I totally feel the pain of my fellow bride who posted “Venue Drama” – it is such a challenge to find the just right place to get married and celebrate it! My fiance and I are actually in Norfolk, Virginia (both raised in Williamsburg) but we have a very modern, funky, industrial aesthetic … which we’re finding is difficult to get in a venue in this area. We’ve found a few options in Richmond and one place in Nags Head but nothing that makes me jump out of my seat and say “YES! this has it all!” I’d really love to get married and have a reception all in the same location (complete with biodegradable confetti and a vegetarian meal, not toooo much to ask). I’m open to a span of Richmond all the way to Nags Head (which is where we’ve spent our anniversary the past several years). Does anyone have suggestions?

I learned an important lesson this weekend after having my grandmother fly out from California to dress shop with me: the wedding day is about the bride and the groom…not the grandparents, not the parents, not the other guests.

Let me start out by introducing myself since it is my first post (yay!).

My name is Miranda. I’m a bride-to-be living in the metro-Detroit area in Michigan. My fiance and I have expensive taste and are working on planning a rather budget limited wedding as we have 10 months to plan and we are covering the vast majority of the cost. So far, it’s been DIFFICULT! Luckily, I love DIY and I’ve been able to find some great deals so far. My fiance’s recent move to North Carolina hasn’t really helped the planning situation since I’m pretty alone in it right now, emailing pictures and quotes whenever I get the chance. Oh well! Everyone has their struggles, right?

Now back to the moral of the story: it’s YOUR wedding.

My grandmother came to visit this past weekend and was ridiculously excited about going dress shopping with me. I figured she’d be here, we’d go dress shopping, maybe see a movie and grab some dinner, relax a bit…WRONG. From the moment she arrived at the airport, it was non-stop wedding talk. At first, it was easy. I told her about the venues I was considering, the type of dress I was looking for, and filled her in on our fantastic wedding party. After that, things began to escalate. She wanted to get so involved that we made appointments at 5 bridal salons (knowing that the dress I wanted was at one…sure enough, I bought that one..pictures to follow!).

It didn’t stop at the dress.

The next thing I knew, I was on the phone with the restaurant that we are renting out for our reception making reservations. Okay, fine, no big deal. Their food is great anyway. We’ll eat, we’ll talk about how unique it is, then we’ll go home. Silly Miranda. Wrong again! The suggestions started flowing the second the door opened. Flowers, centerpieces, DJ vs. live band (I want to use an ipod…budget!), table runners (really?). Unfortunately, it didn’t stop here. I was also told to make appointments at the venues I was looking at for ceremonies…so I did, clearly not learning my lesson. 4 ceremony venues later, I was exhausted and I wanted to pull my ears off (“This is where I see you getting married. We could add sprays of flowers here and here. You can have a string quartet. You’ll have to move that big ugly piano.”)

My “I live on a golf course and drive a Mercedes” grandma obviously doesn’t get the term “budget.”

Weddings bring to life a small little part of people… that tiny part that gets so eager to celebrate your big day with you that they sometimes forget whose wedding it is. Keep true to your own style (i.e. we like exposed brick, clean lines, and minimalism…g-ma likes ornate flourishes and shiny things). Take suggestions, but remember that the only people you need to please are yourself and your hubby-to-be.

I definitely need to take my own advice here! Any suggestions on how to deal with overeager relatives would be appreciated as I’ve already gotten two emails back to back from the grandmother about…you guessed it…the wedding.

I’m having a budget conscious wedding in a little more than a month.  We’ve spent our money wisely but one thing that was important to us was having a good photographer.  I was going to do my own hair and makeup but my concern now is that it won’t look as polished as if I had it done professionally.  I hate to spend a ton of money on pictures if my hair ends up looking bad because I tried to cut financial corners there.  Thoughts on DIYing hair and makeup?

I know that my wedding is still 9 months away, but I already feel a smidge overwhelmed. Mainly because I am having a hard time finding the perfect outdoor wedding venue. You would think that Oklahoma would be the perfect place for a barn wedding with loads of such to choose from! However, it’s proving to be a little more difficult than I thought. I am sending my mom and sister to check out a place for me next week, so cross your fingers!!

P.S. Did I mention I am planning my Oklahoma wedding from California?! Eeeeek!

I’m getting married on November 19th 2010 and can’t believe that it’s almost here (a year and a half flies by!) I’ve completed all the major tasks and am now focusing my attention on the small things; table numbers, thank you gifts, etc. I haven’t done a lot of DIY projects however after searching and searching I didn’t find a card box I liked enough to spend money on. So I’ve decided to make my own! Once it’s finished I’ll let you know how it went.