It's Wedding Planning Mania time on the Sugar network, and as brides-to-be surely know — it may be one of the most stressful times they may ever experience. From planning the guest list, to deciding the registry, to choosing a location for the big day — it's almost understandable that some women go into Bridezilla mode.
But for some daredevils (or financially strapped and/or free spirits), there's a way of getting married — short of hightailing it to Vegas without telling anyone — that can turn the day into a near-spontaneous and yet memorable and poetic event. Want to hear about one such wedding I attended? Now read more.
Years ago in New York, a boyfriend's coworker invited us to his wedding. He told us it would be simple, short and sweet. Not expecting much, I was nevertheless, floored by how lovely the ceremony was. To this day, after attending many weddings, I cite it as one of the most magical I've attended.
The venue? Sleepy Hollow, a village in Westchester County, New York on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, only thirty miles north of midtown Manhattan. (Take a peek at it in the picture above.) The wedding took place late afternoon, and as soon as we got off the train, I knew this was going to be special.
As we walked toward the woodsy locale (it inspired Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow), strains of a solo violin could be heard. Soon after, the bride and groom (both struggling theater actors) read carefully selected poems to each other while we all tried not to choke up. Sunlight was still visible through dappled leaves.
After the ceremony was over, there were delicious passed hors d'oeuvres, champagne toasts, and, of course, wedding cake. As it began to get dark, we all said our goodbyes as the forest cooled in the night air. Simple and beautiful. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Diane von Furstenberg
I have been to two weddings in sleepy hollow, it was beautiful. I think the most interesting wedding I have ever been to was in a sort of hot air balloon over Niagara Falls. My best friend was getting married in a "secret" ceremony, and she had me and her sister there. Then we went to eat, and I met up with my boyfriend who was waiting for us. Months later they had a ceremony with a lot of people at a botanical garden.
The most interesting in a simple way was a casual wedding. It was done in jeans and a t-shirt, and right before a day at an amusement park. It was cool.
1a barn dance was one of the funnest receptions i've ever been to
2in terms of interesting ceremony, i guess under a willow tree in her parent's yard was okay, a fine idea but it had just rained and was stifling hot and sticky and our chairs were sinking into the ground....outdoor weddings often do not work out the way you planned them!
One of my best friends was getting married, and her hubby was from a hippie commune in Tallahassee Florida, so they decided to have it there. She wanted her closest friends to be her attendants and told us to just wear “whatever makes you feel beautiful” No color preference at all. So I picked out a nice dress, nicer than I would have worn if I had just been a “guest”. We got there, my hubby and I, and it was an outdoor wedding. But there were no chairs to sit in, just a wooden platform with flowers around it where they would stand. So I asked her mom, Where are we supposed to stand, the attendants, and she said “just stand where you want to” Now I have been to tons of weddings and usually the bridesmaids are somewhere near the front right? Well there were trees up there, and ferns and flowers and there wasn’t anywhere for us to stand! So I look around for the other girls and they are just chilling like everyone else, standing in a big group. It was so awkward and strange!
So the music starts, and it’s a violin player, who is hideously out of tune, I am talking dying cow belting out the wedding march. My friend comes walking down without her dad, who was in the crowd watching, her about-to-be-groom at her side instead! The crowd parts like the red sea, and they go to the platform where another friend of ours is performing the ceremony (got her license online) they do a generic type non religious vows and then its over and she announces them man and wife and we all clap and they don’t leave, don’t walk back out they just start talking to everyone!!! It was so weird I thought that I was on candid camera!
Then it was time for sushi, a reggae band, and generally being uncomfortable! There was no first dance, no cutting of the cake, no dance with parents, no throwing the bouquet, no garter toss, no group pictures with her “attendants” which I was doubly confused about? What were we? Glorified guests who spent more on their dresses for what? IT was just so weird, and un-wedding like.
We left way early, went back to the hotel and I lost touch with her.
3one of the most interesting was a vegas quickie. some friends called at 8 PM on a friday that they were picking me up and told me to bring jeans and a white t-shirt. we got there pretty late. got a license at like 5:30 a.m. my girlfriend and I hit a strip club at 9 a.m. and hung out with strippers drinking orange juice and gabbing about boys. at 10:30 she got married walking down the aisle to the animaniacs theme song. those of us that went played laser tag at circus circus after while they sealed the deal. we met up later for dinner and drove home. I may have been 18 or 19. their marriage barely lasted a year.
I have been to a lot of the casual ones in the redwoods and mountains with pot lucks... I always thought I would have one of those weddings but that wasn't meant to be.
4LOL kia, sealed the deal
5you guys go play laser tag, we have to make this thing official. see you in 45 minutes
Hmmmm I haven't been to any interesting weddings, they've all pretty much been a typical wedding.
6I've always kinda wanted to have a non-traditional/unconventional wedding, though I'm not planning anything yet. I'd love the day to be fun and memorable, not painful!
I haven't been to a lot of weddings... I liked one of my cousin's weddings because it was quite casual. The groom wore this tunic and sandals instead of a suit (the ceremony was outdoors at a lake). The reception was held indoors. My uncle had made these really lovely 'place-holders' for all of the guests out of birch trees and stones, which we still have. Real earthy, low-key, DIY, and very much suited the couple and their families.
7Ok come on. I'm sorry but this Tressugar melange of sex, news, and humor just makes no sense. I was scrolling down the page and I saw a post on human cloning, followed by a depressing picture and selection of articles on Iraqi suicide bombings, followed by THE most pertinent and appropriate question: "so, what's the most interesting wedding you've been to? Do tell!"
