One Fine Day: Wedding Planning
http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2012-07-12/one-fine-day-wedding-planning
First comes love, then comes marriage, as the song goes, but in between comes the wedding. Whether it's a simple ceremony for close relatives or an extravaganza for hundreds of guests, many couples find the process fraught with financial, emotional, and logistical challenges. We explore the ins and outs of the wedding industry, and consider what it takes to plan a trip down the aisle.
Guests
Meg Keene
publisher and executive editor of APracticalWedding.com; author "A Practical Wedding: Creative Ideas for Planning a Beautiful, Affordable, and Meaningful Celebration"
Tara Melvin
Owner, Perfect Planning; President, The Association of Wedding Professionals of Greater Washington, DC
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Comments
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I want to give a big "Thank you" to Meg and the rest of the wonderful people at A Practical Wedding for providing some well needed logic, rationality, and practicality in our frighteningly consumer-oriented wedding culture. I found the website shortly after becoming engaged and it helped me and my now husband navigate some of the ridiculous questions, stress, and faux "must-haves" during the wedding planning process. Our wedding was everything we could have wanted it to be, with 80 of our closest friends and family and we spent less than half of the cost of a normal wedding-with a 5 hour open bar. I recommend A Practical Wedding to all of my engaged friends.
Can first speak to change in traditional to modern invitation practices?
We have experienced a dramatic increase in 'off-beat' weddings at the Virginia Renaissance Faire. This year we had 4 in the same day, one of which was a 'surprise wedding' planned by the brides mother. We have nothing fancy - just a secluded labyrinth for a ceremony site and a big tent with picnic tables for reception, yet it has struck a chord with a lot of couples looking for something different. The couple (or mom and dad) pay admission for the guests, reserve the tent, order up food from the faire vendors and let the guests enjoy the faire rather than go to the expence of a huge sit down dinner, hotel ballroom and DJ. It's VERY no-frills and yet everyone leaves smiling.
Frankly, I would never have thought this would be such a hit but I'm booking up for 2013 like crazy.