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My cousin's first wedding (of three)--took place in a warehouse that was in the process of conversion into a praise cathedral. Horrible acoustics, bad mics, never-ending music, and the bridal party and actual ceremony were lost in the midst of it all. The reception was in a slightly smaller warehouse adjacent to the first, with minimal decor, not enough chairs for the elderly family members of the bride and groom, much less for anyone else, and Cheez-its, dried fruit packets, and (I am not making this up) Hawaiian Punch poured straight from the can into bathroom-sized Dixie cups. The cake, which was a simple sheet cake from a local store bakery, was very good, but because it was the best thing on the table, it was gone before everyone was able to have some.
The bride's mother, who had tried desperately to get bride to let her handle the arrangements, or at least let her spend a little more on more elegant refreshments, and chairs, was mortified over the slim pickings, and infuriated when she learned that the groom and his family had invited the entire congregation of their church to the festivities without informing the bride's family, which accounted for the much larger numbers than expected. Everyone in our family left with an empty stomach and a headache, and my never-married 92-year-old great-aunt summed it up best: when asked if she'd had a good time, she replied, "Oh, it was lovely, but when my turn comes, I think I'll do things a bit differently..."
(The bride--my second cousin--later cheated on Husband #1 with the father of Child #2, dumped him, married and divorced Husband #2/Father of Child #3 within a year, and has been married to H#3/FofC#4 for about three years now...)
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