bruce at the biltmore

last night i was able to update my favorite concert venue list when i experienced bela fleck and bruce hornsby at the biltmore estate. the stage was set up on the left lawn so that the mountains were to your right and behind the stage, and the "house" was behind you. it was literally jaw dropping. stunning. breathtaking. i would have stayed for tonight to see alison krauss play too but it sold out months ago. i can guarantee you this though, i will be back.

wedding guests

let me first say that i have not had personal experience with this (yet) but it still manages to get me quite worked up...

when you receive a wedding invitation (or any invitation for that matter) the names that appear on the front are the ONLY people invited. it is NEVER okay to assume that you can bring a date unless their name or, "and guest" appears on the invitation. the same goes for children (yes, that means babies too). unless the child's name appears on the invitation, they are not invited. it is not, and never has been, your right to bring a guest to a wedding, it is a privilege.

also, NEVER, under any circumstances are you to ask the host if you can bring a date (or child) if there was not one included on the invitation. more than likely they are working within a specific budget, and any additional guests were not included in that budget. therefore, you are putting them in a very awkward situation by bringing it up, so don't!

let's take for example a wedding reception that has a seated dinner. if you bring a guest that was not invited, that person is going to be very embarrassed (or should be) when they go to find their place card and it's "missing". they will not have a seat, and you have put a large kink in what took a lot of planning to get finalized.

please feel free to ask me any questions regarding the matter. consider this your warning for my reception, ha.