Wedding Planning: A Family Affair

Mr. Handsome jokes that his family hijacked our wedding. He’s right, although I would say they lovingly hijacked our wedding, with my family’s permission. Let me explain.When it came to wedding planning, I was definitely not your average bride. What I was looking forward to was the actual marriage, so the details of the wedding just didn’t seem to be all that important. The list of what I wanted our big day to look like was limited to the following:

1. Fun and relaxing for everyone (no stressing over the details)
2. Simple but elegant decor
3. Casual, affordable bridesmaid dresses that could be worn again
4. Reasonably priced
5. No tuxedos (too expensive and impractical)

Since the beginning of our dating courtship, I had envisioned walking down the aisle to a guitar instrumental of “Come Thou Fount,” my favorite song, played by Mr. Handsome. A few family members offered to accompany him on other instruments, but I gently explained that I really just wanted my groom up there. That dream was fulfilled, so I was happy.

I did a lot of behind-the-scenes wedding planning, such as designing and addressing the 180 invitations, drafting the order of ceremonies, coordinating with the caterers (aka Mr. Handsome’s uncle and family-friend), and meeting with the photographer (also a family-friend).

Mr. Handsome’s family generously offered to host the reception on their rural acreage, and they ended up taking care of most of the details. Their family is significantly larger than mine, so it’s true that his parents invited more than 300 guests, while my parents only invited 100. We broke from the tradition of the bride hosting the wedding in her hometown, but only because both our families agreed that it would make for the most memorable, relaxing celebration.

The flowers and decorations were planned by my mom, mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, and cousin-in-law. Of course, they asked my opinion on everything, and I maintained a master list of all the plans to ensure that everything stayed organized and did not become too impractical or expensive.

Our friends and extended family were also eager to lend a hand, which allowed us to keep costs down while pulling off such a large event in only three months. By the time it was all said and done, we ended up DIY-ing most of our wedding.

So, yes, in short, Mr. Handsome’s family ended up “hijacking” our wedding, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. In our situation, due to the location and timeframe, it would have been impossible for my family to do everything. And honestly, it was way more fun to have everyone involved.

More details coming soon!