love-cc - pixabayI am getting married this weekend. After almost four years together, the Beloved and I are finally tying the knot. We are keeping things simple, small and casual, just as our lives are. I think more people are doing that these days. But it’s been challenging sometimes to butt up against the ways of our more traditional parents.

How does Love 2.0 look these days? Here are some examples of where we have thrown tradition aside and gone our own way.

1) So Long, Housewares Gift Card

My mother’s oldest friends gave us a very generous gift card to a housewares store. We don’t need housewares. But once we got there, we discovered that this housewares store has a kiosk of gift cards for other stores. I was sure they wouldn’t let us use their gift card to buy these. But lo, they did. We spent $15 on a bath mat we actually did need, and swapped the rest for a gift card to Indigo. As a further sign from the techie gods that this was meant to be, I learned a day later that you can use Indigo gift cards on eBooks now, and earn reward points for them. Score!

2) Au Revoir, Guest Book!

For most wedding extras, I had no option. I told the hotel’s coordinator to putout whatever flowers were most popular, and in lieu of party favours, we are treating our guests to brunch on the way back to the city. But I did feel strongly about having a wedding souvenir, and I wanted something a little more meaningful than a paper guest book.

I also wanted a way to involve a special young relative in the festivities. One of our joint pastimes is Lego, and when I saw the new Lego Pencil Pot set, which combines a functional pencil holder with a classic house design, I knew we had a winner. We’re having each of our guests sign one of the Lego bricks, and we’ll use them to build the house together. We even picked up a child Minifig off eBay for our little friend to add when he helps us.

It will be a lot more functional than a book, and is a very ‘us’ souvenir that I hope we will all enjoy together in years to come.

3) A Techie Gift Haul

In addition to our Indigo gift card, we got some other eBook-related gifts: an Amazon gift card from my sister and a Fire tablet, on its way shortly from my publisher and long-time friend David Rothman. Review coming later this month!

(Publisher’s note: Congrats, Joanna! Alas, the $50 Fire is backordered and unavailable from Amazon until late in the month. But, yes, one will soon be yours. Mazel tov, and enjoy your new tablet! – D.R.)

File photo from Pixaday. CC licensed.

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"I’m a journalist, a teacher and an e-book fiend. I work as a French teacher at a K-3 private school. I use drama, music, puppets, props and all manner of tech in my job, and I love it. I enjoy moving between all the classes and having a relationship with each child in the school. Kids are hilarious, and I enjoy watching them grow and learn. My current device of choice for reading is my Amazon Kindle Touch, but I have owned or used devices by Sony, Kobo, Aluratek and others. I also read on my tablet devices using the Kindle app, and I enjoy synching between them, so that I’m always up to date no matter where I am or what I have with me."

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