#ask azazy
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✧ ajeitei o blog depois de muito tempo, espero que gostem!
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The Trials, Part One
Leah, back from the Shadowlands and feeling a bit lost, decides to take her mother’s advice and undergo the shadowhunter trials.
Leah sat staring into the dying embers of her dinner campfire. The sun was sinking low behind the trees of the Zuldazar wilds, encompassing the primeval jungle in a deep, consuming darkness. This would be the end of the third day of her pilgrimage to undertake the shadowhunter trials. So far, it had been nothing more than a glorified camping trip.
She had decided against throwing another log on the fire so as not to draw the attention of any predators that might be lurking in the underbrush, just as she had done the past two evenings. The thought had occurred to her that keeping the fire going might also draw the attention of the Loa, but she reasoned that if they wanted to find her, they could do it in the dark just as easily. She wondered how long she would have to wait, or if they would even come at all.
In spite of her nagging doubts, Leah relaxed and listened to the sounds of the night. Crickets chirped their happy songs while frogs called for their mates. The humid breeze gently rustled the leaves. The huntress was nearly ready to settle down and let the jungle sing her to sleep when the sounds abruptly stopped. Leah sat up straight and alert.
Behind her something stirred. Leah froze; she strained her senses to catch whatever clues she could about who or what had come upon her so suddenly without notice. Soon she felt a familiar haunting presence.
“Bwonsamdi,” she uttered, her voice barely above a whisper.
From the darkness the Loa of Death emerged, and Leah felt an eerie chill wash over her. The low light from the glowing coals cast deep shadows over his skeletal features causing him to look even more ghastly than usual.
“Whatchu doin’ sittin’ out here in de jungle all by yaself, chile?” He said as he took a seat on the ground next to the huntress. “Thought for sure you’d be home wit’ dat mon I let ya take back witchu… ya know, makin’ up for lost time.” The loa grinned lasciviously at Leah, who averted her gaze as the color rose in her cheeks.
“I was, but I wanna be a shadowhunter. Back on de Darkspear Isles, we used to go to First Home for de trials, but now dat we’ve left dat place, I didn’t know where to go. I thought maybe if I came out to de wilds and waited, I might find a sign or somethin’. I’m not sure what I’m s’posed to do.”
Bwonsamdi cocked his head to the side. “You really wanna be a shadowhunter, or are ya just doin’ it ‘cause ma’da said you should?” When Leah looked incredulously at him, the Loa responded, “You don’t think I know what goes on in my own realm? I heard you two talkin’.”
Leah sighed. “Mama made some good points. I do wanna uphold our traditions, but I think, if I be honest with myself, dat ain’t why I be here. Lately I be feelin’ so lost, like I don’t know where I want my life to go. And I realized dat I keep bein’ flung around from one tragedy to another without a chance to breathe in between. I feel like all I do be react. I thought if I came out here and de Loa spoke to me, I might finally be able to take control of my own life for once.”
Bwonsamdi leaned back and tapped his chin with a bony finger. “Hmm. Well adaptability do be one of de Darkspears’ best traits…”
“Yeah, but I be tired of feelin’ like I don’t get a say-so in what happens to me. I wanna be de one dat makes de things happen for once.”
The old Loa leaned forward now, elbows on his knees, chin resting on his hands. His eyes blazed with a spectral, captivating glow. Leah found herself unable to look away.
“Might I be offerin’ some perspective, Leah Darkspear?” Bwonsamdi did not wait for her to respond. “You say all you do is react. Things just happen to you. But you don’t take dese things lyin’ down, do ya? No. When Garrosh Hellscream treated de Darkspear like dogs, you joined de resistance.”
“Vol’jin asked me to,” Leah explained.
“But you didn’t hafta say yes. And when you joined dat ill-fated Azazi Empire and things started goin’ south, you was gonna step up and challenge Nazazi for leadership.”
“But I never got to, we all fled before dat happened.”
Bwonsamdi nodded. “Yes, and who was de one dat shepherded de others, kept dem all together and gave dem a new purpose by startin’ your likkle Expedition League?”
“But it didn’t work!” Leah objected. Her voice softened, tinged with sadness. “Over time, everyone left and went dey separate ways anyway. Hardly anybody from de old days still be around.”
“Hush,” Bwonsamdi snapped. “Stop interruptin’ and listen, chile.”
Leah shrunk back, chastened.
The Loa continued. “So people came and went. Dat be life. But you kept on wit’ your vision. You gave dem a purpose. Together, you found troll relics dat otherwise would have been lost. De important part be dat you made sure dese people had a home when dey needed one.
“You may not think yaself a leader, but time and again you step up and take charge when things need to get done. You don’t hafta do dis, others would take ya place if ya didn’t.
“You make things happen all de time, Leah Darkspear. Ya mon be proof of dat. I let him go, but you got him a body, you did de ritual to bring him back. He wouldn’t be alive now if not for you.
“De power to take control of your own life already be in you. You be a natural born leader, Leah. Ya know it be de truth. You just gotta be willin’ to admit it to yaself.”
Leah sat with her brow furrowed, the Loa’s words turning about in her mind. All her life, she had considered herself a reluctant participant at best in the shit-show that was life on Azeroth. In the ranks of the Horde, she assumed the role of Commander had been bestowed on her because it was her time to be promoted, not because of any meritorious acts. In other aspects of her life, she always told herself the only reason she found herself leading was because no one else was stepping up. In her relationship, she told herself Ja’mez had always deferred to her because he was an easy going mon. But was that true, or did people let her take charge because they knew she would? Did she really have it in her to shape her own life the way she saw fit? Had she been doing that all along without even realizing it?
