Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

I am yet again at an airport lounge, heading to Geneva, Switzerland, for work and the holidays. This holiday season has been particularly thrilling for me. I got engaged on the Friday before Thanksgiving (tomorrow will be a month), and I am getting married on 1.1.11 (yikes!). Maybe that has something to do with the fact that I have been distracted for the last couple of weeks (today being a prime example: I brought my expired passport to the airport – thank goodness for super-fast cab drivers!). I have so much to say about the engagement process, the elopement planning, and everything that has happened in the last month I don’t even know where to start. I am totally untraditional (more so every day as I get older), but to help structure my thoughts and feelings, I will rely on one of my favorite wedding traditions.

Something old: I am wearing the dress my mother got married in. She and my father were married at city hall, over 30 years ago, with just two witnesses. I am getting married in the French Quarter Wedding Chapel, with just two witnesses. Fitting… I wanted to wear a dress with meaning, and I didn’t want to wear a white dress. Her dress is blue and gray, and absolutely not a wedding dress. Just the dress she happened to be wearing the day she got married. I was undaunted by the fact that when she got married she was 8 months pregnant with my sister Cyrille. Oxford Tailors in Georgetown did a wonderful job taking the dress in.

Something new: As my BFF, colleague, and business partner Catherine told me, “A wedding is the perfect excuse to splurge on a new pair of shoes.” Done. Last Sunday, I decided that my something new would be a pair of shoes I have been coveting for about 3 years. Peep toe 5 inch stiletto heel nude Jimmy Choos. Seriously, they may be my new most prized possession. I will wear them on 1.1.11 for the first time, and for so many times after that (you might have a hard time making me take them off!).

Something borrowed: Well, I don’t yet have something borrowed, but I know exactly whom to turn to. I am “eloping” (although we are telling everybody, which I think defies the meaning of the word elope). None of my three sisters will be there on 1.1.11. So instead of having one something borrowed, I will ask for three somethings borrowed, so all three will be with me on this very special day.

Something blue: I am blessed with wonderful girlfriends. From middle school, from high-school, from college, from business school, from work, from my life in general. One of the truest, and most loyal, is my freshman year roommate Maiya. When she got married on 07.07.07 (an equally auspicious date as 1.1.11), I got her her something blue. And of course, she would return the favor. A beautiful white handkerchief with blue flowers embroidered in it. Thank you Maiya.