introducing

Brian aka Fiance's roommate/best man/photographer/film editor/ninja has just launched his photography website. And it's super awesome. For more reasons than the fact that fiance and I are on it.
Go read his about me page to learn more about him and his perspective. Or let his pricing page (all clearly laid out up front!) blow your mind. For a break from the wedding stuff check out his band photos (and then go check out the bands, they're amazing!). He lives in LA but his family's in northern california and I know he loves a road trip. Pass the word along!

moxie

Non pareil magazine had some great silver screen inspired photo shoots, but my favorite? the Mad Men shoot.
I'm not usually a huge fan of over stylized "fake" weddings, but this one I LOVED. It felt so simple and yet totally evoked a 60s feel. Those mint juleps to go are fantastic. I love everything vintage for sure, and I'm slightly obsessed with the show. Christina Hendricks is my idol, and I love that every character is so flawed...and believable.

I think this would be my wedding's nighttime alter ego. Simple tuscan market by day, citified manhattan dinner party by night.

All in the family

My mom is so funny. She's really embracing the role of mother-of-the-bride. Every time I see her she gives me more wedding magazines. When she gets together with her friend Suzy (who will be friendor extraordinaire), she calls me to report their brainstorming sessions.

Most recently she has suggested galvanized tin buckets. Yes! Perfect farmer's market vibe.
Also I have learned that Suzy is growing english lavender on her ranch. Score! And she has olive trees, that I can cut branches off for arrangements. Double score!
Suzy also arranges flowers, is an interior decorator, is the best thrifter/antiquer on the planet, and has a wholesale license. Which means she can help us purchase any supplies we need in bulk, whether it be decor or beverages (costco offers special prices at earlier hours for wholesale). Yes!

Supper

Sunday suppers will be the death of me. If I ever get to visit New York and they are still hosting classes, I would totally plan my trip around it. Check out this awesome rustic italian inspired dinner.

Dark wood surface, white dishes and tasty food:

"Pasta Frittata
Warm Robiola Cheese
Herbed Flatbreads
Asparagus with Frankie’s Olive Oil
Meatballs + fresh tomato sauce
Boozy fruit
Affogatos
Sandwich cookies
And of course martinis"

I would like to add just about all of this to our wedding menu. Can I make asparagus an appetizer food? It looks so darn pretty with those lemon wedges.

I LOVE the idea of cooking together. If you were having a super small wedding, or a rehearsal dinner at home it would be so lovely to cook the meal together.

And check out that olive branch arrangement. I love this look and there are actually olive trees and tuscan inspired landscaping in the town where Fiance's parents live. I love some olive branch inspiration.

Also can I steal some of these ladies' dresses? Especially the one on the right. It would be just lovely for some engagement photos :).

hair part 3

Hair piece options:
First I would like to briefly discuss the following awesomeness. That vine/claw thing in her hair is pure brilliance.

via oncewed

But since I've already got something and I probably can't afford something like that, here's a more realistic option. My grandmother/mother's headpiece is crown shaped, layered with starched lace, iridescent sequins and tiny pearl and gold beads. My grandmother wore it flat on her head like a head band while my mom wore it tipped up, like a crown. I definitely want to wear it flat. I have a fingertip length veil with blusher for the ceremony, but I want to change it up for the reception. Maybe switch out the veil for a little bit of netting with my beaded headband like these lovely ladies:

via green wedding shoes

via ruffled

via ruffled

via oncewed

via classic bride

kind of like this gorgeous vintage headpiece I found on etsy:

via etsy

umm and then I had to find a way to stick zooey in here somewhere. we have the same hair and blue eyes!

hair part 2

Option #2: the updo
there's the messy, poufy updo:

(elizabeth dye via a desert fete)

 (via apartment 34)

The sleek but simple updo:

(keira knightley)

(scarlett johanssen in french elle)

And I really love fresh gardenias, especially in dark haired updos:

(via apartment 34)

Which leads into tomorrow's topic: the headpiece/veil options...

hair part 1

Alright, I hereby declare this to be hairstyle week. I'm incredibly indecisive when it comes to my hair. At the moment it is long, dark brown, with layers and fringe, with a bit of a natural wave. My hair grows super fast so I've experimented a lot in the past. I've had (in the past 6 years) highlights, no fringe, fringe, side bangs, hair down past my waist, chin length a line cut, dark black brown, a bleach blonde streak and everything in between. I plan to keep the same cut that I have right now. I like a slightly less than perfect look when it comes to hairstyles, I usually just air dry my hair and use some defrizz/shine spray.

