Tag Archives: marriage

7 Wedding Traditions With Beginnings That May Surprise You

The StirMay 14, 2013 //

From the minute you get engaged to even several months into being a newlywed, you’re exposed to wedding traditions galore. Some you may be familiar with (very, if you’ve been in/to a lot of weddings) and others that may have slipped your mind completely (because you were distracted by other important matters of business like designing an acceptable seating chart or negotiating with vendors).

Case in point: When my fiance (whoops!) husband and I were on our way back from the airport after getting hitched earlier this month, one of my brilliant colleagues said I had to make him carry me over the threshold when we got home. So funny. I hadn’t even thought of that. And being the history geek that I am, I proceeded to Google it to find out where the seemingly sweet tradition came from. Let me  tell you — I probably shouldn’t have.

Here, that and six other wedding traditions’surprising origins that may make you see them in a whole new light. Read more on The Stir…

Girl Talk: How To Deal When Everyone Else Is Obsessed With You Getting Engaged

Lauren LevineMay 3, 2013 //
Hitched: Who's Next?
Is there a such thing as "next" when it comes to marriage? Read More »
"He Proposed!"
"Now, how can I avoid him?" Read More »
Why I Got Married Young
To me, 24 seemed like the perfect age. Read More »

I’ve had a boyfriend for four years and we’re not engaged. I know. But we like it that way for now. Seriously. 

To me, getting married is not something that a person should do when she has to call her mother multiple times a day for various reasons including, “I was too scared to kill a bug so I just drowned it in Raid. Will I get cancer now?” Marriage doesn’t seem appropriate for someone who is continually moving the same 20 dollars from checking to savings.

As a wife, you can’t regularly experience existential crises like I do. In my mind, marriage is for more worldly people, people who have settled down in life. Because after you say “I do” comes the purchase of a house and the arrival of children. And quite frankly, I’m not comfortable with that. I openly admit it: I am not ready to get married. Now is not the time to tie the knot.

However, the lack of a princess cut or pear-shaped diamond on my hand seems to prove upsetting to those who know me. The amount of times per day that I am questioned about my relationship status is becoming rather alarming. During a recent trip to my dentist, the hygienist immediately grabbed my hand, and then let out an audible sigh. I was unsure whether I should apologize or just smile and walk away. Instead, upon further questioning, I blurted out, “No ring. Just some dry skin.” That seemed to put an end to the conversation. Keep reading »

Saudi Woman Convinces Fiancé To Marry Her Two Best Friends As Well

Ami AngelowiczMay 2, 2013 //
I Escaped Polygamy
One woman's story on how she left a polygamist lifestyle. Read More »
"Sister Wives" In Trouble?
Kody Brown of "Sister Wives" is being investigated for bigamy. Read More »
Boston Marriages
A Brief History Of "Boston Marriages"
A brief history of the "Boston Marriage." 9 Photos »
My Three Brides?

Here’s a twist on polygamy for you. A Saudi woman told her fiancé that she would marry him on the condition that he would also marry her two best friends, who happened to be her coworkers at the school she taught at. At first the man thought it was a joke, but the woman was dead serious and she refused to get hitched unless he agreed to the offer.

“He realized that she was not joking when she insisted on her demand … after mediation efforts by relatives, he agreed to marry the three school teachers,” reported the Saudi Arabic language daily Alyoum in a report from the western town of Taif. After the man wed the three friends, he rented them all their own apartments and the husband takes turns rotating between their places. According to the report, the arrangement has not spoiled their friendship and they still spend a lot of time at each other’s places hanging out and doing housework. No word on when their reality show, “My Three Brides,” is set to air. Keep reading »

A 10-Year Marriage Contract Could Save Us All From Divorce

The StirMay 1, 2013 //

With a divorce rate hovering around 50 percent, a figure I see very clearly in my personal life, it’s easy to see why so many people think the current model of marriage is dead. Clearly, this “’til death do us part” stuff isn’t working for a whole lot of people and something has to give. After all, why do so few marriages really make it over the long haul?

Writer Emma Johnson discusses this in her latest blog post on Wealthy Single Mommy. She says marriage is dead and we need a new model. In particular, we need a 10-year contract that we can either renew or discard depending on how the marriage is working. Read more on The Stir…

Bad Advice? Or Worst Advice? Mitt Romney Urges 2013 College Grads To Get Married, Have Kids

Jessica WakemanMay 1, 2013 //
Who's Next?
Unless you are literally waiting to walk down the aisle, you're not "next." Read More »
You Have A Shelf Life
susan patton
... says "Princeton Mom" Susan Patton, who just got divorced. Read More »
National Proposal Day
Proposal Day
How romantic! (Not really.) Read More »
"Marriage Is A Gift From God"

Why anyone would pay 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney money to talk about anything, I don’t know, but I guess it’s mutually beneficial. He has to pay the bills on that car-elevator somehow. Anyway, quoting from the book of Luke in the Bible, Romney encouraged the recent grads of Southern Virginia University to “launch out into the deep.” But what exactly did this mean? Find work that you love? Pay off those student loans before Sallie Mae hunts you down like a dog?

