Sep 22, 2009

Tick Tock


Been busy lately.   I have been traveling quite a bit for work.  Today I was in Boston, (love the accents).  I am currently on a train heading to Stamford CT.  New England is beautiful in the fall.  Tomorrow on to Kansas City and finally back home to Detroit on Thursday only to leave again for Friday and Saturday for an event at the factory. 


All of this traveling is occurring right in the middle of wedding crunch time.  T-minus four weeks until go time.  Looming over us like a shadow.   We have been spending a lot of time making all the little decisions.  The big stuff was decided ages ago.  Some of the decisions we had been putting off:

Menu – Happy to report to the carnivorous guests that it will NOT be a vegetarian menu.  We went with a standard beef choice, chicken choice and of course, the Midwest wedding staple of mostaccioli.

Alcohol – We had three levels of bar service to choose from.  The planners fell into one of two camps.  Those that wanted the upgraded bar service which adds top level alcohol and those who wanted the premium bar service which also added specialty liquors like Kahlua and Bailey’s.  I was in the latter group but I lost out.  We are going middle of the road.  Personally, I think the bar is one of the things people notice most at a wedding.  They like being able to order whatever they want.    Sad to find out that the reception hall has a “no shot” policy.  What fun is that?  NONE.  We must have at least one relative get rip roaring drunk and embarrass him or herself to the delight of the rest of us.

Chairs – No, it’s not a decision about whether we will have chairs.  It’s about what kind of chairs we will have.  Cost was the deciding factor on this one.  Standard banquet chairs…..free.  Chairs covered in satin with a ribbon tied around them…… $3.50 per chair.  Fancy cane chairs in either gold or white …….. $9.50 per chair.    I nearly choked on that last one.  We went with the free chairs.

Decorations – Finalized our plans for the head table, the guest tables and the room in general.  Think autumn leaves, trees, and apple harvests….. sounds awesome doesn’t it?  It will be.  My daughter and sister are very creative. 

I have had to give up on a few things that are considered old fashioned by my daughter.  She will not allow us to do the “Chicken Dance”, the “Hokey Pokey” or the "Macarena".  Guess I’ll just have to be happy with the “Hustle”.  I need to practice though.  Otherwise I will be the relative that embarrasses herself, no alcohol needed.




12 comments:

  1. No one will remember what the chairs look like. With a little alcohol a chicken dance just may break out anyway.
    I cried at both my daughters' weddings. Be sure to have plenty of tissue handy.

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  2. Yes well, the Lauchstaedt women will have to find a way to have a shot of tequila. After all one of the younger Lauchstaedt women is getting married!

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  3. I've never heard of a "no shot" policy! That is soooo ridiculous. I guess, though, you could just order something like a double Gray Goose Vodka drink, and then drink it like a shot! :) Still, it's not as good as a Sex on the Beach shot! :)

    At my niece's (Baptist) wedding reception, there was no alcohol served...but one of my sisters had 2 big coolers of beer & wine coolers in the back of her car--so we got drunk in the parking lot! *grin*

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  4. Having been married twice under less than glamorous circumstances (unless Martha's Wedding Chapel in East LA and NY City Hall have since been upgrade), I'm mightily impressed (even if there's no such word as mightily) that you're not urging your daughter towards Las Vegas.

    Good thing about my weddings. Alcohol in all its forms was allowed. Nearly required.

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  5. Mom - I think she has given the deejay instructions about not doing the chicken dance. I will have to bring in my own music if it's going to happen.

    Scarlett - Contraband tequila... sounds like something we'd do. Aren't you the good one?

    MHP - You are a bundle of surprises. Drinking in the parking lot at a Baptist wedding. I laugh every time I think about it.

    Booda - It is rather surprising they won't serve shots. For all their talk about rowdiness I still think it is purely profit motivated. The cost of the alcohol is a flat fee per guest. Shots go down quickly.

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  6. You bring Chicken Dance and Macarena, I'll bring Celebrate and We Are Family (which I understand are both banned by the guy signing the checks).

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  7. So you can have a bourbon and soda,but you can't have bourbon with a soda back?
    I'd figure out a way around this.
    How about a nice sophisticated snifter of brandy,only,..you know,..with tequila instead?

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  8. G - Do it! With my cousin Scarlett's contraband bottle of tequila I'll be sufficiently likkered up to do just about anything.

    Sling - Cuervo Gold looks a little like brandy but they may suspect something once we start going loco.

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  9. NO CHICKEN DANCE!! Don't test me, I'm not joking. And depending on how many drinks I have, the Macarena may fly. I mean, I AM marrying a Mexican..

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  10. Miss Erica - I would settle for the Macarena.

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  11. glad you like our Boston accents! Thank GOD my parents were from Connecticut so I was spared. They're fun for a day or two and then it starts to seriously grate on you... :)

    -kate (from Beantown)

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  12. "mostaccioli" what is that please = I sent the Chicken dance video to my daughter who is getting married next Sept - somehow can't see it...

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