If you don't know about the engagement story or just want to relive the thrilling tale, you can read more about it here.
The same story can also be found on the About Us Page.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
A Simple Wedding
When Janel and I started discussing our wedding, we had one thing in mind: it was not going to be a 'traditional' wedding. We didn't want hundreds of guests. We didn't want to be married in a church. We didn't want the bouquet toss and the head table and the hundreds and hundreds of photographs. None of these things are bad or wrong or the incorrect thing to do, we just didn't and don't want to do them.
Instead we decided we would do something simple. Something easy and uncomplicated. Something that didn't take very much to put together. We thought of it as a party for our family and friends that we would host, doing things we want to do and celebrating what we want to celebrate. We have utilized the blog and companion book 'A Practical Wedding' to hone in on the things we want.
Remarkably this has been difficult. And perhaps even more astounding to me are the number of choices that come with such a 'simple' wedding. Remember, we don't have a church booked, we don't have a reception hall, we don't need a DJ, we don't need to sample foods, we don't need to decide chair covers, and we don't need to think about seating charts. And yet, we have made tons of decisions and have over 100 things to do before the big day.
Two weekends ago Janel and I drove to a friends' wedding in New Jersey, just outside Philadelphia. The wedding was gorgeous, we had a wonderful time, and we danced the night away. In our 10 hour car ride home, we had a chance to reflect and think about our own wedding. It was during this car ride that I confessed to Janel that I felt that our way of doing a wedding might actually be harder to do than a traditional wedding. There is no guidebook to follow. There are thousands of places for inspiration, and you can bet that we are copying and stealing ideas from all kinds of sources, but there isn't really a checklist to go through. When the wedding you envision is a bit different from what is pumped out today, it becomes very hard to figure out how to do what you want.
What I told Janel then and what I'll tell you now is that I think at the end of the day, the work we're putting into it will make it worth it in the end. There have been countless times where I've had to reiterate to people the plan we have for our wedding weekend. People are confused and unsure because there aren't the usual clues for how to react and interact at a wedding. We don't even have a gift registry. After each conversation I have to stop and think about why we decided to do it the way we are. I always remind myself of what I told Janel: as long as the people we love are there, the rest of it doesn't really matter.
I certainly hope everyone has a good time. We're working hard on things that might not be at a typical wedding and frankly, they might be a bit weird and silly in execution. But honestly, Janel and I are a little weird and silly. Does this capture our entire relationship? Of course not. Does it inject our personality into a formal occasion? Absolutely. Even if what we end up doing doesn't go exactly how we envision, the camaraderie of family and friends will carry through the day. When the dust clears, three things should have happened: 1) I want to be married to Janel; 2) I want to have spent adequate and quality time with members of my family and friends; 3) I want people to leave with a smile on their face and warm feelings in their heart.
If that happens, its a success. And through all the choices, I always remember that this is what really counts.
Instead we decided we would do something simple. Something easy and uncomplicated. Something that didn't take very much to put together. We thought of it as a party for our family and friends that we would host, doing things we want to do and celebrating what we want to celebrate. We have utilized the blog and companion book 'A Practical Wedding' to hone in on the things we want.
Remarkably this has been difficult. And perhaps even more astounding to me are the number of choices that come with such a 'simple' wedding. Remember, we don't have a church booked, we don't have a reception hall, we don't need a DJ, we don't need to sample foods, we don't need to decide chair covers, and we don't need to think about seating charts. And yet, we have made tons of decisions and have over 100 things to do before the big day.
Two weekends ago Janel and I drove to a friends' wedding in New Jersey, just outside Philadelphia. The wedding was gorgeous, we had a wonderful time, and we danced the night away. In our 10 hour car ride home, we had a chance to reflect and think about our own wedding. It was during this car ride that I confessed to Janel that I felt that our way of doing a wedding might actually be harder to do than a traditional wedding. There is no guidebook to follow. There are thousands of places for inspiration, and you can bet that we are copying and stealing ideas from all kinds of sources, but there isn't really a checklist to go through. When the wedding you envision is a bit different from what is pumped out today, it becomes very hard to figure out how to do what you want.
What I told Janel then and what I'll tell you now is that I think at the end of the day, the work we're putting into it will make it worth it in the end. There have been countless times where I've had to reiterate to people the plan we have for our wedding weekend. People are confused and unsure because there aren't the usual clues for how to react and interact at a wedding. We don't even have a gift registry. After each conversation I have to stop and think about why we decided to do it the way we are. I always remind myself of what I told Janel: as long as the people we love are there, the rest of it doesn't really matter.
I certainly hope everyone has a good time. We're working hard on things that might not be at a typical wedding and frankly, they might be a bit weird and silly in execution. But honestly, Janel and I are a little weird and silly. Does this capture our entire relationship? Of course not. Does it inject our personality into a formal occasion? Absolutely. Even if what we end up doing doesn't go exactly how we envision, the camaraderie of family and friends will carry through the day. When the dust clears, three things should have happened: 1) I want to be married to Janel; 2) I want to have spent adequate and quality time with members of my family and friends; 3) I want people to leave with a smile on their face and warm feelings in their heart.
If that happens, its a success. And through all the choices, I always remember that this is what really counts.
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