Take Aways at 100 Days (was supposed to post July 5th!)

That's right ladies and gents.  We're 100 days away.  I told myself early on that once we reached double digits, things would be real.  Real close that is.  But instead of dwelling on the slight craze I feel now when looking at my calendar count down, I thought I'd focus on some of the take aways I've gained from our recent weddings :)

Javier and I had the pleasure of attending wedding number 3 on our 8 wedding tour of 2012 this past weekend.  (those are weddings we have been invited to for this year and it does include our own...cause hey - we'll be at that one too)  It seems like most people have a marathon year and this one happens to be ours.  I'm excited for it, especially since most are taking place before ours, which means an opportunity to snag all the good ideas I see at other folks' celebrations.

I'll start with our June 16th wedding; one between one of Javier's high school buddies and the groom's high school sweetheart.  It was a great occasion and another opportunity for me to visit the gorgeous, Georgetown Prep campus. It concluded with a wonderful outdoor reception at a manor nearby on a night accompanied with perfect weather. 

My take aways:

1) Remind your best man to remember the rings.  Its important, trust me.  Just ask the groom's brother.  Javier and I were enjoying the ceremony when I couldn't help but notice one of the best men, pop up and make a swift exit through a side door of the church.  I leaned over and whispered to Javs, 'Bob just left?' (the names of the guilty have been changed to protect the innocent)  Javs responded with, 'Bet you anything Bob forgot the rings...' and sure enough, after the service we got to hear Bob, himself, regale us with the story of his record breaking sprint out to his car mid-ceremony for a ring retrieval mission.  He made it back in time (and impressed some attendees with is speed), but an easier course (for next time) might be to remind the best man to bring the rings!

2) Signs and clear directions!  Early in our engagement, Javs and I asked some of our friends for advice regarding missteps they had seen at other weddings (hoping to avoid them at our own celebration).  One couple mentioned that giving guests clear directions is a small, but incredibly helpful thing to do to improve the enjoyment of the reception and help everyone relax.  It also happens to be a trend these days to include adorable signage throughout your venue directing attendees as needed.  Therefore I was super happy to see these signs at the wedding :)  Since Javier and I are taking advantage of all the space available at Ash Lawn - signage will certainly be something we need to consider for the day! 

June 30th wedding take aways:

1) We cannot control the weather.  I know, you're shocked at the realization, but apparently its true.  The wedding this weekend was combated with 90 + degree weather, that with humidity felt far beyond 100 and scattered thunderstorms complete with hail and strong winds.  But if I had only the faces and attitudes of the bride and groom, the wedding party and our kind hosts to go off of, I would have thought the day was a mild 70 degrees, with a light breeze that smelt of sweet honeysuckle.  I mean, they were stoked.  They were all so happy. 
They certainly did what they could to make their guests as comfortable as possible: adorable fan programs, cold bottles of water and large fans blowing under the reception tent, but they really seemed to accept the weather for what it was: an uncontrollable portion of what would absolutely be, the best day of their lives (so far).  And their joy dissipated through their guests to make for a wonderfully happy celebration.  While I doubt we see 100+ degree weather on October 13th, we certainly may see some rain.  I know myself well enough to know that I should start preparing now for that possibility so that I can be as equally joyous on our day should the weather not go as I would plan.  It will still be a celebration, and Javs and I can help remind our guests of that with our own smiles :)

2) Ceremony flower solution.  During our florist search and after receiving a number of proposals, Javier and I decided that we would handle the flowers used to decorate our ceremony site ourselves. We did not have a great vision or plan for what we wanted, but knew that the flowers would be minimal. We were lucky enough to find our picturesque additions needed at this wedding.  lining the aisle, hanging on each chair was a mason jar filled with wild flowers and tied by ribbon.  They were delightful.  I don't think we'll include flowers on each chair, but I do like the idea of including a few sprays of color for the walk down the aisle.  Problem solved and DIY added to the list!

There you have it - more great ideas I'm picking up for those that go before me.  I'm so lucky to have the chance to attend these beautiful weddings of the ones I love.  Just think, you readers will be attending our (hopefully beautiful) wedding in just 100 short days...