Honeymoon Weddings=vacations for all!
In today's uncertain economy, and just because it's innovative and fun, many couples are taking their wedding on the road.
A Progressive Wedding quite literally "progresses" across the country. A couple who met in NYC might have their ceremony there, then gather with their guests in Connecticut the next morning for a post-wedding brunch in the town where the bride grew up. From there, they might fly to Chicago for a post-wedding cocktail party (at which the bride might again wear her gown), then progress further to San Francisco for a reception with the friends of her grandparents. Long-distance guests are invited to the gathering closest to their hometown, and are spared the cost of transportation and accommodations for an out-of-town wedding. And guest lists are kept to a reasonable number in each location for those hosting each event.
A Honeymoon Wedding moves the nuptials to the honeymoon destination. The day after the ceremony, the newlyweds move to more secluded lodgings, while guests stay on for a get-away of their own. If the couple opt for a guest list that expands beyond close family and friends, most attendees appreciate that their days off from work and travel expenses are directed toward a "destination wedding" at a vacation locale (e.g., Bermuda), rather than a small hometown (Fonda, NY).
A Theme Wedding might move a wedding to an historic site (e.g., Williamsburg, VA), where the couple can re-enact a wedding from a particular period of history or movie. Imagine your groom in 18th-century-style buckled velvet knee breeches and a lush royal-blue silk suit coat with pleated skirts reaching to his knees, worn over a matching embroidered waist coat or vest and a white shirt with ruffled ascot and sleeves. Picture yourself in a formal long gown made of silk with low-cut bodice over a boned shape-hugging corset, long sleeves adorned with layers of ruffles rippling down over your elbows, a full skirt with yards of silk fabric flaring out to the sides--slit open in front to reveal a lush petticoat accented with fabric from the overskirt.
Or, you might head to a theme park (e.g., Disney World, in Orlando, FL), where you'll travel to your ceremony at Cinderella's Castle in Cinderella's Glass Coach or, re-enact an "Arabian-night scene from Aladdin or another Disney film. Call Disney Reservations (407-W-DISNEY) early--prime holidays may be booked 1-2 years in advance--and book a Disney Fairytale Wedding Package (including dove-releasing ceremony, candlelight dinner, fireworks show), and receive discounted rates at Walt Disney World for all guests. Don't forget to get your Florida marriage license! After your "fairy-tale wedding," sail off into the sunset for a romantic honeymoon on a Disney Caribbean Cruise.
Locally, plan a Colonial wedding in 18th-century style at the Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan (54 Pearl St. @ Broad Street, 212-968-1776). This restored museum, restaurant, and pub, a cozy brick structure with wooden floor boards that dates from 1762, is where George Washington said farewell to his officers at the close of the Revolutionary War.
Or plan a wedding uptown at the Morris-Jumel Mansion (65 Jumel Terrace--a short, historic block that extends west from 160th St. and 162nd St., 1 block east of St. Nicholas Place; 212-923-8008). Built on a hilltop in 1765, this oldest house in Manhattan was home to the British Colonel Roger Moris and his American wife Mary, then served as headquarters to General Washington in 1776; in 1790, Washington dined there with John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and Henry Knox. Overlooking the Harlem River, the Bronx, and Long Island Sound on the east, the Hudson River and Jersey Palisades to the west, and NYC and the harbor to the south, the mansion was a perfect country home for Frenchman Stephen Jumel and his wife, Eliza, who moved in and decorated in the French Empire style in 1810. After Stephen's death, Eliza remained in the home and later wed the infamous, former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr in the parlor. In 1894, General Ferdinand Earle and his wife, Lillie, purchased the mansion and its subdivided plot of land. In 1903, they persuaded NYC to purchase the property and preserve it as a museum and monument. Run first by the Washington's Headquarters Association (four chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution), it is now operated as a museum by the non-profit corporation, Morris-Jumel Mansion, Inc.
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