Hide Your Face so the World Will Never Find You

As I was putting on my fangs to go to work this morning, I realized that I had a confession to blog.

I'm a geek.

I actually corrected a student this morning who asked if I was Bella (of Twilight). I immediately reminded her that Stephanie Meyer's vampires do not have fangs.

While I am not a Buffyphile, I have a strong inclination that is only the case because I have never seen an episode. I love dressing up for Halloween, even though I am well past trick-or-treating age. And I am fascinated with the idea of a masque ball:

Offbeat? A bit, I guess. But wouldn't it be fun?

Chapter Seven: Sezzy and Boy Gots no Cash

In your wildest wedding dreams as a little girl, you imagine pouffy dresses, tiaras, and castles. You dwell on the step, pause, step down the aisle. You fantasize about your "prince."

The last thing on your mind is budget.

And yet, as I read wedblog upon wedblog, this subject keeps coming up. It's the same heartbreaking realization that you get after you graduate and begin your mind-numbing first job. You crunch numbers, write code, work retail to get by, or clock ridiculous hours and all the while you're thinking "I'm working too hard." Maybe even, "The expensive stuff I thought I wanted... just isn't worth all this."

I'm right there with you.

Boy and I want to be married, really, we do. For all purposes we already are. We live together and have three furkids: Neville, Molly, and our doggie Jack-Jack.

Boy and Jack-Jack

Before we got our puppers, we talked for a long time about what it would mean. A cat is one thing (I love cats, really), but a dog is a serious committment. I just recently found out that one of my oldest friends went through a nasty breakup with his long-time girlfriend. She got the dog. Boy and I are not doing that!

So Jack-Jack? Big decision. We talked about it, and we knew what it meant. I've never had to worry about the committment thing. The idea of a wedding is more about thanking our friends and family for supporting us and celebrating the creation of a new family. Our family.

What are we waiting for? Mostly it's the surprise. It's the one thing he gets to plan as totally his. And the money. Part of my feminist literature studying brain recognizes the ring as a completely ridiculous sexist tradition. Why should the guy have to shell out thousands (or 3 month's salary- crazy!) for a shiny present for the chick? Fortunately, the little girl side of me throws a temper tantrum when she hears that stupid pretentious scholar.

I want the shiny. But I know we both need to save. Because I'm telling you, the wedding I want:

Is waaaaay too expensive for a teacher's salary. Or my parents. Or Boy. Or, let's face it, all of us combined.

Sigh... Miss Maggie, you and your fantastic wedding dresses will just have to be patient. If you figure out how to... please let this little girl know!

I'll bite

Peonies over at Peonies and Poloroids, which I follow religiously, tagged her entire readership for this meme.

The game? Answer the usual random questions of yourself by searching flickr and creating a mosaic (using mosaic maker) of the answers. Here is what I came up with:




1. Only glass, 2. Pasta Flower, 3. Pole Vaulter, 4. rose, 5. Ryan with Katie, 6. Manhattan, 7. Isengard, 8. White Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake with Creme Fraiche, 9. Chihiro, 10. Friends silhouetted, 11. tiny worlds, 12. The Lion in Winter

The questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you attend?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you?
12. Your Flickr name?


Notes: (not required, but some fun commentary)
1. Great portrait of a woman whose name is apparently the same as mine.
2. Mmm, carbs...
3. H-H has had some great athletes, including this pole vaulter!
4. You faithful readers already know how much I love this shade of pink
5. Yum.
6. SoCo Manhattan, to be specific
7. New Zealand, natch.
8. Ohmigosh I would do just about anything for a piece of this right now...
9. :) This does not at all relate to what I typed, so I guess fate is just trying to remind me of my secret desire to come back as a housecat
10. Friends. Family. Quiet time with Boy.
11. Mercurial- a Mercutio
12. I actually do not have an active flickr account, so I've used my usual moniker.

I tag Bayside Affair/Crystalliferous, Drunky McGamblingproblem Loves You, It's Words, A Stepford Wedding, and Schiver's Big Blog of Annoyances.

Peonies was right, that was easy :) Please comment if you blog this; I'll link back to you!

Love it!

Remember how a bit ago I made a Penn State inspired board and hated the result? Well the exact opposite happened with this board! See if you can guess at the inspiration, a show that Boy and I both love for all of its quirky, geeky, glory:

:) it makes me smile.

It is bright, quirky and fun. I love the green groomsmen and blue bridesmaids, and not just because of alliteration (which I just noticed as I was typing). I imagine a song like Say Anything's "Alive With the Glory of Love" playing as a recessional, lots of dancing, and some truly awesome pie. The green chucks are a must, and check out that olive in the martini!

I completely do not care that the bridesmaid shoes are designer knock offs. Nope, not one bit.

