BHLDN is pissing me off

Hey ESB,

I'm Allyson, your Lady X, and THANK YOU for the rings you pulled online on your site. We love the ruby red ring so much! Anyway, I appreciate your time, so mahalos.

So. Are you familiar with BHLDN? It's Anthro's sister-wedding site. They launched their decor line today. Did you know you can purchase a 20 ft garland for $1500? Or a paper bouquet for $224? Or a freaking cake topper for $598?

Who the hell do they think they are?! The mark-ups on these items are disgusting. Weddings are NOT financial blow-out opportunities for commercial conglomerates.

*****

Actually, the press release I received was for BHLDN "décor." Perhaps that explains why they're charging roughly $5/paper petal?

(Photos courtesy of BHLDN; Layout by cevd, obv.)

Nearly Naked on My Way to the Courthouse

Hey ESB,

I'm freaking out a bit, and after reading your blog the past 6 months, I feel like you, of all people, are capable of giving me some sensible and tasteful advice. I'm getting married in 5 weeks, and what was supposed to be a sweet, laid-back "no big thang, just tying the knot" courthouse ceremony has become a shopping nightmare for me. For starters, I live in Omaha, NE, a near desert in the way of quality retail, so when I tried to just go out to the local department store and pick up something cute off the rack, I encountered styles that were more appropriate for women in their 50's than a stylish woman in her 20's. So I've been shopping the web non-stop these past couple months, purchasing and returning, purchasing and returning. My latest return occurred this week when I tried on this Geren Ford silk maxi dress, which was a couple inches too short, but otherwise awesome.

Am I screwed? Should I just go out to the Dillard's and buy the first thing that fits well and try to chill out? I was really hoping for something modern minimalist and cool, but I'm starting to give up hope. I've got some womanly hips, cropped brown hair and fair skin, so there are some parameters (like no strapless and not too too tight around the hips), but there are a lot of colors and styles I would be down with for this casual fete. I'm not seeing them out there, and I want to look beautiful for the cameras and the FH, so if you could use your style prowess to point me in the right direction, I sure would appreciate it!

Cheers,

Nearly Naked in Nebraska

*****

My Dear NN,

I hope you won't mind (I'm sure you won't mind) but I called in cevd to help me with this one. I've been crazed, she's been knocking it out of the park, and plus I had a feeling you'd approve of her taste.

I mean. Right?

Figure 1: Bruce II Silk Racerback Tank,

Figure 2:

You should probably get married in this

Totokaelo via cevd

Also: if you don't follow cevd over here, you should really get on it.

Earlier this month a reader emailed me to ask what to buy as a kick-ass graduation gift for a friend who favors "chunky fashion jewelry, chandelier earrings and Coach purses." She waited 12 days for a response from my sorry ass and then wrote back: "Update: Found something via cevd's Pinterest"

If I were to get married now...................

from Martha B. of Nibs

Hindsight is a tricky thing. It can make you appreciate some of the decisions you've made. But it can also make you regret the paths not taken. When I look back at our wedding day I made lots of choices...some good...some not so good.

The good ones- I kept within a tight budget which dictated a lot. Yet I can honestly say I never felt cheated. I skipped the big sitdown dinner in favor of light hors d'oeuvres and a three-tiered cake. Decorations were left to our best man who happened to be a talented graphic designer. What he did with 300 balloons was absolutely amazing! I nixed tuxes and had the guys wear navy blue suits. My satin dress and my two bridesmaids' taffeta skirts were sewn by my mother. An old high school friend took pictures. My husband and I then drove off in his vintage V.W. Beetle and spent our honeymoon in Vermont.

The not so good ones aren't really bad. I just wish I hadn't done them. One in particular stands out that has to do with my husband. When we discussed his wedding attire I suggested that he and the guys wear suits. He was more than happy with this arrangement. I also suggested he wear black shoes. My husband looked at me like I was crazy and shook his head no. He hates black shoes. Instead he planned to wear brown ones. Well...I hit the roof. I argued that they wouldn't look right for the photographs and used a number of other excuses I could think of. In the end he relinquished and wore the dreaded shoes. I cringe when I think about it now. Because, in hindsight, it really didn't matter. My advice...pick your battles carefully.

We've been married over XX years. Our wedding has faded into the background of everyday life that makes up our marriage. We've had our share of disappointments and sadness. But we've also had a lot of joy and laughter. Each anniversary together reminds me that I married my best friend.

If we were to get married now...what would I choose?

1. I got married in January between college semesters. What was I thinking? Not to mention it was bitterly cold and we had a terrible blizzard the day of the wedding. Give me a warm day in spring or summer.

2. Skip the formal invitations for handwritten ones. Or have Christine design invitations like she did for our anniversary.

3. No big wedding with half the people I don't even know. I'd plan a small, intimate wedding & reception at home with just family and close friends. I'd serve our favorite foods like my mom's 'Chicken and rice.' Instead of the usual cake I'd have something unexpected.

