Receptions, again.

Robert, It has occured to me that maybe this is coming accross as more formal than it really is. I know that the planning makes it seem this way. The reception: You, I, our parents, and maybe the best man and Maid of Honor greet our guests at the door. We have a nice little dinner and dance afterwards, my father (and maybe yours, if he wants to) might say a few things to send us off after a "toast" from Mike Nollar. We than throw the bouquet and garter and leave on our merry way and live happily ever after. I don't want the reception to be anything elaborate. Kind of like the Bridal set we picked out. I want it to be pretty and nice yet simple and elegant. I want to have a lot of fun with it and I think we can. It is just the planning that makes everything seem overdone, but it should be done just like trying on different rings until we get a taste of what we want. Honeymoons: I talked to my mother about this. She said even now, after they have more money, she would be happy spending the first night somewhere nice and then go and camp in Southern Utah to see the old Indian Ruins. Robert, if this is what we did I would be happy. The only thing that I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO HAVE is you. Nothing or noone else. Announcements: These should have pictures (because we would both want them) and we will have separate cards to invite guests to the reception dinner. If we keep this smaller and intimate (approx 200 people) than we will be able to do a lot more. It won't be as elaborate, but it won't be stuffy either. My parents will take care of planning an open house and inviting the guests from El Centro, which would probably consist of my ward and my dad's office friends. We could have a small gathering up in Anaheim so that your relatives and close friends could celebrate. These are pretty basic plans. I want to know what you think about them. If there is something you disagree with or particularly don't like, tell me and we will work it out. I love you. My mother just came up with a good idea for our reception menu, but I will wait until the next message to expound because you asked what we will eat in your last message. We won't even need a caterer - cost-cutter!!! Aunts: Julia - She will be best to help us setting up the reception area. She will make sure the tables are set up, the cake is where it's supposed to be, etc. Maria - She has the dishes to use. She also has all the serving sets, crystal glasses, plates, etc. This is another cost-cutter. She already volunteered their use. Shauna - her brother got married recently. I helped her set up the breakfast. If we decide to do it ourselves, we can talk to her. My mother said that the people that will attend the breakfast are those that do attend the Temple and others that would attend the Temple, such as you mom, Mike, Sally, my grandma, etc. When my parents got married the got to the Temple at 6:00 and left at 2:00 (after Temple pictures with the family and attendants). She said that the Temple luncheon also is a way of saying thank you for enduring this with us, I know your hungry, come eat. She even commented that taking everyone to Subway would be appropriate. A lot of times a room is rented in a restaurant. We can do this with the money saved from the reception also. We will talk more about this in the fall. Alexis (Lexie) - If you want we can place the disposable cameras on the tables. We can also give Lexie a few roles of film and have her take some candid shots. She doesn't do a bad job. Then we can put her in charge of developing them. Lynne - She is really gooed at being social. Her wedding was really elaborate. I am not sure what we could use her for, but I am sure something will pop up. I talked to my mother about dress. What would you say if you, my dad, your dad, and Mike Nollar wore a Tux? The Maid of Honor will wear a specific dress. Your ushers wear dark suits and we can give the rest of the attendants swatches and they can find a dress that matches, who knows, they might already have one. I am going to send this now. I love you, Wanda