Avoiding alcohol at Prom
can save your life -- and more.
Because conveying the Three E's -- Etiquette, Ethics and Empathy in the Workplace, and in life -- is the theme of my blog, I believe that addressing them in connection with Prom is important. Therefore, I am devoting this entry to the subject. And, yes, I realize that students ready to embark on their Junior or Senior Prom might consider the word, "deadly" in the title to be a real buzz kill with regard to the occasion.
To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself,
incredible and inconceivable. ~ Aaron Copland
Music enhances the mood and celebration throughout your wedding. As with everything else you have planned, your music should fit your style and level of formality.
My petals stand in beauteous ring,
Sweet incense all around I fling,
And boast a thousand colours.
Excerpt from The Beauteous Flower - Song Of The Imprisoned Count
~ Poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Like food, flowers are a staple of weddings. Historical accounts and legends about wedding flowers, herbs and other flora date back several centuries and include wreaths placed on the bride's head and bouquets that were carried to ward off evil spirits or cover body odor (although the latter has been debunked by some sources). There are also superstitions associated with the color of the bride's bouquet, such as not carrying all white or red and white flowers. But these color arrangements are popular today; moreover, Kate Middleton's wedding bouquet was all white, and she certainly observed tradition. So I say feel free to use any colors and combinations your heart desires!
My Wedding Cake, My Groom, Ted, My Master
Cake Boss Mom, Carolyn (Carrie) Grunberg, and Me
October 4, 1980
My mother, who was a master cake artist of some renown in Chicago back in the day, had always looked forward to making her only daughter's wedding cake. During her long career Mom produced some spectacular wedding and other special occasion cakes and catered affairs for many people, including a smattering of the rich and famous as well as many of our relatives. She certainly expected to do the same for me when my wedding rolled around. But when that momentous occasion arrived I was living in New York and it was not practical to transport a multi-layered wedding cake across several states, only to have it break or dry out before the wedding.
Scene from Walt Disney's Cinderella
"Why can't you be happy for me,
and then go home and talk about me
behind my back like a normal person?"
~ Lillian, the bride, to Annie, her maid of honor,
in scene from the movie Bridesmaids
Welcome back as we resume The Wedding Series!
We've heard a lot about the bridezilla, but what about the bridesmaidzilla? She's the one who has accepted the bride's invitation to be a member of the wedding party, either as a bridesmaid or maid/matron of honor, but is not really able to get with the program or function as a member of Team Bride, or she might just have a moment of bridesmaidzillahood that throws everyone and everything off. Regardless, such behavior can be a headache and heartache for the bride and other members of the wedding party.
As an etiquette consultant and trainer and having worked on numerous political campaigns over the decades, I have some strong opinions on how a campaign should be run as well as how campaign staff, interns and volunteers should be trained and conduct themselves. A few years ago I worked on a Congressional campaign in which I was responsible for recruiting college interns to work in various capacities; I also supervised them and to the extent that I could guided them in the manner in which they should represent themselves, the candidate and the campaign as a whole. This is crucial because a campaign must project a strong and consistent image that reflects the brand of its candidate.
Please Vote Today! The Three E's will be back next Tuesday! Until then, Jeanne
“Every election is determined by the people who show up.”
~ Larry J. Sabato, Political Scientist
While making calls recently for my Presidential candidate, after the third voter hung up on me I laughed, joked and commiserated with my fellow phone bank volunteers, some of whom had been experiencing the same responses. We had been making Get Out The Vote (GOTV) calls in advance of the Iowa caucus. Most of the voters we were calling were already on board with our candidate, but even among those loyal supporters there were some who were outraged at the number of calls they had been receiving. I was used to this type of response from my first political campaign back in 1968.
There never will be complete equality until women themselves
help to make laws and elect lawmakers. ~ Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906)
Although it took nearly three-quarters of a century, American women made good on Abigail Adams's threat in 1776 to her husband, John Adams, as he participated in the creation of the United States Constitution: "...we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.” Once underway, that rebellion -- begun at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 -- lasted another nearly three-quarters of a century, but it resulted in the Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920, which guaranteed all women nationwide the right to vote. Prior to that, each state decided whether to grant women the right to vote, and, shockingly, some states actually revoked their right. But many states did grant women the right to vote, and it was in 1917 that a leader in the suffrage movement of one of those states, Jeannette Rankin of Montana, became the first woman elected to Congress.
There never will be complete equality until women themselves help to make laws and elect lawmakers. ~ Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) The Three E's is taking a brief hiatus this week and will return next Tuesday to address this last topic in honor of Women's History Month. Until next time, Jeanne
Jeanne Nelson 