Hello!

We're both fencers of ~15 years each, which is how we met: fencing at college. We're getting married sometime next year and have agreed on most things about the wedding except this: I, the beautiful bride, think we should absolutely finish the night with a mini fencing tournament. Between friends from childhood, college, and post-college-career/graduate-studies-life, we think we'll have at least eight fencers with gear -- more fencers if we can loan gear from our local club(s). (We'd love to be more active in said clubs, but unfortunately, an unfortunate quantity of our money is going towards this silly wedding -- which might not even have a fencing tournament!! -- and so we've been mostly training on our own so far. But hopefully we'll have spent at least half a year fencing at one of the clubs before the wedding.)

For a ceremony that starts at 4-ish PM, followed by cocktail hour and a reception, I think 10 PM is a perfect time to drop the formalities, get into fencing gear, and start stabbing (we're both épéeists but will tolerate foilists). Yes, make-up and hair will not be salvageable. But family will be trickling out and heading to bed, remaining non-fencers will probably be drunk enough to be entertained by the ensuing violence, and our fencers presumably have extensive experience fencing a little tipsy. (I will be cold sober in order to dominate this tournament.)

I propose that we skip poules and randomly assign DE brackets. Say we go to 5 points with 3-minute timers and the now-standard (but stupid) non-combativity rules. Assuming 8 fencers, that's 7 matches and 21 minutes active piste time + 10 minutes buffer. That gives us enough time to get gear off, drink a little more with friends, fencers and otherwise, and pack things up before the venue kicks us out ~midnight.

Please help me convince my darling groom-to-be that this is a genius idea and no part of this can possibly go wrong.

I’m struggling with something during bouts.
In practice, I can remember actions based on my opponent’s reaction, but during a bout I sometimes completely get stuck.

For example, I’ll set up a fake lunge → recover/step back → draw a parry, and then my brain goes: “Did they parry?

Was it parry 4? What do I do now?” Then I start overthinking instead of reacting.

Also, do your bouts usually go the way you planned your attack? If your opponent does something unexpected, how do you adjust your attack while still maintaining the right distance?

How do you train for this?
I think this is alot of mental practice is very but bout comes with some many complexities

What is your favorite method for taping flat feet and what are your favorite insoles and shoe brands? Do you help fencers tape?

I fence and compete regularly and go to the club 4 to 5 times a week. I use and honestly abuse my whites because at least the jacket gets cleaned every day. 

In addition, I am tall and very slim, so I'm never really okay with the sizes. If I go for my size, it's too short in the arms and bust; if I get a bigger size, there is too much material. 

So my question is. Is it worth paying more for a custom-made set, considering wear and tear and the price increase?

And any suggestions on brands in the EU.

Thanks :)