Posted byOur editor Megan is engaged and planning a wedding. We're tagging along with her as she plans over the next year so y'all can read, advise, and/or commiserate…
You know what I learned last week? That baseball and weddings go great together… Seriously, we went to our first Dodger game of the season, and came away with so many awesome ideas! Just putting it out there that season tickets to baseball games might be the best way to wedding plan — hours of doing nothing but sitting, talking, drinking, snacking, and cheering on your local sports team together, peppered with wedding brain storming.
(Psst: They're also good for bachelor/bachelorette parties!)
Things we got accomplished while at the game…
Let's talk about free wedding hashtag generators… #Go!
Wedding hashtags: they're not just for hipsters. Having your own hashtag is one of the easiest ways to not only collect extra photos from your... Read more
- Finally figured out our wedding hashtag: #theredwoodwedding. We met while watching Game of Thrones, and someone (jokingly) said, “wouldn't it be fun to use #redwedding.” And then it hit me, we're getting married at his mom's property that everyone calls “Redwood House.” Boom: The Redwood Wedding!
- We figured out an idea for our wedding invitation: Since Mike spent his childhood making movies at Redwood House, then grew up to write and produce TV, and I just fucking love me some TV, we're thinking of putting together a tv-themed wedding invitation video. I'll spare you all the half-assed plans, but suffice it to say, I'm excited about how it's shaping up.
- Closed in on a reception line strategy: We asked a friend and fellow Dodger fan, what his biggest wedding regret was, and he said, “missing the raw bar we set up, because the receiving line took so long.” I mentioned that a few of our couples have done things like serve the dessert themselves, or doing a circle dance, and many other ideas in lieu of a receiving line, and Mike loved that idea. We'll have to figure out what our version will be. Hmmm…
Things I'm bumping up against
What to wear?
Forget prom dresses — Quinceañera dresses are the ultimate wedding dress
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You should see my wedding dress idea Pinterest board — it looks like it's shared by a goth tomboy, a fairy cosplayer, and someone planning a quinceanera. I am all over the freaking fashion map, people! I don't know what I want. But I know I want it to be fucking epic. I even tried on a few dresses already. And while I liked a lot of them, my ultimate desire was to Frankenstein a few of the dresses together to form like Voltron into one epic wedding dress of Megan-awesomeness. Which leads me to think… maybe I get a dress custom made? But I also kind of want to try on more dresses, just because that shit is fun!
Posts that I found particularly helpful this week:
Okay, that's it for me. I was doing a lot of travel this week, so I didn't get much more accomplished. What are you guys up to? And who else also find surprising places to get wedding planning done?
About the Author: Megan Finley Horowitz
When Megan's not writing, traveling, and sleeping, she's eating like the fate of the world depends on it. (You're welcome, world!) You can snoop into her personal life over on her website The Dash and Dine!
One thing we did in lieu of a receiving line was to structure it like a meet and greet when you meet your favorite band. We stood in one location and had people come to us. We also got food and drinks brought to us while were there and didn’t miss any of the appetizers. We also got a photo with all of our guests. It worked out wonderfully! We did end up going to table to table after dinner but we also only had 7 tables so it was quick and we’d said hi to everyone already anyway.
Our original in lieu of receiving line idea (because I REFUSED to miss ANY of our cocktail hour) was to do table visits after we’d finished eating. That didn’t work out so well … for various reasons. But what DID work out really well was our joint dollar dance where everyone lined up, paid a buck, and danced with first my husband than me. This came towards the end of the night so some guests had already left but all who were there participated so we really did get to spend about 30 seconds apiece with the majority of the guests. With some tweaking I think it could be a kick ass receiving line alternative.
Oh… I haven’t considered a dancing option. Or something similar. Okay okay… the wheels are spinning…
I picked our ceremony site while taking a walk to the other place we assumed we’d use. I walked past this little public garden in our hometown and thought, “Wait a minute. This is waaaay prettier than the bike trail we were thinking of using. Also… there are benches. Makes much more sense.”
I love when things like that just happen. I’m hoping for more convenient “stumbling upon the solution” plan-making!
I like to make a craft store date with my friend who is also a bride to be. As we walk through the crowded isles of hobby lobby we bounce ideas off of each other and sometimes seeing a product or a certain color will spark an idea.
Oh man, there’s NOTHING like having a friend who’s also planning a wedding to bounce ideas off of! That’s what I’m hoping these posts turn into. Just a bunch of friends gabbing about wedding ideas and helping each other out.
My husband & I are planning our renewing of our vows in August of 2022. We’re bouncing a couple ideas off, We know we’re doing at the same town and state we eloped, (East Aurora, NY). It’ll be a symbolic. Which I’ll share when it happens. This site is fucking awesome!! I think another way of bouncing ideas is when you go out dancing at a club. Music can take you places too.
I think we have finally settled on a venue- a beautiful little clubhouse that offers a view of the whole city, but unfortunately has no air conditioning. Hopefully, we can rent a large unit for the day to blast A/C into the indoor areas, still looking into that.
As far as a receiving line, have you thought of using photos as a way to meet people? When my mom and her partner got married, they had a donut and punch reception and walked around with a giant empty picture frame and we all took pictures in the frame with them.
I got married in 2012. We split a season ticket plan, averaging about 25-30 home games a year, and the legal ceremony was in front of the ballpark. We had a vintage baseball-themed wedding, and we certainly discussed SO MANY plans at games. It was a nice distraction from the mediocrity of the 2011 season. 🙂