For comparison, here is the picture that served as inspiration (I'm just not a big fan of yellow):


So what do you think? Did a movie or TV show spark your wedding creativity? How will you bring your favorite cult hits into your special day?

Ahem.

It is snowing, peoples. Outside, right now, in my little country suburb of Philadelphia, it is snowing. It is gosh-darned October!

Which leads me to a minor wedding related panic attack. What on earth do you do when your fantastic outdoor ceremony is beset with freakish weather? Rain, I understand. You can prepare for rain, and should, especially in October. But snow?

I am a problem solver. I may go into a minor panic, but I like to think that I do a fairly good job in a pinch. For me, it's fun and a necessity. If I don't adapt in the classroom, I'm toast.

So how do you fix a glorious outdoor fall wedding that is beset with snow? A trusty bridesmaid, some fast-thinking, and quick trip to the local mall! A few quick changes can turn this:

Into this:

Your invitations would still not match if you went with the leaf motif. If you're really terrified of weather catastrophe though, you probably won't be planning your wedding during an iffy period. Luckily, the colors of fall leaves are perfect for a fireside feel. I'm sure any guests would appreciate warm drinks that you could probably prevail upon your caterer to serve. You can pick up bags of single color M&Ms at any party city... something I found out when in oh-my-god-I-forgot-the-favors panic hours before Crystal's shower. A stealthy switch of leaves for extra (or supermarket) roses on the cake and no one will even notice that your theme does not fit the weather.

If you're like me and you don't mind some quick adjustments, you can have a not perfect (no such thing!) but perfectly fine day in the season you love.

And speaking of purr-fectly fine: the awesome and talented Crystal of A Bayside Affair was recently featured on Cardgirl DIY! Let's hear it for her!

Let's hear it from you, too! Were there any weather catastrophes or adjustments on your big day?

"I'm not really this dark, please don't send me to my counselor."

That's what one of my students last year said before he read a poem that came out incredibly dark. Sometimes that just happens- you start with one idea and it takes a delicious dark turn.

Speaking of yummy, Ariel posted a drool-inducing Victorian forest wedding on Thursday over on Offbeat Bride. You simply must clicky to read the interview with Rachael, the fabulously dark and creative bride. Every detail is gorgeous.

Boy, boy's little bro, and I are heading to a concert soon of this fantastic little band called The Matches. Their stuff is a little quirky, which I love. They have a song called Darkness Rising, which is a perfect goth love song. Clicky and listen!

I'm going to be showing my true geek colors here, but the first time I heard the song, I immediately thought of Edward and Bella, of Twilight.

The main idea of the song is perfect for a wedding, particularly one with a dark theme... and what is darker than vampires? What I get from the lyrics is: "No matter how dark and twisty you are, I'll still be here. Bring it on."

What a great theme for a Victorian-inspired affair:

The pale pink is back, and looks just as stunning with black as it does with the cream. The dress is beautiful, but I think I would prefer it in cream, so it would go with the palate a bit better.

One interesting thing I found as I was working on this board is that it came out warm, despite the fact that it's based around night and blackness. Strange.

I am in love with that birdcage.

So what do you think? Are dark themes inappropriate for a wedding? Do Halloween-timed weddings have to involve costumes, or do you think the bride can just wear a discreet set of fangs?

Seriously, I think I drooled. For reals.

Boy is out of town on business, so that gives me the chance to gorge on wedding porn. I was surfing around a bit aimlessly when I decided to look at a few venues, just to see what was out there.

And then...

OMG. O-M-F-ing-G.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: The Stroudsmoor Country Inn.

It's a fantastic multi-option catering/B&B/spa in the Poconos. Spa. As in they do bridal hair and makeup there. And give massages.

Main plus: Hello? Did you see those gosh darned pictures? It's breathtaking. The reception area looks like a grand space and has no drop ceilings (which I've figured out is non-negotiable point numero uno with me. NO drop ceilings in my reception hall! I don't care how much fabric you weave up there, buddy!)

Main minus: At 55-70 dollars a plate plus facility rental this place is pricey mcpricersons.

But still: My parents did honeymoon in the Poconos, so it'd be worth it for the sentimental value... right? And I could embrace my half-Irish heritage with a Celtic woodland wedding:

Wouldn't it be so earthy and great? Boy and I went hiking in rainforest when we were in Hawaii and fell in love with the lush surroundings. Another hiking date is soon to be set with our bestest engaged pals, and we won't even care about the cold. Ok, we'll care a little, but forests are pretty!

This dress puts me in mind of Lady Galadriel, you almost need a circlet with it. The bridesmaids dresses are JCrew and come in many different colors for mixable fun. Recognize those invitations? I've used them before in a different color.

And I love that cake. Absolutely love.

