Grab bag

Hey there! Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. (How can it already seem like a distant memory?) I had a whirlwind trip to NYC for my friend's 30th and learned there are some amazing perks to knowing someone who is a sommelier. I have also learned that staying out to 4 am and drinking like you're on shore leave is not something you can just jump back into. :)

Things have been pretty cold and gray up in the Northeast which has been unfortunately reflecting pretty closely to how things have been going for me this past week (friend's birthday excluded) so I'm going to keep it simple and try and turn things around with clearing up all the things I've been saving on my desktop.

First, a gorgeous new font, Memoriam by Canada Type:All my loving, indeed. I'm always looking for scripty fonts that won't make people gag on wedding invitations (cough *scriptina* cough) and this definitely fits the bill.

Secondly I came across this surprise wedding on Studio7 (wedding photography). That's right. A SURPRISE wedding. The couple invited all their friends over for an "engagement party" and little did they know when they got there it was the actual wedding.

(photos by Studio7 Photography)

The photographers caught each of the bridesmaids reactions as they saw the bride in her wedding dress (I love the girl on the bottom left!) and apparently the brides brother told the rest of the guests that "the engagement had been called off... [dramatic pause].. because they're getting married tonight!" Talk about dialing it up to 11!

The next wedding I've had saved was found on Snippet and Ink and was planned by Alison Events. Growing up I started dance in Pre-K and continued to my senior year, was tech crew in Middle School for the musicals (I had auditioned but never got in to any of them but all my friends were in it so I still wanted to be apart of it*) and then in high school was in all 8 shows offered over the 4 years, and then 2 more shows in college so I think it's safe to say I liked the stage experience. So when I saw this wedding had taken place in a small club with the ceremony on stage, you know I was all over it.

(Above three photos by Adi Nevo)

The guys wore pinstripes and fedora, there was a slight Mexican vibe throughout complete with tequila shot and Pacifico waiting to the guests at their seats, a swing dance lesson before the dancing got started and the Mood Swing Orchestra for people to practice their new skills to all night long. I can't tell you how many of my friends from high school this would be perfect for.

Wow, my desktop is overcrowded. I still have 3 more random photos but I think those will wait until Monday. Have a great weekend!

Everyone who NEEDS this Memorial Day vaca-- please raise your hands.

(Don't you just love Anne Taintor? We wanted have her magnets as shower favors but they were a little too much for us in the end. Le sigh.)
Well I am totally looking forward to having a couple of days off. My friend is having her 30th birthday party! YAY! This year both of my bridesmaids are turning 30 and my Mom is turning 60. Holy f-ing party planning, I know.

But that's not why I decided to blog today. (Unless you have some good ideas what I should wear to NYC this weekend- if so- abandon the rest of the post and email me, you can go back and read it later). I've always wondered where people who want a unique wedding dress go if they don't know a tailor or seamstress... well, you can go to shopflick and get this beauty from Mr. Larkin.

Or you can get this for everyone you know from the Beard Head Store:

Aren't choices grand?

In the immortal words of Lil John...

I was cruising through Mighty Good blog on google reader when I happen to come across these little darlings:
And since this wedding season I actually have weddings to go to I was like maybe I'll spluge and get me some new shoes. Now let me note that I am not a shoe person. I currently wear my JUNIOR PROM SHOES to fancy events. Yes, over 12 year old shoes. I have really bad ankles and really sensitive feet so most of the time shoes shred my feet to blister covered ribbons then I trip and sprain my ankle (TMI? Sorry) so when I find something that mostly works-- I stick with it. But these are cute. They appear to be made out of some sort of cotton derivative not pleather or barbed wire (which I feel must be a secret ingredient in other shoes). So I figure-- totally J. Crew. I'm totally going to blow like $80* on these shoes but then I'll have cute colorful shoes so shut up little cheap-o voice in my head!

Click on the link from Mighty Goods, scan to see where I can get me some...

PAYLESS?!?!

WHAT?!? YEAAAAAAH!!!



I also like these which are on sale for $14.99!! They have a little bling which I'm usually not 100% down with on shoes but if anyone gets that close to my shoe I probably don't care what they think.









And these for $12.99!!! THIRTEEN DOLLARS!!! Basically for the price of a burrito, chips and guac you can get darling little shoes. And they come in 4 different colors so you can get orange shoes if you want and not worry that you have something it'll work with.





