And the award for BEST WEDDING HAIR goes to....

Dear ESB,

First off, thank you for existing. Thank you for being there from when I had Wedding Brain until I decided to say fuck it and start from scratch.* And most importantly; thank you for being a part of my daily wedding planning ritual so I didn’t completely lose my shit.

A very short backstory; we swapped out the large/complicated wedding we never really wanted for a small San Francisco City Hall wedding + 3 month Europe trip (which starts in July). (You can follow us on our trip over here.)

Onto the wedding day stuff:

I woke up with so many butterflies in my stomach I thought I was going to puke. Or it could’ve been the pre-wedding tacos from the night before (not recommended unless unless you’re ok with having a food baby all the next day).

We started our morning lazily getting ready together and then went our separate ways to get ready with friends. If you’re doing your own hair or make-up I highly suggest knowing exactly what you’re going for or you might go over your allotted “getting ready” time like someone I know...

We almost didn’t do that “first look” thing, but I’m so glad we did. It felt kind of like when you’re little and you beg for a specific toy for a long time and you’re pretty sure you’re going to get that gift, but when you finally open it your heart fills with a burst of joy. Just like that.

After getting tons of portraits done at the Queen Anne Hotel we ate some delicious wedding donuts, drank some wedding juice and hopped in cabs to head to City Hall.

We arrived at City Hall, ate more donuts and got married. Then we all hopped into a party bus, picked up some sushi and ate it outside of the Exploratorium.

We spent the rest of the day walking around Fisherman’s Wharf and watching the sunset. Then came pizza dinner/beer at The Pizza Place. One of our favorite things about the wedding was how almost everyone ended up giving an unplanned speech at dinner, most of which were hilarious.

After dinner we tried to catch some cabs but had no luck. So we took buses to our next destination, which led to the parents referencing The Graduate a lot. We ended up at Buckshot, aka Skee Ball/Photobooth/Dance Party Central. The night ended perfectly with the DJ playing You Make Me Wanna (Shout) for us.

Sincerely,
Shana

*Following the suggestions of you and your readers, we ended up personally calling everyone that wasn’t invited to City Hall and ended up celebrating with them at a later date. Win/win!

Srsly, who has better hair, Shana or Jerrad?

THEY BOTH HAVE AMAZING HAIR.

Also: Those shoes on that man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


(Photos by Maddie of Hart and Sol West. Go check out more pics -- and read more from Shana -- over on A Practical Wedding.)

Creepy Brit masks are the new... Something.

Maddie just emailed me:

Saw the photos of the Queen and Philip and almost died. One of my couples busted out a William mask during our engagement shoot last year.

So this is the new animal masks/giant balloon/whatevs right?

P.S. My couple actually had this just lying around their house. Which is what makes them AWESOME and not weird. Or at the very least, weirdly awesome.

Happy Saturday, people.

Emma + Tim run away to city hall

You guys, it's a write-up from THE GROOM:

Emma and I met each other in our mid-20s. We didn't grow up together, but we grew into adults together. Being an adult can be serious business, and we've come to recognise that part of what makes a relationship successful is to know when to be focused on the mundanity of life and when to embrace your whimsy let yourself be spontaneous.

That moment presented itself to us about nine months before our wedding day. We had been planning a straightforward wedding up to that point and had begun to feel that we weren't doing justice to the love we share. During a long discussion as we drove through the countryside near where we live, Emma remarked, "We should just run away and get married at City Hall in New York." We initially laughed and shrugged off the idea. Twenty four hours later, we were breaking the news to our family that we were eloping.

In retrospect, going halfway around the world to be married is an apt analogy for our relationship. It was an unforgettable adventure, punctuating the unforgettable adventure Emma and I had been on in the preceding six and a half years as we carved our our lives together. Much as we wanted to celebrate our nuptials with friends and family, there would be time for that we we returned; on our wedding day, there was only one person I wanted to be with and see happy.

We met with our photographer, Monica, on the morning of the wedding at City Hall. Thanks to East Side Bride, Emma had discovered Hart + Sol photography, who are based out of Brooklyn. We were secretly a little nervous about the idea of having a photographer there with us on the day, but we needn't have been. Monica took amazing photos, but more than that, her kind words and encouragement helped make a morning that might have otherwise been overrun by the stiff bureaucracy of City Hill a warm and gentle experience. Monica's photos captured the sincere and unfettered happiness in the expressions on our faces, in a way that I've never seen in Emma and I before. It's impossible to imagine the day without Monica there to help us focus and reflect on on the importance of that moment.

After the ceremony, Emma and I walked the High Line together as a gentle rain fell, had a wonderful candle-lit dinner on the Lower East Side, and then watched The Rosebuds play an intimate set at the Bowery Ballroom. A few days later we shipped out to London to visit friends, then continued our adventures in Paris and Berlin.

Emma and I were always going to fall in love with New York City -- it was wonderful to fall further in love with each other because of New York City.

So what if they didn't take Matt up on any of his restaurant recommends?

♥

Engagement Photo DOs and DON'Ts

I still don't get the point of engagement photos. Feel free to write an essay below -- in 100 words or less pls -- explaining to me WHAT THE FUCKING POINT IS.

