Archive for June, 2007

Would *you* wear it?

Thursday, June 21st, 2007

I usually have strong opinions where ‘things’ on gowns are concerned, and those opinions usually don’t tend toward the positive. Too much embellishment can leave a bride looking like a cake…or worse. And here Lady Roi is not doing a good job of convincing me otherwise.

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But even though I think icing flowers look just a tad odd on a blushing bride who is standing in a hotel lobby desperately wishing her relatives would stop taking so many freakin’ snapshots, you may feel that this confection of a gown is just the end-all and be-all of matrimonial attire. Hey, I’ve been outvoted before. I want to know whether you’d wear it…or if you’d prefer to see it on your worst enemy so you could have a nice chuckle at their expense.


The Day’s Aside:

Ever think about making your own wedding stationary, only to decide that it’s just too dang hard? The sweethearts over at Wedding Fanatic want to prove to you that anyone can fashion their own paper goods with a little patience. In a single post, they provide a downloadable template, a list of necessary supplies, and a video that demonstrates exactly how it’s done. It looks like it might just be foolproof!

Good gift? It’s in the bag.

Wednesday, June 20th, 2007

In real life, when you don’t know what to give someone, you give them a scented candle or a gift basket. Problem solved. When it comes to your bridal party, you may find yourself similarly stymied — especially when each of your ladies has vastly different tastes. This is when purses, totes, and evening bags come in handy. You’ve got your beach carry-alls that say “BRIDESMAID” on ’em. You’ve got your dainty monogrammed bags that match your bridal party colors. And you can even hold a make your own purses party so that everyone goes home with a bag they actually like.

But if that sort of thing is just far to gauche for you, why not drop a wad of cash on something a little more fabulous? Your ladies can still pack their purses with band-aids and safety pins on the big day, and they’ll be happy to use them during nights on the town later on down the line.

Sigrid Olsen Handbags - Mini Purse (Dark Beige) - HandbagsLoop Design - Egyptian Clutch (Black Multi) - HandbagsBetsey Johnson - Lucky Stars Flap Clutch (Brown) - Handbags
Betsey Johnson - Peddle Pusher Clutch (Green/Brass) - HandbagsBCBGirls - Platinum Blonde Clutch (Plum) - HandbagsHype - Copacabana Clutch (Red) - Handbags

On the top row, you have a Sigrid Olsen mini purse in dark beige, a Loop Design Egyptian clutch, and a Betsey Johnson Lucky Stars clutch in brown. Below that, you have a Betsey Johnson Peddle Pusher clutch in green and brass, a BCBGirls Platinum Blonde clutch in plum, and a Hype Copacabana clutch in red. I tell you truly that I’d be pleased as pie if any bride in my life were to buy me one of these as an attendant’s gift.

Proof in your hand that fairy tales come true

Tuesday, June 19th, 2007

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I may be the only person in the world who missed this bit of wedding gown related news, but in case some of you good folks also missed it, a limited edition of the coffee table book “A Dress for Diana” by designers by David and Elizabeth Emanuel comes with 4-inch swatches of the silk used to fashion Princess Diana’s famous wedding gown. By which I mean the ultimate fairy tale gown…an ivory taffeta and antique lace confection with a wonderfully oversized train.

A piece of history will cost you, however. The thousand run-off limited edition book containing bits of the iconic fabric was originally priced at $2,000, but I imagine that this figure will skyrocket as the books begin to change hands.

The Emanuels were recent art college graduates when Lady Diana Spencer commissioned them to design the dress for her marriage to Prince Charles. Their creation, designed and sewn under high security as photographers went through their trash and rented rooms across from their studio, had a 25-foot train.

The silk that did not make the cut into the dress was kept in a bank vault for years.

Elizabeth Emanuel said she and her husband are not exploiting public devotion for the princess — although their book, which was originally supposed to come out on the 25th anniversary of the wedding is now tied to the 10th anniversary of Diana’s death.

If the book’s four-figure price tag puts you off, the original edition of the book costs about twenty bucks. You can also get your princess bride fix with other books like Debrett’s Book of the Royal Wedding, Invitation To A Royal Wedding, and Grace Kelly: Icon of Style to Royal Bride. And, of course, there is always the Princess Diana Paper Doll Book of Fashion, which is a bit of silly fun.

Beauty? It’s in her jeans.

Monday, June 18th, 2007

I’m the kind of gal who doesn’t like to be too far from a pair of jeans. Of course, I like to pair my denim with black fitted tops, fancy jewelry, and cute little pumps, so I like to think that I can make denim an integral part of a put-together look. Indeed, I believe that a sleek pair of jeans can be a part of a posh day out. But denim as wedding wear? I have my doubts. Most denim wedding dresses look like this example from Sat’n Spurs:

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But jeans aren’t inherently bad. It is, as you’ll shortly see, entirely possible to wear denim at the altar without looking like some kind of hee-haw enthusiast. Here, Missyosigirl at TeamSugar proves that denim doesn’t have to be dowdy when integrated into a dress design:

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Girl, do your thang

Friday, June 15th, 2007

Remember yesterday when I mentioned weird cakes? Well, I ran across one yesterday while browsing Metafilter.

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Courtesy of The Ghetto Fab, we can gaze upon this many-armed cake. I don’t know anything about the wedding it graced, other than the fact that the bride was channeling a sparkly Mrs. Claus and the groom looks nothing if not shellshocked. But you gotta love those giant wine glasses, right?

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Naturally, after seeing these, I had to poke through The Ghetto Fab, which led me to another site, Tales From a Ghetto Wedding. To my delight, I found a number of even more horrifying images.

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Croquembouche

Thursday, June 14th, 2007

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Wedding cakes can be pretty yawn-worthy, which accounts for the popularity of odder options like doughnut “cakes” and cuter options like cupcakes laid out on tiers. Wedding pie? It’s been done. Hostess cake? Check. Rice Krispies treats standing in for cake? I know a gluten-free couple that went that route. There is funny wedding cake, expensive wedding cake, and plain ol’ white wedding cake. If you’re looking through wedding rags and baker’s web sites in the hopes of finding that perfect confection, it can get kind of monotonous.

Well, honey, I’ve got your boredom cure right here. Enter croquembouche! The name is a combination of the French words ‘Croque en bouche’ meaning ‘crunch in the mouth.’ And this fanciful French wedding pièce montée does indeed live up to its namesake, thanks to the generous drizzle of lovely caramel that coats the outside of the structure. Inside the web of sugary goodness lies a protected pile of puff choux pastry filled with a vanilla creme patissiere. What’s not to love?

And, if you were wondering, the towering croquembouche above were created by Fancy That, a wonderful bakery in Oxfordshire in the UK.

Standin’ in a dimly-lit lobby, waitin’ for a man. Any man.

Wednesday, June 13th, 2007

Here we have a plain and lovely gown from Lady Roi Bridals. The bride in the photo has put on her most profound mug and is carrying a single red rose, no doubt in preparation for the drama that is the standard modern wedding. Or maybe she is just worried that no eligible men are going to happen along before her childbearing years are over.

On an unrelated note, I’m not sure why the photographer chose to shoot the model in the lobby of an apartment building. If you look closely, there’s even a stain on the carpet in the lower left hand side of the photo!