4 myths about being an older bride (aka where’s my Life Alert registry gift?!)
By the time I get married, 40 will be staring me in the face. This isn’t very old when it comes to first marriages, but it is older than the average in the U.S. I anticipated that it would be a little different getting married later in life (what with the Ensure cocktails and shuffle board reception), but it is taking some surprising turns. Here are some myths about being an older bride that I have discovered…
Challenging “normal” wedding planning when I lost my mother while engaged
I considered myself to be an “ordinary bride,” that is until my mother died, and then I discovered that the definition of normalcy is what you deem appropriate, especially when it comes to wedding planning.
Love has NO color
My color has always defined me for as long as I can remember. I am a very dark, black woman. If you’re aware of what’s been happening to my people and women (since the beginning of time) who look like me, you may know exactly what this means. I’M A VERY DARK, BLACK WOMAN — enough said. Being me comes with a lot of judgement and I’ve had my fair share of ridicule.
Cue years of self-doubt, years of undoing the very horrible thoughts you created in your head because you actually started to believe the things that were being spewed at you for years on end. Fast forward to my mid-twenties and cue the love of my life…
How our engagement photos dispelled my self image fears
Hey, I’m a wedding blogger who is engaged! You’d think I’d be ready for this, but naaaaah. See, like you and you and you over there, oh and that guy right there… I’m NOT super confident. So I decided that an engagement shoot might be just the ticket to help cure me of my center of attention apprehension. Here’s how it worked out…
Beyond the wedding: why I’m more excited about what comes next
My wedding day countdown app on my phone informs me that there are exactly 30 days, 2 hours, and 22 minutes until my wedding. I feel like I should be more stressed out and nervous. But we’ve been engaged for one and a half years, and I’ve spent some time planning this thing every week, so the vast majority of the work is done.
What’s interesting is that after all that time dreaming and planning, though I’m really excited about the wedding itself, I’m incredibly excited for the time beyond the wedding…
The challenges of planning a straight wedding as a feminist queer bride
Planning a straight wedding as a lifelong feminist and member of the LGBTQ community was a challenge wrought with emotion, guilt, and confusion (in addition, of course, to all the blissful feelings of being engaged and in love)…