October, 2012 | Manolo for the Brides

Archive for October, 2012

Scotsmen In Love… and Other Cool Weddings

Friday, October 26th, 2012

Sometimes it’s fun to go wandering about on other wedding blogs and take a look at some of the great weddings they feature. Here are a few of my faves from the past week I’d like to share.

First up is a delightful wedding of two handsome Scotsmen in kilts named Chris and Eric, featured on A Practical Wedding.

Kilts, more kilts, a pretty outdoor spot, yet more kilts, people dancing Gay Gordons (and that really is a dance, in fact Mr. Twistie and I did it at our wedding, too) and lots of pretty pictures would have won this wedding a spot on the list anyway, but I love this quote from the grooms most of all:

If you ever wonder how many people love you and how much, have a wedding. You’ll know.

You know what else? That’s absolutely true.
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Posted in Bride Blogging, Real Weddings, Same-Sex Weddings, Unusual Weddings | 2 Comments »

LOVE/HATE: Halloween Weddings

Thursday, October 25th, 2012

(Illustration via Cake Picture Gallery)

Halloween is a popular holiday to marry around. You’ve got a built in theme, and it appeals to those who take a walk on the goth side or who enjoy freaking the mundanes… for those of you who are, like me, recovering (or not so recovering) Scadians. You’ve got a set few color schemes to work with and plenty of party store goodies readily available, there are usually some great deals on candy in case you want to set up a candy bar or give out miniature candy bars as favors.

In short, it’s got a lot to recommend it if you’re inclined that way.

But I’m curious: do you LOVE Halloween theme weddings? Do you HATE them? Consider them fun and daring? Disrespectful and tacky? Done to undeath?

I have to admit I’ve never been to an actual Halloween theme wedding, but like most themes, I think whether it’s good or bad usually depends on the gusto and imagination with which it is tackled by the individual couple in question.

After all, if the couple depends on black bridesmaids’ dresses and the DJ playing the Monster Mash to get their theme across… yeah, that just wouldn’t cut it. In fact, it’s gotten to the point where black and red is such a common wedding color palette throughout the year that that isn’t enough, either.

But a couple who truly commits to the theme and weds in Victorian mourning clothes or asks the bridal party to dress in costumes and carry pumpkin-shaped baskets filled with flowers rather than traditional bouquets? I gotta hand it to them. They’ve committed and made the wedding a true theme one.

In fact, I think I could actually LOVE a Halloween wedding where the couple pulled a Zuckerberg by asking people to show up for a costume party, showed up as, I don’t know, Cinderella and Prince Charming, or Spiderman and Mary Jane, or even Frankenstein and his bride, and in the middle of the party, a wedding breaks out.

So what about all of you? LOVE? HATE? Something in between?

Tell me what you think!

Posted in LOVE/HATE | 6 Comments »

Good Advice and Bad Advice About Money

Wednesday, October 24th, 2012

It ought to go without saying that all wedding budget advice is not created equal. That certainly is the case when the question is who is going to pay for what!

Just this morning I felt myself compelled to read an article at Gal Time about the ‘new rules’ for who pays for what.

The author of the piece, Analorena Zeldon, consulted two experts, Andria Lewis (wedding planner with fifteen years’ experience) and Jodi RR Smith (author and etiquette expert) about how couples should broach the divvying up of expenses between themselves and their parents.

On the upside, the article not only assumes the couple will take some responsibility for some expenses themselves (and has a convenient breakdown of who pays for what when the two of you are paying for it all), but also that the bride’s parents might choose for a variety of reasons to opt out entirely.
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Posted in Advice, Bride Blogging, Budgets, Money, Parents, Wedding planners, Wedding planning | Comments Closed

Quickie Question: DIY Vows or Standard Form?

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012

Let’s face it. The ceremony is the whole reason for all the trappings of a wedding. There’s no particular point to the flowers and fancy clothes and music and all the rest if nobody says some form of I do.

And yet we spend little time here at Manolo for the Brides discussing those actual vows.

There are a lot of people who feel strongly about how those vows should be ordered and spoken. Some believe that the standard, traditional form for their particular religion is by far the best and most meaningful. I can’t argue with that, and I wouldn’t if I could. Others feel that writing one’s own vows shows a level of thought and commitment that can’t be shared by those who repeat vows others have said down the years. Again, I have no argument and wouldn’t raise one if I did.

My feeling is, very simply, that each couple needs to figure this one out for themselves. Traditional or custom, you’re the ones taking the vows and they need to mean something to you.

