I love these cake toppers, but I want them as monkeys! We love monkeys! (this is not a joke.) Can you make this happen for me internets?
(birdy cake toppers by Ann Wood Via Black*Eiffel)
01
Cake Topper Madness
Apr
2008
I’m pleased to introduce Wedding Budget Wednesdays. I know, I know, it’s getting your teeth pulled. But, I love personal finance, and the staggering cost of weddings is a huge issue that I’m not hearing much discussion of. I know it’s supposed to be my BIG PERFECT DAY, but what about the rest of my life? Owning a home? Putting my kids through college? Sadly, weddings now cost so much that you start thinking about these things. The worst part is, every time I mention that we’re going to do the wedding on a budget, people tell me, “Oh, yeah, but you can’t really stick to a budget with a wedding.” I don’t know about you, but I stick to a budget every single month, and it’s always hard. Budgets are a b*tch. That’s just how they roll.
Ten minutes of looking at a wedding budget is enough to make even a girl like me, who’s dreamed about her wedding since she was four (it’s totally true, I’m a girls-girl through and through, I was just born like that) want to run off to the courthouse and get married. (This is especially tempting in San Francisco, since we have the worlds most beautiful courthouse). The problem with this is that we really want to celebrate with all of our family and friends. That’s the point of getting married for us, making a commitment in front of your community. Oh, and, since many of our family and friends will have to travel to get to the wedding, no matter where we have it, it seems polite to feed them. And maybe even give them something to drink.
So I know I’m tempting the gods by discussing things like wedding budgeting in the public square, but I’m going to brave it. Someone needs to do it. The average wedding in this country apparently costs close to $30,000 now. I’m not judging my fellow brides and grooms, because it’s really tough. And the minute you let slip that it’s a wedding, the price of everything goes up 25%. Lucky for us we’re having a ceremony at the synagogue followed by a family reunion.
It’s going to be a interesting process, keeping costs down, but I absolutely refuse to pay a amount that would have covered my first year at NYU for a party. Stay tuned…
02
Mmmm…. gender stereotypes
Apr
2008
You'll notice that this blog is called "Practical Wedding" and not "Practical Bride." My knee jerk reaction was to call it Practical Bride, but then I realized that played right in to all the crazy wedding gender stereotyping that drives me mad in the first place. I will in fact be doing the blogging here, as partner-in-crime is busy over at Practical Progress and, um, at law school. But I don't want this to be a groom free environment. Hopefully David will pop in a guest blog now and again. We're working really hard to plan this wedding together, and it bothers me that the only groom-speak out there tends to sound more like a frat boy talking then anything. You know the drill, "weddings are stupid, my fiance can't keep on her budget." and the like.Continue reading Mmmm…. gender stereotypes
02
Florals, redux
Apr
2008
I love this idea. Simple and stunning. If we have a tree at our wedding site, I might try to do this.
(Via the excellent One Love Photo)
04
Wedding Inspiration: Blackberrys and Jasmine
Apr
2008
The most fun part about wedding planning for me is the excuse to be super creative. This is one of the reasons we are resisting the urge for the pre-packaged wedding. Why have seven groomsmen in tuxes with matching vests, a three tiered white cake, and a reading from Corinthians (not a option for us anyway), when you can take this day as your chance to produce a tiny piece of theatre about who you are? Combine that with my love of collages, and you are going to get a bunch of style boards. Here is my very first one.
This first crack at a style board came out of me wanting to use the ever present Northern California summer brambles of blackberry and pink Jasmine as part of the flowers, and that made us start playing around with dark blue and light pink as colors.
04
Round Bouquets That I Love
Apr
2008
I love the shape and style of these bouquets. I'm going to have to research how you build a bouquet with a round shape like these.**Update** Our friend Beck knows all about floral design, and she's now officially Mistress of the Flowers. Ask, and you shall receive.
Continue reading Round Bouquets That I Love 
