Time for more love! One thing I love is cake that doesn’t have to be baked, never goes bad, and comes in any color you can think of.
Trish of DAiSYS & dots will whip you up a cake’s worth of wedge shaped boxes that you can fill with whatever treats you want. You can give them to your guests as favors OR skip the cake altogether if it’s not your thing and serve up a a tiered candy dessert instead. Yum!
It’s going to be a light week here at MftB because I am, as I write this, in Spokane, WA visiting with my lovely MIL. I thought that for the next few days, in honor of the woman who birthed The Beard and the fact that my computer is thousands of miles from here, I’d do away with the hate and just stick with the love. Planning a wedding usually involves buying at least a little something — e.g., a cute birdcage veil or a new pair of earrings — so why not make it a special little something?
I’m a big fan of Asian inspired reception decor and favors — everything above comes from Social Couture, but (HINT! HINT!) the look can be replicated easily and inexpensively with accessories from the craft store, eBay, the Oriental Trading Company, and Amazon.
You can start with the paper lanterns!
When you think of your wedding, chances are you can see a pretty good idea of the clothes you want to wear, whom you want to stand at your side, whether the crowd is large or small…but where do you see it happening?
For some of us, it’s easy to know where to go once we’ve said ‘yes’ because we’ve dreamed of it all our lives. Some couples are members of a particular church or religious community that will serve as the backdrop for their big day. Others have some very specific sort of location in mind. For me it was redwoods. I’m not even that outdoorsy a person, but when I was seven I went to my first non-church wedding. It was held in a redwood grove, and from that day forward I knew that was precisely what I wanted when I got married. A few years before Mr. Twistie and I tied the knot, my brother and his lady found a perfect spot for their wedding, which just happened to be a redwood grove with amenities. I knew it was where I would go when the time came. Others may have the luck that our own NtB had to have a piece of family property that meets their needs and desires, and even comes free.
Most brides and grooms, however, don’t have a convenient place all picked out in advance. They may not belong to a church – or even a religion. They haven’t seen the perfect place when a friend or family member chose it. The only property their families own between them are a double-wide and two small ranch houses on cramped lots that won’t hold the guest list.
So how do you pick a wedding venue when you don’t already have one in mind?
I’m a big fan of the comic strip Sylvia. Have been for yonks. In the interest of blowing off steam for our soon-to-be brides, I thought I’d share a couple that have amused me in the past week having to do with weddings:
It’s not at all uncommon for wedding planning to include a little envy and a little oneupmanship. You want to wear a gown just like the one Gwen Stefani wore. Your sister had a sundae bar so you want a gelato station. And you just know everyone is going to love the favors you’ve chosen. There’s nothing wrong with thoughts and feelings of that ilk.
Nothing wrong, that is, until you start making decisions driven by the peer pressure that seems to be omnipresent in the world of weddings. When you stop thinking in terms of “I WANT to do this” and start thinking in terms of “I HAVE to do this,” there may very well be heartbreak on your horizon. It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to keep up with the Mr. and Mrs. Joneses or trying to appease pushy relatives — bowing to nuptial peer pressure often means having the wedding other people want instead of the wedding you want.
Where does the pressure usually come from? There’s media pressure, for one. Magazines, television shows, and the ladies who love them will all be quick to share these “facts” with you.
Brrr! Did summer transition into autumn overnight while I slept, because it’s suddenly cold here in the northeast. I’m talking sweater weather and beyond. Yesterday, I wore a jacket for the first time in forever. I feel like it won’t be long until I’m breaking out the beautiful vintage gloves my MIL gave to me. Not having been made for it, I dread winter — only the love of The Beard has kept me in this place that once a year becomes a frozen wasteland.
The only nice thing about winter, in my opinion, is that one has a chance to buy new jackets, hats, gloves, and other cold weather accessories. If one is scheduled to be a wintertime bride, there’s a whole range of bridal accessories most of us never even think about. Take, for example, the fur muff, a very old fashioned sort of accessory once made of minks or bunnies but more often crafted from Muppet skins nowadays.
To wear a muff to keep the cold at bay isn’t so unusual, but a handful of brides opt to carry one in place of a bouquet. Some even have their florists affix flowers to the muff itself. I’ve read that they are more popular in Europe than they are in the States, but I haven’t known enough European brides to confirm that assertion. What I do know is that the bride who chooses to carry a muff is generally either into the whole wintertime look (think fur-lined hooded cape) or into the whole vintage look (think pillbox hat). Then again, maybe her hands just get cold.
Me? I love ’em, but I have a soft spot for them because I had two fur muffs as a child and I think they keep the fingers much warmer than do gloves. What say you? Cute or totally lame?
By the way, do yourself a favor and don’t do a Google image search for bridal muff with Safesearch off.
Oh, I always knew Betsey Johnson was off her rocker. Shoes with earrings? Come on! But while I can almost imagine a situation in which one might choose to wear a yellow prairie dress with a dropped hoop paired with a black bowler hat a la her Spring 2009 ready-to-wear collection, I simply cannot envision the bride who would opt for either of these.
If, however, either of the above frocks is your dream dress, I advise you to browse Amazon, where you can find a similar (if slightly more modest) piece of clothing for a mere $34.95.
