Friday, August 24, 2012

Songs I Love that Won't be Played at Our Reception

Confession time:

My biggest fear about our wedding, aside from that irrational list of things that could go wrong but probably won't, is that people won't dance at the reception.

I know, I know, there are far worse things to be worried about, but it's true- everything else could be perfect, but if the dance floor is empty, I'm going to feel like I failed as a bride.

(Can you actually fail as a bride?  I mean, if, at the end of the day, you're married to your man, can they take that marriage certificate away if the party is no fun?)

So I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve to achieve this goal.

First- there won't be any assigned seating, and the available seats will be mostly cleared from the main dining room and moved to secondary spaces.  I'm hoping people initially don't see any seats and assume there aren't any, so they dance instead!  (KIDDING.  Or am I?)

Second- there will be no sit-down, plated dinner, but rather food you can eat while moving about and talking to people- but if people really do want to sit down and scarf, they can (they just have to find those seats!)

Third- there's going to be a candy buffet, y'all.  Candy = hyperactivity = dancing, yes?

But most importantly- there's going to be really, really good music to dance to!

There's a lot of really good dance music out there (and some of it is even on the radio!), so putting together our reception playlist should be super simple.

Except you should know by now that if a wedding project should be simple, it's almost guaranteed to be not so simple.

(This isn't a terribly difficult project though, don't get me wrong.)

A lot of that really good music would certainly get people to get up and dance- but it's not going to be played at our reception...because of the lyrics.  I'm not talking about vulgar, explicit hip-hop songs- I mean, those certainly won't be getting any airplay either- but I'm talking about the theme of a lot of those really good, dance-able songs.

Namely: breakups.

Heartbreak and failed relationships are certainly inspiring themes, but I don't want those themes seeping in to our wedding reception!  And it's really a shame, because some of my favorite music is bluesy jazz- but by definition, blues songs tend to be, well...sad, and also about cheating women.  Hmm.

The following are songs that I really like, make me want to dance, and will definitely not be played at our wedding reception:

Rumour Has It Adele
 Just typing the title of this song makes me boogie!  But like I said above, blues songs tend to be about cheating- even up-beat ones.  That's not to say there won't be any Adele at our reception- have you heard her cover of "Make You Feel My Love"?

Princess of China Coldplay ft Rihanna

I'm not always a fan of Rihanna, but I am definitely always a fan of Coldplay, and I LOVE this song.  However, "you really hurt me" is not really a phrase I want repeated over and over at our wedding.  "Us Against the World" is a song from this album that will likely be heard during The Big Day, though!

You Know I'm No Good Amy Winehouse
...again with the infidelity in blues songs.  Grr.  Might "Rehab" be played, however?  Perhaps...its beat is just begging for some Lindy Hop, after all!

So what about you- would you rather stack your reception playlist with awesome, dance-able music at all cost or are you obsessive about lyrics (and the vibes that come with them) like me?

Much love,
The Geeks

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Truth About Bridesmaid Dress Colors

Readers- this is a poor excuse for a post, but I kind of don't have time for a proper post right now :/

But it's funny!

image by The Frisky // image via Budget Savvy Bride

All in good fun, of course :)

So brides, fess up- are these the reasons why you chose these bridesmaid dress colors?

Much love,
The Geeks

Monday, August 20, 2012

A Ringing Question

Folks, I have another question for you.  As I've never gotten married before, I'm not completely sure what the answer is here :)

Do I wear my engagement ring during the ceremony?

I've seen photos of brides who did, but more photos of brides who didn't.

I've done a little research (*cough*HERMIONE*cough*) and I know that back-in-the-day, there was no distinction between engagement rings and wedding bands- the bride only wore one ring, which she sometimes received at the engagement.  Or, if there was a separate wedding band, she stopped wearing the engagement ring altogether after The Big Day.

I do know women who no longer wear their engagement rings but keep them stashed away in a jewelry box to pass on to their daughters one day.

