Uncle at wedding? They’d rather elope

Dear Amy: I have a wonderful boyfriend who is kind, understanding and shares my values.
We work at a nonprofit medical center. Many of our dear friends and colleagues are LGBT.
The problem is that we’ve not even (officially) begun planning our wedding and I’m already begging to elope. You see, I have an uncle who borders on being a zealot.
At my niece’s baby shower he scolded my brother’s girlfriend for being a “sinner” for having a baby out of wedlock. At my cousin’s wedding while the bride was walking down the aisle he screamed, “And in my Bible it says it is Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!”
I’ve asked my mother if I could not invite him if I ever got married. She advised me to marry out of town.
The man is awful. He’s been divorced three times and is currently on marriage number four, but he is quick to judge everyone around him. Loudly.
I hate the thought of him making anyone else I care about uncomfortable on what should be a happy day.
Are we allowed to leave him off the guest list, or should I start shopping for plane tickets to our destination wedding? — Worrying About Wedlock
Dear Worrying: I often advocate for wedding inclusion — even with difficult or challenging family members (or family members you just “don’t like”) — but my intention is to remind people that “family” is not about insisting on perfection, but about accepting flaws and foibles.
However, if your uncle has a track record of disrupting family gatherings to the extent of “screaming” during a wedding service, then you shouldn’t include him now. He has proven himself incapable of keeping his trap respectfully shut during an important ceremony.
Your choices are to let this bully chase you out of town; to have your wedding locally and not invite him (you’ll feel liberated if you take this route); or to be completely transparent and for you and your intended to say to him, “You’ve been disruptive in the past, and if you are disruptive or disrespectful toward our guests you will be asked to leave.” You could hire security (or assign a willing and able party guest) to be his special escort. Given these limitations, he may choose to stay away. If so, the rest of the family will high-five you all the way up the aisle.
Dear Amy: My husband and I have lived in our current house for many years.
The retired couple across the street bought a darling puppy about 15 months ago. Their yard, landscaping and lawn are incredibly beautiful. The neighbor keeps it looking like a golf course. (The rest of the neighborhood is a lot more casual.)
He started walking his puppy across the street to our strip of grass below a hedge at the end of our yard. He and the puppy would walk back and forth a number of times and then return back home. He is actually using our lawn strip for a doggy potty!
He collects the droppings and takes them away, but now other leashed dogs become interested in the same area of our lawn. They sniff around and many spray and leave their own scent, drawing yet more dogs.
How can I approach this without stuttering or hurting feelings? I have no clue. —Neighbor
Dear Neighbor: I can’t help you with stuttering, but if you are genuinely so nervous about making a very reasonable request (“Would you mind not bringing your adorable dog onto our lawn to do his business?”), you could get a sign to post in that spot, notifying all dog walkers of your restriction. I looked into this for you and have found a business called — wait for it — dogpoopsigns.com.

Dear Amy: In my world, when you accept a ride of many hours’ duration from an individual who is using her own car (as was the case with “Not Cheap, Just Curious”), passengers don’t split the cost of gas — they pick up the entire tab. The car owner is extending a lot of effort and expense, and the least people can do is to pay for the gas. — Grateful for Rides

Greenville dry cleaning business fails to give back wedding dress after it closes

A West Michigan woman went to the cleaners to get a wedding dress cleaned, and then one day when she went to check on the status of the cleaning, the store had closed.
“I kept going in and the owner kept saying she was working on it. Next thing you know, they are closed,” said Sonya Trevino who brought the wedding dress to Gay’s Cleaners in Greenville.
Gay’s Cleaners has been closed for nearly a year now, and the number they left for people to call has a full voice mailbox, and no one has been answering.
Trevino brought in the wedding dress to get cleaned for her boyfriend’s daughter, Katie Pierzchala. Pierzchala’s mother had died of cancer three years ago. Trevino was hoping to get the dress cleaned and preserved for Pierzchala for her wedding day. The process to clean and preserve a wedding dress can sometimes take up to a year, but now Trevino is unsure if they’ll ever get the dress back.
“I believe it would be very special to a little girl to have that from her mom after her mom passed. My mom passed away so I know what I would feel like to have something special like that preserved and then be able to use it one day,” said Trevino.
One day Trevino went to Gay’s Cleaners to check on the dress, and no one was there. There was just a sign in the window with a number to reach them by if you had any clothing left there. Trevino says they never mentioned to her they were closing during all the times she came in to check on the cleaning of the wedding dress.
Fox 17 News called the number several times. There was no answer, and the voice mailbox was full like Trevino had told us.
Fox 17’s Cassandra Arsenault talked to the West Michigan Better Business Bureau who confirmed Gay’s Cleaners was closed, and the owners were Ken and Ruth Lubben. However, the number the BBB had on record was disconnected. The county clerk wasn’t even aware the business itself had shut down, although they confirmed their license did expire. Fox 17 News went to the Lubben’s home to see if they could tell us where the wedding dress was located, but there was no answer.
Fox 17’s Cassandra Arsenault did get ahold of the building’s owner, Gaylord Hansen. Hansen said the Lubben’s owned the cleaners for 21 years. Hansen believes business was not going as well as it used to, so they quit the business.
Trevino has spent the last 12 months trying to get the wedding dress back with no luck. She is worried that Pierzchala will never be able to have one of her mom’s only possessions that she left behind.
“I’m just thinking that she would just like that one day from her mother. I’m sure that would be special, and now she’s probably thinking what happened to my mother’s dress?”

The BBB said the family could contact the sheriff’s department. They said it’s not uncommon for them to assist with something like that.

