I won't be posting much this week, as I try to take my annual week to reflect on the year, and make lists of goals for the year ahead. Plus, I'm preparing a monster post for you about Project Wedding Dress (yay!) It's not finished yet, but thus far it's turning out to be worth all of the pain and heartache involved.
My New Year's panderings have made me realize just how eventful this year has been. We got engaged, I started this blog, David transferred law schools, I took scads of night-school classes. We've been so busy it's been hard to think, but looking back over the year I'm grateful to all the many joys and the few disappointments. And if this year was big, next year is set to be a whopper of a year - we have piles of things to look forward to with the wedding being the cherry on top.
Setting out goals for this coming year has made me think about coping with the potential let down after the wedding, or post-nuptial depression, if you're being dramatic. Several of you have emailed me to ask for the practical approach to dealing with life post wedding. I am, of course, wildly unqualified to talk about this subject, but here are my thoughts:
Continue reading The Next Chapter
Archive for December, 2008
30
The Next Chapter
Dec
2008
29
It Happened
Dec
2008
I am not ashamed to admit that I've read Martha Stewart Weddings since 2006 (I just checked my bookshelf to give you an exact date). Maybe it was being the only girl in my urban-alt-theatre friend circle who actively wanted to get married one day, maybe it was my love of pretty things, I don't know. But I used to buy them in the subway station, and sneak read them on the train, so when I ran into someone I knew I didn't have to explain myself (hiding my addiction to Offbeat Bride was simpler). Lots of their weddings were froofy and gag-worthy and I mocked them, but every so often they had a wonderful homemade wedding, and I would sigh and swoon, hoping one day it would be me.
Today, as I was rushing through Rite Aid, I grabbed the new MSW, mostly out of habit. I read it without shame on the bus home (I have an alibi now), and in 10 minutes I was done with it, cold. It was an excellent issue, mind you, same pretty pictures as always, but life moves on. My wedding dress - not in the pages. My bridesmaids dresses - well, no. My colors? Right. No colors. And so. More and more I find that the articles I'm clipping these days are on long happy marriages, tiny babies, places to travel, ways to nest, or just my old standbys of politics and pithy news.
Continue reading It Happened
Today, as I was rushing through Rite Aid, I grabbed the new MSW, mostly out of habit. I read it without shame on the bus home (I have an alibi now), and in 10 minutes I was done with it, cold. It was an excellent issue, mind you, same pretty pictures as always, but life moves on. My wedding dress - not in the pages. My bridesmaids dresses - well, no. My colors? Right. No colors. And so. More and more I find that the articles I'm clipping these days are on long happy marriages, tiny babies, places to travel, ways to nest, or just my old standbys of politics and pithy news.
Continue reading It Happened
24
Update From Project Wedding Dress
Dec
2008
Update from the wedding dress front: I just finished standing for an hour while my sister wielded sharp pins in front of my face and threatened that So Help Her God, if I didn't stop wiggling, she'd pin the muslin TO me. Good thing I can make crazy faces and hum silly songs without wiggling. Well, good thing for me.Of course making a wedding dress is nothing like the making a wedding dress fantasy, where we all hold hands and hum, and create something so magical that the birds burst into song. It's a lot more about making something and then realizing you did it wrong and need to fix it, worrying that you are really making the worlds most boring dress and what were you even thinking, and trying to not be too cross with each other. But on we go. And on Christmas Eve no less. When I get back to San Francisco I'll have more photos and stories, but until then, I was hoping everyone could think really happy thoughts in our direction at once. It's quite nerve wracking, making a wedding dress from scratch, and we can use all the help we can get.
Continue reading Update From Project Wedding Dress
18
Vacation (whee!)
Dec
2008
I'm officially on vacation for a week (starting now! hooray!) which means my blog posting will be a little less regular. I'll still be popping in from time to time updating you on Project Wedding Dress and other projects, but I'll also be spending time digging some of the fantastic things Team Practical has sent me out of my overflowing inbox, so I can share them with you in the new year.
For those of you that can - run, run away. Enjoy time away from the computer. Unplug. Don't even think about your wedding for a few days. Read, cook, nap, do yoga. For those of you that are stuck behind a desk this week and feeling grumpy about it, I'll visit now and then. In the meantime, go explore the archives. I've been writing this site for 9 months now, and there are some good things buried back there.
Happy Holidays to all! I wish you joy and relaxation and time with those you love.
To lead us into the holidays, I thought I'd take the time tot talk about what it means to be people getting married (not just brides and grooms). David's little cousin is wont to say "I'm 10, I'm not stupid," and often I feel the need to say something similar - "I'm a bride, I'm not SLOW." Somehow the wedding industry seems to imagine us both as easily duped marketing targets (What? It will make my day a fairytale? Then I'll take it!) and as women who have let their wedding consume every fiber of their being (I'd love to go out with you this weekend, but I'm afraid I can't. Must stay home and bedazzle napkins with our monogram).
So, as we lead into the New Year, I thought I'd ask you for your thoughts on life as people, not brides. I suspect we will all be inspired by the answers. First question is this: What (other than weddings) really interests you? I love:
- Innovative philanthropy
- Pithy non-fiction
- The machinations of domestic politics
- Good food and wine
What about you, team practical? What excites you? (And if you tell me shopping for discount Vera Wang gowns..... gah!)
16
When Wedding Elves Desert
Dec
2008
A long time reader sent me this great story, and how could I not share?
A recent grad from the campus church was married this past weekend. She had your typical small, white wedding. But once the guests arrived at the reception, itbecame apparent something was very wrong.
The caterer never showed up. Frantic phone calls were made, and once it was determined that they were a no show, the bride simply shrugged and said, "Well, I'm still going on my honeymoon!" So they all ate the cake and punch, and then the parents of the bride steered the guests in the direction of the local family diner (courtesy of the catering company) for some sustenance. The bride and groom ended up sharing another piece of carrot cake at the diner.
Team Practical, meet our new rallying cry: "Well, I'm still going on my honeymoon!"* Continue reading When Wedding Elves Desert