Not me, buddy- I love this rock and I'll wear it until my fingers fall off!

Some women wear the engagement ring on their right hand for The Big Day and then leave it that way afterwards- like my friend, BM MrsB.

That's not going to work for me, either.  I wear my college class ring on my right hand every day, and I plan to wear it on The Big Day, too.  I'm sure some people will find that tacky or otherwise be personally offended in my choice of jewelry, but here's the thing- to me, that ring represents a lifetime of incredibly hard work, not just the 4 1/2 years I spent in beautiful Blacksburg.  That ring represents all the best parts of me- and as I'm bringing myself to my groom on our wedding day, I think it's fitting to wear that ring.

So, the diamond isn't going on my right hand.

What I'm wondering is- is it such a big deal if I wear it during the ceremony?  If anything, it'll remind Mr. Geek which hand to put the wedding band on :)  (He was holding my right hand during the proposal and I had to switch hands for him when he pulled out the ring!)  Besides, if I don't wear it, where will I put it?  I can only imagine that in all the chaos going on that day, if that ring isn't on my finger, it'll probably get lost in the piles and piles of wedding crap we'll be schlepping around.

So what do y'all think?  Should I:

-Just wear it- there's no rule that says you can't!
-Make my mom hang on to it because clearly she won't have enough to do that day

Much love,
The Geeks

Friday, August 17, 2012

Making a (Stylish) Getaway, Part 2

Previously, on Our Geeky Adventure,

-I like old vintage stuff...like my wedding dress! (Standard threats to Mr. Geek's life should he click that link apply here.)
-Our reception will be done around 4:30 in the afternoon...
-...and then we'll be driving halfway to Disney in my supermegafoxyawesomehot car!

First, let me apologize for a lack of posting on Wednesday- we're deep in the middle of invitation assembling and envelope addressing and let me tell you- it's taking FOR-FREAKING-EVER.  But I did have time to squeeze out this post!

I'll just get right to it- I think I'm going to be a two-dress bride.  Not necessarily in the traditional sense- I won't be doing a costume change for the reception because I LOVE my dress and want to wear it as long as possible.  Besides, one of the many plus sides of my amazing dress is that it's going to be great for dancing!  However, it's not going to be too fun to stuff it into a car and drive in it.

tl;dr I'm looking for a getaway dress!

I haven't put too much thought into "requirements" yet (don't you love how this whole wedding is like one big engineering project???) but I have a basic idea of what I'm looking for-

-short
and also
-white

Specific, neh?

I haven't done a lot of shopping yet, but I have hit up my favorite place to online window shop- ModCloth!  Here are some cute little things popping out at me right now:

*all images via ModCloth*

Box of Powdered Donuts Dress
First of all, I love the name of this dress :)  I love that this is simple and lightweight and won't get uncomfortable sitting in the car for four hours.  However, the fabric is a little sheer, and it looks a little summery for November- even November in the south.

Teacher Comforts Dress
ERMAHGERD THIS DRESS.  Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen????  Truth be told, I'm not sure I would ever be able to wear this dress again- maaaaaaybe to work, with some thick stockings underneath, but it's a bit short for that, even if people do expect me to wear quirky-yet-fabulous things like this.  So maybe it's a no-go.  BUT THIS DRESS, YOU GUYS.

Mod Around the Corner Dress
How very mod!  I can think of about a million occasions when I could re-wear this...

Quartet in the Garden Dress
I love the elegant swirls on this dress!  But the more I look at it, the more I'm getting that summery vibe again...

Creme de la Creme Dress
Confession time: I know I said I didn't have any firm requirements in mind for a getaway dress...but I kind of do.  And the number one requirement is- I want it to be this dress.  Well, okay, a variation of this dress, as I'm not sure how I feel about the open back.  But a long-sleeved, short, lacy white dress with this very 60's silhouette- I'm craving this dress.  Time to find this dress!

Were you a two-dress bride?  Are you planning to change for your getaway?

