Welcome to the new site!!! It’s funny, after months slaving away over it, the last few days have felt like we were wandering around in a big empty house… so now, it’s a full house! Yay!!!! I know it looks different (and hopefully wonderful), but I wanted to take a moment at the outset to remind you it’s still the same APW. The content is still the same. The advertising policy is still the same (no crazy WIC nonsense here). I’m still the same. But now it’s prettier, and much better organized…. And now you can send people to the site, and they can figure out what the h*ll is going on here.
Let me show you around. Excited?? Ok, first, the header. Since my designer Liz and I are both pretty conceptual when it comes to design, we wanted to create something that visually represented the APW ethos. So, we played with the idea of tangible objects as a way to bring it back to basics – wood, chalk, rings, and lace. We used real wedding dress lace, and then Liz painted all over it – a way to take tradition and deconstruct it, re-invent it, make it ours. And then there are the wedding rings, which speak for themselves.
Places you should look:
- The drop down menus! Can you believe it? We have drop down menus!! Some of them are for really big topics (manifestos, say), but then when you look at the dilemma category, there are a million topics. I want you guys, as you are planning, to be able to think, “Hum, I’d like to read some APW posts on registries”… and bam, there you go.
- The wedding graduates!!! I’m so proud of this. The first time I looked at a completed wedding graduates page, I think I finally got it. Because there were a million weddings, like you’d see on, uh, Big Wedding Website. But instead of there being some text about the couples colors, or favors, or what they DIYed, the brides were having their say, about their very own experiences. And I love that so much. So go, play around. And refresh the page…. You’ll see something new at the top each time.
- The How-To page. It’s not that full yet, but it’s pretty. I’m excited to see where it will go, and thrilled that we have a place to organize resources.
- Comments. So, to get a little icon of yourself when you comment, you can sign up at Gravitar, which works on tons of web sites. I would love it if you did, since I know most of you by ‘face.’
- We now have community moderated comments! There is a little flag icon by each comment, and if you see someone being a jerk or violating our comment policy, YOU get to flag the comment. Yay! Democracy!
- Can you see the ads on the right side? (If you can’t, I’d love it if you’d support the site by white-listing us on your ad blocker. No ad will EVER flash at you here). Anyway. We have all the same advertisers, and exactly the same ad philosophy, but they are so much prettier now. It makes me so proud to see all these artists and business people that I’ve been partnered with for a year plus, over there, finally with a way to really let their stuff shine.
- Hit the reclaiming wife button… there is a little surprise for you. (I know, right?)
- The frazzled bride logo. Thanks to David’s obsessive focus on taking the bride with us, the original APW logo is still on the site…. You just have to find it, so go look!
Other than that, show yourselves around, I really hope you like it. And hats off to Super Runaway, who were tireless in getting the design just so (thanks Liz), and the website working exactly the way I wanted* (thanks Jeff).
Oh! And it only seems right to give you all a little present, so:
And now, I’m going to take a nap. Maybe for a week.
*There will, of course, be bugs. The biggest bug is that Internet Explorer 6 is not supported by anyone anymore, so the site will look a bit wonky there (Sorry! I know!). For other bugs that crop up, please let us know, and we’ll try to get them fixed as soon as we can.
squee! it looks loverly! I can’t wait to explore it even more.
<3
April 4, 2010 4:35 pm
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I LOVE IT! It’s going to make finding an older entry that I need so easy. Thank. You.
April 4, 2010 4:36 pm
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wahoo!! it’s gorgeous meg! can’t wait to wander through and see all the nooks and crannies. thanks for all your hard work!
April 4, 2010 4:37 pm
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Hooray! This is exciting – and the site looks so SPIFFY! One question, though – am I the only one having a really hard time seeing the text in the drop-down menus? It could just be that my eyesight is horrible, but it seems really really teeny.
April 4, 2010 4:47 pm
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No Mandy, I can’t read them either! I’m actually having troubles with the drop down and the header text…which is weird…because I am a designer and have a LOT of fonts on my computer. :/ But the rest is awesome!!!
April 4, 2010 5:15 pm
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I’m glad it’s not just my eyesight, then! I’m not having any actual trouble with the fonts, I just have to make my page zoom in really far if I want to actually read them. And that’s not usually the case anywhere else. But everything else looks so awesome!
April 4, 2010 5:32 pm
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Sorry that you’re having trouble! The fonts tend to look a bit different in different browsers; we’re investigating a possible fix. If you could let us know what browsers you’re using, that would help us hunt down the problem.
-Jeff, co-founder Super Runaway
April 4, 2010 5:42 pm
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I’m using Mozilla – just updated it last Thursday, so who knows? Could be a new bug or…something. Listen to me, trying to sound all smart about the internets.
April 4, 2010 6:15 pm
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First, the site looks awesome! I’m having the teeny text issue also. Using Google Chrome.
