Five wedding trends I'll never get tired of

Lately I've been harping on trends that drive me up the wall (let's face it, just the word trend drives me up the wall). So I decided it was time to step back and recognize a few wedding ideas that rock.

1. Photo booths. Whether you rent the classic or go with a modern update, people effing love to pose for pictures. And I for one wish I had more photos of my wedding guests.

(Image courtesy of The Flashdance's Smile Booth)

2. Mason jars. I love em for cocktails, florals, and especially votives. They have a fabulous rustic chic vibe, and they're amazingly photogenic. Leave the rings on to get an extra glimmer from your candles. (Jars of the non-mason variety are good too, and easier to collect.)

(Image source here)

3. Shrugs. The bigger and fluffier the better. Did Elizabeth Dye just hint that she's working on a shrug inspired by this one....?

(Image source here)

4. Creative catering. I am a sucker for a backyard barbecue. Or a wedding catered by a taco truck! How rad is this?

(Image found here)

5. What am I leaving out? Please submit your ideas! I'm getting very lonely listening to myself think.

Curl Up and Go To Sleep

The crucial flip side.

H-town, who is away in the wilds of the midwest visiting family, read this post last night. And at 1:55am the above image arrived in my inbox, labeled simply "for peonies."

F* keeping calm and carrying on

moleitau via 43 Folders

Dear Cat Power

If only I could channel an iota of your cool while I sit around the house. Blogging.

Maybe I should start with getting dressed in the morning. A little eyeliner wouldn't hurt either.

Bitch, pleeze (Did you see this? OMG.)

Image found here

wedding dress ambivalence

The following is an actual transcript from a conversation I had last night via Twitter. (Names have been changed to protect the innocent.) I've posted it here because I thought brides-to-be might find it instructive and/or reassuring.

friend: Nervous about my wedding dress. Why did I have to find the perfect $250 vintage dress today, huh?

me: @friend did you try it on?

friend: @me Nooooooooooo. But now I want to go back. This is so pathetic. I was NOT looking for a dress.

me: @friend you're not pathetic. this is normal. go try it on and get it out of your system. chances are it won't even fit.

friend: @me That is such good advice. You're a good advice giver.

Be prepared for wedding dress ambivalence to hit 3-4 months before the big day. I'm not saying you have to go try on other dresses, but it might help you love the one you've got.

Or you might buy a new one like I did. Oopsy.

See, I don't hate converse!

This pair looks fabulous on Chris with his slim-fit black suit. (I suspect he's someone who wears them on a regular basis.)

And notice how his groomspeople are allowed to express their individual style?

More on The Bride's Cafe. Photos by Jessica Johnston.

Speaking of Joy Division....

In January, we saw a screening of the documentary in Williamsburg. It's really beautifully done.

Then my friend K won a t-shirt and I got so excited that she gave it to me.

(Image found here)

Spin This

Last night I had a chance to see this man in action. No, not spinning records. Killing the jukebox at Little Joy.

It turns out Michael lives in my neighborhood, so we got together to talk about weddings and alt-weddings and wedding blogs.* (While he hit me with these guys and of course them.)

Beware The Flashdance. They may just take over the indie wedding world. Via Echo Park, of course.

Now I'm listening to the demo cd Michael gave me and kinda wishing I had a wedding to go to this weekend.

*I'm not sure the other (two) happy hour patrons appreciated all the w------ talk, but anyhoo.

(Image courtesy of girl.x)

ffffound + fashion fille via Le Love

for the rebellious bride

These shoes come in white. And then there is the dress. So. Rad.*

Ann Demeulemeester says "Good fashion for me is like rock 'n' roll - there's always a little rebellion in it." And Patti Smith (who else?) is her rock 'n' roll muse.

p.s. Jamie, why on earth would you think I disapprove of cowboy boots? Have you seen Patti Smith?

*I've decided to stop using the word "awesome." I don't know when I picked it up, and it's embarrassing, frankly. I mean, I grew up in northern california.

vintage tennis shoes

Gerry Beckley has an insane vintage tennis shoe collection. (Read more on 2 or 3 things I know.)

He even rocked them on the cover of America's first album.

I'm particularly taken with the white Supergas. Now I kind of desperately want a pair.

I always want the thing that's hard to find. You know, the thing no one else has.

This may relate to why I'm so easily bored by wedding trends. Like cupcakes. And converse. Enough already with the matching converse. I'm more interested in individual style.

(Photos courtesy of 2 or 3 things I know; Album cover found here)

and have you seen Jamie + Ben's invites?

Check out more photos (and read the story) on Oh So Beautiful Paper.

I just scrolled through Jamie's wedding posts and it made me want to get married all over again. Sigh.

recession-friendly bridal headgear

Jamie made this for a little over $10.

