I’d done some research about fans for my column over on Examiner.com (you can find this by scrolling down and checking out the right hand column). I’d started thinking about fans as some­thing to carry at winter weddings when flowers are, shall we say, scarce!

There are lots of fun things to do with fans. Victo­rian women (of the leisure class, which would leave a lot of us without a feather to flutter) had an entire language of fans. It doesn’t seem like a bad idea to exca­vate some of the language of flir­ta­tion to start having more fun in your play life with your partner.

I’d seen some fairly jeweled and orna­mental fans and admired them. But now I’m totally in love. Isn’t this gorgeous? Wouldn’t it have looked fabu­lous against my black velvet wedding dress? How about against your white satin one? Flowers, they’re so summer!

Tip: Go ahead and play at your wedding. Look your best and have a good time.

So what’s with the broom and witches? And what’s with the broom and weddings?

So glad you asked! Brooms and witches, today, brooms and hearths tomorrow.

In certain wedding tradi­tions, women wielding brooms walk before the wedding couple, brushing obsta­cles from their paths. They were often elders in the village, women who knew how to ease the stones away without creating a large amount of dust.

Tip: Why not have a wisdom shower? Ask your brides­maids (or go ahead and do it your­self) to ask all the women over 50 to give you advice about marriage, creating a home, being a great woman. It’s a book you’ll trea­sure forever.