When people are struggling financially it's safe to say there are more important things to spend money on than a big diamond, but many women have at least some expectations for their engagement rings.
Colleen, 32, of Ontario, Canada got the surprise of her life when her thoughtful boyfriend Shawn popped the question after seven years of dating, then had a wedding ceremony and reception waiting for them around the corner. He proposed; she said yes and was walking down the aisle in a matter of minutes.
Planning for a wedding can be a really exciting time. However, caught up in the wave of enthusiasm, many people don't include marriage preparation on their checklists. It's easy to understand why, after all, most couples are still in the honeymoon phase of the relationship where it seems that nothing could ever go wrong, right?
Wedding etiquette is a moving target these days, if it exists at all. Ask any wedding vendor and they'll nod in agreement. The reality is we're well beyond the simplistic days when everyone knew, and agreed to, the rules. Today is an anything goes culture and this is in part why I believe weddings have become so stressful and in some cases pretty toxic for family and new marriages.
Wedding planning is hard enough without parents and inlaws sharing their opinions. When do you hold your ground and when do you give in? While there is no cut and dry easy answer, here are a few ways to consider any dilemma you may be in! Use the “Ask Ten Strangers on the Street” Technique
I not only wrote my wedding vows … I wrote the entire ceremony. I'm picky like that. Caught up in context and connotation and wanting a spiritual but not-necessarily-religious vibe, what got said that warm spring day mattered to me. I'm not alone here. Though there's no real statistics as to how many people write their own vows, anecdotal evidence shows that more couples are customizing their weddings than ever before.
It seems clear that we are in a time where gender roles and expectations are rapidly being redefined and altered. Although these new definitions are, no doubt, giving both genders some more freedom, are they simultaneously making a handful of people a bit more uncomfortable as well? Madame Noire took to the streets to try and discover just this. They interviewed several New Yorkers to see how they'd feel if a husband, instead, decided to take a woman's last name. You won't believe some of their responses.
For some reason when we get engaged we cannot fathom the drama of figuring out who to invite! Since we really only have access to our own family and friends and who we want to attend, it can be rattling when there isn’t completely agreement with your fiancé, your parents, and his parents. What’s a girl to do to have the wedding she wants without too many, or too few, in attendance? Here are seven secrets to wedding guest list invitation bliss. Take bits of wisdom from each and come up with your own recipe for family harmony.
Can we just say this? What happens in Vegas does not stay there. Just ask almost-groom Robert Leighton, who definitely found that out the hard way. Apparently, the Chicago lawyer went a bit too far at his bachelor party and was hit with a lawsuit courtesy of his ex-bride-to-be. She discovered his Sin-City hook-up, and he discovered that poor decisions always crawl back home with you.
