As an offbeat bride I come from an offbeat family, yet I have been amazed at the expectations that have come up from both sides of our families. How do I manage the expectations of so many family members, while still keeping the vision of our own, unique wedding intact? -Summer Pierre
Isn't that so weird, how even the most nontraditional of families still have expectations about what a wedding should and shouldn't be? Suddenly hippie mothers are hurt because you're not wearing grandmother's veil, and hip uncles reveal that while they might seem like a non-practicing Jews, they're actually mortified that you're making your chuppa out of PVC.
It can skew both ways, too: I spoke to a UK bride named Sabrina who told me that her free spirited mother was mortified (AGHAST!) at the prospect of her daughter having bridesmaids.
I wanted a wedding party, which caused absolute havoc in my untraditional family. My mother kept screeching "Bridesmaids? BRIDESMAIDS?" like I'd suggested roasting babies over an open fire. But I wanted to get married with these women around me; they're part of who I am.
