Manolo for the Brides

Oh my dears.

Last week I lobbed this…image at you:
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Brides who are bored with the usual bouquets and boutonnieres and reception table centerpieces should think large and loose with lots of unusual greenery and even berries (as opposed to structured bunches of roses or daises). For inspiration, I looked to the Brooklyn-based full-service floral design studio Saipua. They’re happy to venture outside of the five boroughs for weddings, provided brides and grooms are willing to order packages totaling at least $6,000. Worth it? Maybe, depending on how much you like flowers.

Unfortunately, Saipua doesn’t ship as they prefer to think of themselves as full-service florists. For that price, they better be. Those of us who are already married and those who can’t justify devoting that much of a wedding budget to florals can at least look and drool and find inspiration in their bigger, bushier bouquets. Note: There’s plenty of sweet bridal bouquet porn under the cut!

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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?

Wedding invitation calligraphy — a trio of words you wouldn’t have found anywhere in my wedding budget. We were doing things on the cheap as it was, so the thought of paying someone to address my fancifully hand address my invitations was not one that even occurred to me. Our wedding invitation (seal-and-send, so utterly lacking in envelopes anyway) featured my off-kilter script and The Beard’s jagged letters, yet found their way to our recipients anyway. Still, I don’t fault brides and grooms for paying for wedding invitation calligraphy since for many, the whole point of a wedding is that everything involved ought to be a cut above normal.

Don’t tell anyone, but I’m not a huge calligraphy fan. I do like, however, Neither Snow’s unique writing style, which veers away from girly and is… I don’t know… messily elegant? It reminds me of the sort of handwriting one sees on very old pieces of correspondence written by people on very good terms with their intended recipients. It’s familiar, not formal, but still fancy enough to satisfy those who want everything at their weddings to be a bit better than good. And you know what else is familiar, fancy, but not fussy? Letterpress invitations, of course! I thought it would be fun to pair some of Neither Snow’s work with invitations from the gorgeous Parrott Design Studio, with its lovely, simple invitations inspired by vintage ephemera, flora, and fauna. So here goes!

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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!

(Photo)

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)

Hey there caption fans! It’s time once again to play Twistie’s Sunday Caption Madness!

You all know how this game works by now. I post a picture that’s simply crying out for a good caption. You provide said captions via the comments function. Next week I declare a winner and there is much rejoicing.

This week’s image, while innocent in intent, may not be entirely safe for work so I’ve placed it under a cut. I actually tried to post this one a while back, but it apparently only showed up on my and Mr. Twistie’s computers. If it doesn’t show up this week, I’m going to assume it’s too shy to use for this purpose.
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When you think of a bride, chances are that you think of a lady in a white dress. The fact is, though, that white is not required at all. Oh, and if you choose not to wear white, ivory isn’t your only other option. Really. No, this is true.

Look, white is great. If that’s what you want to wear I’ll have your back no matter what your matrimonial or sexual history, age, budget, or any other factor you may think is holding you back from your dream.

On the other hand, if you don’t want to wear white, I’ll have your back every bit as much. Maybe you don’t want to because this is your second wedding and you already did that. Maybe you feel uncomfortable because you come from a culture where white is a color of mourning. Or maybe you just think there’s another color you look better in than white. Whatever your reason, you should choose what makes you happy.

You could wear a silver gown and pair it with a dramatic, dark bouquet.
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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!