Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Keeping little secrets...

So remember how I told you about my photobooth?  I shared like a massive amount of fun pics from the day that we received on a CD from Cheesy Photobooths.  It was definitely a huge hit of the wedding that kept the guests busy, entertained, involved and having fun.  Well, what I neglected to tell you was that it was the one thing I kept secret from Mr Fix It during the wedding planning process.  Check out this super brief video:



You see, way back in January of 2009 (the month after we were engaged) when we first began to go over the budget, I shared with Mr Fix It that the one thing I really always wanted at a wedding was a photobooth (and a magician).  I had told friends about the idea in the years before we were engaged and even watched some of them take that idea and use it at their own weddings.  So now it was my turn.  I investigated a few companies and found several.  It's easy to find them nowadays as they are ever increasingly popular.  Back when I first came up with the idea, the faux-to-booth was not really popular yet as a budget conscience way to include this so I was all about the real thing - vintage style photobooth you actually get into.

One of the companies even offered a booth that shot pictures *AND* video!  So cool.  But that was like almost $1800 for 4 hours for that one.  And I knew I wanted a booth for at least 6 hours and I knew I couldn't afford that.  Well, Mr Fix It actually said we couldn't afford anything for a booth.  He told me, "Nope...not gonna be able to swing that one."

Well, I did a horrible thing.  I went ahead and rented one without telling him.  Isn't that so bad?  My friends would tease me saying that I was already starting off lying to my husband but I would justify it by telling them that I was the one paying for the entire wedding (he paid for the ring and the honeymoon and the house renovations) and that it was going to be a 'surprise' for him.  So I couldn't tell him if I wanted to surprise him with it, right? 

Anyway, flash forward 16 months to April 16th and our wedding day.  Mr Fix It still had no idea about the photobooth.  They showed up mid-afternoon while we were taking photos.  I didn't say anything to Mr Fix It about it at all....until we were getting ready for our grand entrance at the reception.  This is how it all went down:

Our grand entrance consisted of the guys entering from one side of the room, the girls entering from the opposite side and me and Mr Fix It entering from the middle of the room behind the fireplace.  So we sat on the fireplace hearth hiding from everyone while each of our bridal party was introduced.  While we were sitting there, we had a conversation that went like this:

Me:  So baby, what do you think about the photobooth?
Him:  Yeah, everybody loves it.  It's a huge hit.  But I am telling you right now, that if this is how we are starting off our marriage with regards to finances we're going to have a huge problem!
Me:  (acting all sweet and coy like) But honey, I swear I will *NEVER* do anything like this again!  I promise.  It's just that it's our wedding day and you know how much I wanted a photobooth.
Him:  I don't care, I said we couldn't afford it.  It's *our* money, not just yours.
Me:  I know and I swear I won't ever do it again.  I'll never make a large purchase without first consulting you.
Him:  Yeah, you better not.
Me:  I promise I won't.
Him:  The thing that bugs me the most is that if you would have just come to me and asked me about it again, you know that I would have told you to go ahead and rent it.

Yeah, really?  I highly doubt that!  Maybe he would have but I didn't want to take that chance.

In the end, it all worked out and it truly was like one of the biggest hits at our wedding.  Thankfully Mr Fix It didn't get any more upset than that brief conversation.  The funny thing was, for our grand entrance, which happened right after this conversation ended, our DJ introduced us by saying:  "If you think you've seen the best in ultimate fighting, just wait until the honeymoon's over!"

Share Time:  Was there anything that any of you brides (or your grooms) kept from you until the wedding day because they knew you wouldn't be thrilled about it?

6 comments:

Kim said...

Glad it all worked out! But technically at the time you put the deposit down, it was still "your" money, right? Either way, it was a hit and I'm sure he realized that. I haven't had to keep anything from my fiance, but he hasn't strongly objected to anything I've wanted yet. I still die over not being able to have a cheese platter, but recognize that the $3,200 the venue wants to charge us for it is unreasonable.

Shannon said...

I didn't surprise him with anything but whenever he would bitch about the cost of something I reminded him that I was the one paying for it and to shut the hell up. haha.

Heather said...

I’m glad it worked out OK in the end and that he wasn’t too upset. I don’t have an example like this, but I did get upset that Stephen and his friends, who are usually the most responsible guys around, got carried away with the drinking the night before the wedding, which I had specifically told them not to do! I told Stephen he was SO lucky this behavior didn’t end up ruining our wedding day. I’ll definitely be doing a post about this soon.

Cyn said...

Awww I definately keep little secrets from Mr. F. Every once in a while he will find a Zappos box in my car's trunk that I forgot to tell him about. I definately don't condone this behavior, but I know exactly where you are coming from. This was YOUR BIG DAY and you wanted it to be perfect, and if he doesn't want to compromise you gotta do what you gotta do!

Morgan said...

I'm glad he wasn't too mad about it! But it was a fun surprise :) ! There weren't any wedding expenses I hid from my husband, but there was a good deal of negotiating on my part, as in, giving up one thing to have another more expensive thing!

Mrs T said...

Photobooth = so worth it!

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