topic Re: Regarding Your Wedding in Among Friends

Regarding Your Wedding

AuntG — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 16:42:43 GMT

Weddings have changed over the years, and have become quite expensive. I thought it might be fun to share our wedding and reception stories. One thing I remember as a child is that whole familes attended the reception. Often they were held in big dance halls, or even in a bowling alley. Meals were sandwiches, baked beans and potato salad. The cake was several tiers high. And, here in the upper Midwest, a polka band provided the music.

I paid under $300 for my dress. No band, just a DJ. Our dinner was a sit down meal, but was served family style, so big bowls of food were passed around the table. It was in a banquet hall (not sure I've heard that term in decades). I just remember it being a happy day, and everyone who attended had a great time. My father paid for part of the cost, but since my husband and I were working, we paid too.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

tends2dogs — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 16:45:44 GMT

@AuntG This will be a fun thread. I answered you on the Proboards forum.

I will be anxious to read the posts.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

Mom2Dogs — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 16:49:40 GMT

I do not recall what my wedding/recption cost but it was a small event. We both had very little family and small circle of friends.

I did not want a wedding, I was shy and did not like people looking at me, but by DH insisted on a wedding.

Reception was in the church basement, mom and sisters prepared the luncheon. I wore my sisters dress, it was the first time I had ever worn a long gown, it felt odd and my photos reflect that feeling.

No dancing as my wedding was late morning so after the early wedding, we had lunch and it was over.

In March we will celebrate 46 years.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

Sooner — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 17:10:48 GMT

Best husband and marriage I could ever have imagined. Worst wedding.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

deepwaterdotter — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 17:12:02 GMT

Not a lot to tell. We had lived together for 11 years before we were married. Went to the courthouse on Monday morning with 2 of our best friends as witnesses. Walked down a hallway to the judges chambers and 'made it legal'.

Most interesting part was the lineup of gentlemen in orange jumpsuits and leg shackles lining one side of the hallway. They had been charged and incarcerated over the weekend.

Enjoyed lunch with our friends/witnesses at a cafe across the street from the courthouse. When our server heard us discussing that we had just been married, we all received a piece of cake and coffee 'on the house'. She received our gratitude and a generous tip.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

haddon9 — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 17:16:49 GMT

I think it would also be fun to know what year one got married in.....it helps to put a perspective on things since styles, etc. changed a lot in just a few short years.

I got married in 1982. My gown was around $300.00 and I was able to get a floor model. Hats were the thing to wear in the early 1980s and mine was over $100.00 (one third the cost of the gown!). My husband and groomsmen wore dark brown tuxes....what was I thinking?!! LOL!

Neither of us is religious so we got married at the venue which was in a hotel. I'm from a Jewish family & DH is from a Catholic one. He didn't want a priest so we had a rabbi.

It was a nice sit down dinner, with a band. in the ballroom My parents wanted a certain band but when I went to a wedding fair I saw & heard a band that I fell in love with! They played a little bit of everything with a female lead singer.

I had a multi tier wedding cake with fancy looking support posts which are never done today in a light chocolate since I wanted to be a bit different.

Bridesmaids wore peach. So the colors were brown & peach. Today I look back and would have gone with different colors....

My parents paid for the wedding and I don't know what the cost was at the time. We had around 100 people.

However we will be celebrating out 43rd anniversary next month!

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

catter70 — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 17:22:46 GMT

I never saw the need for a big wedding. Went to the JP both times. Neither worked out so glad I didn't waste the money.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

spumoni99 — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 17:26:14 GMT

We got married in 1981, I also found my dress at the store and was able to buy the floor model for 200 dollars. Ceremony was at my parents church and the reception was at the Elks Lodge. I think the cost was 2000. We had a dj and dancing and we had a buffett style dinner.

My daughter got married exactly a year ago, it was around 25k with a buffett dinner, fancier place though but for prices now it was pretty reasonable.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

Desertdi — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 17:31:00 GMT

Got married in court on my lunch hour. Wore a business suit.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

LindaSal — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 17:31:38 GMT

We had a big one, 250 people. I also got married in 1982 and did a Catholic church wedding. I wore a beautiful gown and a long gorgeous veil, I felt like a princess......

We had the reception in a nice Knights of Columbus Hall which my in laws were members of. Had a full band and did a fancy hot buffet which I gather was unusual at the time, it was mostly sit down dinners. But it worked out well for us.

The guys wore light gray tuxes and the bridemaids wore baby blue, my maid of honor in a shade darker. Mom's wore pink gowns. It was quite pretty as the cherry trees were in bloom (in May) so my pictures have beautiful color.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

Meowingkitty — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 17:38:02 GMT

1977. Got off work and went down to JP and got married. Wore pants and a tee shirt. No reception. Went home. Still together. Entire cost was about $15 for the license. Never wanted a wedding with all the expense.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

haddon9 — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 17:38:17 GMT

@Desertdi wrote:
Got married in court on my lunch hour. Wore a business suit.

