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A P U B L I C AT I O N O F O N M Y O W N N O W M I N I S T R I E S may/1O
jeans
to a wedding?
Seriously?
marriage:
why wait?
Not My
Wedding!
w w w. o n m y o w n n o w. c o m
4. STRAIGHT TALK FROM THE PROVERBS
ARE YOUR FRIENDS SUCKING
THE LIFE OUT OF YOU
By Donna Lee Schillinger
Art Director
18. FASHION DIVINA
GOING TO THE CHAPEL...
Daniela Bermúdez FOR SOMEONE’ ELSE’S WEDDING
www.twitter.com/donamexa By Tamara Jane
On My Own Now:
Straight talk from the
Proverbs for young
Christian women who
want to remain pure,
debt-free and regret-free.
Now available at
www.onmyownnow.com,
at Amazon, B&N and a library
near you.
Unconventionally
conventional
wisdom.
ARE YOUR
straight talk
FRIENDS
<<< SUCKING
THE LIFE OUT
OF YOU? by donna lee schillinger
There are takers and givers. Which one are you?
Takers? I’ve known a few. Some extreme, others subtle.
In more than one case, it took me many years to fig-
ure out that I was in a relationship (a friendship) with
a taker. Takers can be interesting and fun people. They
can invite you to their house and make you dinner. They
can even listen to your problems (for a while). But when
push comes to shove and you really need something
from them – they are unavailable! When put to the test
– they fail!
If you’re a generous person, a giver, you’ll want to over-
look that time when your taker friend wouldn’t help you
or when she was absent when you needed her to be pres-
ent. That’s fine. I’ve done that before and in retrospect,
I say it’s fine, as long as you don’t suffer from delusions
that she will be there for you the next time. You know
that old saying, “A friend in need is a friend indeed,”
well, the opposite is true too. “If a friend is conspicu-
ously missing when you’re in need, that person is not
friend – take heed.”
About a decade ago, I met a woman named Lucy through
work. She was witty and energetic, analytical and a lov-
ing mother. We became friends.
4
<<<
The sluggard’s craving will be the death of It’s nuts.) Anyway, I let the machine take Lucy’s call.
She was wishing me well and said that she would send
her because her hands refuse to work. All day my gift. I’ve been married seven years now and I’m still
waiting for that gift. I never even got a card!
long she craves for more but the righteous Some months later, Lucy called again. I wasn’t home;
she left a message and that was the last I heard from
give without sparing. her.
Proverbs 21:25-26 Besides the occasional need for a babysitter, I’m not
one that needs a lot or asks for much. So it took my
wedding for me to find out who my real friends were.
About two years into our friendship, Lucy started to My time of need was one of the most special days of
have personal problems. Her boyfriend (who was half my life, a day I had often dreamed of, and wanted all
her age) dumped her for a woman his own age (go fig- my good friends to share. My wedding was awesome!
ure). Lucy was devastated and desperate. But it also holds some sad memories as well – the re-
Now, I’m sure you’ve had a girlfriend who was obsessed alization that a few people I had called “friend” were
with the topic of her breakup, and maybe even you have not that at all. Lucy wasn’t the only person who let me
been that person. When going through a breakup, it’s down on that day. Another “friend,” Paul, called me the
all a person thinks about. Most of us, however, have day before my wedding and bailed. He was driving in
the good sense to try to change the subject every once from six hours away and he was supposed to bring my
in a while because, even in our wounded state, we can teenage brothers with him. He knew that his decision
see what a burden we’re being to our friends. Not Lucy. not to attend would make it impossible for my brothers
to be there. And yet he didn’t even apologize!
