Spoiler Alert: Almost Everyone on ‘Bridezillas: Where Are They Now’ Is Divorced

Posted on May 18, 2013 by meredith

While we were planning our wedding and for the couple years after when my livelihood depended on writing for brides, I watched a lot of wedding TV shows, including the weekly train wreck known as Bridezillas. These days, I’m more likely to flip to HGTV on a weekend morning to catch house-hunting shows. Today, though, when Love It or List It went to commercial, I changed to We TV (hey, I get to watch this stuff only when Paul’s sleeping—I’ve got to take advantage!). And while what I saw shouldn’t have surprised me, it made me sad. Continue reading →

10 Things the Best Wedding Ceremonies Have in Common

Posted on May 2, 2013 by meredith

I was fortunate enough to go to a fabulous wedding the other day (congrats and mazel, Lauren and Jon!), and even though the music was pumping, the setting was top-notch, and the food was flawless, it’s their ceremony’s that stuck with me. I realized as different as it was from every other of the 22 I’ve attended (yes, I counted), the most enjoyable ones shared some key characteristics. Continue reading →

The Boston Marathon Wedding That Bombs Couldn’t Stop

Posted on April 16, 2013 by meredith

Mere blocks away from the chaos and carnage that marred the annual Boston Marathon, a more serene scene was the background for a very special wedding for two runners. As Buzzfeed reports, a pair of athletes, who got engaged at the Chicago Marathon last October, planned their nuptials immediately to follow the Boston Marathon long before anyone had any inkling that a tragedy would take place there. Less than four hours after dual explosions rocked the Back Bay, Kelli Johnston and Robert Watling tied the knot in their running shoes in Boston Common. The couple thankfully had completed the race before the bombs detonated. Continue reading →

Marriage First: You’re the Only Couple Without Kids

Posted on April 5, 2013 by meredith

My best friend’s son, Grady, turned one the other day, and Paul and I headed up to Albany to celebrate. The first birthday party, which had a bug theme, was beyond adorable (photographic evidence here); being the only guests who hadn’t yet procreated was less so. Continue reading →

5 Reasons to Get Pregnant on Your Honeymoon–and 5 Not to

Posted on March 27, 2013 by meredith

When I got married at 25, I couldn’t think of a single pro to trying for a baby immediately after our wedding. Now that I’m 30, I’m starting to get it (as did half the newly pregnant women I know). Still, if you’re thinking about getting knocked up days after I do–or if you’re not dead-set against it–consider the following. Continue reading →

Marriage First: There’s a Clear Breadwinner in the Relationship

Posted on March 18, 2013 by meredith

Despite our very different careers, Paul and I were neck-and-neck with our salaries since we joined the workforce in 2004. Until last year. Continue reading →

Wedding WTF: Who’s the Worst Offender? Edition 1

Posted on March 9, 2013 by meredith

I love when readers message the Merital Bliss Facebook page and tweet at me to share their Wedding WTFs. And I’ve gotten so many jaw-dropping stories lately, I’ve decided to turn it into a game, part I of which is below. Read on and then comment to tell me who you think committed the worst wedding crime. Continue reading →

Can You Really Ever Spend Too Much Time with Your Spouse?

Posted on March 2, 2013 by meredith

That's Bert dancing on the left. Just kidding; he wasn't invited to this happy hour.

The other day, like many other Thursday nights, Paul and I went to a bar with our friends. It just so happens that all of those friends are Paul’s coworkers. Which led one of his colleagues, with whom we’re not buddies and to whom we weren’t talking, to accuse Paul of the following. Continue reading →

Attention Married People: Don’t Pose for a Photo Like THIS

Posted on February 24, 2013 by meredith

This past Friday, Paul went to his friend’s birthday party. I wasn’t feeling great (I’ll blame the free buffet at the Chinese New Year celebration in our apartment complex), so I stayed in. A pal of the birthday boy went around taking pictures of the revelers, including this unfortunate one of my husband. Continue reading →

I Married My Middle-School Bully

Posted on February 21, 2013 by meredith

Everyone who knew me at Paulo Intermediate School knew at least two things about me: that I had big teeth (still do) and that I had a big crush on my classmate, Paul. Telling everyone I encountered about the object of my affection embarrassed Paul; he’d gone through physical puberty before his brain had a chance to catch up. In retaliation for the humiliation, and probably in an effort to inspire me to move on to the next poor, unsuspecting sixth-grader, Paul teased me mercilessly. Continue reading →