Much love,
The Geeks

Monday, August 13, 2012

Not Quite a Monogram

Alternate title: Earning Our Geek Cred

Many weddings have a "logo" of some sort, and ours will be no different.

Well, okay, a little different.

Most wedding logos are some form of monogram created with the new couple's initials:

image via Marry Monograms
image via Marry Monograms
image via Marry Monograms
Those are all nice options, but we're going in a slightly different direction.  Although we will be using our names...

I know you recognize this ring:

image via Wikimedia
When we were shopping for our rings, we talked about having them engraved with something.  Mr. Geek jokingly suggested the One Ring text, and I told him we could probably just get replicas, but we both agreed that would be a bit much, even for us.

"I bet I can find that font online, though," I said, "and we could write something else in that script."

"Like the date?" he asked.  "Or our names?"

Sure enough, I did find the right font on this website and downloaded it to mess around with.  In the end, however, we decided not to engrave anything on our bands.

When it came time to start designing our invitations, I looked at the font again, and decided we should write our names in it, to use as a logo on our paper products.  Now, I could have just typed our names in this font and been done with it, but if you know me, you know I have to do things right.

That's right- I wanted to translate our names into Elvish first, and then type those translated words in the script to create our logo.

I figured the best way to go about this would be to find our what our names mean and then find an online translator to determine the Elvish translations of those words.

Lucky for me, somebody had already done that for me!

Yup- I found an Elvish Name Translations website which lists male and female names, their meanings, and their Elvish translations (with pronunciation).  For example, my name means "beloved" and that translates to Melda in Elvish.  When I read that out loud, he thought I said "melBa."

"Like the toast?" he asked, which earned him a stuck-out tongue.  He's now taken to calling me Toast as a weird little pet name.

So, want to see our logo?

This is his first and middle names and my first and middle names, translated into Elvish:

{personal image}
This logo will be making an appearance in many places on the big day, including the invitations, the programs, the out-of-town bags, and maybe a few other places, too, but you'll have to stay tuned to find out!

So what do you think?  Pretty cool, huh?

Did you have a wedding logo?  What did it look like?

Much love,
The Geeks

Friday, August 10, 2012

Geeky Bout-torial

Previously, on Our Geeky Adventure,

-I'm not necessarily a flower person
-I have quite the list of DIY projects to tackle
-Sometimes, I sew things

This weekend, I was crazy productive.  I dragged out my sewing machine and knocked out a majority of two large-ish projects.  It was a good weekend. 

Reading that, it sounds less impressive than it actually felt.  Only two projects?  Well, they were large!  Ish.

You've read about the bow ties already- I very quickly finished attaching the velcro connections to the ends and was finally able to call that project finished.  I would've been even quicker, but I sewed the velcro to the wrong side on some of them and had to rip seams and start over.  Whoops.

But then there's project number two:

the boutonnieres! 

Now, I know I said I was aiming for something like this:

only with safety pins on the back // image via Martha Stewart Weddings
but then I found this tutorial at one of my favorite places for inspiration- Make It and Love It.

image via Make It and Love It
These flowers are sewn on a pillowcase, but I really like their floppy texture and decided to make them for the boutonnieres.  I made a few changes, however- I added "leaves" to the bottom, and I made them fluffier by stitching fewer circles in the center.  So far, all I've done is sewn the flowers themselves.  I still need to attach the LEGO minifigs in the center and put pins on the back, but I'd say I made some pretty significant progress!

{personal photo}
So here's everything you need- plus something to sew it with.  I did it with a machine, but if you have way more patience, you can totally do it by hand.

Here's a little secret: I was kind of lazy when deciding on sizing for these puppies.  I looked around for circular things in my apartment to use as templates.  Actually, I didn't even look around the whole apartment- since I don't have a craft room (but I will, one day, when I have a house!) I use the dining room table as my sewing surface, so I looked through the pile of wedding crap on the dining room floor, and my kitchen counters.  I found a travel coffee cup with a base that is approximately 2 3/4" in diameter to use for the tiny attendants' boutonnieres, and a spool of ribbon that I'll be using in a different craft that is approximately 3 3/8" in diameter for everybody else.  I cut out circles in scrap fabric and stuck them on my lapel to make sure the dimensions worked.  So if you're going to re-create this, be lazy like me- find a circular something, likely a glass, that can serve as a circular template.

