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I have attended a great many birthday parties in my day, as well as a few bachelorette and reunion-type parties, all of which have involved lots of hugging, cocktails and snacks. Apparently, that tried-and-true celebration model may be changing soon… More
One of the most recurring obligations as a twenty-something adult is participating in the weddings of your friends. Over the years, I’ve used these weddings as a motivator to get my butt in gear and get my body in picture-ready shape. Sometimes I’ve been successful and felt great—other times, not so much. But this November …
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USA Today yesterday ran a fluff piece as an excuse to promote the release of a new Jason Segal movie, The 5-Year Engagement, which while astonishing in its transparency was sadly typical in terms of the wedding narrative it pushed. The gist of the piece was that couples are having longer engagement periods in order to save up for ‘dream weddings,’ which now cost an average $26,500. But who are these people allegedly spending so much? More
The New York Times reported today that brides are increasingly going on crash diets—they’re fairly late on the “trend,” but I’ll give them this: They found some incredibly horrifying examples to make me feel really depressed about weddings, women and body image. The worst being a 41-year-old Florida woman who went on a new “K-E diet,” an 800-calorie-per-day, zero-carbohydrate “diet” administered via feeding tube. As in, she paid her doctor $1500 to insert a feeding tube through her nose. More
The New York Times reported yesterday that more and more women are replacing traditional bachelorette party activities (getting wasted; eating penis cake) with workouts. More
Oh, just wait until all the Bridezillas out there get a hold of this one: Bridal shows are the latest place to sell liposuction. That’s right all you brides-to-be, according to a recent article in Allure magazine, women at one show were treated to an afternoon of mingling amongst booths of cake samples, bridesmaid dresses and surgery options to lose fat. I wonder how many brides flocked to that booth in search of the “perfect” wedding day body? Not to mention, there were also vendors at this show touting Botox and raffles giving away free cosmetic surgery. Ugh.
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I think you should get married. If you’re in love and want to spend the rest of your life with someone, marry that person. Don’t fiddle around with a non-legally-binding, who-needs-a-piece-paper type of commitment. I say take the plunge! Go all the way! Bite the bullet! And any other cliché you can think of, because being married is different. More
I’ve spent the better part of last week in my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, during which time my little sister got married (I was maid of honor). I also had to introduce my boyfriend, whom I’m about to move from D.C. to Indiana with, to my parents and whole family for the first time. If that sounds like the set up for a Katherine Heigl comedy, well — all I can say it that it all went perfectly well. Better, even, than expected. And yet … More
Charlene Wittstock, the South African Olympic swimmer who’s set to marry Prince Albert of Monaco next week, is prepping for her wedding by not lifting weights. The already-slim former Olympic swimmer told Vogue that she’s laying off her regular exercise routine in anticipation of her inaugural debut as Princess:
In preparation for the perpetual camera-readiness expected of her as first lady of Monaco, she has cut out weight training and increased her stretching time to give her body a leaner line.
And thus more women were scared off of weight training.
In their article “Fit For a Princess,” Vogue is a lot more interested in Wittstock’s journey to find her “fashion feet” than how she maintains her figure, but in one fell sentence, they’ve managed to perpetuate bad stereotypes about weight training and physical fitness. In fact, the average woman needs more weight training to get a “leaner line,” and lots stretching is probably a good thing for any professional athlete, but most brides aren’t professional athletes, and don’t need to worry about looking bulky if they prep for their weddings in the weight room. More
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There’s been some debate about whether the Royal Wedding is important here at Blisstree. Some of you have been happy to tune into some delightfully non-depressing news for once, and some of you don’t want to waste another second talking about the British Royals. To each their own. But even if you’re a total Scrooge when it comes to the vows of Will and Kate, we dare you to rain on this Verger at Westminster Abbey: More
It’s over! No, not William and Kate’s marriage, but the Royal Wedding itself. And frankly, I’m relieved. Now, I’m all for happiness and camaraderie and nationalistic spirit, but really, what happened here? A couple got married — that’s it. Oh, and in this case they both changed their names: Now they’re the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Don’t get me wrong: I’m totally jealous that pretty much all of the U.K. got to take the day off from work today, spread out blankets in any number of parks, pop open a few bottles of champers, eat, dance, and celebrate as if today were a heady combo of New Year’s Eve, Mardi Gras, and Fourth of July (the latter in the U.S., of course). Now honestly, doesn’t that sound like much more fun than actually attending a stuffy ceremony and reception where you have to mind your manners, not bare your shoulders, curtsy to the Queen, and wear a funny-looking hat?
The other day we ran a poll on Blisstree asking how much you really care about the Royal Wedding of William and Kate, and 44.7% of you responded this way: I’m happy for them, but my life doesn’t revolve around people I don’t know and will never meet. More
The royal wedding caused thousands of Americans to wake up way too early and, therefore, drink way too much coffee this morning. Aside from that, the marriage of two boring, average-looking people really doesn’t have much bearing on our health — mental or physical. (Unless you’re scarfing some kind of royal wedding memorabilia chocolates, in which case: Please find a more worthy indulgence!) We’ll leave fodder about Kate’s dress and diet to other blogs, but something that did interest me was the Lord Bishop of London’s address. (How I was conscious enough to absorb anything beyond McQueen is a mystery, even to me.) The ceremony was traditional (obviously), and religious (again: obviously), but the speech seemed to me a rather modern take on what it means to be wed. The Dr. Richard Chartres didn’t just recipe prayers or stale passages meant to honor the royals; he acknowledged that, for most of us, marriage has started to replace God More
Right now, one of Blisstree’s most-viewed posts is one called Prince William Getting Married in 2010? (And the post itself is actually from 2009.) I’m guessing this means that a fair number of you harbor more than a casual interest in what’s going on in London this Friday, April 29. I’ll admit it: When Prince Charles and Lady Diana got married way back in July, 1981 (I was just a kid), but I remember that the entire beach town where we spent our summers came to a screeching halt. I also remember crowding into the living room of our next-door-neighbor’s house at the crack of dawn to watch the ceremony live on their tiny black-and-white TV set. (Most people in our shore town, including my family, prided themselves on choosing to not have a TV in their summer house; we had far better things to do outside and on the beach. Still, on that particular July morning, I loved our neighbors more than anyone else in the world.)
But why do we care so much? Is it just the A-List celebrity aspect of the whole affair? Is it because most of us know that we’ll likely never be invited to a private ceremony at Westminster Abbey followed by an even more private reception at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Queen of England? Or is it simply because people just love, love, love weddings, no matter who’s in them?
Sorry! This poll is now closed.
Last weekend’s New York Times “Vows” column featured a big, beautiful wedding much like any other, except for one unsavory detail: The bride and groom had fallen in love while married, and left their spouses in order to be with each other. Oh, and there were kids involved. (Homewreckers!) And their families had gone on vacation together. (Harsh.) John Partilla and Carol Anne Riddell’s scandalous story has provoked a cascade of user comments and blog posts, and even landed the couple a spot on The Today Show. More
