Save Money for Your Wedding

My ever-knowledgeable best friend, Andy, sent me a link to this interesting site: smartypig. Apparently, it's a way to publicly declare a savings goal, document your progress, and seek donations from other people. According to this New York Times article, it also offers a competitive interest rate.

It seems like a potentially interesting way to save money for a wedding.

(As a side note, the New York Times dude spends $250 a year to insure his wedding jewelery--which is down from the $400 that he paid prior to that. On his 50th anniversary, he will have paid anywhere from $12,500 to $20,000 for rings (on top of the initial cost of his jewelry). Am I unaverage for thinking our jewelry should have more sentimental than monetary value?)

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Contest: Enter to Win an Envirosax Bag

Hooray! I am very excited to offer two of you the chance to win your very own Envirosax bags.

I bought mine a few weeks ago and stuffed the small, little bundle into my backpack for our honeymoon to Paris and Greece. It sure came in handy (sounds cheesy, but it's true!).

I pulled it out at several points during the trip, like when Matt and I went through Parisian markets collecting fresh fruit, bread, cheese, and cookies for our picnic at Versaille or when I needed to carry my towel, sunscreen, and water bottle to a beach in Greece.

It's small enough to go unnoticed in your backpack or purse, but it functions as a regular bag in its own right when it's unrolled or taken out of its pouch. That kind of convenience means you never have to be stuck at a store without a reusable bag again. Ta da!

To win, please write your first name and the first two letters of your last name in the comments section by Thursday, August 6 at 11:59pm EST.

Two winners will be randomly selected and will get to take their pick of the extensive selection offered by Envirosax, including the greengrocer series, organic series, graphic series, and kids series.

Happy Entering! (one entry per person, please)

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Q & A: Wedding Itinerary

Reader Question: We are planning a fairly traditional wedding, but with a strict budget and as eco-friendly as possible (given our strict budget). Our ceremony is planned to go from 1:00 to about 1:30 and our reception is planned to start at about 5:00. The question I have for you (and your readers!) is this: What are guests supposed to do with the time in between? We need this time for photos and a bit of quiet time to ourselves; however, we recognize how awkward this gap is for out-of-town guests. We were thinking of planning some sort of activity to give them something to do, but can't seem to think of any ideas that work for a budget wedding. Can you help?!

The first thing that comes to mind is....

Scavenger Hunt!

I happen to be a big fan of scavenger hunts because they are fun and free. And what better way for your out-of-town guests to get to know your city?

I would split people into teams of four or five. You could do a Random Acts of Kindness Scavenger Hunt, but I would probably do a regular digital camera scavenger hunt if I were in your position. People are already going to be a little out of their element, and I wouldn't want to make them too uncomfortable.

I would put easy things on the scavenger hunt like: "Get a group picture in front of a statue," as well as wacky things like: "Take a picture of a group member wearing a wet suit and doing a headstand." Well, I take it back. I think I would look at the guest list and figure out who would be going on the scavenger hunt. Then I would tailor the wackiness level to the group. You could do a perfectly sedate scavenger hunt that involves visiting historic or unique things in your city.

I like to assign point values to different items, just to add a little competitiveness into the mix. I would give people a good chunk of time to complete as many items as possible and then require them to return to a centralized place by a certain time. I would make one of my friends the Scavenger Hunt Judge who would flip through the photos and certify points. I would give the winners a cheesy prize.

So that's how I would solve your conundrum, but I'm eager to hear what others have to say!

P.S. You might also want to check out this List O' Fun Things to Do at a Wedding.

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More Diversity in the Wedding Blogosphere

Photo by J Brent Winn courtesy of Plus Size Bride

Carla has been a long-time acquaintance of mine thanks to 2000 Dollar Wedding (Matt actually went to her wedding! I was out of town, but we still have the invitation poster hanging in our kitchen...).

After plowing through the wedding planning process, Carla decided that the blogosphere needed more images of plus size brides. Rather than just complain about it, she decided to actually do something about it. She started Plus Size Bride.

She says:

"I created this blog because one of the MOST disappointing things I experienced as I was planning my wedding was the lack of photos I could find of Plus Size Brides. I want to change that! Let’s make this a place where we can celebrate being a size 14, 16, 18, 20……24….you get the idea...You can participate by emailing 3 or 4 pictures (manageable sizes please!) that showcase your wedding to plussizebride@gmail.com"

Hear, hear! We need more diversity in the wedding planning world.

