I forgot to mention that the fortune cookies I purchased for my cousin’s wedding was from Fancy Fortune Cookies

I bought the DOUBLE CHOCOLATE and while it did taste very yummy, I was expecting them to look dark brown as it does in their picture.  It is much lighter in person.  So, it didn’t match the chocolate brown and pink color palette of the wedding.  I am sure no one noticed but me, but you know.  I got to provide 5 custom fortunes.  So, I searched on the web for romantic-themed fortunes and added the couple’s names and their wedding date.  Tre cool!

So, somehow, watching Oprah is making me really, really appreciate my relationship with Tom. I mentioned on the boards that the taping where Dr. Smith discusses her book, “Lies At the Altar” is airing today. I watched it, wondering if it would strike me that there was some feeling or misconception I held about marriage that I hadn’t realized.

And as I sit here and listen to these women talk about living a lie as they plan their weddings, I just want to grab Tom and hold him tight. This dread, this deception and doubt they’re talking about is so foreign to me. I know this is going to sound so smug and superior, but I just feel so lucky that I am actually enjoying being engaged. I love it. And I don’t just mean planning the wedding — I mean going through life with a man by my side who I am about to pledge my life to and having a blast doing it.

I don’t know what exactly it is. Maybe it’s the anticipation, the we’re already-but-not-yet committed to one another forever thing. Maybe it’s looking back and seeing how much we’ve grown in such a short time and knowing we have the rest of our lives to grow and change and that we have each other to do it with. Sometimes it’s just silly things. For example, last weekend, Tom and I were at the Renaissance Faire. We’ve gone two years in a row and were talking about going back next year, when we realized that the next time we go, we’ll be married. Married? That’s wonderful. That’s amazing.

I mean, of course I’ve realized that getting married, especially at my young age, means that some doors close. As my friends talk about White House internships, trips to New Zealand, and joining the Peace Corps, my mind swims with mortgages, household budgets and health insurance options.

But for me, so many doors open and so many avenues that seemed scary are so much less daunting with this wonderful, supportive man by my side. I am better with Tom than I was without him. I am not less myself now, I am more like me. My dreams are still mine, but I have someone to share them with, someone who is as excited as I am about them and who I know will work to see them come true for me. I am so blessed and happy and as awful as it is, seeing the sadness and fear of these women on Oprah just reminded me that I need to appreciate what I have.

Maybe it’s not like this for everyone, but for me? The whole joy in planning the wedding is that the wedding is the start of my marriage.

Before I got married, I was excited about changing my name.  I used to tease DH about it; asking him to change his name, proclaiming loudly that I wasn’t going to change mine.  But secretly, I compiled all the name change documents and had them ready to go, eager to rush to the SS office and DOL after we returned from Cabo, proud of my newly married status. 

The change went much more smoothly than I expected.  I visited the Social Security office, Department of Licensing, and called all my credit card companies.  I sent my passport in, threw away my bank cards, and applied for new ones from my husband’s account.  This was supposed to be the start of a new life, of a new me!!  Yet every time I left one of those offices, I felt a little……sorrowful, morose, empty.  Like little pieces of me were being chipped away.  Don’t get me wrong; I’m glad I changed my name.  I love my new name and I love what it says.  But that is exactly what set me up for failure.  In looking forward to loving my new name and changing it, I never stopped to think how bittersweet a moment it can be.  Every time a new me is created, an old me is erased. 

Now that I’ve acknowledged these feelings, I’m ok with them.  Every time I walk into an office or call a company to change my name, I understand that it is ok for me to feel a little loss.  It doesn’t make me love my husband any less, or hate my new name or even what it stands for.  It tells me that I am proud of that person I’m letting go of, and that I am able to carry her accomplishments forward, just under a different name. 

I’ve been married for a little over two weeks now, and the entire time has been blissful.  Except for Saturday.  And Sunday in fact.  Let me explain….a couple of months ago, DH and I made the fateful decision to buy our first house.  Not just any house, mind you; a fixer upper that needed a lot of work before we moved into it, which was immediately post-wedding.  So to add to my already mounting pre-wedding stress came house renovation.  No need to worry however, because everything got painted and fixed before the wedding.  Fast forward through a wonderful wedding, relaxing and romantic week in Cabo, and uneventful first week back of work, to this past weekend.

Moving weekend. 

