For some reason, I keep thinking that we can just put on a wedding for free. And I KNOW this isn't really possible for the wedding that we want to have, but...ugh, why do things have to cost money? Why can't everything be on a barter system? I make really good jam, and apple pies, and I can sew pretty dresses like nobody's business. Surely someone will donate all the food for our wedding if I promise to make them a sundress. Right?
Oh well. There isn't really much to update today, since no more decisions have been made. Scott keeps telling me that we need to pick a rain location, and I keep saying, "...but WHY? Can't we just tell everyone to bring umbrellas?". He's more worried about the food getting rained on. I almost want to just make paper-bag lunches for everyone, and if it rains, they can go eat in their cars.
I really need to contact the managing director of MPP and make sure we can have, the date we've picked. And we need to tell Scott's parents where we want to go on our honeymoon, since they're determined to send us. And we need to decide whether or not we're going to audition for Twelfth Night, which is the show going on at the ampthitheatre the night after we get married. Everyone has told me I'm insane for even considering such a thing, but...well, I don't always follow advice. It's not that I'm stubborn, really. It's just that I already KNOW I'm crazy, so when someone tells me I'd be crazy to do something...it kind of just makes me want to do it more.
Besides, we could do the show Saturday and Sunday nights, then leave for our honeymoon Monday morning and be back by Friday afternoon for closing weekend. I mean, we can't exactly go on a honeymoon for any longer than that, anyway. We're starving actors. There's no WAY the both of us could take more than a week off work.
They may be right. I may be crazy. But...I haven't actually acted in a show since June. JUNE. Well, I mean, I was in The Songs, which was kind of a musical revue/cabaret type thing, but other than that, I've been busy directing and costuming shows. I should actually STICK to directing and costuming, since those things pay, but...but...ARG, I need to act. And auditions at Parkway last weekend were a trainwreck, so that option is out, and...I'm gonna shut up, because this is supposed to be a wedding blog, and this is mostly unweddinglike rambling.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Favors
So far, my unofficial poll on Facebook is showing anywhere from 3-9 inches of snow on the ground across WNC. And it's still snowing at my house. So...no work this morning. This afternoon remains to be seen; we might still have Aristocats rehearsal for the kiddies.
I don't normally tout specific products on this blog, because honestly, I think the wedding industry in general does enough to make people feel like "OMG YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS THIS AND THIS!!!!" in a wedding. For the record, I am so, so happy I found cool wedding blogs and websites that said, "Hey, you don't have to have Save-The-Dates and favors. Those are actually really new "traditions" that most people have never heard of. So chill." And when you stop and think about it, those things AREN'T really traditional. I guarantee only three groups of people have even heard of Save-The-Dates: 1) Engaged people 2) Recently married people or 3) People in the wedding business. Favors aren't traditional, either: they're a new phenomenon. Twenty years ago, no one would have considered giving their guests an extra little present just for coming - you're already feeding them and inviting them to share your commitment together. Which...is part of the reason why we aren't doing Save-The-Dates or favors. Granted, if people LIKE those things, they should have them. We just decided they were more trouble than they were worth.
Now that I've said all that...I did end up looking at Favor Days after following a link on a website. And I have to say, if you're a person who really wants favors at your wedding...they've got some pretty cute stuff. My favorites?
Kissing Fish - Normally, I really hate the idea of salt & pepper shaker favors. I mean, people already have salt & pepper shakers that match their own decor - why would you bother giving them something they have no use for? But these caught my eye because...well, they're little kissing fish. Our nicknames for each other are Sparklefish and Pistolfish.
Cupcake towels - Okay, I'll admit. I've had a fascination with those tiny, rolled-up towel things ever since I was a child and my brother's girlfriend brought me one back from her vacation. I was absolutely amazed that a tiny, hard little square could be placed in water and become a towel. Now, these favors aren't exactly that - from what I can see, the washcloths are just rolled up very very small and put in a paper wrapper, so there's no cool magical water unfurling that happens. But still. They're pretty darn cute, and everyone can use a washcloth.
Bamboo Coasters - Once again, something almost everyone could use. That's a big selling point for me: lots of favors can be cute, but how many of them are actually useful things to send home with your guests? These little coasters seem useful, AND they're eco-friendly. And, continuing with the eco-friendly theme...
