You there--the one who is about to hurl a bridal magazine across the room. Tired of reading the same old wedding planning stuff? So was I.
When planning my wedding, I found that 95% of the information is oriented toward a typical, large, hometown wedding with all the trimmings. My thought after slogging through the umpteenth wedding planning book:"Hello? Do we all have to have exactly the same wedding?!?"
Information about less-traditional weddings is harder to come by. This page represents my desire to start putting that scarce info in one place. Don't get me wrong, I think that traditional weddings are wonderful, and tradition can provide some great guidance and add some real enrichment to your wedding. But tradition doesn't have to be a yoke around your neck. More and more couples want to let their nuptials reflect who they are, incorporating just those traditions that mean something to them, and then being a little creative for the rest. I hope this site can be a help.
This site includes 3-4 pages of links, tips, and resources for planning "unique" nuptials. I've included small weddings, "theme" weddings, special weddings, and destination weddings. I apologize for the long text, but my goal is to share as much info as I can.
Thanks for visiting, take your time wading through the links and ENJOY! And don't forget to drop me a line if you have some stuff to add.
A short comment on my own wedding plans
Links for Small Weddings
Links for Unique or "Theme" Weddings
Links for Destination Weddings
I'm just not the type to wear a big fancy dress
I am a cheapskate at heart, and couldn't stomach spending money on some of those typical wedding elements that had little meaning for me
The idea of lots of wedding guests staring at me (no matter how lovingly) gave me the willies
I tend to be an uptight hostess --I would have fretted over how to please every single guest!
Our particular solution? A small destination wedding. We went to Charleston, SC with 29 guests. I talk more about my wedding in the small wedding and destination wedding sections of my pages. But you are probably really here for the....
First of all, you aren't alone, despite what the world might tell you. There are many couples who have planned elegant, intimate, memorable small weddings. I haven't found a lot of helpful information in the form of webpages, but I do have a lot of great ideas passed on to me by others. Those appear on the small wedding page linked just below. I'd appreciate it if you notify me about any sites that might belong here.
Tips & Ideas for Small Weddings
And here's an amusing article by a columnist who had a smaller wedding.
Some couples choose to make their wedding distinctive by including a theme of some sort. This may include adding new traditions, using a period theme, or adding holiday and ethnic traditions into your ceremony. Here are some other webpages which have useful information for these types of weddings.
What's a Destination Wedding? A destination wedding is when you travel to a special place for your wedding. It might be just the two of you (also known as eloping!), or you might include a group of friends and family. It's an appealing option if you want to do something different, "enforce" a small guest list, hold the wedding at a place equally (in)convenient for far-flung family, or just "get away!"
Another advantage is that destination weddings can be far less expensive than the traditional kind, though that depends on your destination and how much of the travel costs you pick up. In any event, you'll find your money is going towards an entire weekend of memories in a great vacation spot, instead of one afternoon in a reception hall.
Having a destination wedding was the best wedding-related decision I made! Our guests had an awesome time the entire weekend. I got a lot of "thank yous" for doing something fun and different. I can't recommend it more highly!
Due to the amount of info I've gathered on destination weddings, it has been moved to two other pages. Please take a look at both pages. Some of the links that are affiliated with specific sites (the "WHERE") have some awfully good tips on the HOW!
That's it for now--all the useful info I have for planning unique nuptials.
You are welcome to link to this page.
You'll notice that I have few links to wedding vendors (outside of those providing destination wedding services). I prefer to keep the focus on my page on special types of weddings.
Reach me here....although I can't promise I'll respond these days.
kzaruba@umich.edu