Obviously, this is a wedding I could never afford. What do you think? Is venue worth the amount of money you spend on it?

What if...

you just skipped all of the planning and wedding drama and eloped? You could throw a chic cocktail party and just board the plane.

Wouldn't it be kind of nice? Elopement doesn't mean that your friends and family couldn't be involved at all. Everyone could come along for the getaway and cheer you on! Simple invitations could let everyone know the plan. The bridal party attire would match, but be simple and really rewearable. The bride would carry a calla lilly and wear a packable dress.

It's a great dream...

Of course, you could always use the same plan and palate for an engagement party. I love the idea of an engagement party, but I don't like the ones that look like a mini-wedding. This party could be hosted at a home or a great bar. The bridal party could wear coordinated clothes that they already own, so that everyone can get to know the important people.

Still, it's tempting.

For Josefina

My best friend Josefina is one of the few people who have known me for a long time. Part of the reason for that is the moving that I've already told you about. Part is my lack of ability to stay in touch with old friends.

Yet Josefina remains. She's about to graduate law school now, in fact. She's always been very bright. But the real stand out part of her is her style! Josefina can go into the crummiest little shop and find the most awesome pieces.

Her wedding, though it isn't in the cards as of yet, will be spectacular. I'm particularly stoked for all of the Jewish wedding traditions that I will get to see. It will also mark the end of Boy's deadline to propose. He had from last Christmas to when the glass is broken at Josefina's wedding. I'm sure when she gets engaged he'll start really sweating it!

Josefina's true color is cranberry. She is an alabaster princess, so the deep red tone looks fantastic on her. I just did a red board, so I thought I would dabble in another color she looks great in:

I told you she was stylish. I'm hoping her wedding will be an NYC affair myself. Note how I've spared no expense here on my best friend's wedding! I've set it in NYC, dressed the maids in designer frocks, and chosen a single flower motif with orchids, which are notoriously expensive.

I'm blatantly reveling in my uber-hip dream world. What do you think? Does it fit a hip law student? What would you do if you could design your best friend's wedding?

Let it Snow!

Blame the temperature here in Philly, but when I woke up this morning I begged for a snow day. Alas, all I got was some frost on my windshield. Figures.

At any rate, I ended up with the idea of a shiny red/gold Christmas wedding:

Decadent, no? I think that planning a holiday wedding would be way too much trouble for everyone involved, but that does not mean that it is all bad news. Pomegranate is a very fall/winter shade of red, so it just won't work in my summer wedding. Winter brides have me there. Also, there is the possibility of a yummy hot chocolate bar with things like marshmallows and cinnamon.

By the by, that gold necklace for the red bridesmaid is from Barney's, but looks like Dogeared. Dogeared makes beautiful (but a bit pricey for its simplicity) jewelery that I think would be perfect for any maid. I wish they had a special bridesmaid line, but you could always package it with your own card. Random thoughts!

What do you think? Are you a holiday bride? Do you think it would be worth the trouble? Do you think Santa would follow my registry?

Vitamin String Quartet

When I introduced my Paramore Tangerine Sky board I briefly touched on the awesomeness that is the Vitamin String Quartet.

Basically, it is a record label which gathers talented string musicians and releases their renditions of popular songs. They focus mostly on punk and indie rock, which makes them perfect for offbeat processionals everywhere.

I clicked my way on over to their Modern Wedding Collection (which is a major steal btw) after falling in love with Paramore's "Hallelujah" on So You Think You Can Dance. Jade used an awesome version of "Just Like Heaven," which you can find on this collection, in her own ceremony.

I love what they have to say in their blurb (via vitaminrecords.com): "Was Wagner playing during your first kiss? Did you hear Mendelssohn when he popped the question? No. Why would you want to hear them on your wedding day?"

Love it.

Here are a few of my favorite wedding fodder tracks: (clicky the linky ones for a listen- all availible on iTunes, natch)

Beatiful Day- U2
Across the Sea- Weezer
Everlong- Foo Fighters
Ohio is for Lovers- Hawthorne Heights
The Leaving Song Pt 2- AFI (When I played this one, Boy said, "Ooh! AFI!")
Hands Down- Dashboard Confessional
Imagine- John Lennon
The Remembrance Ballad- Atreyu

I could go on for hours, but I'll leave that to you. So go ahead! Surf on over and listen to the song snippits. Comment with your favorites and how you could use them. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Pale Peonies

I make no bones whatsoever about my favorite flower: the peony. I do not apologize for its unabashed girlishness. I do not care if it is out of season during my own wedding (it won't be). I will have peonies.

Gosh darnit.

While I was searching for some inspiration after my last board left me feeling blah, I came back upon the peony. One of the things I am incredibly grateful for is that I am not tied to a wedding theme or any kind of choices yet. I have a feeling that when things become official, all of those things will be incredibly stressful. What if I planned the perfect Penn State wedding and then hated it after falling out of love with my pallet?