Plantable Card Favors - I love these. They're useful, they're affordable, and they bring a little bit more beauty into the world. Plus, these are favors I would be happy to take home with me if there were leftovers - you can never have too many wildflowers. There are lots of different options, I just linked to the cheapest ones.
And one more, along the same lines as the plantable cards: Plantable Confetti. This is something I'm seriously considering ordering, actually. For a while now, I've loved the idea as throwing wildflower seeds instead of blowing bubbles or throwing birdseed...but this is so much cooler! It's all the pretty show of confeteti, but with the same "let's plant flowers" benefit of throwing seeds! Unfortunately, I'll have to find out if there's a good place we can do this. We're getting married at Montford, and while it is an outdoor theatre complete with flowers and weeds, I'm not sure how people would feel about semi-intentionally planting wildflowers. Plus, they'd probably just get mowed down. But still. Way cool idea.
Like I said, we don't really plan on favors. But if it does end up being in the budget...there are some I'd like to have, necessary or not. I really don't plan on buying enough for everyone. I've seen how many favors go to waste at weddings. People don't want them or forget them. I'm considering ordering around a dozen each of two or three different types of favors, then just scattering them among the tables and see what people want to take home.
So, what does everyone else think? Favors or no favors? Order enough for each and every guest, or just order as many as you think will be taken home? Practical or just plain cute?
I don't normally tout specific products on this blog, because honestly, I think the wedding industry in general does enough to make people feel like "OMG YOU HAVE TO HAVE THIS THIS AND THIS!!!!" in a wedding. For the record, I am so, so happy I found cool wedding blogs and websites that said, "Hey, you don't have to have Save-The-Dates and favors. Those are actually really new "traditions" that most people have never heard of. So chill." And when you stop and think about it, those things AREN'T really traditional. I guarantee only three groups of people have even heard of Save-The-Dates: 1) Engaged people 2) Recently married people or 3) People in the wedding business. Favors aren't traditional, either: they're a new phenomenon. Twenty years ago, no one would have considered giving their guests an extra little present just for coming - you're already feeding them and inviting them to share your commitment together. Which...is part of the reason why we aren't doing Save-The-Dates or favors. Granted, if people LIKE those things, they should have them. We just decided they were more trouble than they were worth.
Now that I've said all that...I did end up looking at Favor Days after following a link on a website. And I have to say, if you're a person who really wants favors at your wedding...they've got some pretty cute stuff. My favorites?
Kissing Fish - Normally, I really hate the idea of salt & pepper shaker favors. I mean, people already have salt & pepper shakers that match their own decor - why would you bother giving them something they have no use for? But these caught my eye because...well, they're little kissing fish. Our nicknames for each other are Sparklefish and Pistolfish.
Cupcake towels - Okay, I'll admit. I've had a fascination with those tiny, rolled-up towel things ever since I was a child and my brother's girlfriend brought me one back from her vacation. I was absolutely amazed that a tiny, hard little square could be placed in water and become a towel. Now, these favors aren't exactly that - from what I can see, the washcloths are just rolled up very very small and put in a paper wrapper, so there's no cool magical water unfurling that happens. But still. They're pretty darn cute, and everyone can use a washcloth.
Bamboo Coasters - Once again, something almost everyone could use. That's a big selling point for me: lots of favors can be cute, but how many of them are actually useful things to send home with your guests? These little coasters seem useful, AND they're eco-friendly. And, continuing with the eco-friendly theme...
Plantable Card Favors - I love these. They're useful, they're affordable, and they bring a little bit more beauty into the world. Plus, these are favors I would be happy to take home with me if there were leftovers - you can never have too many wildflowers. There are lots of different options, I just linked to the cheapest ones.
And one more, along the same lines as the plantable cards: Plantable Confetti. This is something I'm seriously considering ordering, actually. For a while now, I've loved the idea as throwing wildflower seeds instead of blowing bubbles or throwing birdseed...but this is so much cooler! It's all the pretty show of confeteti, but with the same "let's plant flowers" benefit of throwing seeds! Unfortunately, I'll have to find out if there's a good place we can do this. We're getting married at Montford, and while it is an outdoor theatre complete with flowers and weeds, I'm not sure how people would feel about semi-intentionally planting wildflowers. Plus, they'd probably just get mowed down. But still. Way cool idea.
