Never a bride
So now that I've been to three weddings, there are several stand-out features that made some better than others:
- Funny and heartfelt speeches from both the best man and maid of honour. I've heard a few bad ones, and some really good ones. It makes a huge difference in how people remember the wedding. Even if it's not your best man or maid of honour making the speeches, it definitely helps to have someone extroverted and with a good sense of humour to keep the guests entertained.
- Down-to-earth priests also keep everyone in the church happy. Of course this only applies to Christian/Catholic weddings as those have been the only ones I've been to. This mainly applies to the homily where the priest reflects on the couple, giving advice for the future. It's not exactly good when a priest is telling women in the crowd that they should submit to their husbands and that their opinion can be considered, but the man makes the final decision. I saw a couple of raised eyebrows when that came up at a wedding I attended.
- Let your guests join in the dances so that they don't feel they're just watching you trip the light fantastic. People do get bored without any activities
- Singing in church when the bride is entering is also a cool change from the norm... provided you can sing :)
Those are the stand-out points I've thought of so far. I'll probably keep blogging about it if I think of some more.
Bad thing with all these weddings is that it gets people talking and more importantly, thinking about them. If you're really, really lucky, they'll remember to harass you on that issue of why you're not married yet ;)
Always a bridesmaid
What's with all these weddings lately? In 2005, I've been to 3 separate weddings. I have another one in January where I'm supposed to bridesmaid for. I guess it's just that time in life when everyone around me starts getting married.
Seeing all these weddings is both good and bad. It's good as it gives me a clear idea of what and what not to do when I eventually have one. Mainly what works and what doesn't work, where to cut corners and pinch more pennies ahahaha.
Here's my shortlist of how to plan a great wedding on a budget:
- Have a clear list of people to invite beforehand. This allows you to estimate the type of reception you should have.
- Invite more people to the wedding, less to the reception. This cuts down on the total cost of the reception dinner. It can amount to a lot of money depending on what you're serving.
- Provide some finger food and refreshments after the wedding. This will cost less than having everyone in the wedding over for your reception and people will appreciate it.
- DIY wedding invitations for those invited to the wedding only. This seems to be a trend and can be pulled off quite well. There are books available on how to do this.
- Bridal clearance sales are your friends. Be on the lookout as there are some great and at least 50% off-the-rack dresses available. Bridesmaids can also find a couple of nice dresses here for a third of the price of a dress from the retail shops. I bought my dress for $99, down from $300.
- Have 2 bridesmaids and 2 groomsmen so you can fit in the 1 limo. Transport can hurt the pocket when there are too many people to cater for. Cut it down to the basics, or even hire a Tarago to fit everyone else in.
That's what I've picked up on so far. Coming up next will be tips for a great wedding that everyone attending will enjoy :)
A life more ordinary
Just a little over 2 months ago I posted about how much
sleep I was getting.
It didn't last very long.Subsequent to that I had group assignment to complete and a take-home essay for that subject as well. Then I procrastinated a little whilst studying for my one and only exam in Risk Management. Suffice to say I would have passed the subject but probably did not do as well in it as I would have liked. My motivation for study exponentially decreased since the start of the year... and I don't see that changing anytime soon ;)
So that's the quick and dirty one minute update on what's been happening - minus all the dramas. That's for a future post.
I should stop making any more resolutions on this blog... especially since a couple of work colleagues started reading it. I've been told I should change the name from ChronicBlogger to a more procrastinator-friendly name :)
