Depending on where you live, you could probably have a friend perform the ceremony if they get ordained by the Universal Life Church online. My husband has performed five or six weddings so far, and has another coming up this fall.
My mom does too. She says it’s bad luck to congratulate the bride.
Therefore, Best Wishes, Rachellelogram!
But that’s because it’s supposed to imply that the bride has caught a man. It’s 2014. Haven’t we moved far enough beyond that that we can congratulate a couple on catching each other?
I got my plus sized wedding dress from here. HUGS Love luck & rainbows to you both!
Congrats!
Relative are not supposed to throw showers, so your sister in Texas is off the hook on this one.
The quiet dinner the night before the wedding is a good tradition; it ensures the groom (and bride) cannot have a wild blow out last night of freedom bachelor party that leaves them too hung over to remember the wedding.
Wow! I might not get my wedding dress there, but am definitely bookmarking that site. Thanks!!
Wishes, congratulations, it’s all good karma so either is fine. 
I think that advice was probably solid back when brides were still tender virgins on their wedding night.
That’s awesome. Does he charge, or is it payment enough to be allowed to stick around and eat dinner and wedding cake? 
Ahh, this is all great stuff. I know no wedding lore other than the something old/new/borrowed/blue. We could have a quiet dinner the night before, even if it wouldn’t be to rehearse. I’ll keep it in mind! It would be a nice chance for our families to get to know each other.
I won’t plan on having a shower, but if one of my fiance’s sisters offers… let’s just say I wouldn’t turn it down.
**Thanks **for saying this. I’ve been wiff-waffling on spending so much on an outfit I will only wear for one day. But then I saw a picture series of grooms’ faces on their wedding day, which is definitely biasing me toward the traditional. And hell, I didn’t get to go to prom. I’ve never had a reason to dress that fancy. Why not?
Are you gasp implying that you aren’t??? 
I would never imply such a thing! I would, however, state it bluntly. Sexual compatibility is too big a dimension of a successful marriage to leave it up to chance. And I’m very thankful I live in a time and place where I can choose to make that decision without being stoned.
Oh! And I’m leaning toward this dress. Probably in Ivory.
Good point. Our photographer was someone my husband had worked with on his college newspaper, so he wouldn’t have been coming to the wedding if not as the photographer.
Great!
That’s my one regret about my wedding, too - I wasn’t as happy with my dress as I hoped I would be. Not to bum you out or anything, but wedding dress shopping for those of us not a size 2 can be very stressful, and the wedding dress shop ladies can be very unhelpful.
Beautiful!
Wonderful news. My your lives together be joyous.
Small weddings work. I was maid of honor at a wedding with only 20 guests. We reserved a small room at a local restaurant and were able to order off the menu.
A different small wedding occurred when my SIL’s sister and fiancé chucked their big plans when they discovered that they needed to get married fast to score low-cost married student housing for grad school. She wore her sister’s dress for the ceremony which was in front of about 15 people on a Thursday night. Then the wedding group of four went out for drinks. On that Saturday, we and other friends and more distant relatives showed up for a picnic in the park. People brought food to share, but the wedding party provided most of the food and a cake. We had a great time and didn’t have to worry about accidents to the wedding gown.
Here’s one idea about the guest list which I loved–from a friend who wanted a small, intimate, and meaningful wedding:
Everybody you invite must be somebody who deserves to get a kiss or a warm hug from the bride or groom. No stiff handshakes.
Using this criterion, you can eliminate lots of people: everybody from work, for example.
And it’s a good way to explain to your parents why they are invited, but their longtime friends and golf buddies are not.
I’m so happy for you Rachel. Weddings can be great fun. I bought my first wedding dress from a thrift store and it worked out beautifully and not too expensive, maybe that would work for you.
Have fun and try not to stress too much.
Best Wishes!
Amazing news, Rachel! May it be everything you hope for. <3
My very best wises to you and the mister! I’m very, very happy for you! This is wonderful news to read on a Monday morning!! 
Congratulations! I can vouch for the small weddings thing working very well; we got married with 6 people total in our party (more if you count the other resort guests I suppose). Don’t stress over the dress, SWMBO picked out her dress from Sears for less than $200 and looked spectacular on the beach!
Congrats!
Igigido some lovely wedding dresses but they aren’t cheap.
My husband and I married in my parent’s backyard, too! Depending on the number of guests, it may not be as cheap as you think once you consider hiring seating, gazebos/tents, sound systems, caterers for the bbq etc. Venues have all that stuff built in. So get some quotes and shop around.
One of my regrets was that during the rehearsal we realized we hadn’t organised someone to push play on the ceremony music! We got a friend of ours to do it but I regret that meant he didn’t then enjoy the wedding in the same way as the other participants. Not a big deal, but just a little niggle. Again, this is something where a venue would have a person to do it.
In our group of friends/family, we tend to do weddings as a two day event. Day one is the formal wedding and breakfast after. Day two is an informal bbq where everyone chips in. Sounds like you’re going to get the best of both with yours!
I’m glad it wasn’t Sandra (the person showing when I clicked on the link), because if it was I had missed a lot of news and some of them very bad…
My aunt’s Good Marriage involved a bride in a red power suit. She calls it her “eat your heart out Sigourney” suit. I think it’s cool that you get to play “dress up”, whether it’s “traditional” or not.
The one wedding I attended in the US included chocolate cakes. The bride and groom weren’t particularly fond of the kind of stuff normally put on wedding cakes, even less of the prices involved, so there was just several large chocolate cakes and they used the largest one for their “cake cutting picture”.
First off, conga-rats!
SWMBO and I got married in the living room. JP cost $200. That’s in Houston, TX - YMMV.