I’m not sure if you guys in different parts of the country (or world) are getting as much news about Chelsea Clinton’s wedding as we’ve been getting here on the east coast.
But if you have, you’re probably wondering what all the fuss is about. I mean, Jenna Bush got married and the media didn’t bat an eye. But now Chelsea is tying the knot, and it’s everywhere.
Well, I’m about to let you in on a little secret. Here’s the truth.
The Clinton affair (the wedding, not the Lewinsky thing) was organized in order to keep the paparazzi from getting the scoop on my wedding, which I’m happy to say
is booked for July 2, 2011!
Finding the perfect venue was especially tough since we’re keeping it very small and simple.
Here in Bergen County, NJ (Mafia country–there’s a “housewives of” show set here), the wedding venues are 1) veeeery Italian (which is fine if you are Italian), 2) very over the top.
In fact, a couple weeks ago Matt and I were at a wedding (a beautiful wedding for very nice people) that had 7 ice sculptures, and when the couple had their first dance, fake snow drifted down from the ceiling through the spotlights to alight upon the ballroom floor.
But Matt and I want a simple, elegant country affair–and it was tough to find a place. The picture at the beginning of this post is the ballroom. The ceremony site overlooks the low, rolling mountains near where I grew up. After much searching, it’s perfect.
Anyway–I feel so close to you ladies from reading your comments every week that I couldn’t doing something this important without sharing with you!
So, now for some fun!
Time to pick this month’s LOVE TO READERS prize!
July’s winner is
ESTELLA! Please email me lisa @ lisa dale books . com, and let me know which prize you’d like!
And as always, comment to enter to win for August!
Love and best,
Lisa Dale
LOVE TO READERS: What’s the most over the top or memorable wedding you’ve ever been to?
congratulations on ur upcoming weddng
Congrats on finding the perfect place!
The most memorable wedding for me (other than my own) was one I worked while I was in college. It was lovely until time to cut the cake. The bride and groom didn’t feed each other cake so much as shove it in each other’s faces which lead to a full scale cake fight amongst the entire wedding party and then the guests jumped in.
We had to get out vacuums in the middle of the wedding to clean up the mushed cake on the floor so no one got hurt.
As I I haven’t been to a lot of weddings, I don’t have an over the top story.
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I’m happy that you found the perfect place for yours.
Lisa, what a beautiful setting for your wedding
Most memorable wedding I’ve been to would have to be the last one I attended, that of my cousins. It was like a Cinderella wedding and we even held sparklers as they left and made their walk to a Cinderella-like carriage *bg*
First of all…the wedding to be sounds wonderful….but…as we’re both familiar with a “certain area” of the Poconos….I think the “Lucky Dot” would be a MARVELOUS “second reception site” for “the locals!”
Over the top…..easy…our wedding, way back in 1994….my husband, and all but one of his groomsmen, are avid hunters…..they were teasing me prior to our wedding that they would provide music for my walk down the aisle…with turkey calls!! I put a quick end to that idea, but told them to have fun with reception ideas….and, they did.
When it came time for our first dance as husband and wife, Larry (my husband) was nowhere to be found…..he eventually came out of the Men’s Room, wearing his camoflauge hunting jacket!! We laughed and danced….and then it was time for the entire bridal party to dance….the bridesmaids and I were on the dance floor….and…next, a parade of groomsmen came forth from the Men’s Room….ALL wearing their camoflauged hunting jackets….even the one who didn’t hunt!!
It was great….and we think of it with smiles and laughter, now 16 years later…..
May your day be one of memories and laughter, too!!
Lisa, your wedding site is beautiful! But I have to say, I married into a family of italians who really made the day! We were married in Duranti Park 26 yrs ago Aug 25th of this year and we did it kind of picnic style with our favorites-turkey, beef and ham sandwiches served with beans, potato salad, and other sides including a gorgeous cake! And my in-laws introduced me to wine coolers, which since it was a hot day, really hit the spot. Midwestern italians are nothing like the ones in NJ-most of the family ones are lawyers and professional business people! LOL!
