Author Archive

So long

Posted on August 11th, 2010 by Alyia. 8 Comments

Alyia

It feels strange to be writing this so soon after the long-awaited news that Proposition 8 has been overturned.  Although I believe all of us know that there’s still a long and difficult road ahead, there’s much to be said for attaining such a victory. Yet I have to admit, this news feels bittersweet for me.

I recently found myself un-engayged, less than three months from what would have been my wedding day. While I wish to respect my former partner’s privacy, I can say that this came as a terrible shock to me, and I’m still feeling a huge amount of grief. To be honest, I haven’t been able to bring myself to visit the site in the last few weeks. I know I’ll be back soon, though, because I still have so much in common with the  bloggers, the commenters, and the founders here: we love love.  We love being in love, we love talking about love, we love finding ways to express love with paper and flowers and fabric and yarn and music. Even though so much is changing for me, that quality remains– I still love love, and it still makes me happy to know that so many of you are on here celebrating it.

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The Top Eight Reasons To Consider Reselling Your Wedding Dress

Posted on July 28th, 2010 by Alyia. 1 Comment

Alyia

Photo used via m kasahara flickr photostream

8.  It’s environmentally responsible. When someone buys your wedding dress, that means that the energy, materials, waste, and carbon cost from shipping that would come from making a new dress are cancelled out.

7. It discourages unfair labor practices. It’s great if you can find a vintage dress you love or have one custom-made by a seamstress, but most wedding dresses are made in countries that have a history of treating their workers terribly.  By offering someone else the chance to buy your gown, you are lodging an act of protest for workers worldwide.

6. It saves you money and space. Cleaning, preserving, and storing a dress can eat up a lot of money… not to mention the space in your closet.  Who knew tulle could take up so much room?

5. Your children will have their own taste. Wearing the dress one of your parents wore when they wed is tres romantique, true.  But fashion changes, and who’s to say your kids will have the same passion for ruffles, rouching, or rhinestones that you do?  Come to think of it, what if they never get married at all?

4. It’s easy to resell. I’ll be selling my wedding dress through PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com because they make it simple and inexpensive, get tons of traffic, and are gay-friendly.  (I know because the founder told me so!)

3. Share the love! If you love it, chances are that someone else will too.  Why not pass on the joy of discovering THE dress?

2. “Trash The Dress” photo sessions can be expensive. More power to you if that’s what you choose to do, but I find something a little off-putting about deliberately destroying a symbol of your marriage.

1. Get the most out of your investment. Frankly, who couldn’t use a little more money in their pocket after their wedding?

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Same-sex weddings… for someone who isn’t gay

Posted on July 15th, 2010 by Alyia. 13 Comments

Alyia

It’s pretty safe to say that most people who look at my fiancee correctly assume she’s gay. Stacy’s got short hair (that she has cut by a real barber, in a real barbershop), speaks directly and succinctly, and plays hockey. I’m pretty sure the last time she was in a dress was for her first communion, and boy, you should see that picture. It was the 80′s, so even her socks were frilly, and Stacy looks like she’d rather claw her eyes out with a rusty fork than spend one more second in that tower of white ruffles.

I, on the other hand, usually notice a flicker of surprise when people I’ve just met catch on to my pronoun usage, which is often how I choose to out myself.  I guess I come off as straight because I have long hair (even though it’s usually pulled back), own a fair amount of skirts and dresses (though I spend most days in jeans and a t-shirt), and enjoy earrings and makeup (if I get up early enough to care about things like that). I’ve had conversations with sweet little old ladies about wedding planning come to a screeching halt when they realize I’m marrying someone of the same sex. Apparently I just don’t look gay– which is fine, because… I’m not.

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Having your ceremony on public land

Posted on June 30th, 2010 by Alyia. 6 Comments

Alyia

OR: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Paperwork.

Wow, you guys.  I took my eye off the ball for just a second and before I know it we’re under four months till the wedding day.  Cuh-razy.

So, you’ve seen our reception location.  Now I’d like to show you our ceremony site, Westinghouse Memorial Pond in Schenley Park.

Photo via Creative Commons license on Flickr.

Photo used with permission from Elston via Flickr.

(My apologies — I haven’t been able to get my own photos of the site for reasons I’ll detail in another post, so I ended up using a lot of Flickr pictures from all seasons.  You’ll get the gist, though!)

It’s a gorgeous place, and even though there’s a road nearby it’s pretty tranquil.  Stacy and I have sat on those benches on many dates, enjoying the reflections in the pond and the sounds of the surrounding trees.

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