The other day I was sitting back watching a marathon of Amsale Girls, when one of the customers in the shop said something I found sort of sad. She said she didn’t look like a bride.
Why not? Well, she was a prison guard and of a solid, muscular build. She assumed that all brides are thin, younger, office workers. No, really, that’s what she said.
But it isn’t the truth.
Any woman who is getting married is a bride. It doesn’t matter if she’s tall:
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Pop-up weddings, a celebration of FINALLY getting there!
For those who happen to be in New York City tomorrow and want a first-hand look at the happiness marriage equality can bring should head over to Merchant’s Gate in Central Park between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.. There you’ll find the Pop Up Chapel, which will host 24 elegant and customized weddings with help from the wedding experts at The Knot. What’s the Pop Up Chapel all about? According to the website:
“Our goal was to provide beautiful weddings that reflect the importance of the commitment our couples are making while providing a symbol of marriage equality for the entire city to celebrate.”
The Pop Up Chapel – two chapels, in fact – is providing a legal officiant, wedding photographer, ceremony decorations, and refreshments for the 24 lucky couples who reserved spots early (and their allotted 12 wedding guests), while the event itself will benefit charities that support LGBTQI youth. How did it all come together so fast? Volunteers, donations, planning experts, and a contest that asked architects to submit design entries for the 8 feet by 8 feet mini-altars that the winner will get funds to build. That’s how.
“This is basically wedding planning on steroids,†Carley Roney, Pop Up Chapel organizer, told the Times.
As for how you can get a look at this fun, spontaneous, and joyful nuptial event, the answer is respectfully. Spectators are welcome, the organizers of the Pop Up Chapel ask that they stick to designated areas. These are people’s weddings, after all!
All right, my lovelies, I cannot even begin to describe how fantastic this is. When a friend first passed it on to me, I assumed it was just a video made to look like a wedding. But no, as it turns out, there is – or was, since the video isn’t new – a company called LOCKDOWN that billed itself as specializing in wedding lip sync videos featuring brides and grooms and wedding parties and guests all participating. Have a look:
The best part is that this particular video made the rounds a few years back and inspired other couples to either having the same thing done by video experts or, if they were a bit technical and musical themselves, to DIY it. I am wholly impressed by what some couples are able to do and the services they are able to find.
Would you do something like this or hire a service to create a wedding lip sync video for you? I think if you limited participation to the couple and the bridesmaids and groomsmen, it wouldn’t necessarily be that difficult to do on your own. It would only get really complicated when you started asking your wedding guests and in-laws to participate in what is essentially a wedding day side project. Not everyone, I’d imagine, would fancy the notion of playing a part in your wedding music video! (Though I certainly would, so do feel free to invite me to your reception.)
Did you know that I made my mom’s wedding cake? Well I did. And though it most definitely looked like a homemade wedding cake I was pretty proud of it. When it came time to choose a wedding cake topper, I was stumped. My mom and her then girlfriend now wife are extremely classy people so popping two plastic brides on their cake and calling it a day was not going to cut the mustard. Oh, did I mention that I was also their wedding planner? Eventually, since theirs was going to be a semi-formal backyard affair with lots of fun little rustic touches, I settled on custom spoon garden markers from Monkeys Always Look.
(I am still waiting for copies of my mom's wedding photos, hint hint!)
Turned out, they were just right for a backyard semi-formal faux rustic wedding that was only attended by 10 people and involved a dinner reception at a restaurant in Salem, MA in October. With cake first, of course. And the brides loved them – I’d been almost hoping to score one as a keepsake for me, but there were two spoons and two brides so what can you do, right?
Also from Monkeys Always Look!
And another, from Etsy seller jessicaNdesigns
There is definitely no shortage of people stamping spoons out there, and since the spoons are usually thrifted or vintage or found silverware, you’re going to spend a lot less on a wedding cake topper made of spoons than you will on most other cake toppers. Are you having a semi-formal faux rustic backyard wedding? Would spoons work for you, do you think?
Most of the time, the content on this blog is the result of my puttering around on Google image search and other wedding blogs and Pinterest until something dazzles me or some piece of advice pops into my head. But I’d like y’all to know that I actually do read my emails, even if I am slow to log in sometimes. And recently, when I finally sat down to check my email, I found a nice note from Courtney of Courtney Khail Stationery inviting me to check out her wedding invitations and other wedding stationery featuring hand drawn illustrations done in ink and watercolor on 100% cotton cardstock.
Have I mentioned lately that I am a 100% sucker for anything that is hand drawn or hand painted? Because it’s true. I am. And why not, when opting for handpainted wedding stationery results in awesome and amazing invitations, etc., like these?
Bees buzz along, birds sing a love song...
There’s no denying belts are big at the moment, and probably will be for another few years or so. Why? Waists are back. Belts are a big part of that. If you don’t exactly have a waist, a belt can be your saving grace. Belted wedding dresses, like these from Stephanie Allin, offer up a chance for those not necessarily built with natural curves to fake it till they make it, while also helping those with plenty of curves control which ones are emphasized. Personally, I love it. Makes me wish I’d gone belted.
Belts don't have to be big to make a big impact. Hello, waist!
Best part: How the neckline and the belt play off each other.
Beautiful belt plus jacket for the chilly bride...
And, as usual, I'm squeeing over the pockets! (Also the belt.)
What do you think of the belted wedding dress look? The traditional belt or the funky belt, for example. Do belts just not belong on wedding dresses? Would you wear a belt on your wedding day?
P.S. – This post was inspired by Devon’s comment on this older post!
Hey folks, I’m back! The last couple of weeks, I’ve had some technical difficulties, but the Manolo has fixed them and here I am again. Let’s all give the Manolo a big round of applause!
Anyway.
These two lovely, smiling ladies are Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd. After more than ten years together, they became the first New York same-sex couple to be married just seconds past midnight, this very early morning.
The ceremony, held at Niagra Falls, was timed carefully so that their vows would happen at the first possible moment they could be legal. And for the first time ever, the falls were lit in rainbow colors.
Several hundred friends, family members, and even some of the lawmakers whose votes made the moment possible were in attendance as the couple took their vows. The ceremony was performed by Mayor Paul Dyster, and a state supreme court justice was on hand to waive the usual twenty-four hour waiting period for couples issued a marriage license. The same waiver has been granted to a number of other same-sex couples for this day.
Yeah, I think most of them have had to wait long enough.
Congratulations, Kitty and Cheryle! Congratulations to all the happy couples taking their vows in New York this week!
May you all have long, happy, fulfilling marriages.