Archive for August, 2012

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Good Advice for All Of Us, Not Just Introverts

Friday, August 31st, 2012


I’m going to come right out and say something I don’t very often: I’m an introvert.

I’m not shy, really. I have no problem getting up in front of a crowd to sing, act, dance, or get married. In point of fact, I’m also a bit of a show off, so many people don’t twig to the fact that I’m also profoundly introverted.

I need time alone or I rapidly become irritable. I have been known to shoo even my nearest and dearest and Mr. Twistie from the room when I need that alone time.

But the fact is that weddings – you knew I’d get around them them eventually, right? – are rough on introverts in a lot of ways. Why? Because there are so darn many people involved, and they all want your attention right now.

If you’re an introverted person getting married, or you know and love someone who is, please do yourself a favor: head over to A Practical Wedding and read this lovely guest post on how to survive your wedding week as an introvert. It’s good advice that’s valuable even to a non-extrovert who might get overwhelmed.

Posted in Advice, Bride Blogging | 1 Comment »

In Praise of Baby’s Breath

Thursday, August 30th, 2012


Most of my life, this is how I saw baby’s breath, that ubiquitous filler of cheap bouquets of roses and carnations. There would be half a dozen roses or carnations, two fern fronds, and a couple anemic sprigs of baby’s breath to ‘fill’ out the look. It never worked. Most of the time, I tossed the ferns and the baby’s breath and made do with the half a dozen ‘real’ flowers.

But you know what? Something magical can happen when the filler is used as the main bloom. Something, say, like this:

(Image via Pretty Little Things)
Suddenly a flower that was puny and pointless is a cloud of romantic elegance.


(Illustration via The Ring Bearer where you can also find instructions)
Or it can be relaxed and rustic.


(Illustration via The Alternative Bride)
You can even reverse the polarity and have a couple lovely blooms nestled amid an explosion of baby’s breath for a cool, modern look.

Using fillers thoughtfully can save you big bucks on your floral budget. But there’s no reason whatsoever to sacrifice style in doing so. If you pay attention and use your imagination, it’s amazing what a humble filler flower can do.

Posted in Bouquets, Decor, Flowers | Comments Closed

Til Death Us Do Part is for Sissies

Wednesday, August 29th, 2012


(Illustration via Wedding Hairstyles HQ)

Today is the annual Zombie Attack in Louisville, Kentucky. It is also the wedding day of Jesse Embry and Jennifer Wilson. In fact, they will be married in a zombie ceremony during the Zombie Attack.

The story line the couple has devised is that they were on their way to their wedding when a horrible accident killed both of them and their entire wedding party… but they decided to get married anyway.

The happy couple will be attended by two zombie flower girls (Embry’s nieces) as well as zombie bridesmaids and groomsmen. They will be married by a zombie pope (a friend of the couple who is ordained). All members of the wedding party will wear makeup to mimic ghastly wounds and clothes that have been customized with scissors, dye, dirt and mud, even blowtorches to give that ‘just died in’ look.

Why choose this theme and this day? Well, turns out there’s a good, sentimental reason behind it all: Jesse and Jennifer had their first official date at Zombie Walk 2009.

They joked for a while about holding their wedding where they held their first day, but after a while decided it felt right and started the serious planning.

I hope you’ll all join with me in wishing them happiness and the best of undead luck.

Posted in Real Weddings, Unusual Weddings | 1 Comment »

Quickie Question: Best SNAFU Ever?

Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

It’s a fact of life: accidents happen.

But you know what? Sometimes that’s a good thing. For instance, check out the happy accident of juxtaposition that led to this great photograph:

Or, for those of us who can appreciate a slightly more juvenile sense of the absurd, this theater marquee:

Weddings, too, can involve great accidents and things gone so wrong they turn out to be absolutely right. I know, because I’ve witnessed a couple of those glorious accidents.

At one, the boom box providing the ceremony music died just as the bride and groom turned to leave the chapel. For a moment, there was dead silence. Then the bride burst out in peals of laughter. Everyone joined in, and the wedding party departed amid the sounds of their and their friends’ joy. It was the single most delightful recessional I’ve ever attended.

