Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
Argyle Diamonds are about as environmentally and socially responsible as you're going to get.
They're fucking expensive though, so go with Moissanite.
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GrobianWhat's on sale?Pliers!Registered Userregular
On the topic of rings:
Germany doesn't really put the great emphasis on the engagement and/or wedding rings the US does. Especially wedding rings are typically rather plain. Engagement rings are worn by both partners, though.
A couple of years before we got married, I gave my wife a custom ring making as a present. We went to a goldsmith who taught us how to make a pretty simple (silver) ring for each other. We both used the same design (that we came up with on the spot), it took us a couple of hours and turned out great. We wore those rings all the time. On the left hand, because here the right hand is the wedding ring hand.
So when we got engaged, we simply declared those rings as our engagement rings. And then we got the same goldsmith again (she had moved her trade to another city, but still had a work bench in her apartment here and she came back because she even remembered us) and made new wedding rings with a design that was like a riff off the older one. Sadly I don't have any pictures here, but essentially the old one had grooves on the outer edges and the new one in the middle. All the pictures of our wedding day show us wearing both rings, but we then put the old ones away.
We're both not into precious stones and the history and individuality of those rings are perfect for us. Also it turned out super-cheap, comparatively, because we paid like 250€ for both rings (and then some for the engraving).
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lonelyahavaCall me Ahava ~~She/Her~~Move to New ZealandRegistered Userregular
@Vivixenne:: that gemvara website. what have you done to me. I am hemming and hawing about buying a necklace and earring sets for the wedding. I am drooling, positively drooling over this set. and I am trying to tell myself that I should not be buying it, and yet... to have that finished and sorted.
My parents never got married. There wasn't really much to it, they just... didn't. Probably because they just decided to start living together and never got round to it, or because were the only ones out of their friends/families to be in Australia, but eh.
So, when I was about 9 or 10, and we were up at a beach house for the summer holidays, we decided to 'marry' our parents. Where us kids would 'officially' pronounce them husband and wife. I think it might have been my older sister's idea, or possibly our friends who were up there with us. At any rate, we had a little ceremony on the back veranda, with just us and another family. The kids from our friends' family and all my siblings had gone and made a really nice meal for them, including cheese nibbles for beforehand.
Now I can't remember if it was before or after dinner that we decided to have the 'ceremony'. At any rate, we had bought a bag of jelly-lolly rings for the marrying thing. We'd set aside two on a plate or something, and eaten the rest. When we get to the ceremony, we look for the rings, but there's only one on the plate. We look around for a bit, and we notice that my little brother is off hiding. We go and find him, and he is really embarrassed and shy and upset. Told us to go away because he was tired and wanted to sleep.
He'd eaten one of the rings.
It didn't really matter, and we all just laughed it off and continued on anyway to have a wedding where the only thing we played was Cosby, Still, Nash and Young. And it was fantastic and great. But whenever my little brother complains about my parents being unfair, or whatever, we do always bring up that he ruined their wedding.
I love the darn thing. Center stone is ruby, and the jeweler said she can have the band soldered to the engagement ring once the time comes!
The one thing that doesn't quite come through all the time is that the arms have diamonds running up them for sparkle. Once it's out in daylight it's sparkly ring.
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UnbrokenEvaHIGH ON THE WIREBUT I WON'T TRIP ITRegistered Userregular
My grandfather gave me the engagement ring he'd given my grandmother when I told him I was planning to propose to Jerrica (I was the first grandchild to marry)
even if she doesn't like it, she has to pretend she does, otherwise she's a monster
(I'm sure she means it when she says she loves it)
My wedding band was her grandfather's, which gives it a really nice symmetry,
Well, it's about 2/3s of her grandfather's because we needed to get it taken in like whoa. It was loose on my thumb when we first got it.
I was the Best Man at my best friends' wedding 2 years ago. They didn't know when they scheduled, it but it was on the same day as my birthday. I told them no problem I mean you only get one wedding and I'll have tons of birthdays and I was honored enough they would even have a fuck like me as their Best Man. Anyway, at the reception they suprised me with a birthday cake and having the whole wedding sing happy birthday to me. Now, I'm not a crier, but I had a hard time getting through the toast after that.