Chelsea Collective: Where fashion meets fitness

From the runway to retail, fashion-inspired fitness apparel (affectionately known as athleisure wear) has become a trend to be reckoned with.
In just a couple of years, dozens of designers — Stella McCartney, Rebecca Minkoff, Betsey Johnson, Alexander Wang, Vivienne Tam, etc. — have dabbled in it, while several department stores have carved out special sections just for clothes that are suitable for the gym but stylish enough for the street. Also, sneaker and activewear sales were up the first quarter of 2015 compared with the same time last year, according to a recent NPD Group report.
Findlay-based Dick’s Sporting Goods is among the latest retail chains to cater to the fashion-minded fitness enthusiast (or the woman who just likes to look chic but dress comfortably). This month, it opened the Chelsea Collective, a specialty women’s lifestyle and fitness boutique, at Ross Park Mall and Tysons Corner Center in northern Virginia.
Local shoppers can find it on the mall’s second level sharing a corridor with Nordstrom and across from Lululemon Athletica and PINK by Victoria’s Secret, two stores that also have a stake in the increasingly competitive athleisure arena. So what is it about Chelsea Collective that separates it from its neighbors?
“I think the thing that really stands out is that it’s a multibrand experience,” says Lauren Hobart, general manager of Chelsea Collective and chief marketing officer for Dick’s Sporting Goods. “We’ve got everything from iconic brands like Nike and CALIA by Carrie Underwood [a collaboration with Dick’s], but we also have these trending niche brands” including Spiritual Gangster, Lorna Jane and Alala.
These workout clothes aren’t your ordinary solid tanks and tees (although there are plenty of those, too). Many pieces are more fashion-forward and trend-centric, with a mix of bold and feminine prints, jogger pants, graphic tops and stylish outerwear ideal for layering.
In addition to apparel, Chelsea Collective strives to be a one-stop shop for footwear, sports bras, bags and accessories, including sunglasses, jewelry, headbands and Emi Jay hair ties. There’s even a beauty bar stocked with brands such as Philosophy, StriVectin, Bliss and Mario Badescu Skincare to help women pack their gym bags with travel-sized shower gels, dry shampoo, lip gloss, face wipes, and other bath and body essentials.
“You can put a complete head-to-toe look together,” Ms. Hobart says, adding that new merchandise will be moved onto the floor about every two weeks to keep inventory fresh.
Dick’s consulted focus groups made up of fashionable, fitness-oriented women in various age groups to determine everything from brands to store displays.
“We not only want it to be a shopping experience, we want it to be a community experience,” says Kate Boyce, vice president of women’s athletic apparel for Dick’s.
This communal approach encourages customers to converse with sales associates about their fitness and fashion interests and needs. Chelsea Collective offers bra fittings, alterations and gait analyses. There also will be a treadmill and barre on site so shoppers can jog and stretch in shoes and apparel before purchasing them.
What also makes the Chelsea Collective experience unique is the store itself. It takes its name from the Chelsea section of New York City, known for its diversity, style and urban aesthetic. White exposed-brick walls and ceiling beams, ironwork, bright white lights and photographs of Manhattan are all nods to the neighborhood. Near the fitting rooms, there’s a living wall lush with greenery that’s inspired by the High Line, a public park that runs through the neighborhood on an elevated section of an old rail track that’s a popular trail for biking, running and power walking.
As the athleisure lifestyle continues to win over women, Dick’s plans to keep on its pulse.
“We want to learn everything we can about this market,” Ms. Hobart says.

Weddings: Jordan Schmieding & Barry McCafferty

Jordan Lang Schmieding and Barry Alexander McCafferty were united in marriage on Saturday, June 13, 2015 at The Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Massachusetts. The wedding was officiated by Joel Brandon, close friend of the family.
The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Patrick Schmieding of Greenville, South Carolina. She is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Turner of Greenville, South Carolina and the late Mr. and Mrs. Earl Schmieding of Greenville, South Carolina. Jordan is a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, and is employed by Wayfair, Inc. in Boston.
The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Brian Thomas McCafferty of Salem, Massachusetts. He is the grandson of the late Mr. and Mrs. James Madison Clark of Lufkin, Texas and the late Mr. and Mrs. Thomas McCafferty of Edinburgh, Scotland. Barry served in the Military as a Combat Engineer, and now works for the Essex County Sheriff's Department.
The bride was escorted by her father and presented in marriage by her parents. Attending as Matron of Honor was Erin McCafferty Bailey, sister of the groom, of Swampscott, Massachusetts. Bridesmaids were Alexandra Ellenburg Langley of Greenville, South Carolina, Mary Katherine Mangum, cousin of the bride, of Greenville, South Carolina, and Kristen Marie Wakeman of White Plains, New York.
The Best Man was Douglas William Palmquist of Lowell, Massachusetts. Attending as groomsmen were Christopher Robert Bailey, brother-in-law of the groom, of Swampscott, Massachusetts, Jason Jess Copp of Lynnfield, Massachusetts, Michael David Kimmel of Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, and William Turner Schmieding, brother of the bride, of Charleston, South Carolina.
Dinner and dancing in The Grand Ballroom of The Hawthorne Hotel followed the wedding ceremony. On the eve of the wedding, a Rehearsal Dinner was held at The Danversport Yacht Club in Danvers, Massachusetts.

After a honeymoon in the Mayan Riviera, the couple resides in Swampscott, Massachusetts.

Bridge Street Exchange attracts local and national customers

Kevin Begola, owner of Bridge Street Exchange, started selling men’s wedding bands out of his house in 2003 and sold them online at Titanium-Buzz.com.
What started out as a hobby when he was 23, turned serious about six years later when Begola, now 35, quit his day job to focus on wedding rings.
Operating out of an office building behind Lucky’s Steak House on Silver Parkway became too informal. He opened the Bridge Street Exchange at 109 North Bridge St. in Linden two years ago and said it’s a “flip” of what usually happens.
“I started on the Internet and then became brick and mortar, whereas most people do brick and mortar and think they can sell on the Internet,” he said.
He knew he couldn’t only do wedding rings so he decided on a men’s specialty shop because men’s grooming was coming back. His shop sells clothes, accessories, and grooming items along with wedding bands.
“When I was coming up with this idea, I was watching other places across the country do it and I was like ‘why not try it?’ We have so many guys coming here for their wedding rings,” he said. “Flip the shopping experience around on woman. We still get a lot of women.”
People come from all over, like Chicago and Canada, to the store and see the wedding bands.
 Begola’s claim to fame was camouflage wedding and engagement bands in 2007, but everyone copied it. “If you come up with something cool enough, people will talk and people will come here,” he said.
Linden is a nice small town community, Begola said. It’s a destination spot for him.
“Everyone wants to see Linden grow, wants to see more businesses stay,” he said. “We liked the town, liked everything about it.”
Bridge Street Exchange has had some notable customers, like country music star Jason Aldean.
In 2014, the store was host to an event attended by TV reality show stars Ron and Amy Shirley, owners of Lizard Lick Towing and Recovery. Begola made a line of rings for them.
 Titanium Buzz now has more than 40,000 likes on Facebook, as well as a Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest presence.

“I knew what I was getting myself into in a small town,” Begola said. “We were proving that people were coming here for wedding rings. I thought I could definitely get people to come for the other stuff.”

