sorry, in advance, for the length of the following post... :-/Pete and i got married at the Excalibur Hotel in Vegas. (got a pic in the photo album here...) the chapel was lovely.
a lot of things were included in the package, so that was less stress for us. some of the things included were:
*bouquet for me and my maiden of honour. they were gorgeous! (we also ordered single roses to match for moms/mums)
*boutineers for hubbie, best man (also ordered extras for dads)
*a ton of photos, which they put on a CD for us.
*free night or two at the hotel
*video of wedding ceremony
the bridal shop that we got tuxes at also included a limo ride to and from the shop from the hotel, and a ride to get our marriage license. they also picked up the tuxes the next day from the hotel for us.
so, anyway, a Vegas wedding saves a lot of money AND headaches, i think.
we stayed for a week, and it was cool, because we also had our honeymoon there, so we killed two birds with one stone. about 20-some people came out there to party with us, so it was a nice way to get to hang out with them before i had to leave.
when we left Vegas, we went back to Wisconsin so i could pack up my stuff. we had a small reception party (where i wore my wedding dress again
) in Madison for all of my close friends/co-workers. we all watched the wedding ceremony video, on a big screen tv at a restaurant/nightclub we rented out, so they got to see it how it went down.
(the club rental was 7-10 pm on a Thursday nite, too, so was waaay cheaper than a sat. afternoon!)
a few days later, we had a sort of a casual wedding picnic at my brother's home up in Green Bay, for family, where we had a wedding cake and stuff. the main course was a crockpot full of sloppy joes... *lol* we set up tables out in the back yard, and in the large garage he has, and decorated it all up. we bought a small plastic baby pool, filled it with ice, and kept the soda/beer cold in there for the day. (awesome idea, courtesy of my big bro
)
then...when we got back to England, we had another indoor/outdoor party at the best man's home for our English friends/family. a few friends dj-ed for free, and the GF of the best man and i made a ton of ala carté foods like cheeses, pasta salads, sweets, etc. i wore my dress for that one, too.
i know it sounds a little hectic, but it worked. and was affordable as well. i feel really good about the money spent, and the great time had by all. and i got to say goodbye to everyone.
i feel you on the wedding stress, Krissy... i remember all of the MSN convos Pete and i had everyday concerning the wedding, and also my STRESS! we even picked out wording/fonts for the invites via MSN Messenger. i cried a lot, and felt so overwhelmed. its the absolute
worst when all that you want is a huge hug from the man you love (and who are doing this all for!) is so far away. trust me, he wishes he could help, if he can't...
my BF/maiden of honour was always "too busy" to help, so i did everything myself :'(. including all of the calligraphy and stuffing the envelopes for our invites! (i had about 100)
(my mom lived a few hours away, and my MOH only lived about 1 mile from me...) don't be afraid to ask friends for assistance. they know that its your special day, and most good friends are willing to help with running around to shops, picking things up, etc. all that you have to do is ask.
DON'T GIVE UP!! trust me, it'll be sooo worth it! i cried thru my entire wedding! (i was so happy that everything worked out...) my dad walked me up the aisle, gave me to Pete, and Pete smiled at me and whispered "you're beautiful." it was all over from there... lol
i think that the bond that develops between two people gets even stronger going thru a situation like this (the international, long-distance thing). you get such a strong feeling of: "yaaaay! we did it!" and feel such a relief when the wedding day finally comes.
don't worry, Krissybelle... it'll be lovely. you will be lovely. and the best part is that after the wedding, you just have to deal with the visa thing. then you can TAKE A BREAK! (actually, i took about a 5 month break after the wedding... before i got my visa *lol*)
relax. hang in there. take a deep breath.
...and don't forget to visit here frequently to get stuff off of your chest! we are here for you! *big hug*
