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Miss Stripes’ post on the blogosphere’s battle and interpretation of “blog-worthy” weddings really compelled me to take a deeper look into my wedding planning fanaticism.
I have openly proclaimed my love for photography and stalker-like behavior that has produced such series as the “So You Want to be a Model” and “the Photo Checklist“. And like most brides, I want my wedding to be pretty. Sitting back and thinking about it, I realized that the sentiment is equally important. And even though we’re including a lot of “us” in our ceremony and throughout… I have realized that I need more.
Long ago, I fell in love with this DIY project.
I had this vision of putting vintage books together with some ribbon for our ring bearer. It’s not a huge expense, not a huge DIY project, and a nod to our romance with the academy. Looking back on this simple decision, I realized that the only reason I really wanted these books was for “the look”. There’s certainly nothing wrong with that. I bought my dress for “the look”. But it bothered me. This is an area that didn’t need to be about just 1 photographic image.
So I turned to our own bookshelves for inspiration. I found these.
We start with Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Mr. Hot Wings’ proposal included discussion of this book. I was obsessed with it at the time because Gladwell argues that geniuses aren’t born, they’re created. On average, you become an expert after 10,000 hours of practice. Mr. Hot Wings had attempted to calculate how long how many hours we had been together. He’s cute. We work hard on our relationship so this metaphor really matches well we approach our relationship. In our humble opinion, good relationships are created with a lot of hard work.
Second, we have Not for Tourists: Guide to Chicago from 2004. Mr. Hot Wings and I met in 2004 in Chicago.
And a major pivotal moment in our relationship happened when Mama and Papa Hot Wings invited Mr. Hot Wings to Vietnam with us to visit family. This book (along with help from the Vietnamese Association of Illinois) helped him to learn enough Vietnamese to impress our extended family.
And it makes this…
I jazzed it up with a DIY bloom I made out of gold satin.
I’ll actually remove the brooch and pull the string through the flower so we can tie the rings. Maybe it’s not as “blog-worthy”, but it’s so us. It’s so personal.
What do you think? What are some ways you’ve sacrificed “blogworthy” aesthetic for something truly personal and meaningful in your wedding?
Love it. Totally an awesome choice.
I think a lot of our wedding was about the sentimentality, versus the blog-worthy aspect. Sometimes I get the feeling that our details weren’t “pretty” enough when I look at other fabulous weddings online, but the day was so us and that suits me just fine.
I really appreciate this post. In planning our wedding, I’ve struggled a lot with motivations behind all of our wedding decisions. I feel like vintage books have gotten trendy in weddings lately, and I love the fact that you created a project that is meaningful to you and Mr. Hot Wings. That’s what it’s all about! 
I think details like that are much more romantic than some of the cutest ideas in the blogosphere - even if no one else sees which books are in there, I bet you’ll smile on your wedding day to know that they were there.
totally blog worthy! i love that they’re so personal to you.
I think that in this day and age too many people focus on the wedding and not the marriage. That’s part of why I love this site. So many of you do little things that make your weddings “YOU” I think this is a wonderful project that would have been pretty with books like your inspiration picture, but its absolutely perfect with the books you used. My finacee and I have been partners from the beginning and I agree with you and Mr. Hot Wings that a relationship takes work.
i’m all for personalization, so i think your book stack is perfect! and I also declare it blog-worthy, since it’s in a blog 
LOL, I totally wrote a post recently [on my personal blog] about how unblogworthy my wedding was. Aside from weddingbee (on which um, *I* featured my own wedding in my recaps), nobody wanted my wedding. Oh well, it was quirky and not very matchy, and it was us. I really love your books-ring “pillow” and totally think *it* is blogworthy!
I like it! and I want to make one too!
I like this! And I like that it’s something any of us can do - not one of those how-did-they-DO-that(?!?!!??) projects.
I heart your ring “pillow.” What a clever way to put a very thoughtful touch into your wedding day.
Do you think you’ll explain the significance of each book in your program? Or let people guess?
I like that you’re books are personal to your relationship. It makes it special and I think mentioning why you picked those books in your program could be cool.
I love how personal it is. Could you maybe cover them in fabric or paper like middle school book covers and use stickers/stamps to add the names to the outside if you really wanted them to macht your theme…. not that it is necessary b/c I think it is great how personal and meaningful they are to your relationship. BTW totally agree on your work for a good relationship approach. We were told once by someone older and wiser that for a successful marriage you had to decide you wanted it to work… it doesn’t just work on it’s own.
Adorable! My husband is such a bookworm-this would have been perfect save for the fact we didn’t have a ring bearer. Chicago-woot!
I *love* all of the thought behind this…and that, in itself, makes it blogworthy.
I think it’s so much better that you picked books that mean something to you.
It does not matter whether it is “blog-worthy” or not. It matters whether it means something to you and to Mr. Hot Wings. In the end, as much as you share with all the bees, your wedding is about you and your husband-to-be starting your marriage together, and your relationship is I’m sure much more about the stuff it’s made of and not much at all of what you look like to the rest of the world. I don’t read this site to be in awe of others’ plans, but to feel a camaraderie with a community of women going through the same planning process as I am.
I love the use of personal books to make the ringbearer’s “pillow,” and I think the photo is completely worth our time to look at!
I think you have a winner here. It’s so much more personal and meaningful and still quite pretty.
I really love it and it’s totally blogworthy! I love how special it is for you all too.
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Mrs. Hot Wings, Chicago/San Diego Age and Occupation: 28, Professor Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Instructor Engagement Date: December 20, 2008 Wedding Date: August 2010 Venue: Ocean View Villas/Jasmine Seafood Restaurant About Me: I am a psychology grad student living in Chicago and planning my wedding to a fellow psych grad student. I am a Sunny So-Cal bred gal who trudged across the country to follow her love of psychology and ended up finding a partner in the process. I am overly passionate about anything I involve myself with. I am an activist, a foodie, a reality TV watching junkie, an over-analyzer, a photography obsesser, and am utterly cheesy to the core. This is a story of what happens when a boy and a girl meet, fall in love over academic dorkiness, and a shared love for life. We (mostly I) are planning our semi-destination wedding in my hometown of San Diego. We are excited to bring our families and friends together from across our lifespans to celebrate our future in a grand 400+ person culturally blended affair!
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