April 4, 2010 7:00 pm
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I’m on Chrome, but I have the same issue with IE. I checked both on my home computer and work computer – same issues.
Thanks!
April 6, 2010 1:36 pm
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This. Is. Fabulous. Congrats, Meg! I’m a long time reader in the home stretch of wedding planning. This site has been a great source of comfort, inspiration and relief. Thank you!!
April 4, 2010 4:49 pm
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LOVE the new site!!! It’s so pretty.
April 4, 2010 4:50 pm
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Congratulations!! The site looks amazing, I can’t wait to play with it even more :)
April 4, 2010 4:50 pm
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Meg, Meg, Meg!!! It’s amazing!!! I rarely find websites to be beautiful, but this one is! It’s so much better than I could have ever thought! I hope you are celebrating with a bottle of wedding wine and a full night of sleep :)
April 4, 2010 4:55 pm
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Looks GREAT, Meg!
April 4, 2010 4:58 pm
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looks great! nice work all around.
April 4, 2010 5:00 pm
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the site is GORGEOUS. {love.it.}
and I love the use of the frazzled bride. :)
April 4, 2010 5:01 pm
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and I finally have an avatar! weeeeeeeeee!
April 4, 2010 5:02 pm
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Congrats on the site launch!
April 4, 2010 5:08 pm
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Oooh, I can’t wait to explore and I love love love the new header!
April 4, 2010 5:17 pm
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Rock the heck out! The site looks FABULOUS. Love it love it love it!
April 4, 2010 5:24 pm
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This was well worth the wait! The new site is lovely. I can’t wait for more new posts and to explore the older ones.
April 4, 2010 5:24 pm
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Maybe (probably) a dumb question but will I need to adjust my RSS feed to ensure that I keep getting updates from this new site?
Thanks!
Shelagh
April 4, 2010 5:25 pm
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Not a dumb question at all! Your RSS feed will keep working as it always has–you don’t have to do a thing.
-Jeff, the technical half of Super Runaway
April 4, 2010 5:36 pm
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Yes, I had to update my RSS feed too!
April 6, 2010 9:03 am
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actually I did have to update my reader because I had been subscribed to “apracticalwedding.blogspot.com” so I had to fix it to “apracticalwedding.com”
Meg this site is amazingggg!!! I feel silly even commenting because you’ve got so much positive feedback already but it really is just awesome. I’ve hardly even had a chance to roll around in it yet but so far it’s exceeding expectations! :) :)
April 5, 2010 3:09 pm
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Congratulations! It’s beautiful!!
April 4, 2010 5:34 pm
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Yay! CONGRATULATIONS, Megaroo. What loveliness.
April 4, 2010 5:49 pm
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Congratulations Meg! This is so excited and such a beautiful design. I can’t wait to get comfortable on here and check out all the things you have created for us!
April 4, 2010 5:50 pm
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AHHH!! Meg! It looks amazing. And functional/user-friendly, which is just as important in my opinion. Congrats on all your hard work, I’m thrilled for you!
April 4, 2010 5:52 pm
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Looks amazing!! Congratulations!
April 4, 2010 5:57 pm
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I will now be visiting your site just to gaze at the beauty, in addition to reading the wonderful wisdom. :) excellent job on the new look! it’s fabulous!
April 4, 2010 6:06 pm
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purrrrr-ple. mmmmm.
April 4, 2010 6:14 pm
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it all looks fantabulous! love the drop-downs SO so much.
April 4, 2010 6:15 pm
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Love love love love love! The site looks so great! I think this is going to go a long way into finally making APW reach its complete, resourcey potential!
April 4, 2010 6:21 pm
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Awwwww….
April 4, 2010 7:15 pm
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I love it! Great job on the redesign!
April 4, 2010 6:21 pm
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Oh. My. Goodness.
This is absolutely beautiful, and wonderful, and amazing…*happy dance* I love it!
YAY! Congratulations!
Thank you, Meg. Thank you a million times over for giving us this space.
April 4, 2010 6:27 pm
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Ok, damn it. I can’t keep leaving Awwwww comments, but they all need one. Thank you!!
April 4, 2010 7:16 pm
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Ditto what everyone else above has said! Drop dead gorgeous Meg. Feels like home.
April 4, 2010 6:36 pm
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so cool. I don’t know where to look first… :)
April 4, 2010 6:36 pm
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it’s stunning Meg– congrats. It feels like a treasure hunt- looking for all my favorite things in a new pretty space.
It’s well organized, the drop downs make sense, it’s easy to figure out your way around (yay usability) and I love the smears of purple on the right side.
Congrats!
April 4, 2010 6:44 pm
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It looks amazing! Congratulations. Now get some rest, girl! <3
April 4, 2010 7:01 pm
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OMG its GORGEOUS! Sorry for the incoherence, but the site is SOOOO PRETTY!
