Wow! Thanks for this. My Optima is in and I'll get to start using it in a few weeks when our remodel is done.

This was on the Today show yesterday. I was watching showbiz tonight & they had them doing the dance on the Today show. When I watched the video yesterday my eyes were rolling. When I watched it last night (the Today show version minus wedding attire) and again this morning, I still rolled my eyes. I think that if the song was shortened it may have had a different affect, but it was a bit too long; I wondered how hot, thirsty they all were from dancing up the isle, then running through the hall back to the main door to do it again. I also think if the dancing was a little better it would have made a difference; unless it was supposed to look like a bunch of men that couldn't dance and women that partially could. I give everyone credit for trying to be original but it's getting to be expected to see a choreographed dance at some part of the wedding. Next we will see the bride & her father along with groom & his mother choreographed. I loved my last wedding. Hubby & I went to Cypress Gardens in FL, just the 2 of us. The day was about us.

Thanks for that personal data, Deedles. I'm 65 in a few weeks. There was a real change in lifestyle in those roughly 15 yrs of our childhoods, wasn't there? My parents' house was built immediately after WWII in a new suburb of St. Paul; one grandmother lived in old 1880s house in decaying neighborhood of St. Paul and one in 1915 [new] house in town outside St. Paul. We all washed dishes but only the grandmother downtown did the scald routine. It was the rural grandma who had the big farm kitchen but the room was awful, much like the one that the kitchen planning film was trying to replace. Mostly because of lighting and lack of decorating taste. I was dating DH whose parents built a mod house by the U. of M. in 1963 with all the Midcentury Modern features that ecologists now hate. The house fascinated me. They had a skylight, a massive open fireplace, lots of glass windows, and a dishwasher! Two ovens! waterless cookware! A garbage grinder! but a dinky dining room and a one-cook kitchen. And vinyl floor even in dining area and countertops of white shiny Formica with flecks of gold. One thing that we don't see anymore and good riddance is the early plastic tablecloths that were literally tacky--they attracted things to stick to them yet the rural people loved them--cut down on laundry I suppose. We had to struggle to remove a plastic tablecloth from another family table in abt 1970 when we visited the bachelor uncle in Iowa--it adhered to the table.

jadiesmom, don't be mad at lindac. She isn't trying to make you feel bad. I have to say that destination weddings, followed by a reception at home, do confuse me a bit. I understand sweet pea's points, and she is a pro. But to me it still seems sort of like trying to do the same wedding two different ways. Or perhaps having the ceremony with the honeymoon instead of the reception. If a couple wants to have a private wedding, whether in some exotic locale or at city hall, I can understand that, although I can also understand family being hurt (especially for a first marriage; after that, I think most families would understand a couple's not wanting to have another big wedding). But when a destination wedding is followed by a local reception, that is what confuses me. I don't understand why they don't then simply have the wedding when and where they have the reception, and then go on a honeymoon to the "destination." If there is going to be a big reception anyway, then having the ceremony in the vacation destination instead just seems to me to be saying, "we care more about an exotic setting for our vows than we do about your presence." That may not be the couple's intention, but I think you can understand how some people might get that message. I certainly agree that it is the bride and groom's choice to do what they want (and I am sure lindac would agree -- she never said no one has a RIGHT to a destination wedding or anything like that). At the same time, I think brides and grooms need to understand that their friends and family have the right to their feelings, too. You call it "Our day" -- well, it is, and you can either share it or not. That's your choice -- but that doesn't mean you can control how everyone is going to feel about it. It is also not true that brides and grooms always know what "everyone" is excited about and fine with. People may be disappointed but mature and gracious. Look through some of these strings on destination weddings, cash bars, buffet lines, pot-luck receptions, "open" seating, registry cards in invitations, etc. You will find both posters who say, "We did that and everyone was fine with it," "no one complained," and even "everyone loved it." On the same string, you will see posters -- many, not just a few -- who dislike or are even offended by those same things. That doesn't mean that they would dream of criticizing someone who did them. I, for example, think that cash bars at private parties are really unacceptable. The few times I have seen them, I certainly didn't say a word of criticism to anyone about it, and I wouldn't have even if asked. A polite guest doesn't criticize hosts' hospitality, and a friend is supportive about friends' plans. It sounds like your family and friends are not upset about your plans, even if they might actually feel like lindac -- well, good! Then you don't have a problem. Congratulations, and have fun!