Ask Team Practical: Unmarried Holidays

My mom and I have always been pretty close, but we had a blow out argument the other week that I’m still trying to wrap my head around. Basically, she told me that since I am not married I have no obligation to my boyfriend’s family and should be spending more of my holiday time with her. Now, my boyfriend and I have been together for five years, and I feel my mom gets more than her fair share of our time—at least fifty percent with the other fifty percent divided up between my boyfriend’s family and my father (as my parents are divorced). I feel guilty not spending every holiday with my mom since she doesn’t have a significant other, and I feel that if I’m not there, she’s alone, but that’s not really fair to everyone else in this equation.

I really would appreciate the advice anyone who has gone through this situation has to offer. How do I show my mother that I do care about my own family, but still feel an obligation to my boyfriend’s family? We plan on getting married, but I don’t think my single status in the meantime should demote the value and commitment of our relationship. I’m just so frustrated and really don’t want to hurt feelings!

-Not Married But Still Important!!

Dear NMBSI,

I think you pretty much said it yourself. Marriages aren’t the only valid relationship. As an adult building a community around yourself, you get to choose whose lives you’d like to invest in, who you enjoy being around, and how you spend your time. That’s the same truth whether you’re married, engaged, dating, or if you’re single and enjoying your friendships. Sure, a wedding makes a nice symbolic gesture of growing up and out of your parents’ home, but that same kind of change happens when you grow up whether you’re married or not. Parents eventually need to move over a bit and make room for all of the other awesome folks in your life. Read More…

Wedding Dress Roundup: Glittery & Festive

You guys may recall the other week when Meg mentioned that late pregnancy had her spending a fair amount of time on the APW Pinterest boards, optimizing our Pinterest strategy, and pinning the heck out of useful (and stylish) wedding garb for you guys. Well. About halfway through that process, we realized that a ton of the stuff we were pinning was only going to be available for a limited time, so the best way to make our research actually useful to you guys, would be to pull some of our favorite items together into a roundup and send you in the direction of awesome deals before they’re gone (think of it as Cliffs Notes meets Extreme Couponing, but for Pinterest). Of course, there’s more to it than that. So I’ll let Meg take it from here. 

—Maddie for Maternity Leave

When I started APW, I had a little bit of a… thing… about wedding dresses. I was frustrated with their limited style range (strapless, poufy, repeat) and by their totally nonsensical cost. I mean imagine this. You walk into your department store of choice, and tell them you want to spend $500 on a dress. What do you get? You get a nice ass dress. Now imagine you walk into a bridal salon and tell them you want to spend $500 on a dress. What do you get? Probably laughed at, and possibly some poorly made dress that you worry is actually going to fall apart when you take it off. (Your mileage may vary.) So we decided it was time to get old school APW and put together this indie wedding dress roundup. If you like a sparkly wedding dress (And I do. I’m still obsessed this dress, in one of the earliest weddings on APW ever.) now is the time to get in the dress shopping game, while holiday cocktail dresses are in stores. This roundup is glittery and festive: sparkly wedding dresses, short wedding dresses, and metallic wedding dresses. May it take you down a rabbit hole of magic.

GLAMMY: 1. Plus Size Tadashi Shoji Salon Z Sequin Mesh Gown from Saks ($488), 2. Adian Mattox Sequined Gown from Saks ($500), 3. Rebecca Taylor Frayed and Fitted Gown ($995), 4. Sandy B. Strapless Wedding Gown with Bolero Jacket in Nude Tulle via Etsy ($1,350) Read More…