Small Wedding Sass

I love this quote from this amazing conceptual invite suite for a in-home wedding featured by Oh So Beautiful Paper:

"The wedding was very much like other weddings, where the parties have no taste for finery or parade, and Mrs. Elton, from the particulars detailed by her husband thought it all extremely shabby, and very inferior to her own. "Very little white satin, very few lace veils; a most pitiful business." But, in spite of these deficiencies, the wishes, the hopes, the predictions, the confidences of the small band of true friends who witnessed the ceremony were fully answered in the perfect happiness of the union." - Jane Austen, from Emma

Sigh. It makes me want to have a small wedding at home.

Now, I know Oscar Wilde* must have written something almost as eloquent and twice as clever about weddings, if I can just lay my hands on it....

**Update! This is the invitation for Emma in the previous post. I had no idea! How cool!**

You must go see the invite suite, found via the excellent Cevd at Pretty Pretty Paper
* Because if you think about it, I'm sure it's obvious that I love Oscar Wilde's writing. I've even lipstick-kissed his grave in Paris.

Wedding Morning Glee

I found this picture of bride Emma rocking her ban.do headband, and doing a little pre-wedding teeth brushing via A Cup of Jo.

This is it! This is how I want to look the morning before my wedding. This is how I want to feel. I don't want a thousand people primping me. I don't want a gown that takes five people to get me into. I don't want to be thinking about if the programs came out right, or if the centerpieces have wilted. Eff the centerpieces! I just want to be rocking out, giddy, excited, happy, and brushing my little teeth. And David will have to document it for you, because to save money on the wedding photography front, I decided we did not need pro-shots of me in my skivvys.

Patty & Trent's DIY Picnic Wedding

This fantastic picnic wedding was shot by practical sponsor Keira Lemonis. I love featuring picnic weddings because, well, I love picnics. They are fun, laid back, and affordable to throw. (And did I mention, fun?) So mixing picnics with the overblown world o' weddings seems like the perfect antidote. How can you talk your wedding super seriously if you have a "head picnic blanket" instead of a head table? My favorite parts of Patty & Trent's wedding are that they had a pot-luck dessert buffet, let people bring their dogs, and had had dog treats at the dessert buffet! Awwww....
In the end, the pictures from weddings I love best are always these - the un-posed, un-rehearsed, un-planned moments, filled with joy and emotion.

There were picnic baskets filled with fresh fruit on every picnic table, a clothes line with pictures, bocce and horseshoes, hay bails, a lemonade stand, a wishing well.
And dancing! You can have a picnic wedding and still have plenty of dancing.
There was a playground right next to the wedding "venue" (achem, a park, yay) with a playground. Fun for the kids! Fun for the bride and groom! Just fun!
And... if you didn't already love this wedding because of the puppies and the swing set and the pot-luck... you should love it because the groom made his own boutonnière. Hurrah for gender fearless grooms!

Sponsor Introduction: Keira Lemonis Photography

I’m pleased to introduce our newest sponsor Keira Lemonis Photography. Keira reached out to me to be a sponsor because she particularly loves working with practical brides, which is always so good to hear. Her pictures are fantastic, and she is all about showcasing your wedding glee (do we dare say relaxed wedding glee? Yeah, we do.) And the best part? She has fantastic rates. Keira is located in New York State, but she travels (affordably) which is often the best way to get a photographer that gels with your style. Next up, a fabulous real wedding shot by our own Keira Lemonis.

Simple Table Settings

In my last post I mentioned that thinking about table settings was fun for me. So, here we go. (and I hear you with the *yawn* on the table settings. It's fine, come back tomorrow).

I called this post 'Simple Table Settings,' which was just a nice way to say 'Lazy Table Settings.' I live in awe of you crazy-crafty super DIY brides. You guys say "I'm going to knit all of my napkins." And I think "Amazing!!!” and “I'm tired just thinking about that project. Oh, I better go take a nap." By which I mean to say, it's good I like simple, because I’m clearly not going to hand embroider my linens.
So, this brings us to the dilemma of table settings. I muttered to our caterer something about us using jewel tones when going through her rental linens book, and she snapped to, pulled the book away and said firmly "I would not recommend using cotton-poly to make a fashion statement." Right. That said, we’re not much for pricey upgrades. So for a while there I was pondering making table runners… which still a option, but err, pulling out the sewing machine just seems like a lot of work. Which is how I fell for this lovely table where they used the folded the napkins to provide the pop of color. THIS, I thought to myself, THIS I can do! (or, uh, ask the caterer to do.)
Then there was this sweet and simple table setting. We've been thinking we'd do long tables but this picture makes me like the good old fashioned round table.
And, I don't know if we'll have menu cards, as they seem like a lot of hassle for something people look at for two seconds. But if we did have them (our big investment in the wedding is the food, so it might be nice to highlight our quirky and local food choices) I'd want them to look much like this one, designed by the excellent Pretty Pretty Paper. Simple, simple, simple. And chic.

