Heard on (I think) a news segment about gay marriage as spoken by a wedding officiant, "You may express your love with a nuptial kiss." (I wrote this down some time ago and just came across the bit of scrap paper that I wrote it down on).
I love the complete gender neutrality of that statement. We may go with that for our wedding smoochies.
Come to think of it, I would prefer that all the vows be as gender neutral as possible. I shall have to think about that as we get into the actual vow-writing.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Sword, sword, swordity sword...
If we're getting swords, and we're meaning them to be handed down to future generations of Blackthorns, we're hardly going to buy cheap swords that wouldn't cut paper and would bend if you looked at them wrong.
So, of course I'm looking at some master smith-work. (And imagining that I have the kind of money to buy it).
Take a look at the Du Sith by Jake Powning. That's real craftsmanship. That's worthy of being a Blackthorn heirloom. That's also $6,000. Mind you, I'm not saying Jake Powning ain't worth it. I'm just saying...well, right now it's out of my price range.
It's cheaper than a fully polished and fully mounted masterwork katana though. Check out these beauties, forged by Howard Clark (polished and mounted by other folks--generally Ted Tenold except where it says otherwise). The least expensive is $8,500.
I would be perfectly happy to exchange Nerf swords at the wedding and buy the heirloom swords later. Kind of like those folks who buy the ring they can afford now with the idea of upgrading when they can afford to do so. Only swords are much more awesomer than rings (and we both agree on this). To quote Fighter McWarrior from 8-Bit Theater, "I like swords."
Wait, is my nerdliness showing? Thought so.
So, of course I'm looking at some master smith-work. (And imagining that I have the kind of money to buy it).
Take a look at the Du Sith by Jake Powning. That's real craftsmanship. That's worthy of being a Blackthorn heirloom. That's also $6,000. Mind you, I'm not saying Jake Powning ain't worth it. I'm just saying...well, right now it's out of my price range.
It's cheaper than a fully polished and fully mounted masterwork katana though. Check out these beauties, forged by Howard Clark (polished and mounted by other folks--generally Ted Tenold except where it says otherwise). The least expensive is $8,500.
I would be perfectly happy to exchange Nerf swords at the wedding and buy the heirloom swords later. Kind of like those folks who buy the ring they can afford now with the idea of upgrading when they can afford to do so. Only swords are much more awesomer than rings (and we both agree on this). To quote Fighter McWarrior from 8-Bit Theater, "I like swords."
Wait, is my nerdliness showing? Thought so.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
How simple is that?
Best idea for a wedding invitation I've seen yet? DIY postcard invites. I'm thinkin' that once I have the design I want sketched out--and naturally I'm thinking happy wolves and ultra-cute skulls--I'm soooo going with something like this.
I can see it now. We cordially invite you to "The Super-Fun Adventures of Wolf and Skull!"
Really, that's just what I'm looking for. I want the invitations to be fun. I want them to be us. And I want them to be inexpensive. I mean, maybe some folks are sentimental enough to keep wedding invitations forever, but I suspect most of our invites will end up in the garbage after the wedding. This is not something we need to spend a ton of money on
Now, I'm probably not going to personally water-color every invite. I'm more of a GIMP guy. But I don't think it will cost much to have some personally designed postcards printed. I'm thinking of VistaPrint, which I've seen recommended for inexpensive printing. I will be checking their price against Kinkos, of course.
I can see it now. We cordially invite you to "The Super-Fun Adventures of Wolf and Skull!"
Really, that's just what I'm looking for. I want the invitations to be fun. I want them to be us. And I want them to be inexpensive. I mean, maybe some folks are sentimental enough to keep wedding invitations forever, but I suspect most of our invites will end up in the garbage after the wedding. This is not something we need to spend a ton of money on
Now, I'm probably not going to personally water-color every invite. I'm more of a GIMP guy. But I don't think it will cost much to have some personally designed postcards printed. I'm thinking of VistaPrint, which I've seen recommended for inexpensive printing. I will be checking their price against Kinkos, of course.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
The traditional weapons exchange
So, my Woogie has been doing some reading about the traditional Heathen wedding, and has let me know that the groom is supposed to give his bride an ancestral sword, and that she, in turn, is supposed to give him a new sword. And that this takes place during the wedding.
Well, first off, this is just awesome. I mean, how spectacularly cool would it be to exchange swords at the wedding? I know, right? Sweet!
However, I'm unsure of the symbolism in terms of our marriage. According to the Viking Answer Lady (and everyone should just love Viking Answer Lady):
The ancestral sword signified the traditions of the family and the continuation of the bloodline, while the sword given to the groom by the bride symbolized the transfer of the father's power of guardianship and protection over the bride to her new husband.
Right. Doesn't really fit us. I mean, we have considered adopting children, and there's nothing wrong with passing down the traditions of the family, but I'm not taking over guardianship of her from anyone. I mean, I'm all for protecting her, but I would not like to imply that she is incapable of taking care of herself.
This might be a moot point, though, as my family doesn't have any ancestral swords. And why would they? First of all, my people are not Viking warrior folk. They are small town Mississippi folk. My grandfather on Dad's side was a sharecropper. My grandfather on Mom's side worked on the railroad. Second off, swords just aren't practical anymore.
