Wedding Wonderings

As some of you know, my guy and I are engaged, and we spent the whole day on Sunday looking at reception halls, trying to find one that felt like “us” but still fit the budget.

Mostly we’re looking in the Hudson River Valley in New York State—it’s a dream of a landscape: rolling mountains, lazy afternoons, lush trees and insouciant wildflowers. I just love it. It’s the perfect place for Matt and me to say “I do.”

I have to admit—as excited as I am to throw a great wedding party, there’s some varying schools of thought about whether or not to spend any money on a wedding at all.

Some people tell me about their weddings, and they say things like: I splurged on the dress/venue/food/whatever and I’ve never regretted it. The tell me to just throw caution to the wind and go for it, financially, so that we don’t look back and think “I wish I’d done it differently.”

But others are more cautious. They say (to varying extremes): you don’t need a wedding at all. Go to city hall and say “yes” then meet up with your friends at a bar afterward to party. They point out that what we don’t spend on a wedding we can put into savings.

Matt and I have been together for a very long time (almost ten years) and so we’re not exactly the blushing bride and groom. But I do want us to have a memorable, beautiful day for our wedding.

So here’s what I’m wondering: What did you do at your wedding? And what do you think is the “right” way to approach the wedding glitz?

Thanks and best,

Lisa Dale

P.S. Last Call: I’m giving away a copy of Robyn DeHart’s Seduce Me over on my blog today. Comment to enter!