Anyway, the bride's brother had the better toast.
"A while back my little sister told me she was kind of dating two dudes. Whatever, we're young and that kind of thing happens, you try out different people and see how they fit into your life .Anyway I ask her to describe the dudes. She said one is super nice, but he's kind of boring. The other is kind of a jerk, but he drives a really sweet car. Two months later she came back with this awesome dude before you today. So she made her choice. Now, I never asked which one he was, but I did notice when they drove down it was in a pretty sweet Mustang."
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VivixenneRemember your training, and we'll get through this just fine.Registered Userregular
Gonna drag @flynnie in here cuz I am totes going dress shopping with her and @amy this weekend.
I've been digging for hints about what my gf likes with regards to rings, and so far I've got, "sparkly, clear, white gold, that swoopy style setting".
My current front runner. Although first I need to measure her ring finger without her noticing, because I still want to surprise her on holiday.
This is obviously an extremely modern design, but perhaps a more classical approach to that idea would be swoopy and sparkly enough?
This is the wedding bands me and the Husband have, there is no engagement ring because LOOK at these lovely motherfuckers:
Though we both love Black Opals fiercely, I was sorely tempted when the maker of these (Hileman Silver Jewelry) also offered almost identicle rings with instead of Opal, DINOSAUR BONE inlay. My inner 6 year old made a very compelling case, but in the end, opal won out.
holy shit I have looked at exactly that same ring maker in the past; I've favourited a set he's put up on Etsy
are the gems tension-set? that's been a thing I've been curious about
No, they're not tension set, there is a solid layer of silver under the black diamonds, just the setting is very well hidden in the ring design.
And the ring maker is really nice, we accidently put in the wrong size on the order form, and sent him an email about it, and I was all freaking out because inlay rings like this are almost impossible to resize after they're made. He actually called us the day after the email was sent to say it was no problem, he changed the order to the size we needed and everything was ok. He could have just emailed back, but by the end of the phone call it was such a huge relief that I really appreciated the prompt response.
The only issue we've had with the rings at all is that, apprently, silver can tarnish very quickly if you have acidic sweat. And my husband is apparently a very acidic sweater, so his ring will look carbonite if he doesn't keep it clean :P
Before following any advice, opinions, or thoughts I may have expressed in the above post, be warned: I found Keven Costners "Waterworld" to be a very entertaining film.
Tension-set rings -- I got this one for my wife: http://boonerings.com/stone-settings/venus.htm and there is exactly zero sign of anything coming loose or getting damaged or anything after 10+ years. As someone else mentioned, this is about as sparkly a setting as you're going to find, if sparkle is something you like. Possible downside: there's a size limit on how big a stone can fit in there, because the ring needs to be as tall and wide as the stone. Upside: for the same budget, smaller size -> more sparkles; for a while back then, I knew an awful lot about diamonds.
They're all, generally speaking, fairly simple, though; if you want a ring with multiple stones or lots of filigree, this is not the place for you. (also, they're titanium or other non-"precious" materials -- that's probably part of why the tension setting lasts so well)
djmitchella on
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#pipeCocky Stride, Musky odoursPope of Chili TownRegistered Userregular
yeah gold and platinum are too soft to hold onto a tension setting
One day, when @Gatsby and I finally have enough money, we hope to get married. I think... at least I do. Dunno if he wants to live with me for the rest of my life though!
Oiiiii
On something more wedding-related, I remember when my mum married my step-dad. It was a really nice ceremony next to the coast on a little grassy outcrop above it. My mum had her hair done by the family friend who was responsible for the two meeting, fun fact that same hairdresser cuts @HyperBallad's dad's hair, and I remember psyching myself up to be the chubby, 10-11 year old ring bearer.
Their rings are this really nice, simple gold design that consist of three interlocking rings each. They represent the three kids they have on each side, with me and my older brother and sister and my step-dad's two daughters and one son. The funny thing is that the design demands a certain size, and my dad's ring barely fits him. We seriously considered having vaseline on standby in case he couldn't slide it on. My mum joked this was a preemptive security measure, meaning my dad would need be able to take it off.
The actual ceremony was nice and peaceful and the reception was fun, taking place on the beach nearby where we filled out this small popular cafe that served the best gelato. Then afterwards was probably one of my most give memories of the day.
