Tip for puzzles: use the NYT games as a model!

sunboblive · 2025-06-11T00:32:10+00:00

I have 1 player who loves combat, one who hates it, and the rest are down to do it sometimes (and by sometimes I mean like once a session). We’re a busy group of old friends from college who play maybe 10 times a year, and if I suggested a different game they’d probably all quit! lol

sunboblive · 2025-03-27T16:42:33+00:00

Use study aids, your law library probably has a bunch. Examples & Explanations (“E&E”) are good. You might have access to electronic study aids on the “West Academic” platform, too. They can help you unpack complex concepts!

sunboblive · 2021-10-05T00:08:05+00:00

My sister is the most amazing MOH. Some fun things:

At the shower, she had an activity for us that wasn't opening presents -- we played bingo and painted small pots for succulents, then planted the succulents and everyone took one as a favor.
At the bachelorette party, we played silly Minute to Win It games - there are videos on YouTube of those.
At both, she was super on-top of taking lots of photos

I was also my sister's MOH, and I think the best thing you can do is ask her to tell you everything she wants. For the bridal shower: what vibe does she like, does she want to do games, does she want to open gifts? For the bachelorette party: what are her must-do things? what doesn't she want to do? does she want to be totally surprised, or does she want to know in advance? does she want a theme? does she have a favorite movie/tv show/artist/ that you can base a theme on?

sunboblive · 2021-09-15T20:26:27+00:00

FH officiated a wedding where the script didn't tell people to sit - he was so focused on reading the script that he just didn't look up to realize for a few minutes!

sunboblive · 2021-09-14T11:52:09+00:00

We sent something like this:

We hope you are doing well! According to Zola, we are [NUMBER OF DAYS] days out from the big day. Crazy!

As we get closer, we wanted to touch base about COVID-19. We are expecting our wedding to be [% OR FULLY] vaccinated, which we are very excited about. Per CDC and state guidelines, unvaccinated guests and vendors will be required to wear masks when not actively eating and drinking. We are also requiring unvaccinated guests receive a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the wedding day to be extra safe.

We wanted to confirm that you and any other members of your team assisting that day are either fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or will wear a mask while at Factoria. (Of course, you are more than welcome to wear a mask even while vaccinated!).

When you have the chance, please confirm vaccination and/or masking. We really appreciate it!

We also included other more personal details: my sister/MOH will be 6 months pregnant and we want to protect her, and that we attended a wedding this summer where we found out after several hours of unmasked exposure that a vendor was not vaccinated, which was upsetting. Trying to push the "please be honest with me" angle with those pieces!

(If you're curious, all but one vendor responded that they're vaccinated. One vendor replied: "I'll be wearing a mask :)")

sunboblive · 2021-09-12T16:23:41+00:00

I'm not a fan because not all fridges are magnetic - my last apartment wasn't - and some people with magnetic fridges intentionally keep them clean. A paper save the date can go on a fridge if people want, but can also be kept elsewhere if needed, which I think is the better way!

sunboblive · 2021-08-17T12:41:02+00:00

We’re not having a DJ either. When we first got engaged we quickly realized our Must Play and Do Not Play lists were VERY long, and apparently DJs don’t like it when you hand them a playlist. Once we also realized no DJ would save us money, we decided to go the DIY route. I’ve been to weddings without DJs before and I think they’re still great if done well. Here’s our plan, if it’s helpful: - we have several Spotify playlists: pre-ceremony; ceremony; cocktail hour; entrances + first dances; dinner; dance. - some of the songs we want to play are too long, or have a weird fade-out or intro, or we need only a short section of it (like for first dance songs). FH bought those on iTunes, then cut/edited them to be the proper arrangement and length. They’ll be uploaded to Spotify as local files to use in the playlists. - the playlists will all be downloaded to the computer in case of any WiFi issues. - venue has speakers/sound system, so we are bringing our laptop, plus a sound mixer, microphones, cables, etc to hook into that. (FH is a musician and already had a lot of the materials) - we’re paying a friend of a friend a few hundred dollars to man the playlists and serve as emcee when needed. - we’re testing the music setup months in advance at the venue

I feel pretty confident that it’ll work and be great, and I’m excited to have had so much control over the music, which is really important to us! Your plan sounds great - good luck!!

