In which I begin the slow metamorphosis into Bridezilla.

If any of you are planning to get engaged in the near future, I strongly recommend that you flee the country immediately after your sweetheart proposes. This will provide you with a chance to wind down a little and prepare yourself before the inevitable wedding-planning madness strikes.

The dust had barely settled on our engagement when it began. The questions started flying from all sides - When's the wedding? Where will it be? Where have you registered? Will you change your name? What kind of dress will you wear? - and even the most tentative answers seem to invite a barrage of critique, criticism, and unsolicited advice. While I'm eagerly seeking ideas and input from a wide variety of sources, even the most casual acquaintances seem to feel free to advise us that whatever we're (still very tentatively) considering doing is entirely unacceptable. By the same token, people seem to expect that we will have already planned the entire wedding, though we are still over a year out from our (still tentative) date.

What we have figured out so far is that we will likely get hitched in late September of next year. Beyond that, the wedding is a moving target. Literally, because we're having a hell of a time finding the right place for it. You might think, given the amount of time that Steve and I spend climbing rocks and sliding down mountains that we'd have a High Country wedding, but due to beloved relatives on both sides whose age and health would preclude attendance at a high altitude event, we'll be sticking closer to town. Our choice of mountain-ish locations is further limited by the likely size of the shindig, because virtually everything we like in the Boulder area fits fewer than 200 at full capacity. We are still searching and brainstorming, and are also pondering ways we might mountain-ize a slightly more urban or suburban setting.

Despite what I said above about the giving of advice, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this whole process. I promise (to try) not to turn this into The Big Pink Wedding Blog, but I'm hoping to gather suggestions from many different sources on various aspects of Wedding Stuff. Paramount among my concerns is making sure that our guests are happy. The wedding will almost certainly be on a Sunday afternoon and evening, necessitating Monday travel for our many out-of-towners, and I recognize that this will come as an inconvenience to some. Because of this, and because I've spent much time and money on other people's weddings over the past decade or so, I want to do everything possible to ensure the comfort and satisfaction of those friends and family members who make the effort to share our wedding day with us.

Any ideas? I can't promise I'll take them, but the comments section is open for business.

Comments

[Sasha]

my one suggestion is that while it's not the best travel scenario with a sunday wedding, point out the benefits. first they're traveling someplace beautiful so extra vacation days are enjoyable. second, if they stay one more day and travel on a tuesday, fares will be much lower! always a benefit.

[Carolyn Elefant]

If you are a bride who actually cares about her guests, then you will never become Bridezilla.
If you are anticipating out of town guests, I would try to offer a number of different activities throughout the weekend to keep them busy. Perhaps if you have them staying at a particular hotel, you could have an afternoon get together at the pool or maybe a picnic or backyard party at someone's house. And some kind of Saturday night party - either at a restaurant or the hotel is always fun.
I would also recommend that you try to find some kind of centrally located hotel and reserve a block of rooms, preferably at a discount rate if you can negotiate one.
And, be sure to at least offer some kind of vegetarian entre or hors d'ouvres for guests who are vegetarian or kosher. Good luck!