Weddingbee Blog

OK, so my title is definitely tongue in cheek. I realize that what I am going to talk about today is frivolous, but the heck with it, I’m telling you about it anyway.

My mother and I were on the same page for a specific detail of the wedding: the chairs. More specifically, we weren’t big on the naked banquet chairs. Some people don’t notice chairs, but we both have noticed them at every wedding we’ve ever been to. I thought the pictures came out cuter with a covered chair. My mother, however, was somehow convinced that the heavens would open up and a deity with a trident would scourge the bride who allowed her guests to sit on a naked chair.

So, we agreed on something. It was important to both of us to have chairs with slip covers provided to us at the low, low price of $6.00 per chair (insert sarcasm).

Then, I found wedding blogs and started seeing different chairs.

Chairs I had heard tales about but had only seen in movies. Chairs I never thought real people used in their weddings. Beautiful chairs as mythical as unicorns and yetis. Yes, my friends, I am talking about the esteemed Chiavari chair.

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I had to find this chair. It had to be at my wedding. I did countless internet searches to find these chairs in my area, but no dice. I’d have to rent them from Pittsburgh, and that meant a nice hefty delivery fee.

So, I gave up my dream for chiavari chairs. I truly tried to talk myself out of them. I would see them on a blog and think to myself, “The pictures may be nice, but I bet the guests’ butts were numb.” But in reality, I was trying to use bitterness and spite to mask my real emotions: yearning and want.

Then, a fortuitous moment occurred. While sauntering around my venue’s bridal show, I saw them. The rare Chiavari chair. I stealthily slunk toward the booth, so as not to disturb them in their natural environment—a hotel ballroom. Surely, they were placed there by accident. A kindly vendor seeking respite in the hotel while on their way to California allowed an elderly person to sit on one for a bit or something. But no. These chairs had a home at a new company based out of Morgantown, WV.

This was a sign to big to ignore. Clearly, the god of chairs—let’s call her “Chaira”—had given this to me as a sign of benevolence and a reward for my perseverance. Now, for the moment of truth. The price of these chairs. I held my breath as I waited for the answer. And the answer was? $7. A mere dollar more than the slipcovers we were getting anyway. OK, this was doable.

Then more details came to play. With delivery and setup, the chairs would be $8 a piece. *cue Debbie Downer theme*

But my mind was made up. A difference of $300 wouldn’t stop me. I know some of you think the purchase is frivolous, but really, what purchase for a wedding isn’t? Our venue is modest, my dress is modest, heck, if it weren’t for the sheer size of our wedding, we’d be considered to be having a very practically priced wedding. I also know some people would prefer to spend money on the guests experience, but we’re not scrimping on entertainment and I really doubt paying extra to have a champagne fountain would do THAT much to get party started. It may, in fact, lead to small children getting drunk, which no one wants.

So we’ve splurged. On chairs. Even as I type this, I feel silly. But I love these chairs, and we can have them. So gosh darn it, we’re getting them.

Anyone else have a frivolous wedding day splurge?