If that's not extreme ADD I don't know what is.
Don't insult us, and hell, don't insult the characters in the news you're reporting by giving them equal importance alongside 'interesting weddings.' This is not to say that I'm some kind of wedding hater (hey, I loved reading Dearsugar), it's just that I think that a completely unstructured barrage of ANY kind of post only adds to the split-second-attention-span issue that our information era generation is notorious for.
It's like when you first learn how to write an essay in middle school, guys. You need to have a topic, and some supporting arguments that are relevant to the topic. If you want to talk about ancient Egypt, don't add some anecdote about how you took your dog on a walk the other day--as interesting as it is, it DOESN'T BELONG IN THE SAME PLACE.
8In all honesty, mine. It was non-traditional, and quick. We've been happily married for several years now.
9My best friend was married at the county fair!
She won a contest for a free wedding, and I'll admit I thought it sounded really cheesy at first, but it was actually very nice! There was a red carpet, a stretch Escalade brought us (bridesmaids + bride) from the dressing area to the location where the ceremony took place. They exchanged vows in front of a ferris wheel and afterwards the wedding party and guests all had our pictures taken individually while riding on the ferris wheel.
Afterwards the guests were allowed to roam the fair and ride all of the rides for free, just us - it was closed to the public. It was definitely the most memorable wedding I've ever been to! And lucky her, she didn't have to pay a dime for it.
10Wow, Très, that sounds so cool! I have been to my fair share of weddings, none of them super weird. But one of the most interesting/fun was at at old orphanage/doll museum/event space in New Orleans owned by Anne Rice, complete with a rehearsal dinner the night before at a bowling alley.
11I was a bridesmaid in a wedding where the bride was a complete bridezilla. It was horrible, to say the least how some brides can turn into Dr. Jekyyl and Mr. Hyde.
12Not to feed the troll, but fatsoleus, the people who are still reading sugar enjoy this collage of information and you are insulting all of us. This collage of information is not unlike other female-theamed or feminist sites and reads a bit like a blog of a friend who you have a lot in common with.
13themed*
14I hardly think fatsoleus is being a troll, and I agree with her completely. I know it is a moot point, but I MISS DEARSUGAR SOO MUCH.
15I agree with fatsoleus. Maybe this is trying to be more like Jezebel, who knows? But it seems more like they took the three underperforming Sugars and rolled it into one to consolidate their ad platform rates.
And to keep it on topic. My best friend and her fiance are avid snow boarders. They got married on the top of Mammoth Mountain in California, beautiful, sunny day. Then she put on snow boarding pants under her wedding dress. The bride and groom then boarded down the mountain together. It was awesome.
16My best friend had the most fabulous wedding. Since most of the wedding party flew in from out of town, we were treated to multi-day social event. New Orleans was the setting so of course we had bachelorette/bachelor parties on .... And, lots of southern hospitality and good food. Open bar, a bride cake and a groom cake, and a live band.
My favorite feature of the wedding were the Bridal Cake Pulls (especially since I was a bridesmaid!) from Mignon Faget (http://www.mignonfaget.com/shop/product/bridal/8772Y.html).
17My sister had a roaring 20's themed wedding. It was SO much fun. You could dress up or not and there was great music and fun cocktails. It was outside, and even though it was raining a bit that day everyone had an amazing time.
18I agree with all those that miss DearSUgar! the MAIN reason that I came onto this site was because of the dearsugar page....I actually had stumbled on it and got hooked ever since. THere were always great articles, questions, advice, forums, etc. Now i feel like it is too much of a hodge podge. There were clearly budget cuts of some sort. The categories that are now put together do not make any sense together. I liked it better when Citizen and Dear were completely separate. Where is group therapy, E Jean, etc??? Those were the best.
19Oh and the most interesting wedding I've ever been to was an Ethiopian wedding. The dancing was out of control! The food was INCREDIBLE. They had the best alcohol (something from Ethiopia) and it was awesome! It was in this huge ballroom with glass walls on all sides and beautiful views of gardens and fountains. It was a lot of fun!
20I went to a very interesting wedding just a few weeks ago. It was my boyfriend's high school friend'd wedding and both bride and groom are artists and I wish I could post the wedding invite, as it is one of the most unique non- traditional invite I've seen and was drawn and created by the bride. The wedding was very modern in style and was set in a event center boasting modern type art deco and furniture. Bride didn't carry a bouquet, only her bridemaids did, so there was no bouquet tossing event which I thought was pretty refreshing (I dunno about you but I don't really enjoy those...but done tastefully I suppose they can be fun). Also, instead of your traditional wedding cake, they had a ice ceam sundae bar where guests can chose their own toppings! The most fun part was the dancing that ensued, it was one big party and the midnight pizza feast that accompanied it was the perfect way to end a fun ceremony. Overall, we totally had a great refreshing night at this wedding!
21I loved the beach wedding I just attended. It was a lovely small wedding right on the beach in Anna Maria Island Florida. Chairs were placed just so in the sand and the sun set during the vows.
22Later a small outdoor tent area near a restaurant held the bars, and food, and music was DJ'd.
The couple had made an outdoor movie screen with photos of memories that you could view during the reception. Nothing outlandish or strange, just very nice.
the most unhappy wedding i have ever been was one day one of my friend her friend she was getting married and we want there but there something anexpect thing happend as soon as the wedding begaing the guys family and the grils family the have fought and that wedding and up there
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