*Ok this is where my friend emails me and says "Awww you're adorable. You think nice shoes only cost $80. Try $180." but I write $80 because $80 is the way upper echelon of how much I would pay for the shoes pictured. Err... well probably any shoe provided it was off the shelf and not crafted by lechrechauns for me. Then I'd be willing to pay $140. Or pay them with thimbles of whiskey! Muahahaha!**

**Yeah so at this point I should mention that I had really weird dreams last night that included a Prince video with complete choreography that I'm pretty sure doesn't exist and my dog talking to me like the puppies in Air Bud so there may be some lingering effects... but the shoes aren't one of them!

Their labor of love

On Thursday last week when I was gearing up for the Harry Potter trials, I found myself staring at that very last Harry Potter in the hizzouse inspired picture from Once Wed, and decided that I MUSTMUSTMUST find out more about it. To the left is the picture in question again so you don't have to go clicking around.

The picture is the combined efforts of Joy Thigpen, who has some lovely close ups of the above table as well as fabulous inspiration boards, and Our Labor of Love photography which you are just going to have to go take a look at after this. There's just no other way around it. Becaaaause, in addition to having awesome (what's one step above awesome? ahh yes, of course, thank you townsfolk) wicked friggin' awesome photos, you can totally spy on other weddings and use it as a giant inspiration board for yourself!


Like... maybe rethink the ban on line/group dances at the reception...


Or realize you don't need to grow your hair out for your wedding when this short to medium 'do looks so great (and thank you for the overhead shot so it will be that much easier to show the hairdresser!)...

Or find the perfect way to coordinate your bridesmaids in the winter without demanding jacket styles (the salmon colored wraps)...

Hello? Flowers? Get your printer and your pointing finger out! I want that, that and that.

Or need something crazy gorgeous that you probably wouldn't have thought of yourself? LIKE UPSIDE DOWN FLOWER CHANDELIER THING-A-MA-BOBS?!? Yes, please.ALL PHOTOS BY OUR LABOR OF LOVE

BRIDE BEWARE THOUGH-- WARNING WARNING-- if you click on the link that says "Smilebooth" on their blog, any holdout feelings on whether or not to do the whole photo booth thang at the wedding will be crushed. Obliterated. You will neeeeeed a photo booth. You'll give up the schmancy shoes just to get a photo booth. You'll wonder how you can start incorporating it into your non-wedding-related life. And finally, you'll want to work at Google because they apparently throw kick ass parties for their employees.

Distressed without the 100 year wait

My friend, R., of Harry Potter in the hizzouse fame, asked me the other day if I knew about any ways to distress wedding invitations and- shockingly- I kind of did. Two Christmases ago my husband and I got his niece and nephew Watson Scavenger Hunt tickets (which are awesome and in many cities in case you're wondering) so I decided to make it a scavenger hunt to find the tickets. I got a little overboard and found myself in the kitchen with a lighter try to figure out how much is too much singed edges and trying to find things to stain the clues.

This is not quite a tutorial since you'll still have to play around with the technique but here are the results from my first trial.

(before left; after right)

Staining with Tea
I first started with a brewed tea bag concentrating on the corners and let that sink in for about 5 minutes, and gently blotted areas that pooled too much in the center over the text with a paper towel.

To keep the staining to the corners I perched the invitation over the paper towel and let that sit. Play with this time to see how much it will stain the corners.

This was probably the best idea from the new trials. I was trying to find a way to singe the edges without lighting it on fire because that tends to streaks of ash across the front and would definitely leave ash all of the envelope. I used the flat iron when the invitation was only slightly damp but if you do a slow fanning motion you can create a stiff curl (kind of like you would if you were flipping your hair).

So here's the before and after again. It's not a style for everyone but it's nice parchment-y look.

I printed several test versions so I can keep on experimenting. I'm thinking Coke maybe the next trial since it would stain and not smell (like coffee would).

And, yes, it's a Harry Potter invite. I did it quickly for something to test with but... I'm liking it. A lot. So you'll definitely see more of it in the future.

(The paper used was Paper Source Luxe Cream Cover. I also tried their Opal Cover which had a nice sparkle to it but the tea just beaded off.)

