Your Romantic Wedding

Few things in life are more important and more personal than your wedding day. There's so much planning involved and so much excitement that without a wedding plan many couples get easily mislead or lost. All too often weddings turn out to be more like a circus or a party . Personally, I think the most important detail to planning a wedding is to make it a romantic experience.

It can be very difficult to maintain romance with hundreds of friends and family members all around you. At the one moment in your life when you should be concentrating on only the person you're in love with, tending to family and friends can sure get in the way. An older tradition of going off to get married and returning days later to announce it to friends might be something that should be reconsidered. For those getting married in the near future I would advise being a little more selfish on this very special occasion.

Sure, your mother always wanted you to wear that frilly hooped gown with twenty pounds of beading. And who can blame dad for wanting to include all of his best beer bellied partners? Cousin Sally loves to sing and she'd be heartbroken if she didn't get to solo as you walked down the aisle. Uncle Fred's kid has that problem with his nose dripping constantly so, of course he should be in the wedding party.

As funny as that all sounds, it happens all too often. For most couples it starts the moment they ask a relative for help. The help often turns into misguided attempts to make the wedding something special. People mean well but the moment they start helping you plan your wedding, it becomes something less than Your wedding. If you see some of yourself and you're planning your wedding day, maybe you should stop!

My advice would be to focus on what should be the most important detail on your wedding day - keeping it romantic. It's important to remember that this is the day you will both profess your love and commitment to each other. If you are gulping right now and wondering how on earth you're going to do something grand, you're over thinking. The best thing you can do is simplify things. The most amazingly romantic weddings are often the most simple and inexpensive.

That huge beaded gown your mother wants you to wear might look lovely on you. It also might take your new husband twenty minutes to get you out of it. Now imagine yourself in a simple white satin dress with light straps that he could slide off your shoulder. I know, ahhh right?!

Your family might all want to see you get hitched. Heck, they all love a good party and free food and beer! You even have one cousin that can belch favorite tunes. Now as fun as this all sounds, there really is a way around it. You can even get away with having a romantic wedding and still not miss Aunt Bertha's doing the hokey pokey.

My most sincere advice would be to marry with as few people present as possible. Keep everything simple and focus on the love you have for each other . Nothing could be a more wonderful gift to give each other than to give each other your wedding. Keep it all about just the two of you , your love. Personalize your vows and include everything you really want to say to each other. Think of nothing but each other.

You should also keep the entire evening for yourselves. Think about it. You just told the one you love that you'll spend the rest of your life as their mate. Instead of tending to two hundred friends and relatives you might want to spend the evening making love to your new husband. He might even want to spend a week or two making love to his new wife.

There's no reason you can't do that and still have the party your family expects. It seems to me that it would be appropriate to have a full blown reception anytime within a month of your actual wedding day. You can still hire the band and feed the family. You can still do the duck dance with the whole mob. If you do it after enjoying a beautiful honeymoon with your husband you'll probably enjoy it that much more!

Wishing you laughter , luck and love !