Drop The Charges!

So, since I am single, a lot of my non-single friends like to try to set me up.  Today, I was at a good friend's house.  She mentioned that she thought one of her fiance's friends was a great guy and perhaps he and I might hit it off.  Her fiance was hanging out with him at said moment.

Later in the day, her fiance walked through the door.

My friend:  Hey honey, how's Derek doing?  (She winks in my direction.)
Fiance:  Oh, he's great.  He's really happy he was able to get the charges lessened....

In case you are wondering - no, it is not possible for that to mean anything else than what one might think it does.

Have my friends dropped the bar on their standards for me?  I was told that, despite this, he's a great guy, and he'll be at their wedding, so I'll definitely get to meet him!!

Update on Lee DeWyze

In case anyone cares....

And I'm guessing you all don't...

This coming November, I will be attending a wedding.

No, not HIS wedding, despite the fact that the word on the street is he's engaged.  Anyhow.

It's my friend Laura's wedding.  Her family is active in St. James' Church, where Lee went to middle school.  In short - Lee's mother will be at said wedding.  I'm hoping Lee will make an appearance, and maybe sing a song.  I need to work out these details with Laura.  But if that doesn't happen - hopefully I can have a cocktail will Mrs. DeWyze, if nothing else.  

Sneak Peek - Kat's Wedding

Kat's Bridal Shower

I get out once in a while...that being, when my friends get married.

The bride to be, looking beautiful.

delicious food

quite the view from Mary's apartment - most notable - the Sun-Times building

I have engagement envy, simply because I want to own this Lolita glass

The prize for getting the most questions right on the "How well do you know the bride & groom" quiz - a guacamole maker!    I won!   I'd like to thank Kat for having a Kladda tattoo on the small of her back and Brian for starting every joke with 'do you know where I can find?'

My gift!  A spice rack!  To help keep the spice in their marriage!!!

A conversation between the bride & MOH - you want me to wear WHAT?!

SHOE ENVY

a dance party broke out

Sidenote:  Yes, I am aware that this blog has turned into a picture book lately.  

I Get Out Once in a While....

...to my first Jewish Wedding!!!!

under the Huppa

Rachel & David (the bride & groom, in case that's not self-explanatory)

girls pic! (the humidity hated my hair & makeup)

another girls pic!!

our beautiful centerpiece

the Hava Nagila (I think I'll have this tradition at my wedding)

The Best Thing About Getting Married....

So my friend, Rachel, is getting married in the next couple months. She mentioned how she has recently completed her registry and how exciting it is to periodically check in and see the gifts she picked getting purchased.

In a previous post, I commented that I think the most exciting thing about getting married would be creating a page on theknot.com. I lied. Or I changed my mind. Registering for gifts is far and away the winner.

I cannot imagine - going to Crate & Barrel, Pier 1, BBB, Macy's (all the stores I have very recently come to love) and just making a list - like one big giant letter to Santa)....

Sigh. I am so jealous. If I had a registry, I'd be refreshing it more often than facebook. Speaking of registries - must they be limited to weddings/showers? I think I might do one for every birthday/Christmas/what have you from now on.

Random sidenote: Ever notice how awkward it is to buy some gifts on a wedding registry? I've been to a handful of friends weddings and I've often struggled with the concept of some of the gifts. 'Congratulations on your marriage - here's a big giant knife!'

Another Guilty Pleasure....

TheKnot.com

The Wedding Website.

I know what you're gonna say - typical girl obsessed with weddings, etc. I like weddings a normal amount; it's more the wedding website that excites me. I love looking up people from high school and college when I hear they got engaged; I love seeing if they're still friends with people from way back when and if they made the wedding party. I love the cheesy, sometimes gag inducing proposal stories. I HATE it when I know an engaged couple who has purposely not created a knot page - what's the purpose of even being engaged then!?!

Anyhow. I'll stop. Anyone else love this site?

Koo Nuptials!

It was a grand event!

Traditions I Don't Like....

When the guy asks the girl's dad for her hand in marriage.

Now, don't get me wrong, this tradition is fine for others. I'm not criticizing other couples for having done it this way. However, I will not be having it.

First off, if I'm gonna spend the rest of my life with a guy, that's my decision and my decision alone (I get it that the asking of the dad is in addition to, not instead of asking the woman, but still). I know a lot of girls who have said they will be very upset if the guy does not ask her father. They feel it's tradition and it's cute and charming and will make the whole family happy. Fine for them. Not for me.

Second - the Jessie Spano in me does feel there's a slightly sexist component to this tradition. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing this originated in a place where dowries were the thing and a man's wife was considered his 'property'. Why the father? Why not both the parents?! What is the old-fasioned thought at the base of this? One man has owned me thus far, now another man is asking to take me over, in a business-like transaction (in the same way one would buy or sell of a piece of a company to another)?

Perhaps a man sitting down both my parents asking them for my hand in marriage is a little more settling to me, but still, I am not a minor. It is my decision to make and their vote in the matter, is, in theory, moot point. Sure, if my parents really didn't want the guy I was dating in our family, it might affect my opinion, but if I had my heart set on him, it would not.

