Before I said, "I do."

Currently, I've been assisting a friend with wedding planning and it has brought back ALL kinds of memories from my own wedding from 15 years ago. I find myself vacillating between wanting to be transparent and telling her the truth and wanting to be merciful and letting her have her "day". She asked me to be transparent, however, I know I can be TOO transparent at times.
Fifteen years ago when I got married, I came to the realization that I didn't want to pay for things people just eventually threw away. I also realized, you can't get passed that. People always want to take some sort of memorabilia away from that day. The program is a must and then you have the favors. That thing that is guaranteed to be thrown away or sit in someones kitchen drawer forever. I hated the thought of spending money on favors. Then you have table coverings. I used whatever the church had in their immediate supply. Why? It occurred to me I didn't want to pay for fabric to cover 12-15 round tables and that same fabric was not mine to take home. That fabric that I paid for was going to probably be paid for and used AGAIN by another bride. Call me cheap, call me frugal, I don't care. A wedding is one day in the rest of your life and what really counts are the people that were there and memories shared.