Blame OandaQuote:
Originally Posted by Loki
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Blame OandaQuote:
Originally Posted by Loki
http://www.slotzeist.com/files/images/420109.jpg how s this for a location?
Looks like a good place to sign a binding legal treaty, which is what a marriage really is or something. :downcast:
Yeah, I totally agreed. Which is why we chose it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreadnaught
Haha....I just read the WSJ article that Aimless posted. I had a friend as a photographer for my wedding; but he's actually good at it! All it cost me was the film and to have it developed.
I forgot that the Swedes had their own currency. If you're interested our budget is ~127.5k Krona (according to Google). Sounds like a heck of a lot when you translate it like that :)
From that link above "Don't have a cash bar - its not acceptable even in a recession" ... we're providing some drinks but not all drinks for everyone. It'd be a cash bar for most of the night and that's the same as every wedding I've ever been to.
We're providing a glass of champagne per person on arrival, a glass of champagne per person for the toast and half a bottle of wine per person for the wedding breakfast (eg a 10 person table has 5 bottles of wine on it). That seems like a lot of alcohol to provide, if people want to drink beers, spirits or more wine through the night they can pay cash.
Then definitely splurge on the event, knowing it's not to "prove" something to others, but to CELEBRATE marrying your beloved. Anything so romantic and lovely is automatically treated (by others) as a waste of money or skewed priorities. Don't pay too much attention to those naysayers. Weddings are a rare opportunity to shower affection and appreciation on more than just the new couple...but their families and friends, too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aimless
Spend more money than necessary. Make it bigger than expected. Include more people than your budget allows. Let your wedding reflect the values you have as individuals, and embrace the families and friends that helped lead to your love, and becoming a couple. If you want a celebration, then CELEBRATE!
:D
Also, don't scrimp on flowers or florist charges.
I agree, especially since a significant percentage of the money spent on flowers will benefit the economy of North-Holland.Quote:
Originally Posted by GGT
That's too cynical a view. They can plan their wedding and splurge on local flowers, berries, herbs, or even branches.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hazir
I seriously doubt that. (We sell €6bn worth of flowers to the world every year)Quote:
Originally Posted by GGT
They aren't forced to order from North-Holland, though.
Even if they don't we'll probably still make money from their purchase. The Aalsmeer flower auction house auctions off flowers and plants all over the world. Unless they pick their own flowers from their own garden they have no chance of us not making any money. And even if they do, they may be picking flowers from plants we marketed.Quote:
Originally Posted by GGT
Another cynical post from Hazir. I'll chalk it up to your insomnia. Neither Holland nor the Netherlands own rights or patents to all heirloom seeds or bulbs. Sweden can grow their 'own' flowers in hot houses and solariums. They can probably take advance orders in November, for weddings in August, and plan accordingly.
See, that's what I meant with wedding stuff being overpriced. I don't see why you'd have to pay more just because it's a wedding. Or why people even accept that (because let's face it, they only charge that because people are apparently willing to pay it). For 100 p.p. you could easily take everyone to a somewhat fancy restaurant! And your location, you call it cheap, I think it's already hideously expensive. 5k just for a location?? I have some experience organizing a good party, and for 5K you can easily get a nice place. If food is so expensive, isn't it a better idea to have it at a nice restaurant/hotel with their own kitchen, bar, and staff? For 'normal' parties you tend to get the location for free, or cheap, if they have guaranteed sale (e.g. drinks and food). So unless they also screw you over for a wedding that seems like a good idea, otherwise you're paying the food and the location.Quote:
Originally Posted by Loki
My cousin had after the ceremony a lunch in a public park, quite pretty, for close friends and family, with sandwiches and pies etc. made by friends, which was very tasty, nice, and presumably very cheap. Later, after the church part, a dinner at a pub/restaurant, which was probably not very expensive. Wasn't too fancy, but the food was decent, the place was cozy, so that's good enough for me. This was of course a marriage in the reformed church which seems to frown on anything excessive or too much fun..
It's not too cynical, sure, they can grow their own flowers, but almost all flowers are sold through the Netherlands :pQuote:
Originally Posted by GGT
We did most of the heavy lifting for our wedding. If you hold the ceremony or reception at a church the members are more than happy enough to prepare the food if you've done your part to get it ready to serve, as long as you are open handed with the donations (it works eerily similar to prositution). I picked up a few high school students to play waiters and it worked very smoothly.
I don't think we spent more than a couple grand on everything from start to finish.
So apparently this is a thing...
http://www.snopes.com/weddings/customs/garter.asp
Yes that happened at a wedding I went to a few years ago in America. Was a little bit ummm ...
... We've not discussed doing that.
Thats extremely common in america. We did it. Pull it off, then fling it to waiting bachelors.
Yup, did it here too. Almost every wedding I've attended has done it. Some weddings I've been to the groom took it off with his teeth, which I think is too awkward to do in front of old people. Luckily Hubby has more tact than that. The twist at the end of the reception I have seen done (and we did) is that the man who caught the garter has to put it on the woman who caught the bouquet. I would not have allowed that to happen if we had people under 18 catch them, but luckily not only did we not have a single minor at the wedding, but the two people involved in the event were hilarious. It was one of my older wild lady coworkers and my good college buddy who is not experienced with the ladies. They were both good sports about it. Not something I'd recommend at every wedding, but at ours it provided a good comical moment.
