We both knew that we wanted our families to be a part of this special event, therefore ruling out elopement. I went back and forth on the options (and still am) about having one BIG $$$ wedding and the other a smaller party. Ideally I wouldn't want two celebrations! But one big wedding just isn't an option. His family and friends could never all come to the US for the wedding and my family and friends couldn't come to Spain. If we do only one wedding, someone's side is losing out.
As of now these are my ideas:
At the beginning of June we'll have a Friday night wedding here in Spain. Since weddings are usually on Saturdays we can possibly get some discounts for having it on a Friday and also the airfare at the beginning of June is much cheaper for my immediate family to be able to come.
Unlike traditional Spanish (and American for that matter) weddings we will not be getting married in a church. Neither of us are very religious and prefer to marry outside and also skip all of those pre-marriage counseling sessions...
We actually won't even be getting legally married in Spain, as doing so entails much more paperwork than in the US and also the Spanish government assigns you your wedding date...! Umm, no thanks! So the legal wedding will be the US one, although both will be equally meaningful to me!
We have a venue in mind, although haven't seen it yet. It is a golf club near the beach in Chiclana de la Frontera, Cadiz. It's not my dream wedding venue, but it is within our budget! We would "marry" on their grounds and then have the reception there as well.
We are considering a "chill-out" decor that the company offers, which is much more intimate and fun, considering that at the Spanish wedding most of the guests will be young and we want to avoid the traditional round tables and seating charts that will probably be a part of the American wedding.
We are also considering nixing the sit down dinner and just doing many appetizers and buffet type stations. We think people will talk more, it'll be more interesting, and possibly a bit cheaper as well.
For the Spanish wedding I'm still not sure about photography, as I really want good photography at both weddings but I know it'll cost us an arm and a leg. I'm also not sure about extra decoration and a DJ. Lastly, although the venue provides a wedding cake (in Spain they are apparently not a big deal) I kind of want to order one from a cake designer!
I also have to figure out Spanish invitation etiquette, all reservations, hotels, car rentals etc. for my family, and my dress, of course! I'm also torn on my plan for the dress... I'm between getting two different dresses, one more fancy and elegant for the Spanish night wedding and the other less formal for the US garden wedding. (Details on that one to come). OR... I just get one aweomely beautiful dress and get in cleaned before the US wedding, therefore getting to do something that few brides do... wear my dress twice. Any opinions?
As this is a longer post that expected my ideas for the American wedding to follow. Please feel free to comment with ideas!!!
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