We are getting married in a non-religious ceremony. Why? My fiance and I are both atheists – and while we would love a grand church wedding, because we both really appreciate the beauty of chapel architecture… we realized it was not acceptable or reasonable to have a church wedding due to our beliefs… or non-beliefs, as it were.

So, we are going with a beautiful, backyard garden wedding and are being married by a justice of the peace.

Because we’re not doing the traditional wedding vows that usually come with the church wedding, we’re facing the real challenge of writing our own vows. We both tease each other about it.. “Have you started yet?” .. “No, have you?”… “Nah, I thought I’d wait until the night before, how about you??”

While we kid – I am somewhat stressed about writing the perfect vows and really saying what I want to say to the man I want to spend the rest of my life with! Of course, I turned to the internet and found some resources, I’ll post here at a later date on how it went:

Simple Steps for Writing Your Wedding Vows
Pre-written Wedding Vows
Poems for use in Wedding Vows
Personalizing Your Wedding Vows
Writing Your Own Wedding Vows in 6 Easy Steps

Every woman wants her wedding day to be exceptional and, of course, she wants to look fabulous!

Enter Simply Jane, a new concept in bridal silk.

Now, designer Jane Wilson-Marquis has made it possible for you to make truly creative choices about the way you look on your most important day.

The concept is simple:

There are five basic themes, or “blank canvases” as Jane calls them – five stunning classic full-length gowns in silk with overlays of chiffon or organza. Choose the style that best suits your body-shape and if you don’t see yourself in white, choose from a range over over 90 different colors.

If you want to keep it minimal then the classic blank canvas is for you. Prices start at only $450.

But if you want to make more of a personal statement, choose any one of the 5 basic styles as the starting point for an almost infinite series of variations.

Select from an array of Simply Jane specially created embellishments and accessories then combine them in any way you choose. Embellish with lace flowers, ruffles, beading gathered chiffon. Accessorize with veils, belts, headpieces, shawls, jackets and coats.

The end result is a fabulous wedding gown for a modest sum. But, more than that, it is an artistic collarboration between the bride and Simply Jane.

Simply Jane created for the bride who has her own unique sense of style!

I came across this list somewhere on the web and saved it as a text file. I thought it had some helpful tips I’d share:

Here is the buzz on saving a few bucks on your wedding rings:

• Simple gold bands are the cheapest. They can run $125 to $400 each. They are also classic and elegant.
• Silver bands are modern and cheap.
• Don’t buy the designer version of gold bands. That will save you a bunch.
• If you want white metal, opt for white gold. Platinum is almost double the price.
• You’ll save almost half if you buy a coordinating set or trio (engagement ring, your wedding band and his band.)
• If you want a ring with a stone, don’t forget semi-precious stones are beautiful. You don’t have to have diamonds in your wedding rings.
• Family wedding bands are a romantic heirloom and free.
• Shopping online can save you money. Make sure you pick a secure site with great customer service.
• If you really want something more-make a plan-start saving now and decide to upgrade your wedding rings on your fifth anniversary or your tenth anniversay

We are planning our wedding at my fiance’s mother home. We’re having the ceremony in her backyard garden with the reception/dinner immediately following at the same place. Because there is limited parking available at her house, we had the task of trying to find a solution for parking.

Once we started thinking about it, and planning the rest of the wedding like the caterer, entertainment, etc – we realized that we are plying our guests with champagne and having an open bar. We really really don’t want any of them getting behind the wheel of a car after the reception and dinner!

Most of our guests are flying in from different parts of the country and will be staying at a hotel about 30 minutes away from the home where the wedding is taking place – - so we rented a bus! The bus is scheduled to take them all from the hotel to the house an hour before the wedding – - then we scheduled the bus to make two runs from the house back to the hotel.. once at 11pm for those who want to leave early, and once at 1am for those who want to party late!

It solved BOTH our parking issue, and the worries we had about people drinking and driving. Now everyone can leave their cars at the hotel… or not rent a car at all and just enjoy the free transportation that we’ve made available to them.

Of course, the transportation is NOT free – but it is reasonable. The 25 person mini-bus is costing us $75.00 per hour and we’ve rented it for approximately 4 hours on that day. We’re happy to foot the bill if it means not cluttering up his mother’s neighborhood with a lot of cars on those country roads that don’t have a shoulder to speak of – - but, most importantly, to look after the safety and well being of our guests.

Brides don’t let guests drink and drive!