Utah Weddings

*sigh*
I have issues with Utah weddings. A friend posted about her issues with marriage in general, but specifically cited Utah weddings.(Her Utah wedding, by the way, was absolutely beautiful, and I did make her pale peach satin wedding dress- my first attempt at putting boning in a bodice- had angels helping me, for sure!) This gave me way too much fodder for my wedding fire, so I am posting about it all now!

Elements of a Utah wedding: Stark White poofiness, unnecessary bride's maids, nut cups, temple mints, mini eclaires,chicken salad croissant, slush, gym floor, streamers on basketball hoops, harp music, hushed voices, long lines, toasters galore, and temple cake topper.

Ok. How many of the items above matched your wedding reception???? Anyone????

Now, I actually LOVE going to weddings. I love seeing the happy couple dazed and in complete and utter shock- beaming from ear to ear. I love snickering about them ("they have NO idea what the 'first time' is really like- tee hee hee") as I sip my slushie drink and eat my mini eclaire and croissant. However, I hate the soft harp music, and feeling like I'm at a funeral. Everyone is all hushed and whispering, acting all polite and dainty. The bride's dress is always stark white (which I HATE), and the bride's maids dresses are always prom dress disasters in horrid solid colors.

I had a Utah wedding reception. To clarify: my wedding reception was in Utah. Yes, I did have to have it at the gym- that part was unavoidable as we weren't rolling in money. However, not much else was similar. There were no nut cups, no temple mints (although I DID get married in the Bountiful, Utah Temple- the bride's dressing room had yellow wallpaper and a purple velvet couch! Awesome!), there was absolutely no harp anywhere in the building, and narry a slushy drink or croissant to be found. We had no long reception line, and my bride's maids wore black tops and long silver or black skirts- not freaky prom dresses, and no temple topper on my cake.

I wanted my reception to be like a fun dance party- laid back and totally fun. I spray painted tree branches with silver paint, strung white lights across the ceiling, had lights shining up on the trees, and hung glittery silver stars from the ceiling and trees. The tables had cool white string orbs with faux candles in the middle, and silver stars surrounding them. Hershey kisses were scattered on each table. There was big band and jazz music playing and a large dance floor where people danced the entire time.

The refreshments were really dance party-ish as well. Chips and salsa, little smokies in BBQ sauce (my hubby's request) soda pop, something else I can't remember, and coconut snowball ice cream with a cookie stick in the middle drizzled with chocolate. My cake looked like wrapped presents with black and silver bows.

I also did my reception the day after my wedding, not on one long marathon day like most Utah weddings. I got married on a Friday and had a small luncheon after. Then we went to the Castle Creek Inn. The next day we drove to Providence, Utah to decorate for the reception that night. It was laid back, stress free, and totally fun!

So, I believe you can have a Utah wedding without having a "Utah Wedding".