What to do with the rings?

Once again Joe is sharing some things that happen at the Marriage Factory.  A great big thanks and hugs to him.  I really miss doing the weddings.  So I keep in touch with Joe's updates.

A Familiar Ring

It hasn't been raining a lot in the Bay Area, as most of you probably know, so car washes have been very busy.  Once the downpour hits, most people forgo that stop.  Nature's done the job - why waste the time to redo what's been done?

By the time we see a couple at the Marriage Factory, may times they've already been married via a cultural/religious/extranational ceremony that has not had a legal component.  In most cases, the couple are already wearing rings.  I then confront them with a choice: do they want to exchange the rings they're currently wearing?

There are 3 options: ignore the ring part of the ceremony, even though they're paying for it; talk about the rings without removing them; doff the rings and trade them again.  The last is the most treacherous.  It is surprising how quickly knuckles change shape and size.  Some rings slide right off, despite having been on for years.  Other, newly-donned ones require soap, spit, and tugging.

If I were being married in that situation, I'd go for the easiest solution: talking without the taking off.  All the pomp and circumstance, none of the phalangeal trauma.

Fashion report: a gorgeous teal sleeveless dress (Lupita Nyong'o- style), a lovely white knit dress, and a fantastic silver lace dress with a matching necklace and fascinator

By the numbers:

Ceremonies: 8

Couples in formal wear: 6

Had own vows: 1 (first time in Spanish)

Better Weddings, one with a crocodile

After my last post about the Wedding from Hell, I thought I should write about some fun things, fancy dresses, oops moments. 

I asked the question, "Is everyone here?"  Answer came back yes. Upstairs I noticed the groom was fidgety, really nervous and upset.  I asked him if he was all right, what's wrong?  He said, "My parents aren't here.  Where are they?"  It seems the parents hadn't come upstairs with us.  They were found and we had ourselves a wedding.

 One couple asked for the Long Term Relationship ceremony. The groom laughed and said, "After 9 years she wore me down."  I see a lot of crocheted dresses.  Some are OK, some bad, some pretty.  This bride's dress was gorgeous.  The design was perfectly matched at every seam, every dart.  It was perfection and I bet cost a fortune.

This wedding was midmorning.  Important to the story.

The bride was tiny, delicate bones, short, beautiful.  She wore a satin knee length dress with a strange almost toga draping.  He wore a suit and tie that looked as if it hadn't been worn since high school.  Their friends, three men, were having a fabulous time organizing the wedding.  One of them had bought her bouquet which was stunning.  White fragrant lilies, white roses, and some other great smelling flowers.  The bouquet was huge, bigger that my head, wider than the bride's body.  But it was a lovely gift.  Then we did the ring ceremony, 2 of the men brought them up laughing like fools, and the couples is bent over laughing.  After the ceremony they told me the story of the flowers and the rings.

They drove around until they found a florist open.  The florist grabbed every flower that was fragrant and made a bouquet.  But there were no jewelry stores open that early.  So they went to a drug store, Kohl's, someplace that was open and looked at costume jewelry.  Her ring was delicate, sort of pretty and made of the finest glass and wire.  His was hysterical.  It was a fake silver crocodile head that covered half his finger and on the shank about 20 tiny bones hung down.  Then they seem to think I would think bad of them for their silliness.  I told them that is why we say  "the ring is a token, a symbol of your love and devotion".

Was this the silliest ring ever?  No.  We have had cigar bands, candy wrappers, blow pops rings, ribbons, and once even pacifiers. 

Lessons Learned, Part 2

Again we have notes from Joe.  These are things we have learned through experience.  You may think he made up number 1.  Trust me, many times I have walked around to several clerks and asked how would you pronounce this.  Sometimes we are right.

1. Don't be afraid to ask how names are pronounced.  Gone are the days
of Steve and Cindy.  Welcome, Abraxia, Shevvonne, and Reandeal.

2. Ask everyone to silence cell phones.  This prevents the
interruption as Dad calls to congratulate the couple and "I like big
butts" rings out across the wedding room.

3. Have any photographers take a couple test shots, so the happy
couple will be in focus, and you'll be ready for any interesting
camera noises.

4. Wedding rings can cause a lot of confusion.
 3 simple rules:
    * Get the rings ready before the ceremony begins.  Finding them at
the bottom of a purse really puts a crimp in the proceedings.
    * The groom's left hand is opposite the bride's right hand.  This is
surprisingly challenging to remember.
    * Rings often don't fit, especially when you're nervous.  It happens
a lot and means nothing - don't worry about it.

5. Wash your hands after every couple ceremonies, or if anyone coughs
or sneezes.  I don't know how the clerks avoid being sick all the time.

I would add to number 4. 
 Rings hit the floor, no big deal.  Someone picks them up and we finish the ceremony.
 I can't tell you how many times I have said, "other left".