Option #1: the half up/half down, with volume/pouf, and messy waves/curls
a la Brigette Bardot

(google images)

Or Anna Karina

(via adore vintage)

Or these beautiful brides:

(via memory tree photography)

(via green wedding shoes)

(via green wedding shoes)

cocktails

Eeek! Things I love about discovering this little world of weddings online: Super brilliant advice. Today on ESB a reader asked for advice about what to serve at a cocktail party. So smart lady that she is, calls on Celia, a cocktail and culinary expert (!) to lead the way. SUCH GOOD ADVICE! She recommended super easy no-cooking-required platters to serve up, how much to serve based on the number of people and wine pairings via her sommelier husband. The roasted veggies, charcuterie and cheese suggestions sound amazing. This one has definitely been filed away for future use.

(both photos via 100 layer cake)

Rant/prettiness

So I know a few people have mentioned it already but I'm totally over "trends". Like the word is no longer allowed in my vocabulary. As far as fashion goes, I feel like I've really got a good handle on my personal style, what I like and what looks good on me. I'll look to the runway for fresh ideas and inspiration, but by no means will I buy things because it's what's "in" (plus most of those items don't flatter a curvy figure ...90's comeback I'm looking at you...).

And as far as weddings go I feel like a trend doesn't mean anything anymore. (google it, the things that come up for 2010 are birdcage veils, sit down dinners, and strapless dresses...I'm pretty sure those have been around for a bajillion years already). People are just going to do whatever they want to do. If they're doing it solely because someone else did then that's their problem. I saw a wedding the other day with some beautiful bird imagery, which many people use as inspiration, and they seemed to feel the need to overemphasize that this was very personal to them, the groom learned ornithology from his father or something. Which is very cool and I'm glad that they could incorporate that, but since when did we have to JUSTIFY our wedding decisions to complete strangers? I could maybe see explaining key things about the ceremony or deciding to walk down the aisle together or something like that relating to your belief system (though that really doesn't require justification to strangers either).

But decor? Is it really super crucial to preface your choice of stuff you put on a table with elaborate stories for fear of backlash about the cliche? I think personal blogs are an exception. This is our space to sort out our thoughts for ourselves and find the true purpose and meaning in this day. But the general wedding blogs that feature "real weddings", your very personal story is being thrown out into cyberspace for random people to see. There's too much objectivity and no context. Personal blogs allow the viewer to follow the whole story and get to know your personality. The tiny wedding features we ogle are literally a snapshot. If a photographer ends up taking 1500 pictures we'll see maybe 1% of that one day. There's a difference between a little summary of the day and trying to one up each other.

There were some posts going around about wanting to see more emotion and (real) people photos and less photos of menus and vases. Which I'm all for. I'm not sure when the details became the focus of weddings, all my grandparents and parents' wedding photos are of people and the occasional cake (but a cake cutting so there's still people). Because while I am a detail loving lady, I'd much rather have more photos of me laughing out loud than perfectly arranged food platters (maybe after shots of demolished said food platters...)

(I was caught mid-laugh as we were displaying how awesomely white all of us were. pale and proud!)

So...after all that I'll show you what spurred this little monologue and present my "justification". My dear mother doesn't read wedding blogs, she's looked at maybe three magazines. She likes to secretly watch platinum weddings when my dad isn't around and balk at the ridiculousness. I grew up thrifting and antiquing. My parents were out and about today and my mom found this:

An antique bamboo birdcage. She suggested it would look so pretty with flowers to display somewhere at the reception. See she came up with this all on her own because she has awesome style, not because everyone and their mother last year used birdcages at their wedding. And I love old-world flea market bazaar type decor (dude cost plus world market is like my sanctuary. I'm still bitter they don't have a registry).  Also it is approximately $25. I get the thrifty genes from my momma. So I'm all for it. It's not that i-have-to-have-birdcages but my mom saw it and thought of me, it's inexpensive (I'll totally be repurposing it for future apartment) and I will not demand a refund if the photog doesn't get a pic of it. Especially if she's too busy snapping away at fiance and i enjoying each other's presence.

ribbons and pearls

For our very first valentine's day Fiance bought me a beautiful pair of pearl stud earrings. I wear them for special occasions and keep them safely in their little blue velvet box. One time I was too tired and threw them on my dresser before going to bed. One fell to the ground and I thought I had lost it for a week, I was freaking out. They are very special, I knew I would be wearing them for our wedding.

A couple of weeks ago one of my uncles got married (more on that eventually) and my grandma was wearing her long strand of pearls. We were chatting and she said "This is the necklace I want you to wear for your wedding." I'm so excited, I love me an heirloom. The necklace will be perfect with my look.

and because I have a never ending supply of inspiration boards:

(via snippet and ink)

three euro for your thoughts

Fiance and I both extremely indecisive. I tend to be quite open to trying anything, and partly people pleasing/unselfish and letting other people choose. He is just plain picky. It makes for some intense battles of "what do you want to do? I don't know/care. what do YOU want to do?" ahhhhhh! It can be crippling, but we're working on it. I also tend to get so inspired and/or have so many ideas and want to do so many things that I get overwhelmed and can't decide.

