How To Attend Weddings Without Going Broke

As a 30-year-old female who follows a heap of lifestyle and fashion blogs, I have read countless posts on how to Have A Fabulous Wedding on a Not-So-Fabulous Budget or Saying ‘I Do’ When Your Budget Says ‘Don’t’.” I get it, I’m your target audience, minus the fact that I'm not engaged. I read those DIY guides and file them away in my mental vault for whenever I may need them (Which is not now, Mom. I promise. I'll let you know.) I am sure (hope) one day those posts will be helpful. But the post I really want to read is: How to Attend A Wedding Seven Weddings Without Breaking the Bank.

Let me start by saying that, I love going to weddings. Like, love love. When Donald Trump said that he’d paid Hillary Clinton to come to his wedding (I paraphrase) in the debate, I thought, “IS THAT A JOB I CAN HAVE?!” I choose to believe I’m a good guest too — I take pictures using the wedding hashtag; I cry when appropriate; I don’t get drunk; I dance my ass off; I mingle with the grandparents; and I high-five the flower girls. Really, I’m my best self at weddings.

My greatest flaw as a wedding guest: fear of sparklers

But weddings can be expensive to attend. If you’re between the ages of around 24-35, then you’re probably attending a ton of them. Your refrigerator is covered in adorable save-the-date photos and squares of that thick fancy paper with beautiful calligraphy. 

I thought my busy wedding seasons were behind me, but I was invited to eight weddings this year. (Kudos to me for having so many wonderful friends!) Sadly, I could only attend six due to expenses, scheduling, and such. Personally, I think the investment in getting to celebrate special moments with your favorite people in the world is priceless, but my bank account doesn’t seem to understand. BB&T always be hatin’.

After about 25+ weddings since graduation, I’ve picked up some tricks for attending your loved ones’ celebrations without over-drafting your account. Here are my (fairly obvious) tips:

Thirty: Like 20, But With Rent

Hi guys.

It’s me.

I’m back.

At least, I’m back for a week until summer classes start. Then I’ll probably disappear again. I’m like the Pumpkin Spice Latte of bloggers—only here for a limited amount of time, mainly followed by basic white girls (jk), and not really as enjoyable as you once remembered.

Since we last spoke, I finished two semesters of graduate school, and this time next year, I’ll be done completely (hopefully). I probably won’t make you treat me any differently or call me master or anything, but if you wanted to then, whatever, I’m not the boss of you.

Also since my last post, I entered a new decade. In the words of everyone's favorite time-traveling magazine editor in the cinematic classic 13 Going on 30, "I'm thirty, flirty, and thriving!" 

Well, I'm at least one of those things. 

Too Cool for School

So, here’s the deal: I didn't forget about you. I know it seems like I did, but I didn’t. Several people have been asking me about the blog and I ramble excuses but the bottom line is: I've been busy. 

I started graduate school at night and have been busy writing papers instead of blog posts and reading (gasp!) textbooks instead of Marie Claire. (Hopefully my BFF-ness with Nina Garcia isn't threatened). 

Any excuse to name-drop this glorious tweet. 

It's true; I'm studying to be a Master in Public Relations and Corporate Communications. Until then, I’m doing things like studying, writing case studies, and taking quizzes. QUIZZES. I think the last time I had a quiz was sophomore year at Davidson. (Buzzfeed quizzes aside, of course. I took three of those bad boys this morning.)

Now, I’m not here to complain. A lot of people are in grad school. Probably half of D.C. fits that bill. But, going back to school has been an adjustment. Instead of just sitting home on a Friday night in my sweatpants watching Netflix, I have to sit at home on a Friday night in my sweatpants watching Netflix while writing a paper.

Time Traveling to the Future (Or Rather, China)

Remember when you were little and you'd be digging a hole (yeah, like you had more sophisticated hobbies), and a grown-up would say, "You're going to dig your way to China!"?

Ha, good one, grown-up!

I think that "hole phenomenon" was why China always seemed like a mythical, unattainable place. But, guess what? A couple weeks ago, I went there! To China!

I found out with about 3 weeks notice that I would be traveling to Shanghai for work. You know I don't talk about work on this blog, so I'll spare you all those details. However, I can't have a blog, go to China, and then not share the experiences I had during the couple days we got to play tourists. So, here's what we did when we weren't working. (By "we," I mean my friend/co-worker Sarah and I.)

It turns out you don't actually have to dig a hole to get there. You have to take a super, long-ass plane ride.

(And it's not just any plane...it's a plane to the future. I've experienced time changes before, but I'd never experienced a 12 hour difference. I could never quite wrap my head around the idea that, when I'd text with my family, they'd send my messages from yesterday. Mind. Blown.)

We also learned that sometimes (all the time) in China, they just cancel your flights whenever they want. So, after 14 hours on a plane from DC to Beijing, we arrived to learn that our flight to Shanghai was cancelled due to "weather." Yeah, who the hell wants to fly when the skies are clear and blue? So, what was supposed to be about 18 hours of total travel time turned into around 25 hours of travel time when they re-booked us on another airline for a flight six hours after our original flight time. That flight was then delayed 1.5 hours. So, since I'd already time-warped to be Future Lindsay I was then extremely confused as to what time it was, what day it was, and when we'd actually arrive to our final destination. The only thing I did know was that in the eight hours I spent in the Beijing airport, I was the only blonde person I saw. The only time I've felt that much like a minority was when my sister and I visited an upscale NYC bar and I was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of Clarks.

Thankfully, we made it safe and sound to Shanghai around 1 a.m. their time, which in EST time was about 1997 or something.