See, I like details too. I just take the extremely low stress approach to them. So low stress that sometimes I actually *achem* fall asleep.

First picture from Snippet & Ink, via Emily Style; Second picture from Brooklyn Bride

My Wedding Planning Vow

I haven't written much about our wedding of late, so I thought you all were due for a update:

We're done planning.

Orrr... that is what we are telling people when they ask (I think I've mentioned I don't talk much about the wedding in real life?) We've booked our big three: our venue, our photographer, and our caterer, wedding elves all. As for the other major details, we are well on our way - David's parents found him a suit on sale, I seem to have found a dress, we did a dry run on the flowers, our rabbi has the date on her calender, we've settled on a welcome picnic, and we designed our invitations and save the dates. Phew. That feels like a lot when I write it all out. So, we're in good shape, given that we are a whole 10 months away from the wedding.

Since my hyper efficient overdrive has given us breathing room I've made the following vow to myself: From here on out, I will not worry about things unless they are meaningful, fun, or really useful. I don't want to spend time thinking about the color of the bridesmaids dresses (not fun for me), I want to spend time writing the wedding service. I do want to think a bit about chic and easy table settings (fun!), but I want to spend far more time enjoying the process of pre-marital counseling with our rabbi.

So, that's my vow to myself. I'm sure I'll have a hard time keeping it, but I figure having made it to the internet will help keep me honest. Does anyone want to join me in making a wedding vow? What parts of the planning process feel really meaningful to you?

And PS - I'm not going to vow not to stress about money. I don't like to set myself up for failure. Sigh.

Picture by Our Labor Of Love (because wedding planning should be lots of fun, no?)

Emmy & Kirk's Creative Laid Back Wedding

Every so often I get a wedding that I get so excited about that it makes my little toes wiggle with excitement when I post it. This reader wedding is without a doubt one of those. So, without further ado, I bring you Emmy & Kirk's wedding at Larkspur Farm, Mount Vernon, WA. Hold on to your hats, this is a big post!

What made your wedding creative?
We tried to highlight things that we already love. For us some of those things are letterpress printing, fresh flowers, typewriters, having fun outdoors, photography and music: I took a stab at letterpress printing by enrolling in a great class at the School of Visual Concepts and came out with some lovely invitations. I love fresh flowers and try to keep a bouquet in the apartment, year round.
My belles (that's what I called my dear gals who stood up with me) and I made our bouquets the night before the wedding. My mom, aunt, nieces and sister-in-law made the boutonnière's.
I made paper flags on barbeque skewers and used them as place markers for the ceremony. The idea was for them to stand in the place that the flag was and pick it up. One side read: Stand Here. Hold Me. The other side had our names and wedding date on it. Guests waved them after the kiss. Later a few guests also wore them in their hair.We collect vintage Olivetti-Underwood typewriters so we used one of them as our guestbook. We provided large index cards for folks to type on and my dad made a box out of dark walnut that we used as a rolodex to file them.
We did not predict how much the children would love typing. Most of them had never used a typewriter before and we received some sweet, hilarious notes.
My husband is in a band. Several of the guys from his band and another friend are in a bluegrass band called the Half Brothers. They played the Pixie's 'Here Comes Your Man' as the gentlemen walked in. Then Kirk sang me down the aisle to 'The Way I Feel Inside' by The Zombies. That was a wonderful moment for me, walking towards the man I love as he sang soft and sweet just to me.

What made your wedding thrifty (whatever that meant for you)?
So many things…. Doing most of it ourselves and keeping the guest list small was the most significant way we kept costs down and the merriment up. My best friend and belle of the ball made our cakes.
We asked a good friend to be our preacher man. Together we wrote a simple, short, ceremony. We hired the resident photographer of Kirk's band to take photos.
Larkspur Farm has the most beautiful gardens so we played up the natural beauty of the place and took the minimalist route on decorations. We skipped the DJ and made an old soul playlist along with fun dance songs we solicited from our guests. Vintage rings kept things thrifty too. I was lucky to have the opportunity to use my grandmother's engagement ring and wedding band set. I didn't even consider dresses that cost a fortune and easily found a beautiful, comfortable and relatively inexpensive dress.
What made your wedding sane?
Just reminding ourselves of what we stand for – adventure, commitment, friendship, fun, honesty, patience, trust, respect, love and teamwork – was enough to make us sane and even relaxed when things got hectic. Our awesome friends who lent both their hands to make the day fun. Our generous and helpful families who let our vision reign. And our truly fantastic caterers, Jessica and Mataio of Ciao Thyme, who kept the day running smoothly and served the most phenomenal (local and organic) food ever.
I love this wedding! I love everything about it. I love the typewriters, the earnestly typing kids, the band, the dress, the flowers, all of it. But more then anything I love the laid back and joyful feeling of the day. I'm leaving you with this picture of the bride relaxing and chatting, because this is what I want for each of us on our wedding day, to have a day we truly enjoy, and to spend time with the people we love as we mark a important milestone. Congratulations Emmy & Kirk, and cheers to you!