@Desertdi Are you saying that you went back to work after getting married on your lunch break?!!!

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

OKPrincess — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 17:48:38 GMT

My first wedding was in 1974. We had to take a blood test and wait three days before getting married.

We had our wedding in the church chapel and the reception in the church parlor. Since it was in a Baptist church so there was no band or dancing.

I bought my own wedding dress at Dillard's for $100.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

fthunt — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 17:53:33 GMT

At age 45 (me)..........ELOPED

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

Bookplate — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 17:57:53 GMT

I never wanted a wedding. DH and I lived together for nine years before we finally (as my father put it) got married by a local mayor with just immediate family in attendance. This was on a day during the week. That weekend my parents hosted a party at their house for extended family and friends, catered with deli food and with a bakery wedding cake. I wore a Laura Ashley dress and sandals. We were told afterwards by many guests that they had a much better time at our little family wedding than they have had at bigger affairs.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

MaverDaver — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 18:04:11 GMT

Got married on hubby's 24th birthday so he would never forget our anniversary!!. Wedding gown cost $199 and veil $25. Had sit down roast beef dinner, live band. No cocktail hour. 200 guests. Celebrated 51 yrs this past September.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

foxywoods — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 18:14:44 GMT

Married in late '70s. Kind of a DIY thing. I did all of the planning and his sisters all helped too. Day of? or day before, my mother just took over and dragged me to a beauty salon for a big teased and piled up-do.

When we got home I screamed I don't wanna get married and washed it all out. So my hair was long and straight with my white gown and veil.

Church wedding and buffet reception at a hall, a live band and photographer. My going away outfit was a bright yellow sweater, green gauchos and a straw cap. For our Our honeymoon we bought matching red sneakers and drove to Cape Cod for a week. Then we settle into a the cutest little house. We were so much in LOVE then. We had dinner out every night or just grilled burgers. We split up though after 12 years. When we married we had only been together barely 13 months total. I felt his parents put too way much pressure on us to make things legal, because we lived together before marriage which was kind of risque at the time, especially in puritan New England.

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

FancyPhillyshopper — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 18:17:41 GMT

I LOVED my wedding! It is the best party I have ever planned! My wedding was one of the happiest days of my life.

People today decades later still remember how lovely the ceremony was, and how fun the reception was. Our ceremony was in a chapel, and we had our reception in a hotel with 150 family and friends. Our parents paid for it all.

Everyone was dressed up and looked marvelous. My bridesmaids wore lilac chiffon gowns, all men in tuxes.

My wedding dress was gorgeous--lace flowers and some tiny sequins, mid-length train, chiffon full skirt. I wish I could still fit in it as I was so slender and skinny--my wedding band was size 4 1/2!

I have a lot of photos, a video, and fantastic memories.

We had a delicious dinner, an open bar, and everyone danced and celebrated for hours! All the gifts were piled up on a big table and my brothers were always checking out the fancy-wrapped boxes.

The next day all the relatives came to my mother's house for brunch. We waited a week before we went on our honeymoon to Paris, also wonderful.

I am a true romantic, and I enjoy creating great and special memories.

Every time we go on a big trip, we call it our third, tenth, fifteenth, etc. honeymoon!

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

PA Mom-mom — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 18:22:21 GMT

Oh, my! 1977. Mom and Dad offered us the wedding with all the trimmings or the money. Hmmm... Considering my future MIL disliked my family intensely, due to some differences in Biblical interpretation, we chose the money. We were married by my minister at his house on New Year's Eve with only the minister, his wife and their son in attendance. I wore a winter white wool suit (still have it).

Using some vacation time, we went skiing in Stowe, VT for a few days.

Used the money when we went to Germany that February, so DH could finish his German studies. Great use of the money!

Found out years later Mom really wanted the wedding with all the trimmings. Sorry Mom

Re: Regarding Your Wedding

kitcat51 — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 18:29:20 GMT

I made my dress, it turned out nice but the rest of the wedding was a disaster...my dad refused to come but turned up last minute at the church & had a huge argument with my mom, 3 random women wandered in during the ceremony talking loudly about the flowers & that we were too young to get married, after the ceremony my dad stormed off & I ran after him begging him to stay for the reception but he drove off leaving me standing in the street, I was in tears but my FIL insisted on pictures outside the church, when we finally arrived at the reception hall my MIL refused to come out of the kitchen & it continued to go downhill after that. When the nightmare day was over we went home, I collapsed on the couch in my wedding dress & my new husband asked Are You OK? By then I was over it, burst out laughing & he did too.