Answers to Trivia

Now for the answers to the trivia..

Question 1.
Why is the engagement ring and wedding band worn on the left hand?

Answer:
In ancient cultures, the ring was placed on the third finger of the left hand because it was believed that the vein in that finger led directly to the heart.

Question 2.
Why does the guy have to present a diamond engagement ring to his fiance?

Answer:
In 1947 De Beers diamond company came out with the clever marketing campaign, "A Diamond is Forever." The idea was then introduced to present your newly betrothed with a diamond engagement ring. (Before then, the stone did not have to be diamond, and there could quite possibly be no stone.) The De Beers jewelers were unofficially educated by De Beers to instruct men that two to three months personal wages were an ideal price to pay for the engagement ring that their prospective fiancee's would gladly accept.  Now, girls have come to expect a diamond ring, perhaps making the campaign one of the greatest marketing strategies of the century.

Question 3.
Why does the bride carry a bouquet of flowers?

Answer:
During the 15th century, people took their yearly baths in May and would generally get married in June. Just to be safe, brides carried bouquets to mask the smell of body odor.

Question 4:
Why does the groom toss the bride's garter to his unwed male guests?

Answer:
The garter tradition originated back to the 14th century. In parts of Europe the guests of the bride and groom believed having a piece of the bride’s clothing was thought to bring good luck. They would actually destroy the brides dress by ripping off pieces of fabric. Obviously, this tradition did not sit well with the bride, so she began throwing various items to the guests – the garter being one of them. It became customary for the bride to toss the garter to the men. But this also caused a great problem for the bride….sometimes the men would get drunk, become impatient and try to remove the garter ahead of time. Therefore, the custom derived at having the groom remove and toss the garter to the men.

Question 5.
Why does the bride wear a veil?

Answer:
The bride's veil and bouquet are of greater antiquity than her white gown. Her veil, which was yellow in ancient Greece and red in ancient Rome, usually shrouded her from head to foot, and has since the earliest of times, denoted the subordination of a woman to man. The thicker the veil, the more traditional the implication of wearing it.  According to tradition, it is considered bad luck for the bride to be seen by the groom before the ceremony. As a matter of fact, in the old days of marriage by purchase, the couple rarely saw each other at all, with courtship being of more recent historical emergence. The lifting of the veil at the end of the ceremony symbolizes male dominance. If the bride takes the initiative in lifting it, thereby presenting herself to him, she is showing more independence.

Question 6.
Why does the bride have bridesmaids?

Answer:
The tradition of asking your closest girlfriends to be your bridesmaids dates back to ancient times. Maids would typically dress in fashion similar to the bride to confuse evil spirits who are trying to kidnap her. Today, bridesmaids are chosen for their loyalty and supportiveness to the bride and the fashion tends to compliment the bride´s wedding theme, and the bride herself.

Question 7.
What was the original purpose of the flower girl?

Answer:
Having a flower girl as part of the wedding party dates back to the Victorian Era. The original intention was to use her as a way to provide entertainment to guests who would "oooh and aah" as she walked down the aisle. These days the flower girl’s main purpose might not be to entertain, but guests are still delighted when she walks before the bride.

Wedding Trivia

Guys, have you ever wondered why you are supposed to get your girlfriend a diamond engagement ring? Girls, have you ever wondered why you wear the ring on your left hand?

All of these are questions I could not answer. So... I looked everything up! Now some of these things you might know, and some you may. Here's your brain challenge for the day.. Let's see how much you really know about wedding traditions!


Question 1.
Why is the engagement ring and wedding band worn on the left hand?

Question 2.
Why does the guy have to present a diamond engagement ring to his fiance?

Question 3.
Why does the bride carry a bouquet of flowers?

Question 4.
Why does the groom toss the bride's garter to his unwed male guests?

Question 5.
Why does the bride wear a veil?

Question 6.
Why does the bride have bridesmaids?

Question 7.
What was the original purpose of the flower girl?


So how did you do?! Check back in later in the day when I post the answers.


**Oh and don't cheat! I know the web holds all the answers, but you can wait! :) 

Month 2: Self Evaluation

According to my wedding planning book, this next month I will focus on self-evaluation. The book gives a complete list of things brides are often concerned with prior to the wedding. The list ranges from hair length, to fingernail length, to skin tone, to body size, to skin clarity.

I am very fortunate to remain tan year around, so I'm not really concerned with that. I have also been blessed with clear skin, so no problems there. What I do plan on working on is hair length and body size.

I plan to do something special with my hair, which requires it to be a good bit longer than it is currently. I do get it cut regularly, but now I will be just getting it trimmed and try to keep the length on it.

My next thing is body size. I am not worried about the dress, because it fits beautifully. But I do want to begin a normal routine of exercise. This being said, I started taking advantage of the Student Recreation Center's classes such as Zumba and Hips, Butts, and Guts. Out of the past 5 days, I have been in the gym 4 of those days, and let me tell you I am feeling it.

I feel it is important to get a regular amount of exercise, and I do not want to worry with unhealthy eating. Therefore, I just am careful with eating--not eating too late, limiting the beef, eating more veggies kind of thing. This way I can enjoy full meals, and not worry. The additional exercise is keeping me feeling good, a bit sore, but good.

Dress shopping

Even though it may not be time to pick out a dress, I really couldn't wait. I had visited David's Bridal's Web site and found some dresses I really liked. I did not realize soft white and ivory are in right now, but I soon discovered I really liked the off-white colors.