In my own case, I probably would have preferred to write my own vows. I come from a long line of lapsed Catholics and cultural Presbyterians, and never developed a religious system or faith of my own. I didn’t particularly want to speak words written for people who believe in something I just plain don’t. Still, I wound up researching and finding a set of standard vows I could live with and using those. Why? Because Mr. Twistie wanted nothing to do with writing the ceremony and I wasn’t going to put my words into his mouth. The only thing he wanted to say was ‘I do’ and he probably would have said that to pretty much any vow I had chosen or written. He just wanted to be married to me with a minimum of fuss and feathers.

Sometimes it’s all about finding a compromise you can live with as a couple. And since I wrote the rest of the ceremony, well, I was still getting my philosophy in there. It’s not like I just grabbed someone else’s religion and had my secular officiant deliver it in the woods for a pair of non-believers.

What about all of you? Writing your own? Following tradition? Finding a compromise path between the two options?

Tell me all about it!

Posted in Ceremonies, Quickie Question, Vows | 2 Comments »

So You’ve Called It Off. Now What?

Monday, October 22nd, 2012

You’ve just interrupted your ‘I do’s’ by running off with the man your mother thought wasn’t good enough for you (but was plenty good enough for her to seduce!) and are getting on a bus with no idea where it’s going. But what about all those deposits?

Okay, if you wait until that point, chances are there’s nothing you can do but pay all those wedding bills or declare bankruptcy.

If, on the other hand, you decide a bit earlier in the proceedings that things just aren’t going to work out, there is a way to recoup some of the expense you’ve been to and help another couple have the nice wedding of your dreams.

Bridal Brokerage is there to help you pick up the financial pieces and get you on your feet again.

You enter your details in a handy online form, and Bridal Brokerage does the rest. They contact the vendors and find another couple who are in need of a wedding much like yours. You receive a percentage of your wedding expenditures already made, cope with your own broken heart, and contact your own guests, but after that you don’t have to deal with the details of canceling your wedding beyond that.

On the buyer’s side, well, you fill out a similar form telling Bridal Brokerage when you’re hoping to tie the knot, how many guests you plan to have, etc. and they’ll contact you with weddings that might suit your needs. You choose the one that best fits your preferences, and buy it at a deep discount.

Again, Bridal Brokerage steps in to the rescue with the details. They’ll send out save-the-dates and invitations to your entire guest list and prepare programs, too.

I’m wondering, is there anyone out there who has used this service or one like it? What were your experiences like? Is this a service any of you out there would consider using on either end?

Posted in Alternative Ideas, Budgets, Vendors | Comments Closed

Twistie’s Sunday Caption Madness: The Bridal Camouflage Edition: The Result

Saturday, October 20th, 2012

Hey you gorgeous people out there in Weddinglandia!

Last week I smacked you all in the face with this deathless image:

… and two of you returned fire with hilarious captions.

Both captions are great, but in the end there can be only one winner. This week it’s the irrepressible Jo who not only had a great caption:

Sally’s dress conveniently doubled as a toilet roll holder after her big day.

… but also provided her own illustration of the point which can be found here.

Congratulations, Jo, and thanks too to Jenn for playing!

Posted in Sunday Caption Madness | Comments Closed

Take That, DOMA!

Friday, October 19th, 2012

(Image via Jet Fete Blog where you can see more pictures of this beautiful wedding held in Mexico)

Yesterday the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled (as have so many courts before it) that the Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA is unconstitutional in that it violates the fourteenth amendment right to equal protection under the law.

The suit was brought by Edith Windsor, 83. She and Theda Clara Spyer had been engaged for forty years when they were finally able to tie the knot in Toronto, Cananda in 2007. Two years later, Spyer sadly died of multiple sclerosis. In Spyer’s will, she left all her property to her surviving spouse, Windsor. And since the federal government will not recognize same sex marriages, Windsor was forced to pay $363,000 (that’s three hundred sixty-three thousand smackers) in estate taxes. Windsor felt that was unfair since a surviving spouse in a DOMA approved marriage would not have had to shell out that kind of money to inherit.

A federal court sided with Windsor, but the decision was appealed. Now the appeals court also sides with the plaintiff… as has every other court that has heard similar cases.

Even the current presidential administration considers DOMA unconstitutional. President Obama announced that his administration would no longer defend it because – wait for it – it violates equal protection. The act is currently being defended by the Republican majority in the US House of Representatives.

Me? I say it’s time for DOMA to land on the ash heap of bad law. It hurts families, inflicts hardships, and does absolutely nothing to protect, defend, or support any marriage whatsoever.

My opposite sex marriage is in no way threatened by the fact that two men or two women may marry in certain places. In fact, my marriage is so cool and nifty that I want every adult who wants one to be able to get their own, regardless of gender identity, race, or preferred flavor of consenting adult to have one with!

Posted in Law, Same-Sex Weddings | 2 Comments »

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