Manolo for the Brides

Ah, the old one about the groom having to be dragged kicking and screaming to the altar. I’m going to guess that most of us (guys included – maybe especially guys) would like to see this stereotype hit the road. Some dudes want to get married. Some don’t. Just like some chicks want to get hitched and some don’t. Sometimes the don’ts become dos, but to suggest that they had to be coerced into making a lifetime commitment is just insulting.

That said, some guys – and some gals – do end up having to be dragged kicking and screaming into wedding planning. It sucks for the other half of the engaged couple, but that doesn’t make it any less true. I know plenty of people who were born to plan, and by that I mean anything. Plan a wedding? Sure. Plan your grandmother’s 80th birthday even though they’ve never met just because planning is fun? Yes! I also know people who couldn’t plan their way out of a paper bag. Plan tomorrow’s breakfast menu? Oh em gee, you’re killing me, stop trying to control my life!

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To start off the week, I wanted to feature some pics from a wedding designed by the awesome and amazingJesi Haack. I’m pretty sure that if a genie came to me and told me I could go back in time to attend three wedding, this would be one of them. It just looks like it was so much fun, and how often can you really say that about a wedding?

The venue was in L.A., and the bride and groom really worked the whole Hollywood angle to good effect. Think movie posters as reception table names and centerpieces.

Here’s where I simply must ask how many brides would be brave enough to hang their wedding gowns on a street sign for a photo op? Maybe the same kind of bride who rocked the karaoke mic at her reception?

I know, I know, more deets. How about this: A vintage ticket booth served up the seating assignments! I’m not sure who the kid is, but what a cool way to include him in the wedding!

L.A., you crack me up. Apparently there was no shortage of photo opportunities involving freaky-deakies. Props to the bride and her maids for taking advantage of the scenery — these are the kind of wedding photos that memories are made of, not boring posed shots in vestibules.

Oh, and I have to mention that the bride did a choreographed dance to “All The Single Ladies” in lieu of a bouquet toss. I know there’s some debate over whether wedding guests should have to sit through dance numbers, but everyone in this video seems to be enjoying it!

Bad luck to show up to a wedding wearing white? Hardly, if you’re a bridesmaid in certain weddings! Are you a true traditionalist? Then you could say that choosing white bridesmaids dresses in keeping with tradition — old tradition, that is, what with the bride’s attendants dressing just like her to confuse all those demons and evil spirits that were always causing trouble way back in the day. In this very pretty picture of a real wedding taken by the talented Agaton Strom, we see four women in white and not one of them is the bride. Based on this pic, I am loving white bridesmaids dresses. They’re fresh and pretty and summery and romantic, and if the bride wants her ‘maids to dress in white, who are we to tell her they shouldn’t?

What say you?

Two friends of mine said their “I dos” the same year The Beard and I said ours, some before and some not too long after. As a consequence, we were fairly careful when choosing a wedding date to ensure that not only was ours not on the same day as a friend’s wedding, but also not too close so anyone traveling for both wouldn’t be shelling out too much cash in too short a time. Everyone got to attend the weddings of everyone else, and thus we were all happy in addition to being happily married. Not everyone is so lucky, however.

For those who are of an age in which it seems like a friend or relative announces his or her engagement every other weekend, I strongly advise actually saving those save-the-date cards and actually writing the event in your calendar, lest you end up like the Washington Post’s Sally Quinn:

Our son Quinn Bradlee is marrying Pary Williamson in Washington on April 10. My husband’s granddaughter Greta Bradlee is getting married the same day in California. In the past few days there have been a spate of negative stories, both online and in print, about the “dueling weddings.” It’s been hurtful to all four of these wonderful young people. This “dueling” characterization couldn’t be further from the truth.

The unfortunate result of the dates being the same was an inadvertent mistake on my part. My error had nothing to do with the two couples who will wed that day. Quinn and Pary decided on Oct. 10, 2010, as their wedding date. Over Christmas, Greta’s mother and I came to an understanding that, because of existing tensions, it would be best for all if none of us attended Greta’s wedding. Then, in mid-January, we were thrilled to learn that Pary is pregnant, due Sept. 21, and decided to move up the date as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, our church does not do weddings during Lent or Easter. The only date we could arrive on when both church and minister were available was April 10, and the next wasn’t until after Memorial Day. Frantically, I checked my calendar, my husband’s, Greta’s aunt’s, and her cousins’ — everyone had the date free. Each gave the go-ahead. We were also lucky enough to find that the band we had booked was able to make the date change, as well as the photographer, the planner and the attendants. Pary had found the perfect dress, which we bought. It all seemed serendipitous, so we booked everyone and ordered the invitations.

