I had to delurk to talk about APW.  I haven't been reading for that long (maybe 6 months), but I agree, the book tour posts were unnecessary.  I generally really like the guest posts, are annoyed by the sponsor posts (there is one APW sponsor in my city, making most of these posts irrelevant to me) and can go either way on the "ask team practical" posts.  I think the ATP posts bother me because the advice usually boils down to "did you read these three APW posts on the topic and this chapter in the APW book?"  I can only handle so much of Meg's tone so the book was kind of lost on me.  Basically, I like the general message of the site, but the execution sometimes rubs me the wrong way.

Yes to this! I love APW but definitely get the feeling in the comments section that it's Meg's way or the highway. I've seen respectfully-written comments that gently disagree with something that she or the guest writer has said, and then she jumps all over them and acts like an immature drama club high school student. It really cheapens APW when she acts like that. Has turned me off from all posts written by her.

smd16 said

This is awesome! I have also googled for an APW outlet. I really appreciated APW while I was planning my wedding and still read the 'Reclaiming Wife' posts and just skip everything else. I do agree that a blog like this is really important and I recommend it all the time. But, Meg…One thing that really bugs me about her, in addition to everything else mentioned, is the way that she portrays her relationship as so special and perfect. It's impressive that anyone writes guest posts about having a crappy time after Meg has such a condescending tone about their perfect vacation, their perfect first year of marriage, their perfect way of handling money, etc.  She is definitely very KERF about comments, too.

This is very, very true. The message of the blog, that weddings, marriage, life, all of that is messy and complicated and not what conventional wedding sites are telling you, is seriously undermined by her condescending and know-it-all attitude. Her marriage is always the perfect example of having overcome all those problem the unwashed masses are still grappling with. I completely respect not sharing too many personal details online, and I would never blog about my own marriage, but that doesn't mean you have to then act as though your relationship is perfect.

I think Meg is a very bossy person by nature, and she thinks it's a charming attribute, but it's really not. I also think she is the kind of person who thinks she is much more interesting than she is. She brags about her wedding, her sense of style, her educational and professional background, all in ways that are really antithetical to the message of the blog. But furthermore, she just isn't nearly as fascinating as she is so sure she is. (Like newsflash: you are not the first person to do a degree in theater in this world, or to like, travel to Britain on your honeymoon, or whatever. So stop mentioning it in every post and tweet and whatnot as though this makes you some kind of trailblazer. See also how brilliant your "vintage" fashion sense is.)

violetbeauregard said

I think Meg is a very bossy person by nature, and she thinks it's a charming attribute, but it's really not. I also think she is the kind of person who thinks she is much more interesting than she is. She brags about her wedding, her sense of style, her educational and professional background, all in ways that are really antithetical to the message of the blog. But furthermore, she just isn't nearly as fascinating as she is so sure she is. 

I don't hang out with a lot of theater people (or even former drama kids) but this attitude does seem to go along with it to some degree.  Is that really often the case, or am I just overgeneralizing? I have a dear friend who was also a theater major in college, and one of the few things that drives me nuts about her is her tendency to do something ever so slightly quirkyand then proclaim herself adorable for it. (In her case, this is more likely to be met with rolled eyes on her friends' part rather than a dozen blog comments lauding her for it, though.)