I know I can't fall out of love with this pale pallet:

It's just so simple and airy. I love peonies because they are so dramatic and romantic with very little effort on their own part. They come with fantastic, huge leaves. They are not dangerous and snotty like roses are.

They also grow in my parents' yard.

The real center of this board and its star is the bridesmaid dress: a vintage 1930's number in pale pink. I don't think it would flatter any of my girlfriends, but there it is.

Chaper Four: We were... and still are Penn State

Boy and I took a trip to PSU this weekend, where we met each other and most of our friends. Where we spent countless night studying, partying, and cheering. Where we found home.

So... a bit of a special place.

When I was a junior, I took summer classes to pick up a minor and ended up banquet serving at Penn State's swanky college-owned hotel: The Nittany Lion Inn. It was a hotspot for alumni weddings, so I got to see a lot of lions tie the knot. There were both big and small weddings, but all of them were undenyably Penn State.

What would that look like for me? Well:

What do you think? I couldn't leave out the apple green, basic blue and white just seemed too, well, basic.

Oh I don't know. I like everything about this board, all of the pieces on their own were great. And I was totally in love with the idea of a Penn State wedding. But for some reason, this just isn't working for me.

Anyone else experience an idea that doesn't live up to your expecations? Have an early love for something that seems like only lust after you spend the night with it?

Out of town? In the bag!

I'm sorry about that title.

I have not stopped thinking about the out of town bags. I'm sure that they're going to be one of the impossibly insignificant details that I will obsess over. (See: my preoccupation with the emergency kit for Jade's wedding)

You see, I have a huge family who are all incredibly important to me. My mom is the oldest of five girls born to a headstrong German woman and an Air Force Irishman. The aunties are all very different, and each excels at her own chosen field. More on them later. Between all of the aunts, my Nana and PopPop now have a brood of twelve grandchildren and one soon-to-be great-grandchild.

We are close to the point of embarrassment at family functions, and that is just the beginning. There are seven other branches of this extended family, all of them German/Irish and all of them crazy. I say that with love.

Point being that there will be MANY out of towners at my own large wedding, so I have sympathy for brides who have to spend time on these.

A bit of browsing today gave me an idea. Instead of using plastic or paper bags, why not go for a more eco-friendly option? I clicked my way on over to Simply Green Solutions to look for some recycled paper gift bags and found this instead:

A resusable, custom-printed grocery tote.

You can buy these at any store nowadays, but you always end up advertising their store every time you use it (The bag screams, "Hey! Look! Target is eco-friendly!") and I feel weird about using one store's bag at another store so I end up buying another, hence totally defeating the purpose.

But these can be custom printed with your company's logo- so why not a monogram? That way, your out of town guest gets to acutally keep and re-use the bag, remembering your fantastic weekend of wedding awesomeness each time.

They have lots of cool options, many of which fold or collapse for easy storage. You could totally tuck this in your glove compartment or purse so that you would have it for a quick run to the store.

And check out this neat drawstring one! It would be perfect for a mini-gym bag or something that is very needed in our home: a doggy diaper bag.

The downside? They must be crazy expensive. I'm sure it would be much less expensive to purchase recycled paper bags and print labels from a home computer. But what a cute idea!

What do you think? Would this bag option/favor be worth the price, especially if most of the guests are out of town? Are out of town bags worth the trouble?

Bonjour!

Why does a destination wedding have to be in a tropical place? For my money, I'd rather go on a grand adventure.

What about Paris?

The city of lights would be a very romantic setting for a getaway wedding. You could suit up the maids in this admittedly uncomfortable looking dress for pictures by the Eiffel Tower. You could go to the Louvre!

Of course, I don't speak French... and the only nice people I happened to meet while in Paris were working in a Chinese restaurant, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it wouldn't be lovely!

And take a look at this fantastic wedding dress. I really liked the one from the last post, but when I saw this one, I immediately needed to design a whole wedding around it. The purple comes from the tote bag, a sweet gift for the couples who would join the trip.

It's one thing to go somewhere expensive to lay on the beach- but quite another for an adventure! What do you think? Where would you go for an adventure wedding?

I think about the implications

I seem to have no problem gathering ideas when I'm listening to music. This time, it was Colin Hay's "Overkill," which was featured in an episode of Scrubs a while back. It's the one where Colin Hay follows J.D. around playing a guitar and singing loudly. Brilliant.

Any-who...

This is what I came up with. Don't ask me why teal. It's a very chill song, which explains the cream. But the teal? Goodness knows. I'm also totally crushing on damask right now. It's classic and formal but not a Fleur de Leis. I can't look at one of those without singing an old kappa kappa gamma-bashing sorority song, and I have a feeling that a wedding is neither the time nor place for sorority rivalries.

