table numbers I can get behind

From Elisabeth's lovely wedding.

Photo by Stacey Kane.

the scarf is the new shrug

I think you should rock this at your wedding.

I wanted a shrug. I really did. I bought vintage knitting patterns on ebay and I nagged my bridesman to make me one until he finally told me he was too busy. (I can't hold it against him. He was testing recipes for our cake.) I put in an Etsy Alchemy request. BAD IDEA.

On our way up to the wedding, I made H-town drive all over Portland looking for the indie crafters. Where were the indie crafters?? I finally found a shrug at yes, Anthropologie, bought it, and did not wear it. Turns out I am not a shrug person.

Via NOTCouture.

I had great taste in men when I was ten

(So did she.) These guys are still hot. And if you've never seen The Outsiders, hello!

I seem to keep traveling down memory lane now that I'm an old married lady. Am I totally dating/embarrassing myself? Yikes.

Via 2 or 3 things I know...

cool as hell wedding

I have to tell you I totally geeked out when DJ/blogger/etsy maven Genevieve told me she was a fan of my weird little wedding blog. (Actually, what she said was, "I love this blog, it's one of my favorite parts about my wedding planning adventure.") Not to brag, but.... I have the coolest readers.

Above are a few of Genevieve and Matt's photos. Below are her off-the-cuff thoughts on their October 5 wedding.

Okay, I'm in wedded bliss!!!!! Here is the run-down on my super awesome, way fun, cool as hell, not that stressful, totally completely fully "US" wedding!

Okay, so wedding details:

We are a DJ duo, and we DJ a regular new-disco/house party called NIGHTCLUBBING (shamless plug!) at Holocene, where we got married. The music and the food were the two most important things to us with this whole thing, we hashed out the menu with our SUPER talented caterer friend Jeremy Larter, and our friend Derek Plaslaiko flew out from NY to DJ. We didn't go wrong with either thing, both were sooooooo good at what they did for us! We had the ceremony and reception at the same place, and I didn't want to do a huge aisle walk or anything, so we had family members from both sides hold a canopy over us while Matt's brother married us, and my dad did a really sweet reading. Matt's parents have been together since they were 14, and my parents have been married for almost 30 years, so we really felt like we wanted the whole wedding thing to feel really personal and family oriented. After the quick ceremony, everyone mingled *ahem*drank*ahem*, and then we ate the amazing buffet style dinner. People danced all night, (and there was indeed what I must admit would be best called a mosh pit at one point, totally unexpected, but people went nuts when the Pixies "Debaser" came on. You just go with it.) Afterward everyone headed to another bar to close the night.

It was really important to me to minimize waste for this party. All the decorations were totally DIM (do-it-myself), re-purposed/re-purposable, including tablecloths, a thrifted and totally gorgeous collection of vases and candleholders, paper flowers I made mixed with feathers and wheat stalks, and dahlias from the Farmers Market that I put together with my sisters and cousin the night before. I made my own dress (I am a seamstress and designer, so that was a natural idea). We were so lucky to have Holocene's gorgeous space to be in, so romantic and fairylike in there, and we didn't have to do much "decorating". We were able to do the whole thing on a tight budget (I think it's rolling in under 5 grand for 100 people to party like nuts), and make it look and feel like a million bucks. Best of all, I got to have tons of fun at my own wedding, talk to everyone, and feel like I was dancing on air.

I didn't hire a professional photographer, so I think no one may have thought to get shots of my table arrangements and stuff, which bummed me out for a sec, but then I realized that all the pictures of all my friends and family look so happy that what got captured was what really mattered.

Um, Genevieve.

a) Your centerpieces are gorgeous and

b) Damn right. Not only do you have pictures of everyone having an f'ing fabulous time, but I'll bet you anything the dance party is what they're still talking about.

(Photos by Jarkko Cain and Chloé Richard)

Tomorrow: Genevieve and Matt's kick-ass portland wedding

A killer minidress. A NY DJ. A $5,000 budget.

Stay tuned.

list of essentials

Via FOUND Magazine.

what's the deal with the best man?

Why does he always think the speech is his big opportunity to impress everyone....?!

Actually, our best man was a doll. But I did take the precaution of asking my MOH to speak after him. It pisses me off that the men always get the last word.

