Picture an August evening where everyone is gathering to enjoy each other and congratulate Garrett and I on our new marriage. So where did you picture it? I kept thinking of locations but my mind always wondered back to my parents' yard. Isn't it lovely?I keep telling Garrett that this would be a lot of stress and work for my parents so it's not an option, but my parents keep saying it's the best option. My sisters Marianne and Michelle had receptions here as well as my Aunt Nellie.
Another option is going to a reception hall where most everything is included...Northampton House is really close to Michelle and does a beautiful job (http://www.northamptonhouse.com/). If it won't be the death of my parents then I would prefer our yard to a reception hall...Any ideas on how to keep Mom & Dad's stress down?
I would think the major stressors would be preping the yard and meeting the arriving contractors(like who put up the tent). So arranging someone to prep the yard and people to meet the contactor when they arrive so the parent's can be getting ready etc would be a big help.
ReplyDeleteHire Marilyn to play the harp :-) Music all done in one fell swoop
ReplyDeleteI agree with Staci about the yard prep etc. If you hire out a lot of the work it will be a lot less stress. Good idea, Staci! I think that would be a much better way to spend money -- as opposed to a reception hall. My opinion. What does Garrett think? Remember too that you have other family in the area that would love to be stressed :-) Feel free to call on us to help out in any way! And, it sounds like you have a lot of music connections too, so the music may take care of itself too :-) One thing about the music, you might want to consider some kind of speaker system so that you can enjoy the music better. We had some great musicians at our reception. The music tended to get lost in the air though. If you weren't standing fairly close to the musicians you missed out. Later we discovered that this is an issue with open-air outdoor receptions. That's one thing I would change if I had to do it all over again -- speakers so you can hear the music all over the yard.
ReplyDeleteOk. I have to admit. Mom told me that the NorthHampton house packages started at $4000 and I was blown away by the price so I didn't even look at it. You had the link above though so I clicked :-) Wow! That could be really beautiful. Tough decision. If money is no object..... that would make it an even tougher decision :-) One thing though -- I would highly recommend having the family do the wedding cake either way. Where you have the talent in the family it's neat to take advantage of that. It's a loving gift that family can give to you. And I don't think it's a stress. Of course, I'm not one of the talented ones so I don't know :-) Something to think about though. Gosh it would be neat to have a really cool indoor reception with a double string quartet, concert pianist, harp, vocal soloist..... mmmmmmmmm..... dancing? :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm also happy to help with whatever, though I'm probably more able to help in the early stages, than as it gets closer, depending on how this pregnancy goes. Let me know what I can do. Oh, I can volunteer Rob to make Cuban food . . . . :-)
ReplyDeleteWow. Northampton House is gorgeous! I did really enjoy the reception-in-Mapleton, though. A nice balance between formal and informal. Very comfortable. BTW, I gave up years ago on trying to reduce the mother's stress. Can't be done.
ReplyDeleteCuban food...Rob, you're hired! Seriously, I will definitely take everyone's help in getting this ready. It's the putting together a game plan that might take me some time.
ReplyDeleteFYI... It is the food for the reception that stresses your mom the most.... the yard can be worked at all summer. Get the food catered so yur mom can enjoy the evening
ReplyDeleteI agree about the food as a major stressor. Maybe Sam would know some musicians to check out. Totally agree on the speaker system. Remeber Marcia Conover Harris did sound; I don't know if she does anymore, but she would know how to set it up and probably who to call if she's not in it anymore. I love the green glass settings, of course!
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