But. Maddie's comment over on "Pleez help me dress myself for my engagement photos" was so bloody helpful -- not just for those of you preparing for engagement photos, but for any of us preparing to be photographed EVER -- that I thought I'd try to squeeze a little more advice out of her.

(Lady does know how to shoot an engagement photo, or a "love photo" if you'd prefer to call it that.)

Here. She. Goes.

I have a confession to make: The first engagement session I ever photographed was for a friend. She and her fiance let me "style" their shoot, and in all of my novice glory, I put the poor bastards in matching outfits. Red shirt for him. Printed red dress for her. Awww....so sweet. ::shakes head::

BUT - you don't have to repeat my mistakes! So, to make up for the evil done against my poor friends, I offer you the do's and don'ts of engagement outfits:

DON'T. Wear. Matching. Outfits. Coordinating a *little* bit is fine, but you're not a member of Destiny's Child. You and your partner are unique individuals (it's why you love each other!) If you don't dress like each other every other day of the week, don't dress like each other for your engagement shoot.

DO think of your surroundings when picking out colors for your outfit. For example, if your photos are in a park, know that a green dress is going to make you blend in with the bushes. Something on a red scale (like pink) will really pop against the green, or for a more subdued look, a cool color like blue will still differentiate from your surroundings. If you need help figuring out which colors will pop the most, look at a color wheel. The hues directly across from each other will stand out the most (red and green, purple and yellow, orange and blue). But basically anything other than the color you're standing in front of will work.

DO wear something patterned or a color-blocked outfit if you're worried about certain anatomy standing out more than others in your pictures. Because fabrics create shadows and highlights, and photography is all ABOUT shadow and highlight, solids one-piece outfits are going to make every bump show through your clothes. Patterns will still show off your fabulous figure, but will camouflage the bits and pieces you don't want to accentuate. Color-blocking breaks things up a bit - and the different colors, textures and fabrics will add interest to the outfit so it's not just about the silhouette.

DO wear fitted clothes that aren't super clingy if you want to flatter your body (I know this isn't some people's style. I get that. But if you want your body to look smokin' in your pics, it will get lost in shapeless clothing). If you're curvy like me, clothes that fit closer to the body are going to do you more favors than loose-fitting outfits. Also, draw attention to your favorite parts by adding interest there. (Great rack? Wear a v-neck. Sexy arms? Go sleeveless. You get the point).

[Editor's Note: I'm sorry Shannon, but YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A GREAT RACK.]

DON'T wear white. Wedding dresses are full of intricate detail that can photograph beautifully, but for the most part white doesn't really show up well in photos. There are exceptions of course, but color is your friend.

You DON'T need a new outfit. If you have something in your closet that makes you feel like a super star, wear it. You love it for a reason.

DO wear makeup. Even if you don't usually wear it, cameras have a tricky way of picking up every uneven tone on our faces. You don't have to go full-on musical theatre with it, but a little foundation and mascara will go a long way toward making your pictures reflect how you look in real life (and if you do normally wear makeup, wear just a tiny bit more).

DON'T forget accessories. If you are going to wear solids (which is totally cool by the way! You don't *have* to wear patterns) then I suggest a strong accessory like a statement necklace or earrings, or headband or WHATEVER makes you feel cool. The color rules for accessories are the same as above. A mustard necklace is really going to pop against an eggplant sweater.

Speaking of cool. DO wear something that makes you feel cool. Frankly, for all the rules and regulations above, wearing something you feel awesome in is going to make your pictures look fantastic. Nothing can substitute for confidence. Are you listening to me? Nothing.

DON'T play it safe. Nobody else is watching, so none of your friends on Facebook are going to see these if you don't want them too. Engagement photos shouldn't be a chore, so have a little fun with it.

DON'T treat any of the above like hard and fast rules. I'm not Stacy London. I won't come to your house and take all your clogs away from you. At the end of the day you just need to feel good about how you look.

So, those are the general do's and don'ts. The following are some personal beliefs:

You DON'T need a causal outfit. For some reason, everyone thinks they need a casual outfit. But unless you really want one, it's unnecessary.

DO look like the most dressed up version of yourselves. Wear what you would normally wear to a really fun party (this is open to your interpretation of course). This is partly because it dresses up your photos and partly because party outfits put people in a mood to have fun.

DO understand that your photographers don't see your body the way you do. Of course we want to give you the most beautiful, flattering photos of yourself. But if I'm your photographer, then I automatically think you're drop dead gorgeous. I don't know that you hate your arms or that you think your ass is flat. If you look happy and in love in your photos, it's a total disservice to yourself to fixate on body parts (and I say this with love, because I'm guilty of it too).

DON'T be afraid to ask our opinion though! If you're between outfits, we can usually give you a good idea of what's going to photograph better. And if you do have certain hangups about how you might look, we can usually offer advice for how to play up your best assets. (I will, however, refuse to acknowledge anything you might call a flaw. You're fucking gorgeous, ok?)

Nearly all of this advice works for any occasion, amirite?

Photos by Maddie + Monica of Hart + Sol

Attention: All you exhibitionists

LPC + Maddie would like you to wear this over your BHLDN dress.

(I bet if you did Hart + Sol would even offer you a discount on wedding photography.)