Brides-to-be, wedding gurus, and overall blog enthusiasts: A Practical Wedding is coming to town. Another blog-t0-book phenomenon, Meg Keene began A Practical Wedding in the midst of planning her own nuptials.
“I felt like there was a void from a certain perspective,” Keene says of wedding blogs, meaning that they all only featured weddings with an outrageous price tag. “I was planning my own wedding and I was in tears every day for a week researching weddings on the internet. It was crazy!” For her, the final straw was a “budget” invitation idea that still cost $2,000.
“I split my time growing up in a hippie community and in a blue collar city where weddings were just not that expensive! I had a very different perspective on wedding planning.”
As a collection of her own thoughts, A Practical Wedding was born. But Keene had been a blog reader from the blog-beginning-of-time, so she didn’t begin blindly. “I started with a very specific plan,” one that was grounded in a culture she’d become familiar with. “As I posted, the blog grew pretty organically, pretty fast. I started with a clear idea that I wanted to pursue. And as it grew, I wanted to see if I could run a professional site as a creative business.”
She struck a chord and other brides with practical voices began chiming in. So what became Keene’s goal? Pointing a finger at the industry! The blog made for a good online community, conversation, ideas, inspiration. Keene had quickly filled the gap she’d first seen in the blogosphere. She turned her attention to the bookshelves and saw the same problem.
And this month, Keene’s first book officially released.
“It’s completely different from the blog,” Keene explains. “It’s broken down into ten chapters and it’s basically a how-to book.” But it also explains how wedding-planning has been twisted over time. “I cover the past 150 years of actual tradition and etiquette. That perspective informs the rest of the book.”
Because maybe you love that indie-DIY-super-glowy-picture wedding feature on Green Wedding Shoes. And sure it looks homemade and country-chic; but in reality, it probably cost the bride (or her daddy?) somewhere around $100,000.
“You really won’t remember how your wedding day looked,” Keene told me poignantly, and with experience. “But you’ll remember how it felt. The industry will tell you otherwise, but it’s about point of focus. Those defining moments that stay with you, they’re never planned.”
Interested in meeting Meg Keene and hearing more about the book? Her tour lands in Denver on January 22 with a brunch. All the deets right here.
Sarah Ann Noel is a freelance writer, blogger, and public relations professional. She blogs “Read Alert” every week and covers other Denver-related events and thoughts on writing and motherhood on her personal blog. Check back every week for reviews, literary events, and other bookish finds.
I can’t wait to read this! One of the first things I hear out of bride’s mouths is, “I can’t believe this is so expensive!” Because they pour over these blogs and think they can have these fabulous DIY weddings for a $2000 price tag.
That is exactly what Meg said! Her book and blog are an awesome resource and a good reminder for things you might not think of in the moment. Let me know what you think!
Every girl’s big dream of her magical wedding day comes with a huge price tag! My favorite thing Meg said was that you won’t remember how it looked! That’s so true! Plan your wedding around the things that will be memorable to you — not around the showcase that will impress/entertain the guests!