rebel brides

When I started planning my wedding back in July, I did what I expect most engaged women do… make a list of everything that I needed to do in the coming months. I used the wedding checklists of the knot and checked out pictures from general wedding sites and then I got to thinking…

Why

Why do I have to have a receiving line, why do I have to pick $200 bridesmaid dresses, why do I have to get married in a church, why do I have to register for stuff when I already have enough stuff, why do we need to have programs, awkward first dances, expensive white china, a huge white poofy dress, chicken or fish, a traditional ceremony if neither of us are religious, and the list goes on and on…

Why?

The reason is because our society has created an insane wedding industry that pushes tradition and $25K+ weddings.

So my wonderful fiancé and I decided to break the mold and have a wedding that reflected US. We are having a 60s & 70s theme DIY wedding with classic rock & fake mustaches. It’s going to be a big party and a ton of fun. It’s going to be affordable and memorable. It’s going to have fake mustaches and tattoos as table gifts and Diana Ross wigs for after the ceremony. It might even have karaoke.

My tip: Don’t be afraid to have the wedding YOU want. If you’re doing traditional stuff just because it is what is deemed ‘normal.’ STOP. Do yourself a favor, ask yourself ‘WHY’, cut out the weird stuff, and plan a wedding about YOU.

Now go for it! 

If you’re like the majority of couples today, you are already living in wonderful sin with your partner/fiancé like I am. OOPS – teehee! Over the months and years of living together, it’s safe to assume you’ve accumulated, well, a ton of stuff. You probably don’t need or even want another set of dishes, pots, sheet sets and all of that materialistic crap you think you should register for because that’s what normal people do. If you agree, why not think about registering for a down payment on a house or even for your honeymoon? Don’t worry ladies and gents, I’ve checked with all the legit sources (the knots and such) and registering for your honeymoon is completely accepted and welcomed. 

Several honeymoon registry websites already exist and allow you to register for specific activities, which is a great alternative to those his and hers towels that you will hang in your bathroom, but never use. Flights, a rental car, massages, wine, breakfast in bed, cooking classes – anything is game on a honeymoon registry. Instead of that extra chip and dip plate, why not let your guests give you a memory. Many of the websites connect directly with your Paypal account or offer to send a check directly to you and you use the money from the registry to do the fun things your guests chose for you.

I’ve researched, compared and I unwaveringly recommend Honeyfund.com. We are using them for our wedding. There are no fees, they don’t take a percentage of your monetary gift, you can choose activities from a list or make your own, and put information on there for your wedding and honeymoon. SCORE!

Imagine the most amazing Honeymoon  you could and now imagine it’s basically free! Check it out for yourself and start planning the Honeymoon of your Dreams! 

http://www.honeyfund.com/

Welcome to RebelBrides.Com: A blog about brides, weddings and all things untraditional, DIY, affordable and just basically badass!!! If you’re engaged, planning your wedding, recently married, or you just enjoy checking out fun and crazy weddings, you’ll love it here. Here you’ll learn secret tips and tricks you need to know to have the most awesomely fantastic wedding for pennies on the dollar and how to boycott all that traditional crap and get married how YOU want to. YES!  

How did I come to write this blog, you ask? Recently engaged, I found myself in the throes of uncharted territory: trying to plan a fun, unorthodox wedding with a budget that could rival most grocery budgets for the month. I found myself rebelling against everything that was deemed ‘normal’ after finding out how much a traditional wedding disgustingly costs. YUCK! I was ready to jump into DIY wedding mode and, thankfully, my amazing fiancée agreed. We easily made the decision to have the wedding WE wanted: one that screamed Dustin & Mimi. 

I gladly put on my nerd glasses and started researching and then kept on researching (i <3 researching, *sigh*) and I found some really cool sites, interesting ideas, great deals, and surprising results. I kept on thinking, man, I wish I could share what I’ve learned with all brides and grooms. In my days and days of probing the Internet, I’ve discovered everything from where to find unique, green wedding rings to how to plan an all-out theme wedding to the answer to what is cheaper? to rent or buy tablecloths (answer coming shortly) and so on… Basically, I just want to share my knowledge so here I am. 

OK – well I have just about a thousand thoughts running through my head about what to write next so make sure to subscribe to read more!