Like I said, we don't really plan on favors. But if it does end up being in the budget...there are some I'd like to have, necessary or not. I really don't plan on buying enough for everyone. I've seen how many favors go to waste at weddings. People don't want them or forget them. I'm considering ordering around a dozen each of two or three different types of favors, then just scattering them among the tables and see what people want to take home.
So, what does everyone else think? Favors or no favors? Order enough for each and every guest, or just order as many as you think will be taken home? Practical or just plain cute?
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
What We Have So Far
So, since I have the morning (possibly the whole day) off due to snow, I decided to write out what all we actually have semi-planned for the wedding, as well as ideas of what might be planned. I'm doing it on this blog because if I just make a list to myself, I'll forget about it. Feedback and helpful suggestions are welcome, as long as it doesn't involve the phrase, "You can't do that because it isn't done at weddings".
Venue: Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre. Rain or shine, at this point. We're just going to warn people to bring umbrellas.
Date: September 25th. This is still unofficial, which Scott keeps harping on me for because he needs to tell his mother something definitive...for some reason I just can't bring myself to say, "YES, THAT is the day we will get married." I think the problem is I just don't like to plan things this far in advance - not because I have doubts, but because I'm just impulsive enough to want to wait until, say, July to nail down a real date.
Time: I'm torn on this. I kind of want to have an 11 a.m. wedding so we have plenty of time to have fun before we have to clean up and make room for that night's show. At the same time, I'd rather get married at 1:00 so it's after lunch and we have the morning to set up. Will two hours make that much difference? Can we start at 1, have a fifteen minute ceremony, take fifteen minutes to setup the reception, and party from 1:30-5:00 before we have to pack up and leave? I would think three hours would be enough time for a reception, based on the weddings I've attended, but you never know.
Attire: I'm making my dress, as stated before. At this point, I'm leaning more and more towards having my bridesmaids' dresses made, too. I have three bridesmaids, and three seamstresses I know have volunteered to make the dresses as a wedding present as I choose. And one of those seamstresses is the mother of one of my bridesmaids, so...yeah. The men will just be asked to wear suits. It seems ridiculous to rent a tux for a wedding, especially a low-key wedding in an outdoor theatre. We're still shopping for a new suit for Scott, though - his old one has been through the wringer and he deserves a new one for our wedding day. And by "new", we are also looking at used suits in good shape.
Food: At this point, we're kind of on the fence. I originally was really set on making the food ourselves. I mean, not just me and Scott alone; we'd enlist the help of various friends and relatives who have all said they'd happily volunteer. This might still happen. However, we seem to be saving a ton of money on all our other choices. The more money we save, the better - I don't feel like we HAVE to splurge on anything if we don't want to. Still, we're considering catering as our splurge.
Alcohol: We're not serving alcohol at the wedding because neither of our families drink. However, we ARE considering opening it up for people to BYOB. This is one of the few things I'm actually concerned about people's reaction to - is it totally rude to tell people they have to bring their own alcohol to a wedding if they want to drink? Or would they prefer bringing their own to not having any alcohol at all? We might still end up nixing that - after all, my parents are chipping in, and they may be uncomfortable with having alcohol openly drunk at the reception. However, I'm saying here and now that anyone is welcome to bring a hip flask to drink in the corner. ;-)
Reception: This will probably get a post of its own later, but for now, here's what we're thinking. The tables will already be set up backstage. After the ceremony, they'll be brought out. There won't really be tables for people to sit at - they can get their food and bring it back to their audience seats, or they can eat as they stand (we're doing finger foods) and mingle around. The stage will be the "dance floor". Of course, we have a few relatives who just can't make it up and down the amphitheatre tiers, and that concerns me. I don't know whether to just leave them out in the audience and bring their food to them, or arrange a couple special tables for them onstage. Speaking of tables, that's one thing I know we'll probably have to rent - the tables and chairs. Unless I can talk Montford, the Arts Center, and probably one other place of business into loaning me a bunch of folding tables.
Venue: Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre. Rain or shine, at this point. We're just going to warn people to bring umbrellas.
