Modern Take on a Memorable Event

I recently attended a wedding which I haven’t done in a while. We’re at the age where all of our friends are married, remarried, divorced, or sadly widowed. Our kids are also married; some remarried, some divorced. We are waiting on the grandkids for the next wave of weddings and our granddaughter just turned one year old. It’ll be a few years. Since I don’t “do” weddings (see my blog “Why Not Weddings”) I stay out of what’s trendy in weddings and wedding receptions.

This wedding, however, was a whole package. Not in the financial or all-inclusive sense. It was one of the most well organized and enjoyable evenings I’ve had with a large number of strangers in a long time. Picture if you will… the evening started with the mingling of friends and family members, including the bride and groom, in what I would call the parlor of a grand, historic inn in the mountains of North Carolina. Thick wooden beams, dark colored furnishings, rustic decor, and dim lighting all added to the ambience of this charming 1900s house-turned-inn. The party spilled out onto a long covered porch with spectacular views, and into the world-famous Ragged Gardens where there was a beautifully appointed tent with all of the trimmings.

We had fantastic early fall weather, which was divine, because we all stood outside on the garden’s main lawn to watch the couple say their vows and commit their lives to each other on the slate steps leading from the house to the garden as the sun went down. Casual and elegant at the same time. It was all mostly what I expected until dinner, post nuptials.

When the entire party went back into the inn for dinner and eventually to go dancing, we didn’t sit at assigned round tables with white linens, centerpieces that blocked our view, and six other people we didn’t know. We didn’t need to dig deep for conversation or strain to hear each other over an 80’s cover band or a weekend-warrior DJ. In fact, there were very few tables at all.

When we re-entered the building, appetizers had been replaced by dinner fare. There were food stations with shrimp and grits, chicken piccata and asparagus, and filet mignon with horseradish sauce. The waitstaff passed additional, heavier appetizers which, if you had more than a couple, filled you up quickly. Everyone was free to continue their earlier conversations, start new ones, switch things up, or slip out early. It was truly a breath of fresh air to move about the different rooms, chat with someone I haven’t seen in a while or with someone who looked like they needed a friend, and when I was ready, simply move on. Brilliant.

At a certain point in the evening, those guests who remained, were all called into the garden tent for speeches and first dances, and invited to stay and dance for the rest of the evening. When we re-entered the building, the food, once again, had been flipped to dessert and coffee, waitstaff serving slices of wedding cake, tiny donuts, and other sweet treats. Kudos to the staff at The Inn at Ragged Gardens in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. From a guest perspective, things flowed effortlessly.

I have to say, truly, this is the way to go. If you’re in a season of attending wedding after wedding, weekend after weekend and this is the trend, why didn’t anyone tell me about this? And if it’s not the norm and you do help plan weddings, may I strongly suggest you take a look into this format.

Have you encountered a unique wedding/reception like this? Tell us about it here or
send me an email! And if you would like additional details from this event,
I’m very happy to share.

Make sure you comment, like, and share this blog with everyone you know who has been or is getting married!

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