Posts Tagged ‘Team Practical’

Mar 2011

January, February, and March Weddings & Anniversaries

A few weeks ago, Columns Editor Alyssa put out a call for Team Practical Weddings and anniversaries, so we could all get to know each other a little better, and cheer on those about to be wed. I wasn’t sure about Alyssa’s project, because I just couldn’t visualize it, but she’s Alyssa, and she knows APW like the back of her hand, so I let her at it. And today, I got it. And I think you will too. It’s amazing to see the faces of the ladies who hang out here, living their lives.

Since we got a bit of a late start, we have January, February AND March weddings all in one giant post, just bursting with love! (And remember, this is an ongoing project, so if you’d like to be included, see the bottom of the post for details.)

Our upcoming weddings this month:

Molly and Cameron, March 12th, 2011

Brodie and Emily, March 26th, 2011

Wish them strength through the final weeks, and huge-ness on the day itself. Squeeee you guys!

And our anniversaries:

Agirl and Aboy, January 3rd, 2009; Blog: A Girl’s World

Drea and Josh Eisenberg, January 24th, 2009; Blog: Maiden Metallurgist (baby due after infertility: very soon)

Devereaux and Justin, January 30th, 2010: Twitter: @dmrkns

Chris and Karla, February, 20th 2010

Justin and Kate, February 14th, 2011

Megan and Richard, February 19th, 2011 Marbella and T-Rex, February 26th, 2011; Twitter: @stellamarbella (photo courtsey of Doug Pettway)

Morgan and David, March 20th, 2010; Blog: High Diving Board

Mike and Bec, March 20th, 1999; Blog: Blush Celebrations

Rachel (ddayporter) and Zach, March 20th, 2010; Blog: Bananas, continued

Rose (Rose in SA) and Mike, March 22nd, 2008

Happy anniversaries to all of you, and thanks for reminding us what all of this is about.

And um, is it just me, or will we be needing some wedding grad posts from some of these ladies, cough, cough, cough?

Want to join the monthly Weddings and Anniversaries fun? Yes? Well click here, already!

Posted in: Uncategorized | 41 Comments »

Jan 2011

Ask Team Practical: Books for Brides & Wives

As you guys know, the whole APW team is in Utah this week at Alt Summit (I know. The perks of working for APW. Plus we’re all three meeting in person for the first time…ever.) So, we debated how to pick an Ask Team Practical post that was both interesting and not super inflammatory. We decided to save our upcoming posts on dancing, strippers and virginity for another week (fact). And instead Alyssa is here discussing sailing around the world, and books you should read in lieu of pre-marital counseling, if that’s not an option for you. Also, APW book club picks for February. Because we need a pick. So be nice kids, and pick a good book for all of us to read. We’re watching you from a hotel in Utah, so use your nice manners. And now Alyssa:

Y’ALL.

So, you know how you meet someone and they tell you something AMAZING about their life in a completely off-hand way, and you’re all “Shut up, you are not.”

And then they’re all, “Um, yeah.”

And then you have nothing else to say, because you’re DUMBSTRUCK that they are living the kind of wonderful, beautiful life that you can only dream of, and you go home and ponder how you can make your life amazing too.

Yeah.

Meet Meghan.

“I’m 27 and newly engaged to my mate Prescott–and I call him my mate because we’re co-captains on our liveaboard 35′ sailboat. We haven’t been together too long (just a couple years), but living on a 35-foot boat together with about, oh, 50 square feet of living space you get pretty close. We spent last year sailing down the Pacific Coast together from Seattle to Los Angeles (actually we spent a few weeks anchored in Aquatic Park in SF), and now after stopping for awhile to work a bit, we’re setting off again. But first, 2 months before we’re set to leave, he asked me to marry him. So, in a sickeningly romantic fashion, we’re sailing off into the sunset together for the duration of our engagement (9 months). We’re headed south through the Panama Canal and up the East Coast to New York City. We’ll hit the East by June, moor the boat, and fly home to his parents’ place for a month to have a huge homecoming/wedding party!

Well, this all sounds just beautiful–and it is in so many ways. I can’t imagine a better or more appropriate way to spend my engagement than on a crazy adventure with the man I love–watching over each other, being quiet together, witnessing spectacular wonders of the world together, unfettered by the internet, wedding magazines, or even much contact with “those who have opinions.” [THIS is what I’m talking about. GAH! She’s amazing.—Alyssa]

“It may be the best idea ever–or it could turn out to be the worst idea ever–to plan a wedding while sailing offshore. The APW side of me thinks my head will be in exactly the sane place to make prioritized decisions about what I want. The WIC bloodline (and the OBNOXIOUS women at the bridal salons) say honey, that’s not possible–you simply can’t do it like that.

