Some Wedding Reading For You

Last week, the Toronto Star updated its online wedding section with a ton of new articles. Topics covered include ways to keep costs down (including a look at City Hall weddings), wine advice and invite ideas. And yes, there are multiple pieces about dresses (looks like my decision to wear a big dress makes me fashion-forward in the world of wedding gowns).

The Star’s wedding section is actually quite extensive, with dozens of articles that go all the way back to August 2008. It’s worth it to flip through some of the back stories since some of them, like one bride’s personal story on where to spend and where to save, are a great read.

LouLou magazine also recently launched an online wedding section, to go alongside this month’s wedding-focused issue. Since LouLou is a shopping magazine, there is a real focus on “stuff” so if you’re on a budget and/or have problems with shopping you might want to skip this one.

But LouLou really does highlight some great items like these reasonably priced shoes and these pricier ones.

And some of the articles, like the ones on nail trends and fragrances, are actually sort of useful.

Bridal Magazine Envy

So earlier this week I cracked open a bunch of bridal magazines for the first time in probably two months.

I was looking for hair style inspirations but I quickly got distracted by all the great décor-type images these magazines contain. While I’d seen all of these pictures before, some of them really caught my eye this time around, generally images that were really elaborate, original or expensive looking.

And then I felt a bit sad because my wedding isn’t going to have an archway made out of flowers or personalized name cards on the back of each seat or even table overlays with matching charger plates.

I know, I know, it’s stupid. The whole point of these magazines is to give you unrealistic expectations so that you spend more money but still, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed in what we had planned so far. It just all seemed so predictable and boring.

And it’s not even just an issue of money. Sure, a bigger budget would help, but more than a few of the ideas that caught my eye could probably be done for a reasonable price if you had the time and the manpower. Sadly, I don’t have much free time and am not the least bit crafty, nor do I have group of crafty friends who I could put to work.

So no breathtaking, original wedding for us. I know this and most of the time I accept it but just every now and then, when I see a certain image or item, I have to remind myself that while gorgeous flowers and clever escort card displays make for wonderful pictures, they don’t guarantee that a wedding will be fun and enjoyable (and isn’t that really what’s important?).

In fact, I can see how an elaborate wedding could be quite the opposite, especially if the bride and groom can’t really afford the event and have put their friends and family to work, running errands and making seating cards.

So I’m taking comfort in that fact along with the knowledge that at least Shawn and I are throwing an event that won’t put us in debt, exhaust us or destroy friendships.

Our common sense wedding might not be the prettiest but I think in the end it’ll work for us.

Toronto Life Wedding Guide

Toronto Life’s first-ever wedding guide hits newsstands today. I’m a bit surprised that they’ve never published one before, wedding magazines are usually fairly easy money (at least in the magazine world), but whatever, it’s here now and I plan on picking up a copy tomorrow to read on the plane(I'm headed to Alberta for Christmas).

I see that the cover features a cake that looks very similar to the cake design we were thinking of going with. I guess that means we have good taste?

Anyway, I generally find Toronto Life’s guides quite informative and practical so I think it’s safe to say that this is one wedding magazine that you’re going to want to pick up.

Looking For Your Dress?

Then you’re going to want to pick up the fall/winter issue of The Knot. It is packed with hundreds and hundreds of dress photos, all alphabetically organized by the designer’s name. Each photo contains a short description that includes the fabric type, the colour options and a price range.

It lists plenty of stunning dresses for under $1,500 US and while true, this is an American magazine and not all of the dresses it contains are available in Canada, it will give you lots of ideas and clippings that you can take on your shopping trips.

I know The Knot is often associated with the Bridezilla-approach to wedding planning but this issue is truly one that nearly any bride would find useful. In addition to all the wedding dress shots, it also contains dozens of bridemaids, mother-of-the-bride and flower girl outfits, as well as honeymoon ideas and general wedding how-to’s.

So if you buy only one wedding magazine this season, let it be this one. I’m sure you’ll refer to it over and over and over.