skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Mr. T was amazed that I was reading a financial book of my own accord, but this one was recommended on Offbeat Bride, so I checked it out of the library.
This was an excellent book; very well-written and full of useful tips. Of course, most of the questions he says to ask your partner have already long since been discussed in our household, but I didn't mind the review. Perhaps more useful to me were his thoughts on joint bank accounts: don't do it till after you're married, which we haven't. His other opinion was that having one joint bank account offers the most financial transparency in the relationship. He offered that you could each keep your own individual account, but that having the joint one, period, keeps everyone honest and is more of an investment into the partnership of the marriage. Mr. T and I have been debating about this and it's likely we'll combine our finances into one joint checking and several joint savings, depending on what we're saving for--vacation, emergency fund, yearly expenses, etc. One thing that this seems to preclude is surprising each other with gifts, though. I'd be curious to hear how you all manage this in your relationships: One account? Three accounts? If it's one, how do you surprise each other? With a credit card purchase? Even that's tricky, assuming you have transparency when paying the cc bills...
Regardless, buying gifts for each other isn't any kind of reason not to combine finances, so we're probably going for the one joint account.
The book also has a section on how to create a household budget, which I took notes on! Mr. T and I have not had to really formally budget for a household, and I think it's a good idea when two people are dipping into the same bank account. I volunteered to do this since I do budgets for work and I've also been keeping up our wedding budget.
Anyway, the book offers much, much more and I totally recommend this one to any couples--married or to-be married--who want a healthy financial future.
Aside from our tasting, on Sunday we also went to look at an alternate hotel for our guests who require more than one bed or wheelchair access. We chose a hotel right by the marina, and we really liked it. The setting was super cute, the hotel was well-appointed and modern, and although it's not walking distance to our wedding venue, it's fairly simple to get there via car, and a short drive.
We left my name and number and I'm waiting for them to call me back about a room block. I have to say, I'm surprised they haven't already. You'd think they'd be jumping all over our business in these economic times!
We also made a decision regarding a wedding website, or a wedsite if you'll excuse the term. Mr. T has been feeling pressured about this, since he's a website designer, but the truth is, finding the time for him to design it, and then having him lean on the html guys to build it, has been proving difficult. He was questioning whether we even needed one when I found the Nearlyweds templates provided by Offbeat Bride, which are $45 for two years and offer a unique URL and multiple pages for photos, details about accommodations, registries, and of course the ceremony information! They even have an online RSVP option, which is very attractive not only for the savings on postage and RSVP postcards but also because it's a more environmentally-friendly option. And, if my grandmother can master the internet at 91, everyone can!
The clincher is that some friends of ours who are getting married in September are using one of the templates, so Mr. T got to see how they worked and how they could be customized for each couple. So, we picked out a template and I'm slowly working on uploading content to it. That feels like progress! Now we can send out save-the-date emails and give folks the URL sooner, rather than later.
I blogged awhile back that we were going to meet with a photographer. That hasn't happened yet (stuff came up), but since I was thinking about it, I started to collect images that I liked while going through WeddingBee or Offbeat Bride. I'm afraid to say I haven't been collecting the sources along with the photos. My apologies to any photographers out there, but let this be a lesson: label your stuff!
I realized today that I had thirty-something images collected (from wedding and engagement shoots), so I could probably draw some conclusions about what I liked. Here's what I discovered:
- I like props. Parasols, umbrellas, and red balloons, etc. Especially red balloons, since I have two separate images featuring them!
- I like vintage-looking romantic photos with black and white and sepia tones.
- I like modern-looking photos with bright colors and unusual backgrounds.
- I like photos where people are jumping.
- I like photos of details like tables and hands. And shoes. Especially shoes.
- I like photos in unusual locations, like the bride in the circular window below. I love that one.
- I like photos that display the personality of the people in them.
- I like playful photos.
- I like photos that don't look too posed, but where the subjects display real emotion rather than stiff smiles.
Enjoy!
Okay, I've been reading the Offbeat Bride blog for months now and thoroughly enjoying it, so I thought I'd read the book, too.
This book was a quick, easy read. I really enjoyed the author's candid confessions and sometimes blunt language--I actually laughed aloud while I was reading this. Reading this book is like having a conversation with your girlfriends, which makes it very unlike the other wedding books out there.
In terms of actual wedding advice that I'd use, I don't know that I gained anything there. The author approaches it less like, "this is how you should do it" than, "this is how I did it, and here are a few extra ideas that you might consider." It did confirm my decision not to get entangled in the wedding industrial complex, but I also have girlfriends who can confirm that!
Even though I didn't come away with tons of ideas for my own wedding, I really enjoyed this one. I highly recommend it to any Offbeat Bride--the author's a great writer, and her book is funny and moving and honest.
Posts