I'm certain that this dress would be incredibly heavy, but you simply have to click on it and check it out in all of its pretty, lacy detail. According to the site it was inspired by Avril Livigne, but I have no idea how. It's also $5,000, so there's that.

Polyvore has an excess of Jones soda bottles to use when creating collages. I suppose they're for people who would like to accessorize their outfit with a matching bottle of soda. But what about chic little favors? Or for out-of-town bags? Oooh, out of town bags, you will be a post all your own.

What do you think? Are lamps suitable as additional lighting options if used sparingly (not as centerpieces)? How fantastic are those gorgeous Jimmy Choo's?

For Becky

My sister Becky is a simple girl. She works hard so she plays hard. She also has fantastic taste. Her room, which is still at my parents' house while she finishes her studies, is chocolate brown and Tiffany box blue.

It's exquisite.

So in honor of her:

short and sweet by nittanysam


Voila! A simple board of brown and blue. These contrasty buddies look great together, and even though I'm not a huge fan of brown bridesmaids, this chiffon number is very pretty.

What do you think? Do you miss the tangerine as much as I do? Are you longing for some lime? Or is a basic palate the perfect stage for simple elegance?

Edit: The board is clicky-able now! The problem is due to my lack of ability with html and Polyvore's new practice of putting links of the title under the picture, which I don't like. The problem is also fixed on earlier posts, so clicky away!

Formal Shmormal

Or something like that.

It seems like there are a lot of independent brides out there, or maybe it's just that the blogosphere buzzes best when indie brides clack away. Either way, there seems to be a trend towards non-traditional weddings.

Personally, I'm all for it, but I'm not sure about my own wedding. So I thought that I would do traditional with a twist for this board: black tie with violet accents.

Not too shabby. I'm lovin me some fancy, but I don't think it really came out indie at all. Le sigh.

Chapter One: Star-crossed

One of the first things that new friends learn about me is that I moved quite a bit when I was a little girl. About every three years, in fact, we uprooted our lives and started anew. My dad is in software, so it wasn't a military thing. It was just kind of the way things turned out.

That's actually a good way to describe my life: just kind of the way things turned out.

So when I was in third grade, we moved from home number three. It was a townhouse in a small town. There wasn't much exciting there, but it was where I had started school and made my first communion, so it was special to me.

Home number four was a big house about 45 minutes away. I said that I would visit my old friends all the time, but I didn't. You know how that goes. Moving taught me that- people make lots of promises they don't keep.

So when we moved across the country to home number five, I was not delusional about friends. On my path to becoming a realist, I knew how my life was going to work. With a new start, I switched to a nickname. I wore baggy jeans. I skateboarded.

I did none of these things well.

Like clockwork, three years later we moved back east to home number six and other than a move to a bigger home number seven in the same school district, we stayed put. On my first day at school number seven the guidance councilor assigned me a best friend. Her name was Josefina, and she is still my best friend.

So much for realism.

Josefina and I both went to State, and there we met film class guy and his roomate, Mike Michaels. The four of us bonded, for reasons that I'm sure were related to Vladimir and his inexpensive handles of cheap vodka. As it turned out, FCG and M squared were good friends from high school. One night when we mixed Vladamir and Scrabble we started chatting about how our lives had already changed so much from what they were when we were young. It wasn't long before strict religious upbringings were compared (For the record: two Catholic, two Jewish) and fate made herself known.

FCG and M squared were from my small town. Home number three. In fact, about ten years earlier, I met M squared. We made our first communion together. Six years after we met again in college, I was the MOH at M squared's wedding to his Jade. She's my other best friend.

And Boy? I didn't meet him until my junior year at State. The four friends grew to more, many of whom were also from the small town of home number three. Remember how I was a realist before? I had lost touch with so many friends that I was running out of space in my address book. But these friends stuck. One called me by a new name: Sezzy.

So when I met Boy, I was nervous about introducing him. We had met at a party and had a ridiculous, fantastic first date. We connected. And quickly. What if my friends didn't like him?

I fretted the whole way to FCG and M squared's apartment, where Jade and Josefina were hanging out with the rest of our friends. Nearly shaking, I opened the door and strolled in, trying to appear normal. And they yelled,

"Boy! What are you doing here? Good to see you!"

All at once. Turns out Boy moved to the small town of home number three when he was in high school so that he could play football. They knew him. Boy, someone I just started dating and liked more than I should, was already friends with the best friends I had made (in three states).

And all I could do was breathe.

Technical difficulties and change

Blerg.

According to Facebook, I have exceeded a completely arbitrary and unannounced limit because of the speed at which I write notes.

I haven't written a note since August, so apparently twice every 3 months is too often.

