The Rebel Chick

Miami Lifestyle Blogger - Miami Blog

Tell Me About Your Dream Wedding! $50 PayPal #Giveaway

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You know the saying that every little girl dreams of her wedding day? I wasn’t that little girl…in fact, I never put any great importance on getting married or what my wedding would be like. So when Chris and I decided to get married only a few short months after meeting, it came as no surprise to my family that I had no grand plans for our wedding day.

We went to the courthouse with his aunt as our witness and exchanged our vows – but that wasn’t good enough for my family!

TheRebelChick wedding day

My dad wanted to walk me down the aisle, and I can’t blame him for that now, can I? My mom wanted to see me in a wedding dress, my grandparents wanted to see their grandbaby get married…weddings aren’t just about the bride and groom, they are a family affair!

We settled on having a small ceremony at my cousin’s church in North Carolina, where most of my family lives. We timed it to occur the day before our annual family reunion so that lots of people would be in town, and we held our “reception” at the family reunion itself.

It was no big deal.

TheRebelChick wedding day

I never regretted having that small, informal wedding until I was older and my friends started getting married. After getting swept up in the ceremony of it all, I began to wish that I too, had gone wedding dress shopping, tasted cakes, picked out table settings…so much so that I decided that I wanted to have a wedding vow renewal on our 10 year anniversary!

I even bought a wedding dress. 

Unfortunately, Chris changed jobs that year, and began traveling every month for work. It was just too hectic to try to coordinate a ceremony, so we never went through with it. We have been married for 13 years now, and I fully intend on renewing our vows on our 15th anniversary – with all of the pomp and circumstance that my wedding lacked.

When I hear friends talk about not caring about their wedding day, I always feel that I need to interject and tell them about my own regrets. In the moment, it might seem like a fancy wedding is a waste of money and unnecessary, but as the years go bye, it’s entirely possible that they will regret it, just like I have.

If you are engaged and in the midst of the small wedding vs elaborate affair decision, I implore you to think twice! Planning a wedding doesn’t have to be a nightmare, it can actually be very simple and elegant – and inexpensive if you do it right. There are so many resources out there to help you along the way, like http://directory.bride.com.au/planner. It’s an online wedding planner that can help take the hassle out of planning your wedding! You can organize and track your wedding tasks, find helpful advice from real brides – there are even online wedding planners to help you every step of the way!

If you do use http://www.bride.com.au to help plan your wedding, I would love to hear about your results! Make sure to come back here and share – I might need your advice and recommendations when it comes time to start planning my vow renewal!

In the meantime, here’s a little something to help you either plan your wedding or keep the romance alive if you’re already married!

Enter to win a $50 PayPal Cash Giveaway!

This giveaway is open worldwide, and ends on March 19th, 2014 at midnight EST. One winner will be selected using Random.org.

Mandatory Entry – Leave me a comment telling me about your dream wedding. If you’re already married, that’s okay, we can still pine away for a do over!

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Comments

  10. I wish I had gotten married on the beach in a lovely …long gown.I wish I had rented a bed and breakfast for all the bridesmaids and grooms men to stay after. I wish I had gone on a honeymoon to New Orleans.I had the court wedding and then a small church wedding afterwards to please my relatives….I regret this now.

    Reply

  12. pinterest follow as rachel crisman. Oh and you looked really lovely in your wedding dress.I looked like a puffer fish in mine.HA!

    Reply

  15. We went to the courthouse on a Monday night to get married. I don’t regret that, because I’ve seen how stressful weddings can be. If I could renew my vows, I’d want to have a beach ceremony.

    Reply

  27. We had a nice intimate ceremony at home with friends and family from all over, it was fantastic, but if I could get a second one, I’d love to get hitched on the beaches of Bora Bora 🙂

    Reply

  33. When we got married we went to the Justice of the Peace. It was what we wanted and I don’t regret it one bit. I would like to renew our vows on te beach in Maui. That would be perfect.

    Reply

  40. I had my dream wedding in 2002, with my mom’s help we managed to pull off a really nice day and everyone had a great time. The best wedding for me has dancing, great food and lots of friends and family.

    Reply

  51. I was lucky enough to have my dream wedding. We were married at the Chicago Botanic Garden surrounded by our closest family and friends. It was perfect.

    (Not brown-nosing here, but you were a stunning bride!)