Because I was a dumbass kid I always gave my step-dad crap when he was still just "the boyfriend". To me he wasn't my dad, I didn't know him, I'd been raised by my mum my entire life I was selfish and didn't want anyone to get in between. But by this point I really came around and started to love him, so I made a conscious effort to stop calling him by his first name and start calling him dad. Except I overdid it.
So while we were leaving as the day ended, struggling to get my seatbelt done up, I slipped and called him by his name then quickly corrected myself. He just shook his head, reached over, did my seatbelt for me, and looked me in the eye and said
"You don't have to try so hard for me."
I initially misunderstood and thought he was telling me off. Maybe he was, it was a long day and constantly hugging him because I thought I was the epitome of kindness by calling him dad without much effort behind it. And yet now I see what he meant, he didn't care what I called him, so long as I gave him as much respect as he gave me and loved him as much as he loved me. That's all that matters.
So nowadays I still call him by name, but when I truly mean it, when I talk about him to others, when I want to let them know who this man is to me
I call him dad.
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UnbrokenEvaHIGH ON THE WIREBUT I WON'T TRIP ITRegistered Userregular
dangit gatsby I didn't want to tear up at work today
As far as proposing/engagement rings go, I thought mongoose did it rather well. He got a nice placeholder ring (off of etsy) to use and for me to wear while we figured out what ring I did want. Have since moved that ring over to my other hand
As far as proposing/engagement rings go, I thought mongoose did it rather well. He got a nice placeholder ring (off of etsy) to use and for me to wear while we figured out what ring I did want. Have since moved that ring over to my other hand
Honestly I think that's what I'll do. Get something nice, but not too expensive as a fill in, cause I wouldn't even have the guts to just choose without any help.
That is a ring that says "I love you... and SCIENCE!"
Before following any advice, opinions, or thoughts I may have expressed in the above post, be warned: I found Keven Costners "Waterworld" to be a very entertaining film.
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StareosarusMrs. Lady Smart HeroFloridaRegistered Userregular
I love that it's category dinosaur.
I've also seen mammoth tusk wedding bands in the past. Can't remember where though.
FishmanPut your goddamned hand in the goddamned Box of Pain.Registered Userregular
edited April 2013
My ring is also my grandfather's ring and my father's ring.
Poppa had it made shortly after the war, when he was still at his POW weight after spending 4 years in a Japanese Prisoner-of-War camp. I think it made it to the wedding, but had to give it up not long after as he returned to a more healthy (and then unhealthy) weight.
Dad wore it only once, on his wedding day. He didn't intend on wearing a ring, on account of we worked with his hands at the time and knew people who had done severe damage by getting rings caught in machinery. He didn't have it resized, either, and it was still damned small, so after the ceremony, it went back into a box.
I wasn't sure how I felt about wearing a ring, but Jen was, so when our time came, we pulled the old ring out of it's box and had it resized. It's a random mishmash of rose gold, made from whatever precious metals were available in Hong Kong in the years after the Japanese surrender, so matching the metal was a bit tricky; there's a thin strip which doesn't quite match the rest. But on the inside, it's engraved with a trio of dates: a date in Feb 1950, a date in Oct 1976, and a date in March 2004.
lonelyahavaCall me Ahava ~~She/Her~~Move to New ZealandRegistered Userregular
It's an old rhyme from whoever knows how long.
could probably find it on wikipedia, but I'm lazy.
Something Old, Something New
Something Borrows, Something Blue
And a lucky ha'pence in her shoe
or something like that.
DRESSES!
The dress that I bought is a strapless (although I could be a halter) white cotton underlay with a rather rustic looking lace pattern over the top. It's knee length and has a nice zipper and oh it was only $40NZD because it was on sale.
It also doesn't fit anymore! I bought this dress like 2 months ago and I've apparently lost enough weight/firmed up enough since then that not even my boobs will hold it up! I am distressed about this!
It's possible that if I keep losing weight like I am, I will need to buy a completely different dress before the wedding. Because this one might not be able to be altered that much!
mightyjongyoSour CrrmEast Bay, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
Weird customs? Tea ceremonies. I mean it kind of made sense for back in the day (no it didn't) as a means of introducing the potential bride to the family but man we don't need that kind of shit anymore.
