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Cut Up About Cardboard

Friday, November 23rd, 2012

Lauren Adkins requests the pleasure of your company at her wedding to a cardboard cutout of Edward Cullen on January 26, 2013 in a wedding chapel somewhere in Las Vegas, NV.

She doesn’t really. You’re not invited. Neither am I. But that’s how she intends to spend the day.

No, the laws haven’t changed to make this a legal ceremony, and she isn’t coming out as a huge Twihard. This is actually a piece of performance art intended to be part of her graduate thesis on how media shapes people’s ideals of the perfect relationship.

Adkins, 24 and a student at the University of Las Vegas finds herself intrigued with how books, films, and television tell us the story of what to look for in a mate. Funnily enough, when the story was picked up by the UK Metro, they entirely missed the point that this was a tongue in cheek piece of her thesis.

Lauren, best of luck with your thesis! Oh, and if you don’t mind, I’m going to wish you sparkles on that special day when you marry your cardboard vampire.

Posted in Books, Fun stuff, Media, Movies, Unusual Weddings | Comments Closed

Coming Soon to a Salon Near You: More Disney Tie Ins

Wednesday, September 26th, 2012

We all know that many brides are inspired by fairy tale ideas when planning their weddings. And when it comes to fairy tales, is there one that has inspired more weddings than Cinderella? I would suggest not. I’m guessing a lot more brides are basing their Cinderella weddings on the iconic Disney version than any other.

Yeah, not many couples do the Grimm’s version. Can’t imagine why. It only involves the bride’s stepsisters losing hunks of their feet, after all. It’s not like that one ended in dozens of dead bodies. For Grimm, it’s positively Disneyesque.

But I digress.

What’s the point of all of this? Well, next month Disney is hauling Cinderella back out of the vault for release on Blu-ray. At the same time, there will be bridal tie-ins from both Alfred Angelo and DSW. Alfred Angelo will release a limited line of blue wedding gowns inspired by the blue ballgown Cinderella wears in the film. Here’s a sketch of one of them that I found at Bride’s.com:

As for DSW, they’ll come out with a line of shoes based on the theme, too.

Posted in Designers, Dresses, Media, Movies, Shoes, Wedding Dresses | 2 Comments »

I Wonder If They’ll Sparkle

Monday, April 2nd, 2012

(Illustration via Bridal Guide Magazine)

When Abigail Kirk and Andy Weeks were kicking around ideas about their February 5 wedding, it was important to him that they share a last name, and she said she really didn’t want to use his. They were already planning a Twilight Breaking Dawn wedding because Abigail is a Twihard, so Andy suggested they just change both their last names to Cullen.

And so it was that Abigail wore Alfred Angelo’s commercial version of the gown Bella wore in the film, they used the Breaking Dawn soundtrack throughout their wedding… and then the took the surname of the vampire clan in the books and movies.

What do I think of it? Well, if you’re going to use a theme, I think it’s best to use one that both of you are really into. Andy hasn’t read the Twilight books. Still, if one partner wishes to indulge the other in something that’s meaningful to him or her, I’ve got no beef. And I do think it’s entirely up to the couple in question to decide the whose name to use issue for themselves using their own criteria. I’m down with couples changing their name to one that doesn’t come from either side, if that’s what works for them. So long as they aren’t trying to defraud anyone or evade the long arm of the law with their choice, I think it’s between them and the deity of their choice.

It’s a big old world and a free country, and I wish them well. And that’s about all the opinion I’m going to admit to having… but no power on earth can make me read those books or watch those movies.

Also? There are worse names to change to. I’m a huge Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, and that one leaves open the option of changing your surname to ‘the Bloody.’

At least Cullen is a name.

Posted in Books, Media, Movies, Real Weddings, Unusual Weddings, Weddings | 1 Comment »

LOVE/HATE: The Twilight Wedding Gown Lite

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

Ha! Fooled you! This is just a random shot from one of the Twilight films. Thing is, I know there are at least three Twihards out there who haven’t seen Breaking Dawn Part One yet, and I’m not going to spoil them. You’ll have to look under the cut.
(more…)

Posted in Carolina Herrera, Designers, Dresses, LOVE/HATE, Media, Movies, Wedding Dresses | 3 Comments »

Bride Wars — Unpopular Culture

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

Weddings… they sure do make chicks crazy, amirite? I’m kidding, of course, but you might assume I wasn’t if you’ve spent any time watching shows like Bridezillas and all the other wacky wedding shows that likely make WE Channel executives oodles of money. The stereotype of the shrilly screaming bride-to-be who needs everyone to know it’s ‘her daaaayyyyyy’ isn’t just a staple of reality TV and Target: Women. Nope, you can find it in fiction, too.

