Thank you everyone so much! You have been there for me with each of my losses. I don't know what I would have done without you and your love & support. SamKaren your resident DJ

It looks great on you! You were wise to choose something that lets you bend and move while looking after the flower girl. No matter how beautiful a dress, I think it takes everything away when the wearer is constantly pulling at the neckline or tugging at the hem to stay covered whenever she sits or moves. Who needs to feel anxious about that at a wedding? I think you'll look lovely and feel confident in that dress. Great buy, too!

Our finances are yours/mine/ours in that we each have our own checking/saving accounts and also what we call the house (joint) account. Although we don't have wildly different spending habits, my husband has some strong quirks about not spending money and I have some strong quirks about not being financially dependent. Those led to stress and tension that got pretty severe until we sat down many years ago and figured out a system that works for us. Basically we calculated how much it cost to run the household and each month we put that into the house account, based on the percentage we each earn. When we started that system I was working PT so that avoided the 50/50 split that would have been unfair to the lower earning spouse. At first he was really anal about making sure every penny of 'house' expenses that he paid was covered by the joint account. As time has gone by he relaxed, our financial life only got stronger and now the house account is where the vast majority of our money goes and from where the vast majority of our expenses are paid. As my income ramped back up we eventually got to earnings parity so the house monthly deposit is now a 50/50 split. The only thing we buy using our own accounts are each other's gifts. I suppose if either of us were spending money on things we wanted kept secret we'd do it from the separate funds but that never happens. I manage the household accounts and investments because I like keeping an eye on things (remember the phobia about being dependent?) except for a chunk of money that is in his name only that he has saved or inherited from his family and which he keeps in CDs. Other than his CDs my husband does not deal with money in any way at any time. Actually I don't think he has written a check in decades and he was really confused recently when he started taking his mom out separately to restaurants and had to fill out a receipt that needed the tip inserted, added, signed etc. For our individual accounts we're each other's beneficiaries and our wills/trusts are set up so that everything goes to the surviving spouse then our kids after we are gone. We use one credit card which is mine-his has his name on it but is part of my account-and which is paid in full from the house funds every month He doesn't have any credit in his own name so I suppose I could cut him off any time LOL. The house is paid off and so are all our cars. I could live on my own easily without his financial support and that is a huge comfort to me. I guess his CDs provide the same peace of mind for him ;). It works for us and that's what counts. We have never used the you-pay-this-bill, I-pay-that system but if that is comfortable why not? As others have said this is such a personal decision. My son and his fiancee are combining all their accounts and that's great for them. As long as the system works I think everyone should do what it best for them as a couple. However I do have a strong bias against women staying dependent and ignorant about finances, simply because I've seen too many friends who were happily SAH with no clue about how their husbands were managing the family's money who ended up broke and desperate after divorce or sudden death of spouses. That's a place I will never ever end up thank goodness.

WooHoo! Just attended a 6th wedding this year in the beginning of October. Started this year in April with a niece's wedding, on through summer with a few friend's children weddings. Then it starts up again next year in April with another niece getting married in Florida. Whew! Don't mind it at all. Love, love all that it entails. The engagement parties, showers, helping out, and I couldn't be more happy for all of them.