And now, a little music.

The fiance and I don’t have a song. We never have. This bothers me, and I can’t really say why.

So anyway, here we are, presented with the perfect opportunity to pick a song. And I’ve. Got. Nothing.

To be fair, he’s more of a musical person than me. He knows more bands, more song titles. He made me a mixed CD for our six-month anniversary based entirely on songs with lyrics relevant to our current situation. (Yes, I am saying it’s all his fault. Juuuuust kidding, hon!)

It needs to be sweet (because I’m romantic) but a little rock-y too (because he’s a little bit rock’n’roll). Does anyone have any ideas?

A ridiculously grainy picture of us, but it's the only one I have of us dancing. So you know I love it!

Etiquette Life Lessons

If you've ever spent any time on TheKnot.com message boards, you've undoubtedly learned three things:

1. Once you ask a girl to be your bridesmaid, there is never-ever-under-any-circumstances any excuse to un-ask her (unless you genuinely want to end the friendship). Never.
2. Money comes with strings. Always.
3. Pretty much every bride asks pretty much the same exact questions.

The benefit of being a Knot editor? Part of my job is working with our Community team, meaning I spend a lot of time working with brides and scouring the message boards for popular topics and story ideas. What I'm saying is, in terms of modern wedding etiquette, I often feel I have a leg up.

Here are a few other common lessons that are taught and re-taught (and re-taught, and re-taught, and re-taught…) on the boards:

1. One day, your future mother-in-law (FMIL) is going to be your mother-in-law (MIL). Forever. Play nice.

2. If you have an adults-only reception, someone will be angry about it.

3. There will always be a guest who RSVPs for extra people than you invited.

4. It's your fiance's job to defend you to his family. If he doesn't, then you have bigger problems than your MIL shooting down all your wedding ideas.

5. Did they get a save-the-date? Then they get a wedding invitation. No exceptions.

6. Don't stress out about the potential for "drama" at your wedding. You will be busy on your wedding day. If your future sister-in-law gets in a fight with her boyfriend of the moment, you probably won't even know it happened.

In other wedding news, we've narrowed down our top two reception venues! My parents get into town (from the glorious Midwest!) on the 22nd, and we're hoping to have the venue/date picked that Saturday. (Eep!) Plus my mom, the fiance's mom, the fiance's sister, I are going WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING that Monday. I literally cannot think about it without getting butterflies. (Douple eep!) Wish me luck!

Flora Faux Pas

Let’s get one thing straight: I like flowers. I do. I think they’re really pretty, and I think it’s super fun to get them. (The fiancé once sent me a bunch at work for our 6-month anniversary and I was a goofy grins-a-lot for the rest of the week.)

But even though I really like flowers, they have just never been one of my wedding priorities. Meaning, I just can’t bring myself to spend a gagillion dollars on something that is going to wilt and die within a day or so.

Which isn’t to say I don’t think you should! Last summer we had an intern who was one of the most petal-crazed girls I’ve ever met. She was willing to dedicate a substantial percentage of her budget to her wedding, and I say more power to her. It’s your wedding day -- your money should go toward what you love. For me, that’s photographs and food, but for you it could be paper goods, linens, music, or, of course, really lovely flowers.

That being said, I do still want SOME flowers. Just inexpensive ones. Which is why for the bulk of my flowers I plan on using baby’s breath and carnations -- stay with me.

I know there are probably high-brow flower connoisseurs out there who think I just named a couple of weeds, but I actually like the look of these blooms when they’re grouped together. I like the natural, soft shape they take on. Who cares what the price tag says if I like the look, right? Which is why it’s especially thrilling when I find something like this on one of the wedding blogs I follow:

(See the full shoot here!)

Dreamy, right?

Anyone else prioritizing their wedding budget? Or does anyone have any other inexpensive flower suggestions for me?

Color Me Happy

Speaking of inspiration overload, realized that I never told you guys what my original wedding inspiration was. (And before you ask, yes, I knew this long before I was actually engaged -- another curse of working at The Knot!)

It started with this inspiration board:

I mean, I think my jaw literally dropped when I saw it. Seaglass green-blue and gold? Yum. It’s a little frilly, though, so I knew I wanted to toughen the look up with gray or chocolate brown. Like you can see here:

Inspiration boards courtesy of Delight by Design and The Perfect Palette

Wedding Inspiration Overload

Sometimes the other editors and I talk about the "curse" of working at The Knot – namely, we are constantly surrounded with amazing wedding ideas, so those of us that are married want a do-over, and those of us who aren't are sometimes just plain overwhelmed. (Don't believe me? Check out editor Anja Winikka and photo editor Rebecca Crumley's Wedding Obsessions Blog. Brace yourself for awesomeness.)

Case in point? These three brilliant ideas I found while editing and uploading the latest batch of Real Weddings:

1. Mini Donut Wedding Snacks
I mean, come on. Part of my job at The Knot is working the catering beat (yeah, it's rough), which means I see a bunch of fantastic wedding chow ideas, but these little pastries stopped me dead in my tracks. Mini donuts displayed over milk shooters? Talk about giving a girl a Dunkin craving.

2. Adorable Favor Boxes
Ok, I don't even like jelly beans and I am ga-ga for these favors. I think it's the cutesy catch phrase. Note to self: Favors should be clever and cool. Duly noted.

3. "Yay!" Wedding Banners
I literally cannot stop thinking about (and planning how to accomplish) this detail. I'm for sure passing out "yay!" flags to my guests. So cute!

So, yeah, we have a lot of crazy cool ideas floating around. Here's hoping I can get narrowed down which ones I want by the time my own wedding rolls around.

What about you? What online inspiration has you a-twitter these days?

This wedding looks familiar...

We’ve started looking at reception venues!

Since my parents live in another state, we’re trying to get it narrowed down to two places before they visit at the end of the month. Then we’ll make the final decision together (and finally have our wedding date!).

In our area, people tend to get married in a lot of the same places, so my fiancé and/or his parents have usually been to at least one wedding in every place we visit. This is good because they have an idea what the food is like, how the site looks set up, and whether or not the place was enjoyable as a guest, but it does make me a little nervous.

I guess I feel a little extra pressure to make my wedding this fantastic, totally unique event because I work at The Knot. (Or at least, that’s what I feel like my friends are expecting.) I know, I know, in the end all that matters is that I marry the man I love and people have a decent time, but it’s hard to completely shake off everyone’s expectations. Especially if over half the people invited have already been to one or more receptions at our venue.

Any other brides feeling the pressure to live up to wedding hype? What are you doing to make your wedding stand out?



photo courtesy of Sassy Bella Melange

We Make Mistakes Too

Well, I had my first “d’oh!” moment of wedding planning. (Yup, turns out being a big fancy Knot editor doesn’t entirely protect you from those…)

So you know how we registered last Sunday. Well, exactly TWO days later I was helping our tech team figure out a bug with our Gift Registry 360 tool, when they started telling me that the products I was saying were on the list were not there. Baffled, I quickly checked the store’s registry, only to discover that about ten items were no longer available. In a two-day span.

I was livid.

After ranting to Joe for a bit, we just decided to re-register for those products at a store that doesn’t change over its inventory quite as often. So, in the end, it all worked out. (But I’m still holding a tiny grudge…)

Someone please tell me that I’m not the only one to make this mistake!