{personal photo}
First, cut out a bunch of squares in your "leaf" fabric, slightly larger than your flower circles will be.  I arbitrarily decided on 3 3/4" for the large and 3 1/4" for the small.  You'll need 2 squares for each boutonniere.

{personal photo}
To make the "leaves" for the flowers, it's a lot like origami, only with fabric.  (Not that I've ever done actual origami before.)  Fold your square in half and run your fingernail (or a bone folder, if you've bought one for assembling your invitations and are desperate to find other uses for it) along the fold to achieve a nice defined crease.  Unfold your square, then fold it in the opposite direction using the same process.

{personal photo}
Fold your corner to form a right angle and pin it in place.

{personal photo}
Repeat with all the corners on both squares.

{personal photo}
Place one square on top of the other, so that both are facing the same way, with the top square rotated 90 degrees, and pin together.

{personal photo}
Stitch the two together in a wonky little square.  I am not apologizing for my inability to do ANYTHING in a perfectly straight line, be it draw, fold, or sew.  IT ADDS CHARACTER.

{personal photo}
Okay confession time.  This is the top of the boutonniere, though it was the underside of the assembly when I was sewing.  Now, I only have a limited number of bobbins, and I was too lazy to unwind one to wind it with the green thread, so I just used the white as my bottom thread.  The good news is that once the flower portion is stitched on top, you won't see this thread at all!

{personal photo}
Follow the directions in the Make It and Love It tutorial to create your "flower petals".  Cut each of the six circles from your template- in this case it's 3 3/8" for the big flowers and 2 3/4" for the baby ones.  Pin the "petals" to your "leaf" base.  Stitch only a couple of circles in the middle, making sure to catch each of the wedges.

{personal photo}
The fewer circles you sew and the tighter you keep them to the center, the fluffier your flowers will be!

{personal photo}
If you enlarge this photo (by clicking on it) you'll see that the stitches in the center aren't exactly circles per se...but close enough!  And once the little LEGO guys are attached you won't even be able to see the stitches!  (And if you can...screw it!  Anybody inspecting these things close enough to criticize my stitches is clearly not drinking enough at the reception and will promptly receive a glass of whiskey.)

Stay tuned for the second half of this tutorial, when I show you how to attach the LEGO minifigs and pin backs!  (A tutorial which obviously can't be written until such steps are completed.  Which might not happen particularly soon.  Consider this a tease.)

What kind of boutonnieres are your groomsmen wearing?  Would you ever consider something other than fresh flowers?

Much love,
The Geeks

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Bow Ties are Cool, Part 2

Previously on Our Geeky Adventure:

-9 was my first Doctor, but now I'm on 11, and I actually really like him
-Rory, though, steals the show, and as of the point I'm at in the series, Amy doesn't deserve him
-Oh and I'm sewing bow ties for the men in the wedding party to wear

The last time we talked about bow ties, I was almost done.

Well folks, guess what- after a super productive weekend of sewing, I'm finally done!  Wanna see?

*all photos in this post are personal*

laying out, waiting for velcro to be attached
modeling his bow tie.  ain't he just the cutest?
modeling a groomsman bow tie
modeling ALL the bow ties, though the idea is apparently not so amusing
and then he shook his head.
So what do you think?  They're a little wonky, and they look pretty handmade.  But the point is they're DONE and they FIT and they WORK properly, so woohoo for that!  And from far away, they look pretty darn cute!

What are your groom and his men wearing on the big day, tie-wise?