(Image from here)

Paul Newman Style

From The Upgrader's Week In Style: Paul Newman Edition.

Damn.

How's married life?* (SPOILER ALERT)**

Everyone asks this. But they only want one answer:

a) "Awesome." It is. Married life f'n rocks. But it is also

b) Not that different from shacked-up-together life. The big differences are: we have some great new kitchen equipment, and we are in the process of merging our debt.

c) Anticlimactic. Wedding-planning life was stressful, but it was exciting. The caterer not returning my calls. The can-I-find-a-slip-or-will-I-have-to-line-the-dress? crisis. The eleventh hour hunt for the polaroid camera. Now I'm faced with.... life. As in. Getting on with it.

It's a little daunting.

Not that I'd ever admit this when people say, "How's married life?"

*I owe something to Jake for this post.

**My apologies if you're not married yet. Or if you, er, asked me this question.

(Polaroid by Monica Clapcott)

always

Bela Borsodi (photography) + Stefan Sagmeister (art direction) from The Drawbridge.

Is this a grim series to post on a wedding blog? I dig it. I think it will remind me not to fixate. To appreciate the ephemeral things while they last.

My mom just sent me this Stefan Sagmeister video, with a bunch more of his conceptual art.

My favorite piece is: "Complaining is silly. Either act or forget."

Groom Style: Wing Tips

H-town could seriously rock these with his fedora. I'm not opposed to dress shoes, after all. Just dress shoes with no personality.

Check out 20 more styles on The Upgrader. But be warned: the prices veer toward horrifying. I think we'll be haunting Wasteland.

(Photo: Chris Astley)

Bjorn Borg undies

Rad.

Shop [hus] in meatspace or online.

It's all good

From now on I will wear these.

Thank you, Keri Smith.

I am a white girl and that's okay

I will rock my Minnetonkas and shut the fuck up about Pocahontas.

Thank you tkc 16.

I will also now shut the fuck up about the f'ing moccasins. Really.

(Image from here)

and I'm a little bit obsessed with Nouk B, the 21 year old plushy robot

Also pictured here, in the tweed coat.

He's a thrifter. He's something of a DIY-er. He's a loyal H&M shopper but he doesn't shy away from Esprit. And he makes me laugh.

*plushy robot*

Check out all his looks here.

my hero is fourteen years old

In an interview with Red Velvet Art, Olivia Bee says, "everyday I try to take some photos. I try to because if I take a photo everyday, then by a year's end, I will have learned 365 things about photography and that's pretty rad."

I'd like to cultivate this work ethic.

Olivia is also an avid thrifter and a fan of Minnetonka moccasins (!)

Read the full interview here. And check out Olivia Bee's flickr feed.

two more from My White Dress

Now I want to see the music video, please.

The complete set is here.

(Photo by Stephanie Dangoor)

a wee project

I dreamed up something over the dirty dishes this afternoon (yes, I was actually doing the dishes) and Christine of pretty.pretty.paper has agreed to work on it with me. Yippee!

Now you get to wonder what it is....

(Photo by Stephanie Dangoor found here)

LOOKBOOK.nu is the new Sartorialist

Have you been here yet? Not only can you comment on the outfits, you can vote on them. (Oops, was that too.... gleeful?)

Finland and Sweden (okay and Germany) appear to be kicking some serious style ass. We are seeing a lot of scarves, people. And furry hats. I'm dying to pull out my furry hat. What season is it in Helsinki, anyway....? What the f* am I doing in LA?

I have a question

Did you dream about your wedding when you were a little girl? Or a big, single girl? Or a happily coupled unengaged girl? Did that make the planning easier when you finally got engaged? (If you are engaged....) Or harder??

I never thought I'd get married. Not until H-town said, "Will you marry me?" and I said, "Don't make fun of me," and he repeated, "Will you marry me?" and I said, "The next time you say that you better mean it." And then waited for him to say it again. Until a month later when I couldn't wait any longer and I asked him. And he was sweet enough to say yes.

But the wedding planning took me by surprise, boy.

Don't get me wrong. I fucking loved it. (See: this blog.) But I definitely saw a side of myself that startled me on occasion.

Just wondering what your experience has been. You my diverse, badass readers.

(Image by Shipra Panosian found here)

do something silly and exquisite this week

Photos by the superb Olivia Bee.

don't let the wedding monster eat you alive

Mine is over and I'm still effing obsessed.