Head over to her blog to check it out! You can play "Where's Matt" with her wedding photos...

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Honeymoon Recap

Phew! We're back from our 17-day whirlwind adventure through Paris and Greece. (I apologize for our stealthy departure--it didn't seem wise to broadcast to the wide, wide world that our house would be empty and vulnerable and awaiting any wannabe burglars for two solid weeks!)

We took an evening flight on Air France (which, by the way, happens to be my new favorite airline for international travel--I love on-demand movies!). I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and I Love You, Man. Other than that, I either slept or stuffed my face (they served us two full meals + snacks!).

We arrived in Paris first thing in the morning. I thought jet lag wouldn't be a problem (um, why exactly did I think that?). We stopped at a cafe for a bite to eat and a game of travel Scrabble. We walked around for a bit and I even bought a vintage-inspired yellow dress from the GAP for 17 euros (Matt was the one who wanted to go in...). By hotel-check-in-time, we were seriously ready for a nap.

Once we awoke, we hit the streets and scored some falafel for a picnic on la Seine. The teen and twenty-something culture is a sight to behold on la Seine. Picnic after picnic after picnic. The French and I seem to be kindred spirits on that front! Matt and I then hopped on a boat tour and watched the sun set behind hundreds of years of history.

The next day we hit a Parisian market and bakery to collect supplies for our picnic on the expansive lawn at Versailles. Bread, cheese, fruit--oh my! Afterward, we played some more Scrabble at a Canadian bar while watching the American lose Wimbledon. We worked off the fatty Canadian poutines (french fries swimming in cheese and gravy) by climbing to the top of the Eiffel Tower (of course) at sunset (of course).

On Monday, we switched to another budget hotel (while dodging prostitutes) and then wandered over to le Louvre (only to the foodcourt, which overwhelmed me so much (I hate tourists!) that I requested we leave immediately and try to find a real restaurant).

That night, Matt's brother, John, took the train from Britain to visit us. We ate Tibetan food and walked along the Champs Elyssees.

The next day we goofed around on a local playground and watching The Hangover. Then we found an amazing fondue restaurant for dinner (which requires you to literally climb over the table to sit down and to drink your wine from baby bottles). We worked off that fatty meal by climbing to the top of Montmartre (well, I kind of cheated and hitched a ride with John). And, of course, we finished the day with crepes (which most definitely counteracted our hike up the hill).


During our last day in Paris, we spotted famous paintings in the Musee d'Orsay and then headed to the airport. We spent the night in Milan and then flew on to Santorini, Greece, the next morning.

After many frustrating attempts to procure a taxi from the Greek airport to the marina, we managed to meet up with our GAP tour group (think MTV's Real World on a 50-foot yacht with nine people total).

The cast of characters:

1. Alice: a thirty-something pediatric neurologist from Canada (who turned out to be a Scrabble kindred spirit)
2. Roswitha: a thirty-something psychiatrist from Germany with a stunning smile
   
3. Ellen: a twenty-something MBA student at Northwestern with a bottomless pit of movie trivia
   
4. Lise: a twenty-something first-grade teacher (and fellow Ashtonga yoga enthusiast) from Canada
5. Kent: a twenty-something pilot from Canada with a passion for sailing
6. Eric: a thirty-something entreprenuer from Oregon
7. Ludwig: the thirty-something vegetarian captain with a passion for saving the animals and listening to Creedence Clearwater Revival

We started sailing right away. That evening, we arrived on Folegandros, a small island in the Mediterranean. We went for a swim and then trekked to the top of a mountain for the sunset and a delicious dinner in a quaint courtyard. In the morning, we hiked to the other side of the island for a morning dip.

We pretty much followed the same pattern for our ten-day sailing excursion: wake up (we slept on the boat at a port each night), head into town for breakfast, sail for 3-6 hours, arrive at a new island, eat lunch while playing Scrabble and relaxing, going for a swim in the ocean, and meeting up with the whole group for a late dinner.


On one of the islands, Naxos, we rented a car and had a fun adventure (that included climbing a rickety ladder to stand on top of a remote church). We also went to an outdoor showing of Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (oh, how I love outdoor movies!). One night we threw down the anchor in the middle of the sea, had a dinner party, and played games (and Matt and I skinny-dipped in the moonlight before bed). We saw dolphins, got a massage on the beach, played insane amounts of Scrabble, swam on a black beach, took showers off the back of the boat, and incessantly talked about how much we missed our dog.

