I have seen the glass clinking and kissing get out of control. The poor couple had to kiss every five minutes.

It's a good idea to have the bachelor and bachelorette parties well in advance of the wedding. The guys threw my cousin into a fountain at his bachelor party. He wound up spending the rest of the night in the ER getting x-rays and stitches in his hand which was accidentally injured. :eek: He was fine, but his hand was bandaged at the wedding.

Wedding traditions do vary based on families, culture, religion, and region. What might seem strange in NYC might be perfectly normal in Atlanta and vice versa. Jewish, Protestant, and Catholic weddings are different as are Greek, Irish, Chinese, and African American. I like going to weddings because I get to experience a little bit of someone else's traditions. :)

Yep! It's cute for the first five minutes, then it's annoying. I especially hate it when people are clinking their glasses during dinner! Helllllllllllloooooooooooo...They have food in their mouth! Let them enjoy it! :rolleyes:

I lurked on alt.wedding back when I was planning my wedding. This topic came up frequently. The funniest suggestion I saw was that, when the guests started glass-clinking, the bride and groom should also pick up their spoons, tap on their glasses, and look confused. :p

Unfortunately many people think that a WC is an "extra" expense -- this is sad because many are VERY reasonable as far as their rates, and they are a valuable part of the event. They help run around searching for best-prices, they recommend vendors (and who NOT to use) because they have worked with them before and know what to expect. They do all the leg-work while still allowing the B&G to make their own decisions. Plus, at the reception, they will be able to run interference for anyone who is unruly, when the family prefers not to step in.

I wish I had a penny for all the people who have told me after weddings "I had no idea how helpful you would be" -- especially when there are fires to put out at the event itself (like my bride whose dad left his tux pants in the hotel room and we found out an hour before the wedding!) I also help keep the bride calm and focused (and usually run interference between her and her mother or MIL to be as needed!) -- nothing is worse than a bride who can't even concentrate long enough to enjoy her day!

So my suggestion is for you to seriously consider contracting a WC. I can give you advice all day long, but I can't be there to help you with the things that I know come up. If you want to check around and get some rates, and then PM me, I will let you know what you can expect.

Glad I could help thus far! Please let me know if you need anything else (you can PM me if you want).

Amen, amen, amen!

My pastor will not marry a couple who has not received a minimum of three counseling sessions. If one or the other of the couple has been divorced, he recommends "Fresh Start" or another Christian divorce recovery seminar - for BOTH of them!

I am in complete agreement with this, and my future inlaws just cannot understand why their son/brother needs this counseling. If for no other reason (and this thread speaks right to the topic!), a couple MUST be in agreement about finances & how not to overextended yourselves.

I think we all agree that charging people $330 to attend your wedding is definitely overextending the budget! That bride may have champagne taste but she has all the class of a day old beer!

Traditions are such sacred cows, and it's hard not to step on toes - especially with the mixing of cultures. Again, my inlaws are confused by a Groom's Cake. I don't want to do a money dance, but will probably grit my teeth and bear it.

Anyone who's lived in Pittsburgh knows of a tradition exclusive to Pittsburgh - The Cookie Table! All good friends of the bride & groom make tons of fancy cookies for a huge spread of cookies. It sounds a little crazy, but actually, the cookies keep early arrivals from getting smashed prior to the dinner, and they're also a great ice breaker. Who doesn't love cookies? One divorced woman I know says that the reason her marriage broke up was because they neglected to have a Cookie Table!

At one wedding I went to, they did a cute twist on this . . . instead of the glass clinking, if you wanted the couple to kiss you had to stand up and sing a verse of a song with "love" in the title (no song repeats allowed). Needless to say, it injected some humor into the dinner, and it definitely cut down on the number of people demanding the bride and groom to kiss -- not only did you have to think of a song with "love" in the title, but you had to be willing to sing it in front of a couple hundred people. :p

I'll come and they can kiss me. :)

AXO Alum, here is your WC Smiley: http://www.jms101.btinternet.co.uk/f...d/operator.gif

I like those $200 Dubya Bucks. lol! :D