perfect budget wedding shoes

$39.90 at Zara

You're welcome.

Six Dresses to Run Away In

When I posted this lil Zara dress the other day, Jamie immediately emailed me to ask: want to post a whole round up of dresses for the runaway brides??

I said hell yeah!

(And then Amber, of Pitbulls and Posies, did this paste-up to complement the runaway inspiration board, which makes me feel very fancy.)

If you *kind of* want to elope, but you also *kind of* want rad wedding photos and live music and craft cocktails and a stylish little venue (and the thought of Vegas makes you gag) .... Why not head down to San Diego on May 26 and just get er done?

Wearing one of these dresses, obvs: 1 Zara (again) ($90), 2 Girl by Band of Outsiders ($370), 3 Reality Studio ($335), 4 Acne ($480), 5 Lindsey Thornburg ($2080), 6 Iris & Ink ($175)

oh, zara.

This dress is terrifs
except that it is nylon
100%

let's play "does this look too much like a wedding dress?"

Hey lady!

I'm going to an evening wedding in Manhattan in a couple of months and I've kind of fallen in love with this dress. My only concern is it kind of looks like a wedding dress.  

What do you think? Would it be tacky?

*****

Dear Guest: if there's a chance the photographer's going to have to label you 'not the bride' in photos, your dress is too long & too white. is something a wedding photog friend of mine tweeted recently.

so, yeah. no. you can't wear that.

the good news is, you just found a gorg wedding dress (under $300!) for a reader or two.

Free People steps up their wedding game

In addition to the Mara Hoffman, obvs, I'm also digging (clockwise from top left): Cold Shoulder Maxi ($608), Embellished Shift Dress ($450), Embroidered Maxi (okay so it's 100% Polyester, but $198!), La Boheme Ruffle Dress (perhaps for our Feist fan? $450)

Any one of these would be terrif with a vintage-inspired Wrangler. 



You're welcome.

fuck yeah, cold picnic

Big ol rocks that are *not* diamonds will always be my favorite.

Large Basalt Ring by Cold Picnic via Jessica Goldfond

Sunday Morning Wedding Dress

Okay, so there is polyester involved. But $135!

via fieldguided

Mountain wedding? Or Elopement? UPDATE (Plus a few tips on getting married in Vegas)

I feel like a creep just assuming you'd want an update, but I wanted to thank everyone for the advice and say that we're now married! 

The comments definitely made me realize that our ranch option was just as much work as a traditional wedding so we discussed a bit further and decided to get hitched in Vegas after our work conference.  We found a pretty little old ring for me on eBay. I found a dress online that I liked well enough, was in my size, and could be quickly delivered. My guy treated himself to an old-school barber shave at the hotel spa. It was all very simple, cost-effective, and private.

To anyone considering the same, I'll say that getting married in Vegas still isn't the easiest thing in the world. Some short lessons learned: 

Vegas chapels, especially the well known ones, seem to share the common elements of theme weddings, maroon carpet, faux columns, and plastic flowers. We wanted this to be quick and private, we did not want it to feel like The Hangover. 

Yelp reviews were massively helpful. We found a great looking chapel, but the comments repeatedly described it as a "casting call" where you waited outside in the heat for the bell to ring for your turn.

A Vegas courthouse wedding requires an appointment and that you bring your own witness. Since we were traveling alone and didn't want to grab someone off the street, we sadly ruled this option out. 

We ended up going for a bare-bones "Just Us" ceremony at our hotel. The hotel was helpful enough, we were able to write a custom ceremony for the officiant to perform, and we ended up laughing like our normal happy selves through the ceremony. All around, it was a perfect choice for us.

If you have other readers considering the Vegas option, I'd be happy to share more concrete information. It took hours of online research for us to make sense of the countless options available in Vegas.

Happily married without all the stress,

-Mr. & Mrs.

*****

We always want an update. Trust.

♥ ♥ ♥

Photo by Boo George

Silver. Moto. Jacket.

Someone clearly needs to wear this over her wedding dress.

Bonus: It's vegan!

faux feather leather wedding earrings?

Just an idea.

Shop: Love Sexton

Headaches and Weddings

Hi there!

You might remember me from such comment threads as headache fun-time - let me just say that girl, I feel your pain. I cannot remember the last time I didn't have a headache. I've had every test imaginable (CAT scan, MRI, allergy panels, spinal taps, blood work, chiropractor, etc) and the best they can figure out is "you seem to get a lot of headaches." I can't find a specific trigger food, but I try to stay away from all the main ones as much as possible (cheese, nuts, chocolate, citrus, alcohol). Stress is probably my main trigger, seconded by lack of sleep or skipping meals. But, as you said, they're never not there. It's certainly hard to live with and explain to people...

On a different note, I've been reading your blog for about a year and a half now, and as you must know, it's a point of sanity in an otherwise crazy-pants wedding-planning world. I got engaged at the beginning of last December, and started to immediately feel overwhelmed/underfunded while looking at the typical wedding blogs. We live in NYC, where everything is beyond-expensive and I had no idea how I was going to throw (and pay for) a wedding that looked like a blog-post.

And then 28 days after we got engaged, I got the worst news of my life - my younger brother, 22, was in a car accident and didn't survive. Our family was devastated. I didn't know how to get out of bed anymore, let alone think about a wedding. I thought about postponing the wedding, but it became clear that everyone needed something good and hopeful to look forward to, so forward we went with the planning. 

Looking at venues, looking at dresses - all while dealing with an unimaginable loss. The weddings of the blog world didn't just seem unattainable now, they seemed to exist on a different planet. It was so comforting and useful to come to your site and see that real people had small weddings that were about being together with loved ones, not about how many mismatched doilies you could collect from various thrift stores to decorate your DIY dessert buffet.