Date: September 25th. This is still unofficial, which Scott keeps harping on me for because he needs to tell his mother something definitive...for some reason I just can't bring myself to say, "YES, THAT is the day we will get married." I think the problem is I just don't like to plan things this far in advance - not because I have doubts, but because I'm just impulsive enough to want to wait until, say, July to nail down a real date.
Time: I'm torn on this. I kind of want to have an 11 a.m. wedding so we have plenty of time to have fun before we have to clean up and make room for that night's show. At the same time, I'd rather get married at 1:00 so it's after lunch and we have the morning to set up. Will two hours make that much difference? Can we start at 1, have a fifteen minute ceremony, take fifteen minutes to setup the reception, and party from 1:30-5:00 before we have to pack up and leave? I would think three hours would be enough time for a reception, based on the weddings I've attended, but you never know.
Attire: I'm making my dress, as stated before. At this point, I'm leaning more and more towards having my bridesmaids' dresses made, too. I have three bridesmaids, and three seamstresses I know have volunteered to make the dresses as a wedding present as I choose. And one of those seamstresses is the mother of one of my bridesmaids, so...yeah. The men will just be asked to wear suits. It seems ridiculous to rent a tux for a wedding, especially a low-key wedding in an outdoor theatre. We're still shopping for a new suit for Scott, though - his old one has been through the wringer and he deserves a new one for our wedding day. And by "new", we are also looking at used suits in good shape.
Food: At this point, we're kind of on the fence. I originally was really set on making the food ourselves. I mean, not just me and Scott alone; we'd enlist the help of various friends and relatives who have all said they'd happily volunteer. This might still happen. However, we seem to be saving a ton of money on all our other choices. The more money we save, the better - I don't feel like we HAVE to splurge on anything if we don't want to. Still, we're considering catering as our splurge.
Alcohol: We're not serving alcohol at the wedding because neither of our families drink. However, we ARE considering opening it up for people to BYOB. This is one of the few things I'm actually concerned about people's reaction to - is it totally rude to tell people they have to bring their own alcohol to a wedding if they want to drink? Or would they prefer bringing their own to not having any alcohol at all? We might still end up nixing that - after all, my parents are chipping in, and they may be uncomfortable with having alcohol openly drunk at the reception. However, I'm saying here and now that anyone is welcome to bring a hip flask to drink in the corner. ;-)
Reception: This will probably get a post of its own later, but for now, here's what we're thinking. The tables will already be set up backstage. After the ceremony, they'll be brought out. There won't really be tables for people to sit at - they can get their food and bring it back to their audience seats, or they can eat as they stand (we're doing finger foods) and mingle around. The stage will be the "dance floor". Of course, we have a few relatives who just can't make it up and down the amphitheatre tiers, and that concerns me. I don't know whether to just leave them out in the audience and bring their food to them, or arrange a couple special tables for them onstage. Speaking of tables, that's one thing I know we'll probably have to rent - the tables and chairs. Unless I can talk Montford, the Arts Center, and probably one other place of business into loaning me a bunch of folding tables.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Are there always this many weddings?
So...for anyone else out there reading this who is engaged...have you noticed that now that you're getting married, it seems that EVERYONE else is, too? Not that I mind - it's kind of exciting to check out Facebook and see that a whole bunch of people I know are engaged. This mostly happens when I randomly stop by the profile of someone I haven't talked to in 2-10 years.
The only thing that gets me down about this fact is that far too many of these newly-engaged people don't seem to have discovered the wonderful, offbeat wedding websites and blogs out there. I routinely see girls who are fighting with relatives, tearing their hair out over the insane amount of rules some venues have, or staring in shock at the price of what their wedding is "supposed" to look like. Now granted, some of these girls might be totally happy underneath, but I really just feel like they just haven't made it past mainstream wedding media yet. They haven't seen all the awesome, totally authentic (and when I say that, I mean authentic to the bride and groom) "wedding graduate" posts over at A Practical Wedding. I know, I know, this is the second post in a row that I've lauded Meg's creation. But I kind of want to get all my engaged acquaintences together in a big group say, "Listen. This place doesn't have ALL the answers, but it sure can help keep you sane and remind you to stand your ground on stuff that matters."
