Of course, this won't stop us from opening ourselves up to ridicule by submitting a listing to the Times.

Looks like they don't pay for the listings after all. But check out the requirements. My favorite excerpts:

"Those posing for pictures should be neatly dressed and the images provided should be of professional quality."

"Couples posing for pictures should arrange themselves with their eyebrows on exactly the same level and with their heads fairly close together."

The real pictures I want to see are those that drove the Times to make these guidelines.

Oh, here's the link to the NY Times wedding page. No one really good to hate this week. Although Kate Novack and Andrew Rossi might be good possiblilities....

Quick Times search brought up this article about weddings featured in InStyle that ended in divorce before the magazine hit the newsstands. I wonder how the Observer and the Times do?

I love this column. It's the New York Observer weekly engagements listing. I've always been a fan of the NY Times Sunday Weddings section. Especially the paid ones, not the big Vows column. The paid ones (I assume they buy them anyway) are always hilarious, and a fascinating social snapshot. Lawyers marry stockbrokers or other lawyers, Doctors seem to marry each other, and there is a definite university parity. Ivy League with Ivy League (maybe UC Berkeley or Stanford) and state schools with state schools. I especially enjoy hating those who are far more successful than I at a younger age, and feeling somewhat superior to those who aren't. Petty, I know, but it warms an odd place in my heart. Veronica and I often read them aloud to each other, trying to divine the personalities and the relationship from a few stale words.

The engagements column though is even better. It gives you a glimpse into people's lives and you get to hate them based on some actual information.

So, today Veronica's mother picked up the wedding favors for us. I'm totally unsure about the idea of wedding favors, and V kept on wanting to have something useful. I kept on wondering, useful? Why thank you for coming to our wedding, have a pair of pliers...or a universal remote! But we've decided on something perhaps a little less useful than a belt sander, but I guess you can always use one. V said I shouldn't say what it was so we can surprise everyone.

We're registering this weekend, and unless I hear advice otherwise we'll do it at Crate and Barrell and macy's or Bloomingdales. Crate and Barrell is great because it is all online. hmmmm....maybe we should have a live webcam at the wedding so people can virtually participate. I know my Dad would love that...

So here's what we still have to do, and if anyone has any suggestions, please speak out. Limos, Tuxes, Flowers, Invitations (although I've vowed these will be done by the end of the week), DJ. I think that's it. Oh, we need to register too, I'll post that when we do it. And a honeymoon...any ideas?

Okay, we can't agree on the wedding cake. So we're opening it up to a vote, please e-mail me at jjsutherland@npr.org and let me know what kind of cake you would like. I'm for chocolate, but Veronica wants canoli....but we can do anything else too. Let your voice be heard!

So we have the Church and the reception site. Planning a wedding seems to have certain similarities to a military campaign. First, an army travels on it's stomach, and second, it's all about logistics. Well, we have plenty of food. I've picked the whole roast suckling pig for one of the carving stations during the cocktail hour. There are 4 other stations. That's before dinner. And there is an open bar, which as anyone who knows me will know, is a requirement of mine. We also have this great photographer, Philippe, taking pictures. He is mainly an artist and photojournalist, but weddings mean cash. Interestingly he was featured at a photo exhibit in South Africa recently which had pictures of weddings all over the world. Despite being French, he represented America.

We're having the reception at Giando on the Water . The directions and location are at this link. The cocktail hour will start at 5:30. The best way to get there is by car service. I'll post some numbers for you in a bit, I'm trying to work out a deal with one of them.

This is the church's website. The ceremony starts at 3:30 pm on Friday, October 11. There is on street parking, although not much, and a pay lot down the street.

J.J. Sutherland and Veronica Ruiz will be married at Saint Saviours Church in Brooklyn, NY on October 11, 2002