Much love,
The Geeks

Monday, August 6, 2012

I've Been Waitin' for a Shoe Like You

Previously, on Our Geeky Adventure:

-Choosing bridesmaids dresses has been way easier than finding shoes for me
-It's not that I'm picky, I just have high standards
-I thought I'd found a winner...but alas, it wasn't meant to be

Well folks, the search is finally over.  I've found and adorable pair of shoes that are juuuuuust right for the big day, AND they meet all the requirements:

-flats
-comfy enough to be worn all day
-no exposed toe
-contraption to keep them on my feet
-wedding colors
-TOTALLY AWESOME
-way less than $60

Are you ready to see them?

{personal photo}
 Aren't they adorable???!!!

They're this vibrant, jewel-toned purple suede, and like the red flats, they're not incredibly supportive, but they're way more substantial than the rubber was.  They have semi-flexible soles and lets face it- these things were made for dancing!  (Not literally- they're not strictly dance shoes.  I had considered a pair of Capezio character shoes to at least get the comfort part right...but then I got something better!)

However, they still need a liiiiiiittle something, just to push them over the "awesome" edge.

{personal photo}
I picked up some silver wired ribbon on another rendezvous with the other man in my life and swapped it out for the shoelaces.  The ends are frayed, so I'll need to fix that- make my own shoelace tips- but I think they add just the right punch, don't you agree?

For those that are curious, I snagged these puppies at PLNDR, one of those many flash-sale sites that specializes in "street wear", and they often run $20-or-under sales.  Cha-ching!

So what do you think?  Aren't they adorable??

How long did it take you to find the perfect wedding shoes?  Would you consider wearing oxfords on your big day?

Much love,
The Geeks

Friday, August 3, 2012

Speak My Language

"Anyone can speak Troll.  All you have to do is point and grunt." 
-Fred Weasley, from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Mr. Geek and I...we kind of have our own language.  And I don't mean that we've studied linguistics and developed our own method of communication, complete with alphabet and grammatical rules and such.  Nope, that was J. R. R. Tolkien, not us.


But we do have a whole bunch of words sprinkled throughout our everyday conversation that mean absolutely nothing to anybody else and something very specific to us- and this is outside of memespeak / internet language.  I realized the full extent of this the other day when I got off the phone with Mr. Geek at work and was met with the confused stares of my coworkers.

And so ladies (and gentlemen?), I'm going to give you a crash-course in how to speak Geek!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

image via Meme Generator

berries (beh - rees) (n.) 1. The act of making fart noises by pressing one's mouth against another person's skin; 2. see also: a "raspberry"
ex.  "If you give me berries again, I'm going to punch you in the face."

Mr. Geek likes to tickle me because it makes me squeal loudly and flail about violently.  I, on the other hand, don't particularly enjoy it- hence the squealing and the flailing.  He also occasionally likes to blow raspberries on my arm.  Or stomach.  Or cheek.  Ew.  Once, I was talking about what we should have for dessert after dinner, and I had a pint of strawberries in my fridge.

"Ooh- I want some berries!"

Big mistake.

"You want some berries, huh?"

And then the fart noises began.  I have to be sure to avoid the word "berries" in conversation now, because it doesn't mean fruit.


image via That Miserable Bastard


boodergad (boo - dur - gad) (adj.) (n.) (v.) (adv.) Ambiguous curse word; could be used as any part of speech; often preceded by the word das
ex. "Urgh this stupid- freaking- boodergad- wireless router..."


Sooooo sometimes I talk to fast, and when I do, I screw up my words.  Heh.  For some reason, Mr. Geek was singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and he got the lyrics wrong- he said "he knows if you've been good or bad."  So I rushed in to correct him- my favorite thing to do- only I tripped over my words, so what I said was, "no, it's bood or gad- I mean- urgh!"  Once Mr. Geek was able to breathe properly after a healthy fit of laughter, he commented that it sounded like something an angry German guy might shout- "DAS BOODERGAD!"  So now, if we find ourselves in a stressful situation and want to avoid cursing, this is one of the sillier words we throw out there instead of an actual expletive.



image via Univeristy of Saint Thomas


face (fayss) (adj.) (n.) (v.) (adv.) f*ck
ex. "We're never going to beat this level of Super Mario Bros. Wii!  Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!"

