Wedding Plan B: What If It Rains?

One of the things we've had to discuss with putting the backyard wedding plan in place is what we'll do if it rains. It's not a nice topic of conversation, but it's a necessary one. After all, the only thing worse than having to have a wedding in the rain (which doesn't even have to be that bad, really) is not having a backup plan in place if it happens.

First of all, we're strongly considering renting a tent or marquee. We haven't finalized the details for this, but having one will solve a variety of weather problems, such as providing shade and, of course, a limited amount of rain protection. You can also use your own tent, if you have one, or purchase one specifically for your event. However, in my experience, the ones you can buy tend to be low quality unless you spend a ton of money, difficult to put up, and prone to breakage.

Update On Growing Wedding Flowers

I mentioned in an earlier post that we were planning on using homegrown flowers for at least some of the wedding decorating. We planted the seeds about a month or so ago, and we're hoping that (at least some of them) will end up blooming within a little more than a month when we have the wedding ceremony. And that we'll manage to save a bit on flower costs, with an eclectic mix of blossoming plants to boot.

I don't know if someone should necessarily plan on planting all the flowers for a backyard wedding (or any wedding, for that matter) unless they really know what they're doing and have a lot of experience with making flowers grow. I've been known to have a bit of a black thumb myself, although I've managed to improve it somewhat over the past couple of years. Not to mention the fact that the end of September isn't exactly known for it's display of brilliantly blooming flora (at least not in our neck of the woods). In our case, if the flowers grow, that's great; if they don't, well, I'm sure we'll still have plenty of options for making the wedding just about as floral as we want it to be.

Deciding on the Backyard Wedding Bridal Shoes

Here are our conundrums with picking bridal shoes for the backyard wedding: first of all, we have to worry about the bride navigating in a long dress over grass and dirt. Second, she's never been one for high heels. Third, no matter how good they look, we want to minimize the worry that the bride (who is likely to be too wrapped up in everything going on to think much about her feet) will trip and fall on her big day!

Personally, I'm thinking that a nice shiny pair of flats will do the trick. Or, possibly, wedges; but I think that's stretching it a bit. Of course, the final decision is up to her, and we'll all just have to wait and see what direction she eventually decides to go in.

On a related note, I hope that the guests realize that they should make smart shoe choices. We did mention that it was going to be a backyard wedding, but you never know if people think about things like this... luckily, they're all close enough to us that we'll probably discuss it with them at some point. But maybe we should have some extra shoes on hand just in case someone gets a poorly chosen stiletto heel mired in the dirt.

Got any ideas for how to choose shoes for a backyard wedding? Share them here!

Image source: Flickr.

Backyard Wedding Drinks: The Basics

An important part of wedding planning is deciding what kind of drinks you're going to offer. Even if you decide to serve little in the way of food, you'll still need to serve something in the way of beverages to sate the thirsts of your guests and to make sure that they stay hydrated. When you're still early in the planning phase, it's a good idea to run through a basic list of questions to determine the nature of the libations you will provide.

• Is the wedding going to be dry, or are alcoholic drinks going to be served?
• If you do plan to serve alcohol, what precautions will you take to ensure that your guests consume safely?
• Will there be many different types of drinks to choose from, or are you sticking with one or two theme beverages?
• How will drinks be stored and distributed?
• How will you get rid of the waste, be it bottles, cans, or cups?

Fun Wedding Cupcakes: Beach-Themed Shower Treats

While searching the internet for wedding-y things, I came across these adorable beach-themed wedding shower cupcakes. We've been trying to figure out the best way to make and decorate our own cupcakes for my sister's wedding, so we definitely have cupcakes on the brain.

The cupcakes pictured are by user clevercupcakes on Flickr. Unfortunately, the bakery is a little far away to provide cupcakes for the wedding that I'm helping to plan, being in Montreal and all - a little more than a hop, skip and a jump from Maryland. But if you're in the vicinity it definitely looks like it would be a cool place to check out.

After our recent experiments with trying to make cupcakes look fancy, I have a great appreciation for all the work that went into these. I hope we'll be able to discover some sort of a frosting recipe that will be able to hold that kind of a shape, although I don't think we're going to go so far as to try and create decorations out of fondant or modeling chocolate or whatever it is that went into those too-cute sunglasses and palm trees.