The other was one where the wrong cake got delivered to the reception. This could have been really bad, but as it turned out, the cake was large enough to serve all the guests, fit the color scheme of the wedding… and since it was originally meant to feed guests at a fiftieth wedding anniversary party, the bride and groom decided to take it as a good omen.

Twenty-two years and two kids later, they’re still besottedly married to one another. I think that worked out well.

Have you ever been to a wedding where something going wrong turned out to be one of the best things about it? Share with the class!

Posted in Quickie Question | Comments Closed

No, No, It’s the Dress You Trash!

Monday, August 27th, 2012


A lot of women have the recurring fear that they will lose their wedding or engagement ring in a bizarre plumbing accident… but not many imagine they’ll accidently throw it away.

Well, that’s how Danielle Carroll lost her wedding band.

Carroll, an artist, was taking a painting class in Battery Park in New York City. At the end of class, everyone threw their rags into a plastic garbage bag brought along for the purpose. Carroll says she had been using a ‘slippery hand cleaner’ right before she disposed of her rag, and believes that this is when her wedding ring slipped off her finger unnoticed.

It was actually Carroll’s second wedding ring. Her husband bought her the band with nine diamonds for their tenth anniversary last year, to replace the one she’d already lost.

In the wee hours of the morning, Carroll realized her ring was gone and attempted to sneak out of her apartment to go looking for it without her husband being any the wiser. As it turns out, he woke up and joined her for the search.

When she got to the trash can where she thought the garbage bag had been thrown, though, it turned out sanitation workers had already emptied it out. Undaunted, Carroll spotted a garbage truck nearby with nobody in it. She left a note that read:

‘Hello, I believe my wedding ring is in this truck….please call me to tell me where this truck is going,’

The driver of the truck, Gary Gaddist, called Carroll when he returned and said he would look for the ring.

So Gaddist searched through garbage bags at Randall’s Island until he found the one with Carroll’s ring in it.

Asked why he went the extra mile, he said:

It’s a love thing.

Gary Gaddist, Manolo for the Brides salutes you. You were willing to wade through garbage to help a stranger find her wedding ring. That’s not something you see every day.

So, my dear readers, if any of you ever lose your wedding or engagement ring and think it might have slipped into a garbage can, you know the super sanitation worker to call!

Posted in After the wedding, Fun stuff, Rings | Comments Closed

Twistie’s Sunday Caption Madness: The Pugnacious Pugilist Edition: The Result

Saturday, August 25th, 2012

Oh you delicious people, you.

Last sunday, I smacked your gobs with this deathless image:

… and you did not disappoint. You came back with five spunky captions it might illustrate.

All were worthy, but in the end there can be but one winner. This week, said winner is the winner and still champeen, Jo for this groaner of a gut buster:

To hell with the champers – Belinda was quite determined to serve punch at her wedding.

Congratulations, Jo, and thanks to everyone who played.

Posted in Sunday Caption Madness | Comments Closed

LOVE/HATE: Feathers as Flowers?

Friday, August 24th, 2012


When we think about what a bride will carry down the aisle with her, we usually think of flowers. Of course, it’s also perfectly proper to carry a prayer book, a fan, or to follow the example of Frances Folsom when she married President Grover Cleveland in the White House and carry nothing at all.

But most commonly, we carry flowers. We expect other brides to carry flowers. We think of them tied in a bouquet… but the fact is a bouquet needn’t be made of flowers. And some brides – whether from concerns about allergies, dislike of the waste of cut flowers, or simply a desire to be a little different – would much rather their bouquets be made of something else… such as feathers.

Me? I LOVE the idea, so long as they’re done well. The picture up top is my idea of a great feather bouquet. The feathers are simply allowed to be themselves. I happen to be a fan of having things look like what they are.

But what about you? LOVE ’em? HATE ‘m? Think they soar to heights of fabulousness? Or consider them for the birds?

Posted in Bouquets, LOVE/HATE | 2 Comments »

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