The true highlight though was when my 6 yr old cousin (who had changed from her wedding clothes to play clothes) got a little too close to the edge of the pond and the ground gave way under her feet and she fell in! Don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard!
Till we chat next….
Shelli
Lisa, Chelsea’s got nothing on you! And the paparazzi have almost a year to find out about it!
Congratulations!
Happy about your upcoming wedding-you’ve finally set a date.
The most over the top wedding I had been to was my girlfriend from nursing school(back in the 60′s). She was Italian and what a bash she had. The family didn’t have much money but they found it for their daughter’s wedding. They lived in NYCity off 125th street and had everything available for a grand wedding. They’re still married to this day. Those were the days!
Congratulations. The site looks great. Hope all your plans come together exactly right.
Congrats on your upcoming wedding!! What an exciting time. Don’t get stressed. Enjoy!!
I haven’t been to any big weddings. I think a simple wedding can be so beautiful and memorable.
Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials! It sounds like a long time, but
that year will go by so fast!
As to over the top weddings: we’ve never attended one!!
The most memorable weddings ever for us were DS2′s and DD1′s nuptial’s
both 20 years ago and six months apart. That was among the memorable
moments: that they were the same year and, Thanks be to God, the
marriages are still solidly together! Some relatives say it is because they
have had a good example. Honey and I will celebrate our 50th anniversary
next April!
Pat Cochran
Congratulations on setting the date and finding a great setting!
I don’t think I have been to any memorable weddings.
Congrats on your up and coming wedding, it will be here before you know it! I don’t go to many weddings, so I don’t have a story to tell!
Congratulations to you and Matt, Lisa!
Wish I could answer your question. But to tell you the truth, I’ve never been to, as you call it, an over-the-top wedding. I’ve been to some that were memorable, but that’s because they were such dignified events. Probably not what you had in mind.
In my neck of the woods, a conservative small town in Arkansas, we just don’t have wacky weddings. However, for any couple who wants one, they have an option.
You guessed it. They can go to Las Vegas and arrange a theme wedding. They can get married by a pirate or a gangster or Merlin or Dracula or Elvis or anyone. They can have the ceremony, music, reception, decor, gown, flowers, and so on tailored to fit the theme.
For more on theme weddings, check this out: http://www.vegas.com/weddings/theme.html
This stuff ought to be wacky enough for anyone!
congratulations lisa…i don’t believe that i attended an ‘over the top’ wedding…or at least not yet
Congratulations to you! I hope marriage is everything you both want it to be.
My younger brother is also getting married…for the 6th time. *shakes head* I just hope this time it stays. lol
I’ve never been to an over the top wedding, but I have been to some Hill Billy weddings…Hill Billy hell! Complete with banjo music, dancing in bare feet on wood shaving covered wooden platform, the punch spiked with who knows what and the wonderful cuisine of pigs in a blanket. Good grief I’m surprised I make it out of that state *which shall stay un named* …alive and unmarried..lol
@Bella, Andrea, LSUreader, runner10, karenk,Estella, Quilt Lady,
Thank you ladies so much for your well-wishes! Love!
@Ali, I would LOVE to use sparklers–that sounds amazing. But alas, I think they’re illegal here in NJ
@Kathy B, I love that story! So easy to picture it. I bet you guys got tremendous laughs and applause!
@Shelli, that is so adorable about your little cousin! too bad it wasn’t caught on tape – you could have won some money I bet from America’s Funniest Videos!
@Nancy, I hope Matt and I can look back on our wedding with the same fondness that you’ve looked back on yours!
@Pat, congrats to you for your successful marriage. I can’t even imagine putting two weddings together within six months! Must have been seriously stressful – and yet wonderful too!
@Mary Anne, thanks for the link LMAO! An Elvis wedding– I should have pitched *that* to Matt!
@mary, I would love to go to a “hillbilly” wedding –sounds like a blast. But as long as it’s someone else’s and not mine.
No dancing on wood shavings — though, I might be tempted to take my shoes off by night’s end!
Thanks for your comments, ladies!
Oh – I missed two comments that got caught in spam!