    Reply

  64. Your photos are pretty. I married a military man 37 years ago. We spent 20 years in the Navy traveling & I will never regret that time we got to shared with our daughter. One of the hardest things to do is be a military wife but it really makes you stronger as a person and as a couple. I too had a fast small wedding ceremony & though like you, I loved it but would have done it a bit different in hindsight. More pictures taken, flowers placed to enjoy & just longer in the celebration of it in time. But as long as you love them & are happy, that;s all we really hope for & feel blessed that God granted us. Sometimes my 37 years to my better half, feels like just yesterday. But I wouldn’t change a thing.Blessed years with yours as well. 🙂 ~Julie

    Reply

  68. Dream Wedding! I would love to have a really rustic barn event, but barns are very expensive to rent out in our area! I’d love to have 150-200 people, with a live blue-grass band and amazing dessert buffet. As it stands, we’re getting married in September in our backyard, and I’m just as happy with that =)

    Reply

  76. We have been engaged for almost 7 years. We have come so close to getting married. But something has always come up. We keep putting it off. But honestly, I am ready to just head to the courthouse. But if I could have my dream wedding, it would be done in my aunt and uncles back yard. Everything would be DIY. We would have a big bonfire after the ceremony. Lots of laughter, family and friends. I have a dress, but it would like to have it altered to make it shorter and not so….big and poofy!

    Reply

  81. i also had a small wedding with a small 500 dollar budget. we got married on the beach and had the reception in a hall. I also want to renew my vows and have a nice wedding. this time i want to get married on the beach still but have a large ceremony in a fancy dress.

    Reply

  93. My wedding was actually perfect and exactly what I wanted. My family was all there, we had friends, and an old valued co-worker performed the ceremony. The dinner was so yummy and I loved our decorations. The only thing I would change is that my husband’s family would have come. They refused to acknowledge or show up. It sort of put a damper on things. 🙁 They’re no so nice people.

    Reply

  99. I can totally relate to you, my husband and I got eloped so we didn’t have any big family. I wouldn’t change it because our elopement was beautiful but I really missed having the wedding experience. Picking out a dress, having professional photos, having family there celebrating with me. Mabye someday we will have a ceremony!

    Reply

  108. Like most girls, I’ve dreamed about a wedding, but I don’t think I’ll ever get married. I’m 43 and childfree by choice and too paranoid to merge my finances with any man. Also weddings are so expensive, and my boyfriend and I couldn’t afford even the license at the moment. That doesn’t mean I’m not in love and prone to romance, though, and I’m hoping this relationship will last as long or longer than many weddings do. Two years and counting, so wish me luck! 🙂

    Reply

  114. My dream wedding would be at dusk in a park-like setting – twinkling white lights would be in the trees. Only friends and family would attend. Small ceremony yet elegant.

    Reply

  128. My dream wedding would be in the church I grew up with all my family and friends. With lots of flowers and sunshine shining in through the church windows 🙂

    Reply

  133. My dream wedding would probably be one in which I can incorporate the many nerdy things I love. I like reading about weddings where people have aspects of the things they love, fandoms, etc.

    Reply

  137. I am already married, but If I could do a do-over I would change so much! I was so nervous I basically just let my mother take over. Bad idea! it was beautiful, but not me at all!

    Reply

  174. My wedding almost 6 years ago was as close to perfect as it could be. However, I have always thought a beach wedding would be fun too!

    Reply

  182. I would love to have gotten married on a beach and a have small wedding with only the closets friends and family.

    Reply

  190. My dream wedding took place six years ago. Well a bit over six. My husband and I got married in the Valley of Fire in Nevada not far from Las Vegas. It was outdoors and just beautiful. Because we were outside we had as many or as few people as we wanted and it was just the right size. I absolutely loved my dress which was all princessy and sweet, and totally NOT what I had planned. I was thinking simple, but once I put that baby on, I had no intention of anything but. 🙂 The only draw back for me was our reception. I loved it. We had a small get together with everyone who came at a condo that my brother rented. The only regret is not having a special song to dance to with my husband and a father/daughter dance. If I were to change anything, it would be to add that aspect. All in all though, INCREDIBLE. It was simple yet special.

    Reply

  216. I’ve been married for 13 years this year, and I LOVED my wedding! It was a backyard, beer bin, cupcake, makeshift dancefloor affair. Loved it! But if I had to do it all over again, I’d go with a barefoot on the beach wedding in Hawaii! Nothing fancy, a plain white summer dress, shorts for my man, and probably some cheeseball puca shells! LOL

    coriwestphal at msn dot com

    Reply

  249. I would love to get married in an outdoor venue and have it really casual and have lots of food for the reception and no separate seating for the parties of the wedding and I don’t want to exclude kids but I would like a separate area for the kids so that they can have fun also

    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

    Reply

  255. When I got married, Pinterest didn’t exist! I would love to have all of that beautiful inspiration available to plan a wedding! I would have a church wedding with red roses~!

    Reply

  293. My DREAM wedding would be getting married in a castle in Ireland. My realistic dream wedding would be a ceremony, gown, family, reception, etc. Hubby and I got married over homeplate of a softball field with our team’s pitcher as our presiding officiant. I would like something “normal”!

    Reply

  420. We had a destination wedding to which friends but not relatives came. I’d like a reception, at least, for relatives in our hometown.

    Reply

  461. I want to get married on my death bed to the hottest woman in the world. Told you so, then die.

    Reply

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