It’s no secret that I’ve reacted poorly to the occasional advice column in the past, including one by Miss Manners herself. But I’m happy to say that I found her most recent column to be right on the nose. Particularly of note are the comments about eating soup with a fork, and making sure wedding gifters get their proper note of thanks. (Now, if only we could find out who gave us our breadmaker!?)
A dear recently engaged friend got a book of Miss Manners wedding etiquette (likely this delightfully-titled number), and she reported favorably on the strict rules with delightfully snarky explanations and commentary. I wish I’d known about this volume during my own engagement! Instead, I was going off a fun but outdated borrowed copy of Emily Post’s general etiquette from the 80s (with fun tips like how Grant should undoubtedly wear “a cutaway with tails” — thanks Anna!) and a TERRIBLE modernized version of the New Post Regime’s wedding-specific tips, which was filled with helpful bits such as “Some couples like to start a cash registry!” and “Some couples choose to notify guests via e-mail!” and other such clear, thoughtful statements on how to avoid any modern wedding faux pas. (Please note my sarcasm. That book was incredibly stupid and useless and had lots of advice for how to have a tacky, inappropriate wedding that would offend every guest over forty. To be fair, I won it at a wedding venue open house, so at least I didn’t lose any money!)
Aaanyway. I’m rambling. Go Judith. And please, breadmaker-givers, fess up already!
Actually, I wore a black vest, not a navy one. But it’s okay, you had a lot to pay attention to that day.