So yesterday I made the short trip down the road to Tuscaloosa's David's Bridal. I went ahead and registered there and the lovely ladies there set me up with my own consultant to go through and pick out dresses. Victoria was my consultant and she was of great help. I immediately asked for the dresses I found online, but unfortunately they were not in stock. Not sure how to explain what I liked, I just told Victoria things I liked. She was able to listen to my preferences and somehow get a dress out of that.

Together we picked out several dresses. Now came the difficult part--trying them on. I hate thinking a dress is beautiful until I try it on. Being only 5'4'', things never quite look the same on me, but luckily this wasn't the case Saturday.

With the help of Victoria, I tried on the first dress. I instantly fell in love. It was perfect. It still looked good, even on me! I went ahead and tried on the rest of the dresses but nothing compared, nothing was as stunning as the very first dress.

Michael's sister, Tiffany, arrived and I showed her a couple of dresses, and she too agreed on the dress. Now this I think is unusual...to love the very first dress you try on, but I do!

I will not post any pictures of this, though,  because I want this part to be a surprise! :) 

To Do Lists-- Using a wedding planner

I like lists. Lists help me remember what I have to get done, and this even applies to planning mine and Michael's wedding.

To help sort through the lists of things to do, I went to Barnes & Noble. No, I didn't go there to get a dose of caffeine or to enjoy the smell of new books, I went with a mission of finding a wedding planner. I found a great month-by-month planner that has a "To Do" list for each month--The Bride's Year Ahead. I knew that this was the book for me.

I do not have exactly one year to plan, more like 11 months, so I am combining two months of to do lists. My goal is to tackle something different each day.


Here are my things to do:
1.) Announce engagement    ✓ 
2.) Find officiant                ✓
3.) Reserve church   
4.) Book reception hall       ✓
5.) Book photographer      ✓
6.) Hire caterer      
7.) Reserve musicians

 As you can see, we are half way through the To Do list. I am still looking for a church with a center aisle. Being in Tuscaloosa with a wedding planned four hours away makes wedding planning a bit difficult, but my parents have been very helpful with checking out the places for me.

I hope to have all these things done before the end of July because I have a whole new list of things to do in August, starting with a self evaluation.

Reserving our Reception Center

Although we have not nailed down the church location, Michael and I have found the perfect reception center-- the James P. Nix Center in Fairhope.

We were very fortunate to get this place. The place was booked on our original wedding date, May 14, but was available May 21. Because we were having some difficulties with that date already, Michael and I agreed it would be best to move the wedding back one week.

We are very excited about having the reception center picked out, now just on to finding a Baptist church with a center aisle. Any ideas?

Official Date: May 21, 2011

Although we had originally planned to marry on May 14, Michael and I have rescheduled the date to Saturday, May 21, 2011.

Please mark your calendars!

The Proposal

Most anyone who knows me very well knows that I am not one for surprises--I like to know what is coming. Well Michael knows this all too well, and he was so sweet as to allow me to pick out the ring. We went to Diamonds Direct in Birmingham, and together we pieced together a classic, but beautiful round solitaire.

This was not the official proposal, though. Michael had to come up with that by himself. 

So, a couple of weeks after ordering the ring. Michael and I visited my parents for the Fourth of July weekend. Near the beach, Michael knew he had the prime location for the perfect proposal.

On Saturday, July 3, Michael asked me if I wanted to go see a movie, which I did. He was okay with going to see Eclipse, my choice. We went and then he took me to dinner at Jake's Steakhouse.

Afterward, we took a stroll on the beach (Gulf Shores). The sun was setting, and the scenery was beautiful.

Then after a bit of walking he pointed off to one side, and I looked. I didn't know what he was pointing at.  By the time I turned around, he was kneeling on one knee with the ring in his hand.

He then said, "Will you do me the extraordinary honor of being my wife?" To which I answered, "YES!"

I quickly put on my absolutely BEAUTIFUL ring. Then in the sand, he wrote out Marry Me?

We walked back to the car, hand in hand, ring on finger, so excited about our future together.

Meet the characters in this story

The Princess:
Once upon a time there was a little girl born far, far away in the country of Paraguay.

This little princess would have to travel thousands of miles to the United States and wait almost two decades before she could meet her Prince Charming.

Deirdra Drinkard entered the world on June 23.

At eleven-months old, Deirdra was adopted by Clyde and Mary Ann Drinkard, and moved to Alabama where she was raised in the small town of Silverhill.

There, she was properly brought up learning the things most princesses needed to know. She attended school and soon discovered her fascination with learning more about the world around her.

When not busy with lessons, Deirdra kept active with dance lessons. For ten years, Deirdra learned ballet, tap, jazz and gymnastics.

Deirdra also enjoyed horseback riding. With one leg on each side of the saddle, she was not afraid of riding like the men. In fact, she soon began competing in the sport of barrel racing. Deirdra and her faithful mare, Impressively Cindy, were a tough team to beat.

Unfortunately horseback riding had to be put on hold because it was important for this princess to have a higher education. She would have to leave her small town and head to Tuscaloosa, where she would pursue a degree in Journalism at the University of Alabama.

Her education kept her busy and little did Deirdra know that she would soon meet her Prince Charming in Tuscaloosa.

The Prince Charming: 
Twenty-five years ago, a young prince named Michael McCool entered the world on November 29. He was raised in Tuscaloosa and never ventured too far from home.

He enjoyed most sports and played baseball and football for his high school team, leading them to two state championship victories.

Sports were not enough, though. He still needed to find his princess. He left Tuscaloosa for a bit and decided to help serve his country. For four years, he served in the Army reserves, but soon after finishing he returned to his home.

Looking to gain a better education, Michael ventured west to the University of West Alabama. Little did he know that his roommate would be friends with a guy that knew his true love.