Archive for February, 2011

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Prince William and Kate Middleton’s Weird Wedding Tie-Ins

Monday, February 28th, 2011

There’s a long tradition of Britain’s royal weddings and births being immortalized in everything from tea towels to ashtrays but when it comes to the upcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton, Buckingham Palace has apparently issued strict guidelines on what can and cannot be used on official souvenirs and commemorative merchandise. Not that anyone really abides by said guidelines. Wacky royal wedding tie-ins? Bring ’em on!

The first slightly wacky royal wedding tie-in that hit my radar was the announcement regarding the commemorative Fairy Liquid bottle to mark the big event. Procter & Gamble obtained royal approval to produce a limited edition bottle redesign to mark the big event.

But, hey, at least Fairy Liquid has royal approval to create wedding-inspired packaging. I’m pretty sure that Crown Jewels Condoms – combining the strength of a Prince with the yielding sensitivity of a Princess-to-be! – does not, especially considering that these are novelty rubbers, not intended to prevent contraception or the sharing of STDs. That’s a bit more wacky, no?

And on the less weird side you have scads and scads of commemorative china like this Loving Mug from Aynsley China. Which is not a part of the official Royal wedding memorabilia china set – embellished with several layers of burnished gold and platinum before a final layer of gilding in 22-carat gold is applied by hand ooh la la – which consists of a plate, a mug… and a pill box.

Because that’s what it takes to boost a country’s economy by £620 million! Soap, tea towels, novelty condoms, pies named in honor of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and pill boxes. Will you be springing for a little something commemorative this spring?

P.S. – I have to add a Royal Wedding sick bag and Kiss Me Kate beer!

Posted in Accessories, Celebrity Weddings, Unusual Weddings, Weddings | 3 Comments »

Lucky in Awards, Unlucky in Love?

Sunday, February 27th, 2011


Yes, this is a shameless Oscar Tie In article.

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford both won that coveted statuette… and then had their marriages end. They aren’t alone, either. The same can be said of: Sanrda Bullock, Liza Minelli, Halle Berry, and Faye Dunaway.

In fact, the Best Actress Oscar curse has been much discussed over the years, with observers noting that winners of that particular award are more likely to divorce within the next few years than any other Oscar winner. But now the rumor has been investigated and found to be true by Sue Moon and Tiziana Casciaro of the University of Toronto and Colleen Stuart of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh for their paper The Oscar Curse: Status Dynamics and Gender Differences in Marital Survival.

Moon, Casciaro, and Stuart have found that Best Actress winners are about 1.68 times more likely to divorce than non-winners. Winning the Best Actor Oscar doesn’t seem to have a similar effect on men, incidentally.

So what does that mean for this year’s nominees? Well, the only one who is actually married (though Natalie Portman is engaged) would appear to be Nichole Kidman. If she wins, we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed for her and hubby Keith Urban.

Posted in Celebrity Brides, Divorce | Comments Closed

LOVE/HATE: The Missy Messy Wedding Dressy Edition

Friday, February 25th, 2011

I know, I know, there’s already been a Missy Messy edition of LOVE/HATE, and none too long ago, either. But I have a thing for messy wedding dresses – or what you might say are wedding dresses that aren’t perfectly polished. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! I rather like torn hems and uneven bows and that sort of thing. Particularly when it’s surprising because every other element of the wedding and the bride’s wedding day look is just so.

This Kate Towers dress isn’t advertised as a wedding dress, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be one! Just for the record, I heart Kate Towers dresses, which are mainly ruffly and girly, but not in a prim and proper way. There’s definitely that homemade look about them – a really amazing professional homemade look that I certainly can’t replicate at home with my own sewing machine. Personally, I love this dress, which is made of soft gray hand-dyed raw silk chiffon. It’s romantic. But what do you think? Is it *too* raw for a wedding?

