Wedding crap

So I've got this wedding thing that will be happening at some point in the future and I've gotta get my shit together in order to make it work.  My idea behind waiting on it is that the more you plan in advance, the cheaper it will be.  I'm hoping that's true but I've hit a bit of a roadblock.

Reception venue.

So here's the run down of how this is going to be happening.  We are going to have a small ceremony, about 20 people or so.  I've never been fond of getting in front of crowds and I want our ceremony to be intimate and have real meaning behind it.  I don't want to be too nervous to cry if I want to and for serious, who loves sitting through a ceremony besides the people that are super involved (as in parents and very close friends).

So ceremony venue has been located.  It's a small wedding chapel in a historic town where my fiance and I spend a lot of our time.  From the chapel we'll be taking the 20 ceremony guests out to dinner.  Probably nothing fancy, just a tasty dinner at one of our favorite spots in our favorite little city.

From there we'll go to the reception (I'm guessing around 8 o'clock or so) where the loads of people will be.  I'm estimating a guest list of about 200 people.  We will serve them desserts and drinks and just party the night away.  No formal sit down dinner with these 200 people.  Just desserts (maybe a small amount of appetizers), flowing alcohol, a comfortable/fun atmosphere and a great time.  Here's my breakdown of what I think of wedding receptions:

Things that I don't give a fuck about:

• Flowers - They are expensive and they die within a day
• Decorations - Who the hell really cares what the centerpiece on a table looks like, or how the drapey fabric looked on a banister?  Seriously.
• a Wedding cake - I don't like cake.  My fiance wants a wedding cake though.  So I plan on just picking up a small one from the grocery store.
• Pomp and circumstance - Eff that.
• a DJ - I have iTunes, who needs a DJ?
• Place cards - Assigned seating seating is lame.  I want everyone to hang out with whomever they want to hang out with.
• a "Wedding party" - I would feel like a heel if I made my good friends drop a wad of cash on a dress they'll never wear more than one day.  
• a Reception photographer - So you pay someone to be at your party and take pictures of people he doesn't know, and consequently he doesn't know your relationship with them.  You may end up with 15,000 pictures of your first cousin twice-removed's boyfriend just because he drank too much Maker's and is making a fool of himself on the dance floor.  Lame.

Things that I give a fuck about:

• Big guest list of the right people - Not just inviting everyone, but inviting everyone that matters
• Fun atmosphere - Kind of like having a theme without the forced idea of it.  I would love to have pool tables and a classy club feel or maybe great music and a dance instructor, or even a playground.  I want something that will give everyone giggles and would make for an awesome night out whether it was a wedding reception or not.
• Keeping it cheap - I'm a cheap bastard.
• Liquor and lots of it - An open bar makes everyone happy...even kids can get their shirley temple fix.
• Good lighting - Even a shitty place with good lighting looks classy.

Those are all the big ones.  Fun and affordable are quickly becoming the two items that are not going well together.