Also, not so much a weird custom but more of a culture thing, it's apparently common in Chinese weddings to have an extra table at the reception for 'just in case' or 'oh hey, I heard you had a wedding' attendees. This was a very, very nerve-wracking thing to have to deal with when you've arranged for exactly 80 people to sit down and all and your dad calls the day before and says 'oh hey these possibly six people are coming too, I forgot to tell you, it's not a big deal right? cool.' and then you have to call your event organizer to see if they can quickly put down an extra table and auuuuugh. (It turned out fine in the end, but my dad didn't quite realize why it was such a hassle).
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Blake TDo you have enemies then?Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered Userregular
Fishman everyone else just awesome'd it (as did I) but that's simple, but at the same time, it's awesome as fuck.
Also it would be cool if people kept sharing little weird wedding customs that you never hear about until we go through it.
Like, where did the something borrowed/blue/old/new come from and wtf is that even about?
Dollar dances! It seems to be a crapshoot who even knows of those much less participates in them, I've only ever been to one wedding that had one.
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VivixenneRemember your training, and we'll get through this just fine.Registered Userregular
edited April 2013
my parents totally want me to have a tea ceremony
I don't mind since it's a nice way to expose Blake's family to my culture!
plus they are meaningful in more ways that introducing the bride; the customs surrounding tea would heavily involve respecting your elders, so it means a lot when bride / groom pour tea for each other's family members
Posts
They're fucking expensive though, so go with Moissanite.
Germany doesn't really put the great emphasis on the engagement and/or wedding rings the US does. Especially wedding rings are typically rather plain. Engagement rings are worn by both partners, though.
A couple of years before we got married, I gave my wife a custom ring making as a present. We went to a goldsmith who taught us how to make a pretty simple (silver) ring for each other. We both used the same design (that we came up with on the spot), it took us a couple of hours and turned out great. We wore those rings all the time. On the left hand, because here the right hand is the wedding ring hand.
So when we got engaged, we simply declared those rings as our engagement rings. And then we got the same goldsmith again (she had moved her trade to another city, but still had a work bench in her apartment here and she came back because she even remembered us) and made new wedding rings with a design that was like a riff off the older one. Sadly I don't have any pictures here, but essentially the old one had grooves on the outer edges and the new one in the middle. All the pictures of our wedding day show us wearing both rings, but we then put the old ones away.
We're both not into precious stones and the history and individuality of those rings are perfect for us. Also it turned out super-cheap, comparatively, because we paid like 250€ for both rings (and then some for the engraving).
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
So, when I was about 9 or 10, and we were up at a beach house for the summer holidays, we decided to 'marry' our parents. Where us kids would 'officially' pronounce them husband and wife. I think it might have been my older sister's idea, or possibly our friends who were up there with us. At any rate, we had a little ceremony on the back veranda, with just us and another family. The kids from our friends' family and all my siblings had gone and made a really nice meal for them, including cheese nibbles for beforehand.
Now I can't remember if it was before or after dinner that we decided to have the 'ceremony'. At any rate, we had bought a bag of jelly-lolly rings for the marrying thing. We'd set aside two on a plate or something, and eaten the rest. When we get to the ceremony, we look for the rings, but there's only one on the plate. We look around for a bit, and we notice that my little brother is off hiding. We go and find him, and he is really embarrassed and shy and upset. Told us to go away because he was tired and wanted to sleep.
He'd eaten one of the rings.
It didn't really matter, and we all just laughed it off and continued on anyway to have a wedding where the only thing we played was Cosby, Still, Nash and Young. And it was fantastic and great. But whenever my little brother complains about my parents being unfair, or whatever, we do always bring up that he ruined their wedding.
Steam // Secret Satan
The one thing that doesn't quite come through all the time is that the arms have diamonds running up them for sparkle. Once it's out in daylight it's sparkly ring.
even if she doesn't like it, she has to pretend she does, otherwise she's a monster
(I'm sure she means it when she says she loves it)
My wedding band was her grandfather's, which gives it a really nice symmetry,
Well, it's about 2/3s of her grandfather's because we needed to get it taken in like whoa. It was loose on my thumb when we first got it.