We ended our trip by spending the day by a hotel pool in Santorini, spending a night in Athens, and flying home on Continental (which pales in comparison to Air France).

What an adventure! I ate lots of pain au chocolat (croissants filled with chocolate) and crepes (filled with nutella and bananas), read lots of books, held Matt's hand a lot, got lots of sun, and met new friends.

At the end of every book, trip, or movie, I try to ask myself: "How will your life be different now?"

Here's my answer after this annual adventure:

1. I'm going to learn more about inquiry-based learning and Canadian education.
2. I'm going to add British Columbia to my "Must See" list.
3. I'm going to stop being a pure pescetarian/vegetarian and start eating a little meat (based on my conversations with the pediatric neurologist and the staunch vegetarian captain) but make sure the meat is produced organically, locally, and humanely.
4. I'm going to recommit to doing at least 15 minutes of yoga five times a week.

It's time to start saving money for our next Annual Adventure (maybe Kauai or British Columbia?), we well as my Thanksgiving trip to Belize with my best friend...

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Wedding Anniversary Traditions

Matt and I decided on our anniversary traditions: one of us writes a letter (with pictures) to encapsulate our year together, while the other person plans some sort of excursion. We alternate who does what each year.

This year, Matt was in charge of the letter, and I was in charge of the excursion. Because we spent a lot on our annual adventure (to Paris and Greece), we opted for a cheaper anniversary celebration. I decided on a bayou boat ride ($7 per person!) and a fancy picnic featuring the following:

1. Couscous salad in red bell peppers
2. Homemade pita crisps with hummus
3. Lemon-thyme dip with vegetables
4. Fresh summer fruit
5. Lemon lime bars
6. Hibiscus Mint Iced Tea

I made Matt a fancy agenda (which really wasn't all that fancy). I took white poster board and spray painted it with gold paint (leftover from my last superhero costume). I used a piece of paper from our extra atlas (sorry, South Carolina!) for the background and a piece of white card stock to print the details (using the Scriptina font). I attached everything with a layer of rubber cement. Voila!

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I Heart Envirosax

One of the women I met at the Sew Crafty potluck a while back is the owner of an eco-friendly salon in Houston: Dot Dot Salon. I decided to get my haircut before we left for Paris and Greece (it's been, um, way too long). She ended up taking something like 3.5 inches off. Phew!

At the checkout, I spotted some envirosax. I have seen them featured on some of my favorite blogs, but I had never come across them in the flesh. I had been looking for an extremely light and portable bag to take on our trip. I imagine we'll collect food from the market for a picnic, and we'll also need something to carry our towels and books to the beaches of Greece! At eight bucks a pop, I couldn't resist.

People are always asking for inexpensive, tangible gifts to bestow upon friends and family who help out with the wedding. These bags would be perfect! I love the combination of fashion and function. I got the one featured in the photo above, but I also love the ones in their organic series. Ooh la la!

If the fabulous folks at environsax happen upon this post, please consider hosting a contest here. I would love to give some away for free to 2000dollarwedding kindred spirits!

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Q & A: How to Speak Out Against Injustice at Your Wedding

Reader Question: My fiance and I are passionate believers in marriage equality and want to acknowledge in our wedding ceremony how lucky we are to be able to marry when many of our friends and loved ones are denied this. We want our wedding to reflect our selves and our values (green, humane, humanistic, anti-wedding industry, non-religious) and I know that this will be a big change from the usual wedding model for my large Hispanic Catholic Colorado family. So I see a danger that our wedding day will seem from their perspective like a heavy-handed lecture on why everyone should share our beliefs. Do you have any suggestions for how to incorporate the marriage equality message elegantly, so that it is touching and poignant and not militant-sounding?

You said it exactly right. We faced the very same dilemma: How do we stand up for the rights of all people without alienating our more conservative and religious family members?

In our first ceremony draft, I was way too militant and angry (because, heck, the issue makes me so, so angry). Matt pushed against the wording and argued that we should take it out altogether. I explained to him (in what may or may not have been a raised voice) that the least we could do to support marriage equality was to speak out against the injustice publicly. When I ran the wording by my gay best friend, he agreed with Matt that it was over-the-top and that we should strive for a more celebratory tone.

