Thursday, March 31, 2011

Tis the season to be married

When I was little I always looked forward to hanging my A+ (okay, fine, B+) papers on the fridge. I took even more pride in my school picture magnet that secured my test grade on there. The fridge was where important dates on the calendar and our sports schedules could be found. Today, my fridge is a patchwork of Save-the-Date magnets and engagement party invites. Welcome to wedding season. I love weddings. I really do. I mean, what's not to love? Open bar, tons of dancing with friends, decent food and playing dress up...all of my favorites! But, with 7 in the near future, the wedding scene is not so exciting. I'm finding not all weddings are open bar; over wearing your "wedding" dress is a no-no; they all don't take place in the greater Boston area; and just because the registry says Bed Bad & Beyond, doesn't necessarily mean they registered for the $2 tea lights. With that said, my fridge is freaking me out...

Over 150 miles, that is an issue:

This summer, in only a two months span, we will have stayed in RI, south shore MA, AZ, FL, PA and CA. Without owning a car our options are foot, Zipcar, plane or rental car. We can barely make it to Cambridge on foot (in heels that is). Zipcar only allows 150 miles round trip and one day rentals. So that's out. This means Jet Blue and Enterprise Rental Car will be sucking us dry. It's too bad people choose to get married on weekends, in the dead of summer or worse on the 4th of July (no offense Kate). I mean really, the rates are substantially lower during the week, and on holidays, forget about it. I'm trying hard not to complain because a vacation IS a vacation, but the thought of spending my yearly income on transportation gives me a minor-major anxiety attack.

Thanks to the photographer, everything is documented:

I do own a number of dresses. French Connection can vouch for that. But how many times can you buy a dress to wear to a night wedding in the summer. I can't afford that many. So that brings me to my next question. How many times can you wear the same dress to different summer night weddings? The answer is 2, maybe 3, but your pushing it. I've tried it. Believe me. But after pictures went to press (AKA Facebook) I was screwed. It looked like I had been photo shopped into different scenes with the same hair, same dress, same glass of Sauv-Blanc in hand. There I was on the dance floor with Jon with that dress on; once in the city, once in a renovated old barn and once in a candle-lit tent. Jon's response to this "No one will notice Kris." Of course no one noticed the same black pant/vest combo he sported, but after a few FB comments from friends on my one and only outfit, I was acutely aware people do notice. This is when I decided, like a bride remarrying, every wedding needs a new dress.

With invitations come registries...:

After buying the tickets, the car and the dress, all that's left is the gift. Last week we got an engagement party invite in the mail. It said they were registered at Bed, Bath & Beyond. After reading the invite and registry card together the convo went like this:

Me: "Can we go there tomorrow to get something for them since we both have the day off?"
Jon: "We don't really have to get them anything. I think that registry part is just optional. That's why it's on a separate card."
Me: "Reserve a Zipcar"

I mean, I wasn't surprised by his response at all. In the car on the way I explained to him we can't show up to the engagement party with our presence as the gift. At Bed, Bath & Beyond Jon decided we should get them something for their bathroom. Shocked he said the bathroom and not the kitchen, I agreed and we headed to the bathroom section of the store. I was thinking they probably had registered for some bathroom decor anyway. Then I heard the words "What about luffas? Everyone loves luffas." Note to self, don't let the man buy the wedding gifts.

With every save-the-date, comes a smile and a cringe. I'm always happy for the couple (don't get me wrong), I just feel bad for my wallet. I'm always excited for the wedding, and use to be a little jealous. I'm always excited for the reception, and until my experience at Bed, Bath and Beyond, I wished I was the one sending the save-the-dates. However, after booking flights and hotel rooms, dress shopping and registry searching, the idea of planning a wedding doesn't sound so glorious. For now, I'll just continue watching "Say Yes to the Dress" reruns, and except the fact my future registry will be filled with luffas in every color...

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