Guest Post by Bonnie, My Sister

How Sister(s) Can Help in Planning an Elopement! 

I am in the process of planning an amazing elopement to New Orleans at the end of March 2014. My sister, Laura Flippin, is going to be a witness and has helped me immensely with the planning. It is so great to have an older sister like Laura to help me along with this process. I can’t imagine getting married and not having a sister to help.

Awesome Ways my Sister Laura Flippin Helped me Plan my Elopement/Wedding:

• ·      My sister Laura reassured me it was ok to elope and fully supported my decision.

• ·      My sister is a great planner and through all her travels Laura has mastered the art of acquiring and spending frequent flyer miles. She was so kind and bought my fiancé and I first class tickets to New Orleans for our wedding.

• ·      Dress Advice – I had to get my sister’s approval on my dresses! She talked me into buying two dresses. One for the wedding ceremony and a shorter dress to enjoy walking around New Orleans following the wedding.  

• ·      Laura is going to take responsibility for getting my dress, shoes, etc. to New Orleans safely (she is shipping them to her boyfriend in Birmingham AL, and then will fly in there and drive the items to New Orleans – You can’t buy that type of service!)

• ·      I won’t need a purse! My sister will be with me all day on my wedding day traipsing through New Orleans and she said she’d carry all my stuff for me!

• ·      Laura (and her boyfriend) are picking my after wedding brunch spot and dinner spot. (There are simply too many choices in New Orleans and I found the whole idea of picking a dinner and brunch venue overwhelming)

• ·      Hair stylist! My sister called her friend that went to school down south and got a recommendation for the top hairstylist in New Orleans!

• ·      Getting ready! All girls need a second hand getting ready for the big day whether it’s a friend or sister. This is a must!

• ·      She’s bringing her boyfriend. This means my fiancé will have someone to hang out with and something to do, while us girls get ready. 

• ·      Last minute Emergency – I’m hoping I won’t have one but you just never know, and if I do I know my sister Laura will be there to help!

I’m lucky to have a great older sister like Laura Flippin who can be both my moral support (Just in case I turn into Bridezilla and have some sort of meltdown) or practical support, like carrying my purse so I can dance in the streets of New Orleans!

Love you Laura, thanks for all your support!

Thank you Bonnie. I am so lucky to have a sister like you! 

Casablanca

One of my all time favorite movies is Casablanca. I don't think any other classical movie has the same qualities as this one. It’s known for the stars, the story and famous lines, but also something more.  Humphrey Bogart plays his first romantic leading role as Rick Blaine- a character who finds himself faced with a choice between love and virtue. Ingrid Bergman’s role as Ilsa Lund has been described as luminous, and has been referred to as her most famous and enduring role.  This was her first major success. Paul Henreid, an immigrant form Austria, plays Isla’s husband, Victor Laszlo.  While the movie depicts two common human emotions both of love and something greater than love such as integrity for one’s country, the movie is also very much about a place of transit to try and escape the brutality of the Nazi regime.  The movie portrays historical events because it was shot during World War II (and released in 1942).

There are a few reasons that Casablanca is different to typical Hollywood movies. There is not a happy ending, or at least a predictable ending.  The main character does not choose the love of his life.  He chooses to give up spending the rest of his life with Isla to fight for the liberty of his nation.  Second, the movie does not follow a typical plot line.  Rather than an initial undisturbed situation followed by a climax and return to a stable state, the movie changes from equilibrium to disequilibrium to a new equilibrium.   The new equilibrium is almost like acceptance of unrest.  The move ends remaining in chaos, as the war continues and most of the European refugees do not reach America.  Casablanca depicts the world during wartime because in reality, it was.  The movie takes place in Morocco and represents Morocco as a messy, wild, unsafe place.  In fact, the movie is historically inaccurate because it fails to include Morocco’s resistance against the French colonizer.  The failure of including Morocco’s identity, the plot line of the movie, and the final resolution, or lack of resolutions, combine to create a truly unique film, Casablanca.