Anyone who has ever hosted a wedding knows the maddening details involved. Locking things down seemed such a relief. Then came the revelation.

What a pickle! In the end, there was no grand conflict (Internet meanness aside) because they’d never intended to attend the other wedding and there was apparently no overlapping of the two guest lists. Can you guarantee that you would be so lucky in the event that your wedding overlaps with that of a family member? If the answer is no, you may even want to discuss potential wedding dates with sisters or brothers and even beloved cousins who have rings on their fingers but have not yet chosen wedding dates. Or not. The alternate strategy involves “calling” your preferred date by letting slip everywhere that you’re planning on saying your vows on such-and-such a date, then sending out save-the-date cards ridiculously early… and hoping that people actually save them!

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Peachy keen. Just peachy. She’s a peach! However you frame it, peaches are associated with good stuff. Maybe that’s why they make such a fun, pretty wedding theme?

There are so many fun ways to incorporate peaches into your wedding theme, from giving out peach cookies (that taste like real peaches) as wedding favors to dressing your flower girl in a pretty peach dress to an awesome peachy sash. So what if you are getting married in a clime where peaches never grow? Cute and fuzzy, mellow orange and bright pink… peaches are the pets of the produce world. Here are some quick ways you can enrich your wedding theme (or color scheme) with anthropomorphic fruit:

1. Peach cookies from Tickle My Tummy (top left)
2. A peach flower girl dress from I Love Gorgeous (top right)
3. Peach table cards like these from Blooms by Martha Andrews (middle left)
4. Peach reception table decorations like these photographed by Justin Marantz (middle right)
5. A beautiful peach sash from Icing 101 (bottom left)
6. Peach-in-a-nest table decor, again from Blooms by Martha Andrews (bottom right)

How fun is this gangster themed wedding party? (Not to be confused with a gangsta themed wedding party, which would be somewhat different… more velour, for one). One Jazz Defo snapped these pics of the wedding of some good friends. You have a gangster, who’s dizzy with his dame, his cats, a gorgeous bim, and one hell of a bean-shooter.

I am loving their choices of wedding day attire — it may not be traditional, but it still looks way sharp. It’s pretty obvious that the bride and groom had fun with their choice of theme and even more fun getting their wedding photos taken. Oh, and yes, that’s a real Thompson submachine gun he’s holding! Way to take a wedding theme all the way!

If the thought of getting married in a fast food joint makes you feel a little ill, it might just be the belly bombs getting to you. The fourth wedding in the series of fast food weddings — the McDonald’s wedding, the Waffle House wedding, and the Taco Bell wedding — that have come across our plate is the recent White Castle Wedding. Make that two White Castle Weddings.

Edward Denson and Tamika March’e Thomas said their vows on Valentine’s Day at an Ohio White Castle after winning a radio contest with a prize package that included a fast food wedding, a diamond pendant, and a White Castle gift card.

Amazingly, while Edward and Tamika were saying their vows in Ohio, Stephanie Keil and Rich Brostowski were doing the same in New Jersey… at a White Castle… after winning a radio contest!

My heartfelt congratulations to both couples, who I hope included Maalox on their wedding registries.

Need some inspiration to blow away the Tuesday blahs? As if the rolling hills in the background of this outdoor wedding space were not enough, this bride and groom pair was married in a unique and fascinating open air wooden chapel. The couple said their vows in the bride’s parents’ backyard, and it was the bride’s brother who built the structure complete with pretty windows and doors and a striking yellow altar.

The chandelier is one of the details that really make this ceremony space a success. And how about that amazing dresser? The whole color scheme is so pretty and rustic without being too country.

The chapel looks like it was open enough to retain an outdoor wedding feel while also giving wedding guests the impression of being in a cozy, private, and intimate space. It’s the best of both worlds!

(Images: Green Wedding Shoes; Photographer: Stephanie Fay)