Posts Tagged ‘ priorities ’

Scenarios Abound

March 6, 2012
question mark made out of lavender, heart-shaped crystals

Where you’re staring down the barrel of a 2 year (or more!) engagement, it’s tough to make any absolute plans at the beginning. Not that that stops any of us from looking for inspiration, right? And as much as I love to fill in all those Who, What, When, and Where questions*, the big one is How. The Who is easy: Bride & Groom. An officiant. Everyone else is technically optional, but we know it’s more than that; having an idea of the size of your guest list is a good idea right now, but the details aren’t absolutely necessary just yet. The What? Simply put, a wedding. Another blank filled in. (Though if you have a theme or something, this would be a good place to put it.) The When? With a long engagement, you almost have your pick of dates unless you’re in a major metro area where venues book up to 2 years in advance anyway. Still, have a goal date in mind and your first and second pick for time of day. When = done. The Where could be broad–a city or country preference–or specific to a location. What I keep finding though, is that the [...]

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Robbing Florals to Pay Rings

January 5, 2012
Wedding rings on top of cash

aka Figuring out just how your going to pay for what you want Research weddings for any amount of time and you’ll get more than you ever wanted to know about where the budget should be spent. I despise the word “should.” Should implies that I have to do something because that’s how other people did it. And while I’m not one to have a problem with authority, I do take umbrage with those who pretend to know what I want more than me. But having something like this sample budget allotment does give us a good place to start, so I’m not going to throw the budget out with the bathwater. Here’s the basic breakdown for our $5K Wedding, as suggested by The Knot and Real Simple: Reception $2425-2500 (including venue, rentals, food and beverage) Attire $500 (bride and groom clothes and accessories) Flowers/Decorations$500 (if it doesn’t come with the site, it goes here) Music $400-500 (dj or band or your ipod and some speakers) Photos & Videos $500-600 (includes the prints, too) Favors & Gifts $150 (for guests, attendants and each other) Ceremony $100-130 (site and officiant fees) Stationery $150 (anything paper that gets mailed or handed-out) Rings $100 [...]

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That’s All That Matters…

October 23, 2011
Leaving a message on a mirror with lipstick

If you read any number of wedding blogs, wedding magazines, wedding books or anything else bridal, I’m sure you’ve come across something like the following: Don’t worry about Uncle Bob’s bad dancing/the boutonnieres being wrong/the fight with your bridesmaids/etc. because, at the end of the day, as long as you end up married, that’s all that matters. Yes and no. If all I wanted was a signed legal document proclaiming our lives contractually linked, I could have gone down to the courthouse and had that in about 15 minutes (Florida’s 3-day wait after getting the certificate excluded). But that’s not all that matters. Getting married is one thing, having a wedding is a whole ‘nother thing entirely. A wedding is a tiny bit ceremony and a huge bit celebration. As the bride (and together with the groom), I’m hosting one hell of a party. And when it comes to parties? Details matter. Uncle Bob’s bad dancing notwithstanding, those little details that you’re supposed to just blow off because they’re not important? Gee, thanks for telling me that the 6 months I spend hand-making paper flowers for bouquets, bouts and centerpieces doesn’t matter. That the menu I worked diligently on with the [...]

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