Okay, okay -- it's not an acronym. You don't mean "Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd" when you say IKEA.

Of course not, that would be silly. When I say IKEA, I mean: "I Know Everything, Always".

That has nothing to do with the store, though. I just have an enormous brain. Seriously, I don't know what to do with this thing. My head is permamently lopsided, it's so heavy.

My question for the children with both names-- which is their children's name?

I don't know about everywhere, but at least in most S. American countries, the kids get the father's first last name and then the Mother's first last name. So if Joe Smith Wilkes marries Jane Jones Roberts, then their kid becomes Bobby Smith Jones. Then if Bobby Smith Jones marries Sarah Jenkins Walnut, their kids still just take the father's first last name and the mother's first last name, not both. So their kid becomes James Smith Jenkins. So it is the male family name that continues down the line, the mother's family name is lost once it reaches the grandkids.

Thanks, Jessica. I was wondering whether or not to post that as well.

ETA: re: Ellis Island!

There should be no chocolate chips in muffins, bagels or bread.

There should be no fruit in cookies!

Oh, hey, my parents totally know the guy who created Boudreaux's Butt Paste.

It smells really good.

I mean, for home use, I'm a Rear Schmear fan [link] as it kicks diaper rash to the curb like whoa, but BBP just makes me wish they made a BBP perfume.

Dana, I guess I do remember your parents went home in January. I just forgot I remembered. I'm glad they're making some progress on the house, and that they were able to go home.

shrift, why did I think you already gave notice? Every time I pop in here, I'm surprised to see you're still working the hellmouth. When does the notice-giving happen?

Wedding stuff...

I was glad to have my father give me away. Given our relationship (and my relationship with dh, for that matter) it never could have had that icky property transfer feel.

My dad was exactly the person I would want with me when I was nervous, excited, happy, and sad, all at the same time. I remember him squeezing my hand right before he escorted me down the aisle. It was a very him thing--something he often did at certain times (good times, and bad, like wakes, etc.).

Every so often, if I'm holding the hand of one of my children, I make sure to give them that same sort of squeeze. I don't know if they notice it, the way I did with my dad, but I feel like I'm giving them a bit of him, when I do it, because they didn't get enough time with him.

Dh and I did the garter thing, which was fun, and the bouquet toss (but with a throw-away bouquet, not mine, which I later managed to ruin when I thought I was doing something to save it), which couldn't have gone more wrong if I'd tried to make go wrong. We fed each other cake, but did not smoosh it in each other's faces. There was just a touch of tease to it, and it was also fun--those are some of my favorite candid shots from the reception.

We did all the traditional stuff. We wrote our own ceremony, but even it incorporated most of the standard stuff. I like cultural traditions, though. All the ceremony and traditional trappings made me feel like we were including generations long gone before we were even thought of, never mind a couple.

Eat a muffin, Whitey!

Good times, good times.

Thanks, Jessica. I was wondering whether or not to post that as well.

ETA: re: Ellis Island!

BWAH!

However, I do agree with Jessica's non-Ellis Island post.

ETA: re: Ellis Island!

Heh -- I was wondering if you'd clarify.

Some look back a generation or two until they find a name that is present in both family histories and use that one.

This is what my friends whose MA wedding I went to with Jen K in August did -- going back 4 generations, they both have Woodberrys in their family trees, so that's the name they're going with. They're both keeping their birth names professionally, but as a private couple they're a whole new/old thing. Bonus: Both families loved the name and the ancestors and were sad that the name had died out, so both families are totally delighted and it's been an easy and friction-free transition.

No garter, no bouquet toss (aside from liking mine, it had a sterling-silver base and could probably have taken someone's eye out if tossed wrong -- or tossed right, depending on one's level of bloodlust and dislike for one's wedding guests, but we had a lot of Buffistas who were fully deserving of both their eyes), no cake smash, no money dance.

It's not a wedding reception until the Electric Slide has been danced.

I'm afraid the best we could come up with was a conga line to "Rock The Casbah."

The bouquet toss skeeves me.

"Here's my virginity!"

"Hooray!!!!"

I prefer to think of it as:

"I hereby release my finding-a-loyal-and-loving-partner-ma into the wild, with a side of throwing-a-kickass-party-with-cake-ma!"

"Hooray!!!!"