My friend Krista was getting married in Vegas, and I was hopeful of picking up some good wedding tips. She looked absolutely stunning in a Suzanne Ermann dress called Vania. The model in the pic is a typical beanpole, but Krista was six months pregnant and looked absolutely fantastic in it. It made me feel that a wedding dress can actually be a joy rather than an expensive way to look like a ghostly fright.
After a ceremony with showgirls in bikinis at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel the reception was fairly traditional, if you ignored the fact that it was held in a casino and Elvis was the MC. In fact, from my point of view, only one thing was less than perfect ‐ I managed to be in the loo when the bride threw her bouquet. Daylight robbery ‐ that bouquet so had my name on it. Aunt Betti usually advises brides not to hand a running order to guests, in order that they don’t notice if things get missed out or run a little behind. But I’ve changed my mind ‐ female guests clearly need advance notice so they don’t miss the bouquet toss!
The groom’s speech was a classic, and in fact I was pretty envious that I hadn’t thought of some of the jokes myself (see Planning the Planning for why). People who were being less vain than myself and were wearing their glasses tell me he had ‘Help’ written on the back of each page of his speech.
He managed to make the whole thing both personal and funny, and did the whole thing so well that even the bride’s parents weren’t too horrified when he said he first saw the bride across a crowded room, so drunk she fell backwards over a table.
The best man’s speech was pretty traumatic ‐ not for anyone else, as he kept it clean and amusing ‐ but for him. Terror spread amongst the wedding party when he went AWOL the night before, and a rumour spread that he had left the country. However, he did appear on time, ashen and shaking with nerves, and he didn’t really seem to return to his true self until about an hour after his moment of glory. Poor bloke. Note to self: Remind Richard to appoint most attention‐seeking friend as best man, so no‐one needs to suffer.
(BTW, if chilling with Elvis in the Nevada desert appeals to you, you can find out more about Vegas weddings in the Venues directory.)
Read Johanna’s diary next month to see how her wedding planning is going and to pick up some handy tips along the way.