This one started at the camp where we met.  Cursing was against the rules, so Mr. Geek started the trend of using the word "face" in place of the f-word.  Of course, this just led to us inventing circumstances to "curse" as often as possible.  "Aw, face!" could be heard during much of our preparations for the various engineering challenges during the week.  To be honest, we don't use this one very often any more, but if either one of us sends a text with only the word FACE, we know they're having a bad day. 
image via Quaker Oats

Gorilla Bars (gore - ih - luh bahrs) (n.) Quaker brand Chewy granola bars
ex. "I'm running late, so I'll have a Gorilla Bar for breakfast."

 Kids say the darnedest things, and this is one of them.  When Mr. Geek was little, he misinterpreted his mom when she referred to these snacks as granola bars; he heard the word "gorilla" instead of "granola" and called them that for ages before he learned how to read.  The moment I heard this story, I thought it was the cutest thing EVER and have called these tasty treats Gorilla Bars (it's a proper brand name, y'all) ever since.

image via News Blaze
IHOPs (eye - hops) (n.) IHoP
ex. "After Church on Sunday, let's have IHOPs for breakfast!"

I have no idea why we pluralized the name of this restaurant, but we did.  We never say "Let's go to IHoP," we say "Let's eat IHOPs."  We're weird, in case you can't tell.



image via Apparel News
Project Runaway (prah - jekt ruhn - uh - way) (n.) Project Runway
ex. "Can I call you back?  I'm watching Project Runaway."


I love me some Heidi Klum.  I got a sewing machine for my birthday last year and have used it for lots of small, household projects, along with some Christmas presents, but so far, the only clothing I've sewn was for my cousin's Barbie.  I do love to fantasize that one day, I'll be making my own super chic clothes, and I love to live vicariously through the contestants on Project Runway and admire the immense creativity and insane amount of work required for that competition.  And so, of course, if Mr. Geek is over at my place when I'm watching it, he has to sit down with me and watch.  And after a couple of seasons of this forced viewing...he's become a (reluctant) fan of the show!  It got to the point where, last season, he actually knew the names of the three finalists, could identify the designer by their work, and agreed with me that Anya is SO overrated.  ("I mean, she's hot, but all those models are wearing the same thing- a sheet that barely covers their boobs.")  Still, in an effort to preserve his Man Card, he feels the need to tease me when I talk about the show, so he calls it Project Runaway...but the joke's on him, because I call it that now, too!

photo by Food Freak // image via 23

spood (spood) (n.) 1. food you eat with a spoon; 2. food
ex. "I just got off work- what should I have for spood?"

This one was actually Mr. Geek.  I don't remember the exact context, but the words "spoon" and "food" were coming out of his mouth at the same time and this is what happened.  Originally, we defined "spood" to mean food you eat with a spoon, but it has since evolved into meaning just food in general.  We often use it in place of the word "eat"; you don't say "What do I want to eat?" you say "What do I want for spood?"

image via Better Business Bureau

T & A Special (Tee and Ay Spe - shull) (n.) An order at IHOP for an appetizer serving of mozzarella sticks and a short stack of pancakes.
ex. "I think I'm going to order a T & A special!"

So first of all, this isn't as dirty as it sounds- these are our initials.  One time, we were at IHOP for dinner, and I was torn between what I wanted to eat.  I wanted something fried and dinner-y but then again we were at IHOP- I wanted some pancakes.  Mr. Geek suggested I just go ahead and get both- so I did!  Mozzarella sticks for an appetizer, a short stack of pancakes for the main course- and he did the same.  AND IT WAS AWESOME.  It has since become our go-to meal at IHOP, so we've nicknamed it the T & A Special- because the caveat is that we're only allowed to order it if we're together.



image via Wikimedia


Taco Hell (tah - koh hehl) (n.) Taco Bell
ex. "Let's go get hungover food at Taco Hell."