L'Shana Tova

This beautiful chuppah picture was sent to me by the thoughtful Kathryn over at Snippet and Ink. It's so simple, and exactly what we want!

On that note, I won't be blogging tomorrow for Rosh Hashanah. To all my Jewish readers, L'shana tova. I'll be back on Wednesday with a stunning reader wedding.

Photo by Jenny Jimenez
And as a FYI, to those of you who think about such things, I won't be blogging Jewish wedding images during the days of awe.

Betty & Juan's Dance Filled NYC Wedding

Today's wedding is such a beautiful invigorating wedding, that the pictures make me want to get up and dance. This wedding is a bit more traditional then many of the weddings I feature, but having a traditional wedding doesn't mean that you can't have a wedding just as vibrant and practical and inspiring as someone having a quirky and offbeat bash. You'd never guess from the pictures, but Betty and Juan had a limited budget, and got married in New York City (where TRUST me, everything is much more expensive). But they were not going to let that stop them from having one fantastic party. These photographs were taken by the talented Jen Huang.
You often hear people singing the praises of destination weddings, and people don't often talk about the joy of getting married where you live. Betty and Juan married in their hometown - New York City. In this picture, Betty is getting ready in the lobby of her parents apartment building, something I'm sure she'll remember every time she walks through the lobby. I love the idea of our weddings imbuing the ordinary with the extraordinary and the sacred.
The couple got married at Our Lady of Guadalupe church on 14th Street. The groom is a graphic designer, and made all the paper goods for the wedding, the bride made the decorations and the centerpieces, and the mother of the bride made all of the flowers. (a do-it-together wedding! yay!)
The bridesmaids picked their own dresses in brown and blue, and looked sassy and fabulous.

The couple took pictures walking around the Meatpacking district, which is far as I'm concerned is about the best decoration you can get.
If you are going to have a New York wedding, you might as well take a cab to your reception.
Betty is a dancer, and Juan is a soccer player, so they had this adorable cake toppers. In lieu of a expensive formal wedding cake they had a flourless chocolate cake (the first dessert they shared together) and cheese cakes (the quintessential New York desert).
Their reception was at a simple east village restaurant, and was packed with plenty of dancing, Mexican and Venezuelan food, and... wait for it... a surprise mariachi band.
I love a bride who really dances at her reception.
And you know you've got a real party when the groom gets thrown in the air....
...and the flower girl starts break dancing...
... and the bridesmaids start getting down. Yes, please. This is my kind of party.
At the end of the night, Betty changed into a shorter going away dress, and had one last dance.

Congratulations to Betty and Juan! My all your days together be as vibrant and joyful as your wedding day! (As for me, I might just have to book my plane tickets back to visit New York today... and put on my dancing shoes).

Pictures by the amazing Jen Huang

A Joshua Tree Wedding

I know I normally don't post on the weekends, but guyyyyys, does it *get* better than this? This amazing Joshua Tree wedding comes from the stunningly artistic wedding of the force behind A Desert Fete, with extra pictures from East Side Bride, go check them out.
Hot! And the dress, the dress.... could there be a more perfect dress for this wedding? This makes me feel calmer way deep down that I will be just fine without the big traditional gown.

The ladies of the blog world blow me away every single day with the depth of their talent, creativity, and individuality. If we have a wedding half this amazing, I'll feel blessed. Congratulations to you both!

Photos by the amazing non-wedding photographer Michelle Pullman

Happy Six Month Blog-o-versary! (errr, to me)

Happy six month blog-o-versary to me! Well, -ish. It’s really tomorrow, but you all know I don’t blog on the weekends.

Six months! It's so odd, it feels like six days ago when we were out for our *achem* power walk and I was actually weeping little tears about wedding planning saying "It's so crazy! With the crazy! And the $10 invitations and the $5,000 dresses, and the color matching, and all the pressure. Nobody is like me and nobody shares our values, and whatamIgonnado?"

I was, if I do say so myself, pathetic.

So then, my fiancé, and smartest guy around, suggested maybe I should start my own blog and call it “A Practical Wedding” and then I could write about doing my own thing, and be happy. I sniffed a bit and perked up "I do have a lot of IDEAS!" I said. "I do have a lot of OPINIONS!"

