I'm a Practical Bride because....

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....Meg says so.

Inspired by Modern Bride magazine's recent advertising campaign ("I'm a modern bride because my wedding costs the GDP of an African nation" ... "I'm a modern Bride because I'm wearing six different dresses"...) Meg of A Practical Wedding ran a contest - I'm a Practical Bride because.... with her two wedding bibles as prizes - Miss Manners on Painfully Proper Weddings and One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding.

Meg had 114 entrants and a whole world of answers. But little old me, along with Dearsay and Broke-Ass Bride won!


I loved Dearsay's explanation of why she is a Practical Bride; her wedding to Lauren won't be legally recognised in DC and her answer was a perfect blend of humour and social and political commentary....

I'm a practical bride because I bought a power of attorney before I bought my shoes.
I can't believe that gay marriages aren't legal in all parts of the United States. There is so much that we take for granted in the UK.



Broke-ass Bride's answer cracked me up. So sweet yet hilarious....

I'm a practical bride because I believe the day is only 'perfect' if we end up married. To each other.


As for me...

I'm a practical bride because I really and truly hope that our wedding won't be the happiest day of our lives.


It might seem strange to some; we are brought up to believe that a wedding day is The Goal, that your wedding should be magical, perfect, everything you've ever dreamed of. And that's fine, it's fine to want a perfect day (what scares me is how people define perfect. Does the word unattainable mean anything to you?). It's fine to want your wedding day to be what you dreamed it would be. But seriously, it's a party. You really want a party to be the happiest day of your life? You don't dream of bigger, better, more meaningful days? You don't have goals beyond 'get married, have wedding, wear nice dress'?

We do. There are things The Boy and I want so much more than a wedding, things that we may or may not achieve, things that we yearn for with all of our hearts and if those dreams come true then that may or may not be the happiest day of our lives. But even then, I'm not willing to draw a line under our happiness and say nothing's going to beat this day, it's all down hill from here on. How sad that would be. I plan to live for quite some time, I plan to live with The Boy for quite some time and I hope with all my heart that there are bigger things on our horizons than a wedding day.

Here's to a lifetime of happy days my love.