I haven’t had any space in my head recently to think about getting married. (This is a shame and yet another reason to resign: if something lovely like being engaged can’t find a place to live in my head while the job is in there, well, that says something about the job, doesn’t it?)
The one thing we have decided (mostly) is that we won’t get married this year since we don’t think we’ll be able to get a destination wedding sorted out by the summer. Just so we – you and I – understand each other, we’re not doing a destination wedding because we’re super chic and really into weddings and must have our wedding on a foreign slope somewhere or we’ll just die. We’re planning on planes because
- R is Swiss, so most of his family is several thousand miles away on another continent.
- I will not be getting married in California. Period. (If you want to know why, you should take me out for an evening of heavy drinking sometime when you don’t feel like talking. I’ll start with how stupid it is that people who live in cities think they should have garages.)
- Getting married in New York is unbelievably expensive, even with connections, and I will want to retire someday, so that’s out.
So Europe it is. (I know it’s shady math to say that ruling out CA and NY leaves only western Europe on the table, but I am not taking on planning a wedding someplace where a.) I don’t speak the language, and b.) I’ve never been, so pull yourself together and get on board.)
For the first time in a couple of months, I’ve found myself slightly aware and excited about wedding options. Admittedly, some of them are out of reach – like these white paper decorations from the Chanel runway show – but I have to start somewhere, yeah?
I haven’t sorted it out yet, but I’ll be looking for input via polls and surveys here on the site. It seems everyone has something to say about what works and what doesn’t, and I’d rather hear it all now rather than find it out for myself! Until I get that whole thing set up, feel free to leave comments about your own wedding or ones you’ve attended (good or bad).
Displaced 
Oh, Emma, I’m sure you’ll receive gobs of advice from people you actually know, but I feel I know you well enough to throw this out there. If you are hoping to display any sort of elegance at your wedding, do not invite children. Do not allow your friends who are parents to cajole you into allowing “just our children”. When one of your dearest friends insists her angels will be nothing more than seat warmers, call her the liar that she is and tell her how much you will miss her at your wedding. Cushion the blow by assuring her first look at the photos.
Thank you!! I could not agree more. No kids. Period. I’ve seen too many once-in-a-lifetime ceremonies overshadowed by little darlings adding their soundtrack to the proceedings. Urgh.