Lauren Bacall’s Bouquet Toss

In honor of her passing, TheWeek.com posted this priceless footage of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart on their wedding weekend – including a classic bouquet toss. Back in the forties, the bouquet toss had yet to devolve into the single-woman shaming exercise that it has often become today (we at My Little Flower Shop are advocates of the bouquet presentation- a very sweet tradition.)

I am guessing that this was all staged for the cameras.  Movie studios had a way of capiatalizing on a good love story, making stars under contract “date” each other, so a re-enactment of these events wouldn’t surprise me.  But, somehow I don’t think a couple that much in love would have allowed cameras at the real events. In noir parlance- I bet you dollars to donuts that kind of dame would have been looking for romance.

RIP Lauren Bacall.

Matthew McConaughey’s Christmas Miracle; an object lesson in supporting  friends who date slackers.

Presumably, you have heard that favorite Hollywood player, Matthew McConaughey is ending 2011 with a flourish; proposing marriage to the mother of his children, his patient, beautiful girlfriend of many years, Camila Alves. It’s a fair bet that while they are all thrilled, some of her friends are dumbfounded.

We all have that friend, who’s with that guy.  The the one we talk about in hushed tones, shaking our heads. Bemoaning that he’s not smart enough, funny enough, tall enough for her. That he’s moving too slow, that he’s never going to grow up, and basically that she needs to move along, there’s nothing date here, let alone marry.   Here’s the thing to remember, when the gang is strategizing your galpal’s exit strategy: Is she happy? If the answer is yes, no matter how you qualify it, you have to let go.  You love her, and she feels loved, so she’s right on this one. To paraphrase the Bard, there are more good boyfriends/husbands than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

Slackers can grow up, put on their shirts, and put down their bongos. And we should support the women we love who love them. Congratulations Camila and Matthew.

-Dinah

Camila Alves & Matthew McConaughey
Image via Wikipedia
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And in ring three, the triumphant return of Kim Kardashian to the Media Circus!

I was saddened (although not surprised, see my prior blog on ‘Setting Yourself Up To Fail’) by the news of Kim Kardshian’s latest circus act – a divorce, mere weeks after the airing of her two part “fairy tale wedding” tv special. Why did she bother? Figuring in sponsorships, TV exposure, and a free exotic honeymoon, getting married was a good career move. Kris, bless his heart, was just a convenient warm body with the right anatomy.

Although those in the shallow end of the emotional pool may not understand, having a big fat wedding, Armenian or otherwise, for the wrong reasons is a serious no-no. Examine your motives.

  • Wanting a wedding is not reason enough to get married. The dress goes in a box, the cake is eaten, the birdseed goes, well, to the birds. It’s a beautiful day that only holds meaning if you mean it. If you want to play dress up, find somewhere to relive your days as Prom Queen, and hold out for true love.
  • “All my friends are doing it” doesn’t fly either. Keeping Up With The…Joneses is exhausting, and pointless, no matter how badly you want the Cuisinart, and how sick you are of being single. Being miserable and legally stuck is far worse.
  • No old maid nonsense. With scientific advances, and the thousands of children in this country needing adoptive homes, don’t think you’re up against a wall. This isn’t 1959. No one’s going to shun you.
  • Most importantly, don’t settle for what brilliant essayist Cynthia Heimel would call “lukewarm love.” If you’re walking down the aisle with someone, you should know with all your heart and with all your soul that this is The One. Not The One Who Can Get You The Best TV Deal.

The institution of marriage will survive the disrespect that reality TV heaps on it: from murderous millionaires, to bratty aspiring Bradys, to this kapitalist kalamity. Our poor blindsided NBA prince, however, may take a while to realize Keeping Away From rather than Keeping Up With the Kardashians is the best way to go.