I found the “A Practical Wedding” blog when I first got engaged and fell in love with it. The website is full of funny and great advice about wedding planning. Meg Keene (the author) even posts (or seeks guest posts) on some tough topics and some people in the wedding business don’t want to talk about (i.e. what happens after the wedding). Needless to say I enjoy her posts daily.
Meg’s book was recently released. I will be honest and say I did not pre-order this book or run to the bookstore when it was released. I sat back and waited for the reviews. I mean I was already pretty far into planning my wedding.
Once Meg announced her book tour, including a stop in DC, I knew I had to get the book, read it and see her speak. While I am not more than 50 percent of the way through, I have to say the book is fantastic, and Meg is even better in person.
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So tonight, after work I headed over to Arlington’s One More Page Books to hear this ingenious woman speak.
Meg’s talk was great, not 100 percent about the book, but 100 percent about her beliefs about weddings. And believe me her beliefs are wide ranging (like one of the few things she recommends to every bride is pre-marriage counseling). She was funny, told us several times that comments were off the record and would even laugh at herself.
I am so glad that I took the opportunity to go hear her and meet women of similar minds. And yes, I went by myself (though I am sure if Jay was free he would have loved to go … not). I think events like this are great to go to by yourself because you can meet so many people and learn so many things.
One of the many things I have learned from Meg, her book, and her blog is that just as very person is different, so is there wedding. Now, I can be a very judgmental person (just ask my besties, parents or Jay). My parents are probably shaking their heads yes as they read this considering they hear the brunt of it (love ya!!). But one thing I have learned through the wedding planning process is that when you truly love someone, you could care less about all the details of the wedding planning process.
Take, for example, my older brother, Jim, who got married at a courthouse in Brooklyn. Yes, my immediate family would have loved to have been there (or taken them out to dinner afterward), but we weren’t. And that’s ok, because we are just happy that Jim and Natasha decided to start a life together.
So I guess the moral of this story is that wedding are as personal as the couple themselves. And while I may not think what every other bride thinks is pretty, I am genuinely happy for couples who tie the knot, because they look happy. Yes, some aspects of my wedding are not exactly what I have necessarily thought they would be, but I am enjoying the process for what it is (trust me ain’t all easy). I am enjoying wedding planning as I get to learn new things about Jay (men continue to amaze me) and spend more time with my Mom.