In the end, Matt and I settled on this:

Matt:

• As we gather here to solidify our commitment to each other, we would also like to celebrate the fact that California just joined the ranks of Massachusetts by finally starting to extend the rights and privileges of marriage to everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.

Sara:

• It moves us one step closer to fulfilling our nation’s promise to provide liberty and justice for all.

Meg of A Practical Wedding also had some great ideas in this post. One of her ideas is to print this statement in their program: "Meg and David believe that marriage is a universal human right, and continue to fight and pray for the day when we will be able to share the joys and privileges of civil marriage with all of our LGBTQ sisters and brothers."

2000dollarwedding kindred spirits, do you have any additional ideas?

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Wedding Ice-Breakers

Image courtesy of Martha Stewart

Yes! I love that Martha Stewart Weddings contributed some cute ideas to the conversation about how to build community and connection at a wedding (which I found via this blog).

Here's the classic Penny for Your Thoughts ice-breaker:

Get guests talking (and, with any luck, maybe over-sharing) with vintage coins that are sure to mint new friendships.

Play It
Ask your bandleader to explain the rules: Each guest opens his or her favor box, then shares with the table an important event that corresponds to the year on each coin (e.g., "In 1996, I was named best-dressed in high school").

Make It
Look for vintage coins in collectors' shops and online (try eBay). Line each box with a mini cupcake paper, then tuck a few coins inside. Last, tie each box with a ribbon printed with a message that hints at the fun to come.

Weddings are a great chance to build community and connection among a variety of people who may not know each other.

What other ideas do you have for breaking the ice?

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I Need Your Help!

Dearest 2000dollarwedding Kindred Spirits,

I'm plugging away on my book about how to plan a meaningful and memorable wedding without losing your savings or your sanity, and I would love to incorporate your experiences into it!

If you have time to take a ten-question survey, I would be indebted to you! You can follow the links below (feel free to complete just one or both of the surveys):

Survey #1
Survey #2

Doing a twirl and a little curtsy to express my gratitude....

On second thought, I should probably throw in a little extrinsic motivation. Let's say that I'll pick one random person who completed the survey and make something especially for them. There's nothing like a little handmade goodness arriving on your doorstep!

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Happy Anniversary, Matt, My Beloved

Oh baby. They say time flies when you're having fun.

It's really been a year already?

I want to take a second to revisit our proclamation of love and commitment. One year ago today, we stood next to a lake in Colorado, and I said to you:

Matt, I love you because you make me laugh out loud on a daily basis, like when you come up with alternate names for our dog, Hoss, such as Hoss-tage, Hoss of Pain, or Hoss-car Myer Weiner.

I love you because you challenge me to be a better person, like when you made me promise to tell the Penske truck people that we scraped the moving van.

I love you because we create adventures together, like Halloween scavenger hunts or road trips out West.

I love you because you care so much for other people that you inspire all of us to be more caring. You do things like put toothpaste on my toothbrush and leave it out for me or come home on the worst day of winter with slippers and a Chia pet herb garden.

I love you because I smile every time I wake up to you and when I come home to you. We play together, brainstorm together, create together, read together. Your hand always feels comfortable in mine.

Matt, because I love you, I promise to treat you the way you want to be treated and with the respect you deserve. I promise to build trust with my words and actions. I will be your cheerleader, your nurse, your editor, your therapist, your teacher, your student, and your partner in adventure. I will deeply appreciate all of your positive qualities and not let the passage of time dull that appreciation. When life challenges us, I promise to focus on the resiliency of our love. And if I stumble and fail to live up to my promises, I will look you in the eyes, hold your hands, and apologize with sincerity. I will be my best for you.

---------------------

I love you, baby, and I'm looking forward to another year together!

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Q & A: Wedding Ceremony Seating

Reader's Question: Chris and I are finally starting to make some wedding preparations (yay!). We are in the Phoenix area and trying to plan an earth and wallet friendly affair. Chris is an Arizona State University faculty member and we have found a lovely secluded courtyard that we can use for free for our ceremony because of his association with the university. It's just a big grassy area with some mature trees along the walls and we're wondering about the seating arrangement for the ceremony - no chairs/benches/tables are available unless we rent them and bring them in. I'd love to avoid that extra work for someone and the extra expense. We've seen pictures of ceremonies where everyone stands in a circle or half-circle around the couple and we really like that. But you know what else sounds neat? Everyone sitting on different patterned picnic blankets around us! We could just use sheets that we find at thrift stores...But of course, not everyone is as comfortable as we would be lounging on a blanket, and some of the older relatives might not be able to. Any thoughts on merging the idea of brightly patterened picnic blankets with comfortable seating for everyone without having to rent a bunch of chairs?