What Dad does have is an old shotgun that belonged to his grandfather and a .22 rifle he bought for himself from the Sears and Roebuck when he was in high school. One of those would fit with the spirit of the thing. After all, I'm sure the sword exchange was meant to be practical as well as symbolic. I could give her the ancestral shot gun, and she could get me a shiny new shotgun, giving a whole new meaning to shotgun wedding.
However, it would be difficult to find a venue that lets you tote a couple of big guns to the wedding, even here in Mississippi.
As another option, we could both get each other new swords. We chose the name Blackthorn together as the surname for our new and not-exactly-tradtional queer family. It's not the last name either of us were born with. Having a new sword made to be passed down our line as the Blackthorn family sword is not a bad idea, I'm thinking. Even if we don't end up adopting, we could end up passing it on to a younger queer Heathen who we feel is part of our made family. And giving each other swords could symbolize that we are to protect each other and our family together.
Well, first off, this is just awesome. I mean, how spectacularly cool would it be to exchange swords at the wedding? I know, right? Sweet!
However, I'm unsure of the symbolism in terms of our marriage. According to the Viking Answer Lady (and everyone should just love Viking Answer Lady):
The ancestral sword signified the traditions of the family and the continuation of the bloodline, while the sword given to the groom by the bride symbolized the transfer of the father's power of guardianship and protection over the bride to her new husband.
Right. Doesn't really fit us. I mean, we have considered adopting children, and there's nothing wrong with passing down the traditions of the family, but I'm not taking over guardianship of her from anyone. I mean, I'm all for protecting her, but I would not like to imply that she is incapable of taking care of herself.
This might be a moot point, though, as my family doesn't have any ancestral swords. And why would they? First of all, my people are not Viking warrior folk. They are small town Mississippi folk. My grandfather on Dad's side was a sharecropper. My grandfather on Mom's side worked on the railroad. Second off, swords just aren't practical anymore.
What Dad does have is an old shotgun that belonged to his grandfather and a .22 rifle he bought for himself from the Sears and Roebuck when he was in high school. One of those would fit with the spirit of the thing. After all, I'm sure the sword exchange was meant to be practical as well as symbolic. I could give her the ancestral shot gun, and she could get me a shiny new shotgun, giving a whole new meaning to shotgun wedding.
However, it would be difficult to find a venue that lets you tote a couple of big guns to the wedding, even here in Mississippi.
As another option, we could both get each other new swords. We chose the name Blackthorn together as the surname for our new and not-exactly-tradtional queer family. It's not the last name either of us were born with. Having a new sword made to be passed down our line as the Blackthorn family sword is not a bad idea, I'm thinking. Even if we don't end up adopting, we could end up passing it on to a younger queer Heathen who we feel is part of our made family. And giving each other swords could symbolize that we are to protect each other and our family together.
One Ring?
My first thought on finally trying to get the wedding off the ground was that I still have yet to buy Tiffany an engagement ring.
Neither one of us wants gold. At least, definitely not yellow gold. Not our color really. White gold would be ok with her, as long as it's pretty. Me, eh, whatever. Mostly we wear silver, and I'm not sure I'd be comfortable in anything else.
I don't give a hang about diamonds. She'd be fine with diamonds as long as they are sparkly.
While looking through the web at sapphire rings (and I had chosen dark sapphire because of the color corresponds with sloes), she tells me that she wants an amethyst. (What was I thinking? Of course the Hel-Girl wants purple!) So, I've been scanning the web for amethyst and silver rings.
I found some really interesting stuff on Novica, a site that sells artist and artisan work from around the world. However, she was blah about all of them except this one:
And that one is alright, I reckon. However, it finally occured to me to check Etsy. And, of course, they have all kinds of funky rings.
Among our favorites are some big ole sparkly amethysts, a shiny skull with hearts, and a couple of Nifelheim-appropriate icy blue stones, but what took the cake was the Violet Coffin Ring:
While I realize it might be possible to find a better ring for Tiff, I highly doubt it.
Of course, now that I say that, she's going on about how pretty the ice blue rings are...
Neither one of us wants gold. At least, definitely not yellow gold. Not our color really. White gold would be ok with her, as long as it's pretty. Me, eh, whatever. Mostly we wear silver, and I'm not sure I'd be comfortable in anything else.
I don't give a hang about diamonds. She'd be fine with diamonds as long as they are sparkly.
While looking through the web at sapphire rings (and I had chosen dark sapphire because of the color corresponds with sloes), she tells me that she wants an amethyst. (What was I thinking? Of course the Hel-Girl wants purple!) So, I've been scanning the web for amethyst and silver rings.
I found some really interesting stuff on Novica, a site that sells artist and artisan work from around the world. However, she was blah about all of them except this one:
And that one is alright, I reckon. However, it finally occured to me to check Etsy. And, of course, they have all kinds of funky rings.Among our favorites are some big ole sparkly amethysts, a shiny skull with hearts, and a couple of Nifelheim-appropriate icy blue stones, but what took the cake was the Violet Coffin Ring:
While I realize it might be possible to find a better ring for Tiff, I highly doubt it.Of course, now that I say that, she's going on about how pretty the ice blue rings are...
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