We just returned from a family wedding. It was fun. But the most fun of all was being seated at dinner across from the mother-of-the-bride's best friend from high school. This woman is from Alabama and is one of the funniest people I have ever met. We got into discussing all the tizzy that can come with weddings, the tizzy over doing things just so.
I told her that I had actually wrestled with a little angst over the fact that when I sent the gift of a check, before the wedding, I made it out to the bride only, but that after I did so, I thought, "Uh oh. The bride is 26." -- She probably thought it was weird that the check was made out to just her and did not include the groom's name. No
and in sight. Not even an
or on that "Pay to the order of" line. I started to wonder if I had possibly caused our niece to fret, asking herself, "Ohhhhh, what is Aunt Boomer thinking? Does she think he is going to abandon me at the altar?"
Now, being of an age, of course, we all know that is how it was always properly done in the past. Before the wedding? A check is made out to the bride only. Now? Oh... who knows?
Anyway, after I got a consensus that I was absolutely and perfectly correct in the traditional way of making out that check, we went on to discuss other wedding customs. For instance, my wedding gifts (from my first wedding that is) were displayed in the dining room of my parents' house in the weeks before the wedding. That was so my mother's friends could stop by to "view" them. (It was a long time ago.)
Then we got to talking about whether or not we had been to a wedding with a groom's cake, which seems to be a Southern custom. (Yes. I had. My sister had one made for her daughter's wedding last year. My mother's Southern influence is still with us.)
And that was when my new friend from Alabama told me about a book that I need to read because it is pretty hilarious. She had sent it to my sister-in-law before the wedding we were attending.
The book is called, "Somebody Is Going To Die If Lilly Beth Doesn't Catch That Bouquet: The Official Southern Ladies' Guide To Hosting the Perfect Wedding." I went to the bookstore today to look for it. But it was not there, and so I have it on order. I will find out if some of these things that have happened in my Ohio life are as a result of Southern influence. Or maybe all of you had your wedding gifts on display for weeks, too.
(And, btw, not a wedding thing, but has anybody else ever been taught that it is improper to display candles with a brand new wick? According to what I learned, growing up, you should always "touch the wick" -- with a flame so that it is burned. Light it and blow it out. Otherwise, I supposedly would be considered quite tacky with my candle display with untouched wicks. Oh my!
)
Boomerbelle