Weddings Weddings Weddings

Recently I have had a number of friends and relatives get married or who are about to get married. Last (school) year Crystal and 2 of my cousins got married. This year the lovely Angela and Deema are getting married (oh some other people got married as well, but I'm not going to list everyone).

Some highlights from these weddings (the ones that have already occurred):

1. Cousin weddings involved having the reception at my uncle's house, outdoors. This is great, if you have the property for it.
2. One of my cousins had her sister sing at the wedding. The sister? Cannot sing. Very bad decision on their part.
3. This same cousin had a slideshow of photos during the ceremony. Bad call.
4. Crystal's wedding had tasty food and champagne for toasting (no bar). This is a good compromise position. An open bar is expensive, but having plenty of champagne was a great idea.

All these weddings have made me realize some things:

1. I used to want a big wedding. Not anymore. Like maybe 100 people. MAYBE. This would be a challenge because my extended family is pretty large, but I think it could be done, provided I don't marry someone with a large extended family.
2. I'm no longer sure I even want bridesmaids. I think maybe I'll just have my sister stand up for me, and let my friends save their money for other things. Not that I don't love my friends and love being a bridesmaid, but it's a big expense and I think they would prefer I not spend their money.
3. There are things to spend money on and things not to spend money on. Everyone's priorities are different.
4. Music in a ceremony is hard to do, especially popular music. No matter how talented the singer is, the music seems out of place in a religious ceremony, even in a low-key religious ceremony.
5. Destination weddings are good. You, your significant other, and your immediate families, maybe 2 friends each. What's not to love? You can have a huge casual party after the fact, at your house or on your lawn.
6. No matter how hard you try, you cannot please everyone.

I'm not hating on people who have bridesmaids (I'm a bridesmaid! I love Angela and I love being in her wedding) or popular music or anything else. I'm just saying, these are some conclusions I've drawn about my future wedding based on everyone I know who has done this recently. What else are friends for if not to provide instruction on what to do/not to do when it's your turn?