Bwonsamdi could see that his message had hit its mark. Leah had gotten so lost in her thoughts that she forgot he was there and started when he suddenly rose.
“Well, now dat we got dat outta de way,” he said, his words drawn out long as he stretched his old bones casually. He stepped away from Leah’s camp and slowly dissipated into the surrounding night.
From the darkness, Leah could hear the mischievous grin in his words as Bwonsamdi called out in a sing-song voice.
“Good luuuuck.”
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Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Sky Blue Azazie Bridesmaid Dress.
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so sorry if this is weird lol but where is your bridesmaid dress from? Im looking for a similar one but in a different color for a wedding I’m a MOH for haha so wanted to ask!
hahaha not weird at all! it’s from azazie, hope you find one!
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I did some try on wedding dresses from Azazie the other day and I posted some pics of them in a Azazie Brides group I'm in for convenience for other brides so they can see them IRL, someone commented on my post "I think Azazie dresses look cheap"
Like um 1. I didn't ask? 2. Get off the group then??? Like...
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Ghirmai Kidane (Wedi Filipo): A multi-talented artist and a political activist
Mohamed Kheir
From a previous post in FB
When you listen to the masterpiece song, ‘Abbay Abbashawel’, the first thing that comes to your mind may be the name, Alamin Abdullatif, who sang the song. When you listen to songs on the radio or TV in our country or Ethiopia we are told about the singer only. All the credit goes to the singer. Listen to a song in Sudanese and the Arab world media, they tell first about the song writer, then the music composer and last comes the singer; a culture that appreciates all the contributions.
Abbay Abbashawel, among other songs, was written and its music composed by Wedi Filipo. Girmai Kidane is not only a song writer, a musician but a political activist, too. This note which is based on an interview with him, sheds light through various milestones not only his life, but on the role of Eritrean artists on political activism.
He was born almost 72 years ago on 19.06.1942. His father, Kidane Abraha Gangoul was born in Segeneiti and his mother Leteberhan Zere Yohannes was born in Kor Barya. His father died mysteriously in 1959, in the Imperial Palace and he says that was on orders from Emperor Haile Sellasie. His family was denied the corpse. He says a living witness that this event took place is the former Ethiopian President, Girmai Woldeghiorgis, who used to work as a security agent in Eritrea during Haile Sellasie’s rule.
In 1953, he was the only Eritrean (black) is his batch who was studying in an Italian school. By 1959, he run errands for members of the Eritrean Liberation Movement (ELM)- Mahber Shewate- which he later joined and he participated on their initiative of forming the organization that promoted Eritrean culture and traditions. Some of the colleagues in the ELM, he worked with include Seid Beshir (Gesir), Gilay Girmai, Haile Woldemichael (Haile Gebha), Kiros Yacob (Kiros tzatze).
He indicates that by 1960, members of the ELM wanted to break the monopoly of foreigners in musical bands and to mobilize the people against Ethiopian occupation and so initiated a competition on Eritrean songs through a theater group called ‘Mahber Tewaseoo Degebat’ and Tewolde Redda’s song ‘Asmeretey’ won the first prize. But the organization was later banned by followers of the Unionist Party. Among the persons he was acquainted with in that group were Tekle Adhanom (Tekle huwket), Yohannes Gebrekidan (Gozano) and the Tigrait singer, Jabir Mahmoud.
He states that the famous Eritrean Musical group, Asmara Theatrical Group, ‘Mahber Teater Asmra’ was formed in 1961 in a meeting in ‘Piazza Mikele’ in the tea shop of Idris and later of Kahsay Michael. He mentions that as he was involved with the ELM in mobilizing the members of the Police and the public and was to participate in the Police Orchestra, he did not participate in the formation of ‘Mahber Teater Asmra’ but he contributed through song writing and by giving advice.
The other side of Tedla Ogbit and the Police Orchestra Girmai recalls that when Brigadier General Tedla Ogbit, the Eritrean Police Chief, fell off with the Ethiopians he planned a coup d’etat. As the ELM was recruiting members of the Police, Tedla Ogbit was approached by Berhanu Ahmeddin and Haj Imam Musa. The importance of establishing the Police Orchestra was found to be important and so Tedla Ogbit formed the Police Orchestra on December 1962 to mobilize the people against Ethiopia and Wedi Filipo was one of those recruited in the Orchestra. Among those who were recruited were also Ali Mohmed (Ya Assina), Younis Ibrahim, Negash Tekie, Mohamed Burhan Atta, Kiflom Abbay and others. He recalls that Tedla Ogbit used to come regularly to Sembel to follow up the rehearsals of the band. Among the songs that were prepared for the agitation were the following: - Greetings from the Police Orchestra – group song- Adaliyuni (help me find…) - Younis Ibrahim- Yiaekel (enough is enough) - group song- Sesinu (flourish) - group songThose songs started to be aired on radio ‘Voice of Asmara’ that was owned by Cavallieri Mohamed. As the radio was broadcast through loud speakers at the grain market, ‘Idaga Ikhli’, those songs were well received by the public.
