Dum, Dum, De Dum

I'm finally getting a chance to blog this week! My weekend was fun, but flew by. It was the boyfriends last weekend in DC so we had a mini "farewell tour." We got some amazing tickets to National's game on Friday night and had a great time. The Nat's even pulled out a win (which is more than I can say for my wounded Braves lately!)

My sister's wedding is only 3 days away, so this week is all about weddings. My apologies to those of you that are all weddinged-out! Here are some fun facts...

By the numbers:
• An average of 44,230 weddings take place in the U.S. each weekend.
• A total of $72 billion is spent on weddings in the U.S.
• Weddings are a $50 billion per year industry
• People spend $19 billion buying presents off of gift registries.

What to Wear:
Maids: The tradition of bridesmaids dressing the same as each other and in similar style to the bride comes from ancient days when it was believed that evil spirits have a more difficult time distinguishing which one is the bride and putting a hex on her.

The Bride: Queen Victoria made white the bridal color of choice when she wore it to wed Prince Albert in 1840.

Garters: As early as the 13th century, most notably in Europe, it was considered good luck to have a piece of the bride's clothing. So wedding guests would chase after the bride and literally rip pieces of fabric from her dress and/or try to steal her garter. We've come a long way since then! It is now the groom's privilege, of course, to remove the bride's garter and toss it to the male wedding guests. The man who catches the garter is believed to receive good luck and be the next in line to get married.

Now you have something to talk about during those awkward conversations with random people that you haven't seen in years at the next wedding you attend!