What made your day? - The PASH Wedding Forums and Message Boards

Julz518 · #1 09-20-2006, 08:59 PM

I thought I had decided between a large at-home wedding and a small destination wedding w/ at-home reception... but I'm waffling again.

So to help me out, I wanted to pose this question to all you married folk (particularly if you've been married more than once and can compare two different types of wedding):

What do you remember the most about your wedding day? Not the anecdotal things that happened, but the more untangible things that made the day YOUR day. What had the most impact on making your day special (besides marrying your one & only

)? Was it being surrounded by those you love, the beautiful setting, the "pampering", or the "party"?? Or did none of that REALLY matter?

I know a lot of this will depend on your personality, so if you feel like sharing a little background of what you had always "expected" before your wedding, that would help too!

Thanks!

justnmary · #2 09-20-2006, 09:03 PM

I'll think on it and post later/tomorrow...I've been married 2x's now, a small informal and now the large formal ceremony. I need to compare.

Marge129 · #3 09-20-2006, 09:42 PM

With Brad: I remember being with all our family and friends. But, that was always my dream wedding.

With Jerry: I remember simply marrying the RIGHT man that I'll spend the rest of my life with.

Oh, and Natalie pooping during the ceremony.

feb-bride · #4 09-20-2006, 09:59 PM

My best part was being surrounded by friends and family. I also loved the dancing. I always envisioned being surrounded by family and friends, so it was great. For me, I could not imagine getting married without all of them being there, so a destination wedding would NOT have been for me.

labeadel · #5 09-20-2006, 10:37 PM

Ours was kinda like a destination wedding b/c all of our family lives in Iowa while we're here in Los Angeles. So, I guess you could compare it to a destination wedding, although a lot of our local friends and coworkers wouldn't have been there if we'd had a destination wedding.

The think I loved most, other than the obvious, was having our friends and family that could make it there in the same place for US. And I did like that our wedding wasn't BIG. We ended up with only 50 people which was PERFECT. If we had had our wedding back in Iowa, it would've been well over 200 people and I'm so glad that we didn't.

I don't know if any of that helps.

Heather · #6 09-20-2006, 10:42 PM

For me it was walking into the room as I was about to walk down the aisle, and seeing all of my family and friends there. It was amazing. Everyone was smiling and happy, and it made me feel incredibly loved. I couldn't imagine getting married without everyone there. (Everyone = 180 people)

justnmary · #7 09-20-2006, 11:11 PM

Heather! You took my reply! Darn it! Well, then what Heather said and seeing my husband standing at the head of the aisle waiting for me. He was sooooo incredibly handsome I'll never forget it as long as I live. I would have to add the father/daughter dance Justin did with both my girls, I actually started crying.

breezy · #8 09-20-2006, 11:15 PM

I never wanted a big wedding... but of course had those dreams as a child.
Who wouldn't want to be Cinderella

Mine was being surrounded by the friends and family that really meant the most to us. I remember being grateful I didn't have to go around and be nicey-nicey to family that I don't really know or care about. I WANTED to see and spend time with EVERYONE at our wedding. I felt honored that they each took time to share our day!

ljeagle · #9 09-20-2006, 11:19 PM

I think mine was looking around and seeing every one that cared about me being there. Also it helped me looking around and knowing I made all this come together.

breezy · #10 09-20-2006, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljeagle

Also it helped me looking around and knowing I made all this come together.

OMG!!! Isn't that the truth. I remember being flooded with the emotions of having my vision come together and seeing it all... I still am really proud of myself!!!

deputysgurl · #11 09-20-2006, 11:59 PM

For me it would have to be getting ready to walk down the aisle and seeing all of my family and friends that had come together to celebrate one of the biggest moments in my life. It made me feel loved, more loved than I had ever felt in my life.

Oh and when my step dad gave me away, that was an awesome feeling, knowing that I had my family backing my Marriage to Matt.

maroki13 · #12 09-21-2006, 03:25 AM

Before I got married, I always thought the decorations and ambiance and entire feel of the wedding would be very important.

On the big day, I did love the simple but elegant feeling of everything and how it all connected.....but most of all I loved being surrounded by all of my family and friends and finally getting to wear my gorgeous dress and participate in this wonderful day I'd been planning for so long. ALL of my family came from OOT (closest family is halfway across the country) so it was extremely special to me that they made the trip to see me get married. And now, those are some of my favorite memories of the day.....dancing with the flower girls, joking with my cousins, taking pictures and catching up with all of my aunts. Of course, I loved our cake and our food...but memories like my aunt making faces at me when we were giving our speeches at the rehearsal dinner reminds me of how blessed I am/was to be surrounded by those closest to me on my wedding day.

ladedah · #13 09-21-2006, 07:28 PM

Well, I think we are seeing a definite theme here....