Lucy poured out her feelings to me. She was the first
and only friend that has ever literally cried on my Both Paul and Lucy really disappointed me that day.
shoulder. It was awkward – I didn’t know how to com- Over the weeks and months that followed, I reflected
fort her, so I was just there for her for hours and days, on the years of our relationships and the many con-
in person and on the phone. versations into the wee morning hours with both, and
realized I had been providing some sort of therapy for
Eventually she got through it and eventually, I moved them. I had listened to their troubles, given advice,
away, but I visited her even from a few states away. provided references and visited them. It hadn’t oc-
The last time I visited Lucy, I was engaged to be mar- curred to me before, but our relationships had been
ried. She said she was coming to my wedding. I men- very lopsided. Both are really interesting people with
tioned that I was registered at such and such place and good senses of humor and I suppose that is what kept
she said she wouldn’t dare stoop to buying a gift off me engaged in the relationships. But they were inca-
the registry. She didn’t want to give a place setting or a pable of giving to me the one time I needed it. Not co-
blender – she was going to search for a unique gift that incidentally, Paul didn’t send even a card either, and all
my future husband and I would appreciate for years to I ever heard from him again was also one message on
come. The way she described it, she put me in mind of the answering machine.
an original painting or sculpture. While on the one hand, I found myself disappointed by
In the months before my wedding, Lucy called and some people I thought to be good friends, my wedding
e-mailed many times, always reiterating her plans to day also held pleasant surprises: gifts of time and effort
come to my wedding. I asked Lucy if she would play a from people from whom I hadn’t asked or expected it.
special role in my wedding and she agreed. A few weeks Even as I was entering into a new phase of life, joining
away from the big day, Lucy started mentioning the my life to that of another person, I was learning valu-
difficulties with the various transportation options she able lessons about true friendship. It was a lot to pack
had. She finally settled on driving. in one day.
Three days before my wedding, she called me and told I hope that as you develop friendships, you’ll occasion-
me she was not going to be there – something about ally “do the math” to assess if you’re in a lopsided rela-
tires. This is the last thing a bride wants to hear and tionship with a taker. Takers may fill your social calen-
especially when the person was going to have a role in dar well enough, but don’t plan your wedding around
the wedding! I took it in stride while I was on the phone them.
with her, but I was upset. Hold this thought: You can give all you want to a “tak-
On the day of my wedding, she called again. (By the er.” It will never be enough.
way, why do people do that? Have you ever been franti-
cally preparing for a party only to have the phone ring a
dozen times – people who are coming to the party who
The leech has two daughters,
just want to ask a “quick question”? A woman on her “Give! Give!’ they cry.
><
wedding day is a bundle of raw nerves and has a thou-
sand things to do. And everyone wants a piece of her! Proverbs 30:15
5
moving out ... settling in
Not My
Wedding!
by Kimberly Miller
W
hen our editor informed us that the May is-
sue of Single! was themed NOT my wedding,
it struck me as a near impossible writing as-
signment! At time of writing, I am 37 days away from
my wedding. At this wonderfully bizarre time in my life
when I can hardly take my mind off of my wedding and
new house, I have been charged with sharing what my
wedding is not (although I’d really rather tell you about
what it will be). Looking back, however, I realize I had
to evaluate what my wedding wouldn’t be before I knew
what it would be.
6
n n
The first thing I knew my wedding I did not want my wedding to be a joke.
wouldn’t be was anywhere other than I’ve been to weddings where the groom always seemed
my home town. to be cracking jokes or cutting up with the groomsmen.
It was a great show, but it was just that: a show. In
My brother had a beautiful wedding in a glass cha- my opinion, a wedding isn’t the appropriate place for
pel in Eureka Springs, Ark., and both he and his bride theatrics. I think a wedding should be fun and have
were thrilled with it. The surrounds were undeniably some moments of laughter, but it should also be rever-
beautiful, but planning and preparation were compli- ent and sincere. It is, after all, a covenant before God.
cated by the fact that the happy couple lived in Dal- I take that seriously! My fiancé has an awesome sense
las and neither set of parents lived very near Eureka of humor, and he makes me laugh every day. There’s
Springs. Fine for them, but I knew it wasn’t for me. always time for jokes on the honeymoon.
n n
Along the same lines, I didn’t want a As a matter of necessity as well as
destination wedding. personal choice, I knew my wedding
My single, solitary reason is this: You cannot expect wouldn’t be terribly expensive.
all of your friends and family to attend a destination
wedding. If I had enough money to pay for everyone I Although we have been extraordinarily blessed, we do
know to hop a jet and join me in Antigua, you’d better not come from rich families. Although we have never
believe I would. To both my fiancé and me, having the lacked anything we needed, money is an object. I don’t
people we love at our wedding is the top priority. care if the average cost of a wedding in this country is
$20,000 (yes, it is). Not my wedding! We have a bud-
get, and we’re sticking to it. And trust me—it’s way un-
der $20,000.
n
Finally, my wedding would not be
cheap.
