That's Noice!

There are a million-and-one options when it comes to wedding guest books these days. Photo-booths, video messages and those stunning books made especially for the occasion.

I wanted to keep things simple and not be bound by the number of pages in a book and bought this recipe box from Kikki-K for $40.

I took out the dividers (meat, fish, desserts, etc), popped in a few pens and stuck a sign on top.

And apart from the more traditional guest book messages (and non-traditional messages, because that’s why we have the friends we do), we got stacks of recipes too.

And even a recipe for a lasting, happy marriage too. Noice!

Sorry you guys, you’re going to have to put up with me getting my Bridal on, even though it was so two weeks ago ;)

Having been a bridesmaid 4 times previously, I was well over fresh flowers for my own wedding bouquets. So I went silk, buying pre-prepared bouquets from Aussie Etsy seller Flowers by the Vase.

These are the “Sweetie Pie” Bridesmaid (~US$50) and Bridal (~US$70) bouquets but there are heaps of options available and the girls take custom orders too.

Silk flowers are great for us lazy Brides (armchair shopping, plus one less thing to get delivered to your house on The Big Day) AND you can gift the bridemaid’s bouquet as part of your thank you gift to her (bonus points!).

I was really chuffed with the speedy service I got from Flowers by the Vase and they even threw in some freebie boutonnieres (that’s “button holes” for the rest of us).

Psst, if you ask noicely, Jarod might do a post on how to get your cats involved in your wedding ceremony ;)

Even though I have 16-and-a-bit months until I’m getting married (not that I’m counting!), my fiancé and I have a pretty good idea of what we want to happen on our Big Day. It’s not too weird, but it definitely won’t be a traditional wedding with a sit down meal and a meringue for a wedding dress!

I know I’m not the first to go against the bridal grain, but I’ve struggled with having the confidence to defend our choices to family and friends who don’t agree with our decisions.

And then I found The Light, in the form of The Offbeat Bride by Ariel Meadow Stallings.

The book follows Ariel’s wedding journey, a wedding far more offbeat than I can ever imagine putting together! The book is full of tips, advice and suggestions – and I loved every second of reading it.

There’s also the Offbeat Bride blog and even their own social network.

Here’s me re-reading my favourite sections of The Offbeat Bride:

Have you got any wedding tips for “offbeat” brides?