I almost never do ‘around the web round-ups,’ since it’s just not my thing, but this week I had to. There were so many things I came across that I kept thinking, “D*mn, I want to tell Team Practical about that.” (Is it weird that I think of you as a collective friend? Anyway.)
First, the wedding that I think I would have wanted, if a small wedding had been in the cards for us. The wedding took place at a park a few blocks from the couples home in Redhook, Brooklyn. It featured a mind-blowing floating flower altar made by Saipua, who was also the maid of honor. And then, they all went to a restaurant and celebrated. Sigh. Lovely, simple, just right. These people are clearly my people. See more about this wedding here and here (via Veiled Vows.)
T
hen there is this amazing emotional wedding, shot by Anna Kuberberg, where they gave out beautiful copies of Justice Moreno’s dissenting opinion on Prop 8. This was a lesbian wedding, but you can bet your buttons we would have considered doing this for our wedding if we had thought about it.
And, my beloved New York Times Magazine keeps knocking it out of the park. Last week they did a piece about the origins of the honorific Ms. Turns out that Ms. started as a, achem, practical solution, not as a political one. It’s been interesting seeing my own ownership of this honorific after the wedding (though I clearly used it before as well). When David and I pulled up the hotel just 15 minutes after our wedding, the valet stepped out to open my door and said, “Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs.!” and in one voice, David and I said, “MS.” And so it’s gone ever since. When I’m on the phone with customer service and they realize I’m married and start referring to me as Mrs., I tend to correct them so emphatically they apologize. It’s interesting, seeing how strongly both David and I are willing to defend my right to choose my own title.
And finally, if you haven’t read the cover story in this weekends New York Times Magazine about the Obama’s marriage, you must (warning, it’s epic, so if you don’t have the hard copy you might want to print it out). I’ve mentioned before how the Obama’s give me a model of a marriage I’d like to aspire to, in the midst of endless media models of marriages I’m sure I never want. And this story is excellent. I’ll leave you with this quote from Michelle:
“This was sort of the eye-opener to me, that marriage is hard,” the first lady said with a little laugh. “But going into it, no one ever tells you that. They just tell you, ‘Do you love him?’ ‘What’s the dress look like?’”
Photos: #1 Robert Sukrachand, #2 Anna Kuperberg, #3 The New York Times