Not terribly expensive, but not cheap either.
It’s worth it to spend a little extra on the de-
tails that matter. Each person will balance
that differently, but I chose real flowers and
the dress that made me cry. A friend of mine is
using plastic table cloths at her daughter’s wed-
ding. There isn’t a thing in the world wrong with
“I did not that, but I preferred to spend a little more for cloth.
I did not, however, pay $2,000 for the venue I really
wanted. Instead, I settled for the church gym that cost
wedding to be
wedding, in my opinion, is to wait until you know your
groom. I can’t help but notice how many advertise-
ments there are in bridal magazines for engagement
rings. If you’re looking at a bridal magazine, shouldn’t
7
center ring
8
A couple of months ago I had a conversation with I suspect that nearly all of us are familiar with the stud-
a young man named Eric. He is 27 years old. When ies reporting that age at marriage and marital success
Eric was in college, he dated a woman (Andrea) whom are inversely related --- in other words, the earlier you
he described as “the love of my life.” As Eric put it: marry, the less likely you are to experience marital suc-
“Andrea and I got along great. We had chemistry. cess.
We could talk for hours. Or we could just hang out, In light of such studies, it is only logical to wait. And
perfectly comfortable simply being together, saying we are led to believe that the longer you wait, the bet-
almost nothing. We never seemed to be at a loss for ter.
things that we enjoyed doing together. And it stayed
this way for over three years.” But did you know that this is only true up to about age
22? If you marry prior to 21 or 22 years old, then the
What could be better? Eric had found the love of his probability of marital success goes down drastically.
life. They had chemistry. They were able to commu- But after age 22, this is no longer true.
nicate. They enjoyed each other’s company. The re-
lationship had shown staying power (thriving for over In fact, recent evidence has suggested that the highest
three years). quality marriages are found among those who married
at ages 22 – 25.
John R. Buri, Ph.D., is a professor of Psychology at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is the au-
thor of the book How To Love Your Wife. He also has published over 75 articles, questionnaires and professional papers.
John has spent 20+ years working with couples and has extensive experience doing marriage prep and marriage enrich-
ment with groups in the upper Midwest.
This article was reprinted with permission from “Love Bytes: Insights on Our Deepest Desire”, a blog of PsychologyToday.
com.
9
by Reba Ray
yur place look like when you clean out all the clutter it’s illegal to pick wildflowers, I’m bettin’ if you keep
from the front room? Could you push yur stuff in the yur eyes open, you can find some pretty wild some-
bedroom and fit in a couple of borrowed tables from thing growin’ somewhere it’s OK to pick. If you have
yur church, or Grandma’s foldin’ card tables? (You can any public lands around ya – even if you have to drive
always count on a grandma to have a foldin’ card table half an hour to get to them – you can pick all you want
1O
there. How about asking yur local church or someone Now for the vittles. If yur on a tight budget, forget a ca-
in yur church for some clippins? There’s a church in my terer. And don’t bother lookin’ into ordering made up
neighborhood that has holly trees with bright red ber- food from a grocery deli either. If you’ve got more time
ries on dark green pointy leaves for about four months than money, make it work for ya by throwing the vittles
outta the year. I feel sure if I walked in the office with together yerself. I’m gonna give ya a sample menu with
a smile and asked the secretary if I could have some recipettes that you can prepare for 25 people for well
clippins’ for a bridal shower, she’d say, “Reba, take all under $50. What?! You read me right! And if you fol-
ya want!” Flowers and such are expensive, so you really low my recommendations about preparing the food in
need to find ya a source of free greens and let them and advance, you won’t be runnin’ around like a chicken
the 10-cent vases be yur décor. with yur head cut off the day of the shower. Hint: Plan
the shower at a non-meal time, like 2 p.m. This says
Not feelin’ the free greens? How about decoratin’ with clear as a whistle, “Don’t come hungry to this event.”
balloons? That dudn’t sound right either? Dang, yur Yur guests will expect food, but not a meal. And hope-
hard to please. You better head on over to the best blog fully, the crowd is full of dainty little things who’re too
I’ve found for do-it-yurself party themes and décor. polite to make pigs of themselves in public!
