The Groomsmen all had on black cowboy hats, and looked stylin’.  After the first dances, we kicked off the dance with a dance contest between the Groom and his groomsmen and the Bride and the Bridesmaids.  It was quite the competition, and one that I think the girls won.  Of course, it helped that most of the girls were on a dance team together in college.

These guys rocked the dance floor all night long, and broke out the dance moves to everything from the Wobble, to Footloose, to Bon Jovi, and Dierks Bently.  It was non-stop dancing.

Recently, The Knot and MSN had an article on “10 things that CAN wait” once you get engaged.  It’s a great list and should help you put some of your planning in perspective of what needs to be done now, and what can truly wait till later.  Check it out here.

Anymore, it’s not really about what traditions need to be followed.  It’s really more centered on what is expected from the two of you at your reception.  Everyone wants a wedding and a reception that is uniquely theirs, and speaks to their character.  So, the better question to ask is what are our guests expecting at the reception and more specifically, what are they expecting from us?  

Over the last 5 years or so, the layout and structure of a wedding reception has changed drastically.  So, it’s really up to the two of you as to what and how you want to do things.  Here’s what I can tell you as far as what guests are still expecting to happen at a reception.

- Cutting of the cake / or some gesture of togetherness where your cake/dessert is at (people still want to see that)
- Wedding toasts from the Best Man and Maid/Matron of Honor
- First dance of the newly married couple
- Bouquet toss
- Kissing at the head table when your guests are “klinking” their glasses with their spoons
- If the reception starts before  7 pm, people also expect to eat

That’s it.  That’s what’s expected anymore from over 80% of your guests.  The rest…is up to you.  How you do it, is up to you.  Don’t be afraid to change it up and truly make the reception unique.  All the rest of the items are truly your choosing.

Want to do something really unique?  Try this.  Instead of doing a receiving line at the wedding, do it at the reception hall.  When the wedding is over, you and your wedding party leave (Ushered out with a flair of applause by your guests). Skip going to a bar in your beautiful wedding dress.  Go get your pictures taken, then head to the reception site.  Beat all your guests to the reception hall, and greet each one at the door as they walk in.  Your guests will honestly be amazed and surprised, and it will be something that they will remember.  Plus, your guests will get a little more time to talk with you without feeling the pressure of everyone behind them. 

There are many questions you have to come to a conclusion on when planning your wedding.  And, truth be known, not all those questions are universal for every wedding.  It depends on the type of wedding, the age of the bride and groom, demographical area, budget, etc…..

Regardless, you still have to decide just what you are going to spend your money on.  And, what big ticket item(s) are really important to you and worth the investment.  Now don’t get sidetracked, because you will have plenty of people (friends, family, extended family, eavesdroppers at lunch….) who will tell you “Oh, sweetheart, you have got to have “x” at your wedding.”. 

It comes down to just what do you want to have at your wedding and the reception, and what’s important to you. 

MSN.com recently had an article about “9 Wedding splurges that are totally worth it” that I found interesting.  Those 9 items in order are:

- Lighting
- Ceremony Decor
- The Entryway
- Photo Booth
- Lounge Area
- Welcome Bags
- Special Entertainment
- Late night snacks
- Draping

It may help you decide just what is important for your budget dollars.  It may give you some new ideas that you hadn’t thought about.  check it out.

- I’m a child of the 80′s, so all the big hair metal and cheesy pop music that was played then, I still like
- I’ve seen Hall & Oates in concert, and it was a blast. (i’ve also seen Huey Lewis, Van Halen, Kiss, Rush, Beach Boys, etc…..)
- And, there are still lot’s of 80′s songs that we play at weddings cause they are fun to dance to.

With those points made, this is just a great creative way to do this song.  Kudos to the band for pulling it off.  And if you do a search on the internet for this band (Nicky Bluhm), you will find that they do this thing with several other songs all the time.  So, it’s obviously something that they have gotten good at.  Now add to that you got a couple of guys in trucker hats, and one dude in the back playing what looks like one of those little toy piano’s, great!  And a Kazoo!

Regardless, it’s fun to watch and listen to.  Check out the video here.

With spring, comes the wedding season and all the planning.  Now planning for me is often times very different than a bride and groom planning for their wedding.  I am checking gear, looking at new configurations that I cam up with over the winter, etc….But for my Brides and Grooms, they are often looking at what types of traditions they want to incorporate, and what they could do to have that extra special day.

I often times get asked what traditions are there that could be incorporated.  So I did some digging on Irish Wedding Traditions (since it’s March, and it is St. Patty’s day) and found a great article that lists all sorts of Irish traditions. 

Some traditions are nothing more than a wives tale or superstition.  Some are kinda fun (“when leaving the church, someone must throw an old shoe over the brides head so she will have good luck”) – have fun picking the shoe and picking who will throw it.  And some are very telling – (“The wedding party should always take the longest road home from the church”) – this explains why the wedding party is always arriving last. 

These traditions and more can all be found at this link “Irish Wedding Traditions”. (C) Copyright http://www.ireland-information.com  It’s a fun read.  And may give you some ideas for your wedding.

If you are going to be in Cedar Rapids this year on St. Patty’s day, the parade is downtown and usually starts around 1 pm.  Come down and have some fun.