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

A Rainbow Wedding Palette Cleanser

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

Seems there’s a trick or two to pulling off a beautiful rainbow wedding!

Last month, I asked y’all to tell me what you thought of a photo of a rainbow wedding I found on the Tacky Weddings blog, and you mostly agreed with me that there was just too much going on. What, with the rainbowed-out groomsmen and the rainbow dress on the bride. Looking at that, you might think all rainbow weddings look like a bag of Skittles mated with a wedding planner.

But just look at these highlights from a pretty rainbow wedding from Hungary featured on Love & Lavender:

Much nicer, no? And absolutely nothing like the one from last month. (I am especially loving the rainbow wedding cake since I am planning to make La Paloma her very own special rainbow cake like that one for her upcoming birthday!)

Posted in Alternative Ideas, Real Weddings, Unusual Weddings, Weddings | 2 Comments »

Engagement Photos, Five Ways

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

Not too long ago, the awesome Boston wedding photography firm KLC Photography sent me a selection of engagement photos taken in different locations around the city and MA – and I think they constitute a perfect illustration of the fact that there’s no one right or wrong way to do an engagement portrait session. Locations? Be as serious or as silly as you want to! Indoors or outdoors, your choice. Close ups… action shots… it’s all up to you and the photographer you’ve chosen to work with. (Hint: Share your ideas, but don’t be afraid to take your photog’s recommendations!)

Not everyone has engagement photos taken, of course. But if it’s something you’re planning on checking off your pre-wedding to-do list, have some fun with it like these couples did!

Here’s a future bride and groom at deCordova Sculpture Park, posing on some of the art. It would be tons of fun to run around 35 acres with a photographer. Maybe even a great way to relieve some wedding planning stress!

Here’s a couple kissing on the Charles River esplanade – this is my absolutely favorite of the bunch! I’m sure you and your sweetie could think of *plenty* of places to get your smooch on, no?

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Posted in Brides, Fun stuff, Grooms, Photography | 5 Comments »

Sublime Softness: Pronuptia Boheme 2011 Wedding Dresses

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

There’s not a lot that bothers me about wedding dresses – other than the fact that they are too big and too expensive for me to have a closet full – but I have now and then wished that the bulk of them could be a bit softer. All that rustling that you hear when pushing your way through racks of gowns often means a stiff, scratchy experience for the wearer. That’s why I’m loving the Pronuptia Boheme collection for 2011, with its drapey dresses and soft fabrics. Aren’t these gorgeous?

Blanche de Bohème is a crossover-effect bustier wedding dress in lace tulle embroidered with flowers with plumetis tulle gathered at the waist and highlighted by a wide Obi belt in duchess satin embellished with flowers.

Flower de Bohème in ivory gazard is an a-line wedding dress richly strewn with tone on tone flowers. The heart-shaped décolleté, the arms and the shoulders are veiled by a fine lycra tulle and the back is closed by crystal buttons.

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

Drooling Over Doilies and DIY Wedding Dresses

Monday, February 21st, 2011

…which in this case, are part the same package. Doilies are *not* something I’d usually drool over, but when they’re handmade and part of one of the prettiest and most fun wedding dresses I’ve seen this side of an elopement – on 100 Layer Cake, I should add – it’s a different story.

Jillian made her own dress, including the pattern for it. She deconstructed a vintage dress to create a pattern for the bodice (the green part); sewed that, and then crocheted doilies madly for three weeks straight. She used over two miles of crochet yarn.

Two miles! I can sew a bit, but I don’t think I’ve used two miles of anything other than thread in my combined output. Isn’t this wedding dress just amazing? And cute? Every time I look at it, I get a little giggly and a lot jealous!



Did you ever consider making your own wedding dress? Or maybe taking a dress already in existence and modifying it in some way using your badass crafty skills?

Images: Gia Caneli Photography

Posted in Alternative Ideas, DIY, Dresses, Real Weddings, Wedding Dresses, Weddings | 4 Comments »

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