no icky bridemaid dresses

Kristina has a cute rhinestone-studded top that says “bridesmaid” in honour of the fact that she will be the one to fuss with my dress if it needs any fussing (and it’s not a fussy dress).

Other than that, we are keeping things simple: we are not having any attendants – no maid of honour, no best man, no passel of identically dressed friends groaning about bad dresses or matching shoes or tuxes.

What are the other jobs attendants do?

All but one of our guests are coming from out of state (and Bridget’s family from out of the county), so we haven’t done the whole shower/stag party thing. (Whew!)

We figure we can keep track of the rings. We won’t be leaving in a car, so no need for tin cans and such. We need two people to witness our marriage certificate: we’ve asked the couple who introduced us to fill that role and they’ve said yes.

So, great sigh of relief, friends and sisters, you’ll not be asked to wear matching dresses and carry bouquets. Menfolk of our friends and family, you won’t be showing people to their chairs. Really, there are fewer than 30 guests – we think folks can find their own seats.

And yes, there will be chairs. I know we talked early on about having the wedding on the beach, but the logistics of making people stand around, or wobble in chairs in the sand, didn’t sound comfortable to us. So we chose the garden overlooking the beach with the ocean crashing in down below. There is a gazebo structure, and the chairs will be arranged in front of that.

But again, it will be simple. We won’t be at the ceremony all that long, so there will be no tulle on the chairs, no flowers to wilt or trample. Kauai in general, and the Hyatt in particular, are filled with gardens and flowers – no need to cut them down and pin their tormented bodies to chairs.

After the ceremony, we will take a few pictures with our families, and maybe a group shot with everyone. Then Ed and Bridget (with Kristina in tow to straighten the dress) will go off to take wedding pictures around the gardens and on the beach.

Our guests will have drinks and snacks to tide them over while they wait. Yummy snacks. (In fact, they look so yummy, we have asked for own plate of snacks to take with us.)

After that, we will all meet at the reception site, ready to celebrate together. And what a celebration! We’ll be married… and ready to share our first meal with the family and friends gathered around us.

We’ll also be holding close those who couldn’t make it to Kauai for the trip, and remembering those who are with us only in spirit.