But I’m not writing to you about how the heck to plan my wedding or things to cut out or worry about or what. What I would love to know from you and your readers is whether any of you intelligent, thoughtful women have read any good books that could prompt some marriage-counseling-type discussions in our cockpit. Meg, I’ve already printed out your post on marriage counseling and the questions your rabbi asked you to consider–and we’re going to have our own counseling sessions with our boat kitten as witness and mediator. Perhaps this is a bad idea (do you need a professional around for this kind of stuff???) [Editors note: Professional Kitten? - Meg] or perhaps its just right. I would love whatever resources you all have come across in the marriage counseling/ preparation category. Because regardless of the fact that finding a dress I like in small-town Mexico might be a little dicey . . . I don’t want to overlook the really important stuff.”

So, ladies? Hit it. What has helped you on your way to this crazy thing called wedded bliss?

Also, we are gearing up for our next book club, so throw in your recommendations for those too! (New to APW book club? Check out the fun here.) And, GO!

Posted in: Advice, Planning, Planning, The Hard Stuff | 141 Comments »

Dec 2010

Ask Team Practical: Year-End Wrap-Up

with Alyssa

So when the APW team was debating the last Ask Team Practical column of the year, I suggested we do something fun. So, I asked Alyssa if she’d do a little best of (and heck, worst of) wrap up of APW in 2010. Which, if I’m being frank, has been quite a year. Well, the lady out-did herself. She looked up all the emails she sent me this year (because the way Alyssa got this job in the first place was by sending me the worlds most hilarious emails whenever people were really mean to me in the comments). Anyway, girlfriend out did herself, toasting 2010, and APW, and all of you. So, without further ado, enjoy:

We’re doing something different for our last “Ask Team Practical” of the year. A little goodbye to last year and hello to 2011.

My favorite things from 2010:

Elopements! Is it just me, or have there been a LOT of elopements this year? Elopements aren’t what you do when you have no family. The idea may inspire thoughts of couples sneaking out in the dead of the night to marry against their parents’ wishes, but that’s not what they really are. They are wonderful, amazing, detailed, simple and totally worthwhile. AND, shall we say, glorious.

Diversity! It’s nice to sit around and think we live in one lovely little tolerant world, but honestly, we don’t. As half of an interracial couple, (and the child of one; that’s my adorable parents in my grad post!) I can tell you that there are still very very stupid people out there. And the WIC perpetuates that by rarely featuring mixed couples or even ethnic couples in general. It makes it seem like there are only White Protestants getting married these days. I love that APW keeps featuring couples that take that stereotype and punch it in the face.

Gay couples!! Honestly? For me? LGBTQ marriage is marriage at its most pure. Due to legal restrictions, there is no real reason to get married other than you just love each other SO DANG MUCH. I’m not knocking anyone who gets married for more practical reasons or people who don’t get married at all, but when you have to fight for your right be married? I mean, really and truly, marching on Washington and holding up signs, fight for your marriage? That elevates everything about your marriage. I look forward to the day that gay marriage is just marriage, but right now it’s on a pedestal for me. Besides, our APW couples are just gorgeous.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Dress. Y’ALL. I LOOOOOVE Sisterhood of the Traveling Dress. And the brides that participate, especially the ones giving away their dress. You guys, you know you’re not just giving a dress away. You’re sharing all those lovely memories, good karma and fuzzy bunny feelings that are all wrapped up in that fabric. You’re giving piece of mind that one of the most stressful times in wedding planning is taken care of. At the very least you’re giving yourself one less piece of crap to haul around after you move. At the most, you’re giving a gift of beauty and a piece of your heart to that other lovely bride. And brides that get dresses, keep in contact with the giver! Send sneak peek updates! Be honest with them. Tell them how much you love the dress, tell them if the dress doesn’t fit quite right. They are part of your bridal brigade now, and they wanna know. Oh, Sisterhood…Gah, I just want to hug y’all and feed you cookies.

Our amazing sponsors. Seriously, APW is not created in a vacuum, there are lots of people behind the scenes that make it happen in lots of little ways. And I’m not talking about Lauren, David and I. The amazing sponsors are what help pay the bills and allow Meg to breathe just a little. Plus, have you checked them out?? When I dump my husband and finally convince Taye Diggs that we’re soul mates, I’ll be using APW sponsors. Gorgeous.

Now some resolutions for 2011.

1.) No more saying “supposed to.”

We are done with that phrase. Got it? It’s like “tacky,” it’s gone from the APW lexicon. “Supposed to” only applies to unavoidable bodily functions, as in “I’m supposed to breathe.” Or when followed by a reversal, like, “I’m supposed to wear white, but I say eff it and wore what I wanted to.”

Forget that mess. As long as you’re not hurting anyone, you’re not SUPPOSED to do anything. To borrow a phrase from the inimitable Joe Clark/Morgan Freeman, “I don’t have to do nothin’ but stay black and die!” Y’all, you ain’t gotta do nothing’ but stay awesome and die.

Continue reading Ask Team Practical: Year-End Wrap-Up

Posted in: Ask Team Practical | 100 Comments »

Nov 2010

Thank You.

