Tradition vs. Offbeat: Dancing

Dancing has been kind of a touchy topic with us lately. Here's the deal.

Matt and I hate dancing.

In our almost six years together we have danced a few times. Matt can't hear rhythm, and we are definitely awkward and self-conscious while dancing.

We have been to weddings before where the dancing felt forced and as a whole it was obvious that the group would rather not dance. Because of this we don't want to have forced/organized dancing at the wedding. That's why we want to have other things to do at the wedding and why it will be earlier in the day. There will be music playing, and if people want to dance, I'm not going to stop them.

How is it that dancing became a requirement for weddings anyway? Here's a few other couples who felt the same way we do:

Jamie & Chris

Amy & Mikel

Amy & Mike

Officiant

This is a huge update people. We have booked the officiant for our wedding...

Rod Yeacker, our friend and Matt's high school track/cross country coach.

Tradition vs. Offbeat: Introduction

I just attended a lovely bridal shower for Matt's cousin Nikki, who is getting married this October. It put me in the mood to add to the blog! As I may have already mentioned, Matt and I have a pretty specific idea of what we do and don't want our wedding to be like. There are a lot things typical of weddings that just don't appeal to us. I'm not knocking people who have traditional weddings, they are gorgeous and as long as the couple is happy that's all that matters.

In order to stay true to who we are, our wedding will take some departures from tradition. We will keep certain tradition too, and that's what this post series will be about. Topics will include: the reception, favors, the changing of my name, bridal fashion, etc.

So stay tuned for more 'Tradition vs. Offbeat' posts. And feel free to suggest topics at any time for me to post on. I want this blog to document my planning process and keep people in the loop who I may not get to talk to very often, so let me know what you want me to post on!

I will leave you with this, not something Matt and I would ever think of doing, but it is so fun to watch it!

Inspiration Collage

I ended up making this much faster than I thought I would - that's what happens when you're using your computer to watch the show Lost. So here it is, I may make changes to it if I find something that really strikes me.

Wedding "Theme"

Because the wedding date is in August, and we want to keep the day on the casual side with things to do outside other than dance, we landed on a picnic theme. When I first starting looking for inspiration on the internet, I saw some examples of weddings that actually used picnic blankets for guests instead of tables. Matt quickly nixed that idea, with the compromise that we could have some of our wedding photos taken with a picnic blanket.

But other picnic inspirations will live on. Here are some of the things I am thinking about...

• Colors - watermelon pink, green, and yellow (pic)
• Main flower- gerber daisies
• Food- while still to be chosen and planned, I'm thinking gourmet sandwiches, fruit salad, a lemonade cocktail
• Activities- croquet, horseshoes, badminton, ladder toss, etc.
• Tables- pale green or yellow gingham tablecloths
• Making use in some way, shape or form of- wicker baskets, galvanized steel buckets, and mason jars

I am thinking of creating an "inspiration collage," which I will post on this site if and when I create it.

What is Public Health?

I am pursuing a field that is usually misunderstood by the general public. When someone hears public health, they usually think of health inspectors and the people who report on disease outbreaks. There is so much more to public health though, that I kind of dread people asking me about it. It's not easy to explain, and until I'm done with grad school, I won't have a specific area that I work with.

The following description is taken from http://www.whatispublichealth.org

Public Health is the science and art of protecting and improving the health of communities through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and research for injury and disease prevention.

Pubic Health improves the health and well being of people in local communities and across our nation.

Public Health helps people who are less fortunate to achieve a healthier lifestyle.

Public Health works to prevent health problems before they occur.

I will be studying Health Behavior/Health Education at U of M. The program will prepare me to "utilize behavioral science and research methods to analyze public health issues, address health disparities, and develop and evaluate interventions and policies." Some of the areas of focus of this program are:

*health behavior over the life course
*health disparities - race, gender, class
*gender and health
*research methods
*interventions from individuals to communities to nations
*health communication

Graduates have opportunities to work in communities, non-profit organizations, schools, hospitals, government agencies, etc. Some job titles of recent U of M graduates from the HBHE program are:

Outreach and education director
School health educator
Worksite health promotion coordinator
Health media web designer
Patient education coordinator
Health literacy expert
Assistant professor

(U of M's School of Public Health, Health Behavior/Health Education)

I hope this helps shed some light on what is I'll be spending the next two years studying :)

The Place

After deciding on the date for this wedding of ours, the next big decision was where to hold the event.

~We wanted an outdoor wedding, that was easy. I don't like banquet halls personally, it's just not for me. And as far as the pictures go, you just can't beat being outdoors.

~We wanted to have things to do other than dancing, we don't like dancing. Having our wedding outdoors allows us to have a more relaxed, picnic, family reunion style wedding day. It just suits us more.

~We didn't like the idea of having to rent a park because we wanted control over how long we use the facility and where we set things up. Plus, we didn't want to deal with alcohol restrictions.

~Somehow we came up with the idea of using the Tinsey residence in Ortonville. They have a fairly large yard, a beautiful home, and neighbors who are family if we need some space in their yard. I almost didn't want to ask because it's a huge imposition, but I am glad that the Tinseys are willing to open their home up to our wedding festivities. It will be nice to spend the whole day somewhere that actually means something to us :)