Fun fact- it took me two years to learn how to spell hors d’ouevres back in my wedding reception days. It was only after staring at a post it stuck on my computer monitor nearly every day for a significant amount of time, that it finally clicked. I still remember ceremoniously tossing said post-it into the recycling bin. Fancy French words- 207, Me- 1.
Recently, I celebrated another spelling “win” when I realized that I had just written Croquembouche without blinking an eye. I declared my victory on Facebook to find out that I’m not the only one pining away for a wedding word dictionary.
While a huge proponent for good writing, I’ve finally faced the facts. I will just always have an endless parade of post its on my computer monitor. So without further ado, my informal, wildly unofficial list of the most misspelled wedding words in my office the world.
10. Officiant. The good people over at Microsoft in the spell check department have led me to believe that Officiant is not a word, so its earned a spot on my list. I look forward to one day figuring out the alternative.
9. Same goes for Videographer. You’ve won this round Bill Gates- I’ve officially jumped on the Cinematographer bandwagon in part to avoid the red squiggle lines on my Word documents.
8. Birdcage Veil- Where you see two words, I see three. My only option is to hope the trend will decline to spare me further embarrassment.
7. Stationery vs. Stationary– Admittedly, I do get this correct thanks to the ongoing threats from my stationery clients.
6. Monogrammed– Not sure why it’s such an issue for me, but it is. 🙂
5. Beurre Blanc, Vin Blanc– well any Blanc really. Every time Chef would change up our banquet menus, I found myself breezing through the kitchen for a quick pronunciation tutorial prior to each and every tasting.
4. Coq au vin– See #5
3. Fiancée– In this case, it’s less about the spelling and more about where to put the accent.
2. Christian Louboutin– While this has become a problem for me more so now in the wedding pr world, it’s still a head scratcher. I’m considering an experiment to see if it would be easier to spell it I actually committed to owning several pairs.
1. Boutonniere. There are some things that are a constant in my life. I will always post photos of my cats on Instagram. I will never like chicken pot pie. And above all, I will never spell boutonniere correctly on the first try, no matter how many post-its I buy.
So there you have it- ten reasons to keep the Spell Check Department in business. Did I miss anything? Gently remind you of your own tendency to confuse accents? Feel free to share in the comments below.
Meghan Ely is the owner of wedding marketing and wedding pr firm OFD Consulting. She is the exclusive wedding pr columnist to wedding marketing journal WedLock magazine and is a highly sought after speaker in the wedding industry. She loves ruffle table runners and Royal Wedding Tchotchkes. To learn how OFD Consulting can assist you with your wedding marketing and wedding pr, please contact us today.
Photo credit: Orange Wedding Tour, Meghan McSweeney Photography
