The best wedding you ever attended and why?

[momb]

There are lots of awful wedding threads and I thought it might be nice to have a really positive one!
The best wedding I ever attended was a church ceremony followed by a village hall reception that finished at about 9pm. It was lovely because everyone was so happy: there was lots to do, lots of choice to eat and drink and it was very informal so no-one minded if the littlies ran about and there was lots laid on for them. It was beautiful: jars of flowers and homemade bunting etc but the thing that really stuck out in my mind was just that everyone was so happy all day.

[mckenzie]

Hi momb, two spring to mind and neither of them were mine!

One was a barn dance. You could either stand upstairs on the balcony and watch or join in which most people did. It meant that nearly everybody mingled, it was lively and energetic and engaged young and old. Great fun.

The other one was because the bride and groom had given so much thought to the seating plan and placed couples who didn't know anyone else with other couples who they had things in common with. It made for a great party, celebrating the wedding of mutual fanbulous friends while making new friends at the same time.

[ninetynineonehundred]

Small wedding with about 20 people.
There was so much love In the room for the bride and groom that you could taste it.

Very loving best man's speech. No jokes at his expense.

Games organisated by the head bridesmaid.
Decorations etc made by bride, bridesmaids and family.

It was all about the lovebetween everyone there. Truly beautiful

[ChristineDePisan]

The best ones I've been to had the following in common:

• sensible arrangements re time of day (no 1230 services then dinner at 1800 type things)

• clear info in advance about what is happening when and where (eg so where we have had to make our own way from church to reception it is easy to do so)

• generosity (not necessarily a free bar, though that helps, but nice food in decent quantities etc)

• B&G spending time with their guests (I know it's hard, esp with a big wedding, but guests come to see their friends and relatives get married and like the opportunity to say congratulations in person)

• great band or DJ (though I concede that is a very personal thing, as I love to dance the night away!)

[coffeeisnectar]

Church followed by reception in a field attached to a pub. Marquee for eating, very informal so sat wherever, play equipment for the hordes of kids and everyone camped in the field overnight so no worrying about getting home. There was a hog roast, buffet and chocolate fountain and it was Brilliant fun. There was also karaoke at the disco.

[Icouldbesogoodforyou]

Reception in a field with a dilapidated barn which had been decorated by the bride and grooms family and friends.

Limited catering - nibbles and pizza and the bar was huge baths full of beers and a table with a few bottles of spirits and mixers.

A band in the evening then a gathering around a fire pit for songs and chat then everyone camped in the field.

Sausages cooked on a barbecue in the morning then everyone went home. It was like a mini festival and just brilliant!.

[Pringlesandwine]

Registry office followed by lunch at local pub. All guests (only about 15) ordered what they wanted. Speeches were made. Lots of laughing and chatting. Home by 5pm so b&g could spend night in local spa hotel. Relaxed and informal and fab!

[Bunbaker]

A very informal garden reception. The guests provided the food and the bride and groom provided all the drinks. The weather was perfect and so was the wedding.

[tabulahrasa]

If there's enough food, a bar and no hanging about in the cold, I'm good tbh.

[Aliceinwonderlust]

Claridges! It was super glam and fun. Following that anything with a free bar and great food that isn't a bloody marquee.

People always say in these threads the best wedding they ever went to was about pot luck suppers where everyone brought a dish or the village hall decorated in paper chains and I think .... Yeah right. Claridges.

[AuntieStella]

I'm thinking of my cousin's.

YY to food being provided at normal eating times, no large periods of hanging round, clear instructions (this was church wedding followed by do at village hall in the next village).

Big do, but the scaled up version of the sort of party they'd have anyhow (ceilidh) and yes, everyone seemed happy and not too stressed.

[SallyStarbuck]

Good friends had a weekend long wedding in a country house. For all that it looked amazing and seemed very posh, those of us staying over spent all Friday night writing place names and setting up the bar, and then were up again at 8am to set everything up for the wedding - laying a silver service table setting at 9am while mildly hungover with the brides mum was a fun one...

I imagine spending a whole weekend at a wedding isn't everyone's idea of a great time but because it meant a load of old university friends were able to meet up properly for two nights and two days, it was amazing for us. It was just like a fantastic house party, with great friends, wonderful food and free booze on top in a beautiful house, with the added bonus of not having to travel anywhere at the end of the night

Plus I really liked being involved with setting up the wedding, it made it more special

[Jenijena]

Went to a lovely reception this year in a village hall, genuinely affectionate speeches by two best people, swings outside, buffet food that was tasty and fresh (no chicken in sauce) and a ceilidh. I think after the ceilidh there was a band but my 3yo was flaking by then...

FotB did home brew for everyone. There were swings and a playing field outside. Just lovely. And a huge amount of love and affection in the room.

I always prefer the buffet/free flow to three course fancy thing.

[DrivingMissLazy1]

Church wedding followed by reception in a marquee. Some of the bride and grooms friends were in the entertainment business and came around the tables performing magic tricks. The children were kept occupied by jugglers etc and plenty of outside toys and a trampoline.
Later in the day we had a hog roast followed by a barn dance.
It was all very informal but great fun.

