Posted by Shira Savada, Real Weddings Editor
In addition to The Bride’s Guide, there are countless wedding blogs out there posting insane amounts of information and inspiration daily. There are blogs written by planners, blogs for brides in specific regions, wedding photographers who post their work via blogs, and brides-to-be who use blogs as planning tools. Recently, I’ve been dwelling on the last one and how these newly engaged ladies are putting all of their wedding planning out there for all to see.
So I checked in with Darci, who created With This Ring, about a month after her engagement.
Darci and Brad, on a pier overlooking Lake Geneva. The couple took all their portraits with Browers Photography before the ceremony. All images here courtesy of Browers Photography.
Darci started the blog for two reasons. She wanted to stay organized and have a central place to keep all of her ideas. But she was also interested in creating a way for her friends and family to read about her plans. Darci’s family and girlfriends are spread out all over the country, and they were calling and emailing her with the same questions. So having a space on the Internet where they could go and get updates was a good solution. Darci and her husband dated for nine years before getting engaged, so there were a lot of people who were really excited about the Wisconsin wedding.
Her early posts talked all about the stages of Darci and Brad’s planning process. Darci started reading several wedding blogs for inspiration and later realized that when she would leave comments under her blogger ID it linked back to With This Ring. Before she knew it there were lots of people besides her friends and family reading along.
“The blogging community is really great that way and I am still amazed at how everyone just seems to find one another. When I was writing about flower selections a local florist started emailing me with ideas and suggestions. Another bride reading along suggested a baker when I was having trouble finding one, and that's who we wound up using for our wedding (and the cake was fantastic)!” —Darci
When Darci realized that her audience stretched beyond her guest list she began to share the ideas that she couldn’t fit into her own nuptials as a way of giving back to the community of people who had helped her plan. And now, months after she actually uttered the words “With This Ring…” she’s still writing, and still working her full-time job.
“I enjoy writing it so much that I never really considered giving it up once I was married. Plus, it's a creative outlet for me. I figure that if people are still interested in my ideas, I am happy to share them. I get a lot of emails asking for help making certain decisions, requests for inspiration boards, and suggestions for more unique ways to approach certain aspects of a wedding. The emails have to be one of my favorite things about blogging—I love the opportunity to help someone with their planning.” —Darci
Darci's sharing photos from her wedding this week on her blog, but here are some exclusive details:
Brad and Darci pose with Lola, wearing a necklace Darci made after reading an article in our Summer 2007 issue about making jewelry for the four-legged members of your bridal party.
Darci's dad made this sign out of old barn wood.
Darci’s grandfather gave her grandmother a set of gold earrings with a small pearl while they were married. All of their daughters (Darci’s mother included) then wore them on their wedding day. Darci is very close with her cousin, who got married a few months before Darci did, so they each took one of the earrings that their mothers wore and incorporated it into their wedding attire. Darci’s cousin tied hers around her bouquet and Darci pinned hers underneath her dress.
Handmade (by Darci’s mom) Damask table runners, and table numbers consisting of moleskin notebooks that Darci covered in different papers adorned each table. The insides of the books had a few pages stamped with things like "Your Wishes for the Couple" and "Advice for the Newlyweds" for the guests to fill out.
Darci's best friend from college and her aforementioned cousin were her bridesmaids. They wore J. Crew dresses and beaded necklaces from Banana Republic.
Luminarias lined the walkway to the reception.
Instead of a getaway car, the couple opted to rent a boat to take them from the ceremony to the reception.
From: AnnieBelle | 3/19/09 at 3:52 pm
Love the pictures and the story behind the blog and wedding. I started my blog almost six months post wedding, since I was collecting ideas and photos and had knowledge to share and nothing to do with all of it.
From: jessica@budgetsavvybride | 3/20/09 at 1:03 pm
I love Darci's blog. It's definitely one of my faves! Along with The Bride's Guide, of course.