And a 7th: Don't text a picture of your engagement ring to people who neither are invited to your wedding nor ask to see it. It says, "I don't like you, but I want you to know that I have a diamond."
Sorry for the Mafioso title; Paul and I recently started watching The Sopranos for the first time…the day BEFORE James Gandolfini died.
It’s a symptom of your early 30s (in my part of the country anyway): The wedding invitations gradually stop showing and baby shower invitations start picking up. In fact, this year, Paul and I were invited to only two weddings. On May 19th, my friend Jenn married her longtime love, Karina, and then, for the first time in nine years, Paul and I didn’t have a single engaged friend. Continue reading
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
Having worked for wedding magazines and websites and blogged about weddings, I’ve learned a few things along the way. My friends know this. My Twitter followers do, too. And because the world of weddings can be downright confusing, they often turn to me when they have a planning conundrum or an etiquette question. Some queries pop up more than others. So consider this the FAQs page on my site for brides and wedding guests. Continue reading
There are a lot of things wedding guests have every right to expect from the couple hosting the reception. That they’ll be fed enough that they don’t have to leave mid-wedding in a hunger-fueled frenzy to hit up a Burger King. That the conditions will be comfortable, as in an A/C is on if it’s 85 degrees out, the heat’s on if it’s 45, and if it’s outdoors, the venue isn’t infested with mosquitoes. That every effort will be made to show them a good time–so there’s music for listening and, with any luck, for dancing too. But there’s at least one expectation that I don’t have. Continue reading
I love wedding ceremonies, but I wouldn’t have faulted any of our guests if they chose to skip witnessing our vows. Despite brides’ best efforts, ceremonies can be boring. (Besides, I’ve missed the temple portion of bar/bat mitzvahs–listening to someone in the middle of puberty sing in Hebrew at 10 AM on a Saturday can be downright painful.) But other couples want full attendance for the ceremony so badly, they may use this trick I just heard about to get them there. Continue reading
It seems there are two general schools of thought on hosting a wedding on a holiday: It’s always okay and it’s never okay. Really, though, there are some special days that are better for weddings than others. But even those better holidays come with caveats. Continue reading
I didn't eat ALL that...just most of it. Paul ate the rest.
Hurricane Sandy had the power to knock out wedding venues’ electricity, and worse, flood them to the point of destruction. While losing your venue so soon before your wedding is horrific, it’s an obvious problem, one you’re hyper-aware you need to remedy. Other Sandy effects, like those that follow, aren’t as apparent–and you may not even know about them until it’s too late. Continue reading
Brides have to stick together. After all, no one better understands why it’s of the utmost importance that you have Vanda orchids and not Dendrobium orchids in your centerpieces. So let’s not piss each other off, okay? See if you agree with me that these are the cruelest things women getting married can do to each other. Continue reading