WEDDING WISDOM: WILLIE & PETER

Willie and Peter met just over two years ago, the old fashioned way. They met over afternoon beers at a local bar in Denver, Colorado. In keeping with tradition, when Peter decided he was going to propose to Willie he asked Willie’s father out for coffee to get permission. Willie’s father gave his permission and shared with Peter that Willie had been planning his wedding since he was five years old.

While months in the planning, the couple married just eight days following the landmark SCOTUS decision on July 4th of 2015.

With the SCOTUS announcement, Willie, Peter and their guests at their wedding were truly flying Mile High.

They hosted 140 guests for their wedding ceremony and dinner, and 300 for their reception at the McNichols Building at Civic Center Park in downtown Denver, Colorado.

We are so grateful to Willie and Peter for sharing their wedding wisdom for all to benefit as they start planning their trip down the aisle.

1- What do you wish you had been told about planning a wedding before you started planning your own? If friends and family offer to help you with planning or organizing, you should let them. There are so many little details that need to be handled, particularly a couple of weeks prior to the big day. By accepting some of the offers to help us, we would have really reduced a lot of the stress that came just before the wedding.

2- What was the most frustrating part of planning your wedding? The guest list. There are so many nuances, particularly with which relatives and friends to invite to your wedding.   We really wanted to respect our parent’s requests, so there were a lot of conversations regarding whom we should include without the guest list becoming too overwhelming. We were also challenged by whether or not to include children. In the end, we decided that it would be a more enjoyable event for parents if we didn’t include children, but it was a tough decision. We eventually realized that we needed to do what would make us happy, and what was right for us as a couple.

3- What was the most surprising part of planning your wedding? The cost. Surprisingly, even small items and additions really escalated the overall cost of the wedding. For example, the flowers become much more expensive that we anticipated. We didn’t budget for little extras such as gifts for the wedding party, and several other items that slipped through the budgeting process. We should have spent more time on the budgeting process in order to fully anticipate all of the costs.

4- What single piece of advice you give a couple planning their wedding today? Make sure you stay together throughout your wedding day, in order to experience the entire celebration as a couple. It is easy to feel like you need to separate in order to see everyone, but it’s more important that you’re side-by-side.

5- What would you do differently in planning your wedding? We would have proofread our invitations more carefully. The Fourth of July was misspelled even after 14 people proofread the invitation.   It is funny when we look back on it, but it was very embarrassing at the time. We would have also been more disciplined in sticking to our budget.

6- What single memory do you cherish most about your wedding day? Reading our vows to one another was an incredible experience. To share that moment with so many people we loved and held dear was an extraordinary memory.