Wedding that stopped Sydney enthrals and appals in equal measure

It’s the wedding which shut down a suburban Australian street for a few hours – and then tied up the country’s newspapers for a week.
Fortunately, of course, the wedding itself was captured on film in order for the public to better understand what happened that day. The sumptuous video of the event opens with a couple getting ready in their respective Sydney harbourside settings, hugging family, sharing laughs, and displaying the same pre-wedding nerves that most people suffer on their big day. The lace is abundant and the watches are Rolexes.
At this point the story diverges a little from even the most flamboyant of wedding narratives: the groom and his best men get into four helicopters, fly across the city, and land next to a red carpet in the middle of a public park. There they transfer to a $50m fleet of luxury sports cars – escorted by a convoy of motorbikes – and travel down a public street, its residents having been warned to remove their cars from the scene or risk being towed.
Salim Mehajer, the deputy mayor of Auburn council in western Sydney, and his bride Aysha, spared no expense that Saturday, nor did they spare their neighbours much inconvenience. As the details of the wedding have come rolling in, they’ve sparked about equal levels of outrage and awe.
But then the event did go above and beyond normal expectations, even set against Sydney’s famously large Lebanese weddings. The exact cost isn’t known, but with Australians spending on average about $40,000 on a wedding, one can safely say it was well above average. In addition to the four helicopters, the convoy of motorbikes and the luxury cars, there was a jet flyover and a plane towing a sign of congratulations.
Groomsmen drove into the reception room on oversize motorcycles, and pictures of the venue reveal a Kardashian-West-style wall of floral arrangements and an extraordinary seven-tier cake, fireworks and Australian singer Missy Higgins as at least part of the hired entertainment.
Before their big day, the couple also made a painstakingly produced but questionably acted short film about their romance. Another video showed the couple growing old together, “ageing” with the aid of special-effects makeup artists.
Much of the controversy has however centred on the morning of the big day itself, and what was sanctioned, and what was simply boldly done. The day began with drummers and live music shutting down a street where residents had earlier received notes in their letterboxes warning them to park their cars on their own properties that day or face being towed. It does seem that Mehajer had no authority to make such a threat, armed as he was only with a permit to film in the area.
Surprisingly, despite Sydney’s notorious web of regulations, rules and small-government interference in the running of every aspect of its citizens’ day-to-day lives, that is the only rule the Mehajer wedding has so far been found to have broken. Even the helicopters had approval to land; apparently they were not required to inform surrounding residents of the (somewhat startling) plan either.
On the day itself dozens of police were called in to respond to the traffic disruption that arose from the street shutting down, and New South Wales police are considering presenting Mehajer with the bill for that, but so far no charges have been laid or fines issued.
One thing that’s clear is that Mehajer really can’t have had much of a honeymoon, finding himself on a bevy of front pages and the subject of an urgency motion at Auburn council. The multimillionaire property developer returned to work as deputy mayor on Wednesday evening, arriving in a Ferrari to a council meeting which tried and failed to censure him.
He left with a $220 fine, amid the shouts of about 200 supporters. The fine related simply to breaching the consent he’d been given regarding road closures.
One of his colleagues, Councillor Irene Simms, was furious there would be no consequence for the letter drop warning people to keep their cars off the road.
“I don’t know if council has the authority to do that, but there should be something there, because it was false information given to residents, and it was intimidation as well,” Simms told the Guardian.
“My biggest issue is I really think, given four helicopters landing in the park, a lot of residents were wondering what the noise was, thinking something was wrong. They should have been letterdropped.”
Mahajer is not yet out of hot water. Police are reportedly investigating firearms offences relating to a replica gun allegedly in his possession, and Labor councillor George Campbell is pursuing Mehajer’s position on the council, which allows him – and others in similar positions – to debate and vote on developments from which he will profit. Mehajer is set to pocket $45m if his plans for a current development are successful.
Campbell labelled Mehajer a “rogue councillor” and dismissed the wedding as in poor taste.
“There was an explosion of narcissism and the whole thing was quite tacky,” Campbell told the Guardian. “It looked like desperately trying to purchase sophistication.”
“They can be as tacky as they like, except for one thing,” he added. “He’s really pushing this kind of an image and he’s doing it as a councillor, as a deputy mayor. It’s caused a lot of people to ridicule him … but it flows on to the council. People are judging the council like this.”
Jeannette Francis, a presenter on SBS TV program The Feed, attended her sister’s wedding, also in Sydney, on the same day. The event was (obviously) smaller, but included a “gorgeous outdoor ceremony” that still had “all the fanfare of a big Lebanese wedding”, Francis told the Guardian.
Everybody’s entitled to have an opinion on other people’s very public displays of weddingness
TV presenter Jeannette Francis
She didn’t agree that Mehajer’s over-the-top affair would lead to negative stereotypes of Sydney’s Lebanese community, which was something Campbell had suggested to the Guardian.
“I don’t know too many Lebanese Australians who would have helicopters and jets and red carpets and all the rest of that stuff, and have a terrible pre-wedding video in the same way that he did,” she laughed.
“Not to that extent anyway. And look, if you think that’s tacky then that’s your opinion. Everybody’s entitled to have an opinion on other people’s very public displays of weddingness.”
The concurrent weddings shared some traditional elements, including loud public displays such as the drumming outside the house.
“The house is decorated, the drumming and dancing spills out onto the streets, there’s sometimes a cavalcade of cars and in some instances they will just beep all the way to the church,” she said. “You could be passing multiple suburbs and it’s just a very public display of happiness.”
The difference in Mehajer’s do – and what has captured the country’s attention – is of course the exaggeration of such traditions. “There’s elements of traditionality that have been taken to quite an extreme. His case is an extreme case of those things being taken to an extreme,” she said.
Meanwhile Mehajer remains relentlessly unapologetic, posting social media pictures and statements communicating just how much he is bothered by the anger – that is to say: not at all.
He told local media he and his wife were laughing off the attention.
“I don’t ever allow negative comments to get to me and indeed I enjoyed one of the greatest moments of my life with one of the most important people in my life, my wife,” he told newspaper the Parramatta Advertiser.
“There is nothing to be jealous of, strive hard and work hard, and anyone is capable of success.”

On Thursday afternoon, amid numerous photos of the couple decorated with romantic statements, Mehajer promised a media release would be coming soon with “all the facts”.

Where do cash gifts go after the wedding?

Many newlyweds prefer to receive a card with cash at the wedding, rather than a blender or Precious Moments figurine they'll feel obligated to display when Nana comes to visit.
But where does that cash go — tucked away for a future house payment, or blown on fancy dinners?
In fact, most couples use wedding cash for the honeymoon, according to a new study.
Tendr, a site that lets wedding guests give cash gifts to couples, found that 55 percent of surveyed couples use their cash wedding gifts for a honeymoon.
The next most likely spot for the cash, according to the survey, showed that 34 percent planned to pay down debt.
Only 7 percent planned to invest it or start a nest egg.
Tendr founder Jeff Beil wasn't surprised by the emphasis on getting away.
"Ask anyone about their honeymoon, no one forgets it," Beil said.
But many also eyed practicality, he noted, like paying for the wedding or home renovations.
Gifts of currency, not to mention gifting websites, remain a sensitive (or controversial) topic for some, but Beil said that cash allows the couple to use it where they most need it.
"When I give cash at a wedding, I don't know what it's going to be used for, and to me, that makes the experience of giving more special," he said. "Everybody has different needs, and everybody has different dreams."
Collecting cash is easier than ever. Throughout the 10 years Honeyfund has operated — started when the co-founders got married and wanted a honeymoon in Fiji — more than $286 million has been collected by couples worldwide.
At Deposit a Gift, where people can register for cash donations, founder Dana Ostomel said couples tend to target their gift lists toward trips.
Various registries let couples get specific, asking for house payment donations, plane tickets to St. Thomas, even hiking poles to use on their road trip through Colorado.
"It's a nice compromise for the modern couple and their guests," Ostomel said. "This way, friends and family get a gratifying gifting experience and don't just feel like they are giving cold, hard cash but actually sponsoring something meaningful."
It's no surprise, though, that Robert Semrad, senior partner at DebtStoppers bankruptcy law firm, advises couples to be cash-savvy, and start their lives together as debt-free as possible.
Spending wedding cash on a mix of things is OK, Semrad said, but ideally, paying down debt should be the priority.
"If they could take that money they have as a gift and get rid of the debt, from a relationship standpoint and reducing stress, they're going to have such a solid foundation," he said.
Semrad admits that he and his wife used most of their wedding cash for their honeymoon, but he said that now he recommends boosting a bank account or lowering debt payments — a major stressor for brand-new marriages, he added.
Often, clients come into his office laden with debt that can date to a wedding, or expenses incurred before.
"That debt never goes away," he said.
A burgeoning marriage also brings financial stressors — starting off in a new home, for example, which might bring unexpected expenses, from needing to buy a new refrigerator or a new roof.
"All those things add up," he said. "It's the money in the bank that really takes the stress away."

