Looking Back, continued...

This FINAL installment of my 'Looking Back' series* focuses on one of the details about our wedding that we are both very glad about: we had a day off before leaving for our honeymoon.

Mr Corn and I were both super excited about our two week honeymoon in Italy; especially after a year of planning; a week of last minute details; and the most fun, yet incredibly intense, day of our lives.

Thankfully, we booked our honeymoon to leave on Monday which gave us a day to get back from Newport, RI to our home in Boston; pack for the trip; open all of our gifts; and work with US Airways on correcting my ticket as Mr Corn forgot to check that my ticket for our honeymoon flights had arrived as well as his when they were sent to us months before the wedding. :)

That extra day was well. worth. it. and I highly, highly suggest giving yourselves that extra time to veg out!

So that's it. Nine months after our wedding, and I can still only come up with five ridiculously small, only moderately meaningful, things that I would have done differently.

I think the main lesson in all of this looking back is that it is most important to focus on the fact that you are getting married to the person that you have chosen to commit yourself to for the rest of your lives. Even if it isn't exactly perfect, even if you have to step on toes, even if you accidentally put a hyphen in the wrong place on the delicately cut menus that match your bridesmaids sashes that are made from the same fabric as your Mother's...at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that you are married.


Best of luck to all of you!!

--Mrs Corn


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*Previously in this series...

I'm so glad I did this:
renting a full length mirror
setting my DIY deadline for a week out from the wedding
making arrangements for my disabled father so he could participate
having an 'open-door policy' at the site where I got ready
going a little overboard with the theme


I wish I could fix this:
being too proud to start a few minutes late
not testing all of the directions before sending them out
forgetting to pause before rushing down the aisle
handling the cake cutting logistics


succumbing to pressure and tossing my flowers

The alternate to being given away

It doesn't surprise me that many people think that the whole 'who gives this woman to this man' part of the ceremony is antiquated and chauvinistic.

What does surprise me is how many people apparently don't realize there are other alternatives.

Below is the wording from our ceremony supplemented by the choreography we worked out. Hopefully it will help someone out there...

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*Processional (everyone walked down the aisle, the last of which was me escorted by my dad who remained standing with us at the 'altar')
*Statement of the Gift of Marriage
*Prayer (the 'congregation' sat at this point)

Declarations of Intent
Davis, understanding that God has created, ordered and blessed the covenant of marriage,
do you affirm your desire and intention to enter this covenant. I do.

Miriam, understanding that God has created, ordered and blessed the covenant of marriage, do you affirm your desire and intention to enter this covenant. I do.

Affirmation of the Family & Friends
Guy and Karen (Davis' parents), do you give your blessing to Davis and Miriam, and promise to do everything in your power to uphold them in their marriage? I do.

Marty and Peg (my parents), do you give your blessing to Davis and Miriam, and promise to do everything in your power to uphold them in their marriage? I do. (my dad was still standing with us at this point, so my mom stood up at her seat and they both said, individually, 'I do'.)

And do you, the witnesses to this union, give your blessing to Davis and Miriam, and promise to do everything in your power to uphold them in their marriage? We do. (at this point, my dad joined Davis' and my hands together, gave me a quick peck on the cheek, sat down next to my mom and the ceremony continued)

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See...narry a degrading word or action in sight.

Dream big, kids....dream big

Not to be outdone by Mrs. Ant's gorgeous spread in the June/July 2008 issue of Modern Bride, Mr Corn and I have been feature in...



...wait for it...



...the June 2008 edition of the Angie's List, Boston Magazine.

(click on the pictures to enlarge)

For those of you unfamiliar with Angie's List, it is an incredible resource for finding realistic reviews of service professionals. While it is mostly for home-related services (contractors, cleaners, plumbers, etc) they have expanded to include the medical profession (doctors, dentists, etc) and now they are including wedding vendors as well (dance instructors, alterations places, wedding gown salons, etc).

There is a yearly fee to be a member, but that gives you access to the entire list so that you can look up vendors and see their reviews. The best part about this site is that it lets the vendor know that they have been reviewed and if it is a bad review, they are allowed to explain their side of the story. This keeps the reviews pretty 'real' and very reliable.

Mr Corn and I submitted reviews for our wedding gown shop, our dance instructor and our band and we received an email from the editor asking us if we could give them more information on our dance instructor and submit a picture. And now, we are part of Angie's List Boston magazine history.

I know you are jealous.

Looking Back, continued...

Sorry to have gone missing for a bit there. I suffered from a complete hard drive failure and had to have a new one sent and have all of my files extracted by the fantastically smart, technology geeks I have as friends...which brings me to my #1 detail about wedding planning that I recommend (aside from relaxing and remembering what the real purpose of the whole thing is): BACK. UP. EVERYTHING!!!

Moving on...

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This installment of my 'Looking Back' series* focuses on one of the details about our big day that I wish we had done a little differently: I should have gone with my gut and not tossed the flowers.

I know there are lots of good arguments for both sides of this issue but for me, it came down to tradition: every wedding I have ever been to had a flower toss.

NOT every wedding I have ever been has had a garter search-and-toss, so I nixed that idea early-on in the planning.

However, regardless of my gut feeling about the thing, I was bound and determined to have my wedding day have as many wedding-y moments as I could cram into it, so I went ahead with it anyway.

Truth be told, it really broke up the whole feeling of the reception. It was awkward, poorly attended (as I really only know a few single gals so none of them wanted to be singled out), and I ended up throwing the bouquet over everyone's head thus making it an actual waste of time and perfectly good flowers.

Again, I understand this is a personal thing, but for me, I would have much preferred if I had loosened up my requirements on 'what-makes-a-wedding-a-wedding' and gone with the flow. If you are even thinking of leaving it out, I suggest going with your gut.

What about you guys? Any flower tossers out there?


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*Previously in this series...

I'm so glad I did this:
renting a full length mirror
setting my DIY deadline for a week out from the wedding
making arrangements for my disabled father so he could participate
having an 'open-door policy' at the site where I got ready
going a little overboard with the theme


I wish I could fix this:
being too proud to start a few minutes late
not testing all of the directions before sending them out
forgetting to pause before rushing down the aisle
handling the cake cutting logistics