The Plunge Blog

A Reader Asks: "Can My Parents Do the Catering?"

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

A reader writes:

"My fiancee and I have started talking about food for the wedding. My parents offered to make the food and take care of everything foodwise (of course help will be enlisted), while her parents are worried that it would be too big of a task to undertake and that we would screw it up.

"Putting aside the q [...]

When, Specifically, Do You Do the First Dance?

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

A reader asks:

"So my fiancée and I are a little confused about what to do with our first dance. We can't decide whether to have our first dance immediately upon entering the reception hall or to wait until after we've eaten and all the toasts are over.

"In the first case we would have something to do a [...]

You’re Getting Married. How Does This Impact Your Taxes?

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

What's the exact opposite of chocolate and peanut butter, you know, two great things that go great together?

Two awful things that go awful together: wedding planning and taxes.

A fairly informative (if a touch dry) article in the Wall Street Journal about how getting married impacts your taxes.

From the Journa [...]

For The Bride: How to Get Us Men Involved

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Yes, it's a cliché: the groom hates wedding planning. But some clichés are clichés because they're, well... true. Forget all the stories you heard about "Groomzilla." 99% of grooms aren't Groomzillas. They're just dudes getting married.

Normally we write for men. Normally we give them tools, tricks, and insights to sur [...]

The Bride’s Father is Coming to Bachelor Party. WTF?

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Email from a reader.

We thought about cleaning it up, but what's the fun in that?

Here it is, in its glorious, untouched form:

"I am the best man of my brothers wedding and that means im doing the bachlor party,all of are friends that we invited like to drink and have fun and pretty much anything goes.

"But [...]

Stay Classy! Bride Smashes Car Into Groom’s Ex, Goes to Prison

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

This story has a little bit of everything: violence, brides, car crashes, jail, drunkenness, honeymoons, weddings, and even a sex offender. The only thing surprising is that no, in fact, it's not an episode of Jersey Shore.

From The New York Daily News: "Timothy Keene and his blushing bride Marissa spent their wedding night in sepa [...]

Nicole Kidman is “The Wedding Doctor.” Here are Better Ideas.

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

I'm convinced that Hollywood is a game of Madlibs.

Studios create titles with a fill-in-the-blank methodology that produces gems like the just-announced "The Wedding Doctor," starring Nicole Kidman. You can probably guess the premise and visualize the entire film, right?

From New York's Vulture: "Kidman would play a r [...]

5 Pre-Weekend Tips for a Bachelor Party

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

You know the obvious stuff. (And if you don't, we cover it here.) The basic things you must do in advance for a bachelor party: Picking a weekend, surveying options, reserving hotels, coordinating airfare.

That's Bachelor Party 101. And for the weekend itself, we cover your expected behavior here.)

In the past year, ho [...]

Wedding Crasher Steals Gifts: (More Reason For You to Register)

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Okay. This is kind of funny. And it's so obvious that it's amazing it hasn't happened a million times before. (Or maybe it has. And no one notices.)

The movie Wedding Crashers, of course, explores the idea of sneaking into weddings to score with girls. But what about scoring with gifts? There's usually a ripe, glitt [...]

Inside the Mind of the Bride: The Fashionable Wedding

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

As regular readers now know, from time to time, we turn to one of the less-crazy bridal sites, OneWed, for "her perspective."

From OneWed's Marta Segal Block:

A couple of weeks ago over at OneWed.com we released our Top Ten Wedding Trends for 2010. I have to admit, I feel a little guilty about that. Most women [...]

Are You Sarcastic? Then Don’t Do This at Your Wedding.

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Yes, we get the irony.

We realize that any website that touts articles like How Wedding-Porn is Brainwashing Your Fiancée, Your Reward for Suffering: Planning the Honeymoon, and Your Get Out of Wedding Free Card--Convincing Her to Elope...this kind of website, we admit, has no business telling you "not be sarcastic."

How a Kid Should Give a Wedding Toast

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

A reader writes:

"Me an my fiancé are getting married. My daughter, who is 15, wants to make a toast at the reception... I can't find any wedding toast [for kids].

"Do you have any suggestions for her to use? Because he is the only dad she has. He raised her and she calls him Dad.

"Please help."

< [...]

The Proposal: How Do You Surprise When She's Expecting It?

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

A reader writes:

My girlfriend and I are going to be getting engaged on an upcoming weekend.

The process has been very open: we picked out the ring together, she knew when I talked to her dad, and she even knows that I'm proposing that weekend.

However, she doesn't know how or exactly when I'm proposing that weekend. To [...]

Here’s Why Your Wedding Guests Shouldn’t Bring Guns

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Another day, another trainwreck.

Sometimes the advice we give is so commonsensical we're a little embarrassed. You're not an idiot. We're not idiots. (Well, not all the time.) So, for example, when we tell a reader who's thinking about cheating "Don't Cheat" we blush with shame. Obvious stuff, right?

Maybe, maybe not. Events in the [...]

Rehearsal Dinner: How to Handle a Wacky Ratio

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

A reader writes in the comments:

"In regards to the Rehearsal dinner, I am in a unique situation. Every one of my guests is from out of town.

"None of my bride's guests are from out of town.

"I know it is traditional to invite all out of town guests to the Rehearsal dinner, but what is t [...]

Was Your Proposal Awesome? Exploit it.

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Like you, we're a little skeptical of "contests." (Unless it involves Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer storming into a room, slapping down a wad of cash, and screaming, "I'm out!")

When we think "contests" we have grizzly memories of Ed McMahon, the lottery, bingo, and the dregs of reality tv. (Like: "Who Want [...]

Big Fat Geek Wedding: Couple Measures Changes in “Love Hormone”

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

It's not every day we encounter a story that will equally please fans of Battlestar Galactica, Malcolm Gladwell, and The Knot.

For thousands of years, we have known that our emotions impact our bodies. Our heart thumps, our brow sweats, our fingers twitch. The emotional translates to the physical. That's been true from Euripides to S [...]

When the Best Man is the Groom's Dad (Strippers? The Toast?)

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

A reader writes:

"I am the best man at my sons wedding.

"How do I handle the toast? I need to do the bachelor party but I am a parent so I will not take a group to a strip club.

"I really need your advice."

_______

Best Dad,

Good question. And you're not the [...]

The Plunge Guide To Buying Lingerie

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Don't do it. Stop right now. Down that road lies pain. You've seen the Victoria's Secret ads, you've trolled the Agent Provocateur website, and you've drooled over catwalk models in lusty, see-through chemises. And now you're thinking, "Hmm, that would look hot on my girl, too. I'll buy her some."

Turn back. Like something out of a bad Chuck [...]

Inside the Mind of the Bride: Why (This) V-Day Matters

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Some people say we've been a little tough on Valentine's Day.

We cover ways to avoid being a cliché, why you shouldn't propose on V-Day, and 10 additional reasons why you, um, hate it.

Some people have also speculated that since we're Anti-Valentine's Day, we're also anti-romance, anti-love, anti-hu [...]