Making Your Marriage Legit: The Marriage License

Obtaining your marriage license isn't necessarily the funnest thing to think about when you're planning your backyard wedding, but it is an administrative task that needs to be dealt with at some point before the ceremony. That is, if you're planning on having your marriage legally recognized, you know, which is kind of the point.

The licensing process varies from place to place. For example, in Baltimore, Maryland, you can obtain a license on weekdays from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM, although it looks like you can also receive the license by mail. After that, you need to wait at least 48 hours, and no longer than six months to get married. And it's only valid if you're getting married in Baltimore County (although you don't necessarily need to be living in Baltimore County). The fee for the marriage license, as of August, 2011, is $35.

Backyard Wedding Cake: The First Attempt

I've been super excited to try out cake frosting ever since we went to Joann's and got some Wilton cake frosting decorating tips (although, in retrospect, it might have been better getting a cake decorating kit with instructions and piping bags from Amazon). So I was thrilled when my mom made some cupcakes, and decided to ice them with homemade butter-lemon frosting (made with butter, lemon zest, and powdered sugar).

Here's what the tip looks after we've screwed it onto the plastic bag using some handy accessories that I later learned were called "couplers"...

Backyard Weddings: How To Find an Officiant

The officiant is pretty much the most important part of any wedding, almost as important as the bride and the groom. After all, without an officiant, you don't have a wedding; you just have an awesome party.

Finding an officiant is somewhat easier when you're having a traditional church wedding; after all, he or she usually comes along with the church. Luckily, in most places it isn't too difficult to find traveling officiants who will come to your location of choice. A quick search for "officiant" plus the place where you intend to get married is likely to turn up a good list. Not all officiants are reverends or priests, but if you're looking for one of a particular religion, you can use that to narrow down your search.

Backyard Wedding Flowers DIY: Growing Your Own

I never, ever thought that I would end up trying to grow flowers from seeds for a backyard wedding in September, even though we actually grow a lot of things in our garden over the course of the year.

It's not that we're strangers to flowers in our garden. We were lucky that the previous owners of our house put in plenty of bulbs, flowering bushes, and other types of perennials. Unfortunately from the scheduling side of things, all of these flowers are done by mid-August.

Renovating Your House Before an At-Home Wedding

It's kind of ironic that my family has suddenly decided now, while wedding planning is in full swing, that our house needs to be renovated before the guests arrive. It makes sense, though, because we want our somewhat worn and outdated house to look as presentable as possible. There is plenty of work that needs to be done, and I suppose it's good that we finally have the motivation to do it.

This is definitely something you'll want to think about if you're hosting a wedding at your home. A wedding is one of the most important days you'll ever have in your life, so you want to make sure things that people will come in contact with, such as the yard and the bathrooms, look nice. Especially if you plan on having your wedding guests stay overnight!

Ring Bearing Dogs (And Other Bad Ideas)

I think the idea of having our dog bear the ring for the wedding ceremony popped into my mom's head just about the moment the engagement was announced. She's been mentioning it ever since.

With our old dog, Jake, (rest his soul), a surprisingly calm and non-excitable Springer spaniel, it could possibly have worked. However, our new dog, Snoopy, is a decidedly excitable beagle prone to distraction at the slightest provocation. This dog gets interested in invisible insects, for heaven's sake. And smells, oh, how he loves smells. When he gets excited, he doesn't just jump or wiggle or bark - he takes off like a bullet out of a gun, and will end up a mile down the road before we can catch him.

So having Snoopy bear the ring is pretty much out (I hope). In fact, he'll probably be safely tucked away at a neighbor's house during the ceremony and reception, or at the kennel.

Backyard Wedding Cake: Cupcakes For the Wedding

A great way to save on wedding costs is to make your own cake. And a great way to minimize the amount of damage you can do in the process is by making cupcakes. It's a lot easier to make individual cupcakes look good than to make a full-size cake look good, and if you mess up a batch, you can always make more. Plus it provides you with the opportunity to make several different flavors of cake and icing.