(Image from here)

where the f* are my moccasins?

I ordered them last Friday. And do I need these feather earrings now too? Uh oh.

Liz documents her outfits and meals on draw draw draw. This is outfit #35.

Via {frolic!}

speaking of fabulous necklines....

I dig this custom dress by Elizabeth Dye. More pics here.

how about this dress by Tatyana Merenyuk?

It would definitely show off a fabulous pair of shoes. (And legs, of course.)

r e d d o l l online. Via NOTCouture.

(Photo: Chris Nightingale)

yeeeow

Another photo of the Chanel dress.

From What Possessed Me, of course.

Hud, RIP

I didn't realize what an incredible actor Paul Newman was until I saw him in Hud a few months ago. (And he's gorgeous. Brad Pitt looks Ken-doll-ish in comparison.)

I didn't realize how badass he was until I read his obit in The New York Times this morning. This is what Newman told Newsweek a month before his 70th birthday:

"I'm not mellower, I'm not less angry, I'm not less self-critical, I'm not less tenacious,'' he said. ''Maybe the best part is that your liver can't handle those beers at noon anymore,'' he said.

um, how do we feel about twitter?

Srsly. I'm v tempted to try it. But intimidated, I have to admit. Wired offered some advice in the August issue that has been holding me back:

"Every single Twitter post you write should be something that could get you laid, ruin a marriage, or bring a tear to a fat little kid's eye." - Joshua Allen

"Don't answer, 'What are you doing?' Be funny. Be brief (duh). Leave your lunch unpublished. Ditto your late plane. Incomplete sentences." - Jason Kottke

"Don't try to impress - just be yourself. But go a little beyond your comfort zone; share something you're hesitant about sharing." - Evan Williams

Too much pressure? But I just looked at Jason Kottke's feed, and he twittered about his deep fried Oreo lunch on September 12. Maybe I'm ready to play with the big boys after all.

(Image: "The neighborhood" by Rudat)

this is what home feels like

Monica Clapcott has taken a polaroid every day this year. Yes, I am officially obsessed with the medium.

Via design for mankind.

a fabulous desert fete

The kick-ass desert bride snuck me more polaroids from her much-anticipated (by me) Joshua Tree wedding.

Let's hear it for the dress. And the groom. And the dress. Don't make me choose.

Let's also hear it for Michelle Pullman, the killer non-wedding-photographer photographer.

I must admit, this is the shooting style I prefer. I'm curious to see what my own wedding photos look like. Someday.

a secret message from Keri Smith

I think this is important for me to keep in mind.

(Found here)

It's striped socks week, apparently

I love this shot Brooklyn designer Jenny Ham sent from her Vancouver wedding. (Two of my favorite cities.)

The old subway tile is so fabulous and gritty against the lace...

Photo by Butter Media.

I'm pretty sure I need these

For the shoot. Damn you Hollister Hovey.

Should I trash the dress?*

I signed up for this. The vain/exhibitionist bride in me wants more portraits. (I haven't even seen the first round.) And for free? With a vintage travel/air force theme? Plus I can bring H-town. Awesome. Right...?

But then these thoughts start churning through my head.**

1. What the f*ck will I do with my hair? This is not a great look with my dress.

2. Um, will I get approval on the photos shot by the however many photographers running around the air force base before they are posted on however many websites? Don't answer that.

3. Where the f*ck can I get a vintage flying helmet, and could this solve (1)?

4. Will I damage my dress? I really don't want to damage my dress. And does that mean I'm violating the spirit of trash-the-dress?

5. Would goggles wreck my makeup?

6. Do I care?

7. Am I deluding myself to think that any of the photographers running around the air force base would even want to shoot me? (My dress is not poofy, after all. It is not quintessentially bridal.)

8. Who will sew me into the dress? Do I put it on at home? Do I try to sew myself in?

9. Will putting it on again ruin the magic, or will H-town be so excited that we get super-fabulous photos?

10. Yikes.

Please weigh in, you guys. I'm totally lost.

*DISCLAIMER: I would never actually trash my dress. I love my dress. I plan to wear it again when I'm nominated for an academy award (you think I'm joking).

**I have to give some credit to Suite B for this inspiring list.

(Photo by Jaques Henri Lartigue via Hollister Hovey)