And That's A Wrap!!

     Ladies and Gentlemen ... I have made it through wedding season and survived with only a few scratches and bruises. Ready for the numbers?

     Six weddings, five dresses, four plane rides, two bachelorette parties, one visit to a foreign country, and an insane amount of hair product later ... and I NOW am ready for one long, macarena-free nap.

     After all that, I am ready to provide you with several tips for surviving your very own wedding season ... Whenever that may come along ...

FLATS!

     This one's for the ladies ... FOR REAL. Do not go to a wedding without comfortable shoes in tow. You can go for the shoeless look ... but some venues are not big on the cleanliness scale and you don't want to leave with some fungal infection.

IF THOU DRINKETH, EAT FOOD!

     People, this sounds like a no-brainer ... But apparently it's not! If you plan on drinking at a wedding, do yourself and everyone else a favor, and eat! Eat before you go and at the cocktail hour and at dinner and during dessert and during the after-party. I'm not saying you need to be a glutton ... I'm just saying you should eat a little every few hours so that you are not drinking on an empty stomach ... because, believe me ... It does not lead to happy outcomes.

SINGLE? ... SO WHAT?

     If you are single during wedding season, don't let that get you down! Own it! If you are invited with a date, bring a friend if someone if free. If you are invited on your own, that's fine too! Put on your best dress or your sleekest suit and get out on the dance floor when the music plays. Talk to the people at your table. ENJOY YOURSELF! It's a time to celebrate the couple! Just have fun!

BUDGET, BUDGET, BUDGET!

     If you have a bunch of weddings come up at one time or within a couple of months of each other, you need to understand that the showers, and bachelor(ette) parties, and weddings will take a giant hit on your wallet ... So don't feel like you need to purchase extravagant gifts or give large sums of money to every couple. Give what you can and move on ... A gift comes from the heart and that should be what matters.

LEAVE THE DRAMA FOR YOUR MAMA

     When friends get married, petty drama may come up ... maybe even more-than-petty drama ... But when family members get married, there's potential for HUGE drama to come to the table ... LISTEN, leave that stuff at home! The day is about the couple ... not about how your Aunt Lilly still owes you money or how Cousin Jane stole your boyfriend three years ago and brought him to the wedding today. Just leave all that stuff at the door ... and deal with it at Thanksgiving like everyone else!

     I could go on forever with more ways to survive wedding season (find a dress you can wear more than once ...) but I'm not going to ... Because I'm sure you can do it on your own. I have faith in you! Now go out and conquer that wedding world!

Going to the chapel and we're gonna get married, going to the chapel and we're gonna get married. Gee, I really love you and we're gonna get married going to the chapel of love. (Going To The Chapel Of Love, The Shirelles)