@MaryC—that sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime story! I always see those scenes on TV shows and think, how cool to be in a huge cake fight. I swear, as soon as I have a niece or nephew, I’m totally going to suggest a cake fight birthday party when they get old enough!
@Jenny, you are so sweet! Thanks hon!!
Congratulations. I am thankful that all the weddings I have been too were just beautiful & delightful. I’m not one for over the top.
@Mary, thanks hon!
If we do have over the top, it’s going to be because there might be nearby fireworks for 4th of July.
But we’ll see.
I live in Arizona and we did not see much about the Clinton wedding which suited me fine. The press goes overboard for these occasions too much. We were innudated with Lindsay Lohan news though.
I have been to a “Big Fat Greek Wedding”. There had to be over 300 people. There was money literally being thrown everywhere. The funniest thing was when the ring bearer little boy got down on his knee to “tie his shoe” and started stuffing dollars up his sleeve! Too funny. The video people were rolling a cart around that you kept bumping into on the dance floor. It was like the news was covering the event! It was a very over the top reception but the ceremony was very traditional in a greek church with the crown ceremony and all. Fun to experience, but I’d never want to pay for an event like this.
Congratulations on setting a date and place…coming into the home stretch! Find a dress yet?
I just now stumbled upon a whole album of pictures from weird weddings posted on Facebook by one of my FB friends. You think a hillbilly wedding is off the wall? Check out some of these. You’ve got to see them to believe them!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1622130144#!/album.php?aid=59407&id=1622130144&ref=mf
My own wedding 47 years ago was something we won’t forget..not the wedding itself but our best man. Here we were a bit nervous and so on and about that time our best man crossed his leg when he sat down and he had a big hole in his shoe sloe. I think I was the first to sneaker but it spread fast. All these years we still laugh about that. His wife who was my bridemaid made it even funnier when she said ” I told you not to cross your leg when you sit down”. ha susan L
Congrats on your upcoming wedding. The ballroom picture is pretty. Please share more pics when you can.
I’ve been to many weddings and each of them had many great moments that we talked about for years.
At my middle daughter’s wedding my almost year old son, started to walk down the aisle, saw his Mommy in the front and decided to play peek a boo at that moment with Mommy. Everyone started laughing which broke the tension in the wedding party so that was a good thing. Watching my baby run in to the pew halfway down the aisle then stick his head out and say peek boo Mommy was funny. His sister who was behind him waiting to walk with her Dad, just started walking, stopped picked him up, laughing the whole time, gave him a kiss and carried him down the rest of the way. He was so thrilled with himself, he was all smiles. Leave it to a baby to lighten the mood.
Congrats and Best Wishes,
Heidi
I have been to several weddings (all family) that were great to awesome but in 2001 my baby brothers son married his high school sweetheart. They had put a wedding on hold until they both had the job they wanted and had settled into their professions and felt ready to marry. They dated for 7 yrs before marriage. Both have awesome jobs. My brother rented an entire bed and breakfast West of Atlanta and it was awesome. Rolling green hills, grass, horses, small intimate cottages, water accents and more. The wedding was helded outside late afternoon and it was perfect weather. The tiki torches lined the way with flowers everywhere (natural). The reception was held inside and the bride (she is in design and fashion) designed her dress and it was simple yet georgous. She used a simple vase with a single flower on each table. The cake was fabulous with cascading flowers running from the top to the bottom of the cake. We went to the rehearsal dinner on Friday night and then the wedding was helded on Saturday. We all hated to leave because it was so beautiful and of course the breakfast and subsequent meals were served family style by the owners of the Bed and Breakfast. This was the first time I had heard of or seen a Bed and Breakfast that took up an entire old farm. You could go walking on the trails, fishing, and just enjoying the beauty. They just became parents to a beautiful baby boy in April. Mason was born over 2 mos early so he had to stay in the hostital 2 months so he could be monitored and to make sure he was growing and maturing as he would have if he had been born on his due date.
My brother passed away in 2003 of Leiomyosarcoma so did live to see his only name sake grandson. He did see the oldest girl and boy before he passed on. He has 6 grandchildren now.