Mama Mia and an old fashioned wedding

On a  chilly night back this winter, we watched "Mama Mia 2".

I love the songs and the dance numbers!

playbill.com

all photos from playbill.com

Even Cher is along for the fun!

I loved it! It's full of fun hits by the singing group Abba.  And big production numbers, with lots of dancing and music. And yes, people randomly burst into song and dance throughout the movie--but hey, it's a musical, so that is to be expected! LOL  It's a FUN MOVIE,and the scenery is just so beautiful.
Late another night, on MeTV, I came across an episode of the old tv show "Petticoat Junction", anyone remember that one?
This picture shows the old fashioned decor:

Evidently a wedding had taken place.I'm not sure what all they are doing in the pictures, or what the storyline was, but a thought struck me looking at  them. ---What a sweet and simple little wedding. Nobody gets married at home anymore. Look at their pretty decorations--some draped fabric over the staircase.

The groom is in a simple suit. And the bride in a very simple, yet elegant dress. Her veil is short and crisp, not fancy--but still so pretty.

The wedding cake is small, but cute, and probably sweet.

The bannister is decorated with flowers.

The bride has a small bouquet.  I think her bridesmaids may have been the girls in this show, I think their names were Bobbie Jo, Billie Jo, and maybe Betty Jo?

(below) enjoying cake.

Now, I love weddings. To me they are all pretty, big or small. Each reflects the couple's personal tastes, their personalities, where they live and all.
I can't help but wonder though...why did smaller 'at home' weddings disappear? 
In alot of the history books I read, weddings often took place right in the front parlour. You only really invited as many as you could comfortably fit into your house, unless you were very wealthy and had a huge ball room, which was kind of the norm for the many wealthy families here in Charleston.
But not everyone was like that, or able to do that. I've also read alot of books, and seen on tv, very pretty smaller weddings right in people's homes. Furniture and rugs pulled back, to allow room for celebrating and dancing.
(I'm not sure, but isn't that where the old saying "cut a rug!"---referring to dancing--- comes from??)
A table with a cake, made at (gasp!) home, and the lovely china brought out, along with  big punch bowls, and the little punch cups. Plates, cups, punch bowls and pretty tablecloths were borrowed and loaned if you needed more. People helped each other.
If you married in the spring or summer, you could even have a perfectly lovely and appropriate reception right in the back yard! People would borrow big tables and chairs from each other, or their church, to accomodate the guests.
The flowers for the corsages and the bridal bouquets might've been grown right in the mother of the bride's garden, picked early that morning.
Couples many years ago did send out wedding invitations, but not "save the date" cards, and the term "destination wedding" hadn't been dreamed up yet.
Remember when weddings took place in a church, and then everybody simply went downstairs....to the church basement--for the reception? If you took home a "favor" from the day, it was a book of matches and a table napkin embossed with the couple's names and the wedding date on it.
Nobody does stuff like this anymore. But if there were a return to the old fashioned ways, just think of all the money and stress that would be saved from not renting big expensive "venues", "cocktail hour", D.J.'s, after parties, "photo booths", and having a huge dinner catered for hundreds of people.
Again, I'm not criticizing big pretty weddings. Many of them are beautiful.
Back when Mr. Front Porch and I got married, we'd never heard of the "theme" of the wedding. Nowadays, weddings have themes. If you'd asked us back then what our "theme" was, we would have said "wedding". It's a wedding, the theme is wedding, LOL
But people have been getting married for decades and decades. They had music and dancing if they wanted--either someone played the guitar or piano or they used a record player. Couples still toasted in pretty champagne glasses and cut their wedding cakes. Were those couples any less full of joy back in the simpler times? I don't think so. And is any bride any less beautiful in a simple gown than in a elaborate dress that cost thousands? Not to me. Sometimes I wish today's young couples would concentrate more on the marriage and not the wedding. The wedding is, after all, only one day for a few hours. A marriage, hopefully!, will last and last.
Weddings of today are not BAD, they are just different.
If you are or were married, I'd sure love to hear about your all's weddings, big or small...... if you'll share?!