How Well Do You Know Tradition?

Soooo I am not crazy, and most times if you have to disclaimer that, then, well, maybe you are? But I swear I am not. I was never one of those little girls that planned out my perfect wedding when I was a kid. I played with Barbie dolls, I played in the mud, and I had a great imagination, but planning some future fairy tale wedding was not something I dreamed of.

Now that I am at a point were I will be getting a ring soon and have discussed getting married, I kept asking myself, what do I really know about weddings? And honestly, I don't know much. So I did what any half normal, half crazy, very nervous girl would do, I went out and bought some books. One of the books that I purchased was Anti-Bride: Etiquette Guide - The Rules - And How To Bend Them. It is an awesome book! And it is by no means anti-bride or anti-wedding, it is just all about helping people understand that they can have a wedding however they want to.

I am a big believer in tradition, but I don't know if all of the traditions with weddings are really for me. For instance, who pays for what:

Bride's Family

• Invitations, announcements, and other wedding stationery
• Wedding consultant
• Location rental for both ceremony and reception
• Food and Drink
• Musicians
• Flower arrangements (not including bouquets for bride and bridesmaids, corsages for mothers, and boutonnieres for groomsmen)
• Wedding photography
• Groom's ring
• Gifts for attendants, parents, and groom
• Bridesmaid's luncheon
• Attire for bride and parents
• Travel to the wedding city and lodging for bride's wedding party and close family

Groom's Family

• Bride's ring
• Marriage license and other legal documents
• Gifts for attendants, parents, and bride
• Officiant's fee
• Bridal bouquet, boutonnieres for best man and groomsmen
• Attire for parents and groom
• Travel to the wedding city and lodging for groom's wedding party and close family
• Rehearsal dinner
• Honeymoon
• Groom's family photo album

Seriously though, I know that neither my parents, nor J.D.'s parents, have the money to pay for ALL of that, and I know that we also don't have that kind of money. So I have to be thrifty and efficient with the way that I decide to spend our money, and yes I did word that correctly. J.D. is not an uninvolved man by any means, and he openly shares his opinions about what he likes/dislikes, but because he is a rockstar, and he knows that a wedding will be more important to me then it will be for him, he gives me the final veto and say so. He is sweet and I love it! And don't worry I know that it would be his wedding too. I have know idea what we are going to do yet.