reclaiming wife

Wedding Graduates

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The process of making the dress was meditative. I was able to sit quietly and think what I hoped for our marriage. My dress wasn’t expensive and won’t win awards for perfect seams. But I do adore it.

Down to my Soul
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We wanted a laid-back wedding and our top priority was to be able to spend as much time as possible with our guests, who are scattered around the country and beyond.

Lori + Raj
Self Officiated Backyard Wedding (29)

Because we were lucky enough to have little budget stress and little family stress, I feel like we had the brain space and emotional energy to use wedding planning to tackle big meaning questions.

Kathleen + Jon
Interfaith Catholic Jewish Wedding (3)

You’ll choose a reading from the Torah, and one from the Gospel. One quotes the other; to you they say “what we have in common is more important than what divides us.”

Stephanie + Dan
Modern Jewish Italian Wedding in Lancaster (75)

By the end of the night, our faces hurt from smiling so much, and as we left our reception under an arch of sparklers, we couldn’t have felt more loved.

Alison + Ken
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The trouble with trying to plan an easy wedding? They aren’t easy. Perfection is hard to plan out. All those beautiful pictures you see take work. Or money. Or both.

Samantha + Mark
Chicago Joffrey Theater Ballet Wedding (11)

Our nearest and dearest came to witness our marriage, and stayed for the best party we’ll ever throw.

Amanda + Tim
Sophi & Travis' $1K Potluck Wedding | A Practical Wedding (29)

Enjoy all the time you can with your out of town family and friends while they are there; it will be years before you get them all together again.

Sophi + Travis
DIT Coonamessett Farm Wedding (23)

We made our wedding affordable and very us by making a lot of it ourselves with our kind, generous, and talented friends.

Lin + Pat
Summer Camp Wedding | A Practical Wedding (17)

Things worked out for this day in ways we couldn’t have possibly thought up. No inclement weather plan? Eighteen hours of rain will stop minutes before your ceremony!

Lizzie + Neil
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Before we were engaged, Sebastian and I knew that we’d be getting married in Austin. While neither of us live there, it was the perfect central location for both of our families.

Ashley + Sebastian
Woodsy New Jersey Wedding - Kateryn Silva (40)

Every time we stood still someone would come over to hug us and then a line would form! Everyone wanted to be a part of the spontaneous love.

Megan + Joe
Santa Barbara Courthouse and Winery Wedding (8)

My dress was made by my mum’s trusted tailor in Mumbai, India. The embroidery was done separately by one of the most talented embroiders I know.

Padmini + Andrew
Emily & Matt's Virginia Vineyard Wedding (Amber Wilkie) (4)

We prepared for everything we could think of—and then we sat back, watched everything unfold, and had a drink.

Emily + Matt
San Ysidro Ranch Wedding | A Practical Wedding (103)

There was also a moment when he asked us to turn around and look at our guests so that we could remember their faces and the memory is very sweet.

Analisa + Tim
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We saved money by cutting out a lot of things that were not important to us—no bridesmaids or groomsmen, no band or DJ (we played drums for music and entertainment), no makeup artist, and no wedding rings.

Sharon + Jay
alyssa & kyle zoo wedding (61)

One part traditional wedding, one part homemade craftiness, two parts: LET’S GO TO THE ZOO!—served over candlelight.

Alyssa + Kyle
Adventure Wedding | Amanda Summerlin (3)

We try to reject the things we’re expected to do in life if they don’t fit our needs and choose only those things that are important to us.

Beth + Forrest
Katie & Peter London Bash - Lauren McGlynn (39)

…getting married, looking up at Peter and knowing he was the person I wanted to be with forever, was the best feeling I think I’ve ever had.

Katie + Peter
Deciding and Letting Go (11)

Forcing yourself to decide to be happy is hard, especially when you’re a Dweller. You can say it all you want, but it won’t take hold until you actually believe it.

Abilene + Wolfgang
Hyper Local DC Wedding (86)

Not all cost-conscious weddings have to be DIY. Focus on the elements that will make the day authentically about you and your partner. Give yourself the gift of time, find businesses you want to support, and do things your own way.

Ashley + David
Science & Literary Nerd Chic Same Sex Wedding (68)

I had had some apprehension about holding our same-sex wedding in such a crowded public place, but on our path down the jetty, we were greeted by several friendly strangers wishing us congratulations.

Laura + Kate
Joyous Imperfection (10)

There may be memories that are painful, but even though I’ve never let anything like that go in my life, I have been able to now, because the beauty of the day was so much bigger than the pain and the worry leading up to it.

Shiri + C
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Our wedding taught me that it is okay for life to keep going after tragedy. It is okay to laugh and feel joy, to dance, to hug, to focus on insignificant details, and to worry over bigger ones.

