lisag8070

Well I went to my first UK wedding last night since returning...the last one in the UK that I went to was erm about 6 years ago so I was curious to see what things had changed and what had stayed the same, especially the food..so here's our story..

I told my DD (who had never been to a UK wedding) what kind of food to expect, the usual suspects used to be:

sausage rolls
sandwiches (ham, roast beef and egg mayonnaise)
pasta salad
crisps
chicken legs
and of course not forgetting the black forest gateau for dessert

so in we went and of course everybody is hanging around the bar getting the orders in, the bride and groom are stood at the entrance greeting everybody and trying to remember their twice removed second cousin's aunty s name....

DD soon spotted a gang of kids playing balloon football on the empty dance floor and promptly dumped her cardigan with me and off she went to join them..the next 30 mins were spent saying hello to everyone and pointing out DD on the dance floor saying "that one's mine"..of course she then spent the next hour asking me "whens food going to be ready I'm starving" before running back off to play with her new mates..

The food was served at 9pm and what we didn't know is that in the back they had been cooking a whole hog on a slow burning spit and the chef went out, cut the pig up and was serving it on barms with stuffing and apple sauce and yes we were the first ones in the queue..

and then of course out came the rest of the buffet...and we were not disappointed...bread rolls, ham and beef on platters, Swedish meatballs, onion bhaji's, pasta salad, sausage rolls, coleslaw and mini kebabs..the only thing missing was the black forest gateau..now as someone with a massive sweet tooth, this was not on..

I was having murderous thoughts about the Chef, how in the hell could the Chef had missed this massive oversight when they brought out the wedding cake, all sliced up..DD was making sick noises because she thought it was fruit cake, but I was happy and ran over to get my share..only it wasn't fruit cake it was chocolate cake and lemon cake..oh I was in heaven and so was DD, so we snaffled 2 pieces each and of course I got two more and wrapped them up in napkins to take home for MIL..like you do..as you always get the "don't forget to bring me home a slice of wedding cake" request..

we were thoroughly entertained with an Irish band (as the groom was Irish) and of course the irish family members were all up doing their version of Riverdance (which was awesome) but made sure us english clod hoppers were too ashamed to go near the dance floor and embarrass ourselves, except for the kids they had now progressed to playing battle of the balloons...girls v's boys..(girls were winning by the way)

they did play the fiddle tune from Deliverance though, the banjo guy went up against the fiddle guy and had a play off..whilst everyone was clapping and stamping their feet..

Now if anybody's watched Peter Kaye, you'll know about weddings up north..and it was pretty much that to a T..uncle knob head got up dancing and sliding all over the dance floor and showing off his crappy dance moves, the oldies got up when YMCA came on with Rave-On the DJ took over from the band ( and yes he was really called Rave-On)..the kids were either running around chasing each over or showing off their air guitar moves on the dance floor..and the old fellas were all sat next to the bar holding fort and chatting to all the young ladies that came near them..

anyway, a great night was had by all, the bride and groom got raving drunk and so did all the guests.. most of the ladies had removed their high heels from dancing for soo long..and not one of the kids were bloody tired at 12am, the little buggers were still energized (probably from all the sugar in the cake)..

so it would seem that the food at weddings haven't changed much for as long as I can remember, a few variants, but not many..

so whats the food like in a US wedding? do you have traditional staple food that is always served or is each wedding different? can you stereotype weddings from the north or south like we can?..

And whats your best/worst wedding memory, whether it be your own or somebody elses...

Jerseygirl

I'll have to report back in the New Year because we are going to my niece's wedding in the UK. I haven't been to a UK wedding in over 20 years. I have no idea what the food will be like but there is the traditional sit down meal in the afternoon. Then there is the evening 'do'...live music...food...plenty of bevvies.

I've been to several US weddings...all the ladies have worn evening gowns and the guys wore tuxs. The fanciest was a huge wedding at the Plaza in NYC.

Lisa what did you wear? I've bought a suit for the daytime but the weather can be so changeable at that time of year.

lisag8070

I actually wore my LBD (little black dress) and my new pair of black boots..as we only went to the evening do

what time of year is the wedding?

I would wear something light with maybe a shawl or cardigan because even though you may be stood outside for a while after the church service having photos taken, most of your time is spent indoors in function rooms and believe me it gets hot in these rooms especially when there's 100-200 guests inside with no AC...and you know it gets hotter later when everybody starts dancing away..

Jerseygirl

The wedding is at the end of the year. The suit is a 3 piece so I can take the jacket off if it gets too warm...I was more worried about being too cold. I didn't really want to take a heavy coat with me...so a shawl is a great idea...thanks.

I shall wear something different for the night time...just haven't found it yet.

bevinva

We were invited to a wedding here for the daughter of on of the big wigs in the company OH worked for. It was an evening wedding so I assumed it would be dressy and given the income of the father of the bride, have some class. Basically it was a picnic served inside, buffet with pork barbecue sandwiches, coleslaw, potato salad, pigs in a blanket, baked beans etc. I went to a big Polish wedding in Cleveland, they did it right, open bar, sit down dinner, very nice.

lisag8070

wow, I'm quite surprised the big wig didn't show off..maybe the cost of the wedding dress took up all of the budget..

and you can't beat an open bar..thats my kind of wedding..

lisag8070

I hear Paris is a good place to start looking for a dress..

mind you I have to admit I did have loads of fun shopping for my LBD..my DD even caught the shopping bug..although she seems to be all about the shoes and accessories..

bevinva

The wedding reception for my uncle was at the bride's parents. My Nanny went to her grave many years later muttering about the horror of empty margarine tubs being used to serve things in. I recently mentioned this to my uncle who emigrated to Canada right after getting married and he thought it was hilarious, he never even realised.

Sally Redux

Ooh haven't had an onion bhaji for years

We've been to a couple of weddings here. A work colleague asked my husband to perform the ceremony for the first one. Something I noticed which is a modern idea was that the bride kept changing her dress through the evening. The funniest thing on the dance floor was an elderly Vietnamese guy in a suit and sneakers doing bluesy dancing. (Unfortunately this couple split up less than a year later). We went to one out at Lake Arrowhead which was low-key in a nice setting. We also went to a Chinese banquet at a massive restaurant for the wedding of a Chinese and a Swedish person. There were loads of courses and the Mum kept coming around and exhorting us to take all the leftovers home. "Hey, you get your lobster?" We also went to a reception in Venice Beach which was nice with a little live band.

dbj1000

So my theory is that the bigger and flashier the wedding, the shorter the subsequent marriage.

What do y'all think?

bevinva

My dad went all out for my sister's wedding, she stayed married less than two years.

Jerseygirl

Over 31 years ago we had 7 guests to our wedding. We used the money as a deposit on our first house...but each to their own eh?


Both my sister and myself paid for our own weddings because our parents couldn't afford to. She had a white wedding, etc, etc but I suppose it would be classed as small compared to many...we had a small registry office wedding. She's been married for 32 years...us for 31 years...but I hear what you're saying.

Sally Redux

Yeah could be. We got married in a register office and had a nice but not flashy reception. At my brother's church wedding shortly afterwards, his MIL told us authoritatively that register office do's don't count and never last. Ha ha I'm still married and he isn't.

Jerseygirl

Yeah I remember having a similar conversation with a couple who had an elaborate wedding at Liverpool Cathedral. Two years into the marriage...she was having an affair with her cousin.

bevinva

One of my ex boyfriends had a big fancy wedding, she asked to be dropped off at a different location from him after the reception.