Best Of APW 2013

Dear APW,

We normally take two weeks off at the end of the year, because, well, everyone needs a proper vacation once a year. (And what’s running a company about if it’s not creating a little bit of the dream work-life balance?) But this year, we’re taking a few extra days off from publishing, though we’ll still be toiling away over here behind the scenes till Friday. This year has been a professional whirlwind. The staff is exhausted, but mostly, we’re tired of running fire drills and never being far enough ahead. So we’re taking time off to get things properly ready for 2014. Because if 2013 was good around these parts, 2014 is going to be a zillion times better. We’re starting the year with our shiny new site, our (even) awesome(er) team, and all the skills we gained this year. In the meantime though, we’ll be sharing links and other good stuff on Facebook. Follow along over with us there (in between egg nog and naps).

If you’re brand new here, may I suggest our pre-engagedengaged, and married pages (depending). And our pages on City Hall WeddingsAt Home Weddings, and Elopements will help you think outside of the wedding industry box. And really? Really, really? The APW book is the very best place to start (plus you can write in the margins and pass it to your mom). In January, we’ll be back to delight with you over your engagements.

For the rest of you, here is where we leave you. Except… we never really leave you, since the APW archives go on for near eternity. For those you wanting a walk down the memory lane of 2013, those of you looking for good stuff to read and reread over the holidays, and for those of you who just got engaged (Squeeee! Congrats!) and want to get started, here is the best of APW in the last year. We think so at least. Feel free to leave your favorites in the comments.

Till January 6th, cheers! Wishing you naps, long quiet walks, cozy time with the ones you love, and some mulled wine and cookies. We can’t wait for the New Year. Till then, our love.

xo,
Meg & The APW Team

Wedding Planning

Getting Started Wedding Planning. To, you know, think about getting started. (I’m just mad I can’t see your new ring/engagement puppy!)

APW’s Ultimate Guide to Wedding Dress Shopping. Or: Trust Yourself.

How To Have A Fun Wedding. Enough said. Except it’s really not said enough.

I DON’T CARE IF YOU LIKE IT. (This one must be typed in all caps.)

Emergency Wedding Playlist. Just in case your Maid Of Honor looses the iPod, we’ve got you covered.

Tomboy Flower Girls. The post that made the internet go “squee!”

Mollusks Don’t Have Nervous Systems, Let Alone Body Image (otherwise known as Elisabeth’s first post)

In Defense of David’s Bridal (For Example).

The Case Against Inspiration Boards. Blogs ≠ Reality. (Reality is usually much better.)

Your Wedding Is Not Timeless.

A Private Wedding. When you don’t want your guests to share your wedding on social media.

 

REAL WEDDINGS

This hip San Francisco City Hall Wedding. Throwing your garter on the steps of City Hall? Check.

A teeny tiny Bodega Bay wedding.

Chris & Eric. Kilts and joy.

Corey & Shawn have a pizza party on a roof in Brooklyn, and then break down how they did it.

A budget wedding shot totally on Instagram. (It’s beautiful.)

 

HOW TO

Turning a (terrible) grocery store sheet cake into a hip wedding cake. (Or, the one that angered The Bakers Of The Internet Texas.)

For those with more classic tastes: how to turn (lovely) grocery store cakes into a trio of wedding cakes.

Vellum Candle Centerpiece. God, it’s pretty. God, it’s easy.

Retro cat eye and false eyelashes. The tutorial I use at least once a month.

BRAS BRAS BRAS. Finding one that fits (changed my life). Finding one for your wedding dress (may change your wedding).

Awesome poems for your wedding.

 

Marriage & More

What If It’s Not Forever? Recognizing the impossibility of predicting forever, and hoping for it anyway.

DOMA’s gift. Recommitting after things get tough.

One black feminist’s thoughts on weddings and marriage.

Chore Monsters, Feminism, and Zombies. Or, how to figure out if you should pick up your husband/ boyfriend/ masculine-of-center person’s dirty dishes.

When We Got Married. (Tissue alert.)

Why get gay married. (Or not.)

Prudence’s frank discussion of divorce: Deciding You’re Done and A Dog And A Sweater.

And a personal favorite: Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover (And Start All Over Again).

 

Kids/ No Kids

How To Make A Baby. (Hint: not with sex.)

Learning A New Kind Of Love. Dizzying. Terrifying. Wonderful.

