Michael Bates Brandon Keilen wedding

[sparklymagie]

I'm kind of fascinated by this picture. It looks like something awful just happened, half of them are straight up sobbing.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I enjoyed looking at the bridesmaid dress page. So many wedding styles and so many wedding photographers to snark at. While I was looking, I searched for the biggest wedding party: 10 bridesmaids, 2 junior bridesmaids, and 2 flower girls. That must have taken an eternity for the wedding party to walk down the aisle.

My favorite wedding photograph was the one with the colored parasols; so pleasing to look at and it would make a lovely picture to hang on the wall. The worst was the one with the bride seated in front of a large, backlit window so that she is washed out but everyone else is in sharp focus; your eye naturally falls on the bridesmaid seated on the floor and it takes a moment to find the bride. Second place for the worst idea are those with the groom surrounded by bridesmaids. there were a couple of these but the one at the end awful; the bridesmaids are blowing him kisses and he is looking very smug. Ugh.

The worst bouquet (and there were several contenders) has to be the bridal bouquet with white and brown flowers. Her bridesmaids are in pink and green so I'm not sure why the addition of brown flowers. There are plenty of terrible settings, one has the bridesmaids in open-toed high heels standing in a snowy field. Another is actually well lit, the color of the dresses beautifully illuminated by a golden sun, unfortunately they are posed in front of a chain link fence so it detracts quite a bit.

Finally I had to laugh at the photo of the bridesmaids' bouquets arranged on the bride's train. My cousin had that exact same picture taken at her wedding 30 years ago.

Re the bolded: one of the MANY reasons I will have a courthouse wedding (or something similar) and then a big party is because there are too many people who would be expected to be in my wedding and I just can't deal with either choosing who is and isnt (thus creating drama) or not choosing and having to deal with how long the procession would be.

One of my friends, though, comes from a VERY LARGE family (her dad was one of 11 and each of her dads siblings had at least 3 kids, she had 5 in her immediate family) that required she have a traditional wedding. She ended up having 29 bridesmaids and groomsmen (each), 5 flower girls, and 4 ring bearers. She just made them all walk very fast one after the other.

[FoxyMoxie]

In the UK it's normal for whoever chooses the bridesmaids' dresses to pay - so in most cases it's the bride/whoever is paying for the wedding. Bridesmaids also normally enter all at once (and traditionally here, behind the bride) and don't stand up at the front while the couple say their vows, but sit in the front row with the immediate family. Don't US bridesmaids' feet get really tired??

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

So many dresses to snark on. Goodness gracious.

My favorite thus far? The one of the bride in the strapless dress with the bridesmaid in the hideous brown lace dress. Talk about polar opposites.

The picture of the bridesmaids in the shorter lace dress with cowboy boots made me want to barf. Ugg. Lace = classy, which cowboy boots are not! When will the cowboy boot trend die?

Dude, if I have a traditional wedding, or at least a wedding where dresses are worn, my fowergirls would rock that look. I just think its really cute. But, the dresses would be white with accents (if they had color at all), colored dresses with it wouldn't work. Something on the order of this:

[Jersey girl]

When my dearest friend from high school got married, she emailed all of her good friends and said she liked us all too much to force us to be in her long Catholic wedding. She had family only and we are all still close. I think not being in each other's weddings might be why.

I have only been to one wedding without alcohol, and fortunately I was pregnant at the time. The food was good though, which probably can't be said for most fundie weddings.

[donnal]

I'm kind of fascinated by this picture. It looks like something awful just happened, half of them are straight up sobbing.

[attachment=0]mikayla-bourque-photographycheck.jpeg[/attachment]

Lol, it looks like she was left at the altar.

[Boogalou]

I am extremely introverted. Being at a wedding reception, especially if it's mostly people I don't know, is not what I would consider a pleasant experience most of the time. Having a couple of drinks makes it much easier for me to talk to strangers and maybe dance a little, which I also feel self-conscious about doing. It's easy to say, well you didn't HAVE to come, but sometimes you feel obliged to go for a number of reasons, or you get dragged by a SO, or you do genuinely want to celebrate your friend's day, whether you expect to enjoy yourself or not. That doesn't mean drink so much you cause a scene, or obviously carry alcohol into a venue that doesn't allow it. But people can just have a few drinks and have a brighter and happier experience because of it.

If you're involved in planning a wedding, chances are you know the bride and/or groom very well, and probably know most of the guests well too. So of course the reception is fun for you! You get to see a loved one get married, and you have tons of people to catch up with. That doesn't mean that everyone has the same experience. It's like watching an episode of Four Weddings...the bride and groom are like, this was the best day ever, there's no WAY we didn't win this whole thing! And then you swing over to the guest brides and they're like, I give this wedding a 5...the venue was too hot/cold/crowded, the food was cold/dry/bland, we had to sit at the kids' table, the other guests were rude/aggressive/weird.

