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?