The WIC debunked (Part I)

The WIC (wedding industrial complex) has struck again! Before I got engaged I never saw the point in ordering programs. I mean, why do you need a piece of paper telling you whose getting married? However, over the past eight months, as my addiction to wedding porn has gotten almost unbearable, I had convinced myself of their necessity. Every wedding I saw, and (*almost) every blog I read had programs. They were everywhere. And while I’ve always prided myself on not following the crowd, somewhere along the way I forgot about my program prejudice. I told myself that I needed them, that they were vital to the ceremony. I told myself that this would be a way to recognize those in the wedding party and thank those who had helped us….

Then this past weekend when I was down in FL, my preppy stationary loving Martha Stewart and Betty Crocker’s love child sister (read: my exact opposite) of all people asked me why I was ordering programs.
“You don’t need them and they’re just going to be thrown out” she said. To which my reply was “………..” (I'm quite eloquent aren't I?)


Why did I need them? She was of course completely right. Why do I need to recognize the wedding party in the programs? They will be standing at the front of the church in matching dresses. What about thanking those people who helped out? That’s what a heartfelt handwritten letter and/or gift is for. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve come to really enjoy programs and think are quite gorgeous. Matter of fact, in my head, I even had our own programs written out (they would have been lovely) 

But the truth is ladies that I had been fooled by the bastard that is the WIC. I had stopped seeing programs as simply another piece of pretty stationary and instead had been convinced that they were a vital part of the ceremony. Which is really quite silly of me. You don't need programs, they are just a nice little extra something-something to have. So long story short we have decided to forgo the beloved program.**

 

Anyone else out there not doing programs?

**please don't hold it against me

If you have $12 million dollars lying around....

...Then this dress is for you!

According to Bkweddings, Jeweler Martin Katz and dressmaker Renee Strauss teamed up in 2006 to create the most expensive wedding dress ever on record. The dress features a stunning 150 carats worth of diamonds laced throughout the dress and is worth an estimated 12 million dollars. The veil was custom made to go with the gown but only contains mere rhinestone embellishments. Apparently the dress is (still) for sale, so if you're been searching for the perfect budget friendly dress than look no more!


Editors note:
I did a little research this morning and found that some of the most expensive dresses ever worn don’t amount to even a fraction of the total cost of this dress. Princess Diana’s wedding dress cost 9,000 euros, Victoria Adams (Posh Spice) dress cost $100,000, Katie Holmes dress cost $50,000 Catherine Zeta-Jones dress cost $140,000 while Eva Longoria came in at $75,000.

Doesn’t that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

Pain in my....

Does anyone else despise the guest list? I mean really, truly loathe it? Because I do. I really really really do. Let me count the ways..

First off I don't have the budget to include 500+ people (shocking I'm sure). Second S. Monster and I really want a intimate affair of about 130. That "intimate number" is further confirmed due to my venue which only holds 150. You would think then that this wouldn't be an issue. We know the number so we should be able to stick to it, right? Well consider for a moment that we have about 70 people just including our families.  Then of course there are the family friends and those people your grandparents/aunts/cousin twice removed feel should be included but whom you're pretty sure you've never met in your entire life (or if you did, you did not have the developed mental capacity to remember). Don't forget of course mine and his friends. 

The problem, I have found, does not lie in who to include but rather who to not include. Where does one draw the line between a really close friend and a really friendly acquaintance? Do you invite the best friend you had a few years back or the semi-good friend you have now? What about significant others? How do you determine whose significant other is "significant" enough to include? What about if you are friends with both people in a relationship and then they break up--do you still include both--or just one--or neither? What about a best friend who you had a somewhat falling out with, who you are now a friendly acquaintance with whose still close with all the friends you are inviting and whose (as of yesterday) ex-boyfriend is your fiancees good friend? (did you manage to follow that?)

What do you do when one of your close friends starts inviting mutual friends whom you had no plans on inviting in the first place? What about when a new friendly acquaintance starts inviting herself--on a daily basis--to your face? 

Honestly its enough to make a sane girl crazy. And I'm talking running through the streets in my underwear with a stuffed chinchilla and a bag full of onions singing "A Spoon Full Sugar" at the top of my lungs crazy. 

editor's note: Sorry for the lengthy vent. Sometimes this stuff boils up and out of me before I can control it. I blame it on living by myself with no one but my dead plant (aka pot of dirt) to talk to...