Boy and I hosted a party this weekend, and had an absolutely fantastic time with our friends. Since I'm a geek, I write down the interesting things that we say and post them on Facebook with commentary afterwards. This protects all of us, since Facebook is a bit safer than the blogosphere for off-color comments.

However... I promised to begin telling the story of Sezzy and Boy, and how we got to year four of life in love. Don't worry, you can still expect inspiration board goodness. But now, as an added bonus, you get to meet the cast.

And you get the quotations. But not yet. First, some set up and the beginning of sharing our story. It is, above all, a story about fate and friends.

Hallelujah and tangerine sky

I was pondering the aesthetics of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," and wondered what a marmalade sky would actually look like as my iPod randomly shuffled through songs.

Before I go further, please let me make perfectly clear to you that I am not a screaming teenage girl. I am not.

Ok. So Paramore's "Hallelujah" came on and suddenly the song merged with my imagined orange sky and created this:

A tangerine sky wedding. Isn't it joyous?

The lyrics of the song call for it: "This time we're not giving up/ Let's make it last forever/ Screaming hallelujah/ We'll make it last forever." I have been in love with this song ever since the awesome and wedding blog approved Vitamin String Quartet's version of it appeared on the final four episode of So You Think You Can Dance.

I love these colors, and even more together. I added that crinoline skirt under the bridesmaid dress there to give it a little umph. It reminds me of that red prom dress I loved, which makes me happy.

What do you think? Did you go for a bold or unique color combo? Are there such things as tangerine skies? Would these colors make my Nana pass out? Shout out people.

Oh, and go Phillies!

Nothing is that black and white!

A white wedding looks fantastic, but I'm sorry. There is no way I'm going to be sharing that white dress spotlight.

The solution? A black and white wedding. Oh so formal, and oh so luscious:

A Panda Is! by nittanysam

I'm not sure about that black bouquet, it seems a bit morbid. I love the flower girl bouquet though! Dual bridesmaid dresses are back, although I have not yet attempted to give the groomsmen any individuality. Oh well. It's not really about them, is it?

I think I'm forgetting my own situation in this one. For Boy, who has 3 brothers and for me as well, seeing as most of my friends (save the very select group of awesome girls) are boys... the groomsmen will be a big deal.

So how do I give them their own spin? What do you think of black and white? Too contrasty? It makes me kind of ache for a pop of robin's egg... or tangerine... Ooh! Or celadon!

2 fer

Because I was feeling a bit more inspired today than usual, and I have no more papers to grade...

Here's a bonus board for you!

A fall wedding would be something special. While most people seem to love the spring, I prefer the fall. The warm colors, cozy sweaters, and slightly chilly nights really appeal to me, and this time of year always coincides with the return of school, new notebooks, and the smell of books. They smell different in the fall, trust me.

Also, a big shout out to my favorite recent Mrs: the fantastic Crystal over at A Bayside Affair, who totally pimped me on her blog today. X's and O's all around.

If you're new, please consider leaving a comment to say hi! I am a blogging virgin and curious if anyone is reading. Not to mention that I would totally love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and ideas. Don't be shy!

The color of passion, fire, and burlesque shows the world over

Let's put aside for a moment my astonishment that I knew how to spell the word "burlesque," and have a little chat about the color red.

I am in awe of red brides. The confidence! The style! The unadulterated panache! It is oh-so desirable. I also love the way that red can be either an offbeat or traditional choice depending on how you use it.

I hinted at my love of red with two of my previous boards, but they only just scratched the surface of the obsession.

I had two red prom dresses. One of them I am still very much in love with. It was a bright crimson with orange crinoline that peeked out from under the hem. What a dress. Shame about the date, but the dress... heaven.

So here is a formal red board for you this lovely Wednesday morning:

A few of the items here need special attention.

That tux! Oh sweet lord, that tux. Without a doubt, it is my favorite wedding menswear so far. I am sure that it costs oodles of money and would be a ridiculous expense for any groomsman, but seriously- look how pretty it is. Boys in tuxedos are magical things. Dapper, sweep you off your feet things. One of the things that I was so taken by at the fantastic wedding of Crys to her boy was the transformation of the groomsmen. These boys looked like men! Handsome men! None of them, of course, compared to Boy, but I'm biased.

The favor boxes and invitations come from this post over on Brides.com. While I don't want to encourage any gratuitous feeding of the wedding industry beast, I have no problem stealing good ideas and repurposing them. What I am calling a favor box appears to be an invitation in a box filled with red hots. I love the red hot box, but I'm not sure why you would put an invitation in a box with candy. That seems a bit too expensive and annoying. If you head over to the original post, you'll also see that the box lid is covered with a sheet of white paper with "love" written all over it. Gag. I'd rather a plain red top with a logo or monogram in black, please. All in all, its a great idea that seems simple to DIY.

