Incorporating Ceremony and Ritual into Bridal Showers, Bachelor/ette Parties, and Weddings // River and Root

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Incorporating Ceremony and Ritual into Bridal Showers, Bachelor/ette Parties, and Weddings // River and Root

Ceremony and ritual help us acknowledge change and transition in our lives. You can think about the difference between a meal that starts with a toast or saying grace versus a meal that just starts. In the former, everyone takes a moment to settle in and be present with each other before eating, and in the second we just start right in and we don't necessarily stop to be present.

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Mindfulness on Your Wedding Day // Accepting Your Emotions As They Are

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Mindfulness on Your Wedding Day // Accepting Your Emotions As They Are

The practice of accepting ourselves exactly where we are creates a more grounded and joyful wedding day, but it is also a foundational principle of mindfulness. (Or, if it jives better with you: it’s my party and I’ll feel weird if I want to). Sounds nice, right? But why can it be so hard to be exactly where we are, especially in extraordinary circumstances and on special days?

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4 Steps to Writing Your Own Ceremony Script

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4 Steps to Writing Your Own Ceremony Script

Today, three in four couples in the U.S. decide to get married outside of a religious institution. Couples report making the choice to write their own ceremony because they do not share a common faith tradition, have experienced bias or trauma through organized religion, or simply envision gathering in a place that feels more meaningful to their story than a house of worship.

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Your Wedding Pantsuit Fits You, But Does Your Wedding Ceremony?

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Your Wedding Pantsuit Fits You, But Does Your Wedding Ceremony?

Marriage is changing (can I get a hallelujah?), and these days, getting married can be an act of social justice.  

A wedding is a symbol, after all, and like the marriage it’s ushering in, a wedding is full of potential and increasingly devoid of rules. In this way, its meaning deepens.  

One of the most powerful ways we can create meaningful shifts around marriage is by how we honor ourselves and each other through our wedding ceremonies and vows. Rewriting any social narrative means working in big blank spaces, and while that can be super liberating, it can also be super disorienting. Ultimately, though, like every creative pursuit, it’s an empowering act of self-discovery that benefits us all.  

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5 Guidelines for Attending Your Ex's Wedding and Avoiding Fallout

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5 Guidelines for Attending Your Ex's Wedding and Avoiding Fallout

It’s not an uncommon occurrence to stay friends with an ex, especially if it’s someone you dated in high school or college, or if you dated for a long time and have lots of mutual friends. So that means it’s not uncommon to end up in a situation where you are invited to the wedding of an ex. It can be hard to attend a wedding of an ex, especially if you’re single, but if you want to stay friends with your ex after their wedding day, here are a few guidelines to follow.

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Tutorial: How To Address Envelopes in the 21st Century

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Tutorial: How To Address Envelopes in the 21st Century

As a wedding calligrapher, I think a lot about names. As a feminist, I also think a lot about names and the meaning that they convey. Particularly, I find the "traditional" way of addressing envelopes a bit, shall we say, dated. I've been gratified that many of my clients feel the same way and have instead been moving toward a new, 21st-century model of addressing wedding guests.

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