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What was your favorite part of your wedding or other weddings you’ve attended? (I always love the readings.) We asked seven couples to share their highlights, from rainy weather to ordering a pizza…
Above: “In a Jewish wedding, the couple often goes to a quiet area right after the ceremony and has a 15-minute break together to eat snacks and take a breath. We had Trader Joe’s corn nuts and Stumptown cold brew, and I recommend you try them both today if you haven’t. As an introvert and snack-lover, I appreciated that we were able to quietly bask in the glow of being married for a few minutes — just the two of us.” — Brooke (and Boaz)
“At one point, I was so frustrated with wedding dress shopping that I ordered a flower girl dress online in the largest size they carried, because it looked cute and was much cheaper and I thought maybe it was a genius idea. It was obviously a bad idea. The company required a phone call for returns, and when the representative asked me if the dress was defective or if it just didn’t work for the child, I said it hadn’t worked for her. And then, because it was nice to talk to someone about it, I added that the child was tired of trying on dresses. ‘She doesn’t have a lot of patience for this,’ I said. After what felt like a lifetime of shopping, I ordered this Needle & Thread dress online. I loved it as soon as I put it on — it was the perfect combination of sparkly, swooshy, comfortable, and never having to wedding dress shop again.” — Brooke (and Boaz)
Photo by Stark Photography.
“After saying our I do’s at the courthouse, we walked through a few neighborhoods to take photos. I suddenly noticed that there was something familiar about a particular block. I tapped Sharon and said, ‘Look, babe, that’s where we went on our first date’ — a restaurant called Barrio Chino. Our witnesses and photographer lit up with joy, as did we. To get a photo on this very special day in front of the place where our story began was truly a special moment for both of us.” — Adrian (and Sharon)
Photo by Sylvie Rosokoff.
“We had made plans not to see each other the day of; we wanted to be surprised when walking down the aisle. Still, we did a ‘first touch’ before the ceremony. Hearing him walk down the hall toward me was so exciting. I was beyond giddy. Alex was, in his own words, ‘a sweaty mess.'” — Abbey (and Alex)
Photo by Bailey Quinlan.
“We ordered a cheese pizza for the kids at the wedding, and the pizza arriving was the funniest, most unplanned moment. The delivery man enjoyed that he would be forever commemorated in our wedding photos.” — Abbey (and Alex)
Photo by Bailey Quinlan.
“We’re two scrappy gals, and we threw a small wedding on a tight budget. We found an Airbnb in upstate New York and bought all Trader Joe’s flowers. A friend let us borrow the string lights and tablecloths from her wedding a few months earlier. For catering, we got a taco truck, and Brazilian and Greek desserts came from our families. We had a small ceremony with family and a few close friends. We all just stood around on the grass and let it happen. If I had any advice to give brides, it would be to do whatever feels right to them. Not every wedding needs a first dance and the cutting of the cake.” — Tasha (and Priscilla)
Photo by Elizabeth Gibbs.
“This was Frank’s grandfather’s watch. His grandpa had passed away, but I knew how special he was to Frank, so I wanted him to somehow be there on the day. I asked my mother-in-law to send it to surprise him. He was really crying.” — Maureen (and Frank)
Photo by Luke and Mallory.
“We’re not cake people, so we thought it would be fun to have cheese instead. We had chunks at the bar, which people could eat with drinks, and we shaved it onto people’s salads. During dinner, we also cut a slice and fed it to each other, like a real wedding cake!” — Maureen (and Frank)
Photo by Luke and Mallory.
“My husband’s ideal wedding was a low-key legal ceremony, while mine was an Indian festivity surrounded by friends and family, so we did both! The courthouse service was officiated by our favorite judge and community hero Anita Crawford-Willis, and witnessed by our parents. I wore my mum’s wedding saree, and it was such an honor to walk in the footsteps of the most marvelous woman I know.” — Sukhie (and Matt)
Photos by Tiarra Sorte.
“Afterward we re-interpreted the Hindu ceremony to reflect what it means for us to be an Indian family. Traditionally, a Brahmin priest officiates rituals in Sanskrit over several days; we wanted a 45-minute English service! We asked our dear uncle to officiate, who had the audience in peals of laughter. I translated my favorite marital passages of the Vedas (taking liberties regarding gender roles) and ended up with a ceremony that preserved rituals which have existed for thousands of years, yet still felt true to us.” — Sukhie (and Matt)
Photo by Tiarra Sorte.
“It rained on our wedding day, right when we were ready for our first look! I remember stressing out about getting my dress wet, but we ended up having so much fun and as a result the photos we took are so much more ‘us.’ We just grabbed an umbrella from the car. When I look back on it, I feel like it couldn’t have been more representative of married life. You have this ideal in your mind that you dream about, but reality is much more unpredictable and not always as rosy — the important thing is to focus on each other. Six years and two children later, I feel like a sunny, styled photo shoot would have been a much less fitting image of the start of our marriage.” — Stephanie (and Matti)
Photo by Mous Lamrabat.
Thank you so much to these beautiful couples!
P.S. More wedding advice, and what would you do differently?