Surely you can find something you like at Hostess
with the Mostess. Finally, don’t go blowin’ a wad on fancy servin’ dishes.
Ask around to borrow that sort of thing. If everyone you
Dishes and the like? You could do paper from the dol- know is as dish-destitute as you, head to the $1 store
lar store – perfectly acceptable. But if you want, you (that’s not Dollar General, where things cost more than
could go a little nicer and just make that yur shower a dollar, but a store where everything is one dollar, like
gift to the bride. I’m not talkin’ china, but some colorful Dollar Tree), and you’ll probably be able to find some-
plastic picnic plates and glasses. thin’ to work in a pinch (a penny pinch, that is).
Menu
Chicken Salad Finger Sandwiches on Pumpernickel
Tortilla Pin Wheels
Palmiers
Chocolate-covered Strawberries
Lemon Cake
Raspberry Iced Tea
11
Yur Shoppin’ List You’ll Also Need but Probably Have
(Buy generic whenever possible) • 1 ½ cups of sugar
• One box tea $2 • Oil
• 48 or 64 oz. cran-raspberry juice $2.50 • 2 tablespoons flour
• Package large tortillas $2 • Up to 3 eggs
• Can medium black olives $1.90 • Ice cube trays – beg, borrow or buy from Goodwill
• 2 packages full fat cream cheese $3.40 or the $1 store
• Small package of lunch meat
(ham or roast beef work well) $1.50
• One package puff pastry $4
• One package chocolate chips $2
• Two packages fresh strawberries,
the bigger the better $5
• 2 loaves pumpernickel bread $6
• Prepared chicken salad
(not from the deli, but in a plastic tub) $11
• Cake mix $1.50
• Prepared icing $1.50
• Fresh mint $3
Tortilla Pin Wheels lar sandwiches or cut them in one-fourth squares. You
shouldn’t need to cut the crust off of pumpernickel – it
One package large tortillas, one can black olives, 16 oz. all looks the same. Can’t find pumpernickel sliced? My
cream cheese, one package cheap lunch meat local Wal-Mart has a swirled pumpernickel-rye sliced
bread that would make a fine substitute. Makes about
Chop olives and lunch meat to smithereens. Spread 36 sandwiches.
cream cheese all over the tortillas, about 1/8 of an
inch thick. Sprinkle all over with olive and lunch meat
smithereens. Roll the tortillas, and cut into ¾” disks. Palmiers
Make the night before and seal in air tight container
One package puff pastry, one package chocolate chips
in the fridge. Bring them out about an hour before the
shower to warm to room temp – makes ‘em taste bet- Make these the day before.
ter. Makes a whole heap.
Sprinkle a clean counter with sugar and unfold a thawed
puff pastry sheet on to the sugary surface. Brush it with
Chicken Salad on Pumpernickel water and sprinkle on some more sugar. Roll the dough
from both sides inward like yur foldin’ up the paper on
One loaf pumpernickel, prepared chicken salad an ancient scroll. Sprinkle the scroll with sugar, wrap
I’m all for fixin’ from scratch, but c’mon Girls, yur fixin’ ‘er with wax paper and stick ‘er in the fridge for an
a whole mess o’food and you’ve gotta make everything hour. Repeat this with the second sheet of puff pastry.
purdy, dress yerself up and a hunderd other things, so When the hour’s up, preheat the oven to 400˚F. Re-
let someone else make the chicken salad. It’s not that move one roll from the fridge and the wax paper and
much cheaper to make it from scratch anyway. cut it into 1/3 to 1/2 –inch slices with a sharp knife. Dip
Just plop a scoop of chicken salad on a piece of bread the little butterfly wings into sugar and put ‘em about
and spread it all the way to the edge. Top with an- and inch and a half apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
other and either cut in thirds, makin’ long rectangu- Press down just a little on each cookie with the back of
12
a tablespoon, then bake for five to seven minutes on the cake with cream cheese icing is a nice shower cake. If
top rack. Bring ‘em out when the edges are just turn- yur skills are up to it, try a two-layer cake. No pans?
