Kickin' it old school

This is a picture of Sophia and I when we were kids! This was a looong time ago. I couldn't have been more then six or seven years old (I'm 23 now).

We think it was taken at Niagara Falls or Marineland, but we're not sure which one.  Oh, and my awesome hairstyle, consisting of braids and ribbons, was all my older sisters doing.

Using social media in your wedding

The last time I was involved in planning a wedding was more than 10 years ago when my sister got married. It was safe to say things had changed so I decided to take a look at what was new and happening in the world of the 21^st century wedding. I came across an article that had great tips on how to make your wedding memorable using social media.

Tip #1 – If some of your guests don’t know each other, create a Facebook group so they can introduce themselves and get rid of any wedding day awkwardness.

Tip #2 – Encourage your guests to tweet their thoughts on Twitter throughout the wedding. This is a fun way to get them involved in your day and can help pass the time while they wait for the ceremony or reception to start. Create a hashtag so you can find the tweets easier after the wedding day.

Tip #3 – Set up a live video stream of your ceremony for those that can’t make it to the wedding. There are many reasons why even the closest of family and friends can’t make it to your wedding but this allows them to still be part of your day.

The article also reminds couples to turn off your devices during the ceremony. A ringing cell phone can make your wedding memorable, but in the wrong way.

The romance of social media

So after finding that article about the tweet rings, I had a thought – “I wonder if someone has ever proposed using Twitter or Facebook?!” I knew there must be some idiotic guy out there that thought this was a great idea but to be sure, I Googled it. Turns out there are several idiotic guys out there that think proposing using social media is a good idea.

In 2009, Max Kiesler asked his girlfriend to marry him on Twitter and she replied yes, making them the first known couple to be engaged over Twitter.  But Twitters not the only platform romantics are using. An unnamed guy posted his marriage proposal on his girlfriends Facebook wall and she responded using the “comment” option on the post (Two people ‘liked’ the comment).

Another couple in North Carolina got engaged over Foursquare, a mobile location based game, where once you check into a location, your friends get a notification. Alex Marsh went to dinner with his girlfriend and checked in, letting his friends know he was at a bar and about to pop the question. His girlfriend instantly got the notification said yes.

I’ll tell you one thing, if I ever get a “@SabenaS  – Will you marry me?” from my boyfriend, he’s going to get a reply from me that says “@Neil – No. #HUGEfail”

A ring for me?! How tweet!

In the past few months I’ve been introduced to the wonderful world that is Twitter. It’s concise and efficient approach to information has me, along with millions of other users, hooked on the social media outlet. There are many cool features to Twitter, one of which is the “favourite” option that allows you to save your favourite tweets you’ve read or even written yourself.

A company in Europe has taken this idea a step further with Tweet Rings. Now you can immortalize all 140 characters of your favourite Tweets on a simple band that looks like a modern wedding ring. They come in stainless steel, silver and titanium and range in price from 89 to 109 Euros, which in Canadian currency is about 120 to 150 dollars.

While I prefer 140 diamonds versus 140 characters on my wedding ring, this is a cute way to profess your love for all those social media couples out there tying the knot.

The proposal

Last fall as I was getting lunch, I received a text message from Andy that included a picture of a beautiful ring with the caption that said “What do you think?” A huge smile came over my face and I replied “Love it!” After getting approval from me and Sophia’s mom, he started putting his proposal plans into motion.

The two were home one afternoon when Andy called Sophia into the living room saying he had to show her something. That something was a slide show he put together with pictures of their years together set to music. When the last slide came on the screen with the words “Will you marry me?” Andy got down on bended knee and pulled out the ring. Sophia said yes and the two slow danced like they did years ago at the grocery store.

The nutty couple in a shell

  

Sophia and Andy met during their last year of high school. They, along with a few of their other friends, decided to do a dance routine in their school assembly as a farewell to their high school careers. While they had always been friends, they became closer during the many months of practicing together. Their friendship began to grow into something more when the two began working together, after Andy got a job at the same local grocery store that Sophia worked at.

 One day after her shift, Sophia was saying goodbye to her co-workers when Andy grabbed her by the hand and asked her to stay and dance with him. A little confused but very intrigued, she took him up on his offer and they began to slow dance right there in front of the fabric softener. The two officially became a couple on May 5, 2003.

The best friend

The name’s Ali. Sophia Ali.  

I was four and she was six when our parents introduced us and said “Now play.” There are very few childhood memories I can think of that don’t include her. Our families use to do everything together but as we grew older, the time we spent together began to dwindle and so did our friendship.  

It would be years in between our meetings but for some reason it never felt like that. I always considered her a friend even though I rarely saw her. I guess she felt the same way because while I was in university, I got a call from her letting me know that her job was hiring. A few weeks later we started working together and our friendship picked up right where it left off when we were kids.

Over the past three and a half years, she’s become a staple in my life. What fuels our friendship is our ability to laugh at any situation. We’ve been through a lot of changes and having each other there to chuckle with (whether it was appropriate or not) has made it easier. We’ve shared many milestones together and now we embark on the biggest one yet – her wedding.

The blogger of honour

My name is Sabena Singh and I LOVE weddings. The music, the food, the excuse to buy a new dress, it all makes my heart smile. So, naturally when my best friend announced she was getting married I was ecstatic. I immediately saw visions of a lavish affair with grand décor, great food and of course beautiful gowns. But who would plan this fabulous wedding?! ...Us?!  

While I’ve been a guest at hundreds of weddings, this will be my first crack at being on the hosting side of things. Putting together an entire wedding is no easy task. It can be over whelming to think of all the things that need to go into this one day. But besides being a lot of work, it’s going to be a lot of fun! We may be newbie’s at wedding planning but we’ll make it through by taking on one wedding task at a time.

As the maid of honour, I selflessly volunteer to do the cake tastings…and this blog of course.