And if you're considering taking out debt for a honeymoon, he offered a tip for that, too: "Probably the biggest mistake in the world."

Carly Waddell Defends Decision To Skip Zak Waddell’s Wedding, Flaunts Kirk DeWindt Relationship

On Sunday night’s episode of Bachelor in Paradise, Carly Waddell revealed, during her one-on-one date with Kirk DeWindt, that she missed her brother Zak Waddell’s wedding in Ireland to be on the show. With Kirk right next to her, Carly called Zak, who was one of the final four men on Desiree Hartsock’s season of The Bachelorette, in Ireland right after his wedding and congratulated him. Carly explained to the camera that while it was heartbreaking for her to miss her brother’s decision, her brother encouraged her to go on the show to find her own love.
As the scene aired, Carly tweeted that it was her most favorite moment in her life.
Yet Carly Waddell has apparently received a lot of criticism from viewers for missing her brother’s wedding. On Tuesday morning, Carly posted a photo of herself with Zak at his domestic wedding. She explained that while she missed the wedding in Ireland, she did attend Zak’s wedding reception in Texas. She added that she went on Bachelor in Paradise with Zak and his fiancee’s blessing and that Zak was excited for her to find her own love story.
“For those wondering…I DID get to go to my brothers wedding reception in Texas…and we told lots of secrets.
My brother was SO excited for me to go on Paradise and find my OWN love story, just like he did. It was the BEST moment to be able to call him on my 1 on 1 date call with @kirkdewindtpt. (Couldn’t have asked for better company) I’m SO glad I made the decision to go and had his and his wife’s blessing.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, several men from Desiree Hartsock’s season of The Bachelorette attended Zak Waddell’s wedding reception in Texas in late June. Juan Pablo Galavis, who later went on to become the star of The Bachelor after Des’ season, posted a photo of himself at the wedding with Zak, Drew Kinney, Michael Garofola, and Dan Cox. Both Michael and Dan joined Carly on season 2 of Bachelor in Paradise. While Michael was sent home on Monday night’s episode, Dan is still on it.

As for Carly Waddell’s relationship with Kirk DeWindt, that seems to still be going strong, or at least that’s what she wants people to think. On Monday, she posted a photo of herself and Kirk sitting in a hotel room in bathrobes with big smiles on their faces.

17 Women Share The Worst Fashion Advice They’ve Ever Gotten

I’ve been on a bit of a bad advice kick lately, the most recent manifestation of which has been asking friends and strangers alike one simple question: What is the worst fashion advice you’ve ever gotten? Here’s what they said.
1. “”Wear briefs with a miniskirt.“ My friend told me to wear underwear I feel comfortable in so that I would feel more comfortable in my outfit as well. I ended up having what looked like diaper bottom problems O.O” —Rain Dove, androgynous supermodel
2. “I remember being told not to wear horizontal stripes because I would look like an overweight jailbird. That was fun.” —Sara Steinfeld, Associate Editor at The Gloss
3. “I was once looking for new jeans and they were too long and the sales associate told me I didn’t need to worry about getting them hemmed, I could just duct tape them. She then lifted up her pant legs to show me her horrendous duct tape job. They were also expensive jeans and this was in the 2000′s days of boot leg jeans.” —Heather Cichowski, Contributing Editor at The Gloss
4. “”It’s ok to look sloppy at the airport.” I disagree, so I developed an athleisure line that helps you look put together, even when you need to be comfortable for hours. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice comfort for fashion. You can dress cozy and still look put-together. You never know who you are going to meet either next to you on the plane or in an Uber pool!” —Elana Brynes, CEO of Kings of Cole
5. “I hate being told to always wear black or other “slimming” colors because I’m full-figured. Hiding your weight doesn’t fool anyone and it just makes you feel sad that you can’t wear the clothes you love. If you want to wear crop tops, form-fitting, or otherwise thin-designated clothes, wear ‘em.” —Samantha Escobar, Beauty Editor at Good Housekeeping
6. “Worst advice ever: When you work in a startup, you should just wear sweatpants every day. I am a startup CEO but I put effort into how I look. Sure I work in the startup space, but investors drop by at a moment’s notice. If I can’t take care of myself, how can I take care of a company?” —Jessie Deye, CEO of the Gild Collective
7. “The worst was “Yes, that bridesmaid dress can be shortened and worn to the holiday party!”" —Joan Fradella
8. “The worst advice I received was from my boyfriend before I moved to China while he was already there. I asked about clothes and he replied with “This is not a fashion show, we’re traveling.” When I arrived, I found out quickly that the Chinese love to dress up way more than Americans, leaving me looking like a backpacker for a while.” —Monica Weintraub
9. ““Socks with sandals are okay. After all, the Romans did it!” and “Oh honey, there’s no such thing as too many sequins!”“ —Shari Deutsch, Owner of The Strap Saver
10. ““Wear more pink, more red. And pair it with heels.” A client told me this while we were negotiating on a fine art sale. Followed by the statement that I’d “make more sales” if I followed these tips. I doubt the quality of this advice on its own (I personally prefer dark colors and believe a pair of sharp flats are just as stylish as heels and a lot more comfortable) but what makes it truly poor advice is that it was given unsolicited, during a professional interaction.” —Jennifer Goff, Content Marketing Specialist
11. ““Try bubble nails —they’re trendy right now.” Have you seen them? They’re just dreadful.” —Sugarloom Cosmetics team
12. “Worst fashion advice (from a cosmetic salesman) I have been given is that everyone looks great in red lipstick. It’s a matter of testing out the tones against your skin color and picking for yourself what you like. One shade does not fit all.” —Jasmine Ines, Sin and Satin
13. ““You should try a more “natural” look.” Right. I love artifice and you’ll never get me out of red lipstick!” —Sonya Abrego
14. “”The bigger your hair, the smaller your butt.” This does not work, not even remotely.” —Cynthia Anderson, Editor and Photographer
15. “Whenever anyone tells me to buy capris I have to laugh. I’m 4’11 and a capri on me is the worst idea. I look like I’m wearing floods!” —Brianna Bell
16. “The worst fashion advice I got was actually from a stylist that we were working with on a model shoot. They were adamant about the fact that the more jewelry we layered on, the better it looked. Forget the fact that it looked like a mess, they were convinced it improved the shot. There is a balance of stacking and getting carried away. As Coco Chanel said, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” —Elissa Spektor, Love & Pieces
17. “I can hear my mother’s voice now: “Always buy quality over inexpensive.” Don’t get me wrong, there are times this is wise advice; however, this isn’t true across the board. Splurge a little on a handful of pieces that are long-term staples and can be worn for special occasions, but when it comes to your everyday essentials, like trendy tops, summer dresses or boyfriend jeans, don’t break the bank. Many of your everyday essentials will be outdated in a few seasons, so why pay for top quality when you won’t be wearing it next season? Go ahead and get what you can afford, even if the top is only $15!” —Elissa Nemecek, Owner of Red Blossom Boutique

So, dear readers, what’s the worst fashion advice you’ve ever gotten?

