Weddingbee

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So that’s it. Nine months after our wedding, and I can still only come up with five ridiculously small, only moderately meaningful, things that I would have done differently.

I think the main lesson in all of this looking back is that it is most important to focus on the fact that you are getting married to the person that you have chosen to commit yourself to for the rest of your lives. Even if it isn’t exactly perfect, even if you have to step on toes, even if you accidentally put a hyphen in the wrong place on the delicately cut menus that match your bridesmaids’ sashes that are made from the same fabric as your Mother’s…at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that you are married.

Best of luck to all of you!!

–Mrs Corn

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*Previously in this series…

I’m so glad I did this:
renting a full length mirror
setting my DIY deadline for a week out from the wedding
making arrangements for my disabled father so he could participate
having an ’open-door policy’ at the site where I got ready
going a little overboard with the theme

I wish I could fix this:
being too proud to start a few minutes late
not testing all of the directions before sending them out
forgetting to pause before rushing down the aisle
handling the cake cutting logistics

succumbing to pressure and tossing my flowers
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Miriam, understanding that God has created, ordered and blessed the covenant of marriage, do you affirm your desire and intention to enter this covenant. I do.

Affirmation of the Family & Friends
Guy and Karen (Davis’ parents), do you give your blessing to Davis and Miriam, and promise to do everything in your power to uphold them in their marriage? I do.

Marty and Peg (my parents), do you give your blessing to Davis and Miriam, and promise to do everything in your power to uphold them in their marriage? I do. (my dad was still standing with us at this point, so my mom stood up at her seat and they both said, individually, ‘I do’.)

And do you, the witnesses to this union, give your blessing to Davis and Miriam, and promise to do everything in your power to uphold them in their marriage? We do. (at this point, my dad joined Davis’ and my hands together, gave me a quick peck on the cheek, sat down next to my mom and the ceremony continued)
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(click on the pictures to enlarge)

For those of you unfamiliar with Angie’s List, it is an incredible resource for finding realistic reviews of service professionals. While it is mostly for home-related services (contractors, cleaners, plumbers, etc) they have expanded to include the medical profession (doctors, dentists, etc) and now they are including wedding vendors as well (dance instructors, alterations places, wedding gown salons, etc).

There is a yearly fee to be a member, but that gives you access to the entire list so that you can look up vendors and see their reviews. The best part about this site is that it lets the vendor know that they have been reviewed and if it is a bad review, they are allowed to explain their side of the story. This keeps the reviews pretty ‘real’ and very reliable.

Mr Corn and I submitted reviews for our wedding gown shop, our dance instructor and our band and we received an email from the editor asking us if we could give them more information on our dance instructor and submit a picture. And now, we are part of Angie’s List Boston magazine history.

I know you are jealous.

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I know there are lots of good arguments for both sides of this issue but for me, it came down to tradition: every wedding I have ever been to had a flower toss.

NOT every wedding I have ever been to has had a garter search-and-toss, so I nixed that idea early-on in the planning.

However, regardless of my gut feeling about the thing, I was bound and determined to have our wedding day have as many wedding-y moments as I could cram into it, so I went ahead with it anyway.

Truth be told, it really broke up the whole feeling of the reception. It was awkward, poorly attended (as I really only know a few single gals so none of them wanted to be singled out), and I ended up throwing the bouquet over everyone’s head thus making it an actual waste of time and perfectly good flowers.

Again, I understand this is a personal thing, but for me, I would have much preferred if I had loosened up my requirements on ‘what-makes-a-wedding-a-wedding’ and gone with the flow. If you are even thinking of leaving it out, I suggest going with your gut.

What about you guys? Any flower tossers out there?

