March, 2007 | Manolo for the Brides

Archive for March, 2007

Was it a LARGE wedding?

Friday, March 30th, 2007

Can I get a BIG congratulations for the world’s tallest man and his new wife?

Inner Mongolian herdsman Bao Xishun measures in at seven-foot nine and once saved two dolphins lives by pulling debris out of their tummies. Twenty-eight-year-old Xia Shujian measures in at five-foot-six and works as a sales attendant. Together, they fight crime. No, wait, that’s not right. They probably spend most of their time doing neck stretches.

The Beijing news reports:

Xishum advertised his wishes to get married around the world to possible bride-to-be. “After a long and careful selection, the effort has been finally paid off,” [Xishum said]. Even though advertisements for his marriage propositions were sent round the world, his 28-year-old bride is from his hometown of Chifeng.

Not the way I’d go about gettin’ hitched, but different strokes and all that. I hope they have a long, happy marriage and conceive many long-limbed children.

Posted in Unusual Weddings, Weddings | 1 Comment »

Packaging matters

Thursday, March 29th, 2007

I’m a big fan of all things self-contained. I like seal-and-send invitations because there aren’t a lot of pesky little cards and things that can get lost in, say, a messy desk. Second on my invitation faves list are self mailers, where the envelope itself makes up a vital part of the invitation design and color scheme.

The four shown above, which can be found at Now & Forever (a detail that matters very little, as most online invitation print shops carry the exact same stationary with minor variations in price, just so ya know), feature built-in pockets for your maps, reception cards, or anything else you might want to include.

Posted in Invitations, Weddings | 2 Comments »

Bluesmaids and brownsmaids

Wednesday, March 28th, 2007

As we all know, the kindest brides outfit their maids in something they will be able to wear again in the future. These four dresses most certainly fit the bill:

Alexia Admor cocoa lace mesh satin tie dress

Alexia Admor robins egg blue lace v-neck tank dress

A.B.S. periwinkle satin bow front bubble dress

Shoshanna chocolate chiffon seashell strapless dress

Traveling clockwise, we have mesh and satin by Alexia Admor, lace by Alexia Admor, chiffon by Shoshanna, and satin by A.B.S. I particularly like the last one, even if it is a bubble dress that would probably make me look silly.

Consider, too, that any one of these frocks could make wonderful rehearsal and rehearsal dinner garb. Me? I’m all prepared on that front. I had my rehearsal outfit (strapless, pleated mini dress, slim jeans, pearls, and pewter pumps) chosen long before I even contemplated what The Beard and I would wear during our ceremony. Maybe even before he proposed. That’s just how I operate.

Posted in Bridesmaids, Bridesmaids Dresses, Dresses | 4 Comments »

Mmmm, pretty…

Tuesday, March 27th, 2007

May I present a foursome of lovely gowns by Canadian-born bridal designer Romona Keveza? I think they are wonderfully feminine without being too princess. But don’t take my word for it!

Bridalocity says:

The Romona Keveza collection burst into the spotlight five years ago when the designer was asked to contribute gowns to be photographed for Legendary Brides (HarperCollins, 2000), authored by Letitia Baldridge, who served as Jacqueline Kennedy’s White House social secretary. In her sensationally illustrated book, Baldridge, a leading expert on etiquette and manners, chronicled the weddings of famous brides of the last century.

The one thing I don’t understand about Ms. Keveza is how she can design the lovely frocks above while also putting together gowns that look as if they are consuming the bride’s brain.

Posted in Brides, Designers, Dresses, Wedding Dresses | 3 Comments »

Monday Miscellany

Monday, March 26th, 2007

I don’t really read bridal magazines — though I’ll gleefully pore over what amounts to the same content online. I did, however, find a big stack of mags intended for the recycling bin in front of the building next door to my own. I snapped them up and multiple copies of these are what I found:

I think the woman on the leftmost cover has a headache. Anyway, are Hawaiian weddings really popular to warrant whole magazines…or could it be that sneaky publishers know that there are brides without a snowball’s chance in heck of marrying in Hawaii who will still want to look at the pretty pictures. Do you gals subscribe to any of these magazines? Or do/did you do most of your wedding-related browsing online, like me?

Plugged your stats into BrideAudit™ yet? Going Bridal, with the aid of your answers to a few simple questions, will help you “analyze the assets of your guests, decide their appropriate level of giving, and provide you with invoices that you can include in your invitations.” If you think that’s just plain icky, please remember that it’s a joke. And also, for my sanity, remember that guests are not required to cover the cost of their plates. Where that erroneous bit of lore came from is beyond me.

And, finally, here is a shocking expose of tacky wedding behavior courtesy of shuniah, a member of Indie Brides:

I was at a wedding today, and they auctioned off the brides garter! The MC announced the auction before dinner, then announced it again before the speeches. I was thinking, “Hmmm…maybe it’s a “joke” auction or the money is for charity“…but nope. The DJ badgered people, saying because we’d all had such a great (rubber chicken) dinner, we could help the bride and groom out! It was…odd. And I was shocked.

The bride sat in the middle of the room on a chair — the more people bid, the further the groom could slide the garter down her leg. The DJ kept egging the crowd on — most of us just sat there looking kind of embarrassed.

I don’t know whose idea this was, but I didn’t even do a garter toss because I was too shy. I can’t imagine sitting there for 15 minutes with my dress hiked up to my thigh.

Um, wow. And by wow, I of course mean yuck.

Posted in Brides, Media, Unusual Weddings, Weddings | 8 Comments »

Garterama!

Sunday, March 25th, 2007

So my cat spills an entire glass of water over my computer peripherals as I’m reading the horror story boards over on Indie Bride yesterday. No kidding. Which means that I’m typing this…slowly…on my laptop’s keyboard, and killing my wrists in the process. Anyway, you may already know this, but the Indie Bride horror story boards are addictive. They are also dangerous. I am now convinced that my seamstress will destroy my gown, the food won’t show up, and my oddest family members will spew out cringe-worthy one liners all throughout my reception.

I need some comic relief…so here is a collection of nutty garters for ya’ll to laugh at. I am lucky enough to have a good friend who is handy with a needle, and she was kind enough to make me the world’s most beautiful tussah silk garter. I will take a photo soon. Until then, enjoy!

For the Marine:

For the fisherwoman who is also in the military:

For the farmin’ gal:

And let’s not forget the “ladies” of Hooters:

As an aside, I was talking to The Beard about how all of the themed garters out there are made with men in mind, and he said something like, “I’ve always thought that garters tended to have male-oriented themes because they are symbolic of the husband taking ownership of his wife sexually.” Then I burst out with, “What, the garter is a truck stop on the way to the va-jay-jay?” I am so not ready for Monday.

Kirk says: I have no idea how widespread the tradition, or knowledge of, the high school prom garter dance is. I wrote it up a bit on my site. Looking back on it now, and having been to a few more weddings, it seems retroactively really surreal, especially how it’s done in big rows of gals.

I was totally unfamiliar with this concept, but it sure explains why so many garter listings online read ‘Wedding/Prom Garter.’

Posted in Bride Blogging, Brides | 6 Comments »

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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