Jesse + Warwick
Utah National Park Morning Wedding Jesse Holland (39)

In order to beat the tourist crowds, our guests had to be at the entrance to the hike by 7:30 am. All of our guests arrived on time and were ready and willing to jump in the cold river in order to make the trek to the ceremony.

Ashlee + Brian
Ohio YMCA Vegan Wedding (50)

Every single vendor we used was local, and three of them were within four blocks of one another. It was important for us to celebrate local and environmentally friendly businesses.

Jessica + Justin
Self Officiated Food Truck Wedding (93)

We had both arrived at the decision to get married after careful consideration, so we felt that this was a way to really own this new chapter in our lives.

Sarah + Casey
Simple London Wedding With Kilts (23)

There is nothing more easy, plain and simple than true family and friends and that was what was mattered most on our wedding day.

Laura + Alexander
Elissa R Photo Texas Hill Country Wedding (2)

The first time I saw Amy in her suit it made my heart race. It was like seeing each other for the first time ever…all over again.

Amy + Olivia
New York City Hall Elopement With Pizza Party (32)

After being together for five years, we only a few requirements: New York as the setting, an awesome dance party, and pizza as the main course.

Jordan + Meredith
Kelly & Mike's Las Vegas No Pants Party (49)

Despite a litany of errors on the day (i.e. Mike realizing he had forgotten his pants minutes before the ceremony) the entire day was amazing. Vegas was so good to us.

Kelly + Mike
Sachini & Michael (155)

What happens when you mix together a little Sri Lankan, American, Jewish, Buddhist, New England, and California with some happy tears and a whole lotta love and dancing.

Sachini + Michael
Same Sex Episcopal Church and Picnic Wedding (61)

The ceremony was a special one developed by this parish from a period when blessing same-sex unions was permitted in the Episcopal Church but before the national church had set up a standard rite to be used.

Brigid + Ximena
DIY Country Wedding (52)

A day full of love from family & friends.

Jody + Rob
Destination Texas Wedding Flower Crown (25)

Two families meet in the middle of the country and mess with Texas.

Kate + Micah
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Eventually, the odds and ends and details of the wedding will be smoothed over with time into something solid and lovely. I can’t be sad about it, because I’m busy learning about the next thing: my marriage.

Lucy + Bryan
Wai Ching Dress A Practical Wedding (17)

After I realized that I had managed to pull together not only an average wedding (my initial goal), but an exciting dynamic event, I started thinking about other things I might be able to do.

Lesley & Jason
New York Same Sex Wedding Jonas Seaman (45)

When marriage became legal for all couples in New York State the day after we were engaged, it felt even more perfect.

Julia + Ballard
Weddings and Crafting (2)

The people absolutely made our wedding. Not the cake or decorations or the delicious Spanish/Cuban food. When I walked down the aisle on my dad’s arm, I rode on our guests’ joy all the way up to the altar.

Ashlie + Brad
Hurricane Sandy Elopement Wedding (19)

Our wedding was supposed to take place on Halloween 2012 in Central Park, but when Hurricane Sandy hit two days before, we decided we were getting married, “come hell or high water.”

Sarah + Chris
California Vineyard Wedding (15)

I thought that the best part would be the music or the food (you get into the kind of frame of mind while planning I think). But what blew me away was how much love was emanating from so many people.

Kate + Phillip
Short Haired Bride Mountain Wedding (34)

I felt at once both alone and together with Mark, committing ourselves to this shared vision of our future and so held up by everyone who was there to love us and the baby family we are building together.

Kaleigh + Mark
Budget Backyard Wedding A Practical Wedding (9)

No matter what age you get married at, it will never be the “grown-up” wedding that you see in magazine spreads, because that is not you. You are youthful, you are free and bright and you want to dress only in flowers.

Laura + Tim
San Francisco City Hall Elopement for Introverts A Practical Wedding Hart & Sol Photo (11)

When the wedding was over and while we walked home, we got tons of congrats, marital advice, and even a group of construction workers singing “Here comes the bride!”

Bridget + Kevin
Canadian Cottage Wedding (86)

We were worried all along that our “imperfections” wouldn’t be what people expected in a wedding, but on the day we just felt surrounded by so much love.

Sunny + Phil
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Having planned the wedding in tandem, the day was a genuine reflection of who we are as a couple. I can’t think of a better way to commence our married life.

Georgina + Salvatore
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We ordered about 15 pizzas and probably hundreds of buckets of nips and danced to Robyn, Carly Rae, Collective Soul, you name it. All in all, it was a blast and we’re so lucky to have such awesome friends.

Emily + Colm
Urban Art Party Wedding (7)

A fun, urban, arty party with a few romantic moments thrown in.

Emily + Nate
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I had no time to worry. I had no time to be upset. Hangnails are worth getting upset about. Hurricane Sandy ripping apart easily laid wedding plans? That’s just something you plow through.

Anya + Csanad