April Showers, where are my May flowers?

In the Northeast we had a peak of sunny weather in the end of April. Just enough to haul out the grill and the lawn chairs and it's been dreary and rainy ever since. But at least it's about 50 degrees.

I think I've mentioned before that when I went to go pick out my wedding flowers I could name four (roses/irises, which I don't like and peonies/rananculus which were both out of season) and dislike both. Thankfully my florist had a stack of books and I went through and pointed.

Since then I've been getting my flower education slowly by surely through yoga. Strange, I know, but one of the women in my classes, Jeri Solomon, is a the owner of Jeri Solomon Floral Design and brings new arrangements every week and for all of us not quite in the know, leave a small card explaining what is what. I can now spot forsythia in yards in the neighborhood. Today we had lovely hyacinths (which I originally thought were lilacs but hey- they're pretty close- get off my back). :)


Jeri was a featured floral designer for Bloomingdale's Registry in April and I have some gorgeous pictures that might help you forget gray skies for a bit.




I really can't decide which one I like best. The first one is so vibrant and I love the textures but the second one had such elegant structure to it and the pop of the yellow against the black vase in the third one is so snappy. Now I suppose the real challenge now would be if I could say what everything is. I'm seeing orchids in all. Calla lilies in the last two. And I'm 80% sure those are gerber daisies in the last one. But then again, you could always just point and say "I like THAT one."

If you're in the Northeast definitely check out Jeri Solomon Floral Design. She creates gorgeous arrangements for weddings, corporate events, social events, and even if you just need to impress your guests with a kick ass arrangement in your house. And when I find a new spectacular flower from her yoga arrangements- I'll be sure to let you know.

Dum dum da dum

So my searches of all things wedding from around the (english-speaking) world was kind of a bust. There is no foreign Martha Stewart that we just don't know about. The British, Scottish and Irish wedding magazine sites were pretty close to ours but in the sense it had links to vendors but no expansive image galleries.

I did find this though:

PRELUDE
1. Hayden Symphony No. 100 in G Major, South German Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor, Alexander Von Pitamic
2. Bach Air on the G String, The Hamburg Orchestra. Conductor, Robert Stehli

PROCESSIONAL
1. Wagner Wedding March from Lohengrin, The Hamburg Symphony Orchestra. Conductor, Hans-Jurgen Walther
2. Clake Trumpet Voluntary, Philharmonica Slavonica. Conductor, Alfred Scholz
3.Handel Music for the Royal Fireworks, The Munich Symphony Orcestra. Conductor, Albert Lizzio

SIGNING THE REGISTER
1. Shubert Ave Maria, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor, James Fitzpatrick. Soprano, Charlotte Kinder
2. Pachelbel Canon in D, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor, James Fitzpatrick

RECESSIONAL
1. Mendelssohn Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Philharmonica Slavonica. Conductor, Alberto Lizzio
2. Handel Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, Salzburg Chamber Soloists
3. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, Philharmonica Slavonica. Conductor, Henry Adolph

I'm not sure if they have this on the US version of Brides but to have samples of those to listen to those before would have been VERY helpful. For my wedding, the organist played samples for my Mom and I and we were like "umm, the first one I think".

I still don't know what we used. All I know is that I walked down the aisle to the same thing as Princess Di. That's how I was sold on that from the organist. Princess music? Yes, please.

The Queen's English

In the post-Domino decor blog world (which sounds like it should be small but isn't) I feel like people have started gravitating to a couple of cool magazines from Australia like Real Living Magazine. This prompted a quick search to places that I thought would have similarly new and fresh wedding magazines. My first thought was Brazil (all those colors! all the culture!) but, oh right, I don't speak Portuguese. So back to those who speak English and specifically the Aussies and I found this:They have a nice blog and you can buy issues online (both digital $11.95 AUD [$8.68 USD] or printed $14.95 [$10.86]) if you don't feel like jetting around the world for a magazine but what I thought was best was they have a big ole free downloads section!


They're most idea for bridal shower (other various pre-wedding shindigs) and favors which is great because I feel like those are aspects of the wedding where you stop and think "Wait, THERE'S MORE PLANNING?!!?"

I'm liking this new theme at the moment so I'm off to find more across the pond (or WAY across) inspiration!