So it’s Thanksgiving week here in the states, and after last week’s amazingly successful subscription drive, I thought it was a good time to stop and share some gratitude with y’all.

When we decided to go forward with the donation/subscription drive, I looked at it as a huge experiment. And by huge experiment, I mean I didn’t really sleep last Sunday night, because I was terrified that the site would be overwhelmed by angry readers yelling at me. How dare we give people the totally optional choice of contributing $5, what the f*ck Meg? What. The. F*ck?

And instead we were overwhelmed by loveliness, and piles of $5 donations, and even more moving to me, piles of chai donations. It was like APW had a giant Bat Mitzvah. Some people even gave $100 (one person said it was part of the refund they’d gotten from their as*hole photographer, after APW helped them realize they didn’t have to hire as*holes). And some people gave $1, which made me think of the bible story of the old lady who gives a single coin because that’s everything she has, and that’s judged as the greatest donation of all (like how I just did some massive interfaith mixing of religious metaphors? I rule).

But mostly what overwhelmed me was how generous you guys were to each other. Emotionally, it turns out that I could care less about the money, but I was teary about watching you guys love and support each other. It was pretty amazing, going through the donations and seeing name after name that I recognized – journalists who’ve mentioned APW in stories, wedding graduates from years ago, long time blog-o-sphere friends that I now know in real life, and amazingly, sponsors. That was overwhelming to me, the APW sponsors who support this site every single month with their ads and their sponsored posts? A shocking number of them gave $5 or $18 to support the site (teary).

So, as of this post, we raised $5,101.92 after PayPal fees, which means we met Lauren’s goal! Every penny of that is going into APW staffing for 2011, starting with Lauren and Alyssa, because I believe in paying people a decent wage (or as much as we can afford, to start). And it seems fitting that community money goes right back into the part of the APW community that makes the posts happen every day.

And because you guys absolutely insisted that we allow you to give whenever you wanted, I’ve created a Team Practical page that you can find in the tippy-top navigation bar. There is no pressure to give any money beyond the (annual? I think we’ll make it annual… that feels right to me) subscription drive (or pressure to give during the subscription drive when we come down to it), but the PayPal buttons are tucked away there, for those of you that choose to give at random or regular times of the year.

But mostly, what I’m surprised by, is how much I just want to get back to ‘the work,’ as we called it (rather obnoxiously) in art school. Last week reaffirmed for me what we do here every single day, and I want to get back to doing it already. So without further ado, we’re bringing you wedding grads. Because I’ve missed those ladies.

Hugs and gratitude, and no I’m totally not teary, SHUT UP,

Meg

Posted in: Uncategorized | 44 Comments »

Nov 2010

Operation Community, 2010

(The subscription drive is now done! well played all!)

Well ladies, the time has come, or so the walrus said.

Over the last nine months or so, since I re-launched the site, and it grew into even more amazing community, readers have been having really serious conversations with me about allowing other people to help with APW. I, of course, was very firm about not needing any help (sleep is for the weak, people!). But, after many interventions, I realized that I did in fact, need a little help. I asked Lauren to come on as in intern and Alyssa to come on to write Ask Team Practical every Friday. It’s been good for me (I’ve been sleeping more), and good for you guys (you get to hear other great women contributing, and I write more intersting posts, now that my time is freed up).

But.

Long time readers have continued to have little chats with me. It’s good that I’m letting a few people help me, they’ve said, but I need to understand. APW has become something a little bigger than just my personal blog, and it’s been very helpful for a lot of people (apparently…), and is important to people that are not me (apparently…) and it’s important that I allow other people to help. Like with money. Hum.

So. Today we’re kicking off Operation Community, 2010. It’s a chance to let those of you who’d LIKE to help APW with it’s mission of supporting sane weddings and brave marriages, help out a little. But I want to say this right up front – if giving cash to help support websites you like is not your jam for whatever reason – that is totally fine. Lets have a hand shake right now where we agree that you won’t give if you don’t want to, and you won’t feel any guilt about it (or shame, ha!) Handshake? Done!

So! How is this going to work? Here is how: Continue reading Operation Community, 2010

Posted in: Uncategorized | 126 Comments »

Nov 2010

APW Book Club… The Follow Up

Ladies!

I missed the APW book club, because I was sick. How much does that suck? Oh, healing, why must you be such a b*tch? So to help me, and everyone who missed it, live vicariously through you can you please post your photos to the APW Flickr pool? Then, will you email me snippets of what you discussed? Maybe how the discussion of the questions went? This week we’re talking about money, money, money (yay!), but next week we’re talking about community. So next week, I want to post pictures, run downs of what you discussed, and kick off more, virtual, discussion. So let me know, won’t you?

I’m excited already!

Meg

Picture from the Denver book club, by Christy of Moodeous Photography

Posted in: APW Book Club, Events | 7 Comments »