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*Previously in this series…

I’m so glad I did this:
renting a full length mirror
setting my DIY deadline for a week out from the wedding
making arrangements for my disabled father so he could participate
having an ’open-door policy’ at the site where I got ready
going a little overboard with the theme

I wish I could fix this:
being too proud to start a few minutes late
not testing all of the directions before sending them out
forgetting to pause before rushing down the aisle
handling the cake cutting logistics
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When our site coordinator at the Fort mentioned that we could hire Revolutionary War reenactors, Mr Corn and I both knew they would be perfect for our event. We didn’t care that they had nothing to do with being ‘New England Coastal’, we figured they would be fun. Then we found out we could have an authentic Revere Cannon lit as well! We went back and forth on the cannon for quite a while, but in the end we decided that hiring the reenactors was the start of going overboard, so we might as well go completely!

And, you know what?

IT WAS GREAT!! Our guests LOVED it!!

The soldiers and the cannon added elements to the day that truly made our wedding unique and fun. The best part was that even though we only officially hired four reenactors, about 12 showed up. My guess is that the Civil War reenactors and the Revolutionary War reenactors are actually the same people. Since there was a full Civil War reenactment taking place inside the fort the weekend we were married, we figured they were all excited about an opportunity to wear their other outfits and just showed up!

One of the reenactors handed out our programs and acted as an usher:

I was escorted from the fort to my dad by a team of four reenactors, while four others stood along the side with their swords raised in salute:

When we got to my dad, they ‘presented’ me to him…very official:

As Mr Corn and I turned to face our families, we were announced as husband and wife and then the cannon went off! It was LOUD but such great fun. Then the reenactors saluted us as we recessed:

A shot of the Revere Cannon:

A group shot before the reenactors headed home (and by ‘home’ I mean ‘back-into-the-fort-to-change-back-into-their-civil-war-outfits’):

Do any of you have anything ‘overboard’ planned for your wedding?

—–
*Previously in this series…

I’m so glad I did this:
renting a full length mirror
setting my DIY deadline for a week out from the wedding
making arrangements for my disabled father so he could participate
having an ’open-door policy’ at the site where I got ready

I wish I could fix this:
being too proud to start a few minutes late
not testing all of the directions before sending them out
forgetting to pause before rushing down the aisle
handling the cake cutting logistics
« Hide it

The issue was that there was a rigid insert in between the layers of the cake that we kept hitting when trying to actually cut the cake. In hindsight, I just wish I had realized this so that I would have known to try to cut around it rather than fiddle around and eventually just jam the knife into our pretty cake.

The second cake issue we had was that there wasn’t a fork and a plate on the table for us to use had we wanted to. And believe me, I am of the ‘don’t lick my fingers, you don’t know where they’ve been’ school of thinking, so I really would have liked to have had a fork and a plate.

Granted, the caterer should be on top of that, but (again) in hindsight, had I ever thought of it prior to the wedding, I would have made sure to request it and then it really wouldn’t have been an issue.

—–
*Previously in this series…

I’m so glad I did this:
renting a full length mirror
setting my DIY deadline for a week out from the wedding
making arrangements for my disabled father so he could participate
having an ’open-door policy’ at the site where I got ready

I wish I could fix this:
being too proud to start a few minutes late
not testing all of the directions before sending them out
forgetting to pause before rushing down the aisle
« Hide it

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Of the five lovely ladies pictured above, not one of them was in our wedding party. But they are all dear friends of mine and are one of the most fun groups of people I know. They all came over to the condo where I was getting ready for the wedding and brought lunch and laughter along with them. The condo was teeming with people and overflowing with joy and it became one of the moments that made my wedding day so incredibly special.

This, of course, isn’t a great idea for everyone. If you are a ball of nerves on your wedding day, it might not be the best idea to surround yourself with more chaos. But if you are calm and cool on your wedding day, then I truly suggest tossing aside the old-fashioned tradition of the bride getting ready in seclusion and surround yourself with as many friends and as much love as you can possibly imagine.

—–
*Previously in this series…

I’m so glad I did this:
renting a full length mirror
setting my DIY deadline for a week out from the wedding
making arrangements for my disabled father so he could participate

I wish I could fix this:
being too proud to start a few minutes late
not testing all of the directions before sending them out
forgetting to pause before rushing down the aisle
« Hide it