[AnneSansTete]

My friends wedding. It was done on a real budget and everyone was asked to bring a pudding. As a result there was soooo much cake. Everyone really enjoyed as everyone felt they'd contributed and been involved with the whole thing.

[BikeRunSki]

Church about 2.30 ish
Photos - big group photos first, leaving the majority of guests free for
Afternoon tea in church hall next door - exactly what you need at 4pm
Bride and groom arrived and had some tea
Speeches
Dancing
Hot buffet
Ceilidh
Colouring stuff/puzzles and sandwhiches and cakes already on tables in children's places when we arrived from church. Also village playground immediately next to church hall.

Very simple, plenty of food and appropriate times, lots of entertainment, anything but fancy!
Wish it had been mine!

[austenozzy]

We'd been to numerous weddings where different families and groups all sat at separate tables and there little mixing.

We wanted people to talk to each other so we had casino tables at our evening party (as well as free booze and plenty of grub) with the hope people would chat while playing roulette and blackjack and that's just what they did. We had some prizes for most 'money' won etc which went down well.

We had several people saying how friendly and enjoyable the party was compared to some drier dos that where just loud bands playing to uninterested people sitting around.

[FishOn]

Mine was the one in the Scottish castle. Really good fun, very relaxed, lots of champagne and good food all the guests were a hoot.

and the lady of the manor outrageously hitting on one of the guests despite the laird being there too

Possibly the best weekend away ever

[NameChange30]

My wedding! Obviously I'm biased but a lot of our guests have told us it's one of the best weddings they've ever been to.
IMO these are the things that made it great:

• Lovely venue with different areas (garden for ceremony and milling around afterwards, conservatory/bar for sitting and chatting throughout the afternoon and evening, separate reception room for dinner and dancing)
  
• Location was easy to get to, there was a train station in walking distance, and we organised a minibus to take people to and from the nearby hotels
  
• There was plenty of food, and no one was waiting around hungry (this was the number one thing that bothered me the most at weddings I've attended)
  
• The ceremony and speeches were really good and didn't go on for ever (probably the number two thing that bothers me!)
  
• There was an open bar! DH insisted and it cost a bloody fortune but it certainly contributed to everyone having a good time!
  

The best wedding I've attended as a guest was at a farm owned by the groom's parents. The bride and groom and their immediate families had transformed one of the barns for the wedding, it was a lot of work apparently but it looked wonderful. They had a humanist ceremony (they'd already done the legal bit at a registry office) which was really personal and meaningful, then there was a hog roast and buffet, followed by a live ceilidh band. It was a low budget wedding but honestly one of the best I've been to.

[MaryMcGregor]

Winter wedding in a small castle with a bus laid on to bring everyone. Ceremony in front of blazing fire followed by mulled wine and jacket spuds and fillings. Decamped to local pub for an hour then back for a ceileidh. Twas fabulous.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es]

I don't like the informal ceilidh/hog roast type very much, I like a proper sit down meal where you can chat at length and preferably an evening free from dancing and loud music too, just lots of time for everyone to mingle and chat. I went to a fabulous one recently which was all in one venue (barn conversion), lovely relaxed three course meal followed by an evening where there was a small disco but it was very much in the background and most people just chatted the evening away.

[Borninthe60s]

Mine. I married my soulmate . 18 of us went to florida, there were 9 kids included in that, had a great 2 week holiday, got married, swam with dolphins all for less than cost of a posh do. Had an Italian meal day of wedding, married in a little white wedding chapel, photos and a video. Actual cost of the ceremony and photos and meal was £700.

[Moln]

Any friend's wedding were the friend is out of a group, probably because there's a group of people there that I chose to be with even without a wedding to attend.

Family weddings tend to be loaded with politics and self centred opinions

[Turquoisetamborine]

My friend's wedding in a Scottish castle overlooking the sea. A piper played as we walked up to the entrance then we were served gorgeous canapés and champagne while we waited for the slightly late bride.
A very moving humanist ceremony in a gorgeous room overlooking the sea.
Then on to a gorgeous hotel which took your breath away when you approached it with the lighting etc. The piper came with us everywhere we went.
Went in the reception room which was full of little Jo Malone candles and gorgeous flowers. Meal was to die for, well chosen wines to go with the food, seated next to nice people who we had things in common with.
Then a dance and a firework display to finish the night off. Free bar of course.
We felt utterly pampered!

I loved ours of course as well but it wasn't as amazing as that one.
We got married in a beautiful white church then had our reception in a marquee at the cricket club down the road. The cricket match was going on while the reception was on which was nice for the guests to watch.
We blew the budget on beautiful English flowers and a brilliant caterer. We had a starlit ceiling in the marquee which looked fab on the night time, I lined the path to the marquee with candles which looked gorgeous. We had a string quartet playing while people waited for the meal and plenty of canapés and free drinks. As we had a marquee we could buy all the drinks cheaper from Majestic so the wine was decent. On the night we had a disco and a swing band.
Everyone told me they'd had a brilliant day.

[Ememem84]

Aside from mine...?

Friends married on New Year's Eve in vail, Colorado. In the snow. It was magic. The ceremony was in the evening. We went outside minus coats to have a post wedding skip about in the snow for pictures freezing

Lovely food, great people. Lovely memories.