Speaking of standing ground...I'm gearing up to defend our venue choice to my future mother-in-law. Who, for the record, is an amazingly wonderful woman, and I'm really excited to be her new daughter. What's kind of funny is...she's kind of stepped into the stereotypical "mother-of-the-bride" role when it comes to opinions about the wedding, whereas my mom has pretty much said "It's your wedding, do what you want!" while still chipping in her two cents when it comes to questions of "how will this particular thing work?". Anyhoo. Not sure how keen my new mama is gonna be on us getting married in an amphitheatre, but I'm pretty sure she'll understand. In fact, I know she'll understand...it's just that I'm also expecting a few months of, "But you know, you could get married in our church!" I love God. I just feel closer to God when I'm outside, and I've always felt compelled to get married outside. As for rain location...well, we're talking about reserving the place I work just in case. I'm a little worried about fire code there, and I'm tempted to say "Screw it, we'll get married in the rain!" but maybe we WOULD be safer with a backup plan. And considering it's where I work...my boss might let me reserve the space for a small fee, and I'd pay her extra if we ended up actually using it? I dunno.
In unrelated news...today is my future father-in-law's birthday. I called him while Scott and I were watching Garden State to wish him a happy birthday, called him "daddy" because I love him and I feel weird calling him Steve, and talked about the weather for about two minutes. I got off the phone and Scott told me I'd probably just made his dad's day, because a) no one ever talks to him on the phone that long because he's such a quiet man and b) he always wanted a daughter. So, I'm happy that I probably made him happy.
The only thing that gets me down about this fact is that far too many of these newly-engaged people don't seem to have discovered the wonderful, offbeat wedding websites and blogs out there. I routinely see girls who are fighting with relatives, tearing their hair out over the insane amount of rules some venues have, or staring in shock at the price of what their wedding is "supposed" to look like. Now granted, some of these girls might be totally happy underneath, but I really just feel like they just haven't made it past mainstream wedding media yet. They haven't seen all the awesome, totally authentic (and when I say that, I mean authentic to the bride and groom) "wedding graduate" posts over at A Practical Wedding. I know, I know, this is the second post in a row that I've lauded Meg's creation. But I kind of want to get all my engaged acquaintences together in a big group say, "Listen. This place doesn't have ALL the answers, but it sure can help keep you sane and remind you to stand your ground on stuff that matters."
Speaking of standing ground...I'm gearing up to defend our venue choice to my future mother-in-law. Who, for the record, is an amazingly wonderful woman, and I'm really excited to be her new daughter. What's kind of funny is...she's kind of stepped into the stereotypical "mother-of-the-bride" role when it comes to opinions about the wedding, whereas my mom has pretty much said "It's your wedding, do what you want!" while still chipping in her two cents when it comes to questions of "how will this particular thing work?". Anyhoo. Not sure how keen my new mama is gonna be on us getting married in an amphitheatre, but I'm pretty sure she'll understand. In fact, I know she'll understand...it's just that I'm also expecting a few months of, "But you know, you could get married in our church!" I love God. I just feel closer to God when I'm outside, and I've always felt compelled to get married outside. As for rain location...well, we're talking about reserving the place I work just in case. I'm a little worried about fire code there, and I'm tempted to say "Screw it, we'll get married in the rain!" but maybe we WOULD be safer with a backup plan. And considering it's where I work...my boss might let me reserve the space for a small fee, and I'd pay her extra if we ended up actually using it? I dunno.
In unrelated news...today is my future father-in-law's birthday. I called him while Scott and I were watching Garden State to wish him a happy birthday, called him "daddy" because I love him and I feel weird calling him Steve, and talked about the weather for about two minutes. I got off the phone and Scott told me I'd probably just made his dad's day, because a) no one ever talks to him on the phone that long because he's such a quiet man and b) he always wanted a daughter. So, I'm happy that I probably made him happy.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
New title!