Fund Aims to Help Christian Baker Offset Wedding Cake Losses

Family and friends of a Christian cake designer hope to help him with a fundraising campaign after a Colorado court ruled Thursday that he must create cakes for same-sex weddings despite his religious beliefs.
“Cake artist” Jack Phillips has said his bakery, Masterpiece Cakeshop, has lost more than a third of its receipts since he stopped making all wedding cakes while the case makes its way through the legal system.
“We hope it will relieve some of the financial pressure on Jack,” his brother-in-law, Jim Sander, said of the new fundraising effort in a phone interview Friday with The Daily Signal. “A business that has a 10 percent loss is a big deal in the Wall Street Journal. So a 40 percent loss is a big hit.”
Sander said the “crowdfunding” campaign, through the website Continue to Give, a Christian-oriented service, went online Thursday afternoon—hours after the Colorado Court of Appeals decided Phillips and his business must provide cakes for gay marriages.
The mission: Financially support Phillips, 59, and “protect his freedom of speech and freedom of religion.” The goal: Raise $200,000.
Those who go to the “Support Jack Phillips” site may contribute any amount, making their names and size of donation public or keeping either private. Giver also may leave encouraging messages for Phillips.
The first contributions began to trickle in Thursday night. As of 4 p.m. Sunday, the site had logged 17 donations.
One of the first, for $100, came with the message: “We appreciate you fighting this battle for the free speech of everyone.”
Another contributor wrote: “You are fighting the good fight and I hope you take it all the way to the Supremes. Free exercise of religion must be protected. You cannot take a right from one to give to another and call that justice.”
Jennifer and Keith Lorensen left this message: “We have been following your case for some time and want you to know you are in our thoughts and prayers.”
They also quoted Joshua 1:9, an Old Testament passage: Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Phillips has maintained that his Christian beliefs would be violated if he were compelled to use his artistic talents to express the message that marriage is something other than the union of a man and a woman.
Sander, 63, emailed The Daily Signal after reading its report on the appeals court decision, saying a “Support Jack Phillips” page was up and running.
Sander, a professor of accounting in Indianapolis, said he has known his brother-in-law for more than 40 years. He said he and other family members set up and composed the text for the campaign. Most involved were his wife Linda, an adult son, and Phillips’s other sister, Trish.
A summary describes ongoing threats and harassment that Phillips and his small staff endured beginning 20 minutes after the “less than 30 seconds” in July 2012 during which he declined to create a wedding cake for the two gay men who later sued him. He also offered to sell them brownies, cookies or other confections.
Soon his shop was inundated by phone calls and emails saying “vile, hateful things about Jack—and about Jesus.” The summary adds:
These attacks are intended to drive Jack out of business. To avoid further harassment and lawsuits and because of the ruling, he has chosen to follow a law that takes away his freedom of speech and freedom of religion, and he has stopped making wedding cakes while his case goes through the courts.
The summary notes statements, some by public officials such as state Human Rights Commissioner Diann Rice, comparing Phillips to a slave owner or to German Nazis who carried out the Holocaust:
During WWII, Jack’s dad, Wayne Phillips, actually fought the Nazis all the way through France and Germany including the D-Day landing and the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded by the Nazis and received a Purple Heart. He assisted in the liberation of Buchenwald, a concentration camp.
Sander, who says he and his wife also are Christians, describes his brother-in-law as open and giving.“He’s always straightforward,” Sander said. “There’s never any games with him. He’s easygoing. He’d give you the shirt off his back to be helpful. I’d say he’s pretty generous.”
Sander added:Unfortunately, from the government’s point of view, he tries to live out his Christian life outside the one or two hours he’s within the chapel walls. … [His faith] guides everything he does.After losing the first legal round with Colorado’s civil rights agency in 2013, Phillips decided to stop making all wedding cakes rather than be compelled to create them for same-sex weddings.
“He said OK, if that’s the rule, then I won’t make any wedding cakes at all,” Sanders recalled.
A three-judge panel of the appeals court Thursday upheld previous rulings that Phillips broke state law against discrimination based on sexual orientation. That essentially was the argument made by the gay couple’s lawyers from theAmerican Civil Liberties Union.
Phillips argued that compelling him to create a cake celebrating same-sex marriage violated not only his First Amendment right to freedom of religion but also to free speech or expression. The court rejected that argument.
Phillips is represented by lawyers with the Christian legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom. They said Phillips likely will appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court and—if necessary—the U.S. Supreme Court.
By continuing to fight, Phillips hopes to avoid orders to “re-educate” employees—including his grown daughter—and report regularly to the state.
Sander was among family members who helped Phillips and his wife, Debi, open Masterpiece Cakeshop after cleaning and installing used furnishings, equipment and appliances in space at a suburban Denver strip mall in September 1993.
Sander said his brother-in-law consistently has declined customers’ requests for certain custom cakes, whether depicting witches and ghosts or sexually suggestive images.
“If a straight couple came in and wanted a cake for a same-sex marriage, he would not sell it,” Sander said, adding:
He would not sell that cake to anybody. Who orders the cake is immaterial. … I don’t think it’s an issue of who he’s denying service to, it’s a matter of his not wanting to use his artistic ability in a way that violates his conscience.
The family heard about Continue to Give when, as The Daily Signal has reported, the crowdfunding site helped a Christian couple in Oregon stay afloat financially. Aaron and Melissa Klein face a state fine of $135,000 after their bakery, Sweet Cakes by Melissa, declined to make a wedding cake for a lesbian couple.

Continue to Give describes itself as a “faith-based online tithing and giving platform founded on biblical principles and designed for churches, missionaries, nonprofits, individuals and adopting parents.”