ing brown. Flip ‘em over and bake ‘em a little more – Head to the dollar store, where you can buy two square
maybe five more minutes – until they’re golden brown. or round disposable pans for a dollar. Be sure to fol-
Get ‘em off the cookie sheet fast when you take ‘em out low package directions to the letter, particularly about
of the oven. They’re sticky suckers and need to dry on a the part where you grease and flour the pan. Recently
dish or a wire rack. Reba’s hubby tried baking a cake all by himself. He ap-
plied logic to the package directions and decided that
After cookies are cooled, heat half the package of if he was using a nonstick pan, he didn’t need to grease
chocolate chips in the microwave (90 seconds) or in a and flour the pan, like the package said. Well, the birds
small pan, stirring constantly. Dip one side of a cook- really liked that cake, and fortunately, he started early
ie in chocolate sauce and set on wax paper to harden. enough in the mornin’ to get to the store for another
Dip half the cookies and leave the other half naked box of cake mix. Read and heed! Top the cake with a
for those odd sorts that don’t like chocolate. Store the shower favor, some mint leaves (on a lemon cake) or
chocolate-dipped cookies in a cool place if you don’t a plump strawberry with greens still on (on the straw-
want a sloppy, chocolate mess on yur hands. Makes berry cake). Take note: this is the only food yur servin’
about 48 cookies. that requires an eatin’ implement (a fork). You could
Spoon out any crumbs from yur chocolate sauce and avoid this by making mini cupcakes instead, but you’d
put it in the fridge, awaitin’ further instructions. need a mini muffin pan and some cupcake cups. If you
have to buy a pan, might as well buy the plastic forks
and make life easier on yurself.
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
When strawberries are in season, they’re pretty cheap, Iced Raspberry Tea
but in the dead of winter, you should substitute some-
thing like dried apricots for this. If using strawberries, One pitcher sweet, one unsweetened, plus one pitcher
do this the same day as the shower – no more than a water.
few hours ahead. Prepare this the night before by making ice cubes with
Two packages of strawberries, washed. The other half 64 oz. of cran-raspberry juice, and making tea accord-
of the bag of chocolate chips ing to package directions for both sweet and unsweet-
ened pitchers. Chill all night. Last thing before the
Add the rest of the chocolate chips to the leftover shower starts, fill each clear glass with six raspberry ice
chocolate from the Palmiers and melt it all like you did cubes. Toss a mint leaf on top of those cubes. Then let
for the cookies. Then grabbin’ the strawberries by the yur guests fill their own glasses with sweetened or un-
green, like you were hangin’ a kid by his hair (not like sweetened tea. Also set out six or so glasses with regu-
you’d ever do that), swirl that strawberry around in the lar ice for the plain Jane types. This cran-raspberry ice
hot chocolate sauce. Set dipped berries on wax paper thing also works well with lemonade, but tea is cheaper.
and move to the fridge when you get a plate full. Keep
these chilled until right before the shower starts. Yur
probably gonna run out of chocolate before you run out
of strawberries. Not a problem. Set the undipped ber-
ries on one side of the plate and the dipped ones on the
other – not everybody eats chocolate, ya know. Makes
about 35.
A Cake
OK, Reba’s gonna go no-nonsense here and suggest
you use a box mix for yur cake. Lemon or strawberry
13
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“ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly, reaps spar-
ingly. And whoever sows generously will also reap gen-
erously. Each man should give what he has decided in his
heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for
God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:6-7
Dear Improverished,
Gabby’s giving herself a big hug just thinking Heartfelt gifts don’t have to carry giant price
about this wedding. Weddings are so great! tags. Any craft or art that you are good at is a
There’s the happy bride and groom, glowing really personal offering for the couple. A hand-
and so into each other. There’s dancing and painted ceramic plate, silk wreath, or watercol-
laughing guests, the mother of the groom giddy or painting, for example. Or how ‘bout a favor-
with relief. The music, the flowers, the flower ite bottle of champagne for their honeymoon or
girls – all beautiful. Maybe a little champagne… even a blanket for their sofa? There are some
okay, maybe a lot. And somewhere behind the easy no-sew fleece designs you can do your-
Boston fern are the bridesmaids and the father self—or if you’re a knitter – even better! Gabby
of the bride, all weeping over the bills they’ve received a crocheted blanket for her wedding
been handed to make this event so beautiful. and every time she uses it she thinks about the
person who stitched it, loop by loop. The point
Weddings are wonderful, but they also can be is, giving generously of your heart doesn’t have
a real financial challenge – for both the guests to make you poor in the pocket.
