Temple of Groom: Ten Thousand Only exclusive interview!

Days after I got engaged I found a blog that opened my wedding eyes. It not only got me more excited to plan my wedding, but it got me in the blogging mood. The blog is called "Ten Thousand Only" and it followed one girl from pre-engagement to present day (post wedding). It was so fun to read about a fellow Angelino on a tight budget ($10,000 - obviously) who wanted to throw a fun party. In a way, I loved it because I felt like she did a lot of the leg work for our wedding planning. I already knew the spots that were going to be too expensive, and she's given us ideas on where to cut corners. All that being said, I'm a fan and I was thrilled to score an interview with her and thought I would share it with you guys.

- Why did you start your blog?

I had been reading a few wedding blogs as part of a long list of daily detractors. i realized that there were weddings i liked reading about and ones that turned me off. i gave myself a dream budget* and thought it through. if i researched as much as the ladies on these blogs, could i do it? could i possibly throw a $10,000 wedding? a $10,000 wedding i would l-o-v-e? could i would i?

- I've already purchased my Gocco, and foresee a lot of DIY projects on my horizon to help cut costs, what were your DIY successes? Was there a project that you tried and wished you just spent the money to have someone else do it (aka a DIY disaster?). I really hope it wasn't the Gocco.

can i just tell you how much i LOVE the gocco? i love it. i don't know how to do anything fancy with it. but i'm a whiz at the basics. there's something about printing your own stuff that makes you feel like the craftiest craftmaster on the planet. when you're clearly not.
i've gocco'd invites, thank you cards, note cards, paper, anything i can get my hands on, etc...and i haven't come across a project i've regretted yet. and now i've just jinxed myself.

- How active was your fiance (the groom)? Did he help you plan?

he wasn't the driver, really ever, during the planning process because i'm the one who'd been researching all this wedding stuff for a year before we even got engaged. he'd been following the blog so he kind of knew where it was all headed. i think he sort of took a step back to let me just do my thing. and when i needed his help, he was right there. it worked for us.

- What decisions, if any, did he make? Was there anything that he wanted to take charge of in planning?

there wasn't a project he wanted to own. we kind of just did things together, made decisions together. neither of us was ever staunchly against what the other person wanted. lucky, huh.

- What's the best advice you could give an engaged couple about to have a wedding on a tight budget? How about a couple living in LA looking to have an LA wedding?

to the engaged couple on a tight budget: be flexible.
to the LA couple looking to have an LA wedding: be flexible.
one of the dumbest/smartest things i learned was that...you can't have a $50,000 wedding on a $10,000 budget. and yes, i had to learn that.

- What is your favorite time travel device (ie the Delorean, the glowing spinning time warp wall, the giant old timey metal contraption that spins till it disappears, etc)?

hiro isn't a time travel device but he's the master of time and space. so...hiro.

- Now, if you were to use that time travel device to go back in time and change one thing about your wedding, what would it be?

i wouldn't change any aspect of the wedding itself. but there are some details that were overlooked that i do regret. first, i would confirm the ceremony program with our officiant to make sure that we were on the same page (we so weren't). second, i would make sure we formally thanked all of our guests (we got caught up in the frenzy and didn't make the announcement we wanted) and went around to greet each of them (we only got to half of our guests. double argh). but, i couldn't help the logistics that got swept out of my control. that's just the way it is. everyone says the time is short and it totally is...and i absolutely couldn't wrap myself around the fronts and ends of everything that was happening. plus i was trying my best to just soak it all in. so...i was kind of busy.

- What's the best thing that's come from your blogging?

what a loaded question. a million things.
there were a lot of times while i was planning when i felt cautious, worried, anxious. if i do this, what will people think. if i don't do that, what will people say. over and over and over again.
and what TTO offered was some of the most sane, wise, encouraging advice through readers and fellow bloggers. it was pretty amazing. i mean, i wasn't an experienced or inspirational blogger of any kind...i was just a stranger who jumped in and started blogging blindly and anonymously without knowing much about anything.

but in the end, the blog was a major influence on how our wedding turned out. and we were so effing happy. and in the best possible way.