HOW WESTERN FASHION BRANDS ARE USING SOCIAL MEDIA IN CHINA

Next March, Otte, a small boutique chain in New York City, will open up a store in Shanghai — its first outside of the East Coast of the U.S. and a significant feat for a multi-line retailer that the majority of Americans haven’t even heard of.
The reason? Over 50 percent of Otte’s online customers are Chinese, residing in either the U.S. or in China. And that’s almost entirely because for the past three years, the 16-year-old retailer has been extremely active on Chinese social media platforms Sina Weibo and WeChat.
Otte’s expansion into China underlines the potential of social media for fashion brands — both small and large — who want to grow their reach in the country. Of course, it’s important for almost any type of brand to be on social media in any country. But in mainland China, one’s activity on platforms like Sina Weibo and WeChat can mean the difference between having a booming Chinese business and having none at all.
In the case of Otte, it’s unlikely the retailer would have had any significant awareness among Chinese consumers were it not for its aptitude with Chinese social media. Four years ago, founder Kay Lee, who is Korean, hired Nancy Zhang as Otte’s chief operating officer. Having come from Google, Zhang spearheaded the retailer’s digital efforts, mostly out of necessity since resources were limited for the fledgling retailer. “It’s not like we were going to buy an ad in Vogue so social media was actually a free way of getting exposure,” she says. She noticed that, following an interaction with Phillip Lim’s account on a Japanese social media platform, the designer’s Pashli bag “blew up” on Otte’s site. “That’s when we really understood there’s a big untapped potential in Asia in Chinese social media," she says. As one of the first Western fashion brands to start a Weibo account, Otte’s following is now on par with much bigger e-commerce sites like Shopbop and Revolve. “People think we’re a lot bigger than we are in China because of the presence that we have.”
That fact is not surprising given the way information is consumed in China, which is predominantly through mobile devices. Last year, the number of people who accessed the Internet via a mobile device surpassed the number of people who accessed it via desktop, according to L2. Also, the percentage of consumers that have email addresses has declined dramatically — they’re using mobile messaging platforms like WeChat instead. On top of that, China’s corruption crackdown has led not only to decreased spending on luxury goods in the country, but also to restrictions on luxury brands’ ability to buy ads and billboards, making social media an even more important way for brands to spread information to consumers.
“Chinese Internet users rely heavily on information about fashion and trends from social media,” says Liz Flora, editor in chief of Jing Daily. That Otte doesn’t yet have a store in China also wouldn’t necessarily matter since so many Chinese shoppers do their shopping outside of the country. “Social allows you to have this direct conversation with consumers without having to get them in the flagship stores, which were really just like billboards for luxury brands in China,” says Danielle Bailey, a research director for L2, who also noted that 60 percent of luxury purchases among the Chinese take place off the mainland. “Even brands that don’t have a physical presence in China, social is a way for them to gain foothold in the market.”
For a larger brand like Tommy Hilfiger, which employs a team of social media managers and specialists in China, these platforms are a great way capitalize on interest around big events, like its 30th anniversary fashion show in Beijing in May. Content around that event led to a 2,000 percent increase in visits to the Tommy Hilfiger Weibo page, which raised engagement by 1,900 percent. Subsequently, sales in the brand’s Beijing stores increased by 21 percent and its Chinese e-commerce business almost doubled. The U.S. label has a separate e-commerce site and mobile app for Chinese customers, which is important. Otte, too, launched a Chinese translation of its site and recently began accepting yuan.
In addition to having the right infrastructure to support Chinese business (like a dedicated e-com site), it’s important to post the right kind of content to Weibo and WeChat; otherwise a brand’s efforts could be fruitless. According to Bailey, campaigns that encourage engagement — like games, contests and giveaways — tend to be the most effective. Weibo lends itself particularly well to posting about big campaigns or events that a brand wants to reach a broad audience.
Depending on the brand, having an authentic, personal voice (i.e. sounding like a person, rather than a business) can also be very effective. While that might not be the right strategy for a company as huge as Tommy Hilfiger or Burberry, whose brand voices don't come from a single person, it worked for Diane von Furstenberg, who has 2.5 million followers on her personal Weibo, compared to just 24,000 on the brand’s account. Tommy Hilfiger has about 225,000.
“If I ever really talked about my business [on Weibo], people wouldn’t respond,” says Tina Craig, founder of blog network Snob Essentials and a former VJ on MTV Asia. "But if I was talking about cooking or taking my son somewhere, they would respond to that, so they want to see a peek of your personal life. They don’t want anything to seem sponsored.” She started a SnobEssentials account after her personal one, and still keeps the two very separate, noting that the Chinese audience in particular gets “turned off very easily” if posts aren’t personal.
For brands that don't lend themselves as naturally to those kinds of conversations, what's extremely common is partnering with local influencers — called Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) in China — which include bloggers, “It” girls, models, musicians and other tastemakers with substantial followings.
“We’ve found that authenticity is also key to our strategy – consumers appreciate genuine, real life content of models and celebrities,” says Avery Baker, Tommy Hilfiger’s chief brand and marketing officer. On the day of its 30th anniversary show in Bejing, the brand hired Chinese model Qin Shu Pei to take over its Weibo account and post behind-the-scenes content. “About 60 percent of our achieved engagement was generated by posts that showed her interacting with her friends or spending down time between rehearsals.” On top of that, the brand partnered with 20 local bloggers to report on the event.
That said, “brands need to be very careful about who they choose [to partner with],” warns Jing Daily's Flora. “There are many self-proclaimed KOLs out there who buy fake followers because they want to take advantage of the perks from the brands such as free gifts, party invites and cash. The brands need to look at who actually has an engaged and dedicated follower base, which actually isn’t that hard if you look at the number of comments and retweets they have.”
“Retweets” are important on Weibo, where the goal is to make content go viral; but WeChat, which is becoming an increasingly important platform for fashion brands, works very differently. “I think on Weibo you start building the brand awareness and then you get into WeChat to build more depth and to connect,” says Craig.
WeChat is a one-on-one mobile-only messaging platform similar to WhatsApp. While brands are on it, you have to subscribe to that brand in order to see its posts, which end up in your feed of messages so that, unlike Weibo, there’s no chance of you missing the post. “WeChat is especially important given the fact that pretty much everyone in China with a mobile phone has it,” explains Flora. “If a brand can get a user to follow it on WeChat, it has a direct line to reach them through an app they’re checking constantly throughout the day.”
It also has a lot of different features that brands can utilize. Capabilities include payment, customized apps within the app, GPS locators, live chats and more. “It’s a one stop device for everything Chinese consumers need so that’s why you’re seeing a lot of activity move there,” adds Bailey. While Western brands may not be using those capabilities, such as payment, to the extent that they could be — “that’s where we see some of the local brands being more innovative,” she notes — many of them are using WeChat as a customer service tool.
For example, say you text a question about dry skin to a skincare brand: it would have the capability to recognize key words and automatically respond with a product recommendation. Or if you ping a brand your location, it can send you nearby store locations.
Otte employs a social media manager for Asia under the WeChat handle “Otte Girl,” who personally responds to every single private message she gets. The retailer will also pose questions to its subscribers. “We do a lot of things that are polls, so, ‘Which color do you like better: navy or brown? Which color should the buyers buy?’” says Zhang. “Not only does that help us get an understanding of what the market is like, but it’s also an opportunity for our customers to voice their opinions and they love that.”
Burberry partnered with WeChat last February to create its own WeChat apps around its fall 2014 runway show. One feature included the ability to experience the show live from the perspective of a front rower, including Chinese actress Angelababy, who provided audio commentary. Similarly, Michael Kors used WeChat to give live updates from a huge runway show it held to promote its Beijing store opening. You could even pan around the show through your phone á la Google Street View, except live. In tandem with its football-themed New York Fashion Week show, Tommy Hilfiger launched an app called H5, which allowed subscribers to create, customize and share their own American football-inspired playing cards.
A few brands have gone so far as to create actual games. Yoox has a game where users can generate recommendations by shaking their phones. Coach launched one around Chinese New Year inspired by an existing WeChat game called “Red Envelope,” through which users can send each other money gifts. In Coach’s version, users sent each other virtual gift vouchers for Coach items.