Of course, some people are just hyper-critical, but 2 people can have 2 completely different yet valid experiences at the same event. I don't think the hosts (or guests of honor) are always the best people to evaluate it. Even if someone does think your event was boring as shit, they're not likely to tell you that.

I saw that one yesterday too :lol: Crazy, right? If you are trying to win a honeymoon from these people don't you think you would seat them at the most entertaining table??

[Fascinated]

I'm kind of fascinated by this picture. It looks like something awful just happened, half of them are straight up sobbing.

[attachment=0]mikayla-bourque-photographycheck.jpeg[/attachment]

I know! If praying is this agonizing don't do it!

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I might be a lone voice here, but I LOVE the pink dress... so much that if I was getting married any time soon I'd buy a white one for myself! Unfortunately, I'm single, so that would be a bit weird.

I don't feel one way or the other about the dresses. I think that Erin really rocks hers though.

[sophie10130]

I'm kind of fascinated by this picture. It looks like something awful just happened, half of them are straight up sobbing.

[attachment=0]mikayla-bourque-photographycheck.jpeg[/attachment]

Holy hair.

[Phoebe]

I have been to 9 weddings in the last 4 years- nieces, nephews, a daughter, a BIL... all of them very nice and upscale weddings, and there has been a drunk person, fall down. In most instances, a woman.

That's another reason we're not having alcohol at our wedding. My mom and my sister are both alcoholics in denial (but no one can tell me that a woman who has had enough pinot grigio to slur her words by 10:30 AM ISN'T an alcoholic, no matter what my mother says.)

[Season of life...]

Regarding Michael's dress: the People article says that her dress was "built-up". I think this explains the odd ruched bandeau across her chest--they were trying to make the sleeves look like a natural fit, so they added the band to try to blend the alterations. In my opinion, it draws the eye straight to her chest, which makes the modification an odd choice for a fundamentalist bride. She was still beautiful and looked very happy!

[catlady]

In the UK it's normal for whoever chooses the bridesmaids' dresses to pay - so in most cases it's the bride/whoever is paying for the wedding. Bridesmaids also normally enter all at once (and traditionally here, behind the bride) and don't stand up at the front while the couple say their vows, but sit in the front row with the immediate family. Don't US bridesmaids' feet get really tired??

and especially in those platform pumps! there were a LOT of sky-high pumps in those dainty jewells photos, but I'm probably just a little jealous--I had to give up my stilettos after I dislocated my knees.....

my 2 bridesmaids wore low heels for the ceremony and changed to coordinated slippers at the reception (dark green velvet, found them in a bridal shop).

[ViolaSebastian]

[SassyPants]

People can be ass-hats at weddings and receptions. I attended a lovely, small ceremony and reception for a college friend about 10 years ago. She and her husband were vegan (they may have already become raw foodies at that point, but I can't remember for sure). They provided a buffet of food for the guests, which included a dish that contained chicken as well as a casserole that contained eggs. These were prominently labeled and offered as an extremely generous concession for the guests who just couldn't bring themselves to touch any of the strictly vegan food.

There were two guests, a male and female, who LOUDLY complained about the "lack of food" throughout the reception. They basically didn't shut up, and the male even threatened to order a pizza. They weren't there together, either! They came with other people and were just both bastards about the food to the embarrassment of the other guests, including their respective partners.

It disgusted me. Since then, my opinion of weddings, receptions and showers has become pretty simple: if you can't be grateful for whatever you are offered, then don't attend.

If it's family, you often have no choice.

For me, the smaller the ceremony the better. I have no problem with immediate family {Parents and sibs} and the grandparents.

As an auntie to many, I'll still send you a nice gift.

In our family, it's the weddings followed by the babies- and.it.never.stops.

[Phoebe]

The bridesmaid dresses would have been so much prettier if only they were slightly below knee length or calf length. They would have been just as modest but a lot less matronly. And I completely agree with the person who compared the color of the brown/taupe/tan dresses to cooked chicken breast!

[slickcat79]

I like it too. It could easily be cut off to knee length and worn several times too. Jana could do a really nice job of that. I couldn't wear it because I am really fair-skinned and that color makes me look like boiled chicken breast.

Oh god, me too :lol: I couldn't have pulled off either of the colors in Michael's wedding, but luckily the Bates girls have darker/cooler skin tones.

[accountingstar]

Sorry if this has another been posted. I was read the blog A Little Peace in Our Heaven and discovered that there was a post on Michaela's wedding. There's more photos.

Just wanted to share.

Here's the link:

alittlepeaceinourheaven.blogspot.com/2015/08/brandon-and-michaelas-wedding.html

[mango_fandango]

I know! If praying is this agonizing don't do it!