Yes! You are a kindred spirit. I love, love, love picnic blankets. I think asking guests to sit on picnic blankets to watch your ceremony would create an incredibly relaxed, intimate, and unique experience.

But I agree that it's important to keep your guests' physical comfort at the forefront of your mind. Here's my advice:

1. Look through your confirmed guest list and estimate how many people would prefer to sit in chairs.
   
2. Figure out where to borrow chairs from. I know I personally have four folding chairs that I would be willing to bring with me if I were a guest at your ceremony (I'm not trying to invite myself; I'm trying to point out that you can tap into the resources of your friends and family!) And I bet your partner can figure out someplace to borrow them from on campus. If all else fails, you can try to put an ad on craigslist to see if someone has access to some folding chairs and would be willing to let you borrow them. You might have a friend or family member with a truck who would be willing to pick them up.
3. Give guests the heads-up that they will be sitting on blankets during the ceremony. This knowledge might affect their choice of attire. If you have a wedsite, it's very easy to convey this kind of information.
   
4. Start searching for sheets from thrift stores! (Matt and I did that for our tablecloths.) Make sure you open them all the way in the store to find out if they have any stains.
   

Hooray for such a fun idea! Thanks for sharing!

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Entertaining Kids at a Wedding

I don't talk a lot about how to keep kids entertained at a wedding (which is funny, considering I work as an educational consultant and am going back into the classroom as a 1st-3rd grade teacher at a public Montessori school this fall!).

One tried and true strategy is coloring books. Although it might be easier to go to the Dollar Store, buy some coloring books, and use an x-acto knife to cut out loose pages (so it's easier for the kids to take them home), I thought I would go ahead and provide a list of some more progressive coloring pages that can be printed for free:

1. Gandhi
2. I Have a Dream
3. Montgomery Bus Boycott
4. Safety (like don't put your finger in an electrical socket)
5. Teamwork
6. Save the Earth

What other ideas do you have for keeping kids entertained at a wedding? (Ooh, what about a bouncy house that the adults can use, too?)

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A Lifetime of Parties

I get a little mad when I hear the phrase: "Your wedding is your one chance to ______."

Phrases like that put too much pressure on couples who are planning a wedding. The myriad choices start to feel overwhelming, if you only have one chance to make it perfect.

I prefer to live according to the idea that there are lots of opportunities to bring together your nearest and dearest to celebrate and party.

Case in point: Some of my friends and I have decided to plan our 10-year Teach For America reunion. (Gulp! It's been ten years since I entered the 2000 South Louisiana corps!)

I'm excited to have another chance to plan an event that focuses on community, connection, commitment [to closing the achievement gap], and fun!

I'm thinking we should rent a house boat on the bayou, cook communal meals, and go to the Festival International de Louisiane...

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Q&A: Thanking Families and the Wedding Party with Gifts

Reader's Question: Here’s a question for ya. We’re doing our best to have a low budget wedding (5k or under), and both our parents have said, or are very understanding about not getting them anything. I still feel bad that we’re not going over the top with beautiful expensive thank you presents (they have helped us a great deal!) nor are we getting presents for the groomsman and bridesmaids. Are we evil? How did you guys avoid buying presents for both parents, flowergirl, bridesmaids, helpers, etc.? or did you??!! Actually, thinking back to what I've read of your wedding, you didn’t have a wedding party or flowergirls etc, but I imagine, there were still people who “traditionally” would have gotten thank you gifts.

I hear you. Matt and I originally planned to get presents for our families and wedding party. We had seen this done at other weddings, and it seemed like a thoughtful gesture. Our friends and family did a great deal to help make our wedding happen, and we wanted to show our gratitude.

We struggled to come up with a budget-friendly gift idea, and we settled on the idea of buying inexpensive terracotta pots and painting them with birds (like our wedding invitations). Since we gave away seeds for our wedding favors, we figured the pots would fit nicely.