So we got married last month, and it was small and beautiful and fun and even though I had been afraid for months that I would be too sad to get married without my little brother there, it was a day full of happiness and love.

All of this is to say the following:

1) thanks for doing what you do. It's funny, entertaining, and really helpful to a lot of people.
2) weddings happen in real life, which is complicated.
3) you can get married in nyc (brooklyn to be exact) without spending a fortune.

p.s. Our photographer was Daniel Benjamin

The venue was iCi, a beautiful, delicious, affordable little restaurant in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Their events coordinator, Catherine, was amazing. 

The gorgeous flowers were by Kea Morgan at Sweet & Flower

And you guys, it's The Proenza Schouler. Even more beautiful on a real live bee-yoo-tee-ful bride.

p.p.s. d'you think Melissa would be creeped out if I asked her if she maybe might want to get matching headache-exorcising tattoos?? she is my HEADACHE SISTER.

♥

WTF. I THOUGHT THIS WAS A WEDDING BLOG

How bout this SWEET lil special edition pair of geo earrings by A Merry Mishap? You can get married in em!

$15.99

I know.

You're welcome.

Via Pennyweight

whichgoose: gorg headpieces under $100

I know we can't all pull off the woodland fairy tiara look...... But gaaaaaah these are lovely.

Via littlewinterbride. Again. Are you all following her?? You should be.

(Photos 1-2: Danelle Bohane, Photo 3: whichgoose)

Tiny Skully Ring

I know this is the perfect engagement ring for somebody.

By Iwona Ludyga. Available in 14k yellow or rose gold with plain white or black diamond eyes.

Via Of a Kind

I. Dig. This. Wedding.

Hey ESB!

We just got back our wedding pictures and we couldn't be happier. Our wedding turned out to be way better than we imagined it could be. We had a blast!

The planning was easy since we had a teeny tiny budget and only had 2 months to do it so we knew it wasn't possible to obsess over details. We had the wedding in my family house that my grandparents have lived in since the 60s. My cousin played the viola as we walked down the aisle.

My husband's mom & sister took care of the dessert bar & wedding cake (they thrifted all the cake stands and bowls and made all the desserts themselves!). We filled the ipod with all our favorite music (lots of Elvis, Ronettes, and Ramones) and just let it play. We got the In-N-Out truck to pull right up to the garage to sling burgers out.

A friend helped me load up on flowers at the LA flower mart and fill tons of vases and bottles with flower arrangements. Another friend married us (we wrote our own ceremony... it was about 3 minutes long). Our friend Andy Riddle did all the photography. It was an amazing group effort.

When the day came, it was just overwhelming how everything came together and it felt so fantastic to be surrounded by family and friends. Our not so perfect road leading up to our wedding helped us lower our expectations and let us relax and just let things be. Thanks for the advice, not just for my dress (which I didn't end up needing after all) but for all the advice from past brides who've written to you. It all just helped me remember that the whole point of this all is to be a fun & happy time for the two of us. It was.

-Lisa aka Shotgun Bride

*****

What could be better than In-N-Out Burger + a gorgeous beau?

Srsly.

Species by the Thousands: Cave Collection

Salt Ring ($130) + Underworld Ring ($180) in coated brass or white bronze.

If those aren't badass, recession-friendly engagement rings, I don't know how to help you.  

For sales contact jessica@theshinysquirrel.com

Payless beats BHLDN

So I ordered these from BHLDN and they came in this NASTYPANTS embroidered bag and shat glitter all over my apartment and legs and general person. I knew they'd have me bleeding within an hour, and I thought I could get better, less sheddy results spray-painting a pair myself. I then ordered ALL OF THE SHOES (seven pairs?). 

My truly desperate pair from Payless won out. And I really, really liked them.

A.

engagement rings under $100

Hello ESB!

I've just recently found your site, and loooove it. Needless to say, I'm also truly looking forward to more posts on MMOHIAC. Hope I don't get in trouble for reading that one online at work. :D

Here's a question, and lord knows, there may not be an answer. Have you seen any rings online that would do super-duty as engagement rings, that any girl would be out of her mind to not love, that are under $100? We're poor/in love out of our minds, and want to get engaged asap. I showed the Love of my Life the catbird heart ring for $88 and he said he loved it, but in all due respect, he couldn't ask for my hand with it.

Ideas?

All my love,
Lady X

*****

Here are my picks.

Erika Weiner Mini Hermiker Solitaire from Bona Drag

Snake Bone Ring from Macha

Pyrite and Sterling Silver Ring by Markhed (first posted here by Pour Porter)

Spanish Almandine Garnet from Rich Ruby Red (this one is $100 even, but I figured I'd sneak it in)

terrific news for non-traditional girls everywhere

Catbird (my fave Brooklyn jewelry store) has finally launched their new site. I've been waiting for this shit for months. I am not exaggerating.

May I suggest the above pop-art-meets-carrie-bradshaw Melting Love Ring for an engagement?

The Yayoi Forest Lucky Seven Diamond Ring would also be a stellar choice.

But go browse all the rad options for engagement rings and wedding bands.

Just don't blame me if you end up in the Wood Nymph section buying a crystal necklace. (Leave it to catbird to make crystals look cool.) Or in Intrepid Explorer buying a Tsuyumi Hunter's Cap for your faux hunting trip.



p.s. Damn you all for updating the furry hat with plaid. I want it.

DIY Haircut

Or, rather, do-it-with-your-friend haircut.

Clare of The Style Diaries enlisted her best friend Cindy (who is not trained as a stylist) to chop off all her hair. The result? Slammin.

You may remember I have DIY haircut fantasies a la Patti Smith. Or Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe. For now, there's no way I'm letting go of Alexis. But maybe I'll train H when we run off to Barcelona or Berlin or wherever.