Boy do I! It'll be a sweet 16 years ago this June, and seems like it was last week! At the rehersal, the pastor had a fit because I had four different readers. I got this lecture about only two, because he wanted everything "perfect, perfect" as he snapped his fingers. I explained that my readers were also readers/ministers at their own Church and it would be fine. I won. As we went down the isle, you could hear his fingers snapping, making certain that everyone was at a proper pace. My brother would not come to the wedding, and my friends who drove all the way from Phoenix,her husband walked me down the aisle. I was so excited and kept hearing those finger snappings, that I started down the aisle on the wrong song. I forgot to wait for Cannon in D. I walked down to "Today while the blossoms"...I guess I was in a hurry to get to my future hubby, as he stood there crying his little brown eyes out. I understand his brothers told him he didn't have to do this if he was going to cry about it! During the "perfect" ceremony, all four readers didn't miss a cue. Then, the pastor lost his place in the book. He kept turning pages looking for where he was supposed to be. You could hear fingers snapping from my maid of honor. We almost broke up with laughter! He made another boo-boo in the ceremony, and again, Jenny started snapping her fingers! We took off from the church in a red & white vintage 60's Chevy convertible from a friend of ours. What a gas! Plenty of tin cans and hubby's old army boots. The reception was held at a lovely Polish restaurant. Just over 100 people. My friends were all upset because when they got there with hudred of balloons, the hall had not been cleaned from the night before! It all worked out. The food was served family style and didn't stop coming. Roast chicken, beef,ham, whipped potatoe, green beans with almonds,sausage & kraut, and I forget what else. People are STILL talking about the food today. They never had such a good meal at a wedding. So yes, I remember my wedding ceremony...I'd do it over again, but the pastor has since died : ) Wonder if St. Peter snapped his fingers when he arrived? Cheers, Mickey

First off, let me say that I'm not sure how having a family-only ceremony followed by a huge catered (albeit "casual") party is likely to save you very much money since the reception is usually the costliest part of a wedding anyway. However, there are LOADS of reasons for choosing an intimate ceremony over a massive one and you have every right to the kind of wedding you want! As to the whole "wedding gift-giving and receiving etiquette"... I have never in my life based my decision on whether to give a wedding gift (or how large a gift to give) on the size/fanciness of the wedding or even on whether or not I was invited to the wedding. Over the years I have sent wedding gifts to many many friends (and even more "children and grandchildren of friends") who chose to have family-only ceremonies or who eloped. I have never felt slighted about not being invited to such weddings nor skipped the gift just because I wasn't invited to the wedding. Conversely, there have also been many occasions when I have received an invitation to what was obviously one of those "invite-everybody-we-or-our-parents-have-ever-known" weddings. In such cases, if I didn't feel close enough to the bride/groom or to their parents to want to actually attend the wedding, I responded with "regrets" and NO GIFT. If I felt close enough to want to attend the wedding, even if I could not go, I sent a gift. In my opinion, a wedding gift is a GIFT to a couple I care about, either directly or thru their parents, which expresses my happiness for the couple. It is not "payback" for a chance to go hear them say their vows and/or attend a lavish party afterwards! And, even if some people do consider the wedding gift as payback for the party invitation... well it sounds to me like you're planning to throw a pretty, even if it be a "casual" bash. So, anyone who crassly thinks of a wedding gift as payback for the party will be expecting to give you a gift. Additionally, at least in my part of the country, it is fairly traditional to bring small congratulatory gifts (eg., tea towels, a potted plant, a nice bottle of wine, small gardening tools, etc.) to a housewarming party. Fewer people "register" for these events but enough do that I've started asking whether folks having a housewarming party are registered. So I say go ahead and register but don't mention that you are registered anywhere UNLESS someone asks you. Of course, this is the same advice I would give any bride regardless of what size wedding or what style/size reception she was planning to have! And BTW, when you do register be sure to choose LOTS of inexpensive items that you'll want and need as well as some of the pricier stuff so that everyone who wants to give a gift can find something they can afford without breaking the bank. Since you'll be moving into a brand new home, I'm sure you can find dozens of things you'll need for under $20 and hundreds for under $40. And again, this is the same advice I would offer to any bride... unless maybe she was from a family of zillionaires. But then, I would never get an invitation to that wedding anyway. LOL!

I agree with Party Music that the buffet line should be on both sides of table & have soup, corn, then stew,(do they make it with flatbread or will they be already put together? I haven't had that so don't know how it's done.. Drinks I always prefer to be in 1 area ,not main food table as a spill can really slow things down. Cake table- cake,forks, napkins & maybe couple of small containers of flowers, any canoes available?? How about a couple of child sized moccasins. Make them out of felt & bead on the front of them(glue or sew on) put a plastic container in where foot should go with low arrangement of fall flowers. Your idea of memories or quotes is good, make that a game where you pass out rough paper in rawhide or beige color & ask them to write something for bride & groom would need pens or pencils to write with but advice, favorite memory about couple or "how to get through the net 25 yrs" would be fun & interesting memory of the party. Only thought is be sure things are pretty secure in case of wind, would heat be a problem, might consider a tarp or 2 to shade some areas if you have trees or house you can anchor them on. Home Depot has brown ones that are nice & last quite well. Also have beige colored 6 ft wide shade cloth that can be anchored with long high wires to higher trees or close to roof so have some shade. It's sold in rolls 100 ft long or shorter 6 ft by 20 ft long. smaller rolls are $29. I think, I shade parts of my yard & makes a big difference. Sounds like a fun party!

Talley Sue I am a cleaning lady LOL! Guess that jobs mine. Talked to the kids last night and told them to wash their hands after EVERYTHING they do haha. Got the usual "Oh please Mom". Spent the last few nights cleaning out the clutter and dust off of everyday life (just like nesting before the babys born), and guess I'll be doing that until "the day". Now the little details like napkins, platters, tableclothes,polishing silver, candle holders etc. is what I have to do. Thank God theres wine LOL!