She says it was inspired by Genevieve and me.

Not to brag or anything.

Free Store (NYC edition)

There's a free store on the small canadian island where my dad lives. It's basically a thrift store where you don't pay for anything.

The place is only open on Saturdays and you have to show up early if you want to get the good stuff. (Actually, I've heard volunteering is the way to go if you really want first dibs.) Anyhoo, H-town is very keen on "shopping" at the free store whenever we visit my dad.

But I didn't realize the concept had such an illustrious history.

According to HI + LO, "in the 1960s, a group called the Diggers opened numerous Free Stores in SF's Haight-Ashbury and NYC's East 10th Street in which all items were free for the taking or giving."

Now two NYC artists have opened a new Free Store in the Financial District, where goods can be obtained through trade.

I hate to say it, but some good things are coming out of the recession.

Upstaged by the groom?

Tony is just a wee bit of a diva, isn't he?

I mean, the pinstripe suit. The feather in his fedora. And the spectators. Oh the spectators.*

I would also like to point out that Tony's suit is well-tailored. And his pants break where they should (ie. they are hemmed to the proper length).

It kills me when the bride goes to five dress fittings or whatever but the groom doesn't even hem his pants.**

Photos by Adi Nevo. Designed/planned by Alison Events. See more on Snippet & Ink.

*I'm referring to his shoes. Thank you, plaidout, for giving us the correct lingo.

**Did that come off like a rant? It kind of was.

when wedding blogs get you down

1. step away from the computer.

2. put on some loud music. jump up and down. possibly in your wedding dress. and the shoes. you have to break in the shoes!

3. refer to your fiancé as "my boyfriend" all day. it's very liberating. (sometimes i still call H-town boyfriend.)

Photo by Elena Baca

She said f*ck yes!

Or, according to Ryan Hancock, she said "ok," then laughed and said yes.

Bad. Ass.

Vermeil 14 point stag ring by Digby & Iona at catbird (of course). Might I point out that the baddass choice is generally-recession friendly?

p.s. Really hoping he continues the theme and wears Hunter & Hunted cufflinks on the big day. I'm kind of obsessed with these. I'm not gonna lie.

what's that? a net-a-porter wedding boutique?

If you wore a little something like this skirt by Chris Benz (with a different top, obv) could you justify going nuts on the shoes?

These shoe boots by Alexander McQueen are not technically in the wedding boutique but that might be why I like them.

Eff I could keep choosing wedding outfits until I turn 40.

Via hitching-posts

Wish I were there

I stumbled upon this image of Tofino (where we spent the first glorious leg of our honeymoon) on forty-sixth at grace

Nikole grew up on the west coast of canada and spent childhood weekends on qualicum beach, only an hour from my dad's house. I love finding neighbors via the internet.

This photo of qualicum and the queen anne's lace makes me sigh and think of my wedding bouquet.

I never go to the beach in LA. Maybe I should try that?

oxfords, I'm sorry I doubted you

The styling from nygårdsanna has me convinced. Hot!

Via Bliss. (Mrs. French also has a great oxford round-up here.)

The Wedding Spinner

You guys, weddings just got a whole lot cooler.

Meet Michael Antonia, who recently relocated to LA from NYC (welcome!) and decided to add more weddings to his dj schedule in order to spend time at home with his wife and new baby.

Hire him if you can. Or at the very least take his suggestions. Srsly. Any dance mix that moves from Stevie Wonder to Roy Orbison to Salt N Pepa is killer in my book.

And then there's The Flashdance, a new alt-wedding blog Michael has built with Our Labor of Love & Max Wanger.

Awesome.

Part of me really wishes we had a dj. I love the music we spun on iTunes, but it was kind of a bummer that the best man, H-town and I had to step away from the party at various points to man the computer.

I haz delicious

My first attempt was a wash. But I was determined not to let my tech-savvy husband help me. It's blogger for eff's sake.

Okay, H-town did suggest some keywords for my google search.... But anyhoo.

I found Feedflare, which gave me nice little "Email this" and "Save to del.icio.us" links at the bottom of my feed this morning. (Thank you to the Jargol blog, where I first spotted this option.)

p.s. Check out Jargol's post on Market Publique, a new online market for vintage.

Take your budget wedding and shove it*

Thank you, Meg, for writing this post. Now I don't have to.

I do have one thing to add:

I don't approve of soliciting strangers for wedding funds, but I'm also fed up with the implication that you're not ready for marriage until you've saved enough cash to pay for the wedding.

I wanted $400 shoes and I (gasp) put them on a credit card. We also charged the rentals. Anybody have a problem with that? Because I'm done feeling guilty about it.

