I have a long list of "marriage thoughts" I always mean to write and never get around to. George and I tied the knot in December 2009 so I've got solid
1.5 years of marriage experience, which is 1.5 years more than my about-to-be-married couples, making me incredibly wise, right? In any case, there are some things I've learned about being married and I'd like to share with the engaged crowd. So here's marriage tip #1:
Keep your maiden name somewhere.
I was very torn about the take-his-name or don't-take-his-name dilemma. On the one hand, I really liked my name before (Amber Lupin) - it's just so symmetrical and it also creates great anagrams (Brian Plume, for instance). On the other hand, George really wanted me to take his name. We once had this conversation, which convinced me to do it:
George: "I want you to take my name."
Me: "Yeah, but it's all 'I belong to you and macho and stuff.'"
George: "No, it's like we're family."
So, dammit, if that was the answer then... yes, I will take your name. At some point, it was suggested to me (probably on the internet) that you could ditch your middle name and stick the last name in there. Brilliant! I used to have a Nicole in the middle there, but it wasn't a name I ever identified with. So out it went and now I'm officially Amber Lupin Wilkie. And this constantly helps me get out of annoying situations where I might otherwise have to spend a lot of time explaining why I need to take Amber Lupin's stuff when my name is Amber Wilkie.
Because it happens
all the time. Imagine how many rewards programs, credit cards, deposits, automated bills, shipping invoices etc. etc. etc. you have already filled out with your maiden name. If you either keep it, or switch it to your middle name, you'll save yourself a ton of hassle. Even the sternest people (maybe not TSA but the post office recently) will accept your old last name if it's your middle name. I'm so glad I kept my name somewhere and highly recommend it to ladies that want to save themselves some grief.
And because this is a damn photo blog, not a rambling nonsense blog (well, okay, I guess it's both), here's a photo of me and George taken recently by
Tara Welch when I was second shooting for her. It's a miracle any of these came out because it was hot, muggy and I was in my "shooting a wedding" clothes.
It was the nastiest, haziest day ever and hot as all get-out, so this post-apocalyptic look is really the only feasible one, given the conditions. I dig it.
I have no idea what this bridge is. It might be the Betsy Ross....
So, in case you're curious what I do 9-5 M-F (and why in the heck I get to ride in a helicopter), I work for a trade union. We represent officers on big old vessels and little tug boats and lots of stuff in-between. I work for our newspaper and "cover" events that we have. About once a month, I'll take a trip somewhere around the country, normally on the east coast but not always, to photograph some of our officers and their ships. On this particular trip, I was offered a ride in a helicopter to do some aerial work. That photo came out cool, but I'm sure I'm not allowed to show it to you.
Also, the very technical of you may have noticed that these photos were taken with rather meager gear (that is, the d80 and kit lens 18-55). That's because I'm not about to take $4k worth of camera gear on work trips with me, considering they would not see fit to replace it if I drop it over the side of the ship. So here I am, offered a ride in a helicopter to take photos, and this is what I have to shoot with... but I'm still not about to travel with my wedding glass.
Thanks for looking! Tell me how impressed you are that I have a helicopter hookup.
A couple of points: