Wedding Etiquette

Happy Tuesday, dear readers!

I have a business related question for you all: if you were asked to do something that you knew wasn't considered to be within the guidelines for proper etiquette but certainly wouldn't kill anyone, would you do it at the request of your customer?

This is something I've been thinking about as I get more requests to have custom wedding invitations made. I was very concerned with etiquette when I was planning my own wedding, because I've always believed that concern for etiquette is really concern for making sure your guests are as comfortable as possible with all things surrounding your event. I even gravitated toward the Etiquette message board when I was planning my wedding (Hi, {P&} E ladies!)

So, when it comes to my customers, should I blatently ignore what etiquette says if my customer requests it? Well...I hope not. I hope that would be an opportunity for me to educate them on what is traditionally done, and why etiquette says it should be one of another. And then, in an ideal world, they'd listen to my brilliance and we'd find another way to go with things :)

However, if they're set in what they want, would I still accept the work? (Or, for that matter, would they even want me to do the work for them?) I can say that I have created some things that violate etiquette - using a married initial within a monogram, for example. {Since things like invitations and aisle runners are used prior to the marriage, the last initial shouldn't be used in monograms, unless the monogram will be exclusively used for something after the couple is wed...for example, a cocktail napkin.} One of my favorite aisle runner monograms ever involved using the couple's last name...which, as you'll see above, is not proper. It was still pretty though.

On the flip side, there are some things I would never do because I find them so tacky I wouldn't want my name associated with them.

I guess what I'm asking is, where should one draw the line? At what point is a payment more important than doing what you know is proper? Now as I said at the beginning of this post, these aren't life and death situations here...but, they are important, especially when it comes to creating things for weddings. {And, come to think of it, my "real" job, which involves a lot of event planning.}

Does etiquette still have a place in today's event planning world? I, obviously, think it does. What do you think? Have we moved beyond etiquette? Have the rules evolved over time? Are matters of etiquette classic and timeless?

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear your feedback...even if you think I'm an old-fashioned nut!

Have a great day, all!

Joy

Mike & I spent this weekend (Friday - Monday) in San Antonio, Texas. We originally planned the trip down to celebrate with my cousin and his new wife at their wedding, but the weekend turned into so much more than that.

It was truly one of the best weekends I've had in recent memory. Nothing special happened (other than Eric & Karie's beautiful wedding), but the entire trip was spent with family that I don't get to see very often. I loved every single second of it and didn't want it to end. I want to move there and be around that energy all the time.

I can't explain why it was so nice for me other than to just say that I felt like I was right where I was supposed to be. It was exactly what I needed; to relax, move at a completely different pace, and not have to worry about much at all. I won't say I completely disconnected from technology, but I texted less, checked Facebook less, and didn't read a single blog. My Nook stayed in my bag, and I only took pictures at the wedding (which I'm a little bummed about, actually). I just felt the need to experience every moment, instead of texting, Facebooking and taking pictures of other people enjoying what was going on around me.

I've always loved visiting my family in Texas, for reasons that I can't put into words (which isn't a good thing to blog about, I realize...) I'm so glad that Mike was able to experience it with me this time...I think he had just as good a time as I did. When we got in the car to go back to our hotel on Sunday he looked at me and said, "That was so much fun." Anyone who knows my husband knows he's not one to gush about anything. I don't ever remember hearing him say he had fun on a vacation unless I specifically asked him. (Don't get me wrong, I know him well enough to know he has fun when we travel...he just isn't shouting it from the rooftops!)

Coming home, I'm more inspired than ever...to make our house more of a home, to improve my attitude about life, to do something I truly love, to thank God for the blessings we have.

Pinterest

Have you discovered this amazing website yet? (http://www.pinterest.com/)

I found it a few months ago, via a blog I frequently read, and I go back and forth with being addicted to it. Not because there's any reason to stop being addicted, but because I'll notice I've lost an entire day to "pinning" (saving things to boards I've created) without even realizing it. Then I tell myself to grow up, get back to work, and avoid it for a week or so until I see something and think (or say out loud), "Man, I have to remember that!" and then I pin it and the cycle starts all over again.

I have 23 categories of things I pin to, all divided in a way that makes sense to me. The cool thing is, I can follow my friends and they can follow me. {Speaking of which, if you look to the left sidebar, you can click the icon to follow me.}

Here's a screenshot of what my boards look like when I log in to Pinterest:

Are you freaking kidding me? All of that awesome inspiration all in one spot? And, the very cool thing is that when you pin something, it also saves the source information, so I never have to wonder where the heck I found something again. I really wish this had been around when I was planning my wedding, so I didn't have to keep all my inspiration files in 3 or 4 different places.

Anyway, go check it out now. I apologize in advance for the hours you will lose to this awesome website. Although, no really, because come on..it's just too much fun to be a waste of time!

Have a great one, all!

It's the Little Things...

I've started to write this post about 5 times already this morning and the words aren't coming out correctly. I want to say so many things that are on my mind about courtesy and treating others as you'd like to be treated and how manners have seemingly gone away. And each time I try, I just get reminded about some of the things I've encountered lately, and I don't want to be reminded of those feelings.

While I was trying to form my thoughts, I  started looking through some pictures I have saved on this computer and found this:

Our sweet Abby Gator, on one of the first days we brought her home. I wish I could turn back time so I could pick her up and snuggle her. (Actually, I still try to do that, but she's almost as tall as I am now...let's just say it doesn't work too well.)

Life moves too quickly to dwell on negative things or to hope that others will be have in a way that you want them to. Instead, I'll just be extremely thankful that I had a mom who taught me how to say please and thank you. She taught me how to go out of my way to be nice to others. She taught me the difference between right and wrong and how to choose the right path when there was gray area between the two. She taught me to learn from my mistakes, cry without shame, laugh my way through life, and to say "I love you" whenever I felt like it.

I'm so blessed to have the life that I do. And I'm really lucky to have a puppy that freaking adorable...because come on, who can doubt how great their life is with that face in it?? :)

A New Week

To say this last week has been hard is a huge understatement. This coming week will probably look much the same way. I don't really want to go into the details, but everyone is healthy, and that's the most important that.

When I started this blog, I really did think it would be about our everyday lives. And, it was, for awhile. Then it went to crafty/DIY things, and photography, and some real life mixed throughout. And now I hesitate to write if I don't have anything creative to talk about. I think it's just a natural progression, and there's nothing wrong with it, but it's something I realized this week.

I also realized that there is so much beauty in the world, even when things are challenging. I've written before about the significance of butterflies in my life and how they seem to appear whenever I need a little extra support and love. Last week, when all I wanted was a huge hug from my mom, I saw more butterflies than I've seen all summer. It still amazes me that every time I need her, she's there for me.

Butterfly, in my yard last week

This is one of those pointless, rambling posts, so I'll just end it here before it gets ridiculous, but I'm hoping for some small blessings this week, and saying a prayer that life will get back on track. Today is a new day, and so is tomorrow, and the day after that. No matter what happens, they will all be amazing.

Blessings

Such a great message, and one I needed to hear today.