No. Get married. Keep reading »

Hitched: Who’s Next?

Andrea GrimesMay 1, 2013 //

How about this: unless you’re speaking to a person who is literally about to walk down an aisle to an altar at which they will proceed to exchange vows of lifelong love to another human being, don’t tell them they’re “next” to get married.

That’s what a friend of mine’s sister told her recently, and … well, I’ll just tell you what my friend — a single lady — expressed in response: “RUH RUH!?!?!” Because seriously. Nobody’s “next.” There’s not a wedding pecking order. Nobody is the first person to get married, and matrimony isn’t a race wherein some people come in second, third or fourth place. Keep reading »

“Princeton Mom” Susan Patton Speaks At Princeton: “A Woman Looking For A Husband In Her 30s Gives Off Total Desperation”

Jessica WakemanApril 22, 2013 //
Princeton Mom's Warnings
princeton
Find your husbands now, ladies, because the rest of the world is dumb. Read More »
You Have A Shelf Life
susan patton
... says "Princeton Mom" Susan Patton, who just got divorced. Read More »
Princeton Mom Is Lying
You don't have a "shelf life." Read More »
susan patton

Earlier this month, the world met Susan Patton, a 1977 graduate of Princeton University, authoress of the world’s snobbiest letter to the editor of The Daily Princetonian. Its utterly-sincere advice that female undergrads marry fellow Princetonians because they’ll never find men as intelligent anywhere else in the world — followed by the news that Patton had recently divorced and blamed her husband for attending a no-name college — made her an instant Internet villainess.

It also got her invited back to speak to Princeton last week, where she shared more of her dating tips, including: “A woman looking for a husband in her 30s gives off total desperation.” Such spinster harridans are absolute “man repellent,” she warned. Keep reading »

Hitched: Filing Taxes, For Better Or For Worse

Andrea GrimesApril 19, 2013 //

This Sunday, Patrick and I will celebrate our first anniversary as married people. I would love to tell you the last twelve months have comprised a life-changing, soul-altering period of self-discovery and exploration of what it means to be in love. That this column will be full of witty and insightful paragraphs full of meaningful revelations.

“Would you marry me again?” I asked Patrick over beers at our local dive. Sure, he said, “But I wouldn’t plan another wedding.”

On that point, we’re agreed. And we’re also agreed on this point: the main thing that the last year of nuptial bliss — and it really has been bliss — has taught us is that being married isn’t significantly different than being everything but married.

In fact, the most significant difference between my pre-marriage life with Patrick and my post-marriage life with Patrick? Twenty dollars. Keep reading »

Watch: All The Famous People Who Married Their First Cousin

Ami AngelowiczApril 19, 2013 //
Boston Marriages
A Brief History Of "Boston Marriages"
A brief history of the "Boston Marriage." 9 Photos »
Kate's Cousin
katrina darling burlesque photo
... a burlesque dancer who is posing for Playboy! Read More »
Weird Celeb Relations
Robert Pattinson is related to Dracula. 10 Photos »
Cousin Love
31 Kissing Cousins

If Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Edgar Allen Poe and Vincent D’Onofrio’s ex-wife can do it … I don’t know. Never mind. I can’t say I endorse first cousin marriages. But lots of people are fine with it. You can learn all about it in this Mental Floss video, “31 Kissing Cousins.” Also, remind me sometime to tell you about my super weird crush on Vincent D’Onofrio. This video just reminded me of it. [Laughing Squid]

Hitched: Will Your Marriage Work? Go On Vacation

Andrea GrimesApril 10, 2013 //

It wasn’t until we were sitting on a bench on a beautiful, sunny March day in London’s Kensington Gardens, that Patrick and I had what I recall as being our first actual argument. Just under a year into our relationship, we took our first big vacation together. The details of the disagreement, of course, were beyond stupid: I didn’t like the way Patrick exchanged money. I thought he should exchange his money differently. More specifically, I thought he should exchange money the way I exchanged money, the way I had explained to him was the best way to exchange money.

I told you it was stupid. And it was our first day together in London. I had a whole week of being annoyed at money exchanges ahead of me.

Of course, it wasn’t about the money exchanges themselves, but about the fact that I felt like Patrick wasn’t listening to my valuable input about logistical minutiae. And I am the kind of person who feels like “my valuable input” roughly translates to “literally the only input you need.” Keep reading »

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