On June 6, 1963, around 4 pm, while he was in a café (in front of Bar Autisti) with Martyr Ibrahim Abdulrahman and Alamin Siraj Omer, two policemen approached him and told me to go to Sembel and deliver his police belongings to the Sembel police station. He left his friends and went to the place where he used to meet General Tedla Ogbit. Tedla told me it was his order. He told Wedi Filipo that the zero hour where the anti-Ethiopia plans would be executed was approaching and he did not want Girmai to bear any responsibility. Tedla told him if his plans failed, he was going to take responsibility for it alone. If the coup succeeded then they would meet again.
When Tedla Ogbit was killed by the Ethiopians, Wedi Filipo was arrested on June 1963 and taken for interrogation at the police headquarters at AGIP. Present at his interrogation were: the new police chief who was promoted to Brigadier General after Tedla’s death, Zere Mariam Azazi; the deputy of Zere Mariam, Colonel Erdatchew, Colonel Reta Demege (who according to Wedi Filipo led the special unit who came to kill Tedla Ogbit from Addis), and Colonel Mohamed Saleh. He was accused of being involved in the Tedla Ogbit revolt. Wedi Filipo recalls clarifying that he came regularly to Tedla’s office to ask for resignation. His explanation was supported by Zere Mariam Azazi and due to that he was not arrested. He was later told to go to Addis to join a musical group. Others from the police Orchestra who were accused to be involved with Tedla Ogbit and sent to Addis were: from the singers, Ali Mohmed (Ya Assina), Younis Ibrahim, Negash Tekie, Mohamed Burhan Atta, Kiflom Abbay and from the musicians Habtemichael Gebremichael, Figadu Andemichael, Yemane Yohannes, and Alto. When they arrived at Kolfe, they were told they were under arrest. They stayed there for six months. Gradually they were allowed to go to Addis for limited hours where he was able to meet some Eritrean political activists there, among them were Tekle Gebremichael (Tekle Eisenhower) who owned a hotel and Ibrahim Suleiman who was gatekeeper of Football Club Zula and later of Red Sea (Morosso). When they were released in February 1964, he returned back to Asmara.
Being aware of the role of music in political agitation, he was encouraged in 1964 by Berhanu Ahmeddin and the then music teacher (who was blind), Umberto Barboy to recruit young singers to the service of the Eritrean revolution. They used the student scout shows at Comboni, Prince Mekonen school, Itige Memen School. Among the new singers were Tekle tesfazghi, Haile Gebru and Yemane Gebermichael (Baria). To cover up his political activities and to be able to gather information and to recruit young Eritreans, he served in the Naval Base Band (there were Eritrean recruits there) as well as in the 2nd Army’s Musical Band. He also played with European musicians in Asmara and was a member of the musical band, ‘Boys’. He recalls it was difficult to be recruited to the Navy from Eritrea as one was checked thoroughly so he was advised to travel to Addis and to get recruited from as the headquarters of the navy was there. He was told to meet some Eritrean activists there who had good relations with the Commander of the Ethiopian navy then, Iskander Desta. Some of those who helped him with recruitment were Tekie Tesfay Kibrom and Biniam Kiflemariam Squar. As he was specifically recruited to form a musical band for the navy, the Massawa administration of the Navy accepted that and around March 1965, a musical band for the navy was established. He recalls that one day he was invited for lunch by Commander Mekonen Abraha (uncle of Isaias Afworki) and Commander Hailemelekot Gebrewold where he was introduced to martyr Ibrahim Affa and were since then friends. He states that his mission at the navy was to create awareness and recruit Eritreans to the national cause.
The Ethiopian security used to censure all the songs and he says we used various means to distract them. They used metaphor and also used to sing famous Amharic songs during the theatrical shows.
In 1971, he initiated contacts with the PLF faction that was stationed near Dekemare area and was advised to go to Italy to establish contacts based on his former links to Italians. He did as he was advised and in 1972, he was linked to former ELM members in Germany. By 1974, he realized that that EPLF was not going in the right direction and started to air his views to that effect. After liberation, 1991 he realized that the EPLF leadership harbors hidden agenda and has since been opposing the regime, actively.
I hope this note will generate discussion about the role of the political activism of artists then. I hope some will contribute to add or correct information presented here. My special thanks to Jelal Yassin for facilitating contacts with Wedi Filipo.
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This note was written on the 23rd of December 2014, Wedi Filipo passed away on the erly morning of the 24th of September 2019
RIP Wedi Filipo an Eritrean singer and activist
#Wedi Filipo#Ghirmai Kidane#Eritrean singer#Eritrean music#African music#African artist#Eritrea#Eritrean#Asmara
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Update
Tomorrow I begin the three-day journey back to Big Sky Country. I will be happy to get home I guess. It's not really been the vacation I expected. Warning: venting/bitching/whining under the cut.
I have been looking forward to this vacation for a while. We had an incredibly long winter so I was depressed and tired, and I wanted to go somewhere warm and visit the beach. I'd also been feeling hella lonely; I don’t have any IRL friends (not good ones that I have things in common with and hang out with) so I was excited to see my family and in-laws. I love my MIL and SIL; we always have a lot of fun together, and my sister and I get along great. Plus, I was really looking forward to escaping the drudgery of housework for a little while. I’m a terrible housekeeper and no matter what I do it seems I can’t stay on top of things, so not having to deal with that is awesome in my book. I was just really hoping to have a little fun and relax and recharge my batteries...
