Marriage is the Real Deal, Folks

First and foremost, I want to make something clear: I am 110% about marrige equality. I have written countless papers, made countless presentations, posted endless articles on Facebook, participated in many discussions - you get the picture. This is not to say that I've done enough; in my opinion, we've not done enough until the issue is no longer. However, I am going to let the past Bees that have written so eloquently  (and President Obama, who spoke so eloquently) on this topic exist without my lengthy addition.

Moving on - the land from which Mr. Palm Tree and I hail is small (I've probably mentioned that 9094832908 times). Small in terms of mind, people and area. I've made no secret that I'm not a big fan of it and I try to distance myself from it as much as possible. I say this because I think (or maybe it's just that I hope) its all-around smallness contributes to the lack of seriousness, for lack of a better term, surrounding marriage.

source | Then again, instances like this exist and Kim Kardashian sure isn't from a small town fifty miles north of Pittsburgh, PA. 

Despite growing up with a really, really rocky (understatement) example of a marriage, I have always valued it. I have always known - or rather, held out hope for what it should be instead of what I saw. Sure, when I was younger I romanticized it (who doesn't?) but as I grew up I started to place importance on what I felt were the true touchstones of a good marriage: stability, trust, partnership, love, communication.

Advice from the Other Side

I currently hold down a part-time second job with a local catering company - we'll call it ABC Co. for the purposes of this post (so original, right?). ABC Co. is contracted for events throughout the city, even though it's exclusive to some main large venues.

I don't really have a title at this job - I kind of do everything. Set-up, tear-down, bartend, serve, clean, labor. . .the works. This company is fierce and I freaking love it.

I was really excited to start this job as a bride-to-be because I knew it'd allow to me to firsthand witness a ton of behind-the-scenes goodies. The planning, the execution, the delivery, all of it. This might sound a little Captain Obvious but folks, so.much.work goes into even a basic happy hour-styled networking event. Weddings, as you might imagine, are a whole other ballgame.

Maybe I'm the only one who borderline obsessively ponders the behind-the-scenes action? (Like, are they touching my food with their bare hands right now? Are they cursing me for my specific instructions or are they thanking me for being so thorough?), but working on the other side of events has provided me with a wealth of clarity and knowledge. Granted, I am event- and planning-minded, so I'm sure that helps keep my interest piqued. Also, prior to my first Big Girl job post-college, I had put in about 7 years of experience within the food service industry, so I'm sure that's a factor, too. Regardless, I figured it couldn't hurt to share a few tips. . .of course, these are my personal tips and in no way am I speaking on official behalf of ABC Co. and of course, every event, company, individual, etc. is different. These are just general things I've picked up on during my time as a Catering Assistant (has a nice ring to it, right?).

personal photo | I'm super proud of my skillz as a dessert arranger (another hat I wear at this job) so I'll show these pictures throughout the post. Although I do not bake the desserts, I work Ze Magic and get them to look this awesome.