The Photo-to-Canvas Era

Like most couples, Bridget and I love Groupon. Or LivingSocial. Or Gilt. Or whatever the hell new one just came out 40 seconds ago. These online coupons provide us with great deals to new restaurants, innovative (and sometimes stupid) products, and vacations. What's not to love, right?

Well, to Bridget's chagrin, these online coupons also love to offer photo-to-canvas deals. And for whatever reason, I absolutely love them.

What is a photo-to-canvas deal? It's simple, really. You pay a set amount (usually $40-$50), send in one of your favorite photos, and get a fantastic piece of wall art a couple weeks later. I think it's fantastic, anyway. And as you can see from this picture, I sort of went on a bender recently:

In order, from left to right, that's Cape Cod, California, and Maine. Also, there's two more in the bedroom.

So, to say I like these things is an understatement. On a related note, to say I don't know the first thing about design or interior decoration is an understatement. I know way, way less than the first thing. If it were up to me, we'd paint the walls Syracuse orange, hang up sports jerseys and pennants, and put collapsible basketball hoops on every door. (So many dunks!)

But it's not up to me. Mostly, it's up to her because I don't really care all that much -- so long as we don't have pink things everywhere. And to further get across the point that it's not up to me, I was recently given a stern talking to by Mrs. Briddon: "Okay, hun. That's enough. We're done with these canvas things."

The nerve, right? Right? And that's why I've taken this picture and written this post. Who knows how long the wall will look like it does above? (My guess is not all that long ...) But I'll always have a record of it -- and fond memories of the Photo-to-Canvas Era.

Our (Clickable) Wedding

I'm Mike. She's Bridget. And this is a picture from our wedding day. It was an awful lot of fun -- tearful vows, an open bar with predictable results, and frosting in faces. The Chatham Bars Inn in Cape Cod provided the perfect backdrop to an amazing event we'll never forget.

Big deal, right? People get married all the time. We think our wedding was the best ever. You probably do, too. (That is, if you're married. If so, congratulations! It's fun, isn't it?) But what's different about our wedding is that it all started with a click.

It all began during the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. We were both off from work for a few days and starting to feel the weight of a do-it-yourself wedding. The plan was a backyard in June, which meant caterers, tents, and worrying about rain and happy Moms. Ugh. So, we scrapped that with an unlikely solution: A one-click, throw-your-worries-away, Groupon-type wedding. 

Huh?

We couldn't believe it either. In a world that is quickly become overrun (and improved?) by technology, we clicked the most expensive link of our lives and purchased a 50-person wedding at The Chatham Bars Inn, save a DJ and a photographer, from Rue La La. (Bridget actually did the clicking; Mike's hands were shaking far too much for him to do it.) 

And just like that, we were getting married in March -- March 31, to be exact. 

The clicking didn't stop there, though. During the next three months as we prepared for the biggest day of our lives, we also:

• Bought Bridget's dress and veil online. (She actually bought, like, 15 dresses and kept returning them until she found the perfect one. This was a source of stress. Mostly for Mike.)
• Bought Mike's wedding ring online from Blue Nile. (This actually took a few attempts, too. Bridget can be picky.) 
• Bought some groomsmen gifts (books, Syracuse ball markers, baseball cards, ties, pocket squares) and bridesmaid gifts (necklaces and pashminas) online. 

The event came and went off without a hitch. The Chatham Bars Inn staff was amazing. The dress was perfect. The ring fit. And the gifts were met with handshakes and hugs. 

Now, two months later, Bridget and I have decided to start a blog. (Sorry if the name made you think it's about weed; it's not.) We are very happy and very much in love, but we're just figuring out how to do this marriage thing. Do contact lenses fall under the joint account? How many magazines does one person need? Who takes our dog, Oscar, out for his final pee of the night? These are important decisions and we hope you enjoy reading about our triumphs and struggles as we blog about them.

So, welcome. Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for much, much more.