There's no doubt that Western fashion brands are still trying to figure out WeChat and its many, many features. But there's also no doubt that with over 1.12 billion registered users and 500 million active users (and counting), it can be an extremely powerful tool when used well. A recent study deemed WeChat the most influential platform for Chinese luxury consumers. Once a brand has a large fanbase that is also loyal enough to subscribe it on WeChat, the possibilities are seemingly endless.

The tech boss with designs on the global fashion industry

As the movers and shakers of the global fashion industry mix and mingle, Josie Tam is on a mission to attract customers.
It is Hong Kong fashion week, and nearly 20,000 buyers and sellers from 65 countries are in town to swap opinions on what trends are in, or out.
For 32-year-old Ms Tam it is a perfect opportunity to pitch a software application developed by her start-up company.
The website and app is called Techpacker, and it aims to simplify how fashion designers communicate with distant factories that make their clothes.
"Are you a fashion designer?" Ms Tam asks a young woman who walks past her booth. "Where do you work with factories? Local or overseas?"
Ms Tam, whose name is Tan Huiji in Mandarin Chinese, is keen to sign up as many people as possible.
Such is her confidence in Techpacker (which is also the name of the business), that last year she quit her full-time IT job to launch the start-up with someone she hardly knew.
Her business partner is Saral Kochar, a 31-year-old fellow Hongkonger.
They met at a gathering of young technology developers, where Mr Kochar told Ms Tam about his idea for Techpacker.
Thanks to his experience working as a sourcing manager in the garment industry he had recognised a gap in the market.
As most of Ms Tam's IT work had been in the fashion industry she immediately recognised that such a product could be successful.
She says: "I thought, 'hey that's great!'."
After they had talked more, and realised they had complementary skills, they decided to go into business together. He has experience of dealing with clothing factories, while she brings the technological know-how.
Ms Tam admit that initially she was "apprehensive", but after checking out Mr Kochar's career past, she was confident enough to quit her day job last summer.
Techpacker now has 500 customers, and although its app is currently free, it is due to launch a paid-for version later this year.
Backed by grant of 333,000 Hong Kong dollars ($42,580; £27,339) from the Hong Kong government, it is soon to pitch to investors.
Despite currently only having seven members of staff, Ms Tam has global growth plans for the business, which already has an office in New York in addition to its Hong Kong headquarters.
'Looked after me'
Ms Tam commands her space so effectively that it is easy to forget she is only 3 foot 11 inches (1.2m) tall.
"I was born with a form of dwarfism," he says.
"To this day, my mother worries about me, whether I will be alright."
Born in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, when Ms Tam was still a baby her family was able to move to Hong Kong, which was then a British colony.
Growing up in a slum area where many recent immigrants lived, Ms Tam says she can only remember one time at school where she was probably bullied because of her short stature.
Instead she thrived at school, and backed by her ambitious "Tiger mother", she always did well in her studies.
She eventually earned a degree in computer science, and a masters in IT management.
"My parents were not well educated," says Ms Tam. "They grew up in China. In those days it was very poor. They only had a primary school education.
"So after coming to Hong Kong my mother really emphasised education, as that's the only route to a better life."
She adds: "In Hong Kong I have very rarely experienced discrimination. I am very lucky in that my teachers and other people have always looked after me."
'Keep trying'
The Techpacker app has been built to enable a clothing designer to send a detailed blueprint, containing all the crucial specifications and measurements, to a manufacturer.
It aims to be remove the miscommunications than can occur with some existing rival software programmes, and to enable clothing companies to reduce product development times.
Ms Tam says: "It's a chance to do something really different, to maybe transform the fashion industry.
"This application provides a platform for designers and factories to work together.
"It allows the designer to communicate what they want clearly to the factory. And so the factory can deliver what the designer wants."
Ms Tam's ultimate aim is to expand Techpacker into other manufacturing industries, which she believes will be possible.
"If there is something I care about, or I am targeting, I will try whatever ways to achieve it," she says.
"Because I do believe that nothing is impossible. It is just a matter of time and lessons learned.
"I read an article a long time ago in Fortune [magazine]. It said that geniuses actually spend 80% of their time practising, or doing the same thing repeatedly.

"That's what I strongly believe in - as long as we keep trying we will succeed one day."

Texas judge gives man a choice: get married or go to jail

An East Texas man who pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend has been sentenced to life – in matrimony.
At the sentencing hearing, Smith County Court-at-Law Judge Randall Rogersasked Bundy whether Jaynes was “worth it” and whether the couple were married, according to transcripts obtained by KLTV.
“[The ex-boyfriend] had been saying disrespectful things about Elizabeth, so I challenged him to a fight”, Bundy told the judge of why the fight happened, according to KLTV. He could spend 15 days in jail or marry Jaynes.
In addition, his sentence also included writing Bible verses and getting counseling. Bundy and Jaynes say that they plan to have a bigger wedding in the future when they can save enough money.
Bundy is a Steelers fan and had dreamed of wearing a black tuxedo with a yellow lining, but since the wedding had to take place so soon, he and Jaynes ditched their elaborate plans.
The bride s father was angry at the judge for pressuring the pair into marriage and was looking into whether this was judicial misconduct, he told KLTV.
The couple had less than 30 days to get married and scrambled to prepare. The ex-boyfriend later filed assault charges, although he didn’t require medical attention.
He continued: “I was raised with four sisters and if any man was talking to a woman like that, I’d probably do the same thing”.
“My face was so red, people behind me were laughing”, she said.
The judge was not available for a comment.
“I used to watch Say Yes to the Dress and all those shows and all the dresses and think about what kind of dress I would have”, said Jaynes.
According to Jaynes, who was in the courtroom at the time, the judge then embarrassed her by making her stand up. “They are young and they didn’t know that they had any other options”, he said.
So the couple got married in front of the justice of the peace.
The ceremony was rushed, with Bundy expressing his disappointment at his family members not being able to attend.
“My father didn’t get to go, and that really bothers me”, Bundy said. “I would have liked a spring wedding when it’s not too hot and not too cold”. Noticeably absent were Bundy’s dad and sisters.
“To say you’re not going to be criminally punished if you get married is way out of left field”, said attorney Blake Bailey.

Bundy agreed to the judge’s proposal, and the couple duly applied for a marriage license.