And for me....we were sitting at the head table and I just looked out across the room and thought, "wow, everyone in this entire room has had an impact on our lives and there all here with us today."...it makes me tear up just thinking about it.

raviepoo · #14 09-22-2006, 04:05 AM

For me, in the end, none of the rituals, or planning, or preparations mattered at all. The dress didn't matter. The guest list didn't matter. The location didn't matter.

The only thing that mattered was the look on my husband's face as I walked towards him during our ceremony. That is burned into my mind. Nothing else matters.

Robyn Lynn · #15 09-22-2006, 05:01 PM

One thing about mine that really stands out in my mind(besides the ceremony, which was short and sweet) is everyone in the bride's room helping me get ready. My aunt and cousin helping with the veil and dress. My aunt's mom sitting in there and then giving me a bracelet. My friends Lindsey and Kim poppping in to sit down after doing their duties(helping set up food and preliminary videotaping). My friend and photographer, Amy, taking pictures and keeping me calm.

sparklesweetie · #16 09-22-2006, 05:30 PM

Let me think....a biggie for me was definitely the look on my husband's face when he finally got to see me. It was so great, and I wish I had a picture of it.

The other part that stood out for me was just knowing I was marrying this man.

I'd do that many times over again.

Wait, I'm trailing off your question. My location is seared into my mind, it was absolutely gorgeous. It was my second choice to the beach, lol.

And I had a thought just yesterday...I realized that while my wedding was not everything I hoped for (you can only do so much yourself) it was what I expected.

Julz518 · #17 09-22-2006, 05:51 PM

Thanks everyone for your input! I think you've reaffirmed what I thought I had already decided :-)

My mom is also paying for the majority of this shin-dig, and while i know she would go with whatever I want, I think she is really excited about having all of her family in and showing us and our hometown off to everyone. I'm excited about seeing them as well, but I recognize I won't get to do much socializing with all 150+ of them. I think I was mainly considering a small "destination" wedding to save money, so that she could take a retirement cruise in Alaska, but I think she would think the big at-home wedding is more worth her while. I'm sure we can find other ways to cut costs. FH and I have talked about sending mom on this cruise for years, so I don't think he'd be as opposed to chipping in for that as he is for the wedding

She won't retire until 2 years after the wedding anyway, so ther's time to save up.

I've also started picturing where the ceremony will take place and my FH seeing me for the first time. I always thought that stuff wasn't too important, but now I can't imagine not having that moment! I don't think we would get that as easily with a destination wedding.

And being surrounded by my family and friends - well, I've never experienced that! We spend a lot of time surrounded by my FH's family and friends, so that doesn't sem taht special. But when I think about it, we rarely even see any of my family or friends. It's to the point that we only see everyone at weddings and funerals... and I'm the last to get married

So, I guess now I'm ready to get back to my planning...

Marge129 · #18 09-22-2006, 06:51 PM

YAY!!!!

Heather · #19 09-22-2006, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julz518

So, I guess now I'm ready to get back to my planning...

I'm sorry if I've missed this somewhere, but is FH up for the whole shindig now?

clairon13 · #20 09-23-2006, 08:02 AM

my reply is late, but i am simply affirming the theme... we also had a small wedding w/ about 65 people there, and i was just so excited by the intimacy of it all.... if there'd been a home large enough to accomodate them inside (winter wedding), then that might have been an option for us..... for us, it was mostly friends, though, b/cs neither of us have a lot of family in general, and are not exactly on the ups w/ the rest! so to have support from the people who know us best was awesome...even one of our great friends married us. i was in love w/ my dress, w/ teh venue, but those things are lesser memories now that i'm past it.... but thank heaven for photographs!!

Julz518 · #21 09-25-2006, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heather

I'm sorry if I've missed this somewhere, but is FH up for the whole shindig now?

FH's opinion is "do what you want"... we talkd about our options and he's apparently conflicted inside because he thinks it's ridiculous to spend so much money on a wedding, but yet he wants to celebrate and have all his family there. He just doesn't make any sense - he's fine with spending money on "meaningless" parties at our home, but for some reason doesn't think a wedding is a good reason for a party. so, he still isn't willing to chip in any money for the affair, but he's willing to go along for the ride.

I think mostly he just wants to be a pain in my a$$. He secretly "is" into it, but his "machismo" prevents him from being able to admit it, so he just gives me crap. But every time I bring home a book on wedding traditions, or a magazine, or a catalog, as long as I don't ASK for his opinion, he'll pick it up and flip through it on his own. Occassionally he even makes comments on what he likes and doesn't.

Marge129 · #22 09-25-2006, 02:46 PM

Mom and I are sitting here giggling. That sounds like Rick!

Emily · #23 10-05-2006, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilford

My wife and I just decided to have a simple yet elegant wedding ceremony last Saturday.It was fantastic..

I even shed a tear as I was marching towards the altar..I can't belive that, that day would come into my life..I really didn't expect that thing to happen in my entire life..

___________________________________

You say 'my wife and I', then you say you 'even shed a tear as you were marching towards the alter'!?!?! Are you the man or the wife????