I'm by no means a wedding planner. I had never even planned a large event before I got engaged… but in planning our wedding from over 2,000 miles away I found that there ain't jack shit for resources on this topic.

So here it is, "Shrie's Humble Guide to Planning A Wedding from Afar: Or How to Get Hitched Without Pulling Your Hair Out." I hope my teeny tidbits of advice will help at least one crazed, "I don't know where to start!" bride-to-be looking for a little relief.

Getting married and putting the whole shebang together can be awesome fun. Getting married and putting the whole shebang together at a location 2,100 miles away from where you live can be awesome fun AND a little stressful. Lucky for you, I've been through all that and will graciously divulge all my time-saving, stress-free secrets…

Continue reading "How to plan a wedding from afar: part I (by Shrie)" →

Welcome to another installment of OMGOBT, where I feature some of the best that the OBT has to offer. This installment brings us a fabulous how-to from Loaf of Tales of Female Husband, who offers her tips on dying your own colorful crinoline.

So, I had inauguration day off, and my partner Luck was at work, and I was high on patriotic pride and seeing my dress pinned and properly floofy, so I had the confidence to try this first major DIY project alone! First I washed the crinoline, since it was dirty from my sweat as I tried it on, and who knows who else had tried it on. Since it has to be wet when you dye it, I figured washing it first would be the easiest.

As the crinoline was washing, I started mixing the Sunshine Orange dye. Michael's only had the powdered dye in a color I wanted, so I followed the directions and mixed two packages in two cups of hot water. I didn't want to use anything plastic in this process, since the Rit box said the dye will dye plastic. I did use plastic gloves, but I didn't care about those changing colors.

Continue reading "How to dye your crinoline, by Loaf" →

A few weeks ago, I featured Naomi's crafty/punk wedding, and there were lots of folks who wanted to know more about Naomi's illuminated christmas bulb bouquet, which her mother made for her. Well, I got the information from Naomi! Here y'all go…

Supplies Needed:

Continue reading "How to make a light-up Christmas ornament wedding bouquet, by Naomi & her mom" →

So, you your family/friends are freaking about about your plans for a tiny simple wedding in your backyard. Or about how your sweety wants to carry a pirate sword for the ceremony. Or about how you're wearing a black dress instead of a white one. Whatever: you told 'em something, and they've freaked out.

While every situation is different, I decide to write up a few copy 'n' paste responses that y'all could use in your conversations with your family & friends. Obviously, these would need tweaking depending on your particular conflict, but hopefully the respectful but firm tone will help you hold your ground while also keeping the peace:

Continue reading "Copy 'n' paste conflict resolution (aka How to say "fuck off" and "I love you" and "this conversation is over" all at the same time)" →

Last week's Why you should propose to your boyfriend post was a big hit, so I'm continuing on with Part 2: HOW to propose to your boyfriend.

Of course there are as many ways to propose to your boyfriend as their are people reading this website, but when considering proposing, here are a few things to consider:

1. Have lots of conversations with him about marriage and commitment, so that you know you're on the same page. Do you share ideas and values? Do you share a common outlook? Do you both want to do this?
2. If you're not sure he'd feel comfortable being proposed to, find a casual way to find out. Share a story about another woman who proposed (I've got one coming up for you!) to see how he responds.
3. If you want to really twist the tradition on its ear, consider asking his mother for his hand in marriage! This list of how to ask a man for his daughter's hand in marriage is actually pretty helpful, and has the bonus of being slightly amusing when you flip the genders: "Promise [her] that you’ll take care of [her son] for the rest of [his] life."
4. Pick a symbolic gift, if you want one. It totally doesn't have to be a ring (who remembers the "engagement lighter" mentioned in my book?)
5. Start scheming! The web is FILLED with proposal ideas, but I'm guessing crafting one unique to your relationship would be way more special than any over-engineered feat of romance.

Want a great story to use as an example? Keep hear how one OBT member proposed to her boyfriend…

Continue reading "Proposing Part 2: How to propose to your boyfriend" →