I spend a lot of my downtime reading articles about leadership, business and optimism. One of concepts that all of these resources share is the theme of taking back the mornings. This "mind over mattress" belief is that each morning is a new beginning. It is a way for one to carve out extra time to focus their sights on the daily agenda and future goals.
And to us, it was the perfect time of day to get married.
During our venue shopping visit to Idaho, we had a bit of a rough start convincing people of our vision. We would mention breakfast reception -- but the reception hall or catering vendor would remark about how they enjoy champagne brunches. One of my favorite responses was that it would be a neat idea to have pancakes for dinner.
They're not alone. Morning weddings are not overly popular. While the time of day limits the amount of alcohol guests will consume, it also somewhat limits your menu choices. Reception halls and catering bills may be a bit cheaper -- but the trick is finding someone who wants to get up and make sure the donuts are laid out by 7:30 a.m. for the morning "coffee hour." Also, you will be able to find a styling company to hang the paper lanterns, lay out the organza runners on the tables and expertly place the burlap banners -- but getting them to do it at 5 a.m. on Saturday morning may cost a bit more then your evening bridal counterparts.
From a guest standpoint, it means getting up freakishly early to watch a twenty-minute ceremony. Several brides on wedding forums and blogs have said that they wouldn't attend a morning wedding even if their own sister was tying the knot.
However, it's actually the wedding party that are not fond of the morning weddings, for these reasons:
* Hard to find hairstylist or makeup person will to get to work before 7 a.m. Thus, you have to have a friend into hair or be willing to go minimalistic . . . on your wedding day.
* More often than not, due to the hour, the bride and groom become the decorating party. Instead of a slow, relaxing, pampered day until your event, you're hanging the paper lanterns and stringing up the banners. Translated: your decorations need to be a bit simple for you only have a few hours to get it together.
* It's not the dance-a-thon of traditional weddings. I think many people love the idea of the dinner/cocktails and dance blow out bashes. Morning weddings are a bit more low-key due to the time of day, internal clocks and nature of the event. You may be hard pressed to find anyone willing to hit the dance floor at 10:30 a.m.
* You have to get up freakishly early to get ready, prep the venue and then get into "bridal" mode. Say 3:30 or 4 a.m. -- if you're lucky.
So, morning weddings aren't popular. They move up the timeframe of the day, you're guests are pretty much done by noon and the wedding party is ready for bed by 5 p.m.
And that sounds perfect to us.
I think it would be torture to wait all day long to exchange vows when we can get up and make a fresh start to our marriage.
Mike and I are also low-maintenance people -- I am not doing a whole lot for makeup and hair. It would make me more self-conscious than add to the moment.
The two of us are also not keen on dancing and are usually in bed by 8:30 p.m. The idea of planning a late night dance reception seemed a bit out of character for us.
While we were planning our "sweet start," there were only a few raised eyebrows. We have found a venue, caterer and photog that readily embraces our vision. It was the friends and family who have surprised us the most by jumping on board with our slight break in tradition. Despite having to be there by 8 a.m. -- most of our guests RSVPed that they wouldn't miss it. And that is what will actually make our day special -- the guests!
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