You know how every often I put a call out for you darlings to share your wedding photos with me so I can share them with everyone else? Well someone finally took me seriously! And that someone is the lovely La Petite Acadienne, along with her very handsome beau, The Stonecutter. When she emailed me these photos, I thought they were just perfect examples of what I meant when I wrote about just being yourself in your wedding photos. La Petite Acadienne and The Stonecutter look very in love, of course, and gorgeous, but they also look like they’re having plenty of fun!

Lovey-dovey, sure, but I feel like there's some happysilly there, too

Hot stuff!

Laughter on your wedding day, can't beat it!

La Petite Acadienne had this to say about the photos she shared: “Our photographer was Anthony Vazquez. My husband and I went away to New York to get married — just the two of us — and Anthony was one of the very few wedding photographers who was willing to come shoot for just an hour. Most of them had a 6 hour minimum, and what would I need 6 hours of photography for when it was just the two of us? Anyway, we were absolutely thrilled with the photos. There are so many nice ones, I could have sent you an entire album. I’ve selected a few that I adore, though — I think they really speak to who we are as a couple: goofy, passionate, and very much in love.”

Now it’s your turn to gush in the comments about how gorgeous they look – don’t be shy!

Bridal veil alternatives? I’ve got your bridal veil alternatives right here, and today it’s a giant flower. Right on your head. Designed by Austie Eckley for SOCA, and custom made just for the bride who wants something a little different. Make that a big different, since admittedly, that’s not a dainty bloom.

Why you shouldn't put seeds in your ears?

And the view from behind...

Is it me? No. Is it the bridal veil alternative for every bride who wants something different? No. But I still love it. I think it’s fabulous. Wacky and strange and fabulous, just right for the bride who’s looking for a bridal headpiece that is going to stun and wow her guests. Would you dare to wear something this outrageous? If so, I want to give you a bridal high five!

A Jewish wedding tradition with a growing following

Am I the only one who likes seeing wedding traditions from one faith or heritage embraced by people from other backgrounds? I know that there are some people who don’t like the co-opting of wedding traditions by “outsiders” but I my take is that wedding traditions wouldn’t have become traditions if brides and grooms didn’t find value in them. It’s not for me to say that so-and-so can’t do X, Y, and Z because those practices belong to another culture. Take the ketubah, a traditional and beautiful element of the Jewish wedding and marriage. According to a recent New York Times piece, more non-religious and Christian couples are embracing the ketubah in their own weddings.

“We wanted a permanent reminder of the covenant we made with God,” Mrs. Austin said. “We see this document superseding the marriage license of a state or a court.”

Such sentiments have been reshaping the market for ketubot (the plural in Hebrew) in the past decade. Michael Shapiro, an observant Jew from Toronto who sells artistic ketubot through the Web site ketubah.com, said he had seen the non-Jewish share of his customers rise from zero to about 10 percent. He is forming a spinoff site, artvows.com, that concentrates on non-Jewish consumers.

The decade of non-Jews discovering the ketubah coincides with three relevant social trends: the rise of Christian Zionism, the growth of interfaith marriage, and the mainstreaming of the New Age movement with its search for spirituality in multiple faith traditions. As a result, an increasing number of gentiles have taken up Judaic practices: holding a Passover Seder, eating kosher food and studying kabbalah, the Jewish mystical movement.

What began as way to protect the bride’s interests in the event of a divorce and morphed into a beautiful and artful representation of specific contractural provisions for marriage had a resurgence of popularity in the 1960s Jewish counterculture. Suddenly the ketubah was back and once again something to display rather than something to be hidden away. And, like I said, the ketubah is now finding its way into non-Jewish weddings and onto non-Jewish walls. I’m cool with that – in fact, I think it’s very cool, especially for those Christians who want to give a nod to their religion’s Jewish roots.

How does it strike you, this flow of wedding traditions from one faith or background to another? Do you think it’s cool, or kind of weird and inauthentic?

How often do you see the bride singing with the band?

As captured by Steve Gerrard Photography

Probably only just a wee bit more often than you see her drumming with the band! But that’s what this beautiful magenta-haired bride wanted to do, so she did it. Along with having a bouncy slide at the reception and a whole host of other details that I’m sure at least one person suggested were not appropriate for a wedding.

The whole wedding is worth a serious peek!

The point being that if you feel like a bouncy castle is right for your wedding, then rent one. If you want to ride to the reception on Harleys, then do it. Sneakers are your footwear of choice – well, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m not going to say you shouldn’t. Especially if you can make it look awesome! Hair long and loose? Tuba player at the ceremony? Doughnut wedding cake? Electronic selections for the special dances? Dry reception? Change into shorts? Just do it, the naysayers will hopefully be polite enough not the “nay” in your face.

See more of this amazing wedding here!

Not too much to say about these beautiful bridal headbands, other than that much like bridal ponytails, they are easy and unfussy and just about the simplest way to top off a DIY wedding hairstyle. Here’s a handful that I’ve found on my travels around the weddingsphere that I hope will inspire you!

Via UntamedPetals (Etsy)

A sparkling bridal headband from...?

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(FYI: If you have any interest in winning a $155 gift certificate to any CSN stores, head over to my personal blog and enter my latest giveaway!)

'I'm... so... happy!'

Here’s something you might not know about me: I cry at the drop of a hat. I am like the queen of waterworks. I could probably maintain a salt water fish tank without ever having to buy those jugs of salt water. I cry when I’m sad. I cry when I’m angry. I cry when someone on TV is sad. I cry when I’m happy. I cry when I think about future happy events. All I have to do is imagine a situation where strong emotions would be appropriate, and I tear up. I think the connection between my tear ducts and my brain was sloppily installed, because I am a crying machine.

And yet, I did not cry at my wedding (until my SIL accused my family of intentionally keeping her in the dark about a post-wedding brunch, but that’s another matter). Everyone who knows me was UTTERLY CONVINCED that my crying instinct would kick on about five minutes after I woke up and continue operating until bedtime. But they were wrong. I smiled and laughed my way through the ceremony with perfectly dry eyes. I was too busy coordinating things that morning to shed any tears. And then later, too tired? The main thing those who predicted I would bawl forgot to take into account is that I love being the center of attention. I was too busy being “on” to cry that day.

Attending scads of weddings has shown me, however, that it’s not at all uncommon for brides to cry before, during, and after their wedding vows. Hence all the wedding hankies and admonishments to include Kleenex in the wedding day emergency kit.

So I created a little poll for the brides-to-be:

And for the former brides:

Because I’d love to know whether YOU think you’ll cry (or did cry) at your wedding!

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Let’s talk about bridal ponytails. I don’t mean some really uppity up-do masquerading as a bridal ponytail, but rather sleek and simple bridal ponytails that are totally accessible to the DIY bride with a little pre-wedding practice. And before you reject this easy-peasy wedding day hairstyle, remember that there’s nothing that says a bride has to have hair teased into the stratosphere.

Isn’t that a sweet look? Admittedly, it’s unfussy and less-than-formal, but some brides are like that. And a simpler hairstyle can really showcase an elaborate wedding gown and/or bridal jewelry. Then again, there’s nothing wrong with pairing a sweet and simple wedding dress with a pony! Want to see more? There are six awesome examples of bridal ponytails under the cut!

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