Does this strike anyone else as "odd"??

[always quiet]

My nephew is getting married in April. They are holding the ceremony on a Sat evening at a museum in Phila. A couple things strike me as odd for this wedding (aside from the fact of where it is being held!) First off, you have to use valet parking when you get there....$10 per car. Of course, you can 'off street' park and pay $11!! I would imagine that if you could not self park, they should of worked something out so that guests are not going to need to pay. Next, I have never been to a wedding where, technically, the reception is held BEFORE the wedding!!! The invitation says that when you arrive at 6:30, you will be served dinner immediately and Rachel and Shawn will be there to greet you. After dinner, at 8:15, they will exchange vows, then drinks will be served.

Am I just totally clueless as to how weddings today are held??

 

[kasar]

I think it sounds kind of cool. They probably were looking to do something "different" and wanted their wedding to memorable - not cookie cutter but something unique to them. I've been to one wedding where the guests were seated at their tables eating and then the ceremony was held while everyone stayed in their seats. I thought it was lovely - we were all relaxed, enjoying our tablemates, and the mood was very festive and fun. I know it's not a proper church wedding but it's their day and it's what they want to do, go with the flow and enjoy their special day.

As for the parking, they probably don't have a choice if it's right in the city. $10.00 doesn't seem that much - maybe they negotiated a better rate for the guests? If it's a Sat. night there may be a lot of street parking available, too.

 

[KathyTX]

Unique, certainly. But it sounds like it will be lovely.

And since you know about the arrangements ahead of time, they shouldn't present much of a problem.

Maybe the time that the museum was available to them made serving dinner first more practical. Maybe they were going for more of a "dinner party" feel, and this gives them an opportunity to meet and mingle with their guests from the beginning of the evening.

Maybe the usual "pomp and circumstance" that goes along with a big church wedding and the big appearance of the bride in the big, poufy dress just isn't their style.

I don't think the parking charge is a big deal, and I don't think that guests who are accustomed to going out in the city on a Saturday night will have a problem with it, or be surprised. Those from smaller towns where parking is plentiful and free might not be so used to this...

 

[monkeyboy]

well if the wedding is called off, at least you got fed

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Wow, I never heard of such a thing. Sounds really neat. Let us know how it goes.

 

[lulugirl]

Sounds lovely to me! I really like the idea of holding a wedding at a museum.
Have fun!

 

[Disney Doll]

It's unusual, but maybe it's the way they wanted their day to go. Is it a first marriage for both? Are they an "older" couple getting married? I don't mean that as in senior citizen age, but are they in their mid-30's or older? Maybe they don't feel the need to do the "blushing bride being given away by her father" thing, especially if both have been independent adults for many years.

As far as parking, if it's in the middle of a city, there's probably only so much control that they had over rates etc. We went to a wedding several years ago in NYC where we had to srtay overnight. The couple negotiated a better rate at the hotel where all the guests were staying(quantity discount I guess, because they promised the hotel X number of rooms would be booked), but parking was something they couldn't do anything about.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

That sounds cool Colleen. Where is it going to be? I saw one night on a wedding special a wedding at the Camden Aquarium.

 

[Kimberle]

Odd? No. It sounds unusual and unique. I love when people have their weddings away from the typical "wedding cookie cutter".

The parking, very common for urban areas. I've known brides/grooms who've wanted to pre-pay the parking, but the valet services always tell them "no". Guess they don't want to go to the trouble.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[always quiet]

Well, it is a first wedding for both, but my nephew was engaged before, shares a 6 yr old son with this other woman and currently, he and Rachel have been living together since last year. Shawn is 26....not sure about Rachel, but in the same ball park.

The museum is the National Libery Museum on Chestnut St. in Phila.

 

[tar heel]

I don't think the location is unusual at all -- a musuem has a lot more personality than a reception hall. I've been to a wedding at a museum, and it was a lovely place to have it, but the reception was afterward.

My wedding was in a church, but our reception was in a historic house owned by the University of North Carolina. The house has a kitchen, dining room and parlor, but most of it is an art museum. It was a very nice place to have it, and many couples have their wedding and reception there. The best thing about it was that only one event per day was scheduled, at least at the time we used it.

 

[JESW]

My friend Sarah did something like this when she & Steve got married. The guests first went on a duck tour in Boston and then ate dinner up in the Prudential Tower in Boston. After that they got married by a JP. Very relaxed...very cool wedding! We also had to pay to park but had part of it validated.

Jill

 

[lil mermaid]

I think it sounds wonderful, to be honest with you, and alot of fun.

As for the parking charge - if it were my wedding, I would pay for the guests parking charges somehow.

 

[kadaten]

I think the museum is a nice touch. A friend of ours got married in an art museum in Columbus. She was rather religious, she wasn't. So to compromise, they had a minister (her cousin) marry them at the art museum. It was beautiful! Also, since they both hadn't lived there in years but were getting married there to be close to both families, they weren't members of a church there. I know my church doesn't allow non-members to use it for weddings and such...so maybe that was the case? Or maybe they're just not very religious and don't have a church home they wanted to use.

As for the parking, I've seen it done both ways. For that same wedding, they took care of parking for us...we had to show the invitation to get in, and the parking attendants kept count and the coupld paid at the end. BUT, that can be rather expensive (especially if $10/car was the deal rate!) and I can see how some services would refuse to let them pre-pay....if parking is free, people are MUCH less likely to tip the driver, assuming it's already taken care of as well, so the parking attendants would lose a lot of money on that deal.

Sounds like a lovely affair! Have fun!
Katie

 

[GEM]

Am I just totally clueless as to how weddings today are held??

I think weddings are held pretty much any way the couple getting married wants to hold them. The one you described sounds like a lot of fun to me.

My DH and I were married in a little local art gallery and had our reception afterwards on stage in an hold historical theater. We also had a morning wedding (10am) followed by a brunch recpetion. It was unique and definately very "us". It was also beautiful and everyone said it was the neatest wedding they had ever been to! I like unusual weddings that reflect the personality of the couple - not the same old church, same music, same food, same flowers, etc. YUCK!

 

[GEM]

Oops. Sorry. Double posted!