I was the Best Man at my best friends' wedding 2 years ago. They didn't know when they scheduled, it but it was on the same day as my birthday. I told them no problem I mean you only get one wedding and I'll have tons of birthdays and I was honored enough they would even have a fuck like me as their Best Man. Anyway, at the reception they suprised me with a birthday cake and having the whole wedding sing happy birthday to me. Now, I'm not a crier, but I had a hard time getting through the toast after that.
Anyway, the bride's brother had the better toast.
"A while back my little sister told me she was kind of dating two dudes. Whatever, we're young and that kind of thing happens, you try out different people and see how they fit into your life .Anyway I ask her to describe the dudes. She said one is super nice, but he's kind of boring. The other is kind of a jerk, but he drives a really sweet car. Two months later she came back with this awesome dude before you today. So she made her choice. Now, I never asked which one he was, but I did notice when they drove down it was in a pretty sweet Mustang."
I am so excited.
( @AJR @chrishallett83 )
Doooof I love that
No, they're not tension set, there is a solid layer of silver under the black diamonds, just the setting is very well hidden in the ring design.
And the ring maker is really nice, we accidently put in the wrong size on the order form, and sent him an email about it, and I was all freaking out because inlay rings like this are almost impossible to resize after they're made. He actually called us the day after the email was sent to say it was no problem, he changed the order to the size we needed and everything was ok. He could have just emailed back, but by the end of the phone call it was such a huge relief that I really appreciated the prompt response.
The only issue we've had with the rings at all is that, apprently, silver can tarnish very quickly if you have acidic sweat. And my husband is apparently a very acidic sweater, so his ring will look carbonite if he doesn't keep it clean :P
Boone has a lot of more curvy options for stone settings: http://boonerings.com/stone.htm
Some of the other materials can hold stones, too; http://boonerings.com/black-zirconium/zircstone.htm is pretty dramatic, for instance. http://boonerings.com/meteorite-series/blackmeteoriteprincess.htm has meteorite inlay; there's a whole lot of things he does nowadays, wood, mokume, etc.
They're all, generally speaking, fairly simple, though; if you want a ring with multiple stones or lots of filigree, this is not the place for you. (also, they're titanium or other non-"precious" materials -- that's probably part of why the tension setting lasts so well)
Need some stuff designed or printed? I can help with that.
Oiiiii
On something more wedding-related, I remember when my mum married my step-dad. It was a really nice ceremony next to the coast on a little grassy outcrop above it. My mum had her hair done by the family friend who was responsible for the two meeting, fun fact that same hairdresser cuts @HyperBallad's dad's hair, and I remember psyching myself up to be the chubby, 10-11 year old ring bearer.
Their rings are this really nice, simple gold design that consist of three interlocking rings each. They represent the three kids they have on each side, with me and my older brother and sister and my step-dad's two daughters and one son. The funny thing is that the design demands a certain size, and my dad's ring barely fits him. We seriously considered having vaseline on standby in case he couldn't slide it on. My mum joked this was a preemptive security measure, meaning my dad would need be able to take it off.
The actual ceremony was nice and peaceful and the reception was fun, taking place on the beach nearby where we filled out this small popular cafe that served the best gelato. Then afterwards was probably one of my most give memories of the day.
Because I was a dumbass kid I always gave my step-dad crap when he was still just "the boyfriend". To me he wasn't my dad, I didn't know him, I'd been raised by my mum my entire life I was selfish and didn't want anyone to get in between. But by this point I really came around and started to love him, so I made a conscious effort to stop calling him by his first name and start calling him dad. Except I overdid it.
So while we were leaving as the day ended, struggling to get my seatbelt done up, I slipped and called him by his name then quickly corrected myself. He just shook his head, reached over, did my seatbelt for me, and looked me in the eye and said
"You don't have to try so hard for me."
I initially misunderstood and thought he was telling me off. Maybe he was, it was a long day and constantly hugging him because I thought I was the epitome of kindness by calling him dad without much effort behind it. And yet now I see what he meant, he didn't care what I called him, so long as I gave him as much respect as he gave me and loved him as much as he loved me. That's all that matters.