4. I'd wear only one ring- a vintage band with diamonds c. 1930.

5. My new dress wouldn't be white but a soft blush color accented in black. I love classic ballet flats but with a twist. I'd wear this fun headband. For the romantic in me,  nothing beats a bouquet of fresh roses.

6. Lastly, my husband and I would jump in our old V.W. Beetle and the two of us would take a honeymoon road trip to...anywhere! :)

______________________________

Catch up with the rest of the series here.

a pledge to read the printed word

More than a year ago, I started to notice that I was reading fewer and fewer books. The New Yorkers lay gathering dust on the coffee table. My newfound love for blogsblogsblogs, fancy iphone apps and twitter were/are interfering with my capacity to focus on words printed on paper. Words you can't click on. Words that don't link to other words. Words that are meant to be read in sequence.

Inspired by adfreeblog.org and buyhandmade.org, I decided a new kind of pledge was in order. A pledge to read the printed word. I emailed cevd, who I knew to be a fan of books as well as my kind of minimalist graphic designer, and she quickly got on board, creating several versions of a little banner. Then I proceeded to sit on my ass for 14 months.

But. Finally. With a little help from H-town, our wee project is launched.

Take the pledge and add a banner to your page. Because tweeting should not take the place of reading.

WARNING: Please do not attempt to tweet while reading a book. To avoid distraction, the librarian recommends that you place your iphone face down. In the other room.

Photo by Peonies and Polaroids

I (heart) cevd

I've been waiting all week for Christine to post photos of her wee shop/custom invitation studio. I don't want to brag or anything... Okay maybe I do want to brag a little: H and I got our asses out of the house and made it to the opening.

I won't lie to you, the paper goods are rad. We did a little early christmas shopping while we were there. And I don't even want to talk about the bacon chocolate bars. Proceed with caution. (Alternatively: Consume with bourbon. Die happy.)

But I digress. Cevd's hand-printed I ♥ LA bags are what really killed me. H bought me one and I haven't left the house without it since.

Would you believe this puppy holds $70 worth of groceries from Whole Foods? Plus the "(Los Alamos, California)" in fine print cracks me up. It's a funny little "You didn't really think I loved Los Angeles, did you?"

Bonus: Since we've been on the topic of engagement rings and nontraditional girls, I hounded cevd to send me a photo of her vintage green sapphire engagement ring.

mas found the ring through his dad's ex-girlfriend who has since started the online antique jewelry shop Topazery. (Cevd took this photo in her studio on one of the DIY seat cushions. Showoff.)

Cevd also has a little Sarah Perlis diamond. I. know. But whenever I see her she's rocking the sapphire.

Update: Christine says "perhaps you need to mention that when it comes to engagement rings people need to GET over the diamonds? ... like now please." And bags are now for sale on etsy.

uber-chic North Carolina wedding

Christine of pretty.pretty.paper (one of my personal favorite design/style blogs) was kind enough to sneak me the photos from her October wedding.

Here are the details she gave me:

dress - monique lhuillier from ultimate bride in chicago (back when i was living in an actual city)

shrug - again monique lhuillier but i had to BEG for it. i saw it in a magazine and spent about two weeks convincing the lady at ultimate bride that i really was interested in this and yes there was a good chance i would buy it if she could get it for me. she got it and then so did i ").

veil and hair piece were from leah c. i was originally opposed to a veil but while we were chatting she convinced me to go with the birdcage and i was very happy.

mas wore a tux by john varvatos and some really killer grey patent leather boots (which you can barely see and we are a bit peeved at the photographer for being so blind to mas ... didn't notice it on the day though so i am thinking he is holding back some images). we got his tux the week before the wedding and the poor kid was running around asheville the day of for a bow tie.

diy - well there was a lot on the list before the wedding that my mom and i were going to work on, but in the end it came down to the menus and the cakes (michael and i made the chocolate and then had family friends make the italian ceam, coconut, and carrot). our cake toppers were a disgrace so we didn't put them out ... i failed miserably at sourcing the sticks to make table numbers ... we completely forgot about the photo booth ... and well i think you might get the picture by now. we didn't have a whole lot of extras though. the menus were the only take homes for the guests (well that and all the left over liquor that went to our friends, we had to buy it ourselves and my parents don't drink so it would have been wasted on them).

i don't have a way with flowers and my mom was kinda keen on them so we had a most lovely florist (the bloom room) who agreed to keep the blooms to a minimum and used a lot of edibles and sticks instead.

our brothers officiated the ceremony - we each have one brother and no sisters and since there was no bridal party we wanted them to somehow be included. also i have three cousins that are very near and dear who walked frances down the aisle.

Christine, I hope you'll forgive me for cutting and pasting your email straight into this post. I'm grinning ear-to-ear because you sound so much like me. A hair obsessive about bride/groom style and just enough laissez-faire on the rest.... Except of course for the letterpress menus, which kick some serious ass. (Update: the menus part two.)

I'm loving the trend of home-town weddings with city style. This one is a smash hit. Obviously.

p.s. The boots rock.

Photos by Parker J Pfister

pretty pretty invites

By pretty.pretty.paper

See how the little bird on the second piece reflects the little letterpress birds on the save-the-date?

Love.