Etiquette, invitiations, etc.

Carolyn's right. We have lots of excuses not to blog. But really....we should anyway. My issue is, the only wedding-y things on my mind right now are details for my OWN wedding. A) I don't want to bore you, our tens of readers, with talk of my wedding. And B) as much as I would love to post a picture of my dress, Jesse would see it. Fail.

So I decided that we shall discuss what I've been reading in my ABC course. It's really very interesting so far and I can tell I'm going to learn a LOT about planning weddings. Which, as they say, is the point. But I have come across some thought provoking sentences in the first section: Etiquette.

"One social custom remains: the groom's parents should make the initial contact, either inviting the bride's parents out or asking for a convenient time to visit them."

I find this really interesting, because the rest of the paragraph talks about all of these old engagement traditions where the parents would get together at a social event, or one set would show up at the other's home with a calling card. It's fascinating to learn about traditions that have fallen by the wayside, but I'm also interested in the idea that this custom still exists. I get that the bride and groom's parents should meet, hang out, get to know each other. But what if the bride's parents make "initial contact"? Is that acceptable? The course mentions that this can happen, but only if the groom's parents fail to make contact. It seems like this might open the door for some hurt feelings, though. Should the bride's parents feel offended if the groom's parents don't "schedule a visit"? I don't know. Strange.

Part of the Etiquette section includes invitations, because really - there are more rules about the invitations than any other part of a wedding. Here's something I read recently:

"In today's society, very few people know the proper response to a formal invitiation. Acceptances or regrets should be written on plain or bordered, monogrammed or unmarked paper or note paper, in appropriate ink. The lines, matching those on the invitation, should be evenly spaced and symmetrically arranged on one sheet of quality paper."

The paragraph DOES go on to talk about Response cards and how acceptable they are, and they mention that this is an "old traditon." And I love learning this stuff, I really do. But...well, maybe I'm just not cultured enough. Maybe people really do still do this, when they have SUPER formal, fancy weddings. I guess I just have a thing about keeping things simple, as well as convenient, for my guests. You're already asking them to travel to your wedding, get a hotel room, buy you a gift - should you expect them to take the time to write out a formal response to your wedding invitation? Send 'em a Response card. They're cute.

To each her own, I suppose.

I'll keep you posted as I read this fascinating course!

amy