A Practical Wedding Isn’t an Oxymoron, We Promise You
Alright, so, raise your hand(s) if you’ve ever heard the amusing advice to try not to be competitive with other brides? Every bride has her preferences, every bride will have a beautiful day, every bride will live happily ever, so why wish any ill upon your fellow soon-to-be-wed sisters?
Well, it’s a bunch of bulls***, because while we should aim to live in that kind of world, we just don’t. Everything becomes a competition, every bride feels an enormous, breath-suppressing pressure to have ‘the better wedding,’ and nothing ever feels like it’s enough. It’s sad. But true. Case in point, my brother-in-law got engaged last week (to my first cousin, mind you. And eww, no, there isn’t any related blood running through their veins), and already me and my other sisters-in-law have been blueprinting their wedding plans and comparing their doesn’t-even-have-a-date-yet wedding against our own events in the last few years.
We’re so over this ritualistic rat race, and have always supported our colleagues in the wedding space. After all, just like the geniuses of every bride, every vendor, every wedding publisher, every blogger, every planner, has his or her own point of view, tips, tricks and advice, and when it can be shared - among friends - it’s a much happier place to be. And an infinitely smarter and stronger collective of ‘I Do’ professionals to be found.
So with that in mind, we couldn’t be happier to catch up with other creatives in our space (on the reg), and when we met Meg and Maddie (two of the bossiest of boss ladies - and we mean that in the best way possible - behind A Practical Wedding ), we knew it was a bestie friendship in the making.
These ladies have been killing it in the wedding media//blogosphere for 10+ years, and what we love about THEIR approach is the totally chill, ‘we get it, wedding planning can be totalllllly awful, but wonderfully awesome too’ attitude that oozes from all of their content. They are real AF, and it’s so refreshing, especially given how isolating and exclusive this industry can be.
There are way more than a few posts we’ve read on repeat over the last couple of months, and we’ll give you the details on those in a hot sec, but here are some even more important points of interest on this site, especially if you subscribe to their MO on weddings: that all that stuff wedding media tells you that you have to have [for your wedding] isn’t necessary, or doesn’t have to be - your wedding should be about whateverrrrrr you want, whether that’s a huge party peppered with whatever’s trending RN or whether it’s a smaller affair, dabbled with those most adorable DIY details.
What we love
- How honest each of their posts are - we’re talking explosive family dynamics drama (umm as in, ‘my fiance’s family thinks he shouldn’t marry me’ major), big fights before the wedding drama, baller black wedding dresses for the edgy bride drama. Nothing’s off the table. Yaaaas. So, if you’re dealing with super specific issues as you plan your wedding and need some serious support and strength, chances are, you’ll find solace here.
- How HUGE their DIY sections are. Really, we looooove a good DIY, but we don’t regard ourselves as experts in the area (every now and then we do one that’s AH-MAZING, but it’s not everyday, sorry we had to). If you find your way to their DIY tab, you’ll be 🤯🤯🤯 in minutes. From how-tos to perfect that terrarium centerpiece, to listicals with the best places to score all the materials you need for DIY-ing ALL the things, they are stacked.
- How many checklists, wedding timelines+timetables, templates, spreadsheets they have to get you started and keep you smiling through the whole getting-married merry go round. Seriously, check them out, I would have died to be able to print and use the wedding photo shot list they have way back when I got married.
- How much care and attention they take to helping brides figure out their ceremonies. That’s the biggest part of the day, the one that matters most, so making sure your setup syncs with your kind of love story and couple style is of MAX importance. My husband is actually playing the part of officiant and marrying my sister and future brother-in-law at their wedding this upcoming October. I cannot wait to show him all the resources for writing a wedding ceremony - he’s stressed about it, but he won’t be after peeping some of these pointers.
- How real their REAL WEDDINGS actually are. We’re talking under $10K, under $20K weddings, LGBTQ weddings, small parties and elopements, large weddings, you name it, they’ve got ‘em. This $15K Royal Palace wedding got me especially click-happy, you know, in light of next month’s insanely-anticipated wedding event….
- How cool and certifiably-critical their crowd-sourced advice content is. Their editors ask questions (and not just ‘how do you feel about a white dress?’ type questions. The tough ones) and they get answers. LOTS of them by way of comments from dedicated, loyal, smart and insightful as hell readers. And if you have a question that you haven’t seen posed on the site thus far, feel free to send it to them, they’ll work hard to get you some feedback!
Their founder and editor-in-chief, Meg, also wrote two books: A Practical Wedding: Creative Ideas for Planning a Beautiful, Affordable and Meaningful Celebration and A Practical Wedding Planner: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating the Wedding You Want with the Budget You’ve Got. And they’re best-sellers everywhere. So, how’s that for more legitness?
We’re fangirling hard over our new buddies, so if you’re a new bride-to-be, you best be hopping over there for a little lunch break wedding reading. I’ve been glossing over their post on bridal wedding tuxedos 🙌 and they’re just so good. So. Good.
Oh, and make sure you’re following them on IG, too. KThanks!