I don't know why I didn't have this title to begin with. After I published that last blog post, I suddenly realized that A Theatrical Wedding was the perfect title for this blog. I mean, think about it. We're both actors. We met on a stage. We got engaged on a stage. We're getting married on a stage. Plus, it's kind of a little tribute to my favorite wedding blog, A Practical Wedding...get it? Practical Wedding, Theatrical Wedding...the only thing that could make this better is if I titled it A Dramatical Wedding instead. You wanna know why? Good, I'll tell you. Because then it would fit all the above descriptions, AND it would be sort of honoring my favorite musical. Because my favorite musical is Cats. Yes, you heard me right. Cats. And this is part of the opening song:
Practical cats, dramatical cats
Pragmatical cats, fanatical cats
Oratorical cats, delphioracle cats
Skeptical cats, dyspeptical cats
Romantical cats, pedantical cats
Critical cats, parasitical cats
Allegorical cats, metaphorical cats
Statistical cats and mystical cats
Political cats, hypocritical cats
Clerical cats, hysterical cats
Cynical cats, rabbinical cats
However, I just don't think A Dramatical Wedding has quite the same ring to it. Possibly because "dramatical" isn't a real word. Too bad T.S. Eliot didn't write the first line of that chorus as "Practical cats, theatrical cats." He totally could have.
So, there you have it. New blog title. Same old me.
Practical cats, dramatical cats
Pragmatical cats, fanatical cats
Oratorical cats, delphioracle cats
Skeptical cats, dyspeptical cats
Romantical cats, pedantical cats
Critical cats, parasitical cats
Allegorical cats, metaphorical cats
Statistical cats and mystical cats
Political cats, hypocritical cats
Clerical cats, hysterical cats
Cynical cats, rabbinical cats
However, I just don't think A Dramatical Wedding has quite the same ring to it. Possibly because "dramatical" isn't a real word. Too bad T.S. Eliot didn't write the first line of that chorus as "Practical cats, theatrical cats." He totally could have.
So, there you have it. New blog title. Same old me.
Shakespeare in the park, with a side of wedding
So for the past week, we've been discussing (or RE-discussing, I guess) the idea of getting married at the amphitheatre where Scott proposed and where I practically live all summer long doing Shakespeare shows. And then somehow last night while standing in line at the Chocolate Lounge with my friend Esha, we actually officially decided in that random, laid-back, spur-of-the-moment style that I'm pretty sure only we could pull off. It went a little something like this.
Esha: When is the wedding?
Me: Eh, we dunno. Septemberish. We've gotta work around Montford's show schedule a little, 'cause we're talking about getting married at the amphitheatre.
Esha: THAT WOULD BE SO COOL!
Me: I know! I think we're probably gonna do it.
Scott: Let's decide! We're getting married at Montford.
And that was pretty much it! This is great for a lot of reasons. For starters...it's nice to know we finally picked a venue. It's not absolutely everything we wanted, of course. I wanted something a little more out in nature, and Scott wanted something with an indoor option if it rains. I'm sure that over the next few months, I'm going to have a couple of doubts about whether or not it was a good decision. So, with that in mind, I'm going to go ahead and blog about all the reasons it IS a good decision.
1. It's cheap. I actually don't know exactly what John would charge us, but I know it'll be cheaper than a regular wedding venue. And of course, I suppose we officially have to clear things with the board of directors...but I'm ON the board, so hopefully that will help a little bit. I don't see why anyone would have a problem, but then again, you know how committees are - there's always going to be a naysayer who will list all sorts of reasons why it's a Bad Idea. But all that aside...cheap venue.
2. There is PLENTY of space to seat people. Which is great, because there are tons and tons of people I would love to invite to this wedding. Granted, we'll probably have to rent chairs, since the amphitheatre seating is just grass and wood and dirt, but then again, we might have people bring their own lawn chairs to sit in.
3. There is plenty of parking, which was a major concern for a lot of the other low-budget venues we've looked at.
4. There's no need to set up a dance floor; people can just come down to the stage during the reception.
5. The food tables can all be set up ahead of time and kept backstage until after the ceremony.
6. It's a theatre. Which is perfect for us.
7. It's outdoors, which is what I've always wanted.
8. It's easy to get to, yet it's still kind of remote - you can't even seen the parking lot from the theatre because it's over the hill, and in the summer you can't really see the houses that are nearby because they're covered up by trees.