Yeah it was an American wedding I witnessed it in, never seen it previously. IIRC (it was 6 years ago) the groom flung it straight to the Best Man (both British), who put it on the Maid of Honor (American like the bride). Possibly because it was a trans-Atlantic wedding there was no randomness in the people involved.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer
Is that a European trade thing? I find it hard to believe that Sweden doesn't have their own hot house flower factories, or florists who don't have to go through some Netherlands exchange first. :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by Flixy
What's the big deal, do no US states concentrate on any industry?Quote:
Originally Posted by GGT
The Netherlands is famous for their flowers (esp. Tulips).
No, it's a world thing - 2/3 of all flower exports in the world passed through the Netherlands. I suppose historically that's where flower merchants were, and it has grown from there. Also, apparently, a third of all tomatoes, chilis, cucumbers exports in the world pass through our country.Quote:
Originally Posted by GGT
It's not that a florist has to go through some exchange, but the place where he gets his flowers most likely got them from here.
The following account contains links to image-search results and pretty pictures. Some are HUGE.
After much deliberation, we unfortunately had to cancel the booking for the place we'd loved so much. No matter how we cut it, we couldn't get past the fact that it was just a little too small for the number of guests. It was a shame, because everything else about the place--the house, the location, the food, the people, the price--was just great.
Then ensued a melancholy and desperate hunt for a new place. We revisited old contenders (a house dedicated to Astrid Lindgren's novels) and found new ones. One taunted us by being lovely and being situated close to one of the most perfect places in Sthlm (imo)... but shutting down that part of their business :( the others all had their strong points, but their downsides were just too difficult to ignore.
All hope seemed lost and we were about to resign ourselves to choosing the least of all evils. But then, completely by accident, we heard of a place. But the person in charge of bookings was far away on vacation and would return to Sthlm (maybe) on the same day we were set to leave sthlm. We had been about to confirm a booking at the Astrid Lindgren place, but decided to wait a couple of days. Managed to get hold of her, and she came in on her vacation to show us around a couple of hours before our flight.
It's located right smack in the middle of Sthlm's old city, in the great square. Unfortunately, our pics don't really do the place justice, so I've decided to borrow better ones.
It consists of two connected buildings, in which we get access to two separate but connected halls (plus some smaller rooms). One, the larger dining hall, known as the Knights' Hall, easily seats a hundred guests. It's in the part of the house that used to be owned by a Scottish merchant family, the Primroses. The ceiling is lovely--it's the best preserved painted ceiling in Sthlm from that time.
The other hall, slightly smaller, is in the part of the building that used to be owned by a Swedish merchant family that ran the Swedish East India Company. It's perfect for mingling and for dancing. There's a small and pretty courtyard which is lovely in the summer. Guests can move freely from one place to the other, as the night progresses and as they wish.
There are tuned pianos in each major room, and a proper sound-system. They have their own restaurant, with good chefs and sommeliers, and they take their food seriously even though they're very accommodating. We get to taste-test the menu and get several meetings to sort out the details. They have their own bakery and pastry shop, led by one of Sweden's better bakers. They take care of the flowers and decor etc and coordinate it with our wishes, with the wedding bouquet, etc.
Everything--almost literally everything including the fancy cake--is included in a price that's better than our other candidates', and even comparable to the one we had to turn down. The party coordinator was friendly, helpful, sensible and very clear. Sounds pretty sweet right?
Here's the best part: this is run by a social business. "Social" not as in "social media" but as in "social good"; as in all their profits go towards the social projects managed by Stockholm's largest organisation in that niche. I mean, this place would have felt like a great candidate purely on its own merits, but knowing that a large part of the money we're putting into this (summat more than we'd wanted) will go towards helping an organisation we both like do things we all think are important... well, it seems like a better deal. Think we're confirming tomorrow, even though it'll mean changing the date by a week. It's too good to pass up :) 10th of August, here we come.
Does this mean you can deduct the wedding as a charitable gift? :noob:
Sounds like a lot of stress but things landing in the right place. Are you okay with the nature vs. indoors component? The room looks really nice.
Also, non-Sveriges raise your hands if this was the first time you had heard of a Swedish East India Company. :o
Dude, get a grip on your obsession with taxes. Seriously. :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreadnaught
Minx, your new venue looks and sound absolutely gorgeous! I love the idea that you were both willing to make new plans in order to accommodate more guests....without sacrificing anything of substance. That bodes well for your union and partnership. Not just in flexibility that is so crucial to relationships, but including community as part of your 'family' and future happiness.
:heart:
I look forward to your pictures of the ceremony and celebration. You'll look fine in your Bengali brocaded light blue silks, with sparkles and matching custom shoes. I imagine your soft ginger bride floating down the aisle, like a vision, dressed in cream tulle and pink confection sugar.
It will make the toes of your shoes curl up in gleeful anticipation. ;)
Get a grip on your obsession with missing a joke.