April 4, 2010 7:09 pm
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Mazal Tov!!!
April 4, 2010 7:13 pm
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awesome!
April 4, 2010 7:27 pm
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Bonanza! Can I be super lame and say I adore the purple paint swooshes(?!) in the right hand pane. Love it!
April 4, 2010 7:34 pm
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Hooray!!!!! It’s so lovely, now I’ll have to read from the actual site, not just the RSS manager :D
April 4, 2010 7:35 pm
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Looks great!!! I’m looking forward to exploring even more. Congratulations!
April 4, 2010 7:36 pm
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The redesign looks great! I found your site after a conversation with the FI that was along the lines of “How much do weddings cost? Ye Gods! How much is *our* wedding going to cost?” It is great to read the posts and comments that let meknow that a wedding can be planned sanely and without buying into all of the WIC “requirements”.
I am especially excited by the “reclaiming wife” area since a lot of our current “pre-engagement negotiations” are about how to build our future marriage and life together. Thanks for putting this all together!
April 4, 2010 7:47 pm
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I adore the redesign! Absolutely lovely, and so much easier to find things! Can’t wait to rediscover all kinds of awesome content as I poke around!
April 4, 2010 7:49 pm
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LOOKS AMAZING MEG!
So proud to be a member of Team Practical!
April 4, 2010 7:55 pm
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gorgeous! how fun!
though i feel a bit overwhelmed by all the organized content! so much to dig through, exciting!
April 4, 2010 8:08 pm
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That’s a good problem as problems go…
April 4, 2010 10:22 pm
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Absolutely. Since new readers will pop up constantly as they get engaged, it’s much much easier to get a quick and clear understanding of the resources here, vs. digging through older posts or tags. Yay! Plus, those of us who never thought we’d get married in a million years & don’t even know what to ask have a nice guide now too.
April 5, 2010 10:48 am
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Pretty pretty pretty!
I love it!
Thank you!
April 4, 2010 8:23 pm
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I LOVE IT! Gorgeous, and the design hints at everything this site is and needs to be. And the organization is brilliant (soooo much easier to find things). And I can’t wait to dig through it all again, now with the pretty making it all pop so much more. Not that we needed Pop, but it really does make it official, doesn’t it? A real ballast against the non APW-type sites?
Oh, you’ve outdone yourself. I knew you would, but it’s so much fun to see.
April 4, 2010 8:27 pm
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Phew. Didn’t want to be… to… wedding-y? Not sure I have words for it, but you know.
April 4, 2010 10:23 pm
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No worries, we get it. And it’s spot-on.
April 5, 2010 1:41 am
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Congrats! Looks fabulous. I like the Bio/About section, and love that you are a fellow “theatre person.” :)
April 4, 2010 9:05 pm
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It’s beautiful and lovely and in my wedding colours (grey and purple) and it’s so shiny and I kind of started to cry when I saw the new site because the old one was so important to me.
April 4, 2010 10:03 pm
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Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. In a sort of sad voice. I actually tried to make it not *too* shiny, because, you know, that’s emotionally distancing. And you can always go visit the other one if you need to http://www.apracticalwedding.blogspot.com. But hopefully this will feel like home soon.
April 4, 2010 10:24 pm
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Beautiful job making the best wedding site on the web even bester!
April 4, 2010 10:13 pm
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Pretty! I can’t wait to go exploring.
April 4, 2010 10:15 pm
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WHEW! Seriously, go take that week-long nap. You’ve earned it! The site looks fabulous, and you deserve to be super duper proud. :) CONGRATS!!!!
April 4, 2010 10:34 pm
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Thank you!! I want that to be in all super big caps. And with that, I’m actually going to go to bed.
April 4, 2010 10:37 pm
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Woohoo!!! Congrats, Meg!! This is awesome. :)
April 4, 2010 10:39 pm
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I LOVE IT.
Looks amazing. Looks like YOU, Meg. The headers (both, yay!) are gorgeous (love the choice of rings) and the new straplines are excellent. (And good on you going for the “sounds homophobic” option, we’ll see how it goes down, eh? I have a feeling your readers will be cool with that.)
I love the colours, and the gravatars, and the little frazzled bride for the non-gravatared among us. And you can reply to a particular comment, yes! (I want that. I should move my blog too.)
The Wedding Graduates were so worth all your hard work, they look amazing and I just want to dig right in even though I’m not planning a wedding AND have already read them all!
Well done, my dear. Totally lived up to my expectations this morning. Now have a good rest, you’ve earned it xxx
April 4, 2010 11:50 pm
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P.S. I put my little badge up already, it looks goooorgeous :)
April 5, 2010 12:01 am
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Awwww. I’ll have to go look! That was totally my designers idea.
April 5, 2010 6:45 am
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Smooch!
April 5, 2010 4:56 pm
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