If you read my very first entry, How It All Began, you likely know the crazy start Daniel and I had to our relationship. It is no surprise then, to find out that our wedding day followed suit perfectly.
Our wedding day, as mentioned in my previous post, was January 2nd. Daniel was 18 years old and I was 19 years old. It was a cold snowy Thursday, yet we were both so excited! Not because it was going to be a beautiful wedding, because it really wasn’t, but because we were finally going to be husband and wife! Looking back I sure wish we had Pinterest, as it would have made things a whole lot easier!
It turns out, teenagers, are not ideal wedding planners. Shocker, I know. Daniel knew absolutely nothing about wedding planning, and I knew only marginally more. I went out and got as many wedding magazines as I could (you know, the old printed kind), and worked tirelessly at finding pictures of what I wanted to do…sort of like a vintage Pinterest, if you will. Unfortunately, due to our age, we had a budget which left much to the imagination. My parents offered to pay for a few things, as did Daniel’s parents, but in the end I think our entire wedding was only $5000.
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I could probably title this blog 10 Things Not to Do When Planning a Wedding, based on what we proceeded to do. To begin with, I chose wedding invitations with two children on the front. It was a sweet photo, but looking back, maybe a bit creepy, when we were still really children ourselves? Poor choice…poor choice. Once we had the invitation, I even pinned one up at our job’s bulletin board…because inviting everyone is clearly proper wedding etiquette.
Next, I chose the wedding photographer very poorly. Who would you choose if you were having the most important day of your life? Do you know who a teenager would choose? Their school’s grad photo photographer. Complete with cheesy background pillars and all. His office was several cities away from the wedding venue, which meant we had to get our photos done before the wedding. Inside. And he had this strange desire to continually ask us not to smile…I wonder if he had passport photo roots? (blury due to the ancient time frame of this wedding lol)
To top it off, we didn’t plan food for lunch, so wound up walking into an A&W in full out wedding garb. Burgers in a white dress before your wedding…not the best idea.
Next, we did not organize anyone to help with set-up or clean-up. Our ceremony was at a church, while our reception was at a hall quite a ways a way. We wrangled our bridesmaids and groomsmen into loading up all the decor from the church into our party limo, then proceeded to unload and decorate ourselves once we got to the hall. Manual labor from the bridal party on the day of a wedding is common, right? I made the mistake of loading the center pieces into my parents vehicle, however, who as it turned out, ended up being late. Myself and a couple people frantically ran around to each table placing tea lights and lighting them with a confused looking audience. I think placing center pieces on tables once everyone has already been seated should actually be the standard. It creates a lot more face time between the bride and the guests.
I also had this overwhelming desire to incorporate a dance at our wedding, similar to one you might find in your favorite 90’s and early 2000’s movies. I chose the dance from She’s All That, performed to Rockafeller Skank by Fatboy Slim. An excellent song and dance, and it began so well, until someone uncomfortable with the song suddenly shut it off. Also not helpful holding a dance when half your guests don’t agree with dancing! (It was my favorite part though, I love dancing!)
You also need to ensure your maid of honour and best man are of age! Apparently, they are the ones who sign and witness your wedding papers. I had my little sister, Stephanie, as my maid of honour, a full 14 years old at the time! Daniel had his best friend Len, who was also not old enough. Thankfully we had a couple people in the bridal party just old enough, who snuck in at the signing part and saved the day!
By 10pm I was exhausted from a long day and ready to pack it in. But there was no clean-up crew…right. So Daniel and I started packing away the wedding while friends continued to dance away. Several people began to help, thank goodness, but there is nothing like a clean-up crew to create a buzz kill! We didn’t have a bride and groom send off or the traditional rice throwing. Instead we loaded our car with all the wedding gifts (someone really should have explained the concept of a gift opening the following day) and drove to our honeymoon suite at the Westin Hotel.
Despite our wedding being less than conventional, I still had the time of my life. I didn’t know any better. I had never been to any other weddings other than my Aunt Michelle’s when I was a child, so I really had nothing to compare it to. Would my wedding be 1000 percent different if I was planning it today? For sure! You can bet your bottom dollar it would be a vintage farmhouse wedding complete with clean-up crews and outdoor photography! But the memories I made that day were priceless and I wouldn’t change it for the world!
Be sure to read my next post, When Teenager’s Adopt!
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Your wedding may have been “a little unusual” but the message your pastor gave was so bang on! I loved his challenge to all those who attended and i love the way you and Daniel have lived out his word!
Crazy but real!
Our wedding was $365 lol. I didn’t want a wedding. We did it for my parents. But honestly, it turned out beautiful. I had a gorgeous dress we had even had a reception and dancing. It was intimate and full of wonderful memories. Anyways….I was actually just popping in to let you know I nominated you for the Bloggers Recognition Award 🙂
https://momathrift.com/blogger-recognition-award/