I think the next few months (years?) worth of blogs will end up being more of a series rather than a random collection of unrelated topics. Why? I am now the big 'E'. Youknowengagedhowweirdisthatright??
Hm. That's a word I never thought I'd use to describe myself, as I felt completely comfortable going through life never getting married, or, if I did get married, that it would be a decision that we'd make on the fly and there wouldn't really be a proposal or engagement - more like an agreement and looking at our schedules and coordinating a time to meet at the courthouse. So this is quite an unusual (for me) situation to find myself in. I consider myself in uncharted waters.
So pardon me as I fumble through the ins and outs of the land of engagement that I've seen referred to as the "Wedding Industrial Complex" (thank you Offbeat Bride!) I'm not the poufy white dress, champagne and cushion-backed pink chairs kind of lady, so I've been getting on a soapbox a lot lately, raging against societal expectations of high-priced weddings and that it's been drilled into our heads that you absolutely must have table favors and seating arrangements, matching bridesmaid dresses, and blowing the bank on crappy catered foods. You'll have to humor me when I get snarky and/or anti-wedding over the next however-long-takes for us to make it "official".
For the moment, we're just enjoying our business as usual, and riffing ideas back and forth. Kind of like throwing spaghetti on the wall to see if it sticks....if it sticks, it's ready. I have been getting questions, so I guess here's a nice little FAQ for all you interested parties:
When ya gettin hitched! Don't take another 9 years will ya?? No dates, venues, or otherwise have been decided on or planned. Don't expect one anytime soon, but maybe we'll get around to it in the next couple of years.
Are you changing your name? UM NO.
Potluck weddings are tacky, you shouldn't do it. You should get {insert cater here} We'll take that into advisement. However, I hate catered food (from a catering service), I get sick every time. It's also not made with love. If my family and love ones cook for me, I get a sense of community and I have more recipes to steal. But if there's a decent pub that does party menues, I'd be down with that. I love me some onion rings...
Where are you going to get registered? No gifts. No registry. We've been living together for 4+ years, we have all the linens, toasters, and whatevers we could possibly need. Donations to the HRC will be warmly received though.
How did he propose? It was a special moment and it came after plying me with fried goat cheese, so I was happy. That's all that's important.
I think those have been to majority of questions I've received so far. I'll keep you posted. I think it best to preface the madness by giving a clue as to the direction we're heading: Rules are meant to be broken, whiskey, and good music.
