. When Harry Met Sally is a great movie, but it doesn’t have quite the….presence or historical stature of some albeit more traditional choices. But that is all up to the taste of the bride I guess!

4/22/09 @ 11:21 am (reply)

Bee

Miss Duckling (message) 1,415 posts, Bumble bee

Mr. Ducky has been really interested in website design, graphic design and is looking forward to our tasting. He’s been really helpful with helping me assemble STD’s even if he thinks all the steps are crazy.

4/22/09 @ 11:55 am (reply)

Member

msashleymarie (message) 616 posts, Busy bee

How cute! I’m glad you loved SD! And the weather was great too!

I’m glad my FI has gotten more excited about things. We just booked our venue which he was very excited about and he is overly excited for the tastings! We decided to do a webpage and he’s ecstatic that I actually NEED him to help me set it up, it’s not just me asking him what he thinks about something!

4/22/09 @ 12:09 pm (reply)

Guest

Andie

I don’t understand how you can have those types of readings if you are having a Catholic ceremony? Our church gave us a list of readings and gospel chapters that we could choose and there was no negotiating.
Also, Catholic churches don’t let you do unity candles or sand ceremonies. They say it takes away from the meaning of the other parts of the mass where you are united with god in marriage.

4/22/09 @ 12:11 pm (reply)

Bee

miss mouse (message) 5,844 posts, Bee Keeper

My FI will spontaneously bring up wedding-related stuff now when we’re out and about! I think it’s just b/c I have been talking about it so long, I have brainwashed him!

4/22/09 @ 12:11 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Joey (message) 1,031 posts, Bumble bee

@Andie: Jer and Dani didn’t have a Catholic ceremony. Our priest said we could do an additional reading if we liked. We’re also allowed to do the unity candle because it’s traditional in Filipino Catholic weddings.

4/22/09 @ 12:14 pm (reply)

Member

mary-alice-me (message) 1,864 posts, Buzzing bee

How neat to spread the readings out. I need to look into that. It’s so exciting to see Mr Joey get excited about the ceremony! My FI has shown a strange interest in favors. He really wants to give everyone something.

4/22/09 @ 12:31 pm (reply)

Bee

Miss Quiche (message) 3,157 posts, Sugar bee

I love the idea of adding in an additional reading of your choice! A way to add a personal touch to a traditional ceremony. I say go for it!

4/22/09 @ 1:17 pm (reply)

10.

Member

pinaybride (message) 77 posts, Worker bee

The FI had also suggested to have two readings, one in English, and one in Tagalog.

I think that was very sweet of mr. Joey.

We’re lucky, lucky girls.

4/22/09 @ 1:57 pm (reply)

11.

Bee

Miss Argyle (message) 2,516 posts, Sugar bee

I’m hoping the FI jumps the bandwagon soon. We still have plenty of time though!

4/22/09 @ 3:02 pm (reply)

12.

Guest

anon

@Andie: It really varies by church. We’re having a Catholic wedding and our church let’s us have one secular reading, and we are permitted to have a unity candle if we want. It is traditional in some cultures.

4/22/09 @ 5:24 pm (reply)

13.

Member

Miss Popcorn (message) 101 posts, Blushing bee

We’re getting married in the Catholic church and they gave us a little book called “Together for Life” which basically just lays everything out for you…readings, prayers, gospel, vows. It’s like a choose your own adventure where you pick which one of the x-number of prayers you’d like. However, it says you can write your own prayer for the couple and each read something if you wanted….we are writing our own notes to each other to read. Will your priest let you do that? Good luck making it your own! It totally should be!