Right now I’m thinking of Bride Wars, which was met with largely negative reviews from critics. As it should have been. You’d think that a chick flick about two friends who are both getting married would feature strong women expressing their feelings and learning about themselves and kicking ass with girl power. Instead, you get a no holds barred chick vs. chick bitchlympics. Granted, the main characters do make up at the end, but they spend a good deal of the movie acting like spoiled bridezillas whose supposedly strong friendship is all but fractured by a clerical error.

Movies like Bride Wars aren’t meant to depict reality, I know, but the whole premise implies that caring independent women are just one wedding mishap away from turning into screaming banshees who will sacrifice their most precious relationships to ensure their ‘special daaaayyyyyy’ stays special. It ticks me off and bums me out at the same time, since I know that 99.9999% of the time, brides-to-be are calm, partial to compromise, and willing to roll with the punches… especially when the people important to them are involved.

So did any of you see Bride Wars? What did YOU think?

Posted in Bridezilla, Media, Movies | 14 Comments »

A Couple Laughs and a Contest

Sunday, March 23rd, 2008

Ever dreamed of a Hollywood wedding? Ever dreamed of walking the red carpet? Ever dreamed of being married on the red carpet in Hollywood? Well, here’s your chance.

In honor of Patrick Dempsey’s new film Made of Honor in which McDreamy (and I really, really thought that name was made up as a joke on Television Without Pity for a very long time) discovers he’s fallen in love with a longtime platonic female friend just as she’s being swept off her feet by the man of her dreams in Scotland and asks Dempsey to be her MOH, The Knot and Sony Pictures are teaming up to hold a contest. The winning couple will get married on the red carpet at the premiere of Made of Honor. Runners up will win shopping sprees and Made of Honor gift packs (contents unspecified). If you’re interested, you can get the details here.

Other than that, I was giggling at a couple wedding-related articles at The Onion, and thought I’d pass on the links so others can enjoy a laugh.

Mommy’s Wedding More Fun Than Daddy’s

Peasant Wedding Gets Out of Hand

And in conclusion, I give you the Peeps Bachelor Party:

Posted in Contests, Media, Movies | 1 Comment »

Share your wedding with the world

Friday, March 23rd, 2007

Wedding videos…does anyone other than the bride want to watch them after the big day is through? The people behind Viddea think so, but I’m not so sure. I do believe that folks who couldn’t make it to the wedding itself would enjoy poking through the proceedings via video once or twice. But paying to put it online?

Right now, users can get a free trial of the video sharing service, which seems fairly easy to use as brides and grooms need only ask their videographers to send in their DVDs. Viddea charges the videographer, who no doubt passes the fee onto the customer. Then it seems that Viddea makes more money selling copies of your wedding DVD to friends and family.

Um…in the age of YouTube and of easy-to-use DVD burners, I’m must question the relevance of such a service. But, hey, I could be wrong. Let’s have a look at their features, as described on the web site:

Viddia allows you to share special features of your wedding video DVD like pre-ceremony preparations or a rehearsal dinner with your friends–even if they weren’t there in person!
Your friends can easily pick and choose which parts of your wedding video they’d like to watch! For instance they can skip right to that first dance or the best man’s toast!
Viddia allows you to share your wedding video from a customized web page that reflects your personal taste and also provides a personalized message to your family and friends!
Password protection can ensure that only those who you grant permission to are allowed to view your Viddia wedding video. Avoid the hassle of copying wedding DVD’s for friends and family, they can buy their own copy when they view your video!

Privacy is good. And I do like to avoid hassles, but anything that does not tell me how much it costs up front sets my teeth on edge. Personally, I prefer to weigh my hassles against the cost of avoiding them, if you see what I mean.

Posted in Media, Movies, Weddings | 4 Comments »

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