And which point I think my dearly beloved muttered something like "Oh, don't I know it" and threw himself in front of a passing bus. Or something like that.

But. After actually following someone's good advice for a change, here we are. And it's been marvelous. When I started this little project, I didn't really think anyone would show up to keep me company, I mostly just thought I could calm myself down by writing about it. But then all you all showed up, and we all helped keep each other sane, and it's been delightful.

I admit, I'm still having wedding planning traumas. I still get freaked out, frustrated, appalled, and horrified, by turns. But, every time that happens, I think of you all, and I realize that weddings are insane, and it's not just me, and we have lots of alternatives.

So, thank you. It's been an incredible six months. Thanks for hanging out, and sharing your weddings and your stories. Pop by later this morning, and I’ll be having a little contest to celebrate Team Practical.

pretty pretty photo from holiday_jenny's Flickr

Wedding Sneak Peeks

There are many many good things about writing this blog, but one of the very best things is some of the amazing women I've come to know via the Internets. So, in honor of that, I'm giving you a few wedding sneak peeks.

First up is my internet-wedding-soul-sister Aimee. She emailed me the first time way back when I was collecting Jewish wedding inspiration, and has since gotten married with a jewel-toned, interfaith, no nonsense - lots of community bash. I'll be bringing you more details of it soon, but in the meantime, I had to show you this picture of her non matching bridesmaids looking steller. I know that so many of us get an ear-full when we decide to let our attendents (gasp) dress themselves. But! Never fear. You girls will not look cheap, or mismatched, or like clowns, or any of the nonsense people prattle on about. They will look wonderfully, fabulously like themselves. Hurrah!
Next up, the talented Emily of Emily Style got married this weekend, with great style and class. It's a toss up for which element of her wedding I'm more in love with: her great grandmothers lace wedding dress made by French nuns, or her USO style variety show, complete with a Aunt who was a USO tap dancer in real life.
Aaaannnndddddd.... I'm going to say the feather fans tilt the balance towards.... amazing variety show. Check out more of her wedding at Oh Happy Day, and at Emily Style.

Moral of the story? Do your own thing and trust your instinct, and your wedding will shine out like a beacon.

Wedding 'Diet' Vignettes

The scene: My friend Kate (the first ever reader of this blog) and I are at the gym.

Me: You know, if I could have one vain thing for the wedding, I'd like a really toned back. I like how my back looks when I've been swimming.
Kate: You know, you should really look at The Knot they have really great diet....
Me: (freeze mid lunge and sloooowly rotate my head to fix Kate with a death stare)
Kate: (collapses into a fit of giggles) I'm sorry, I couldn't get through that with a straight face.

The scene: I'm sitting at the table at my in-laws after finishing off dinner, half a loaf of challah, and some tomatoes, working on some grapes with my eyes on a box of cookies. I'm small, but I like to EAT on vacation. And the rest of the time. My father-in-law (I refuse to use the FFL acronym) is eying me with some understandable confusion.

Father In Law: When will you get to that point where you get all bride-crazy and go on a special wedding diet to fit into your dress?
Me: Memmgmmmhghghhmmmmmghghghghhhhm
David: She'll probably just order her dress a size too big, in case she feels like eating extra before the wedding

True.

Christi & Trevors Do-It-Together Wedding

Christi wrote me this week about her amazing super budget wedding. Their wedding philosophy was "If we didn't know someone who could do it, it didn't get done." Since Christi and Trevor are lucky enough to have a circle of super talented friends and family, not only did it get done, it got done with some serious style.
In keeping with our conversation on budget wedding dresses, Christi got her stunning dress and her husbands suit on ebay for $75 each! Christi is a floral designer, so she did all of their flowers herself. She said if she could do it all over again, she would probably have asked for more help with the flowers, so she could have had tons of them. (I love this philosophy by the way: ask for help, and then ask for more help. That's the old school for-real-traditional way. Vendors are not traditional, after all.)
They had a small morning park wedding, surrounded by close family.
I love this picture, because for me, it sums up what really matters in a wedding. Are your loved ones by your side? That's all you need.
The evening reception was hosted in a local ballroom that they got for next to nothing with work connections.
A former co-worked made an organic cake for the couple.
Christi said that they friends and family helped with everything: dipping chocolate covered strawberries for the reception, setting up and tearing down, doing the brides hair and makeup, and even donating photography services. I love this! Not only did it save the couple piles of money, but more importantly, it let their community support them as they made a important public commitment... which is really the whole point.
And off they go into the sunset. Congratulations Christi and Trevor! My your wedding be the first of many many happy days in a long life together.