Archive for October, 2011

Invitation Wording For Smart Cookies Part 3

Thursday, October 13th, 2011


For the last two days, I’ve been schooling you in how to properly word a wedding invitation. Well today we’re going to cover the burning question of how to work the wording when the couple in question is a same-sex one.

Traditionally, the form is ladies first. The bride’s parents were responsible for the entire celebration, and it was often the one day of her life that a woman got to be seriously celebrated. The world has changed, but ladies first is still the rule.

So how do we deal if there are two ladies getting married? What about when it’s two guys and there isn’t a lady to go first?
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Invitation Wording For Smart Cookies Part 2

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011


Yesterday we talked briefly about the standard forms for wording wedding invitations… and now we start getting into the finer points. What do you do when your parents have divorced? What if they’ve remarried? Multiple times? What if one of your parents has, sadly, passed on?

Not to panic. There are forms that have developed over time, because no matter your situation, you are not the first one facing it.
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Invitation Wording for Smart Cookies Pt. 1

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011


If you’ve never had to decide on the wording of a wedding invitation before, it can be a confusing task. Pleasure of your company or honor of your presence? Whose parents’ names come first? How about divorce or dead parents? Two grooms or two brides? Who gets listed first then? Can’t I just send out a viral evite?

Don’t panic. It’s really not as complicated as all that. You just need to know what the rules are and how they affect your choices. Also? Nobody ever died of an ill-worded wedding invitation, so it’s okay to lighten up a bit.
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Quickie Question: What’s the Most Bizarre Piece of Wedding Advice You’ve Gotten?

Monday, October 10th, 2011


It’s a fact. Weddings bring out the weird in people.

Sometimes it’s charming and quirky… and sometimes it’s just one huge wth? moment from beginning to end.

But one aspect where it’s virtually guaranteed to come crawling out of the woodwork is in the area of advice. Nearly everyone has an opinion, and many of them feel that the announcement of an impending wedding is carte blanche to express them at will at the happy couple.

I got a couple of doozies. Probably the most heartfelt was from a befuddled gentleman of my acquaintance who informed me that I needed to make Mr. Twistie get me a new engagement ring because engagement rings are diamonds, and without a diamond my marriage was simply doomed. No, really, my marriage is doing just fine entirely sans diamonds. And I’m the one who chose the silver frog prince. Mr. Twistie was kind of confused with the choice at first, too, but he’s used to my meandering to a very different drummer. I don’t even march to it!

One lady I know was fervently urged to only do her ironing while her husband was away at work, lest his seeing her do housework destroy the mystery. Yeah, that one might have been more helpful if he wasn’t the one doing the laundry.

So what about you? Has anyone given you a piece of wedding/marriage advice that made you really scratch your head? What was it?

He Loves Her, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Sunday, October 9th, 2011


Little did I realize when I woke up this morning and tossed on my Paul McCartney concert tee how appropriate it was.

For today, you see, was Sir Paul’s third wedding day.
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Twistie’s Sunday Caption Madness: The Disturbing Bridal Snack Edition

Sunday, October 9th, 2011

Hey ho, camperinos! It’s time once again to play Twistie’s Sunday Caption Madness!

You all know how this works. I find a picture that’s howling at the moon for a funny caption or seventeen and post it here. You provide said captions via the comments function throughout the week. Next saturday I declare a winner and we all live happily ever after. Or at least get a couple good chuckles.

This week’s image comes from the I’m never eating pepperoni and pineapple pizza right before bed again file, and it looks a little like this:

Ready… set… snark!

The Joy of Blank Slates

Friday, October 7th, 2011


When you announce you’re getting married, everyone has expectations. You have expectations, your parents have expectations, sisters, cousins, aunts, co-workers, and random strangers on the street have expectations. Vendors certainly have expectations, as do officiants.

But the fact of the matter is that 98.735% of all of those expectations are based on what is typically done, not on what’s required. The actual legal requirements of getting married here in the USA are pretty minimalist. They’ve even decreased in the years since Mr. Twistie and I tied the knot. When we got married, California still required blood tests. Now most states have dropped that requirement. Several have opened their legal arms to same-sex couples. More will no doubt follow.

And when it comes to religious requirements, well, the vast majority of those are concerned entirely with the marriage ceremony itself. Several faiths do require premarital counseling, and a couple have requirements that may affect your menu. Still, most faiths are more concerned with the wording of the ceremony than the activities at the reception.

When you get right down to it, everything from the bride dressing in white to the tossing of the bouquet and garter, to carrying flowers, to going on a honeymoon afterwards is a matter of tradition or fashion. It’s not written in stone.

That means if you want to wear an unexpected color, like this light green Vera Wang gown from her 2012 collection:

… you’re perfectly free to do so.
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