GregoryGoodman

My Little Etiquette Shop: Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

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Pajarita de un esmoquin
Image via Wikipedia

Wedding attire for guests is a hot topic as people pack for their summer wedding weekend jaunts! A great question today. Without further ado…

Q: My friend’s wedding invitation says “black tie invited.” Can someone please translate? I don’t speak wedding fluently.
-Groomsbuddy

A: Groomsbuddy! We love it! Paired with, say, Bridesgal, we’ve got all new wedding party monikers. “Black-tie invited,” also frequently seen as “black tie optional.” This is basically black tie, but with an out for those who don’t own tuxedos and don’t care to wear one that just came back from a night at the Prom. Face it – after a certain age, men realize that the experience of renting clothing is best left for extravagant costume parties. After all, if you’re going to pay to rent an outfit it might as well come with a peacock feather-plumed hat as opposed to just some cheap cufflinks you don’t even get to keep. All the uncles of America, who’ve owned their tuxedos since their college barbershop quartet days, still get to strut their stuff and order cocktails “shaken, not stirred.” We’ll ask pretty bartenders across the country to hold off rolling their eyes until after the aforementioned uncles go back to their tables.

Everyone getting married this weekend – regardless of what color tie – Mazel Tov!

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My Little Etiquette Shop: Keeping Showers Clean (Great Aunt Estelle can explore body frosting on her own time).

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Oh we’ve all been there – the very decorous, ladylike bridal shower with sweet games, and tea sandwiches given with love by an aunt.  And we’ve all been there when the mortified guest of honor opened the one “off-color” gift that makes her turn beet red.  Whether it’s fur lined handcuffs, edible underwear, or the aforementioned (and disgusting-but ever popular) body frosting, our poor bride is stuck in front of an audience, often including her future mother in law, holding some accessory to her intimate life, which certainly until now has not been dinner conversation among the family.

So this is a very simple “My Little Etiquette Shop.”  I’m not even bothering with a question- just putting the advice out there for all shower goers to read and pass along to generations to come.  Leave the hijinks for the bachelorette party.  Really.  You might think it’s funny to shake things up a little at your friend’s afternoon tea. Think about doing it, laugh to yourself, and then go buy some towels off her registry.

Yes, it’s the High Road.  Look for the exits.  Then take one.

Ok, this is in my top 10

photo by Deborah Austin

What’s Love Got to Do With It? Getting to the heart of your wedding.

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Tina Turner is, obviously not a wedding professional.  We in the business of sending brides down perfectly designed aisles know what Love has to do with it and yes I will be using a capital L because Love is not to be trifled with where brides are concerned.  Love, is essential to weddings, and not just in the painfully obvious way that first comes to mind; vows and eternity-  we’ve gotten that memo. There’s other Love in the air during the planning process.  All that running around looking at invitations and tasting cakes and other ways brides work on their weddings? It’s for those they Love.  They want to throw one heck of a party – for all of you.  Tying 150 tiny bows on favor boxes ? How could that be anything but Love?
On the big day: we wedding professionals get the backstage view, but so can wedding guests if you look hard enough. The Love is best captured in between the big “moments.” Sure you want to catch the cake cutting and the first dance. But also look for the bride’s Mom bustling her gown – the two of them full of excitement. Love. Or the groom’s brother bringing a flash of their childhood mischief to a photo shoot – Love.  The My Little Flower Shop Design Team and their assistants smiling proudly at the end of a job well done-  that’s a whole lot of Love.
Weddings are wild crazy rollercoaster rides that brides get off. They breathe deeply and move on with their new lives.  Wedding Professionals, for our part,  stay on the platform; eagerly awaiting the next go-round. We Love what we do. We infuse Love into everything we create- everyone whose work touches your wedding should. So right down to the petals tossed as you leave, what’s love got to do with it? If you’re working with the right team?    Everything.
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