Haahahahaa! Karen this is SO funny. I'm bursting into laughter reading these posts again, and remembering writing and reading them at the time. Well done! And my favourite part about Martha Stewart dropping in with her dish towel parachute!!! WAY too funny!

I'm glad that your FH knows that you spoke with the best man...communication and trust are so important in a happy marriage, IMO. You and your husband should talk to each other about what each of you want to do at your respective parties. After that conversation you should both talk to your respective party planners. Many times bachelor and bachelorette parties are not for the guests of honor (the bride and groom), but just an excuse for their single friends to get out of control and be wild. Neither you nor your FH should feel pressured to have the type of fun neither of you are interested in, regardless of religion or personal beliefs. The wedding party and friends should respect both of you - these parties should be about doing something you two enjoy, not what they want to do! My husband is not a fan of strip clubs. A contingency of his friends really wanted to go to a strip club. My husband told them they could go, but he wasn't going to go. This is what he did for his bachelor party: A group of guys (married and single) went to Reno, NV for the weekend. They played a round of golf at a nice course the first day - all together. In the evening they had dinner and gambled. My husband hates to dance, doesn't like clubs, and didn't want to go to strip clubs. He told the guys - I am going to the craps tables, if you want to come that is where I will be, otherwise go ahead and do what you want - you know where I'll be. Some went to gamble and hang out with him, others took off and did their own thing. Everyone was happy. The second day they played 9 holes of golf, gambled a bit more, and then came home. This is what my DH wanted to do, your FH should get to do what he wants. I had my bachelorette party the same weekend. The girls and I went and had a spa day (manicures, pedicure, facials, and massages) - it was wonderful. After the spa day, my MOH hosted dinner at her house, and paid to have a limo pick us up and take us to San Francisco for dancing (I love to dance). We had a great time - it was exactly what I wanted to do. My DH and I did not see each other during our respective parties, because we weren't even in the same state. We trust each other completely, and both had a great time. It was good for us to have them the same weekend just because of timing - we didn't have that many free weekends before the wedding and a lot of the people that went to the parties were married or dating other people at the other party, so they didn't want to have two weekends apart - so convenient to have them at the same time. I don't think that bacholor or bachelorette parties have to fit a particular "mould" or "tradition" - the tradition is to go out with your friends without your future spouse and have fun. That's it. There is no formula for what defines what is fun except the participants. I actually had two bachelorette parties - one was the one I described above, the other was dinner out at a great restaurant in San Francisco, drinks at a trendy club (no dancing), and talking. It was great. Neither was not the last time I got together with my girlfriends without my husband (and he has hung out with his friends without me since we got married), but it was a great excuse to go out with just the girls and it was the last time I went out with the girls before I got married - such special memories! So, my point: Both of you should do what you want to do - have a great time, and don't worry too much about doing what a few people want you to do - If they want to go to a strip club for a bachelor party, then tell them to get married. They can do that for their bachelor party! ;-)

I was sorry to see Teresa stay and Kathy go, tho I don't think either of them is a match. The fact that he can't see what a ditz (or whatever she is) Teresa is makes me a little nervous about his power of observation and discrimination. Gerry doesn't give me the creeps, but Teresa does. I don't think Kathy effectively defended or described to him why she'd told Teresa to zip it, which was too bad. On every one of these shows there is always a person who the chooser cannot see for what they are, but I think that is part of the scripted drama. As far as missing her daughter's wedding, I suspect it was probably a 2nd wedding; maybe something small and intimate, where her absence wouldn't be as much of a faux pas as at a big to-do.

eld...We looked into diving Costa Rica. They take you on a really long yacht ride....15 hours....everyone is sea sick...to the dive destination. Then....there are so many sharks most night dives get cancelled. I really don't like diving with so many sharks, entering the water is a problem....ya know. My yoga instructor goes there often...she says there's little coral...diving is not good....so that must be the reason for the 15 hour boat ride....