9. There's a great little grassy field really close by that will be great to take pictures in; we hold rehearsals there sometimes when there are two shows rehearsing at once and not everyone can have the stage. The field is right next to a tiny, tucked away corner of the cemetery that Thomas Wolfe is buried in...and to be honest, I'm just enough of an oddball that I'm considering the possibility of taking wedding photos IN that little graveyard corner. It's really a sweet, peaceful place.
10. It's where Scott proposed, so it would be great to get married there.
Esha: When is the wedding?
Me: Eh, we dunno. Septemberish. We've gotta work around Montford's show schedule a little, 'cause we're talking about getting married at the amphitheatre.
Esha: THAT WOULD BE SO COOL!
Me: I know! I think we're probably gonna do it.
Scott: Let's decide! We're getting married at Montford.
And that was pretty much it! This is great for a lot of reasons. For starters...it's nice to know we finally picked a venue. It's not absolutely everything we wanted, of course. I wanted something a little more out in nature, and Scott wanted something with an indoor option if it rains. I'm sure that over the next few months, I'm going to have a couple of doubts about whether or not it was a good decision. So, with that in mind, I'm going to go ahead and blog about all the reasons it IS a good decision.
1. It's cheap. I actually don't know exactly what John would charge us, but I know it'll be cheaper than a regular wedding venue. And of course, I suppose we officially have to clear things with the board of directors...but I'm ON the board, so hopefully that will help a little bit. I don't see why anyone would have a problem, but then again, you know how committees are - there's always going to be a naysayer who will list all sorts of reasons why it's a Bad Idea. But all that aside...cheap venue.
2. There is PLENTY of space to seat people. Which is great, because there are tons and tons of people I would love to invite to this wedding. Granted, we'll probably have to rent chairs, since the amphitheatre seating is just grass and wood and dirt, but then again, we might have people bring their own lawn chairs to sit in.
3. There is plenty of parking, which was a major concern for a lot of the other low-budget venues we've looked at.
4. There's no need to set up a dance floor; people can just come down to the stage during the reception.
5. The food tables can all be set up ahead of time and kept backstage until after the ceremony.
6. It's a theatre. Which is perfect for us.
7. It's outdoors, which is what I've always wanted.
8. It's easy to get to, yet it's still kind of remote - you can't even seen the parking lot from the theatre because it's over the hill, and in the summer you can't really see the houses that are nearby because they're covered up by trees.
9. There's a great little grassy field really close by that will be great to take pictures in; we hold rehearsals there sometimes when there are two shows rehearsing at once and not everyone can have the stage. The field is right next to a tiny, tucked away corner of the cemetery that Thomas Wolfe is buried in...and to be honest, I'm just enough of an oddball that I'm considering the possibility of taking wedding photos IN that little graveyard corner. It's really a sweet, peaceful place.
10. It's where Scott proposed, so it would be great to get married there.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Proposal
So I just realized that I posted our "About Us" story, but never our actual proposal story. I think at the time I didn't really think I had much to write about it, I was just happy it'd happened, but now that a couple months have passed, I wanna revisit the day.
Actually, I have to back up to before the actual proposal. We'd been talking about getting married pretty much since we attended his cousin's wedding in February 2009. It was a very delicate subject in the beginning, since he had just BARELY gotten used to the idea that he even wanted to get married. He had been a confirmed bachelor for the better part of six years (at least, in terms of commitment). But as time wore on we talked more and more, so really, we had decided to marry each other long before the proposal. I think that's the way most relationships go nowadays.
Also, I had seen/tried on/knew about the ring before he popped the question. We'd been looking at rings all over town for a couple months, but we were kind of just browsing to see what we liked and what looked good on my hand. Then the day after Thanksgiving, we were out shopping - sounds like a crazy plan, but it was a tiny mall on the outskirts of a bigger town, so it was actually a pleasant experience. We wandered into the jewelry store, I tried on a solitaire...and it was somehow just perfect. Not only was it perfect, it was WAY marked down. We left without buying the ring...but Scott knew it was what he wanted, knew it was a fantastic ring for the price (it's seriously worth about twice as much as he paid for it - he knew that right away because he used to work in jewelry), so about half an hour later he went back without me and bought it. I just wasn't allowed to see it in his presence until it was officially mine, but I did sneak a few peeks after he gave me a hint for where to look.
