Thursday, 06 March 2008 | Weducation

I never knew much about weddings before. Actually, I still don't know much, but I'm learning! Here's a sample of what I've picked up just in the last two weeks:

1. People who have obsessive tendencies should not plan weddings. There are so many avenues to explore and details to consider that you will forget to look away from your computer at all, for any reason, really. Somehow I've also collected a pile of papers, jackets, and shoes all around my desk. Normally I keep it pretty tidy, but now it appears as if I'm sitting in a pile of trash.

2. Wedding dresses are boring and all look the same. Ninety percent of them seem to be strapless. They also look remarkably different on models than they do on real brides.

3. Sapphires aren't always blue, platinum is expensive, and avoiding diamonds has been harder than I thought it would be. We may have found something, though. I think it's a good sign that after discovering one particular setting, I became indifferent to everything else and kept drifting back over to it and studying it.

4. When people leave shiny stones in front of me and then walk out of the room, I feel inclined to lay my hands out flat on the table, just to let them know I didn't steal anything.

5. Shopping for a fancy ring may be the thing that shames me into not making my cuticles bleed. It'd be kind of a disgrace to have such a pretty ring on a monster hand.

6. I don't want a traditional wedding, and I don't want a deliberately non-traditional one. I'm discovering it's more difficult when you make it all up as you go along. (Unfortunately, that's how I approach just about everything.)

7. Trying to determine the guest list may make you irrational. For example, I had the fleeting idea to ask two single friends to start dating so I could knock off their plus-ones.

8. Brainstorming and finding ways to incorporate our friends into our wedding is actually pretty fun. We're lucky that we both know a lot of creative people.

9. My parents are even more easy-going than I thought. When I mentioned to Todd that I'd read that family members' personalities are exaggerated during the engagement months, Todd asked, "Does that mean your mom is going to become even more laid-back?" Apparently it does.

10. I like being engaged.