Wedding Guests

The Tactile Delights of Letterpress Invitations

I worked in colleges and universities directly with hundreds of students for about eleven years. During this time, I met engaged leaders in the residence hall community and was an advisor to clubs and organizations. Because of this wide network of former students, I receive between twenty to thirty wedding invitations every summer. Many are the traditional envelope enveloped in an envelope. The thick packets arrive at my mailbox with careful calligraphy on the return cards, … Read more

Though my present may be small, my love goes with it.

A couple weeks ago, I went for coffee with a long-lost friend who reconnected with me through, what else, Facebook.  We enjoyed the time together catching up, gossiping about our classmates.  I told her I started blogging for WedNet, and having switched to the topic of weddings, she launched into a quick and harsh criticism of her cousin’s wedding gift registry.  Blown away, I asked family and friends if this story sounded familiar: The cousin … Read more

The Swiss Army Knife of Weddings: My Maid of Honor Emergency Kit

Ever catch the sleeve of your blazer on a door jamb? Has it ever rained, destroying your perfectly coiffed hair, and all you wished you had was a hair tie to pull it back?  Remember that time you spilled more of the coffee on your shirt than you drank?  Your wedding day is not immune to the tricks that fate pulls on us every day. However, while you might not lose your mind over a … Read more

Not a Party for the Wedding Party

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If you are looking for the most fun you’ve never wanted to have, look no further than being a bridesmaid.

Not that I have any experience in this department. But from what I see regarding roles and responsibilities, it doesn’t seem to be much of a picnic. If you really want to punish someone, just ask them to be your maid of honor. This poor individual has the distinct pleasure of planning every little detail of your bridal shower, organizing the bachelorette party, coordinating with the rest of the bridal party, giving honest feedback for every dress you try on, managing an impossible mother of the bride, addressing invitations, and probably more I’m not yet aware of.

Your members of the wedding party have taken on a part time job that comes with no salary. Their lives can become just as much entangled in wedding planning as much as the bride’s and groom’s lives are.

Fiance and I considered not having a wedding party. We simply like our friends too much for that. We also considered hiring our wedding party by accepting resumes and curriculum vitae through our website.

But there’s also something very compelling about having your closest friends at your side when you make a life changing commitment such as marriage.

Read moreNot a Party for the Wedding Party

The Sweetest Thing I’ve Ever Seen: Virtual Grandparents

I didn’t know my maternal grandparents very well.  They lived in Michigan and I grew up in eastern Pennsylvania. During major holidays we might take a road trip up to the Midwest, but mostly we went to the Great Lakes State for family reunions.  My mom’s side of the family would get golf visors made for the reunion and games aplenty would take place between us cousins.  The warm summer sun would beat down on … Read more