max wanger
FOR INSIGHT ALONG THE JOURNEY Weddingbee: The ‘bee is updated daily by 20 or more real brides actively planning their wildly different weddings. Most bees are DIY-inclined, and all are honest about their planning journey. One of the older blogs on the block (it began in 2006), Weddingbee has amassed an extensive backlog of neatly catalogued blogs that offer almost as much inspiration as the current bees. It’s also cultivated a welcoming and fun community. (www.weddingbee.com) A Practical Wedding: Brides from across the land flock to APW to drink in the utterly-sensible, utterly-doable, utterlypractical advice issued by Meg. Focusing on the emotional side of relationships and wedding planning, Meg and her band of Team Practical cohorts have carved out a warm, safe and rational place in the often-overwhelming blogosphere. (www.apracticalwedding.com) Love, Milk & Honey: If you find yourself getting so bogged down in seating arrangements and rental orders, and ranunculus versus garden roses that you start to forget why, exactly, you're getting married, head to Love, Milk & Honey for a dose of marriage reality. Lauren dishes out holistic advice for couples on fashion, interior design and just plain getting along. (www.lovemilkandhoney.com) Elizabeth Anne Designs: EAD is something of a hybrid, combining the oh-my-gawd-how-lovely part of planning a wedding with the oh-my-gawd-this-is-terrible-and-I’ll-neverbe-able-to-get-through-this-help-help-help! part of planning a wedding. Ami shares the stage with a revolving group of engaged and newlywed ladies, and really works hard to make her content directly reflect the ever-changing needs of her readers. (www.elizabethannedesigns.com) Always a Blogsmaid: A veritable treasure trove of wedding day Q&A from event planners who have seen and done it all, the AAB search box should be your first stop when you have a logistical or planning question. They’re also great about turning up the latest bridal innovation, from a new color palette generator to a streamlined system for electronically filing every drool-worthy image you find while web-surfing. (www.alwaysablogsmaid.com)
FOR THE ROMANTIC BRIDE Classic Bride: Guided by a slogan of “redefining tradition,” Sarah has a knack for finding the loveliest inspiration from yesterday and reinventing it for today in very real ways (picking her favorites from Christos’ new line, say). Here at SW we particularly appreciate her Southern roots (which are made twice as nice by her European upbringing and impending move!). (www.classicbride.blogspot.com) Style Me Pretty: The grand-daddy of inspirational wedding blogs, Style Me Pretty serves up a hearty dose of insanely beautiful wedding goodness daily. Elegant outdoor affairs are Abby’s specialty, and gorgeous photography and lush florals are her mainstays. Don’t miss the jaw-dropping Inspiration to Reality features, in which a rotating group of talented vendors brings an inspiration board to life! (www. stylemepretty.com) The Bride’s Café: A girl after our own heart, Janie shares inspired real weddings and cute engagement shoots on TBC, all with a hefty dose of sweet Southern charm. A talented floral designer, Janie’s real-life industry connections bring a warmth to her features that some blogs lack. (www.thebridescafe.com) Ritzy Bee: There are those who are lucky enough to hire D.C. event designer Maria Cooke. And then there are those who must subsist by drinking up her inspiring ideas via her blog, Ritzy Bee. Considering she’s a wiz at innovative “topical” posts (eight uses for manilla mailing tags, four uses for vintage sheet music), we’d say it’s a pretty fair trade. (www.ritzybee.typepad.com)
AND DON'T FORGET TO VISIT SW ONLINE!
EA
Besides SW, Weddingbee is probably my favorite blog. I'll readily admit I'm a total junkie, and routinely confuse my friends and family by referring to Mrs. Gloss or Mrs. Avocado as if they're old friends. I've got to go with my girl Emily's personal wedding and design blog,
KW Peach & Pearl. She posts DIY projects that even I might be able to
Real weddings, real brides, and real behind-the-scenes details on the making of a magazine www.ILoveSWMag.com
tackle!
LC
I love Gia Graham's color palettes at Flights of Fancy, Maria at Ritzy Bee's eye for design, Junebug's photography and I am a huge fan of Dana at Broke-Ass Bride! So much blog goodness out there! I am subscribed to 500+ daily blogs.