More On Weddings

Two weekends ago, I saw another fabulous couple get hitched and ride off into the sunset together. It was pretty flipping amazing. Every wedding is unique, of course, but this one was special for a couple of reasons. For one, it was held at my aunt's house, where she married my uncle just about 5 years ago. That was an almost inexpressibly great event - she found the love of her life when she was more than 50, and she and her husband are so blissfully perfect for one another, then and now, that it's an inspiring story for everyone who's still hoping to find someone to love forever. So to have this more recent wedding echo that one set it up for greatness from the start. Secondly, the couple themselves, of course. They could not be more kind, more generous, more loving. My "new" cousin - a daughter from my "new" uncle's first marriage - and her now-husband only met my family about 2 years ago, and we all took to one another in an instant. And finally (of course there are a billion reasons the wedding was great - I haven't even mentioned the amazing Mexican food yet - but finally, for these purposes), the lovely couple is really dedicated to living consciously, and to that end, nearly everything was recyclable or compostable. Seriously - the day after the big event, the groom and about 5 of us helpers went through all the refuse from the weekend, and came away with just one small garbage bag of actual garbage. Incredible!

Now, a related complaint, sort-of. I'm going to a bridal shower for my boyfriend's sister on Saturday, and like many couples, she and her beloved are registered at Target. Have you ever gone to a Target to buy off a registry? I did, today, and it's stupid. I looked up the registry from home, made mental notes about a couple of items, found one, and took it to guest services so they could check it off. But they can't just look up the registry - you have to go to a kiosk and print out the entire thing so they can scan the barcode on the first page. This was a reasonable registry, 5 pages long. So I printed 5 pages... And so will every other guest who goes to Target to shop for them. There's no "print first page" option, and if there's a way to get the item checked off the registry without printing the whole thing, the employee I dealt with didn't know it. Ridiculous. Spending nearly two weeks in California made a definite live-with-less/be greener impression on me, and the thought of 50 guests each printing 5 pages... Times a billion weddings... Grr.