This is all Mr. Geek.  I'm pretty sure it originated from the fact that sometimes, when one eats Taco Bell, one regrets it almost immediately.


image via Wikimedia


two-shoe (too - shoo) (v.) to urinate
ex. "I have to two-shoe; I drank too much wine."

This one is really weird but here we go.  The majority of our relationship prior to getting engaged was long-distance; after we met at camp, we were pen pals who spoke on the phone about once a month for 3 years, and then we officially dated from a distance for 3 years.  This means that almost the entirety of our relationship occurred over the phone; we got very good at our communication skills.  In the very beginning, we would spend hours- sometimes entire Saturdays- on the phone, talking about everything and nothing, never wanting to hang up.  This was especially weird for Mr. Geek who has always been rather introverted and never enjoyed talking on the phone with anyone.  In fact, we'd be on the phone so long, that if one or the other of us needed to use the bathroom, we'd just leave the phone for a few moments and then come back and continue.  Only, as I'm a girl, I take a bit longer in the bathroom than he does, and one time he figured this might be too long to wait on a dead line.


He then proceeded to try to convince me to stay on the phone while I went to the bathroom.  He pulled the "if you love me you'll do it" line, which didn't work.  He tried bribing me with pretty things, which didn't work.  He told me he'd buy me a pair of shoes, which didn't work.

"I'll buy you TWO pairs of shoes!"

"...Two pairs of shoes?"

"TWO PAIRS OF SHOES!"

So I continued our phone conversation while I went to the bathroom.  It is the single weirdest thing I've ever done with a boyfriend in my entire life.  We refer to it as the Two Shoe Challenge, and after that, we'd say "It's time for a Two Shoe Challenge!" if either of us needed to excuse ourselves to the bathroom; this evolved into just the word two-shoe.

(For the record, I didn't get the shoes.  Instead, he bought me the Halloween costume I'd been eying when I said I didn't want to spend money on a costume.  Not the same as two pairs of shoes but still totally worth it.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you and your spouse have your own language?  Do you have any inside jokes that pepper your everyday conversation?

Much love,
The Geeks

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

We Went to Jared!

Alternate title: "Two Rings to Rule Them All"

So, I'll just get right to it:

We bought wedding bands, y'all!

When talking about wedding bands, we were torn in two directions: bands that match each other, or different bands where mine matches my engagement ring.  We talked a little about materials and styles, but I left most of the research up to Mr. Geek; this was distinctly his project.  I knew I didn't want any diamonds on my band, or anything terribly complicated- it was up to him to look at metals and styles and sizes.

Well, he did his research, but like Mr. Unicorn pointed out over on Weddingbee, there are some advantages to going to a big-box store, as opposed to ordering online or using a smaller jeweler.  So one Sunday, we headed up to Dulles Town Center with the intention of just looking around, getting some price quotes, and moving on to another few stores.

Instead, after about half an hour, we walked out with a couple of rings :)

Well okay we didn't walk out with the rings that day.  They needed to be sized properly, so it was a few weeks before we got to pick them up.  But the point is, the service at Jared was friendly, honest, helpful, and, well, efficient!  Plus- and you know this is my favorite part- we're right on budget!

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 Aren't they pretty?  Turns out we were able to go pretty much middle-of-the-road between matching each other and matching my e-ring.  My ring is white gold, just like my engagement ring. It's thin and rounded, and sits pretty flush against my engagement ring.  His ring is tungsten carbide, and also rather narrow (for a man's ring).  While the metals are obviously not the same color, they're both, well, shiny :)  They're shaped the same, with softly rounded edges and a smooth finish.  So while they look nice together, mine also looks nice with my diamond!  See:

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 Pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty!

Where did you get your wedding bands?  Did you do a lot of research first?  Do your rings go together or stand separately?

Much love,
The Geeks