the fairmount bride

The Guest List

My sister sent me this article from CNN's website, and it is a must read for any bride and groom dealing with who, and who not, to invite to the wedding.  The author of the article gives an easy way to help you make the cut on who should be invited, all stemming from the idea of whether the person is someone that truly is in your life, or someone who has made it onto the list out of obligation.  I think it's great, and I feel very fortunate that I have supportive parents who have allowed me to only invite close friends and family.   I mean, who wants to walk around on their wedding day introducing themselves to their guests?! 

A Bachelorette Bonanza!

In my years of being a bridesmaid, or friend of a bride, I have found the planning of bachelorette parties can either be a super fun experience, or an awfully daunting one, depending on your crowd.  I was lucky enough to plan, and be a part of an awesome bachelorette party this past weekend, and it got me thinking about how it can be this fun, and easy all the time.  This weekend's festivities took place in NYC with bar hopping and tickets to a free Bon Jovi concert in Central Park, which is a perfect way to celebrate any bachelorette party!  But for those who aren't so lucky, I thought I would share some planning tips, in hopes of easing the pain for other bridal parties out there! 

  Lower your Expectations:  I think it's inevitable that you want to make the night special for the bride, giving her a "last" night out that she will remember.  But, that doesn't mean that you have to break the bank and completely go out of the norm.  Think about the bride and what she likes to do on a regular basis, and start from there.  Meaning, if the bride is the kind of girl who is more comfortable in a sweater and jeans, drinking a beer at the local bar, why plan a night out at a club, sipping champagne and paying a couple hundred dollars for a bottle of vodka?  Or maybe your bride doesn't like the attention at all, and would prefer to just do a nice dinner out.  The idea is to take the pressure off of yourself, and when you stick with what interests your bride, you can pretty much plan the perfect night out, regardless of the activities involved. 

Feast at Home:  A great cost cutter is to plan on having the girls all meet at someone's house before going out on the town.  We all met at a friend's apartment, and with a run to Trader Joe's already made, we cooked up a bunch of appetizers and finger foods, to start the night off with a little food in our bellies.  This really saved us the time, and money, of going out to dinner before heading out to the bars. 

Signature Cocktails:  They aren't just for weddings!  If you are starting off at someone's home, another great way to keep things simple and costs down is to figure out a signature drink that you can serve that the majority of your guests are going to enjoy.  We chose Sangria, making batches of both red and white.  It alleviates having to buy beer, wine, and liquor because you are trying to have something for everyone. 

Bar Hop:  Who says you need to stay at one place all night?  Go out in an area that has a few different options, so if you don't like one place, you can move down the road to another.  This definitely helps to take away the overwhelming pressure of picking the perfect place to go out.  Options are a good thing. 

Tiara's are NOT a necessity:  This goes back to knowing your bride.  Not all brides want to stick out like a sore thumb, with tiara's, sashes and penis paraphernalia adorning their outfit.  Don't force them to do what makes them uncomfortable, this is after all their night, not yours! 

Relax and Enjoy:  You have planned all you can plan, just remember to give up the role of party planner and have some fun.  It is a given that no matter how small or big a bar/restaurant/home is, when you get a group of girls out for the night, you are guaranteed a good time! 

(photo from Gourmet Gal)

Food for Thought

In the world of the wedding registry, it is pretty common practice for couples to use the magic scanners to register for everything under the sun.  Dishes, cookware, china, silver, you name it.   It's the assumption that this is the only time you get to do it, so why not throw everything on there, right?  But, doesn't that beg the question, do I really need everything I am registering for?  After reading an article on this very subject, in our local paper, I was intrigued and applied some of the ideas to my own registry.  Case in point, Le Creuset Dutch Oven.

I wanted to register for one of these bad boys.   I don't know why, other than liking the color and thinking that I should have one, just in case I may need it.  But, the reality is that I don't have a clue what you would do with one, let alone, have any idea about what kind of recipe would require one.  So, why would I put something on my registry that is going to inevitably sit somewhere, collecting dust and taking up space?  Especially when it will cost my guest over a hundred dollars to purchase?  Perhaps instead of registering for items that I think we may need, I should stick to registering for things that we do need. 

Cookware sets are another great example.  We are 29 and 35, we have pots and pans that we have been cooking with for quite awhile.  Yes, I want to replace some of them, but I don't need to replace all of them.  Therefore, I don't need the $400, 12-piece cookware set that looks so pretty sitting out on the store floor.  Instead, I chose individual pieces we needed, and left the rest alone.  Not to mention that at the end of the day, if I were to get the big cookware set, I would be hard pressed to find any place to put them! 

The moral of the story is read the article, it has some great pointers.  Not everyone is going to agree with it, but for those who do, I think you will find some very helpful hints. 

(photo from Williams Sonoma)

What's In a Name?

I voted in the Pennsylvania primary a few weeks back, and had a moment.  I realized that the next time I sign my name to vote, my name won't be the same!  Granted, the general election will be too soon after my wedding to get my name changed in time for a new signature, but you get the idea.  And it got me thinking, I know that I am changing my last name, but I don't have a clue how to go about doing it.  A bit of research later, here are some pieces to the monogram changing puzzle I put together...

• The Proof is In the Pudding:  You have to first and foremost wait for marriage license to arrive, which should take a couple weeks.  If a copy is not automatically mailed, you can call the office where you filed and request it.
• Social Security Card:  Now that you have your marriage license, download, and complete, a name change form from the Social Security Website.  You then take your completed SS form, your marriage license and your current form of identification to your local social security office to receive your new card
• Rollin', Rollin', Rollin':  With new social security card in hand, you can roll on down to the DMV to get a new license.  Some DMV's will allow you to do this with just a marriage certificate, but I would double check with your local rules and regulations.
• All the Rest of the Changes:  You are going to want now to make a list of everything in your maiden name, that needs to be changed to your new name.  First on the list should probably be your paycheck, so get in touch with your HR department.  Other items on this list could include your bank, credit cards, other lenders, utility companies, voter registration, insurance policies, magazine subscriptions, etc.  You should contact each institution to find out their policy on name change, some may require a copy of your social security card or marriage license. 

OR...

If you are like me, and the thought of all that paperwork is a wee bit daunting, you can go to MissNowMrs.com and have them do it for you!  For $29.95, they will auto complete all your important documents, including applications for a new social security card and driver's license.  In addition, you can provide them with information that will give you completed forms to print out and send to your bank, credit cards, etc. 

Whichever way you go about changing it, I hope this helps with "how to's" of the process.  Now, onto to perfecting your new signature! 

(photo from Monogram, Inc.)