and the couple getting married. It’s so easy to
get caught up in the festivities that the reality As Paul reminds us in 2nd Corinthians, “God
of how much money is being spent doesn’t hit loves a cheerful giver.” If, however, the burden
until the hangover. But the long and short of of dresses, shoes, hotels, showers and gifts is
it is, even though you’re spending a lot to be more than one gal’s pocketbook can bear, then
in this wedding, bridesmaids should give both you need to be upfront with your friend. Better
a shower and a wedding present. That’s part she should know your situation than to think
of what you sign on for when you agree to be your lack of generosity is a reflection of your af-
in the wedding. Usually, it’s the bridesmaids fection or esteem for her. That way, with a full
who throw the shower party which, depending heart, you can firmly hand the tissues to father
on how elaborate it is, could very well be seen of the bride, get out from behind that fern and
to be the gift itself. However, most still give a show everyone how the chicken dance is really
shower gift to the bride. But since the shower done.
and the wedding are two separate events, all
bridesmaids should still give a wedding pres-
ent. That doesn’t mean, however, that it has to - Gabster
come with a payment plan.
15
Spare Change
16
So what can you give to make sure
that you go down in history as
having given a “good gift” – even if
you’re strapped for cash?
Get Crafty
(Or at least minimally crafty): There are plenty of ways to save a little cash by making your own creative, per-
sonalized gift. If you are close to the bride and groom and have a lot of photos and/or mementos of their court-
ship, you might consider making a mini-scrapbook -- or if you are a little more technically-minded, a video or
photo slideshow. Or how about embellishing a photo frame, framing their wedding invitation, or a love poem
written in beautiful calligraphy (or even typed in a fancy script)? One of my personal favorite things to make for
people is a scripture jar. I buy a tall glass jar and then decorate it with ribbons and clear-backed scrapbooking
stickers. I type about ten pages of scriptures in different fonts and print on colored card stock. After cutting
out the verses I fill up the jar. It’s fairly inexpensive and you don’t need much talent (obviously since I can do it
and I’m not getting my own show on HGTV anytime soon). If going in this direction be sure your gift turns out
classy and sophisticated (and not kindergarten art and crafts class), matches the style and tastes of the couple
and has some usefulness or sentimental value.
Offer a Service:
Another avenue to consider is volunteering your time or talent as a service to the happy couple. Are you a cake
decorator? Photographer? Hair stylist? Pianist? Maybe you have a knack for organization or decorating? If so,
consider volunteering your service as a gift. However, a word of caution, make sure that you actually have the
talent to pull off the service you are volunteering. You don’t want to be the bride’s makeup artist and end up
giving her a look that’s a cross between Tammy Faye Bakker and Lady Gaga. If you aren’t the Ace of Cakes or
Annie Leibovitz, you can still volunteer a service that would help the bride and groom, such as house- or dogsit-
ting while the love birds are honeymooning. Maybe they need someone to water the plants? Pick up the mail?
Clean up after the reception, including returning rental items? Talk to the bride and groom well before their big
day and ask how you can help them out as your gift.
Store Bought:
If you don’t know the couple well enough to perform a service or don’t have a creative bone in your body, you
still don’t have to go broke buying off the gift registry. First make sure that you shop early while the selection is
best. To be honest, when I get my gift registry print out at the store, I scan the price column first and pinpoint
the items within my price range (cheap!). The earlier you hit up the registry, the more “reasonably priced” items
will be available. If you still cannot find anything within your price range, don’t feel bad about going in with a
friend or two. You may even be able to get a considerably better gift by pooling together with them. You can also
consider picking up a few small, useable items the newlyweds will need for their new home and placing them in
a nice gift basket. However, make sure you really think outside the box if going this route. You don’t want to be
the giver of one of six salt-and-pepper shaker sets the couple receives. If you are really stuck, then think about
buying a gift card for movie tickets or the couple’s favorite restaurant. After all, date nights shouldn’t stop after
the knot has been tied. Of course, if everything else fails just go with cold hard cash, which might be the most
use to many couples and would be appreciated in any amount.