The first proposal attempt kind of failed. Scott and I were both determined that he was going to ask my father's permission before he actually gave me the ring, and of course the Sunday that he first tried to ask, my dad ended up being out of town. Cut to the next Sunday, December 6th. He managed to catch my dad alone and talked to him. I knew things had gone well because my dad was in a good mood all through lunch (granted, my dad's in a good mood most times anyway). However...I had no idea at the time that Scott meant to propose to me THAT DAY. I thought we'd go out somewhere later that week. So I was in no hurry when we went out for a drive; we dropped by Wal-Mart to pick up some Christmas gifts, and I was taking my sweet time.
When he FINALLY got me back in the car, he made me close my eyes. And keep them closed for about ten minutes while we drove into Asheville. I know the roads well enough to know exactly where we were going. We parked, he led me up some steps, then told me to sit down. I started to...and the seat was wet from snow. So he told me nevermind, just stand. I did, opened my eyes...and he was on one knee in the center of the balcony at the amphitheatre. He had driven by the week before and pulled up a throne leftover from the summer season for me to sit on, not anticipating the snow.
I don't think I could have asked for a better proposal. My favorite place to be in the whole world is onstage, and I've spent many a day rehearsing right on the very spot he proposed. And now whenever I go back to do another show, I'll remember that. In fact, as of right now, there's still a message on the green room chalk board (I have keys to the theatre) that says "Mandy and Scott got engaged here! 12/6/09". And we're even thinking about maybe getting married in that same spot.
Actually, I have to back up to before the actual proposal. We'd been talking about getting married pretty much since we attended his cousin's wedding in February 2009. It was a very delicate subject in the beginning, since he had just BARELY gotten used to the idea that he even wanted to get married. He had been a confirmed bachelor for the better part of six years (at least, in terms of commitment). But as time wore on we talked more and more, so really, we had decided to marry each other long before the proposal. I think that's the way most relationships go nowadays.
Also, I had seen/tried on/knew about the ring before he popped the question. We'd been looking at rings all over town for a couple months, but we were kind of just browsing to see what we liked and what looked good on my hand. Then the day after Thanksgiving, we were out shopping - sounds like a crazy plan, but it was a tiny mall on the outskirts of a bigger town, so it was actually a pleasant experience. We wandered into the jewelry store, I tried on a solitaire...and it was somehow just perfect. Not only was it perfect, it was WAY marked down. We left without buying the ring...but Scott knew it was what he wanted, knew it was a fantastic ring for the price (it's seriously worth about twice as much as he paid for it - he knew that right away because he used to work in jewelry), so about half an hour later he went back without me and bought it. I just wasn't allowed to see it in his presence until it was officially mine, but I did sneak a few peeks after he gave me a hint for where to look.
The first proposal attempt kind of failed. Scott and I were both determined that he was going to ask my father's permission before he actually gave me the ring, and of course the Sunday that he first tried to ask, my dad ended up being out of town. Cut to the next Sunday, December 6th. He managed to catch my dad alone and talked to him. I knew things had gone well because my dad was in a good mood all through lunch (granted, my dad's in a good mood most times anyway). However...I had no idea at the time that Scott meant to propose to me THAT DAY. I thought we'd go out somewhere later that week. So I was in no hurry when we went out for a drive; we dropped by Wal-Mart to pick up some Christmas gifts, and I was taking my sweet time.
When he FINALLY got me back in the car, he made me close my eyes. And keep them closed for about ten minutes while we drove into Asheville. I know the roads well enough to know exactly where we were going. We parked, he led me up some steps, then told me to sit down. I started to...and the seat was wet from snow. So he told me nevermind, just stand. I did, opened my eyes...and he was on one knee in the center of the balcony at the amphitheatre. He had driven by the week before and pulled up a throne leftover from the summer season for me to sit on, not anticipating the snow.
I don't think I could have asked for a better proposal. My favorite place to be in the whole world is onstage, and I've spent many a day rehearsing right on the very spot he proposed. And now whenever I go back to do another show, I'll remember that. In fact, as of right now, there's still a message on the green room chalk board (I have keys to the theatre) that says "Mandy and Scott got engaged here! 12/6/09". And we're even thinking about maybe getting married in that same spot.
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