Well, that didn’t really happen... The vacation could have gone better. The beach was nice, but boring because I only got to go once, and that day there really weren't any waves to speak of. That in and of itself wasn’t so bad, just mildly disappointing. I live in Montana and only get to go to the beach once a year, so I’d like it to be fun.
But when I went to my MIL’s, it was like she didn’t want me there at all. It all started with my dog, an English Mastiff. I’ve always wanted a mastiff, and last summer I finally got one. She’s really a sweet loving dog, so I brought her with me so everyone could meet her. My MIL has five dogs of her own, all large breeds, she loves dogs, and she’s never had a problem with any of my dogs before. However this time it was as if she was just waiting for my dog to fuck up. And of course because she’s a puppy and still learning, she did fuck up, so my MIL accused me of being a bad owner because “she doesn’t listen.” It just really hurt because even though she’s 134 pounds, she’s a puppy. I am training her, but she doesn’t have it all down yet. It’s not fair for my MIL to expect her to behave perfectly, especially when her own dogs don’t. She also bitched at both me and my SIL about being on our phones (which we really weren’t on them all that much, tbh). She insinuated to us both that we were bad parents and spoiled our kids by rushing out and buying them everything they ask for (which we absolutely don’t do). She also got mad about weird things, like how “nobody wanted dessert,” even though I and all four of her grand kids ate dessert. She did this kind of thing to the point where my SIL and I just huddled away from her and pondered together about why she was being so crabby. I didn’t even get to take my SIL out for a girls’ night like I normally would (which she so needs because she never gets a break from the kids, and which I need as well because I have no IRL friends to do this with). Meanwhile, all the stress from her being irritable caused my chronic stomach issues to flare up, which she also bitched at me for (I took a nap on the couch instead of spending time with the family). It was honestly bad enough that I’m not sure if I want to visit her at all next time I’m in town, which makes me sad, because we’ve never had the typical “evil in-law” relationship. We’ve always gotten along great before.
My visit with my sister was nice, though shorter than I would have liked. I guess that’s the problem with living so far away. I love where I live, but I can’t help feeling sad about it.
And then there's WoW/RP. Some days I almost feel like I want to quit. You know, I started my guild when the Azazis fell apart because I wanted us to all stay together. Every week I wrote out events for us to do. I researched troll lore and came up with treasures for us to find. I tried to create story arcs for us. From the end of October up until May, we had events. I had ideas, and now... nothing. I feel like I’m completely tapped out. I started having bad bouts of depression, and in my irritability, I fucked up and drove away some guildies. Good people who made things fun. And since then more people have left for various reasons. I’m down to only three of the original seven founding members, and two of those people hardly play anymore. I know things change and life goes on, but I feel like a failure. I just wanted to keep people together. Now I’m burnt out and I don’t feel like I have the energy to rebuild, even though I have good people trying to help, trying to get the guild more exposure, networking with other established guilds on the server, etc. I want this guild to succeed, I have fun running events and being with everyone, but I just feel so drained that I’m afraid I have nothing left to give.
And I want to RP with friends, just have Leah sit and visit with people like she used to, but it seems like everyone’s too busy for me. And I hate feeling like I do about it because I’m normally so easy-going and flexible, but lately I’ve just wanted to be with friends and no one has time for me and I just feel so alone. I feel like I’ve somehow managed to make everyone hate me all at the same time and I don’t even know what I did. (And I know that’s just my stupid depressed brain talking, but I can’t shut it up.)
To top this all off, there’s a possibility that Leah may very well be single again in the near future. Right now I’m waiting to hear back from the guy who RP’s Leah’s mate. I’ve been dying to get some one on one RP in, and I’ve been begging him for months to make time for me, which he couldn’t because of IRL responsibilities, so even though it killed me, I sat and waited. Finally I asked him again, and he admitted that because of a combination of a lack of time and interest, he didn’t know if he could commit to being my partner anymore. This isn’t set in stone, I’m still waiting on a response, but if the last few months are any indication... well, I don’t have much hope. And I’m just heartbroken over this. Our characters are great together, and Leah is so in love... I wish I could tell him... I wish I could say how completely and utterly sad I am right now... How our story is my favorite thing about RP and how much I look forward to it and how happy it makes me, but y’all, I don’t want to guilt him into doing something if his heart’s not in it. Consent and mutual enjoyment are very important to me in RP, so I can’t force him to keep this up just for my sake, even if I would give almost anything if it meant it would continue. I’m also afraid that I’ll look desperate, like some obsessive freak getting all bent out of shape about some made-up characters in a video game. And all my more level-headed friends say, “he hasn’t made up his mind, there’s still a chance, don’t worry about it until it’s final,” but my mind doesn’t work that way, and so here I sit with tears in my eyes about a fake relationship.
It really doesn’t help that all of this is happening while I’m in the middle of a depressive episode. I feel like I can’t do anything right. I feel like no one cares, that they just tolerate me to be nice. I feel like if I disappeared no one would notice. Guys, I’m drowning. Every time I get a step ahead, something comes along and pushes me back, and I just keep getting farther and farther from the shore. I’m afraid that I might reach my breaking point soon, and even that makes me feel bad. My life is not terrible. I don’t have to struggle or worry about anything really, but I can’t even cope. What the fuck is wrong with me?