First, let me give a piece of advice to anyone reading this who is moving soon or even considering moving:  GET HELP.  Do not try to move by yourself, or when the only other person helping you is someone who you want to continue to have a loving, caring relationship with.  I’m kidding.  Slightly.  DH and I decided that since we are under a time constraint to move out of our apartment, we would simply move ourselves.  That was a mistake.  Moving isn’t fun, and having only two people moving (one significantly weaker than the other) makes it even worse.  Through a lot of joking, sarcasm, sniping, and making up, we survived the moving weekend.  We have a great relationship, but this weekend was definitely stressful, and I was initially upset that it surfaced so early in our marriage.  We had a great ending to the weekend however (we barbequed outside on our new grill!!) and I’m excited about settling into our house this week and starting a routine.  Now that we’ve gotten everything moved, it is FUN to unpack and organize everything at the house……it just isn’t fun to move it all. 

Now that the weekend is over, everything is back to normal.  DH still gave me eyelid kisses and a foot rub before he left for work today, and I’m still excited about waiting for him to get home.  We made it over our first little bump in the road, and somehow I look back and I’m happy it appeared. 

The latest trend in the wedding world is the art of monogramming.  Traditionally, a monogram consists of 3 letters.  Etiquettely-speaking, reading from left to right, the groom’s first initial, the groom’s last initial and, then, the bride’s first initial.  Nowadays, however, monograms are printed reading from left to right, the bride’s first initial, the groom’s last initial and, then, the groom’s first initial.  So, for Monica and Chandler Bing, the monogram would be MBC.  Also, the middle initial is larger in size than the 2 letters flanking it.  I have noticed couples just putting the groom’s last initial on everything just to make things easier.  I’ve also noticed many women keeping their name.  So, the monogram for Monica Geller and Chandler Bing becomes  MGBC.  Interesting.  It is so beautiful when the monogram is carried throughout the details of the wedding:  save-the-date cards, wedding invitations, ceremony programs, napkins, wedding favors, OOT bags, spotlighted on the dance floor using a gobo projector, on top of a cake, and in thank you cards.

Obviously, there is something about the process of planning a wedding that changes people. The meek become bold, brazen, iron-fisted rulers when confronted with important decisions that will affect their lives for years to come. For example, shall the tulle be ivory or ecru? It matters. We all know it.

Except for me. I think my subconscious might be rebelling against the possibility of giving in to megalomania. Don’t get me wrong, I care. I mean, I must care, since I’ve changed my mind about one hundred times. I have purchased and returned more quantities of martini shakers, cocktail napkins, and silk rose petals than I care to count. You couldn’t call me an indifferent bride.

However, as you might gather from my illustration, you’d have to call me an indecisive bride. I changed themes, I changed colors, I changed my invitations. I might have been tempted to change my dress had it not been non refundable. Usually a capable and confident decision maker, I have been rendered virtually helpless at the hands of my own wedding decor. In particular, the centerpieces have got me beat. I purchase and return, purchase and return, purchase and return. This has become my method of choice. It is a strange road, and I walk it alone for the most part, except for my fiancé, Tom, who keeps commenting on the pile up of random craft items that block easy access to the dish drain. Hey, I have to put them somewhere. With my random things, I create mock up centerpieces, then see if I can “live with them” for a week or two.

Then, finally, it occurred to me. I only have to live with them for five hours. The only decision I have to live with forever is Tom and that was the easiest one to make. Sure, I want things to be pretty (and the centerpieces are — lovely footed trifle bowls of sugared fruit), but ultimately, I think I want to be sane. And getting to the clean dishes once in a while wouldn’t be so bad, either.

I absolutely love my pinking shears with a scalloped-edge and I love the frosted look of my glassine envelopes.  So, I paired them up and created this cute wedding favor packaging idea.

They’re simple to make and inexpensive!  I sell the long glassine envelopes, the “With this ring I thee wed” satin ribbon and personalized bridal label.

When I came up with this idea back in 2002, I had no idea what a huge hit it would be.  It’s cheap and fun and won’t collect dust in someone’s curio.  My idea of including a penny minted in the year you’re getting married was novel.  But, you’ll have to rummage through your bag full of pennies for the right year.

Click here to find out how to make these inexpensive and fun wedding favors!

Here’s our take on a NYC destination wedding OOT basket.

I took our jumbo-size chinese takeout container and filled it with some fun NYC souvenirs for a destination wedding in NYC.

You can find the containers and sticker in our store.

Many bridal couples are including an OOT Gift Bag inside their guest’s hotel room. Our Gable Box is perfect to hold a handful of treats, snacks, souvenirs and drinks.

They’re a great size and they come flat for easy shipping.  So, it’s easy to embellish the box with a rubber stamp or markers before you pop it open and fill with goodies.  Dangle a personalized hang tag and ribbon from the box’s handle and, voila, a nice looking’ OOT bag if I don’t say so myself.

Click here to purchase our Gable Boxes