Geek Out: Let’s Get Real Edition

All wedding inspiration aside, because that stuff is fun, but that’s not what we’re here for, really, is it? For most of us, it’s all of the real inspiration on getting, being and staying married. So this week’s Geek Out post will be for all of the Let’s Get Real inspiration I’ve found really helpful over the course of (pseudo-)planning. Obviously there a flobbity-gillion amazing posts out there about how to keep your head screwed on tight during the planning process and long after. These are just the ones that especially caught my eye in the last couple of months.

I loved this DIY Wedding Website Tutorial found on Budget Savvy Bride. Isaiah and I both love graphic design for print. Oh, by that I mean = we know nothing about web design. I can mess with html, css and SQL – but I could never create something from scratch. A cheap and completely customizable way to do a beautiful wedding website was exactly what we were looking for.

Yes, You Can Have a Rock’n Roll Wedding is a guest post by Britt of Bowie Bride on Rock’n Roll Bride that I loved the moment I saw it. I struggle with this – finding my rock’n roll-ness. I know that I feel rock’n roll. But at times, I don’t so much feel like I can pull off rock’n roll. I love Britt’s comparison of the bride she wanted to be with the bride she really was inside. Definitely check it out.

10 Ways to Turn Your Backyard into Your Venue from Wedding Fanatic is another favorite. Turning your backyard or a blank space into an awesome venue is a daunting thing to think of.  Wedding Fanatic outlined 10 great tips to get you started with turning your backyard into an awesome, totally budget-friendly wedding.

If you’re trying to decide “DIY or not-to-DIY” – check this post from (again) Britt of Bowie Bride on Broke-Ass Bride first. Confessions of a Nervous DIY Bride was one of the first pseudo-skeptical articles I read on DIY-ing a wedding, so it has a sentimental place in my heart, at least. Seeing the stacks of project after project that need to be completed in someone else’s living room is a reality-check-in-a-box.

Sara’s collection of wedding scripts from 2000 Dollar Wedding is awesomely comprehensive. I loved reading through all of the couples’ ceremonies and reading exactly how you can customize your ceremony, not just the wedding, to you and your partner.

I loved this bride’s journey to a $6,000 wedding on Brave Bride. She kept it real and a half and had a beautiful wedding for $6K. This post also has a sweet spot in my heart because it’s one of the first awesomely low budget weddings that I saw that matched our style quite a bit. Check it out.

Angie & Josh’s (One Cat Per Person) Wedding Pillars inspired by the post “Conception to Reception” by Sara of 2000 Dollar Wedding (also an excellent read). Isaiah and I have a couple of guidelines and outlines we set for how we want our day to unfold, but when we’re ready to write the pillars for real, you can bet I’ll be referencing both of those posts.

The Partnership Mission Statement from A Practical Wedding. Having a marriage mission statement is brilliant. I’ll let Meg tell you why, but I think it’s safe to say that (at least in the divorces I’ve seen) divorce always has a similar root – one or both partners fail to make the marriage a priority. They stop thinking and living and loving deliberately. Anyways, Meg said it much better than I could.

The symbolic marriage contract found on Serving Thirty-Nine to Wife is beautiful, so lovely and authentic, and I even love the specific contract design that Karen made via an awesome calligrapher on Etsy. She has all the history and symbolism behind it on her blog…no need to paraphrase when she’s already done it so well.

A combination of pretty and practical, this “honeyversary” shoot the couple took themselves is…maybe my favorite shoot of all time. I love when couples can make something themselves that is beautiful, trendy and authentic without breaking the budget. I loved this couple’s story as well, though…so it’s worth the read. Don’t just get distracted by the awesome photos.

Okay, so I know…I’m guilty of adding a little bit of pretty into the Let’s Get Real edition…but there’s no reason that practical can’t blow your mind-hole visually. Please share your favorite “Let’s Get Real” posts from any blog that you think are staples in the planning process or even after.

Hope you enjoy!

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