Tell Me To Go To Sleep

I love this blog, Snippet & Ink with all it's inspiration boards, especially the budget friendly variety. So great at getting rid of the fuss and pomp and leaving unique, personalized things... plus with hints about how to save money. So many. Great ideas. This one is very similar to ideas in my head, with a few more I never considered.

The Dress that Keeps Popping Up

I haven't found much that I like better than this simple Sophia dress from J Crew. I keep looking, and there's more adventurous stuff, but I keep coming back to this one.

What's Important?

That's the real question.

Love, Happiness, Smiles.

Family, People who stand by you, Good friends.

Creativity, Honesty, Ease.

Commitment, Community, Celebration.

It's not about ruffles or fondant ruffles or melting ice swan sculptures. It's not about excess or proving yourself to people you don't care about. Even the Joneses can't ever keep up with the Joneses.

Screw all the magazines and the must-have lists and the etiquettes.

Frankly, we already messed up what we should have done by having kids before we got married, so why should we bother with all the old standbys?

So here's what I'm looking at.

Me, S, the kids. Parents, siblings, the dearest cousins and uncles. Best friends from the various parts of life. Some good food, drinks for all. Something fun to listen to. Handmade touches. The wide sky. Finally making it legal in front of the people that matter. That's about it. And maybe a flower in my hair.

These are the non negotiables, more or less. I refuse to fuss over the right shade of peach, matching motifs, save the date letterpress cards, a ridiculous budget, getting a fancy name on my dress label.

I'll probably go barefoot at some time in the night.

Shhh

Don't tell anyone. I'm starting a wedding blog.

It's just to keep track of the beautiful ideas I've been finding lately. I'm not even technically engaged... or rather, I've been "engaged" for the last five years without the slightest step towards setting a date or making any plans or wearing a ring or actually even calling myself engaged. I suppose we might be considered common law, anyway.

Things are different when you have been living together and have kids together. Especially when you aren't interested in the regular old rigamarole of conventional weddings that cost a bazilliongillion dollars. I'm sorry, even if I had the money, I don't know how I would feel RIGHT spending it all on all the little things that just don't matter.

So I'm going to start planning and sorting through the options before I even get a ring. By the way, I'm thinking of telling him to get me a nice fake. I don't want him to spend our money on a real diamond. He said it's coming, and I'm afraid he's going to waste it on that, instead of getting me a new computer set up. Shows where my priorities lie.

So here I am, starting this little secret blog. Cheap wedding. DIY. Toss out the conventions (or at least those I don't care about) Think Small. Think celebration. What makes a wedding touching for me? These are the things I will be looking at, at least until I start making my decisions on what, where, when, how. I suppose I've already got the who and why.

So in my first post, I'd like to show this wedding. A couple with kids, like me and S. A couple not interested in the fancy stuff, but a lovely, touching wedding all the same. They did it in two parts. The actual ceremony which was tiny, and a "wedding walk" the next day with a few more people. Hmmm. Ideas. And how about that kick ass photography?
And while I'm at it... a PICNIC wedding! Outstanding.