Guest Blogger: Meg from A Practical Wedding, Part 3

• Your venue drives your budget. Your venue may not be your biggest ticket item, but it will determine what time of day your wedding takes place, and most importantly what contracts you are or are not locked into. We lucked out when we found a beautiful venue that was affordable because it was owned by Parks and Recreation. The best part about the venue wasn't the cost though, it was the fact that it gave us flexibility on catering, and allowed us to bring our own alcohol. We nabbed this venue by doing a lot of research, and being willing to plan a year and a half in advance (a venue that great books up early!) Look at venues off the beaten track. Anything that caters to The Wedding Crowd might end up costing you a small fortune. They are selling you a Perfect Day, and “perfection,” has a price. In the case of weddings its price is usually your sanity and a down payment on a small house. Which brings me to my next point:

• Ditch the quest for perfection. Forget every detail being perfect. Instead, use things like inspiration boards to figure out what you want the feeling of your day to be. A laid back barbeque? An elegant candlelit supper? Great. Figure out your vibe, and then make your decisions ones that will help you create that vibe – a casual short wedding dress, or a big ball gown – fried chicken, or sumptuous grilled asparagus. But remember, the picking the colors of your invites is really fun, but not worth stressing or overspending over. As for us, we’ve settled on “simple garden party” as our vibe, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Do I love planning the cool details? You bet. But by focusing more on the feeling of the day, I’m able to let the small stuff stay small stuff.

• And finally, and most importantly, remember that this day is about emerging married. It’s about celebrating sharing the rest of your life with your spouse. So start now, share the planning process with them, and enjoy it. The wedding is short, what counts is the journey.


I’ll be out there with you, trying to figure out smart, beautiful, budget savvy choices. I’ll see you at A Practical Wedding. Together we can do this thing! I want to give a huge thank you to Kathryn for letting me write these posts for you today, and for all you Snippet & Ink readers for having me. I’ve been a fan of Snippet & Ink for quite a while, and I never dreamed that one day I’d be guest posting here, a place I know I can find beauty every single morning.

Thank you so much to Meg for sharing some of your insight into staying sane during the wedding planning process! Be sure to stop by her blog for more of A Practical Wedding.