New Year, New Name?

A few days ago, I was perusing a bridal board where the topic of whether or not a woman should take her husband's name after marriage was the hot debate. There were several positions. Those who felt they would have it no other way. Those who felt that taking their husband's name meant their name was somehow insignificant, so they adamantly refuse to change their names. Those who worried that by taking their husband's name they'll lose their professional identity. And finally, those who decided to compromise with their husbands and create a hypenated last name, a la Jolie-Pitt, or to combine both last names to create one new family name.

Perhaps because I am the type of person who likes order, I didn't give a second thought as to whether or not I would take my fiance's last name. It just fits. However, I did decide to keep my father's name as my middle name, because of my professional identity, and because I like it. Not so much my fiance's name. However, I am opening a new door in my life this new year, so why not a new name?

Happy New Year one and all!

Party!: DIY Centerpiece

Suicide blond shared this DIY centerpiece idea with me around Thanksgiving, and I had not planned to blog about it until I had tried to re-create it myself, but, considering that it's the Friday before Christmas, I'm super tired AND I'm waiting for my mother to arrive "to share some holiday cheer with me (using the sarcastic voice)", I guess I'd better post it now, because the chances that I actually get to try this one out this holiday season are slim and none. I've posted Suicide Blond's message below:

basically i strung together a few willow branches with jewelry wire... and suspended them from the ceiling... then clipped little feathered bird ornaments to the branches... a few pine cones and amber ornaments later.... had a reallly great...."display" that was..

-super easy

-inexpensive

-out of the way...as in ..nobody trying to peer around some weird centerpiece thing... and not taking up premium real estate on the thanksgiving dinner table...

-cool enough that folks didnt notice that my turkey was a little dry...(ok ok...maybe a few noticed..)

for christmas...im just gonna spray the branches white... and switch the fall colored ornaments with silvery ones... voila'

.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

What I'm loving today

Picwash! because they can make me look 10 pounds lighter and 10 inches taller. Okay, that's asking a lot, but at least they can take the shine off my nose and whiten my teeth. If you're deft with Photoshop, this may not be for you, but for the rest of us it's worth checking out.

Storytime!

A friend introduced me to this site called StoryPeople and now I'm hooked. Here's one of their stories that put a smile on my face:

"When my great-uncle August was in his twenties, he left Iowa & went to study cake decorating at the National Baking Institute in Chicago. He learned everything from spun sugar decorations to ice sculpture. He went to school for 2 years & when he finished, he went back to Iowa & worked in the family bakery. Except for the odd wedding cake, he never used the fancy stuff he learned. He was in charge of yeast breads & cinnamon rolls. Just after the end of WW II, the Valley Dairy Farmer's Association had the first of the now famous Milk & Honey Festivals. August made a model of the Statue of Liberty out of 250 pounds of white cheddar cheese, surrounded by American Beauty roses of spun sugar, especially for the occasion. He showed me the page from Life magazine he kept folded up in his wallet, one summer when we visited. On it was a picture of a much younger man, smiling next to a 4 foot tall Liberty. He told me he had 6 proposals of marriage from that photo, one from the East Coast even & he smiled & I saw him grow 30 years younger & I knew in our hearts we never get old."

Help choosing your color(s)

There are at least 100 ways that women go about choosing their wedding day color(s), and today I want to introduce you to 101. It’s called Colorstrology.

According to Colorstrology, your monthly color is like your sun sign, corresponding to your unique qualities and attributes; it is a color to surround yourself with.

On the site’s color chart, every day of the month is characterized by three key words that resonate with your core personality traits. "The key words that belong to your birthday are like musical notes that help you harmonize the various parts of your life."

So, I had to bite. For my birth date, my color is Purple Heather (complete with Pantone number to help me find the correct shade) and my three key words are: Leader, Organizer, and Decision Maker (and no, I did not write it myself).

However, Purple Heather? I think not.

$60 a centerpiece

This is a steal! Subjective I know, but if you're spending upwards of $125. for the same look, grab them now at one of my favorite stores, Ballard Designs.

How important is wedding insurance?

Today I read a really sad story on Philly.com. It was about a groom who died of a heart attack just five days before his wedding, and now the bride has filed a lawsuit against the hotel, because they have refused to return the $21,000 plus the couple paid for the wedding. The hotel says they have a binding contract, and death or death, this is a business deal that must be honored (my words, not theirs). A favorite saying in this industry is "before the contract is signed it's negotiating, after it's signed it's begging." Clearly, this couple did not negotiate that contract to provide an out if an unimaginable situation like this one ever happened, and according to a local industry lawyer, a "Force Majeure" clause is not going to help you out in this situation either. Actually, I have very little faith in the Force Majeure clause based on past experience, but that's another post. There's a huge lesson to be learned from this bride's misfortune. Wedding insurance is a good bet. When I read an article today in which a major player in the industry said that this couple should have had wedding insurance, I was appalled. Where's the compassion? But honestly, they made a good point. It's time to take wedding insurance off the miscellaneous list, and put it right up there with venue, dress, etc. The cost is minimal and the security would mean not having to be embroiled in a battle with a hotel or vendor while you're trying to grieve. Remember venues and vendors not obligated to return your money because of a death. Chances are, five days before the wedding, food and flowers have been ordered, materials have been bought, and a lot of work has already been done, so if they return your money, the vendors and the venue are also suffering a loss. We would hope they would take that loss out of compassion, but as another saying goes: "better safe than sorry."