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Wedding Things Update
Well, we decided to give up on the hotel block. The two places that are in the best location are too expensive even with the discounted rate, and the closest regular-priced hotel won’t get back to us! I feel REALLY awkward about having put up this giant memo on our website that says “check back for hotel block!” (which was already awkward because we were already behind on that instead of having everything situated before invites went out) and then just taking the memo down without setting up a hotel block.... But that’s what Robert said to do and to just let him handle it if people ask. It was really for his family anyway as my family is all getting airbnbs.
We still haven’t tracked down the mystery RSVP. It wasn’t my brother, it wasn’t Robert’s family friend... so now I need to contact my family friend to see if it was her. (Any body have any idea how big the “Rio Grande” district is for USPS?)
We received another mystery RSVP, this time without a single mark on it, not even to indicate how many people would be coming. Robert’s job, though, since it’s his family (only people we know in that state).
Seriously... I didn’t think these RSVPs would be this confusing to people. They’re a little pre-stamped post card that also has our address printed on the front. Apparently I should have put lines to help people remember to write their return address on the front, just like a regular envelope. The other side of the post card says “____ out of _____ will attend” or “____ regretfully decline”. We filled in the second blank since we didn’t do inner envelopes. (So it reads ____ out of 2 will attend” for single people that were offered a guest.) All people need to do is write a number or a x and their return address.
We tried the probable rehearsal dinner spot again last night. Robert and his mother loved it. I’m still not sold. I mean, like the atmosphere and the service and everything, but the first time the food wasn’t my favorite. This time my stomach started bothering me. I was eating things I’m not “supposed” to eat but that I thought my stomach could handle. I’m gonna eat the leftovers for lunch to see if it was the food or if I was just tired because we were out on a friday night after the first week back to school. Plus there was an issue with my probiotic the day before that might have made me feel weird too.
I’m afraid there’s gonna be drama at the rehearsal dinner over alcohol. Robert’s family has some issues with alcoholism so his mom doesn’t really want any there (understandable), but my family, especially my grandparents, drink a LOT (responsibly). His mom is thinking about buying a bottle for toasts but like... my grandparents will think it’s super weird to have a nice meal without wine... so idk. I’m just worried people are going to be upset no matter what we do.
I had my first alterations appointment this morning! The lady was amazing. She was super nice and made me feel much more at ease than I expected. (A feat in of itself, tbh.) She was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. She used to work for Alfred Angelo so she knows my dress anyway, she offered her assessment of my veil that was purchased online (it is very well constructed), she said she sees a lot of Azazie dresses (my bridesmaids ordered from there) and they they are very well made and the custom measurements are usually close, plus she was happy to (repeatedly offering, actually) to pin and repin and repin as much as needed to get everything just right. She was pleasant and chatted with me without being overly talkative. Turns out I worked in my university’s school of music while her daughter was there for opera. He daughter, her daughter’s boyfriend, Robert, and I were all there at the same time. Her daughter graduated high school one year before me. But anyway, she was great and the dress is going to be PERFECT and she gave me a couple of discounts.
We received my wedding band in the mail! We ordered it on etsy. The seller had taken down the listing for the ring I wanted in yellow gold, but said they could make it again when I messaged them about the rose gold version. So, we were surprised that it came it so quickly! But it’s beautiful and perfect and came with gemstone appraisal paperwork and everything.
We also received the lanterns I ordered intending to use the largest one as our card holder. They are exactly what I wanted! I had to assemble them myself, but it’s the right size and look and a perfect compromise between what I wanted and what Robert wanted. And only $60 for all three instead of the $90 Amazon was selling them for.
After MUCH back and forth and a bit of stress, the day of hair and make up stuff has been set. First they said 6:30 or 7am start time based on if I need to be out AT or BY 9:30am. They they said 6 or 6:30am and I was kind stressing when they finally situated things to be a 6:45 call time for a 7 start. I paid the deposit this morning.
I booked my videographer. We were kinda hesitant because of cost, but I really feel like we need the coverage because our photographer is just one person. We LOVE them and their work and are definitely not willing to compromise on that for a company with more photographers, so I went looking for videography. I found a guy that only charges $975 for two HD cameras, a 5 hour time block that starts 1hr before your ceremony, a fully edited ceremony and reception highlights video, the raw footage, and usually anywhere between 25-50 candid photos. Plus his example videos are all excellent and clearly tailored to the couple’s personality. So I’ve been emailing with him and getting that set up.
So yeah, that’s what’s been happening in my life this week. lol
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Dizastah mon
Khajera and all them Sons of Bitches are trying to blame the Akaza for everything, but she -has- to be playing dumb. Before the Akaza even started as a guild she's been harassing and obsessing over troll guilds for a long time. One of them being mine and a couple of friends called the Azazi Empire. She targeted every one of our members, told everyone I used the guild for troll orgies, wanted to erp with all our male players and obviously would not leave us alone, until people didn't want to join because of her drama, people actually telling me straight up how they seen her crazy and can't be around it anymore. Our GM told her to stop, and that stressed her out so much that icly her character had a miscarriage. Eventually I gave up recruiting and abandoned the guild after the GM lost interest. Why is she trying to ruin these troll guilds? I really want to ask her this.. why Khajera?
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Don’t Let the Coronavirus Ruin Your Wedding Plans
As if wedding planning isn’t stressful enough on its own, engaged couples and event planners are feeling the extra stress and pressure of planning weddings and events with so many unknowns due to the Coronavirus.
