BY TIFFANY FEDUSKA
WEDDING FAVORS are often an afterthought.
Planning a wedding can be overwhelming, so when you get to "that little thingie that'll be on the table," it would be tempting to take the easy way out – the cliché.
Well, don't.
The world doesn't need more chocolate bars with your last name on them. The world needs something that reflects who you are as a couple.
Ever notice that the first thing people ask a couple is, "So, how did you two meet?" The response is rarely just "at a club," "at the gym" or "at church." A conversation begins. Husbands and wives finish each other's sentences. You tell your story.
It starts with how you met, the first dates, how you knew he/she was "the one." It includes the first "I love you" and the proposal.
Your story happened at the beach, in a doorway, at a boring party, during a sporting event – everyone's story is unique, and nobody tells it the way you can, as a couple.
The problem: most people talk better than they write.
That's where Courtship Stories comes in. The company memorializes personal tales so they can be shared with family members and wedding guests.
The brainchild of veteran journalist Ellen Braunstein, the company writes, designs and publishes memory books for the big day.
An original, color-coordinated wedding favor, the booklet allows your guests to take home your love story, complete with up to 4 to 7 photos.
"Every couple has an amazing story.
The elements of fate and chance, the quirky details – all combine to form the beginning of a new family history," says Braunstein.
For example, Aileen Velasquez's story started when she noticed Ryan on the first day when he walked into Spanish class at Riverside College.
As Ryan tells it: "I realized that when there's a special girl, you have to see things differently." Both moments are captured in the couple's courtship story in their own narrative form.
Braunstein says a wedding is a unique social gathering, in that two different families and friends who may never have met come together. When they begin the reception with a common experience, reading a love story, it forms a connection among the diverse people who are sharing in the celebration.
According to Braunstein, "the reception hall turns into a reading room – people are so engrossed. The stories reflect the complex personalities of the bride and groom, and their feelings really shine through."
How will your family and friends react?
Here's Velasquez's decription of what happened at her wedding:
"Our guests were just crying, touched by the whole idea. They knew our story, but to see it and read it made it more personal. Everyone could feel the love." Information: www.courtship-stories.com.