Don't even get me started on that bridesmaid dress. I know I said that I have been leaning towards non-matchy dresses, but red is just too hard to find a perfect shade match and I promise you that it would annoy me for decades if I had 2 cranberry maids and 3 crimson maids. I shudder at the thought.

So, red. I love it so. As usual, however, there are problems. It is almost impossible to match the exact shade throughout the entire wedding, which leads to shuddering and overall bridezilla behavior. There are possible harlot implications, and since we've already covered that I live in sin, perhaps I should stay away from those. Oh, and one of my possible maids is a redhead, and I'm just not that mean. Sigh.

On not being a bride

Yes. I live in sin with Boy. No. We're not engaged.

Since some people who do not actually know me may read this, allow me to explain.

I love wedding blogs and all things wedding. I have from the time I was a flower girl through working as a wedding server and coordinator at a hotel and playing MOH for one of my best friends. But the wedding is not the most important part of a relationship.

So I started what will be a wedding blog early.

Boy and I live together now, much to the chagrin of many of my older relatives (see previous examples of traditional Irish Catholicism) and the delight of our friends. When we graduated from college we had just endured the separation of my student teaching in Pittsburgh- a ghastly 3 hours away from Boy and PSU, and neither of us wanted to live at home anymore. Solution: live together.

And we have been doing just that for 2 years now. That puts our grand total at nearly 4 years, which also gives my mom a daily heart attack.

Everyone has their opinions, and of course they are welcome to them. Of course I'd love to plan a big flouffy party in a pretty gown, but the engagement is up to Boy, not me. It's his chance to do something special, and I'm not going to take it from him.

Plus, my wedding style is soooo all over the place. So for now, I observe, create inspiration boards that I will never use for my actual wedding, and will chronicle the progression of life (in sin) with Boy and dog.

Blog Pink!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! So come on girlies and blog pink!

Y'all know how I feel about pink weddings, but the silver accents make this not quite so bad. And I adore this gown. I have the feeling that it would be very heavy, but I'm certain it would be worth it!

I'm also getting to be a fan of two tones of bridesmaid attire. I like how it can give the gals some more of their own individuality. It's hard to see on this board (clicky for bigger), but the bridesmaid necklace is a single pink pearl. So sweet! The flower girl dress is adorable as well.

I have a feeling this wedding would serve cotton candy :)

Smrt

I think I've figured out the fedora thing.

(click it to make it unfuzzy)
Both XKCD, my favorite webcomic, and Zero Punctuation (google search it, it's blocked where I'm posting), the fantastically sarcastaranting video game review vlog, feature snappy hats. While I understand that neither of these things are cool to non-geeks, none of my friends are non-geeks, so they're cool to me :).

Which brings me to a tricksy topic: geekdom and weddings.

A geek wedding, in my mind, is defined as a heavily themed affair. This usually includes light sabers, costumes, and/or the recital of vows in elvish. (Hehe, I'm imagining a wedding with all three of those things, it's awesome!) But what about a wedding of geeks? What is the right balance between personal touches and an uncomfortable level of geekery?

It seems to me that there is a time and place for geekiness at your wedding. If the bride and groom's love of video games, Star Wars, or cosplay is part of what brings them together, then I think that should be celebrated. However, there is a lot to be said for keeping your guests comfortable as well.

One of my favorite ways to include geek moments is through ceremony readings. I am not big into the idea that people have spent hundreds of years basing their lives on the minute details of wording in a translated text, so I like the idea of opting for literature instead of scripture at my own wedding. To each couple their own, of course. What about a section from Hitchhiker's? A little-known Shakespearian soliloquy? One of the many beautiful "songs" found in LOTR? Those who are in the know about what you are reading, will appreciate what the choice means to you as a couple, and any others will simply enjoy the words.

Of course, there is also the haven of kitsch, the groom's cake. This is one of my favorite reception traditions, and is a fantastic way to show some personality. It does not have to apply to the groom only, and seems to be wonderful way to celebrate something offbeat that is special to the couple. Check out this fantastic Katamari wedding cake done by Mike's Amazing Cakes in Seattle (via flickr):



I bow down to its creativity and geekerific glory. I am fairly certain that even the King of All Cosmos would be pleased with such a tasty Katamari.

Thank goodness they ship all over the US because all of their work is spectacular. Clicky the link above to the website for sheer fantasticness, but make sure that you have a drool rag handy and be warned that the site is flash.

What about you? How did you incorporate your personal geekiness into your wedding? How much is too much, and how the heck are you supposed to know?

All your life...

I promised an Across the Universe board, and I keep my promises.