As a professional wedding and event planner, your clients are looking to you for guidance as they grapple with tough decisions on what to do about upcoming weddings and events.
Here are 6 smart ways to plan weddings around the Coronavirus
1) Top Priority: Safety
The safety of your clients and their guests is the top priority.
Stay informed by the CDC and WHO which have the most up-to-date information about the spread of the virus. Keep your clients updated and encourage them to follow the recommended procedures to stay safe including following travel advisories and mandatory quarantines.
Encourage couples to communicate regularly with their guests. No one wants to put his or her family or friends in a risky situation. Couples should acknowledge the situation with their guests and communicate that they understand if guests choose not to travel.
2) Plan Smart and Create Plan B Now
As wedding and event planners, we are used to creating backup plans in case of unexpected weather issues. In the case of the Coronavirus, it is critical to create a backup plan scenario with each of your couples now.
First, review all client venue and vendor contracts to determine cancellation, postponement, and refund policies. Evaluate the event insurance policy that your clients (hopefully) have. Then, discuss the financial obligations with clients so that you can create a backup plan with the financial implications and venue/vendor rules in mind.
Backup plans to consider:
Postponing the entire wedding until later this year or for 2021.
Hosting a small local ceremony with a reception planned for later in the year or in 2021.
Moving the wedding to a different location, especially if the clients are planning a destination wedding in another country outside of the US.
Cancel the wedding. Keep in mind that couples who postpone may lose their deposits, but couples will likely lose everything if they cancel the wedding.
In your backup plan, determine how guests, the venue, and vendors will be contacted if the clients decide to move forward with an alternative plan for the wedding. Decide on a cut off date that the decision needs to be made by.
Your wedding clients may also need an alternative plan for the rehearsal dinner, wedding shower, bachelor and bachelorette parties.
Quick tip: When booking venues and vendors for your 2020 and 2021 weddings and events, ask for more flexibility in the cancellation and postponement clauses in the contracts.
As a planner, make sure your wedding planning contract covers how you are paid for extra time to assist clients with changes to their original wedding plans, date, and location. This includes what happens if it is postponed for a year, cancelled, or rescheduled to a specific date. You will be spending A LOT more time on a wedding if it is postponed or rescheduled and need to be compensated for the extra time. Your contract should also detail what happens if you choose not to attend the wedding or event due to the risk of the Coronavirus or another possible illness or injury.
3) Consider Postponing the Wedding
There are times when postponing the wedding or event makes the most sense such as:
If most guests are traveling for the event, many are likely to be apprehensive about making expensive travel plans right now.
Your clients are beyond stressed with trying to plan around the Coronavirus.
The couple or their immediate family members are considered high risk if they contract the virus.
Multiple vendors (or the venue) are backing out of the wedding or event due to the risk.
4) Honeymoon Planning
Remind your couples to do extensive research prior to booking their honeymoon. Travel insurance is likely a good recommendation for most couples but keep in mind that “epidemics” are often listed as exclusions in travel insurance policies.
For wedding clients who already have their honeymoon booked, encourage them to review the cancellation and refund policies of the airline, hotel, and other honeymoon-related services they have booked. Advise them to create an alternative plan for their honeymoon in case of travel restrictions, outbreaks, or quarantines. Ideally, your clients should work with an experienced travel agent for guidance.
5) Check On the Wedding Gown
Over 80% of wedding gowns are produced in China. At this point in time, retailers are seeing major delays in shipping schedules. If your clients have ordered a gown, check with the retailer now about possible delays so your clients have the most time to find an alternative gown if necessary.
If you have wedding clients who are ready to shop for gowns soon, encourage them to buy off-the-rack or shop at retailers who already have gowns in stock in the USA. BHLDN and Azazie carry inventory in the US for wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses.
6) Get Event Cancellation Insurance
This is one of the most important details that wedding couples should purchase regardless if there is a threat such as the Coronavirus or not. Event cancellation insurance can help reimburse your clients for non-refundable deposits and expenses if they have to cancel or postpone the event due to unforeseen circumstances, such as:
Vendor bankruptcy
Extreme weather
Accident or illness of host, honoree, or immediate family member.
It can also provide coverage for damage to special attire, delayed wedding gown shipments, lost/stolen gifts, photographs, lost deposits from no-show vendors, and more. Coverage can be purchased up to 14 days before an event.
Our recommendation for wedding insurance is Markel. For over 15 years, Markel Specialty has been the leader in providing complete event insurance coverage at an affordable price. Event cancellation insurance starts as low as $130.
Coverage for cancellation or postponement due to the Coronavirus can be tricky. We asked Markel to answer a few questions regarding their policy.
What if someone in my family gets sick before the event? Would that be covered?
If an accident or illness prevents the guest of honor or an immediate family member from attending the event, we provide coverage, as long as the illness is not due to a preexisting medical condition.
What if a governmental authority or the venue itself restricts the event?
This type of situation is generally considered a covered loss.
What if we decide to cancel the event because of fear of outbreak or safety-related concerns of guests?
We understand that this is a difficult decision to make, but just remember that any cancellation or postponement resulting from a voluntary decision not to proceed with the event would not be covered.
What if my guests are unable to attend the event?
We understand that the illness of guests is a concern for your event. Unfortunately, there is no coverage for either event cancellation or postponement for this situation. The only time we provide coverage for guests not being able to attend the event is for weather-related issues. In these cases, 50% or more of the guests would have to be unable to attend in order for there to be coverage under an event cancellation insurance policy.
