Sanity Savers: Groping After Eloping
 Dr. Dale Atkins understands your wedding woes and has the perfect sanity-saving solutions for emotional issues, family questions, and fears about the engagement, wedding planning, and future.
 | My fiancé and I were getting so stressed out with all of our wedding plans and the expenses that we simply ended up eloping. Now my mother and father are freaking out about what to do. You see, my mother has said that etiquette dictates that we must have our reception within two months of the wedding. Well, there are lots of problems with that, and the biggest is that all our family members are planning vacations around our original wedding date. If we have the reception in the next couple of months, most of our family won’t be able to attend. We also have no locations in mind that can accommodate us so quickly. Is it awful to wait? Also, is it silly to do a renewal of our vows at that time as well, so that our friends and family can be a part of that? Please help. I’m so lost with no one in my family to really guide me. |  |  | You have already challenged protocol by eloping, so you can now do whatever works for you and your family. Your mother and father need not worry. I am sure you can understand that they want to have a reception in order for them to celebrate the newness of your marriage. If you agree to that, you will have fewer of the people you care about and an altogether different venue. Your parents may not be happy with this. If you want your friends and family to be with you to celebrate, then plan the event at a time when those dearest to you can be in attendance. If you choose the latter, you may wish to send a card to those who will be on your list, both announcing your marriage and asking them to reserve your original wedding date. And as to your renewal of your vows? You can simply call it a Renewal of Vows Celebration! And have fun! | |  Dr. Dale Atkins is a professional psychologist and frequent media expert specializing in couple and family relationships. Dr. Dale is also an author with five books to her credit: Sisters; Families and Their Hearing Impaired Children; From the Heart (co-author); I'm OK, You're My Parents; and the most recently published, Wedding Sanity Savers (co-author). Currently living in Connecticut with her husband and dog, Dr. Dale has two grown sons and a private practice in New York City. | |
See More: Ceremony Ideas , Etiquette , Receptions