Which is weird concerning the whole wedding thing. I've been pretty much set on what I wanted and how I pictured the aesthetics since we got engaged. I'll confess I was one of THOSE people who stalked the wedding world before my time (but hey we'd been talking about marriage for over a year before the engagement), but it partly came out of my love for pretty things/photos. And I've always loved weddings in general. I've cried at every single one I remember going to (which I admit is limited). Even when I was a volunteer helping cater at a wedding, I cried during their ceremony. I know, ridiculous. But I digress, I've been exposed to LOTS of trends/aesthetics, lots of styles. And my preferences and ideas changed a lot during that time.

But when we got engaged, everything locked into place. It was like tunnel vision. Fiance and I talked about what we wanted, made minor compromises but he was quite open to any ideas. The pickiness was gone. He'd made the decision to marry me, everything else faded. Not that he didn't care, but he recognized that it wasn't the important part. But he has made decisions when I needed him to and has taken over things like music, honeymoon and catering. I have a clear vision of how things will go down, but I differentiate a vision from expectations.

I also tend to have high expectations and anxiety and generally freak out when things don't go as planned. And not that we've hit any major road blocks, but I've been pretty go-with-the-flow about things (except the small ceremony location issues). I know I'm still young, and still in college, so thus have not fully entered "the real world". But I'm hoping my positive/healthy reactions and attitude to these things is an indicator of how I'll continue to be as I keep growing up.

And so here is where I think the vision started (probably because it reminded me of europe):

 (via elegant bride)

And I just keep finding things that affirm that this is the right direction. I think its showing that my personal style is solidifying.

(lavender in provence by Marie-Eve of Lake Jane)

b&w

This wedding has already begun to make the rounds. And I love it. I feel like it's the summer version of what I want for our own wedding.

tossing lavender buds? and they served lavender infused lemonade (yum!)

They went to the rosebowl flea market to find trays and vases

potted herbs!

(photos by amy & stuart via snippet and ink)

I LOVE the black and white film projection idea. It would be a great way to keep the vibe relaxed and low key. I wonder if i can wrangle up a projector...

chocolate and blackberry

The church reminds me of one of my favorite inspiration boards:

(the city sage)

This one is by Anne over at the City Sage. I LOVE the rich deep colors and contrasting textures. The lace dress, glass of wine, chocolate, the figs, the chandelier, those flowers in the gray vase. I thought it would be too dark for a mid day wedding though. 

But the church has that dark purple upholstery, rich wood tones, deep red brick, airy sheer draped ivory curtains, deep blue and purple stained glass and tall white walls. I suppose this board isn't such a stretch after all! 

I've been thinking about incorporating some chocolate cosmos into the decor, because supposedly they will be in season. And they are supposed to smell like chocolate? I'm in! Fiance's mom's house has beautiful rich wood accents, and dark tapestries. Keeping everything else neutral with whites and ivories will keep it just light enough for mid day winter.

Silver Lining

i've been spending my time studying for an 8 hour engineering exam I must (re-)take on Saturday (ahhhhhh). But I thought I'd leave you with a bit of prettiness:

(via snippet and ink)

Orchids and Silver by Miss Kathryn. I won't necessarily be using orchids, but definitely pretty white flowers. I love the old silver photo frames on the bottom. Kind of an aged elegance, just enough imperfection. Yes please.

prettiness

you have to go check out Meg's new a practical wedding site launch. She has been very instrumental in getting the whole planning thing off to a good start and helping fiance and I get our heads in the right place. The new site is super organized (a lady after my own heart) and easy to navigate. Right now I have a bunch of her old posts bookmarked so they'd be at my fingertips, but it's been getting out of control, her new drop down tabs are perfect. Definitely check out the wedding graduates, ladies who have come out the other side and impart their wisdom. Also the reclaiming wife section and talking about about life after the wedding day, because that's the whole freaking point of getting married.

sundays

sunday suppers just posted a teaser shot for a brunch they did last month. Those flowers match my vision quite nicely. I can't wait to see the rest!

the royal

So I know the whole "typewriter as a guest book" thing is SO overdone. But hear me out. This is one "trend" that feels legitimately genuine to fiance and I.

(via snippet and ink)

First, fiance is a writer. Struggling screenwriter to be exact. Although screenplays are typed on computers now, they still use typewriter font, i.e. courier new. Since we're designing our invites I'm planning to incorporate a typewriter style font (dafont has some great inky vintage-y ones for free). And fiance's thesis for film school graduation (which he wrote, directed and had a cameo in) was called "The Royal" and featured a bright red Royal typewriter used by the main character (proud fiancee shameless plug). He owns both that red typewriter and a light blue Royal as well.

 (photo by connor gustus)

He thinks it's a great idea for the guestbook. It also goes with our vintage edge. It's interactive for the guests (a throwback for the less tech savvy, and funny to watch those smartphone lovers pound out the keys). It'll be easy to throw the pages together and have them bound.

(via vintage glam, now known as ruffled)

(via oncewed)