It is important to point out that every claim is handled individually, based upon its own merits.
When it comes to planning a wedding or event with the unknowns of the Coronavirus, you and your clients will make the best decisions based on the information available. By following the advice in this post, you will have done your best as a planner to prepare your clients.
Important Resources:
CDC Risk Assessment Summary for Coronavirus
Current WHO Recommendations for Mass Gatherings
World Health Organization Latest Coronovirus News
Coronavirus Travel Information – Latest Updates from the CDC
Markel Event Liability and Cancellation Insurance
*this is a sponsored post from Markel Event Insurance
from Event Planning Essentials https://plannerslounge.com/coronavirus-could-impact-your-weddings-events/
via http://www.rssmix.com/
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I just added this listing on Poshmark: Azazie Sylvie Tuelle Skirt NWT M. #poshmark #fashion #shopping #shopmycloset
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our wedding: the bridal party
Gah, I am so excited to share these pictures with all of you! I'm splitting up some of the pictures into different batches to keep it all organized - we had over 600 pictures to pick from, so that would make the longest blog post of all time! So today we are going to talk about our wedding party.
Both CR and I are the oldest of four, and actually have the same number of boys/girls, but just switched! So it goes me, my sister, my brother, and my youngest sister, and in his family it goes CR, his brother, his sister, and his youngest brother. So obviously they were all going to be in our bridal party. We decided to have two more people on either side, as our friends are just as important to us as our family. On my side, I felt really conflicted about who to have, as I've had so many great friends from my past lives. In the end, I asked my best friend Caitlin, who is my friend from medical school, and my friend Lizzi, who remains a close friend from college and marching band. CR had his two close friends from college on his side.
I asked my bridesmaids to be in our wedding last year - I made them little boxes with personalized champagne glasses, champagne, and champagne gummy bears, and gave it to them when I saw them...or in Lizzi's case, I had to mail it to her and ask her over FaceTime.
Having my bridesmaids spread all over the country made it more difficult to figure out details for dresses and so on. I spent a lot of time looking on Pinterest for dress ideas, and online for different bridesmaids dresses. We knew we'd have to eventually buy online, so I really focused on that. In the end, I decided I really liked the look of having everyone in the same color, but letting every choose their own style of dress so that my girls could wear what they felt most comfortable in. We decided to go with Azazie for the dresses - I love that you can filter by color, fabric type, and then any other requirements. I also really liked that site because the girls can order styles to try on, so they could try several and not be afraid they were committing to one style they may hate. We had a lot of text messages going between the six of us picking out our favorite dresses. In the end we went with full length chiffon dresses in dusty rose. I initially thought my girls would wear knee length dresses, but I liked that with long dresses, you can wear whatever shoes you want, so all the girls could just wear their own sandals and it wouldn't matter. For their bridesmaids gift, I gifted each of them with a simple pair of pearl earrings for them to wear the day of. I wanted to give them something they could use in the future, and I figured pearl earrings are about as timeless as it gets!
The day of the wedding, we had quite the whirlwind of getting ready. We basically had three groups of women, between me, my bridesmaids, and my mother and mother-in-law getting our hair down and our make-up done. Part of my gift to the girls was paying for their hair and make-up - I feel it's a lot to ask someone to be in your wedding, to buy an expensive dress they very likely will never wear again, pay to come all the way out, and then on top of that expect them to drop $150 on hair and make-up, so I chose to pay for the hair and make-up for everyone. We had groups of us getting our hair done while some of us got our make-up done, and then just round robined it until we were all done. For our hair, we all chose to have our hair put up. When my mom got married 30 years ago, she had roses and baby's breath in her hair, so even though my parents got divorced last year, I wanted to pay tribute to my family, and have all of us have a few roses and babys breath in our hair as well. I'm going to talk about that a little more in a future post, but I love how it turned out. Our make-up was done by Tierney, and I love how she made everyone just look like the best version of themselves rather than a different person all together.
The boys, on the other hand, were a lot less complicated. We decided to have the boys buy navy suits instead of renting. The groomsmen were also spread literally from coast to coast, so again we couldn't do anything local. CR and I went to Macy's, and had him try on a few different navy suits, picked the one we liked best, and then let the boys know when a good sale came around so they could get a good price on it. We had them wear their own white button ups, cognac belts, and cognac shoes, and then provided them with their ties (The Tie Bar from Nordstrom actually has quite a few great tie options, if you are ever looking for inexpensive ties!). They had a bit more work to do before the wedding at the actually ceremony/reception site, so they got ready there!
After the ceremony come the staged pictures. There are lots more of the individual pictures too, but I love seeing everyone together!
^ these goofballs!
Our flowers bouquets were a mix of peonies, english roses, hydrangeas, baby's breath, and greenery. The girls had slightly smaller versions of my own.
my gorgeous sisters <3
bridesmaid dresses: Azazie
groomsmen suits: Alfani
my dress: Augusta Jones 'Yazmin'
bridal hair: Tru Salon, Pittsford NY
bridal makeup: Makeup by Tierney
florals: Rockcastle Florist
location: Twin Silos
Source: http://www.franishtheblog.com/2018/07/our-wedding-bridal-party.html
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16. Do they collect anything? What do they do with it? Where do they keep it?