Wedding drama brings in-law exclusion

DEAR AMY: My wedding is coming up. I’m dealing with some drama. I am marrying for the second time and am very happy. My first wedding was an elopement to get around the family problem, which is my brother’s wife. She is a storm cloud and she rains on everything.
She and I do not get along. I believe in open arms to all, and so I always greet her at family functions and she never responds. She is famous for sitting and scowling at the family Christmas celebration without talking to anyone.
After much deliberation, my fiance and I decided to get married at a beautiful hotel near us and include a family ceremony.
While planning for my big day, my thoughts have been going back to my sister-in-law and dreading the attitude she will bring to the event. I decided not to invite her to my wedding. It is drastic, but it is what I want. I sent a short email explaining that I felt terrible, that I have tried for many years to befriend her, to no avail. I explained that on my important day I only wanted people who love and wish me the best. I stood up for myself. Unfortunately my mother is convinced that I am breaking up the family. I think my mother should support me. How can I fix this rift with my mom? — Wedding Blisters
DEAR BLISTERS: It’s your wedding and you are determined to have only supportive and loving people around you, which makes me wonder if you’ve ever actually been to a wedding.
Weddings (such as the one you are planning, which you call a “family ceremony”) are family events. And families tend to be populated not by universally supportive and loving people, but by overlapping webs of complex relationships, featuring some challenging (and sometimes downright awful) people.
If you truly believe in “open arms to all,” then why are your arms folded now? You don’t mention if your brother (“Storm Cloud’s” husband) will attend this wedding without his wife, but you have put him in a terrible position by not inviting her. So in a way, your mother is right: You might not be “breaking” the family, but you’re certainly bending it.
Do NOT expect your mother to wholeheartedly support you on this, the only possible position she can now assume is one of complete neutrality, because she probably wants to maintain a relationship with your brother’s wife later, even if you do not.
DEAR AMY: For many years I have been the designated driver for my friends who cannot drive for a number of reasons. When I drove a gas-guzzling car, they would put something in the kitty for gas when I drove them.
Now that I have an electric car, they never offer to help.
On the whole I don’t mind, but when I recently drove a friend around for six days during her vacation, never was a cent (or a meal/wine/etc.) offered to help defray the costs.
How should I respond? — A Bit Disgusted
DEAR DISGUSTED: It is easy to gauge expenses when you see a nozzle going into a car’s gas tank and the numbers ticking by as the petrol flows in.
It is much less obvious when the car is plugged into the outlet between trips.
When you squire your friends around, you should ask them to pay for any parking fees. Regardless, you are really talking about feeling unappreciated. This happens when you feel like you have done too much and received too little. One way to prompt a friend would be to say, “I’m going to let you take me out for a glass of wine, are you in?”
DEAR AMY: I liked your response to “Worried Great-Gran,” but I don’t think you went far enough. She was anticipating having her young great-grandson visit for a week and stay with a man, her husband, who is an abuser.

I don’t think this woman is capable of protecting the boy. She should cancel the visit.

Small Beach Wedding Becomes Massive Affair When Baby Sea Turtles Join The Party

Just before sunset on July 23, Josh Moore and his soon-to-be-husband Jeff Calvert were about to join hands and walk to a seaside arch set up for their intimate beach wedding, when Moore suddenly stopped in his tracks.
It wasn't cold feet.
Moore was making way for a hundred or so baby loggerhead turtles, who'd hatched right at the moment that the couple was supposed to be getting hitched and were now racing down the Florida beach and into the Gulf of Mexico -- through the couple's wedding arch.
"Two once-in-a-lifetime events," Moore told The Huffington Post. "Marrying my soulmate and getting to witness sea turtles hatch. My heart was overjoyed with happiness!"
Matthew Stewart, a guest who was videotaping the wedding, also captured the above video of the hatchlings' journey.You really couldn't have gotten an RSVP from these little ones if you'd tried.
"If anyone was smart enough to let us know when the nest was going to hatch in advance so they could plan to be there, we'd want to know their secret," said Theresa Arenholz, director of program management at the nonprofit Sea Turtle Trackers. "Then we'd ask for tomorrow'slotto numbers."
This is the season when turtles are hatching up and down the Florida coast, breaking through their shells, digging out of their sand nests and then run run running into the sea, where -- if they're lucky -- they'll eventually grow from wee to about 250 pounds.
Sea Turtle Trackers biologist "Turtle Joe" Widlansky told the Gulfport Gabber -- which first reported on this magical happening -- that more loggerhead nests have been counted in 2015 than in any previous year since the group began monitoring southwest Florida's St. Pete Beach and Shell Key some 35 years ago.
Ninety nests have been counted so far. That's up from an average of 30 or so per season prior to 2011, Widlansky said. (To help keep those figures steady, visitors should keep the beach clean and dark and stay away from nesting females.)
But even with this relative abundance, the sea turtles -- who are classified as "threatened" in Florida and "endangered" in other parts of the world -- don't usually show up before dark.
Or, you know, on command.
"I think that was a little special gift," said Bruno Falkenstein, the founder of Sea Turtle Trackers.
Now back home in Knoxville, Tennessee, Moore and his husband have begun collecting sea turtle memorabilia for their house to remind them of their uniquely charming, much bigger-than-expected nuptials.
"We keep joking now we had over 100 groomsmen/groomswomen," Moore said.
The couple is also planning a big reception for all the family and friends who couldn't be there for the first event.

They've got a few hundred humans on the guest list. Obviously no one can say for sure yet how many other creatures will also put in an appearance.

LAX returns lost wedding album to couple a year later

A wedding album of photos is meant to capture one of the most special days in a person’s life, but one unlucky couple lost the book of images at Los Angeles International Airport a year ago.
Thanks to social media and the LAX Lost and Found employees, the happy couple was reunited with their wedding photos last week.
In a report from Billie Cohen of Yahoo.com, the wedding album was one of several items discovered in a suitcase at the international terminal of LAX in September of 2014. The suitcase belonged to Safiullah Jabarkhail, a former Afghanistan native who fled the country with his wife and child after spending seven years working for the United States military.
In hopes of finding the owner of the photos, Los Angeles Airport Police shared a post on Facebook of the photo album and an explanation about the uniqueness of the situation:
“Standard protocol for lost items with Airport Police is to hold an item for 97 days in lost and found, items are then assessed and either discarded or auctioned off. Since this item holds such a large sentimental value, Los Angeles Airport Police could not discard this item and for over a year have been diligently searching for the owner.”
The airport began posting notices about the lost wedding items on social media, and was contacted a short time later by a friend of the couple who helped officials identify them and find their address.
In true military fashion, an airport police honor guar
A wedding album of photos is meant to capture one of the most special days in a person’s life, but one unlucky couple lost the book of images at Los Angeles International Airport a year ago.
Thanks to social media and the LAX Lost and Found employees, the happy couple was reunited with their wedding photos last week.
In a report from Billie Cohen of Yahoo.com, the wedding album was one of several items discovered in a suitcase at the international terminal of LAX in September of 2014. The suitcase belonged to Safiullah Jabarkhail, a former Afghanistan native who fled the country with his wife and child after spending seven years working for the United States military.
In hopes of finding the owner of the photos, Los Angeles Airport Police shared a post on Facebook of the photo album and an explanation about the uniqueness of the situation:
“Standard protocol for lost items with Airport Police is to hold an item for 97 days in lost and found, items are then assessed and either discarded or auctioned off. Since this item holds such a large sentimental value, Los Angeles Airport Police could not discard this item and for over a year have been diligently searching for the owner.”
The airport began posting notices about the lost wedding items on social media, and was contacted a short time later by a friend of the couple who helped officials identify them and find their address.
In true military fashion, an airport police honor guard team hand delivered the items back to the family at their home in Modesto, California, on Friday. The joy for the family was overwhelming, as they are also expecting another baby in the coming days.

d team hand delivered the items back to the family at their home in Modesto, California, on Friday. The joy for the family was overwhelming, as they are also expecting another baby in the coming days.