We weren’t too cool to not create an event page for our wedding. I think lots of people liked this, because nearly all our friends are on facebook and they were able to see the irony. At the same time, this was a good chance for us to post pictures and give a date and a time. It’s about the same as a regular wedding web page, but it’s not exclusive.

We blocked a bunch of rooms here, and we got a call a month before the wedding letting us know that no one had taken a room here. It was funny, because they had to cancel the block of rooms. We thought our guests wanted to save money and stay here, but really they wanted to be downtown where all the fun is. I went and checked out the rooms, and I think it’s a nice hotel. I have stayed at La Quinta’s in other cities, and think people would have opted for this one if it was closer to the downtown area.

My husband and I have a sense of humor, and we thought that instead of having flower centerpieces, we could buy those small plastic statues that people put in their gardens. We had a couple of plastic gnomes on some tables, a statue of St-Francis, some bunnies, a plastic chicken, and so on. It was fun because we were able to use these table settings to help us with the seating chart. If someone wanted to know what table they were sitting at, we would say “the green garden gnome table” or “the baby squirrel table”. I think it was funny, and now all those statues decorate our balcony.

I think my husband and I get along because we are both creative dancers, but not really good dancers. We tried four lessons, but I didn’t like that they wanted us to buy dancing shoes. I like dancing and music, but I don’t have it in me to learn a dance routine or even a series of moves. It wasn’t fun for me. Other people in the class loved it, and I think it was very cute seeing 50 year old women in dancing skirts. Dancing lessons are just not the right activity for my husband and I.

We had to rent equipment, such as a sound system with speakers and microphones, because we were in a park and the place we were getting married didn’t have a sound system. It was good that we did, because with the microphone and the small size speakers, everyone within a thirty foot range could hear us clearly. We were also able to play a song for when I arrived, and then we played our favorite Jack Johnson song at the end of the vows. We had music, but not musicians, but none of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for the sound system.

We wanted to get married in a church, but we found that this was rather complicated. In the end we got married in a park because we both like nature, and even though we are spiritual people, we aren’t really religious people. There was a process to renting the park, and there were forms to fill out and we could only have the area for three hours. We also had to make sure that we didn’t make a mess. There was lots of details, and we needed more help from friends and family to make sure people at the park could hear us and be comfortable, but it was worth it.

My mother wanted to have the bridal shower at her house, but I said that I wanted to bring the food. Many of my friends and some of my younger family members were on diets, and most of us don’t eat deli food or cold cuts. I went and ordered all these sandwiches and breads and soups from Panera Breads. It was expensive, but everyone loved the food. I also got an assortment of desserts, like muffins and danishes, which people also liked. Panera breads is good because for $100 you can get lots of nice sandwiches which are a little gourmet but really tasty and somewhat healthy.

The bridal show was amazing! I ran into some many friends from high school and college, and I also ran into lots of vendors who I also knew from high school and college! This was where I saw the dress that I would eventually order online. I liked trying cakes and seeing the chocolate and caramel fountains, and the fashion part was fun. It was also fun to learn about different wedding venue options.

I ordered my first dress online. At first I was unsure of how safe it would be, whether I would get something really cheap looking or the wrong size. This was why I ordered my dress over a year before the wedding. Netbride.com was actually a really good site. Once I figured out how to get ahold of customer service, and understood the process, I felt better about my order. Also, the dress arrived on time and looked just like the real thing. I loved my dress! What I didn’t think was that I ordered a dress that was really simple and elegant, and two months before the wedding I saw something bigger and fancier and for supercheap through another online site. I bought two dresses, but I was able to figure out a way to wear both. I have heard more and more brides that have ordered their dresses online, and I think it’s such a good idea because there is so much more choice.

I wanted to do some activity with my girlfriends. We found this pottery place that lets us paint our own pottery and have a small party with cake and pizza. The size of my bachelorette party turned out to be smaller than I thought, only six people, and we had brought four bottles of wine. We drank wine while we painted, which made for some very creative plates and mugs. I got to keep everything as a reminder of the evening.