Ah love keepin lil trinkets an t'ings ah find on ma adventures, mostly be feathahs, bone, skulls and rocks. But dey jus come ta me by chance. What ah really go out lookin fer are crystals, figurines and potion recipes. Most my collections be back 'ome at Shadowprey. But ah always keep my favorites wit me, especially ma rose quartz figure of Shirvallah. Ah plan on movin some of ma stuff to da Azazi camp. Thank you for the ask!! @leahdarkspear
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out of dragonstones
a fun fact about me is that i genuinely don’t like unfriending and/or blocking anyone. facebook, tumblr, twitter, instagram, you name it. but...something happened that i just heard about a couple hours ago, and it bothered me to no end, which is why i put a “keep reading” right here. (if you don’t wanna read it, it’s fine. i just need someplace to put it down, and here seemed like a good spot to do it. just ignore this post, and have a great rest of your day/evening!)
my cousin was dating a guy, and he proposed to her two years ago on new year’s eve. of course, she said yes. a few weeks later, she called me and asked if i wanted to be a bridesmaid since i used to go over to her house every summer when we were kids. i said yes, and then my parents, older sister, and i met the guy when they came over (my aunt, uncle, and both of my cousins come over every so often, but they live an hour away from my house). my other cousin was spending time with his girlfriend, which was why the guy came with them. he seemed like a nice guy. heck, he even knew about these videos that my cousins & i made and posted on youtube (here’s a link to my cousin’s channel. at the time of this post, the videos i’m talking about are the four most recent ones, starting with “avatar book 4: the revenge of azula.” it became a bit of a tradition to record an episode whenever they come over). he even liked looking at the pictures of my cousins & i that my aunt took.
like i said, he seemed like a nice guy. i added him as a friend on facebook and followed him on instagram, considering he was going to become my cousin-in-law soon. but the more important thing (to me) was that my cousin looked happy, telling me about how their wedding was gonna be outside (in may, of course), that the bridesmaids were gonna have flower crowns, who the other bridesmaids were (a few were her friends, another of my cousins, and her fiancee’s sisters), and the color of the dresses (blush pink). she’d changed her profile pic on her facebook to one of the engagement photos she & her fiancee took together, and, even in that picture, she looked happy.
my lack of a job was starting to make me feel the pressure of buying & picking out my dress from azazie, shoes, jewelry that fit with what she wanted (more delicate jewelry and earrings that weren’t too flashy), the works (plus my other sister telling me about how bridesmaids have to help pay for the bridal shower). my aunt & cousin helped me pick out a dress and paid for it for me next time they came over (without my cousin’s fiancee), relieving a bit of pressure off me. (my cousins & i even recorded another avatar episode.) (also, the dress fit, and it's really pretty. it’s hanging on my bedroom door right now.)
on the group chat my cousin made for me and her other bridesmaids, she mentioned that she was going for her dress fitting, and that was the last i heard from her regarding that. (my mom also sent a picture of me in the dress to my aunt, and she showed it to my cousin. she loved it, of course.)
everything was okay. i was looking forward to going to spend time with my cousin before her wedding day. it was great...
...until yesterday, that is.
yesterday, two hours after i finished my undertale stream, i got a message from my dad (to give you an idea, i’ve started streaming in my room because where i sit is right next to my dad’s mac, and, because of the fact that i started using my laptop mic to record my voice, i decided to move myself upstairs.), telling me that my cousin deleted her facebook page. also that my oldest sister was wondering if my cousin and her fiancee broke up. did i know anything about it?
i didn’t, of course, and i told him that. then he said that, before she deleted it, she changed her profile pic from the one of her and her fiancee to the one she had before, that she had my other cousin take of her standing in a flower patch close to my house. i checked his facebook and saw his lack of a relationship status, but he still had a picture of their engagement in his life events. my cousin’s instagram, however, was a whole different story, as there were no pictures of them together at all.
since, at that point, we didn’t know anything, we decided that we’d wait until my aunt told us something. and, while we were eating tonight, she called.
she said that he was being secretive about things, like his finances, and he didn’t act like he was getting married in two months. he was more focused on his hobbies, and my cousin was trying to help him get a job to be able to support their possible family. and he was a completely different person. he dropped her off at her house and didn’t watch her to make sure she got back ok.
they did end up going to counseling for a bit with another couple, but he ended up breaking up with her. (he even tried breaking up with her over the phone.)
she was heartbroken. my aunt took off just to comfort her and help her through it (she went though the same thing before she met & married my uncle, except her ex was abusive). it got to the point where she was worried that she’d have to take her to the er. they ended up canceling the wedding & the reservations for where the reception was gonna take place, along with refunding everyone (except me) what they paid for the dresses. and a friend of my cousin’s from church said that they should send a bill to the guy just to show him what they paid to make the wedding possible.
the silver lining to this is that she didn’t find out about all this after they were married and she was pregnant.
which is why i need to unfriend, unfollow, and block him on facebook and instagram. because my cousin’s gonna come back to facebook, and i don’t wanna remind her of all that.
#🐉 : ☾ out of dragonstones ☽ 🐉#( unfriending is hardd )#( but the guy deserves it )#( seriously )#tw: heartbreak#( i didn't get mine broken but it sure felt like it when i heard about it )#( it still hurts me when i'm typing this. )#( i want to hug her but she lives an hour away )#( can't wait to see her so i CAN hug her )#tw: abuse#( it's only mentioned but i figured i should tag it anyway )
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