Marriage and Early Motherhood: Part I and Part II. Maddie interviews me about fears about motherhood.

In Praise of Daycare. One of the things my kid loves the most (which allows me to do some of the work I love the most).

Post-Postpartum. The same, but rearranged.

Trading Fear for Gratitude. The stay-at-home dad. The mom who loves her career.

The Visitors. We’re the home team; they’re the visitors. Right now the home team is wining.

 

Shit We’re Just Proud Of

My Life Is Good* On the culture of hate reading on the internet.

Don’t Pin It—Do It, and the follow up, Unplugging and Work-Life Balance

Our campaign with Pantene Beautiful Lengths. From Liz shaving her head, to all of you donating your hair to make wigs for cancer patients, we’re so grateful for this community.

Happy Holidays, y’all. We’ll miss you.

Gift Guide #7: (Thoughtful) Last-Minute Gifts

Last Minute Holiday Gifts | APW

Houndstooth Slanket ($29.99)

If there is a celebration that requires gift-giving, I will most definitely be in a store twenty minutes before it’s set to start, purchasing last minute gifts. This is my truth. It’s not that I don’t appreciate putting thought and effort into gift-giving; I just usually put more energy into the planning aspect of the present than into the execution part, and the next thing I know, it’s party day and I’m empty handed. But just because you’re giving last-minute gifts, it doesn’t mean you have to give thoughtless ones (it wounds my pride when I buckle and give a gift card). So today we’ve put together an assortment of last-minute gifts, all of which are either available with free two-day shipping from Amazon Prime or from a major national retailer that more likely than not exists nearby or at your closest mall (I live on a farm; the closest stores to me are Target, Walmart, and three more of each in the opposite direction). ONE A butter crock is the one kitchen item everybody needs and nobody knows exists (and you’re pretty much guaranteed that your recipient doesn’t have one already). It keeps your butter soft on the countertop! In pretty stoneware! Why don’t you have one already? Oh, because I wasn’t invited to your holiday party, that’s why. ($34.95)

TWO One year, I spent three months sourcing vintage decanters to give to a friend for Christmas (she eventually received that present in March, I think). Turns out you can buy pretty etched crystal ones on Amazon for $30. Who knew? ($30.99) Or if there’s simply no time to bother with shipping, head to your local mall and get one engraved at Things Remembered (bonus points for clever personalization). ($35)

THREE Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch, and Irish Whiskey. For your most badass of lady friends. ($17.04) Paired with an equally badass set of old fashioned glasses like these ($45.88), these ($79.95), or my personal favorites ($29.99).

FOUR This tray has foxes for handles. I’m assuming you need it. ($29.99) ONE Leather touchscreen gloves are for taking selfies (the cold air makes my cheeks look rosy, you can’t blame a girl.) ($20.25)

TWO On the lazy scale, subscriptions fall somewhere between an actual gift and a gift card. Pair three months of Audible ($45) or Hulu ($23.97) with a Slanket (scientifically proven to be more awesome than the Snuggie) in their favorite color.

THREE Cards Against Humanity. For the friends with the most twisted sense of humor. ($25 for the original; $10 for each expansion pack)

FOUR Green soldier book ends or Nerf gun ($19.99), because you’re never too old.

FIVE Hyperbole and a Half, the book. ($10.79) (Editors Note: Seriously, this is my book of the year; it’s HILARIOUS. – Lucy)
ONE Babies like to put earrings and necklaces in their mouths, but that shouldn’t forbid you from getting to wear colorful jewelry. Kate Spade bangle in “Gild The Lily.” ($32)

TWO A good travel mug, for running to and from daycare. Because, caffeine. ($30.21)

THREE A book that’s easy to read. (This one was written by Meg’s first cousin once removed out-of-law, a smart feminist who happens to be a best selling author in the UK. She has lots to say about how women’s commercial fiction should be taken as seriously as men’s commercial fiction, FFS.) Just because they’re too tired to make it through a book that won a Pulitzer shouldn’t mean they’re confined to US Weekly.

FOUR A subscription to Piccolo, which pulls your Instagram and Facebook photos and then mails you the prints each month. For obvious reasons. ($36)

FIVE A gift certificate to Artifact Uprising or Pinhole Press, because you’re an enabler and you know they are just looking for an excuse to make a puzzle out of their baby’s face.

Six A few hours of babysitting, so they can go to a movie, or get a drink. Because it’s all they really want, and they are probably not going to ask.