Superstition is for the Birds
This wedding of ours is turning out to be very non-traditional and we both agreed that we wouldn’t care at all about wedding superstitions. Here are a few that I found that we definitely won’t be following… 1) The groom can’t see the wedding gown before the ceremony - He’s already seen me in my dress, which is why I had no problem posting pics. I was so excited to show it to him the day I got it and, the way I see it, it’s only fair, as I’ve seen him in his wedding duds! 2) The bride and groom cannot see each other the day of the wedding until the ceremony – Apparently, the superstiti

Combining Finances
Mr. Spaniel and I aren’t planning on fully combining our resources right away, but a few weeks before we moved in together this past July, we decided open a joint checking account for mutual expenses like rent, utilities, and groceries. This should have been easy, but between the two of us, we have accounts at six different financial institutions (and that doesn’t include our student loans). His direct deposit goes into one account, which he then writes himself a check to transfer to a different bank, and anything he can save moves into an online savings account… and none of those are with banks that I use! (I know this all sounds ridiculous and like a really easy problem to re

Fine China (Or Lack Thereof…)
Guess what arrived on our doorstep last night? A very exciting belated engagement present… our dinner plates! While Mr Trail Mix and I decided not to register for a complete set of fine china, we did feel that a 6-piece set of plates would be a welcome addition to our mish-mash collection of plates, most of which are hand-me-downs from my grandmother. I actually really and truly love the way non-matching plates look in a table setting, so I was pretty sure that registering for an entire set of china would be unnecessary. But we did want to be able to have at least one nice set of plates for all the fabulous dinner parties we host. (Note: that was sarcasm rega

Videography… Sigh…
It seems like a pretty common thing. When wedding planning starts, it seems like the first thing that many modern brides do is book an excellent photographer that is out of their budget. After all, the photos are the only part of the wedding day that will survive for years to come. The bride-to-be calmly rationalizes the added expense to her fiance, mother, and anyone who will listen: “We will just scrimp on the videography… or better yet, have a friend tape the wedding.” Of course, I was no different. And, like most naive brides, I forgot about my plan to save money on videography and started daydreaming about

Executive Inspiration
Now that we’re married, I know I should stop seeing “wedding” everywhere. But I saw these gorgeous photos from the White House State dinner, and my inspiration radar just went up.