| Family tales told in textiles
Molly Cummings of Hopkins met Pat Grady at an art fair in Minnetonka and gave Grady an open-ended assignment: make something from her mother-in-law's wedding gown for her daughter's wedding. Part artist, part environmentalist and part historian, Grady asked about the daughter, her deceased grandmothers, and Cummings herself. "My mother always wore a string of pearls," Cummings said. Favorite details from the wedding gown of her daughter's paternal grandmother? A long row of silk buttons and silk rosettes on each shoulder. Treasured possession from her daughter's maternal grandmother? A guardian angel pin that she had given Cummings in 1989 and to other daughters and daughters-in-law as well. Grady, who lives in Minnetonka, went to work with the possessions of three generations -- wedding dress fabric, silk buttons, rosettes, guardian angel pin, pearl necklace and earrings.
Tucson dude ranch industry becoming dud
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Another dude bit the dust in 2007. Citing difficulty in sustaining a dude guest ranch, the owners of Lazy K Bar Guest Ranch in Marana have leased the property and changed its focus to a venue for weddings and corporate gatherings. Its departure from the dude ranch scene leaves Tucson with just two spots where guests can check in, saddle up and play cowboy, or cowgirl. "We are one generation away from no dude ranches existing in the way that we know today," said Russell True, co-owner of White Stallion Ranch in Tucson. "I've watched Tucson go from 30-plus dude ranches to two." While some smaller ranch owners survived by letting their guests ride on vacant land around their property, Tucson's growth boxed them in and the sight of rooftops discouraged some visitors, he said.
Wedding Shower Etiquette....Expert Commentary
The wedding shower is an old custom originating in the Netherlands. Tradition has it that a girl married a poor miller whom her parents considered unworthy. To show their dissatisfaction they gave her no dowry. A dowry is any property that a wife brings into a marriage, which usually consists of linens, rugs, dishes, and sometimes even cattle or oxen. The townspeople, overcome by the couple's predicament rallied together and “showered" the couple with gifts. Today's wedding shower might be considered a modern replacement for the dowry or hope chest. A friend or friends of the bride throw a wedding shower. No one, however, is obligated to throw the bride a wedding shower. The shower is a charming custom taken up by those who have the means to accomplish it. It is not a right of the engaged.
Willow Dale Cemetery is the setting for All Hallows Eve wedding ...
Willow Dale Cemetery was the perfect setting for an All Hallows Eve wedding ceremony that called upon the dead and undead as witnesses.George and Jennifer Cabisca stood in front of a candle-lit altar just after dark to publicly declare their marriage. The couple had been wed in front of the Justice of the Peace Wednesday morning, the groom said. The service, which was not a gothic wedding, spawned from the couple’s love for Halloween. Traditional weddings do not appeal to them, the groom explained.The wedding party, including young witches as flower girls and a dead-bride as the groom’s mother, walked down a path lined with luminaria to stand before the altar. Nikki Whitsell oversaw the ceremony, backed with five stands filled with candles."The dead and undead have gathered," Whitsell said, opening the ceremony that included an exchange of rings and of blood.The 40 guests gathered above ground, including vampires, skeletons, corpses and even the phantom of the opera, had a hard time shielding their candles from the cold winds that added a biting cold to the eerie atmosphere.
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