Ah gahd wedding it is happening WHAT DO I DO

[hazliya]

I wasn't a little girl who planned her wedding. My barbie didn't get married - she got tattooed and had horrible haircuts (while her head was still attached). So, my idea was that if it ever came down to it, I'd put on a cute, white-ish dress and go down to the courthouse on a tuesday afternoon.

I didn't count on marrying someone who loves to plan big events.

I've been shopping around, and I've discovered a few things:
- I love big white tents. LOVE them. I want to string up tons and tons of colorful paper lanterns so that when people walk in, they look up and their world changes.
- jingsaw said that for him, his wedding was a joining of communities, and I like that idea much better than "a stuffy, white-themed exchanging of rings and polite conversation."
- I want dancing. Seriously. Everyone coming to my wedding will dance. I will put joy buzzers on all of the seats if necessary.
- Casual is the keyword. The only people I want to even think about stress are the people setting up my tents and dance floors.

There are some other things, but I've pretty much fallen in love with the idea of a 50s picnic lunch wedding. Barbeque. Potluck. Beer. Dancing. Kind of like how this wedding went.

Down to the ridiculously 50s silhouette dress. I'm in love with that style of dress. And fuck it, I'll wear red shoes to my wedding. Hookers and children be damned.

I want to make all the decorations myself. I'd absolutely love that. I'm a creative person, and my mind is buzzing with ideas - tons of red and white paper lanterns of all different sizes strung out in the sun, tables and bouquet covered in red paper flowers. (I also want to have a zero footprint wedding - all of the paper can either be recycled or burned. I want to avoid plastic and glass if at all possible).

I'd really like it to be just a Sunday when people can get together, grill food, dance like idiots, and at some point in the afternoon, elenuial and I will get married.

I just don't know how to make this happen, if it can. How does that kind of party sound to y'all?

EDIT: I also want to have a carnival photo booth.

Comments

[contradictacat.livejournal.com]

Oh, that is an ADORABLE dress. And the idea sounds fantastic! I support this wholeheartedly. I love the idea of a 50s themed picnic wedding!

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Hooray dancing!
I am definitely a fan of this idea.

[mariaklob.livejournal.com]

That sounds delightful.

One of the least scary wedding-dance scenarios I ever encountered was one in which people just started a really simple circle-or-line-or-oddly-shifting-shape dance. So everybody grabbed someone next to them and joined the line, and periodically broke the line only to repair it with an unsuspecting bystander, and so on. The low-pressure uncomplicated group dances can do a lot to break the ice.

[relique.livejournal.com]

Here's the story of my sister's wedding:

She and Seth had been planning a family picnic at a town park, with reservable grills, and covered tables, and a grassy area that looked out over the ocean. Then he proposed..... so they turned it into a surprise wedding. They each told their immediate families, and we all pitched in to make it a little more special than they'd been planning... my mother organized tablecloths, his brother's wife made like 12 batches of normal sized chocolate chip cookies, I made a centerpiece "cake" out of pie sized chocolate chip cookies, someone brought a volleyball net, my dad organized the grilling, etc etc....

Family picnic...... followed by "hey everyone! let's go over to that pretty grassy area, and Cara and Seth will get married!" (and both of them changed into something sliiiightly nicer), a justice of the peace that was a friend of someone married them, and then we went back to family picnic. After that, they had a smaller number of people over to their house, they hired a guy with a guitar to play in the backyard, told me that I was NOT under any circumstance to eat any jello in dixie cups (I was in middle school), and everyone hung out in a slightly more chill environment.

Were I to plan that sort of thing... I would definitely avoid the barracks like picnic area, and set up shop in the field next door.

[offside7.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a lot of fun. Also, that dress rocks.

[jalawingedone.livejournal.com]

Oh, goodness, don't do all the decorations yourself! Make one of each yourself while showing how to do it to helpers, perhaps at a work party, and let others help you out.

Make sure you know the non-negotiables from each of your families well in advance. There will still be some surprises, but the sooner you know the better.

Oh, I bet it will be a blast!

[treyvana.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a party :)
I feel very much the same- Rob and I have decided that when we get engaged/married, there will be rock band, wii, dance dance revolution, and regular dancing. No big poofy dress, no long processions.

Also, food will be chinese and pizza.

It's your day, do it like YOU want. Picnic and dancing sounds AWESOME. That dress is fricken amazing. I like it!

[laurion]

Sounds awesome. And ping me on IM to discuss how to make things happen. Anyone who was there will tell you that I had a great wedding.

[nightskyre.livejournal.com]

I love big white tents. LOVE them. I want to string up tons and tons of colorful paper lanterns so that when people walk in, they look up and their world changes.

So anitra consults for a guy who owns a tent rental business...

[evisceratediam.livejournal.com]

Sounds good! a couple of things to consider though:

1) If you're planning to have many guests from out of town who work regular M-F, 9-5 kind of jobs, Sundays are more difficult than Saturdays, especially if it's a Sunday afternoon because that pretty much means taking Monday out of work which may not be feasible for some.

2) You have a lot to do just in planning the wedding itself, which is very time/energy/patience consuming, and taking it upon yourself to also make all of the decorations is adding to that. You might be able to purchase what you want for a reasonable price and save yourself some time that you might need to get other things done, or you could design what you want and enlist some help in actually making the decorations.

[v-cat.livejournal.com]

I am assuming you are aware of the whole Offbeat Wedding scene....
if not, http://offbeatbride.com/

[hazliya.livejournal.com]

Ohhh yeah. =) That's the only wedding site I use. I was turned on to it last year by another OBB, and am loving their DIY and advice.