Weddingbee

Yes, that’s loose paper, a hand-written list, various notes scribbed in the margins, and items checked or crossed off as accomplished.

My OCD, organization-loving self is so ashamed…

How did you guys manage your to do list in the final days? I’ll take all of the advice I can get!
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Growing up, we learn so much about how women should be strong, and at the same time we’re told fairy tales about being a princess waiting for her prince. All we need to do is wait for him… and maybe brush our hair and use eye cream in the meantime.

As much as I would love to argue about how ridiculous I think that rescued comment is, I can’t shrug it off entirely without being completely honest with myself. There have been plenty of times in the past when I wished for someone to take away my jaded view of men and renew my faith with one wildly romantic gesture. And that, to me, might be my version of “being rescued.”

I feel as though the modern version of women being rescued would mean getting married. Going off of fairy tales alone, it always seems like the woman is fully content and feels “rescued” when the fairy tale ends with marriage. And for the men? Their goal is to rescue the woman! (This must be a toughie for men in the real world, since I can imagine most women saying things like “I don’t need to be rescued! I make more money than you!”)

What do you think about the concept of “being rescued”? Do you agree, as hard as it may be to admit, that in some way women really just want to be rescued?
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Is it still a good precaution? Maybe Mr. Peacock would let me do his mani rather than go for the full spa experience. I could see him getting a professional shave that morning since those can be done in a barber shop- and therefore, it is a “manly” experience. He also didn’t start using conditioner until we started dating, so we need to move in baby steps.

Did your hubby get a manicure or will your fiance get one? For the married readers, did you notice his nails in any of your photos, or is this something that my wedding brain is overthinking?
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Which one is your favorite?
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To me, East Hastings is an inextricable part of my Vancouver. I took these photos years back with the squatters outside the old Woodwards building, but if you’re unfamiliar with the area, it’s shocking but certainly not out of place.

I went down to Hastings and Main in this area for about three years, spending 6-7 hours of my Friday night serving food or singing worship songs at a small, upstairs place next to the Balmoral Hotel street church. Now it seems so far away, and so far removed from my life. I went back one Christmas to revisit the smell of coffee mixed with hot dogs, mixed with an endless line of unwashed men and felt like I was perhaps the only one I knew who understood how I felt about it.

Here’s some photos I’ve gathered off of flickr. You’ll see it really is skid row, and I think it’s one of the worst places in North America. But it’s safe. It’s so safe. Canadians don’t carry guns, eh? And I used to leave street church at 1am.

Anyone in the northwest is probably familiar with the Pickton serial murderer - a pig farmer who abducted and murdered anywhere from 26 to 60 some odd women, and literally fed them to his pigs. In that sense, my fiance is very uncomfortable with the idea of doing a TTD session there - it just seems too much like a slap in the face to the people in the area to have someone parading around in a $1000-5000 dress I guess. It’s hard to explain.

I read about a trash the dress session where a “daring” bride/model posed on an alley mattress and it reminded me of hastings and main. I used to want to take portraits of the people there because there was so much story in each of their faces. Give them a meal in exchange for a portrait. But I literally lacked the balls to do it being small, dainty, and female amongst a throng of drunken men and drugged up prostitutes.  So this area for a TTD was just an idea.  I’ve looked into other potential sites that I’ll post about later.
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1) Marriage Certificate - You can request copies via mail, but I went down to the City Clerk’s office and picked up 3 copies of my marriage certificate in person. I ended up only needing one (for my passport) because the DMV and the social security office returned my certificate after looking at it. It’s $15 for the first certificate, and $10 for each additional certificate - they only accept money orders or cashiers checks as payment. I was in and out of there within 20 minutes with certificates in hand.

2) Driver’s License - With this completed form and my marriage certificate, I headed to the DMV where it took me 3 long hours to take a picture and get my new driver’s license. One thing I completely forgot to do was practice signing my new name for my license! The cost - $10.

3) Social Security Office - You can mail in this completed form, your marriage certificate and your passport or driver’s license (which will be returned to you) to get a new social security card. I knew the wait wouldn’t be that long in our local office, so I went in person and was in and out of there within 20 minutes.  The card should arrive within the next week or two.

4) Passport - Because I renewed my passport less than a year ago, I can get a new passport without any additional fees. Here are more details on that here, and the regular process to get a new passport via mail. It costs $67 for a new passport and an additional $60 for an expedited fee. 

My friend Joyce recently renewed her passport and gave me a great tip - if you fill out the online application, print it and mail it, the process goes a lot faster because the web version generates a bar code.  Her passport arrived in 2 weeks!  But the busiest months for passports are January/February… which is ok since I won’t be travelling internationally any time soon.

Now I just need to change my name on my health insurance, bank accounts, my million and one credit cards and anything else I’m forgetting.

How long did you wait until you changed your name?  Did you find the process easy or difficult?
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