The bottom line is that you should consider the personality and tastes of the couple and what they might re-
member on their 50th anniversary. It probably won’t be the toaster that broke after two years of wedded bliss,
but the thoughtful gift. (Or maybe the really freaky gift, but don’t give that one.) And remember, at the end of
the wedding day, the new Mr. and Mrs. are likely more concerned about you just being a part of their happy
day than some extravagant gift.
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I n a society that finds it accept- I’ve always believed that you should dress up for
a wedding. It’s the most memorable day yet in the
able for students to wear paja- life of the bride and groom and the guests are key in
mas and boxer shorts to class, is it helping to make that memory. I wore dress pants to
a wedding once, and I think that is about as casual as
any surprise that people show up a female guest should go to a wedding. However, I’ve
to weddings these days in jeans? noticed at the last few weddings I’ve attended, that
some people wear jeans. I thought to myself, “Seri-
ously? Jeans?”
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and now can’t bear to part with or stoop to wearing beach that it’s OK for you to show up in capris and
again. Don’t worry about someone recognizing the a tank top. It is still the right thing for you to do, as
dress as your friend’s. Dresses look different on dif- a friend and supporter of this union, to hobble out
ferent people. No one will notice! No friends your in the sand in your dress shoes. Always better to ask
size? In this case, I’d refer you back to my column than to under-dress.
on how to look great on the cheap. If you can
afford a value meal at your favorite fast food place,
you’ve got enough to buy a nice secondhand dress. Color? It’s OK to try to dress to the colors of the wed-
“I feel so awkward in a dress. I’m afraid to eat, drink ding, but don’t feel obligated to – anything that is
or dance.” Afraid to eat? Try a bib. You’d look a lot seasonal and appropriate to the level of formality of
less silly with your napkin tucked in your dress than the event is fine. Black? It used to be considered bad
“
you would in jeans. Afraid to dance? Then don’t. If form to wear black to weddings, but that has gone
you must be in jeans to dance, just sit this one out. the way of white after Labor Day. Black seems more
”
choice of clothing in as high regard as you
hold the people you are celebrating.
“The wedding is outside and it’s going to be cold and appropriate for an evening event, however.
windy.” Here’s a situation that might warrant dress
pants, depending on how cold we’re talking. Maybe Let’s be clear about the motive here. Whatever you
you own a dress, but not dressy outerwear. Admit- decide to wear, it should not be about you. In your
tedly, that is harder to find secondhand or borrowed. decision-making, you should be doing unto others as
If it’s a cold-weather, outdoor wedding, you’re going you would have them do to you. Your goal is to con-
to need to start early trying to find something suit- tribute to the warm memories made that day. You
able, but the same strategies apply. don’t want to stand out in the happy couple’s mem-
ory for having stolen the spotlight with a peacock
Have we come to terms with jeans being taboo for feather hat and a plunging neckline, nor for sticking
a wedding? Okay, then, so what should we wear? out like a sore thumb as the only one in jeans. Blend!
Some clues as to how formal the event will be can Be the memory! For more on what to wear to a wed-
be found in the invitation. Where will the wedding ding, check out Westchester Weddings.com’s
be? Where is the reception? Check out the couple’s guest attire suggstions.
wedding Web site, if available, to see if the bride has
made any suggestions. If you’re still wondering, ask Weddings are unlike any other event. They are a cel-
one of the attendants. Are the groomsmen going to ebration of two people. They don’t come once a year
be in tuxes? Then you should dress formal as well. like birthdays, and there aren’t 300 other people cel-
If they’re going to be in shirt and tie – follow suit ebrating the same occasion in the same place, like
with business casual attire. Don’t assume that just graduations. Hold your choice of clothing in as high
because the couple is tying the knot barefoot on the regard as you hold the people you are celebrating.
by Tamara Jane
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