Hi! I'm Taryn, a writer, designer and soon-to-be-bride from Atlanta, Georgia. Sit a spell with me and catch up as I plan the wedding of my beer-loving, confetti-throwing dreams to the wonderful Mr. Williford.How to Turn a Blogger into a Bride
Hi, I’m Taryn. Maybe you knew that, and maybe you didn’t. But what you should know is that (a) I’m getting married next fall and (b) I can’t do anything without blogging about it.
I studied magazine journalism in college, then started writing for Apartment Therapy about home tech and interior design. Somewhere along the way, I decided to start a lifestyle blog, Formal Fringe, and discovered that creating recipes, styling parties and developing do-it-yourself projects brings me hours of both frustration and oozing-out-of-my-pores joy.
(Thankfully, it’s been way more of the latter. And to be honest, every paper-crumpling, glue-stick-throwing ounce of frustration can be traced back to my perfectionist nature. I’ve got nobody to blame but myself for that one.)
I revel in being crafty and dreaming up party themes. And most of all I love having the ability to save money and make something really personal by learning the skills people pay pros to do. I’ll never be quite as good as somebody who’s spent years practicing their trade, but there’s a lot I can do in a pinch to add something special to a party or gift and still make ends meet. Things like floral design or envelope calligraphy or building a wedding website.
Which brings me to my next perfectionist project: Our wedding.
J.R. and I were engaged in May and we immediately started planning this big shindig we’re hosting for a hundred of our best friends and closest family.
According to people like David Tutera* and bridal consultants who try to sell $25,000 dresses, this wedding is supposed to be the best day of our lives. But for it to truly be the best day of our lives (I consider “not sending us into bankruptcy” an important benchmark for a good day), I would need to ignore the David Tuteras* and financially-out-of-touch sales ladies of the world and stick to my guns. Things are way more special and cost far less when you can do them yourself.
So here, on this self-published blog, is where I’ll detail my experiences—the good, the bad and the frustrating—in planning a hands-on, love-filled, totally-us wedding with nothing but the cash in our pockets and a desire to learn to do it all.
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* No disrespect to Mr. Tutera. His weddings are ridiculous in the best way. He’s the bridal Xzibit, pimping weddings instead of cars. He’s all, “I heard you like the circus so I put a trapeze artist in the centerpieces.” Who can’t get behind that?