I remember the picture of Erin and her bridesmaids praying before her wedding, and Alyssa was wiping away a tear... that's the way to do it, not sob out like someone's died or you're never gonna see the person ever again. If they're all fundie, they're gonna be seeing each other all the time anyway.

Also, how come Erin was the only one wearing the brown dress apart from Kelly? Seems a little odd to me. In the other weddings, the maid of honour usually wore something a little different to the bridesmaids (at Zach/Whit it was the red dress with black sash as opposed to black with red, at Alyssa's the maid of honour wore that white bolero thing). It can't be that Erin hates pink, because we all know what colour her room with Chad originally was... I think pale pink would've really suited her. Oh well, if she chose it, no snark intended. Just a little curious.

[zadie]

"Sending her off. We are missing her already....moving away on all of us like that! It's going to be hard not seeing her all the time. Ryan said he didn't think she'd ever get married and move away and start her own family; she's supposed to be babysitting him instead lol! But we are very happy for her, too, and are super excited for her and her hubby!"

Who are these people and how do they know the Bateses? I can't see any about page on the blog or anything like that.

[Jana814]

When my dearest friend from high school got married, she emailed all of her good friends and said she liked us all too much to force us to be in her long Catholic wedding. She had family only and we are all still close. I think not being in each other's weddings might be why.

That's what happened w/ my friend's sister (only had family in the bridel party). Even though she desperately wanted her BFF in her party. But they r still the best of friends.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I have never been a bridesmaid. If my sister gets married I'll deffently be the maid-of-honor but she's not dating anyone right now.

I haven't been a bridesmaid either. I was a junior bridesmaid for my cousin. And once, I had ended up doing everything for the bride that the groom, mother of the bride, mother of the groom, MoH, bridesmaids, etc should have done (except plan the bachlorette party, which ended up being totally lame -- I've been to crappy baby showers that were better than that party), but the only part in the wedding I got was reading a paragraph from Pride and Prejudice. I am still resentful about that. I know it's petty, but god damn it, if I'm going to do everything from helping pick out venues to tasting food to meeting with the pastor to make sure everything's done by the book to putting together all the wedding favors to making sure she is dressed and ready with bobby pins and safety pins to spare, etc, I should have at least gotten SOMETHING better than reading a paragraph that didn't even need to be in the ceremony.

The worst part of that whole thing is that our families since I was 3 and she was 4, and when she announced her decision on the bridesmaids, she came to MY Christmas party, pulled me and a few other people aside, and announced it right then and there. Like, she didn't even care about how that would make me feel. So much so that she proclaimed it at MY event. And none of her bridesmaids thought that was a problem, either. My sister, on the other hand, was just as upset for me as I was, and even more furious in how the whole thing was handled (which says A LOT).

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I'm kind of fascinated by this picture. It looks like something awful just happened, half of them are straight up sobbing.

[attachment=0]mikayla-bourque-photographycheck.jpeg[/attachment]

They found out the bride wasn't as pure as she should have been, and they were praying that the lord would forgive her so she could continue with her wedding.

[lascuba]

I'm a tea totaler. My other tea totaler friends and I agree that we manage to do some pretty stupid and clumsy things WITHOUT the influence of alcohol so we are better off with our diet coke and iced tea. Also, my mouth tends to get me in trouble when I'm completely sober so...again...I can't imagine myself even a little tipsy.

Just throwing this question out there: If you were invited to an event that was CLEARLY a non alcoholic event, would any of you stand around outside and pour rum into the soft drinks that were provided? We did have that at our reception and I was pretty insulted. Basically I felt like they were telling us that this party was so lame they could only get through it with a little alcohol, while inside the young people were having a blast! Plus, if the venue's coordinator had seen it, it would have completely tainted the relationship I'd built with her for a year of planning. We'd signed a contract agreeing there would be no alcohol on the premises and these people kind of threw us under the bus with their actions, in my opinion. Thoughts?

No! That's awful, especially considering the place had a no-alcohol rule. A close friend is Muslim and therefore had a dry wedding. It was held in a hotel ballroom, and a friend's boyfriend-now-husband (yes, she married that tool) actually kept leaving the ballroom to go to the hotel bar and bring drinks back. I was so annoyed at the rudeness.

[zadie]

Hahaha. I just looked up Alyssa's wedding cause everyone was talking shit about how bright it was but I like it! Which is not surprising cause I do love bright everything. I'm not crazy about those pink bridesmaid dresses though, because that shade of pink looks good on no one. Still better than Michael's brown tiered monstrosity though lol.

I will never understand why she picked those brown dressed. She could have just thrown a brown sash around the pink ones and called it a day.

I'm not sure which I hate to wear the most, those pink dresses from Alyssa's wedding, Michelle's mother of the bride dress, or that brown dress.

Maybe we need to start a "worst fundie dresses" thread hehehe.