I discovered the Beatles when I moved to California in 6th grade. We drove across the country to our new home, and I played the Beatles in my Walkman because my only older cousin thought they were cool, so that meant that they had to be. So for a long while, the early Beatles music (Hard Day's Night) was associated with that sense of adventure and excitement for me.

I kind of let my Beatles love drop off for a while after that, though I knew of them and their awesomeness, I was not an avid fan. In my freshman year of high school, however, that changed again.

I was a band geek. A true, die hard, complete with strange outfits and non-conformist attitude band geek. Damn proud of it. Our show my freshman year was the 1960s and included music that changed the world during that decade. We played great stuff from Miss Saigon as well as "Adagio for Strings" and another Beatles hit: "With a Little Help from my Friends," but the ballad was my favorite. Leading into "Adagio," we played a slow version of "Imagine" with a truly kick-ass baritone solo. We closed the end of the show by literally breaking open the white picket fences that began it (ie the end of the 1950s and the death of the American Dream) to reveal the last line of "Imagine."

It was brilliant.

One of my colleagues has a hypothesis about the Beatles. He says that you can tell a lot about a person and their current place in life by asking them what their favorite Beatles album is. Through high school and most of college it was all Sgt. Pepper for me. By the end of college, I was ready for Magical Mystery Tour, and now it's The White Album (The Beatles). You'd have to ask him what that says about me.

So, the Beatles. Many of my huge, life changing moments carry their music as a soundtrack. I am still stunned that it took me so long to see Across the Universe, but now I can't watch it enough. I need to get the soundtrack, like now. (God I love amazon.com!)

You've waited long enough.

Beatles and Boy go together. He's not a fan, but a few Christmases ago he did something very sweet. He bought me a Beatles CD. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but to me it was. See, not that many people know about my closet Beatles obsession. I'm not sure why, it's just not one of my outward personality traits and I'm sure that I had never mentioned it to Boy.

The pallet here is simple. Red and black with primary colors as accents. I wanted to recreate the drama and lightness of the time. The fedora returns along with chuck taylors, this time in red. Gerber daises are slightly overdone, but I like them anyway and they seem simple enough to get the job done. I adore the dress. It is simple and pure without being princessy, which is exactly how I would picture a Beatles bride.

Guests could pose for pictures in front of the giant "All you need is love" sign and we could even make other lyric signs with different primary colors posted in a picture taking area. It would make for a colorful and personal guestbook, with each guest (or group of guests) selecting the lyric that fit them and their relationship to the couple.

The lyrics and little touches are "Blackbird," which is my favorite Beatles song. As a teacher, it doesn't get any better than "take these broken wings and learn to fly," but I love the line "All your life, you have only waited for this moment to arrive" as a wedding sentiment. It is very near to what I'd like to do with me and Boy's song someday.

Now where's my iPod? All this Beatles talk has got me jonesin' for some Jude...

Cordially? Happily? Awesomely?

Invitations. The word fills me with abject terror. As an English teacher, I feel extra pressure to make good with the words. The fact that every one of my close friends and family members will be reading wording that I have chosen to express my love of Boy and desire to be stapled to him for the rest of our lives is utterly horrifying.

I've said it once and I'll say it again... thank goodness I'm not planning yet because I do not have the ability to make these decisions!

Ok, now that my personal anxiety is set aside, let's look at some pretty things! My mom has been cooing about a neat little store that just moved into the upscale mini mall by her house: Blue Tulip. She dragged me (ok, I followed willingly) there one day to ooh and ahh over their invitations. Try telling my mom that Boy hasn't proposed yet. Really, try it. It's like talking to Martha Stewart whilst she is on television and you're sitting on your couch in your sweatpants. You yell, and she just keeps on planning weddings.

First up, the STDs. Gigglesnort. I might get over that, but now that I'm teaching 9th graders... probably not. These are from the fantastic Wedding Paper Divas:

I love the simplicity of this one, and the use of such a bold color is great. Done this way, it is understated and modern. It also strikes me as a bit edgy while still being formal. A bit girly, though.


This one is so crisp! Look at that fantastic color! For a winter wedding with all the deep-red trimmings, this would be perfect. I like the idea of a monogram, and this shows one off without making it the whole card. It is, however, a bit stark and very formal.


I saved the best for last. I LOVE this STD. The colors are perfect, the birds are adorable. It is simple, elegant, and whimsical. It has the formal wording in all lowercase, which (though grammatically problematic) really tones down the seriousness of the occasion. After all, just because the actual invitations might be formal, that doesn't mean that the STDs need to be as well.

There are oodles of options out there. This is also a project that could easily be taken care of DIY with the help of some photoshop and VistaPrint: the holy grail of cheap paper goodies. I also really like the idea of using the STD to be more creative and showcase something special about the couple or their choice of theme.

Of course, in order to do that, one must have a theme...