Here are some things to think about if you decide to go the route of making your own cupcakes for a wedding:

• Practice, practice, practice. Baking is an art. You need to perfect the recipes you'll use long before the actual day of the wedding. This is not the time for experimentation. As a bonus, you get plenty of cupcakes to taste-test along the way.
• Leave plenty of time. No one wants to be squirting frosting when the guests start to arrive. Cupcakes will stay good in the fridge for at least a day, so make them as early as you dare. Your practice sessions will help you determine how much time is needed.
• Keep it simple. Save your dreams of appearing on Cupcake Wars for the next birthday party. Your goal here is for your creations to be simple, elegant, and delicious. Anything else is just icing on the cake!

Deciding on a Backyard Wedding Bridal Dress

My sister is still down in Virginia, and so I (luckily?) wasn't along for the wedding dress shopping trip. My mom didn't get to go either; I think that she feels a little more sad about it than I do. However, my sister did get to shop with her soon-to-be-MIL, who doesn't have any daughters of her own, so it made for a good bonding experience.

There are many things to consider when getting a wedding dress no matter where you plan on getting married. In my mind, price should be one of the foremost considerations, and a budget should be firmly established before you even think of going to a store. That's mainly because once you get surrounded by the plethora of fairy-tale gowns (not to mention the super-adept salespeople), all thoughts of budget go out the window. I know; I've watched those bridal dress shows enough to see how the whole thing works.

My sister ended up getting a dress that was longer than she originally intended; in fact, it even has a train, which we'll have to figure out how to work in the grass (not to mention during the motorcycle ride for giving the bride away...) But I guess part of the fun of planning is making all of the pieces fit together.

We later talked to a woman who said her relative had gone to White House, Black Market to get a simple white dress that ended up looking gorgeous, and was even not so "wedding-ish" as to be wearable to later occasions. Well, too late for us, but something to keep in mind for your own weddings!

In conclusion, here are things to consider when choosing a dress for your backyard wedding:

• Cost. Price should always be the first consideration. Set a budget and stick with it, and you'll be much happier when the credit card bills come. As hard as it is, try and remember that this is a piece of clothing you will only wear once (I know some people will be mad at me for saying that!)
• Length. Balance the desire for a long dress with the knowledge that it will most likely get a little dirty along the edges (although that can also be the case for a wedding dress in other settings as well).
• Temperature. The season you plan on getting married will have some effect on your wedding dress choice if you're going to be spending a lot of time outside. Consider getting a short-sleeved or sleeveless dress for warmer months, and possibly having a cover-up in case you get cold.

Image source: Flickr.

Picking the Colors For Your Backyard Wedding

I suppose picking colors for a backyard wedding really isn't that different than picking colors for any other type of wedding. Well, you do have to worry about whether they'll clash with the various types of flora you have growing around outside, and perhaps with the siding on your house. And your home decor, if you want to extend the decorations inside. As you can probably guess from the picture to the right, we chose to go with blue for the wedding colors. Specifically, a light blue and a dark blue (so that the bride and groom each kind of "get" a color).

Shopping for the Backyard Wedding: Fabric Decorations

I have to admit: shopping for backyard wedding decorations is more pleasurable than I expected it to be at first, what with my overall reluctance to help with things before we'd really put a solid plan into place. There may be people out there who don't like shopping for pretty things, but apparently I'm not one of them!

The best part for me was buying yards and yards and yards of tulle. Tulle is a fun, versatile fabric, that makes just about anything look more festive. Also, I haven't had much opportunity to buy tulle in my general day-to-day dealings with the fabric store, so that was fun. We picked up 50 yards of the stuff in three different colors (the wedding colors - light blue, dark blue, and white, of course), which hopefully will be plenty for our needs.

Welcome to the (Formerly) Reluctant Wedding Planner Blog!

My name is Emma Larkins, and I'm happy to announce the launch of my (Formerly) Reluctant Wedding Planner blog.

You see, my sister is getting married this fall, and I'm very happy for her. Unfortunately, though, I've never really been much into the "wedding" thing. I didn't plan my dream wedding as a child, and I still think that a lot of the celebrating is done to excess (especially with how tight the economy has been lately).

Nonetheless, I love my sister, and I want her to have the best wedding ever. So, slowly, over time, I've started to help out with the planning duties. And, along the way, I realized that other people might benefit from our experiences of planning a simple, fun, backyard wedding. That's why I started this blog, to share our joys, our travails, and the ins and outs of our journey.

I hope you enjoy!