Wedding Philosophy...

So this morning, while making my blog rounds, I stumbled upon another great post by Meg over on A Practical Wedding. I always identify with what Meg writes. I've highlighted in red my reactions to what she wrote:

The 4 Keys to Having a "Practical" Wedding:

• That you have a honest wedding. That your wedding budget (whatever it is) reflects who you are, and what you feel you can afford to spend. That when you think of your wedding budget you don't feel ill and wonder, "oh dear god, how are we ever going to pay off this party?" I mean, in my experience *any* wedding budget will make you feel ill now and then, but most of the time it should make you feel confident like, "Hey, it feels like a lot of money, but we're spending smart, and we can do this thing." Amen, sister! So glad we nixed the $20k budget!
• That you tried to spend less then you can afford. At the end of the day, it's nice to know that you have a little in the bank in case of an emergency, and you didn't blow it all on one day. (I'm aware that this is not always possible. In my most broke days a marriage license would have felt like more then I could afford!) Yes! I'm a deal-hunter! This is sooo me. We're paying for the wedding and honeymoon in cash, and will still have a savings! Yes!
• That you have a laid back wedding where you care more about having a wedding that reflects who you are then meeting some arbitrary criteria, whether they are set by a wedding magazine or a blog. Hey, us again! We're on a roll! Haven't I tried (though I've slipped at times) to focus on WHY we're getting married, not HOW?
• But there is one thing that I care about most of all: I think how you spend your money is more important than how much you spend. When I look back at what we've spent our money on, the decisions I feel the best about are the ones where we put our money towards things we believe in. I don't feel best about the affordable wine we bought at Bevmo (though I think it was a smart choice), instead I feel the best about the wine that we bought on sale from Meeker - our favorite funky, low brow, small, local winery. When we bought Meeker wine, we helped support a business that we want to thrive in a difficult economic environment, and I feel great about that. I've tried to look at our wedding budget as money we are going to spend regardless, and tried to allocate it to people, businesses, and local artists that we want to thrive. Hmmm, if I stretch it, this one might be us, too. Though we're not having an all out eco-friendly, locally-grown wedding, we are doing our best to make conscious decisions about how and where we spend our money.

It's funny, because I was planning on posting something thoughtful today, anyway, that this showed up on my Google Reader. It's one of the few wedding blogs that doesn't just churn out pictures of over-priced (but gorgeous) weddings that focus on the invitations, the bridal dress, the venue, etc.

This weekend, I had a "Eureka" moment. Tom and I had a fairly laid back weekend, and the only "wedding" moment was when we tried on our wedding rings (which was a pretty spectacular moment, by the way!). The rest was all wedding-free, and it was so nice returning back to who we are as a couple, as opposed to Tom and Beth, the groom and bride. It's so very easy to get caught up in the plans, the budget, the etiquette rules, and the details, that we forget to relax and enjoy ourselves. :)

So, as March begins to come to a close and we head into "the crazy months," I plan on making a concerted effort to keep my head screwed on straight and my stress to a minimum. The "Will it matter in 10 minutes? 10 days? 10 years?" question will be one I ask myself more often.

Any maybe, just maybe, I'll remain practical until August.

Stinkin' Cute Save-the-Dates!!!

I found another blog "Prom to Altar," and figured it was worth checking out...and boy, was it!!

Check out these save the dates that this crafty woman came up with:


(Courtesy Prom to Altar)


All the little ticket stubs and what not are momentos from their relationship - trips they've gone on, the place where they became engaged, etc.).

I love a few things about this:

1. It's customized & personal. I think many people lose the vision of what their wedding is: a celebration of their love & relationship, not just an excuse to throw a party. I think when weddings reflect the personalities and tastes of a couple, they are more fun!
2. I love the photo-strip. My original idea was to do something similar, but instead, we'd be holding up a sign in each photo, so it reads "Save" "The" "Date" with the last photo being the actual date.
3. How perfect would this be for us? In high school, being that we were goofy 17 year olds, we'd write each other notes throughout the day. I had kept most of them at one point, filling an entire shopping bag. I'm not sure if I still have them, though. We were pretty silly, though. Tom had band class the period before mine, so he'd write me a note while sitting in class, slip it in my music locker, hide it in the grand piano or xylophone for me to find, or slip it to me on the way to his next class. I'm sure they were intercepted a few times, and I'm pretty confident a few of them are probably still stuck in the grand piano in the band room...

What do you guys think of them? Are they too informal? Does it even matter?????

A Hodge-Podge Post

Isn't that T just something else? It's easy to get wrapped up in all the goofy details of a wedding, and when I hear him talk like he just did, it really grounds me again. :)

And, you all should totally come see him on Saturday & Sunday. There's a ton going on besides the Highland Games --- activities for kids and adults alike! Check out their website for parking information, directions, and a complete schedule of activities!

So I mentioned last week that I was making a birthday cake for my niece's 5th birthday. But this was no ordinary cake. Behold, the castle cake:

While the picture does not showcase it's full sugary glory, you at least get an idea of why I spent 5 1/2 hours decorating it!

Back to the wedding front, I've found a ton of spectacular and helpful blogs in the blogsphere. The first one, Snippet & Ink, has some really great "inspiration boards." She compiles all these great pictures and fuses them together to help set the tone and design of an event...

(Courtesy of Snippet & Ink)

The next blog I've found is sort of ironic: Elizabeth Anne Designs. Haha.

(Courtesy of Elizabeth Anne Designs)

This board is entitled "Blues & Apple Greens." While this is a little brighter than what we're going for, it still gives off the "garden party" type vibes.

I also found one last board that I love, A Practical Wedding. It's nice to look at the opulent weddings on all these other sites, but reality sets back in when you look at your bank statement. This blog shares money-saving tips and helps you to focus back in on the purpose of the day. I recently read somewhere (maybe IndieBride?) that one should really focus on planning this as a party where you happen to get married, instead of the other way around...

I know two things for sure right now:

1) I'm very confused. Prepare to watch me vacillate between the two extremes for the next few months...

2) I cannot wait to be married. Life may not be easier, but it sure will seem simpler than this purgatory nonsense...