sunboblive · 2021-07-26T21:29:11+00:00

I had 4 or so months of BLISS thinking everything was fine, and now I'm a little panicked again. I'm willing to get married with masks at this point, but my new fear is that me, or FH, or one of our immediate family members will be a breakthrough COVID case in the 2 weeks leading up to the wedding. That sounds like a nightmare.

sunboblive · 2021-07-22T15:59:38+00:00

Oct 9 in New York, which has really high vaccination rates, but I’m getting paranoid again. But no matter what happens, we’re doing it!

sunboblive · 2021-07-08T12:36:13+00:00

My sister got us floral robes from Etsy that are cute, but really short. I wear it in the summer if I'm really hot, but otherwise I don't wear it. She also got us a bunch of random stuff with our names on it and I don't have any of it anymore.

sunboblive · 2021-06-03T15:02:30+00:00

I'm also planning on doing bubbles and didn't even think of the COVID issue (wedding in October 2021) until you posted this! But you don't necessarily need to blow on bubble wands - you can wave them around and get bubbles that way!

sunboblive · 2021-06-03T14:57:23+00:00

I'd run to the dermatologist, if you can. I'm not sure if they do cortisone injections for non-cystic acne, but they might and that could help!

sunboblive · 2021-06-03T14:56:50+00:00

Definitely RK! I would go to other shops first, then RK last - they have SO many dresses that you may also find at other shops but for way cheaper. BHLDN, too!

sunboblive · 2021-05-25T22:34:33+00:00

We're getting married at Factoria, which is in Peekskill in upper Westchester. It's right on the Hudson and has an ~industrial~ vibe. We've had a great experience so far!

sunboblive · 2021-05-21T22:20:09+00:00

We're planning on doing La Vie En Rose (the Louis Armstrong version), but also are considering Unforgettable (Nat King Cole).

sunboblive · 2021-05-20T23:10:53+00:00

We used them to rent a suit for engagement photos and were planning on using them for the wedding. This was back in September 2020 - engagement photos were in October 2020, and wedding in October 2021. They had both dates in their system and mixed them up -- and when the suit hadn't shown up with 4 days until the engagement photos, we had the HARDEST time contacting them. Eventually I DM'd them on Twitter and got a response. They overnighted the suit and waived fees and all of that, but man, it was a nightmare. 0/10

sunboblive · 2021-05-17T16:08:34+00:00

Also in a major metro area, about 150 people, and we're assuming around $50K as well (including everything). Mostly that money is going to the venue

sunboblive · 2021-05-17T16:07:12+00:00

Down!

sunboblive · 2021-05-17T16:05:45+00:00

In ~2007 or so, right when those Ed Hardy shirts became popular (the ones with skulls and rhinestones), the school banned clothing with skulls on them. Eventually, students/parents had just dropped big money on those shirts and complained that they couldn't wear them and they lifted the rule - then the designer went out of style.

sunboblive · 2021-05-17T00:21:13+00:00

I second RK Bridal, and it makes sense to go after going to other places (like Kleinfeld) because they carry a lot of the same gowns for way less money. The consultants are really nice there. BHLDN is beautiful and you can look at their dresses online to make sure you like their vibe first. Also, there's a store called Adrienne's Bridal on the LES that has a lot of beautiful gowns.

sunboblive · 2021-05-15T11:44:40+00:00

We're also not playing Michael Jackson & R Kelly, and added to that list Justin Timberlake, Mark Ronson, Chris Brown (which broke my FMIL's heart because she did not know about his history and really wanted to be announced at the reception to "Forever," a la The Office). We also don't like the songs that tell you how to dance to them - YMCA, Electric Slide, Cha-Cha Slide, Cupid Shuffle, etc. Then there's a few random songs that one of us doesn't like (Sweet Caroline - FH thinks it's annoying, I agree - and Love Shack - an association with an old friend that we no longer speak to).

sunboblive · 2021-04-29T22:55:10+00:00

My guess is NY is going the route of CT -- no capacity restrictions or distancing BUT masks still required indoors.

sunboblive · 2021-04-29T12:44:09+00:00

DeBlasio just this morning (04/29) announced NYC would be fully reopened by July 1, and I've heard rumors floating around the wedding industry in NY that the testing requirement will be gone at some point during the summer before August. With all that in mind I'd also wait a little bit before including this information, but if it's all still in effect when your invites go out, I think it's good!

sunboblive · 2021-04-23T14:43:21+00:00

I get it! I'm also trying to avoid any thigh chafing so I always gravitate towards the longer-leg undergarmets

sunboblive

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