So nowadays I still call him by name, but when I truly mean it, when I talk about him to others, when I want to let them know who this man is to me
I call him dad.
I too have an amazing (step)dad
~ sniff~
Honestly I think that's what I'll do. Get something nice, but not too expensive as a fill in, cause I wouldn't even have the guts to just choose without any help.
Need some stuff designed or printed? I can help with that.
http://jewelrybyjohan.com/Category_Dinosaur.aspx
dinosaur bone & meteorite
aw yiss
I've also seen mammoth tusk wedding bands in the past. Can't remember where though.
though i really, really like darkly coloured rings
meteorite, i guess, onyx ... i just like dark.
@bombardier had mentioned the idea of a black ring with like, a thin red stripe around it, for him
i kind of like that idea myself, too.
I've been looking at the spate of carbon fiber inlays for mine, but the dinosaur bone and meteorite is pretty swank...
I'm not gonna lie... I think this is amazing and I desperately want one now.
I wonder if I could convince @ecco the dolphin to wear a dinosaur bone wedding ring. I wonder if that's cool enough for him.
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
Love finds a way.
Poppa had it made shortly after the war, when he was still at his POW weight after spending 4 years in a Japanese Prisoner-of-War camp. I think it made it to the wedding, but had to give it up not long after as he returned to a more healthy (and then unhealthy) weight.
Dad wore it only once, on his wedding day. He didn't intend on wearing a ring, on account of we worked with his hands at the time and knew people who had done severe damage by getting rings caught in machinery. He didn't have it resized, either, and it was still damned small, so after the ceremony, it went back into a box.
I wasn't sure how I felt about wearing a ring, but Jen was, so when our time came, we pulled the old ring out of it's box and had it resized. It's a random mishmash of rose gold, made from whatever precious metals were available in Hong Kong in the years after the Japanese surrender, so matching the metal was a bit tricky; there's a thin strip which doesn't quite match the rest. But on the inside, it's engraved with a trio of dates: a date in Feb 1950, a date in Oct 1976, and a date in March 2004.
Going to discuss flowers and then cupcakes!
NOM!
cupcakes are going to be lemon cake with lemon curd and then a meringue top.
I am going to be super stoked if they're as awesome as I want them to be!
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
Like, where did the something borrowed/blue/old/new come from and wtf is that even about?
could probably find it on wikipedia, but I'm lazy.
Something Old, Something New
Something Borrows, Something Blue
And a lucky ha'pence in her shoe
or something like that.
DRESSES!
The dress that I bought is a strapless (although I could be a halter) white cotton underlay with a rather rustic looking lace pattern over the top. It's knee length and has a nice zipper and oh it was only $40NZD because it was on sale.
It also doesn't fit anymore! I bought this dress like 2 months ago and I've apparently lost enough weight/firmed up enough since then that not even my boobs will hold it up! I am distressed about this!
It's possible that if I keep losing weight like I am, I will need to buy a completely different dress before the wedding. Because this one might not be able to be altered that much!
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
wedding ring..
it's BLUE
http://jewelrybyjohan.com/Product.aspx?pID=278#prettyPhoto
Democrats Abroad! || Vote From Abroad
Also, not so much a weird custom but more of a culture thing, it's apparently common in Chinese weddings to have an extra table at the reception for 'just in case' or 'oh hey, I heard you had a wedding' attendees. This was a very, very nerve-wracking thing to have to deal with when you've arranged for exactly 80 people to sit down and all and your dad calls the day before and says 'oh hey these possibly six people are coming too, I forgot to tell you, it's not a big deal right? cool.' and then you have to call your event organizer to see if they can quickly put down an extra table and auuuuugh. (It turned out fine in the end, but my dad didn't quite realize why it was such a hassle).
Satans..... hints.....
Dollar dances! It seems to be a crapshoot who even knows of those much less participates in them, I've only ever been to one wedding that had one.
I don't mind since it's a nice way to expose Blake's family to my culture!
plus they are meaningful in more ways that introducing the bride; the customs surrounding tea would heavily involve respecting your elders, so it means a lot when bride / groom pour tea for each other's family members
We're thinking instead of the dollar dance, we're going to have two donation jars up front. Whoever's is fullest gets the face full of cake.