Today’s economic downturn is causing most couples to scale back plans for their weddings. But, finances are just one important consideration of many for today’s seniors and older couples planning their wedding nuptials. First, older couples typically plan low profile marriage events, opting for quality over quantity, like more intimate ceremonies and receptions rather than over-the-top or excessively extravagant weddings. Second, older couples usually pay for the wedding and reception themselves, which can mean more thoughtful decision making and budgeting. Finally, today’s engaged seniors are mindful that it’s more about the religious significance of the moment and the joining of two lives and two families than the post-ceremony party which often dominates the wedding plans of the younger set. These and other factors cause today’s older betrothed to select carefully when planning the wedding of their dreams.
Are you among the growing number of older couples getting married? Are you looking for sensible wedding ideas that are age-appropriate but strike all the right high notes? Look no further. Check out these Top 5 Essential Wedding Planning Tips for Seniors. Elegant ideas and considerations for today’s older engaged couples.
Wedding Planning Tip No. 1: Invitations. Putting the right words in your invitation is key to announcing your wedding plans in an elegant way. First of all, you may want to consult with the experts and review samples of wedding invitations designed by other couples like you. Invitations usually include who’s hosting the affair, in this case the bride and groom will usually extend the invitation. Secondly, you will want to include a reasonable time and day for your guests to respond. Finally, invitations today may indicate the time/date/location of the reception, including notations on gift giving. This is where it may get a little dicey for an older couple planning their wedding. For example, if it’s a second marriage for both of you, gifts should not be expected nor required, noting “no gifts please” on the invitation where appropriate. If it’s the first marriage for both, but you have a lifetime of belongings filling two residences, you may decide to do the same thing on your wedding invitations. Again, it’s up to you, but in most cases, gifts are certainly much less grand and much more personal or practical, as the case may be, at a wedding for seniors and older adults.
Wedding Planning Tip No. 2: Flowers. Here’s where the older bride and groom can keep the budget in check. In traditional weddings, flowers comprise a huge part of the overall wedding bill. In a wedding ceremony for older adults, flower arrangements tend to be much more elegant but sparing. Older brides and grooms typically ask their closest friends and family members to “stand up” for them during the ceremony, so there’s no need to spend hundreds of dollars on bouquets and boutonnieres for bridal attendants and groomsmen. Older engaged couples usually opt for intimate ceremonies and receptions, again resulting in significant overall wedding savings, especially for floral arrangements.
Wedding Planning Tip No. 3: Wedding Ceremony. Today’s seniors and older adults getting married for the first or second times often decide to have a smaller ceremony, in a chapel or another intimate wedding venue, like the family home. Some get married in the courthouse with a judge or justice of the peace presiding over the important nuptials. In either case, older brides and grooms will need to decide what location makes the most sense for the two of them, given their respective family situations, formal marital status, and, perhaps, mobility and other considerations. Again, wedding ceremonies for older couples tend to be smaller and more intimate, with brides and grooms often writing their own vows or making their own statements to each other during the ceremony. A few guests are invited, like close friends, neighbors and loved ones. Grown children and, often, grandchildren participate in the wedding nuptials.
Wedding Planning Tip No. 4: Wedding Reception Venue. If the wedding ceremony between two older adults brings together a small group of family friends, oftentimes the reception reflects similar choices. Today’s seniors and older adults getting married have their wedding receptions in their own homes or in the homes of good friends or family members. Or, they may choose a local bed and breakfast for both the wedding ceremony and reception. In other cases, they may reserve a private room in an upscale restaurant to mark the wedding event. In all cases, it’s a very special occasion for the new bride and groom.
Wedding Planning Tip No. 5: Honeymoon. Today’s seniors and older adults getting married for the first or second time are sometimes world travelers. They may not feel the same pressures as they did when they were young to follow the crowd or book the usual honeymoon destinations. No, indeed, Hawaii, Jamaica and Mexico may be pushed aside for more interesting, non-beach destinations like New York City, San Francisco, Bombay, Beijing, London or Hong Kong. Some older adults getting married book a cruise vacation package to the Caribbean for their honeymoon, while others may sign up for a safari in South Africa, a study tour of St. Petersburg, or nature-watching in the Gallapagos. Sure, we all know newly married couples of a certain age who visit the Poconos or Niagara Falls, just because. But, today’s mature newlyweds are getting far more creative with visits to New York’s lovely Hudson Valley, Pennsylvania’s Amish Country, New Jersey’s Cape May, Illinois’ Chicago, California’s Wine Country, Massachusett’s treasured Nantucket Island, the Alaska coastline, the legendary Ozarks, RVing across the country, and more. As for who comes along for the ride? Interestingly, many newly married senior couples invite the entire family on the trip, making it a special wedding occasion for everyone close to the newlyweds.
RESOURCES
Martha Stewart Weddings
www.marthastewartweddings.com/planning
The Knot
www.theknot.com
One Wed
www.onewed.com
