THE Project - Part 2 - Finding a place

I am a person who likes to know the "before and after" of the things. Thus in my previous post I wrote about how my wedding journey began. It all started with the wedding books. Once I saw the whole picture and how it should be done, I was ready to continue with my own things.

The wedding is approaching fast. It is planned for May, 6th, but we still have no place for it. In Bulgaria, you need to have a formal event and if you wish, a church wedding. Most of the people who decide to have both, do them at one day. If you are in a small town, it is done in no time. If you are in a big city, Sofia in our case, you ran from the wedding hall to the church to the restaurant afterwards.  The mood usually gets up at the first place and then in the church you want it just to finish. No wonder that once you get to the restaurant you just want to sit and eat something. When I tried to imagine ourselves as the main part of this marathon (as a bride and groom) I felt the hair at the back of my head raised up and I saw my fiance's face being as white as a sheet of paper. The very first decision we took was that we will not become a part of this. We disagreed on many things afterwards, but for this thing we both were very certain. We set the formal part for one day with our families only and the church part for another day. This we call our wedding date. The date we chose is e big religious holiday here. A great day for a new beginning.

On the other hand, the beginning of May can be very rainy or even cold in Sofia. So for sure we need a shelter or a closed space. Thus gave us three options. An open space, a restaurant or a rented hall. After weeks of checking restaurants and halls I came back to my first idea - we need an open green space - a beautiful lawn, somebody's yard or even a horse ranch. Too bad we still haven't find the exact place yet. I have checked some places - they were either too big and overwhelming or too small, too noisy, too hilly, too far, etc, etc.
One of our options included this remote meadow. In reality it is beautiful open space with a wonderful mountain view. But on the other hand it is remote and not so easy to reach. maybe if we serve juices and sweets only it will be an option. It is near a horse ranch, thus you see the horses around.

Still I stay optimistic and have another meeting next week. Let's see...

THE Project - Part 1

So here it comes! The Wedding! 

Finally, after more than a few years being together, we decided that the wedding is a must and should be this year. Surprisingly, I was not so excited at first. I started with buying a bride magazine to see what we are up too. I needed to see ideas to decide on what the whole wedding would look like. You know, I had not spent my whole life up to that very moment planning about the big Event, plus I had no idea what dress I'd go for, neither I knew that the weeding should have a theme:) Unforgivable, I know. But that's how the things were so I needed to catch up. 

First, I googled to get an idea about the wedding dress styles. It took me less than a day to figure out that the 50s style is my style. First, because I liked it the most and second, because it fits my body type the best. For those who are not familiar with the style, just imagine all those vintage adds with house wives in the hourglass dresses. Jackie Kennedy is a good ambassador of that style. Basically it is a fitted bodice with a wide skirt. In reality, I didn't need to do any research at all. My all dresses are like that. But now I am more convinced that I live true to my nature:) More on the dress later. 

This small internet research wan not enough. I had to get a whole idea about the ceremony. Thus, I went to Amazon and checked the wedding books. Did you know that Amazon have a whole category where you can plan the whole wedding? I've seen it but have never paid attention. Wedding is a huge business! So bad I refused to be treated like a victim of it. Thus, I spent couple of days reading back and forth both book reviews and customers reviews. I ended up with ordering 9 books, plus a few more just in case. There were books about planning, finding a theme and style for the ceremony, plus several books about dresses styles. I live in Bulgaria so getting them was an adventure of itself. I went for super well-priced used books but with all the hustle around the shipping and delivery issues, it seemed like I paid more than for new ones. Anyway, once I saw the books it was all forgotten. Plus, I never mind paying for a good book. Now I have a great collection of quality book which are fun to read even if you are not planning a wedding. 

Among them, Vintage Weddings: One Hundred Years of Bridal Fashion and Style by Marnie Fogg is my absolute favourite. It shows the wedding dress by decades for the past 100 years with their most important features. Additionally, some details about the ceremony, decoration, even music are included. I loved this book!

Then, Vera Wang On Weddings by Vera Wang - a book with a stunning customers reviews. Well, I was not that much impressed. The book is absolutely beautiful with its glossy paper and hardcover. Also, Vera's designs are great but this is not a good wedding planner and I can hardly see myself in her ideal customer's shoes. However, I am happy that I own it. 

The Wedding Dress by Oleg Cassini - a nice book to have but not so great for planning either. I should say I bought a couple of these books for inspiration only so I have no regrets. 

One book which is said to be a great wedding planner - A Practical Wedding: Creative Ideas for Planning a Beautiful, Affordable, and Meaningful Celebration by Meg Keene. I have to admit that it has no even a single picture which in comparison with the others was something you notice fast. Because I had good 6 months before the eventual wedding date, I put it aside. Now, as I am writing this, the time to open it has come. I will share what I think of it later.  

Some decoration ideas - Southern Weddings: New Looks from the Old South by Tara Guerard - again a beautiful book to have bit nothing really impressive. 

Handmade Weddings: More Than 50 Crafts to Personalize Your Big Day by Eunice Moyle has some fresh ideas about handmade decorations. Could I go without it? Yes. With some search of the internet you can get even better ideas but here you have them organized in one place. But I'd find it a bit expensive for what it offers. However, I may use some of the ideas later. 

And finally, The Knot Ultimate Wedding Lookbook: More Than 1,000 Cakes, Centerpieces, Bouquets, Dresses, Decorations, and Ideas for the Perfect Day by Carley Roney a beautiful and useful book. It has a lot to offer in sense of colour theme, arranging and decorating tables and the whole area, small details, cakes, etc. I would recommend this one to everyone who wants to feel the beauty of a wedding by just opening the book. 

In a nutshell, after almost a month of research I found that we want do not want a very formal ceremony but DIY garden ceremony. The style would be more like bohemian-chic/garden/farm style. However you call it, it means one thing - almost entirely handmade ceremony. It has to be chic and cheerful but not so formal. The most important things would be the tasty food, the good decoration and happy couple and guests. We do not care for the very formal things. We just want to spend great time with our family and closest friends.   Needless to say I am sewing my dress alone. It will be a dress with fitted bodice and full skirt. Nothing of what I saw both online and in person fits into my concept for the dress therefore I'd be creating my dream gown alone. More on than in my future post.

p.s. A Practical Wedding: Creative Ideas for Planning a Beautiful, Affordable, and Meaningful Celebration by Meg Keene. This book set me free! Honestly! I was amazed to see how we tend to worry about so many things which are not important at all. And remember, I was not so-worry-bride in general! But the book gives you practical advises on every page. Plus lots of personal stories and memories! I'd start with the book in the beginning but maybe saving it for last was better. All the other things came in place. Now I am confident to do whatever I like and however I like it because it is just our wedding but it is also an important event for still our families and friends.