Meet the Laid-Back Bride

Some little girls start dreaming about their Big Day at age 5. Maybe it was growing up with divorced parents that affected my worldview, but I was never one of those little girls.

I am 27, and in that time of life when my mailbox is flush with wedding invitations. By now, I've seen more weddings than I can count. Fun weddings and stuffy weddings. Super-religious and super-not. Ceremonies that last 20 minutes and wedding masses that last an hour and a half. Cash bars, open bars, no bars. Weddings that looked like they'd been thrown together the day before, and some that must've cost more than the GDP of Luxembourg.

So by the time Johnny proposed in September, nearly four years after we met, I had a pretty good idea of what I like and don't like. I dove gleefully into the planning. I was giddy as I bought my first bridal magazine. Then, I got a little less giddy as I started budgeting and doing the guest list. I had no idea we have so many friends until I started counting them all up.

A survey by The Knot found that the average wedding today costs $27,800(!!!). Seeing as that's more than I made in an entire year, not that many years ago, it seems obscene to me to spend that kind of money on one day. To put it a different way, that's more than all five (yes, five...) years at a public in-state university cost me. Even if we could afford to spend that much (which we most decidedly cannot), I couldn't fathom justifying that cost. That's like a new car. Or five trips to Machu Picchu (the top destination on my bucket list). Or, think of the totally baller honeymoon we could have if we just eloped and spent that money on travel...

As I started to read my new bridal magazine, it was like all the brides lived on a different (and very expensive) planet with weird and seemingly pointless rules for everything. Under a piece called "Biggest splurges," one anonymous bride cluelessly gushed:

"Our budget was limited, so purchasing my $7,000 Monique Lhullier gown was completely crazy! That's a little over half the price of the wedding reception."

Half the price of the wedding reception?!?!? Ye gods! If that's the kind of cash it takes to get married these days, no thank you.

So, this blog is my journey towards a sane, practical, affordable and, most importantly, FUN wedding day next October 20. My goal is to get there without going into debt, going broke or going insane. My family has very generously and graciously stepped in to split the costs with me, which will make everything easier, but I still need to save my shekels to cover my share. My vision is to have a laid-back, hippie, outdoor, nonreligious wedding that turns into a big, fun field party. Nothing too stuffy, no frou-frou shizzle. Not taking ourselves too seriously. A short ceremony and an open bar reception. We're celebrating the start of our new life together, so let's throw one helluva party!