Anyhow. I know there's a lot of room for debate on a lot of these points and that some people just see this as cute/traditional/harmless. And, I suppose, it is all in the eye of the beholder. However, for me personally, as I said earlier - I will not be having it. If a guy were to ask my father, it would be an automatic no on my end. It would show to me that this guy doesn't really know me. It would also say that he cares more about following some soceital tradition than making me happy, which is a red flag to anyone. Actually, it would pretty much say he doesn't care about flat out pissing me off at a moment when he is supposed to be going out of his way to charm me and win me over.

However, as I said earlier, I know several girls who will be very upset/disappointed if their guy does not ask his future father-in-law's permission. Your thoughts? Does anyone else feel the same way I do on this tradition? Are there any other Jessie Spanos out there?

All Grown Up....

So my former Sigma Kappa college roommate, Katie, is getting married this weekend. Ah! I can't believe it!!! They grow up so fast....

I remember when Katie was sick and stressed during finals week, my other roommate, Laura, and I gave her a lapdance in bed to cheer her up. I think it made her happy. At least that's what I want to believe. Anyhow. Sigh.

I am truly happy for her and Mark and the happiness they have found. This might seem like the time to share some funny embarrassing stories about the bride from sorority days, but, as they say, what happened in Room 20 stays in Room 20.

Jealousy....

So a friend of mine, Kat, recently got engaged to her long-term boyfriend Brian. Yay! Congrats Kat and Brian!

My good friend and Kat's best friend, Emily, is going to be the maid of honor in said wedding.

I am SO JEALOUS. I have never been maid of honor or even a bridesmaid yet! I have had a handful of friends get married - none of them close enough where I thought I might have been in the wedding party running. Maybe I need to better kiss-ass with my friends who are in serious relationships. Or maybe I should start putting pressure on the significant others of my close friends. Hmm. Anyhow. I think I am more eager about one day being a bridesmaid than one day being a bride.

Shameless Friend Promotion

So my very good friend Steve happens to have his own business of being a wedding photographer (in addition to working full-time, owning a condo, planning his own wedding with his fiance, and training a dog!). So, with no further ado, his website:

Steve Koo Photography

Now, I realize this isn't theknot.com (Editor's sidenote: LOOOOOVE that website. Could get lost in that website for hours. That website steals my soul.), so there probably aren't many blog readers who come here looking for a wedding photographer. However, I figure the least I could do for a person like Steve is increase his google hits. Steve has played quite the role in my life - one example - it's through him that I originally met my current roommate. So, there you go! Leave your feedback for Steve in my comments section!

Exciting News!

So my good friend, dance carpool buddy, and loyal blog reader Rachel got engaged this past weekend! I am truly totally excited about this couple/nuptials!

Watch Out, Men of the Chicagoland Area....

Completely unrelated to the previous post....

A random coworker has just passed a wedding magazine/catalog on to me. I am not sure why, because I have never mentioned dating anyone or the subject of weddings in general to her. I think it was in a 'you're not married yet, so maybe you have a use for this' (in comparison to my wedded coworkers).

Maybe I should bring this with me when I go out to the bars, to advertise that, since I'm carrying a wedding magazine, I must not be married yet - therefore I am still on the market. Yep, I think this is a good idea. Watch out, boys - I'm armed and I'm not afraid to use it.

They Don't Know Me as Well as They/I Thought...

E-Mail Subject Line:  Marriages Break Down Because of Incompatible Personalities

Body:

If you and your marital partner are having trouble, come in and get your Personality and IQ checked as this may be the reason for your disputes.

Call to set up an appointment.

--------

I am not married.  I am not engaged.  I am not close to it either.  And I am absolutely fine with it.  :-)   In fact, this past Christmas, my mom declared she plans on "spoiling me every Christmas, until I get married".  So let's be honest, the odds that I'll walk down the aisle any time soon are getting slimmer by the second.  

You're going to have to do a little bit better than that, Chicago Dianetics Society.  

Guestless in Chicago

So, over the past couple years, I've gotten invited to weddings without (what I thought was) the requisite "and guest".  I've got one of said weddings coming up in two weeks.  

It's a family wedding, so I wouldn't bring a guest anyway, unless I was in a relationship - it's not like I won't know anyone there, and it'd be a bit intense to bring a casual date to sit with my parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  

Now, don't get me wrong - I get that weddings are uber-expensive.  I get that this is a 'cost cutting' measure.

However, I have to wave a flag here - the flag of 'singles discrimination'.  It's very rare that married couples, or people in long-term relationships, get the guest snub when getting invited to weddings.  Even if the bride and groom have both never met a friend's spouse, he or she automatically gets an invite extended - however, someone like me can't bring a 'stranger'?!

I kind of think it's crap - namely, because, in my mind, the purpose of the guest is so that the attendees will have someone to talk if he or she doesn't know many people who are going to be at the wedding.   I have some friends who purposely didn't go to a wedding because they wouldn't know anyone there.  I am not sure I'm feeling this new 'no guest' movement.

However, very recently, I was informed that I am on the a-list for a VERY a-list event.  I got mail!  Namely, I got an invite to MEG RYAN's wedding!  

Of course, someone like Meg Ryan definitely extended me a guest.  And you know what?  I am going to show her my appreciation for that by NOT bringing one.  :)