I am pretty imaginative. I have to say that on a scale of one to ten I’m about a five or five and a half. I run rampant with thoughts of tiny monsters running across beaches chasing little boys that dream of forts and kingdoms. I can totally watch Martha Stuart and figure out a way to screw up her projects and make it more my own. I’ve got skill baby. And with this big, talented, and imaginative mind I have, I successfully created one of the longest DIY wedding to-do list anyone has ever seen! Who can beat that?
My mother once said, “If you don’t like the way someone else will do it, then do it yourself.” Frankly, I don’t like the price tags. So I have creatively (with this super duper imaginative mind) found a way to make a TON of stuff that will be necessary for the wedding. I have cut the cost of projects so much so that I can eat off of the dollar menu at McDonald’s!
With all of that excitement I thought I’d share with you my list of DIY projects: Due JAN. 8th.
Shoes, flowers, place cards, table numbers, garter, corsages, starfish, cake, cookies, chocolate favors, bridesmaid gifts, Adam’s ring, invitations, thank you notes, bridesmaids, groomsmen ties, ring bearers pillow, wine, flower girls baskets, centerpieces, hotel, mother of the brides dress, aspirin, bows, photo booth, etc.
So I have a good bit of work ahead of me. Now you see how this is so stressful? But totally cost effective!
I haven't been too set on having a wedding that's "different". When I was younger my birthday parties always needed to be unique and memorable. It's hard to truly have a "different" wedding while on a tight budget. And of course with the wedding industries being so large and incredibly successful, there's a lot to "top". My fiance, Adam, and I made a few decisions that don't set us apart from other friends and families weddings, but the decisions were made for us. After all, isn't the wedding about us?
Adam transferred to the school we met at after living on the coast of Florida. (A hard transfer one from the beach to the mountains of Virginia). His love for the beach was never lost and my love has always been a love for home as I grew up very close to the east coast. Sharing our love of both Florida and the water (and the convenience of my family's location) we settled on a destination, uh, or beach wedding. Sounds romantic? The truth is, it's expensive!
As a result of money stress and wedding woes I've come up with a few solutions. Adam has politely declined each time. I thought though that I might share them with you to see what you think.
First was, The Shrek Themed Wedding. I'm not really sure what his hesitation was?
Next was the skydiving wedding! I could still wear my dress and not have to pay for the extra costs of flowers, food, etc. Too bad Adam is afraid of heights.
What I would really REALLY love is a Hindu wedding. My doctor's daughter recently married a Hindu man and was able to be a party of their wedding traditions. Did you know that the women in this culture don't have to work after the wedding until the Henna fades off of their hands? Which means, at the wedding she is served, when she get's home there is no laundry, cooking, getting up to get the remote. Sounds like a plan to me! I could totally do the dances they do in Slumdog Millionaire.
But in the end, we're going to have a traditional ceremony on the beach in order to honor our families and friends who came down to celebrate this wonderful day with us. It will be a good time. I don't think I'm above a costume themed reception though...
I recently discovered that I am one of only a very small number of twenty some things that didn’t have a blog. I also realized that because I habitually shower, haven’t made a habit out of eating chalk, and am recently engaged I am also a minority. Oh, and I don’t wear a silly band.
Lacking all of these seemingly strong characteristics of maturing adulthood I also rarely stay up until 1 am with a mission of beginning a new phase in my life, the blog phase. Here I am though, ready to live and report to all of my viewers and the internet world that doesn’t care. I’m so excited. Fresh is my screen and ready is my pen, uh or keyboard.
In short, I wanted to keep friends and family updated on wedding plans and life plans while keeping a healthy distance. Isn’t that what the internet is for? Perhaps I’ll even discover myself while on this journey. Hey, Justin Bieber got his start on the internet.