*Don't shove your wedding silly. Just stop focusing on the budgetbudgetbudget. It makes me depressed.

(Photos by my fave, Olivia Bee)

allow me to geek out for a moment

I spent 6 of the past 8 days helping a friend on a film shoot. Which meant a lot of standing around reading blogs on my iPhone. (Films shoots involve a lot of standing around. Unless you are the gaffer.)

Which leads me to....

1) Google apps rock. Man do I love browsing my google reader on my phone.

2) Suddenly I want everyone to have a Delicious button so I can quickly tag the things I want to come back to. I have a short attention span, I realize. But srsly. Safari bookmarks are so over.

So I'm attempting to add Save to Delicious as a Post Feed Footer. A little busy but.... useful? Lemme know what you think. (And please be patient. The only way to test it is to, you know, post.)

Photo by dorellana via freckle farm

p.s.

You have until midnight tomorrow to enter the Jezebel giveaway.

And you might want to just go ahead and buy a box of these cards. Wouldn't they be rad for wedding thank-yous? (Blank on the inside with the title printed on the back cover. Envelopes are translucent, ready-to-mail vellum.)

cooling my jets today

Catching up on sleep.

Enjoy the spring. Is it spring out there??

(Photo by Ashley Thalman)

by popular demand: the urinal wedding arrangement

From Shauna and Jeff's Northern California wedding featured on Snippet & Ink. (Photo by Marla Aufmuth. Floral design by Mary Lois Hare of Loop Flowers.)

I also effing love these dirt centerpieces from today's Snippet & Ink wedding.

Yes, Iris and Travis also got married in Nor Cal.* (Photos by Anna Kuperberg. Floral, dirt and root vegetable design by Torryne.)

*Meg, please try not to gloat.

When you're having a sh*t day

Scouring the blogs for answers is not always the best idea.

Wandering the neighborhood blasting Faith No More on your headphones helps a little. As does eating. Preferably the enchiladas verde from Rodeo.

Sit outside and don't feel guilty about buying lunch even though you're not earning any money. You're having a sh*t day.

(Image found here)

Happy Friday to the grooms

I know some of you were reading this week. Silently.

Speaking of Friday.... Did you know Maker's Mark has become eco-friendly? This post on steady happy led me (happily) here.

(Image from FOUND Magazine)

Groom Style: Rock Star

I love the wild-west-meets-the-seventies look. These boys are rocking the vest.

I'm also a sucker for good facial hair. Don't shave your beard (or your mustache, please!) for the wedding, whatever you do. Be yourself. And look like yourself in the pictures.

The Killers found here.

This real-life groom also happens to be in a band. It shows in his f-it-I'll-wear-what-I-want attitude. We could all use a little more of that.

(Doc Martens are meant to be worn with tube socks, after all. Wedding or no wedding.)

Photo by Laura Burlton.

Groom Style: Nouveau Prepster

Thom Browne made the suit cool again.

Don't argue with me. I read it in New York Magazine.

(Image courtesy of style.com)

Band of Outsiders has taken it one step further. I totally dig the window pane check with the contrasting striped shirt. And this light suit photographed in Paris by The Sartorialist would be fabulous for a summer wedding. (I'm also a fan of seersucker, if done right.)

I must admit, I'm still on the fence about boat shoes, but man are they everywhere. If you rock 'em at your wedding, will you send me pictures? I'm serious.

(Band of Outsiders courtesy of GQ; The Sartorialist)

Groom Style: A beach wedding

I love the idea of a barefoot groom in a well-cut linen suit. Much sexier than flip-flops. (Image from British Wedding via Nibs.)

And The Sartorialist has actually sold me on shorts with this photo from Milan. As he put it, "A shorts suit? Doesn't work for me. Shorts and a sportscoat? Just right."

Jezebel giveaway

**now closed**

Violet the libertine. Isn't she fab and kind of... east side bridey?

Hit me with a comment to win a 11" x 17" print.

And please. Go peruse all that is Jezebel. Cards. Prints. Totes & tees. Jewelry (I die). Added bonus: she blogs.

p.s. Random.org has spoken. Elizabeth (#14) wins the fine art print from crPhotography!

Groom Style: James Bond

Classic. And kick-ass.

Skip the tie if it's cramping your style. Rules are made to be broken.

(Daniela Bianchi and Sean Connery in "From Russia With Love" from here; Tom Ford, James Bond's latest tailor, from here)

The James Bond theme was inspired by Lovely Morning, who has a great take on the white dinner jacket here.

I'm weird like that

Everybody's reposting the photos from this garden delight wedding. The fairies and the streamers and the picnic at the base of the trees.

But I think this detail is my favorite.

Flowers by Laurie Cinotto. Photos by Heather Gilson of One Love.