But then a couple things happened:

1. We got busy with a lot of other stuff (like writing our own wedding ceremony, making our wedding quilt, making Matt's tie, embroidering my dress, writing personalized notes on our invitations, making funny nametags for our Welcome Picnic), and giving gifts no longer seemed like an important priority.
2. We admitted to ourselves that our friends and family would likely think our pots were a cute gesture, but the pots probably wouldn't actually align with everyone's diverse styles.
3. We ran out of money.

We decided to thank them with sincerity rather than money.

1) In our ceremony, we thanked each of our families this way:

Sara:

• [Andy holds up microphone for Sara to speak]
• We would especially like to thank our families who have nurtured our independence …

Matt:

• [Andy holds up microphone for Matt to speak]
• …and have put up with our quirkiness.
• [Sara and Matt walk into the audiences to hug their families]

Matt:

• [Andy holds up microphone for Matt to speak]
• And we would also like to thank each other’s family for welcoming us so kindly…

Sara:

• [Andy holds up microphone for Sara to speak]
• …and for putting up with our quirkiness.
• [Sara and Matt walk into the audience to hug the other’s family]

2) Instead of a traditional cake cutting ceremony, we took the opportunity to thank everyone for all the work they did to make our wedding possible (citing very specific examples).

3) We wrote thank you notes to everyone (regardless of whether or not they gave us a present), and talked specifically about the ways in which we were thankful for their help.

4) We stayed calm and relaxed on our wedding day and didn't treat anyone like crap because we were frustrated or frazzled.

Now that I think about it, I bet the best "gift" we gave to our friends and family was simply spending quality time with them throughout the entire wedding weekend: at the inclusive Welcome Picnic, the two-hour leisurely breakfasts on the patio, and the relaxed reception.

In a consumer culture, it's natural to equate products with happiness. It's easy to lose sight of the fact that true happiness and contentment can't usually be purchased.

2000dollarwedding kindred spirits: What are your thoughts and ideas for how to thank friends and family?

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Getting to Know Your Partner Better

In case you haven't already figured it out, I'm a big nerd.

For example, when I was in my "dating phase," I created an Excel document that had a list of 170 things I was looking for in another person. Each criterion was assigned a value from 1-5 (with 1 being "not that important" and 5 being "non-negotiable"). For every person I dated (and even for people I wanted to date), I would attempt to give them a rating. I would read through each criterion and give them a 1 if they met it and a 0 if they didn't meet it. The 0 or 1 would then get multiplied by the value (1-5), and I could get a total at the bottom. The Excel program would then calculate the total percentage that each person met my ultimate criteria. (Just for the record, Matt scored the highest ever--96%).

And, in case you're wondering, here's a small sampling of sampling of the list:

• He has admirable principles and works hard to adhere to them.
• He turns off the water while he brushes his teeth.
• He doesn't want to discipline his children with spanking.
• He's not racist.
• He works hard.
• He pursues goals relentlessly.
• He has good grammar.
• He has a witty writing voice.
• He doesn't watch a lot of TV.
• He's always reading a book.
• He remembers birthdays and celebrates them creatively.
• He doesn't play video games at home.
• He doesn't let me boss him around.
• He's intent on reaching his intellectual potential.
• He doesn't draw a line between work and play.
• He never makes up statistics/sources/information.
• He likes to listen to NPR.
• He doesn't prejudge people.
• He's high on Kohlberg's scale.
• He can occupy himself with his own thoughts.
• He doesn't kill spiders.
• He's fiscally responsible.
• He doesn't spend a lot of time watching organized sports.
• He has a decent sense of direction.
• He doesn't have a lame username.
• He thinks strip shows are degrading and sexually unsatisfying.

One more piece of evidence to support the idea that I am a major nerd: On our first date, I suggested that Matt take the Myer's Briggs Test.

For those of you who aren't familiar with it, the Myer's Briggs Test is a personality assessment that gives you insight into where you get your energy from, how you gather information from the world, how you make decisions, and how you use your time. You get a unique letter in each of the four categories, and your final personality type is one of 16.

I find the Myer's Briggs to be one of the most useful and insightful personality assessments on the market. It has given me a ton of things to think about in terms of my strengths and areas for growth. I think these kinds of tools are invaluable as we prepare for marriage. We have to know ourselves and know our partners. The more knowledge we have, the better equipped we are to navigate life together.

In case you want to take the test, here it is!

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