Archive for March, 2010

Sleeves, In Spades

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

All right, so the sleeves on these Christian Lacroix for Rosa Clara wedding dresses may not be all that long, but they certainly are wide!

Christian Lacroix Rosa Clara

Funny thing – I’m not sold on big sleeves (though I’ll fight to the death for your right to wear them) but I do like a wedding dress that’s rather reminiscent of the 1930s, yet not mired in them. Maybe it’s the materials? Muslin, organza, crepeline and lace meet fine stones and mother-of-pearl pailletes, turning out a luxurious and still oddly down-to-earth set of wedding dresses.

What do you think? The 80s are back with a vengeance, so why not the sleeves that were in some ways their signature?

Can’t Afford a Vera Wang Gown – There’s Always Vera Wang for the Sweetheart Table

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Vera Wang has her little fingers in everything from “home fashion” to paper to flowers (thanks to FTD) and even mattresses, so it should come as no surprise that she has her own line of wedding ceremony accessories. Her Love Knots collection is, apparently, “a pattern that exemplifies the femininity of a bride, as well the artistry of the designer.” Er, thanks for telling me because I wouldn’t have noticed the artistry otherwise!.

Vera Wang Love Knots Bud Vase SetVera Wang Love Knots 5x5 Wedding Frame
Vera Wang Love Knots Kissing BellVera Wang With Love Cake Knife & Server Set
Vera Wang With Love Toasting FlutesVera Wang Love Knots Photo Album

Ho hum. It’s all right as silver and silverplate go, but I’m not enthralled. For those brides who are, there are picture frames and toasting flutes and kissing bells, all featuring what Wedgwood calls the “unmistakeable Vera Wang solution.” To what problem, I certainly do not know.

Taking the Plunge

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

There are lots of beautiful save-the-date cards on the market, but have you considered making your own (with the help, perhaps, of a professional photographer)? A certain Miller sent me a link to an amazing and inspiring underwater engagement portrait session that became an amazing set of save-the-date cards.

unique save-the-date wedding

The talented Kelty of Steep Street in Portland took these sweet pics of Jeff and Stacey “taking the plunge.” I have a thing about getting water in my nose, so I don’t know that I’d attempt to replicate these awesome photos (of which you can see more here) but they’re a great jumping off point oooh punny if you’re part of a pair thinking about doing something out of the ordinary for your engagement portraits or save-the-date cards.

Or do you think this sort of thing is just a bit too “oh em gee, look at how awesome we are”?

Peacock – It’s More Than Just a Color

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Peacocks are fascinatingly beautiful birds, so it’s no wonder that some brides take their color inspiration from that amazing plumage. But you could go that extra mile and make peacocks your wedding theme, especially if you have no problems using feathers as decor (which some folks do). To me, the most obvious place to use peacock feathers is in the bridal bouquet and bridesmaids’ bouquets, but floral arrangements aren’t the only place they look stunning.

Peacock-Bouquet rde

Peacock feathers also look lovely in boutonnieres, where their size means they play a starring role, and in reception table centerpieces. There are plenty of peacock wedding cake designs to be found via GIS, though a talented cake designer would be able to invent one just for you. Peacock feathers could be woven into the flower garlands decorating the ceremony space, or used in other ways to enhance an otherwise blah space, or oR OR…

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Designed For a Man… But Worn By a Woman

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

My good friend and compatriot Fabrisse pointed out an interesting article in the Washington Post to me the other day that got me thinking. It discusses the plight of women who want to marry in nice formalwear, but dress in men’s clothing. One woman featured in the article refers to herself as ‘the Ellen’ in the relationship.

These women don’t need or want big white strapless dresses, but they also don’t want kicky white minis or ladylike pantsuits. They want tuxes. They want quality suits.

Most of these woman already shop in menswear stores and departments. the problem was that most of them felt cut off from a community. They found their own solutions in whatever way they could, but without much support.

This situation frustrated Susan Hess so much that she created a site called DapperQ to help other menswear-wearing women meet (at least in the virtual world) to discuss experiences, trade tips, rate retailers, and generally create that community.

If you’re a woman looking to wear a more masculine look for your wedding (or in everyday life), this could be a great resource for you.

After all, not every girl dreams of a big white dress for her wedding. Some girls dream of marrying a girl in a big white dress.
Bow Tie

Twistie’s Sunday Caption Madness: The Er… Um Edition: The Result

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Howdy all!

Last week I haunted your nightmares with this… very special image:
ostentatious
You retaliated with four fabulous captions for it.

In the end, though, there can be but one winner. This week it’s the superfantastic gemdiva for this sadly appropriate effort:

It was a gift from my mother-in-law and she insisted I wear it to the christening. And people wonder why I have post-partem depression.

Congratulations, gemdiva! And thanks to everyone who played.

Wedding Websites – No One Has to Click Them, Right?

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Once upon a time, the bride and the groom might have their own wedding website if they were web designers, wanted to cough up the dough to have someone design a wedding website for them, or they were content to muck about with a free website that wasn’t wedding-themed, but got the job done. Then came the low-cost customized wedding websites and the free (but still pretty good) wedding websites, and it wasn’t long before having a wedding website wasn’t a novelty, but something every bride and groom ought to do if they love their guests even a little bit.

Full disclosure: I made a wedding website for myself and The Beard, and I wish I could link to it but it’s nowhere to be found. We tossed up a few pics, our non-registry info, directions, and info about hotels, and then we made up a very silly how-we-met story that had people raising their eyebrows. We did not post pictures of ourselves from infancy or give lengthy bios of our wedding party or way too much personal information a la those wacky Christmas letters that let one and all know that Jimmy won his school spelling bee championship!

free wedding websites

Would Double X’s Noreen Malone have approved of our wedding website? Doubtful, considering she simply cannot stand the things.

My roommate and I spent a solid hour on the couch one evening discussing a wedding Web site we’d been sent. The people getting married were strangers, but that didn’t stop me from forwarding it to a friend or two I thought might get a kick out of it. In the months preceding their marriage you can watch the Flash slide show that explains how [Jane and Tim] met while rooting for opposing teams during a Yankees-Red Sox game as many times as you want. But that’s only if you tire of the video showing Jane and Tim lovingly washing their dog, Mr. Snuffles.

Jane and Tim have chosen to color their special story various shades of soft green, with tan accents of faux ribbons, shadowed floral flourishes, and a highly stylized fake script font. The vibe is perhaps meant to be “classy,” but it’s very hard to achieve an understated aesthetic when the message you most want to telegraph is LOOK AT ME. The main page features a black-and-white shot of Tim adoring Jane while she reciprocates with the upturned chin angle that telegraphs true, moony love, taken during the couple’s (extensive) engagement photo shoot. Visitors can choose one of several unrecognizable soft-rock songs while they browse (but no mute button option). There are a grand total of 651 pictures featured—from baby photos to Solo-cup-filled college dorm-room shots to shots of their four—count ’em—engagement parties.

Instead of being tasteful, utilitarian affairs, these sites inevitably turn into showcases for unbridled narcissism—and open the couple up to a great deal of mockery from friends and strangers alike.

Do you agree? Have you created your own wedding website or paid someone to create it for you? As for my opinion, I think they can be a tad annoying when overdone — autoplay music doesn’t belong anywhere, and I do hope that if I’m attending your wedding I at least have some notion of how you and your intended met — and there are plenty of other ways to find out where a venue is… hello, Google Maps! Still, if your wedding website sucks (which I’m sure none of yours do, natch) then all I have to do is close Firefox and never visit your URL again.