I found some wonderful hair accessories at Colette Malouf, including my new favorite headband. I saw it featured in Real Simple this month, (albeit with the leaves slightly more smooshed together) and I really loved the look. It's dressy, yet not princess dressy. It's sort of elfin chic dressy. I don't know anyone who doesn't have a place in their heart for a little chic elf.

A recent email from Pheobe has turned me on to these hilarious (yet slightly off-kilter) greeting cards by Uncooked. I appreciate their humor. How many times have I gone looking for a funny card and found nothing but a bunch of Hallmark's with pictures of kids dressed as adults? You know the ones? Where the whole picture is in black and white, all except for the red rose the little girl is holding? She's wearing an oversized hat and kissing a young boy wearing shoes that are too big? I'm sure you're familiar with the genre.
The cards by Uncooked also brought to mind another awesome card company I saw on d*s recently. O plus D has a mouth like a drunken sailor and makes some fantastically lovely greeting cards*. They all aptly illustrate just how funny swearing can be when done with a touch of style.

*cards that I can't picture here, just in case there are any children reading.

I was so pleasantly surprised to see such an unusual dress from J. Crew! Love the collar, love the eyelet, love the thoughtful tuxedo details. The price tag surprised me as well... it seemed a bit high for J. Crew. Although I suppose I wouldn't have thought twice about the price had I seen the same dress on a designer's website.

Check out Kakkoii Mono for great vintage dresses. Someone please (I'm begging) beat me to the red and white patterned one. I don't think my wallet can handle it.

Greetings from Montreal. Welcome back from Thanksgiving!
The death of a loved one is always a surprise, no matter how prepared you are. Unfortunately, we have been surprised by a death in the family. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Connecticut, but were called away for a funeral mid-vacation, and are now in Montreal until Tuesday. As always, I'm grateful to have friends in this case who can fill my shoes and post something relevant. Having said that, I'm going to pass you all over to Samantha for her regular Monday morning post:


This wedding is such a dichotomy for me. Dave is my perfect match in so many ways including our cultural upbringing and current views on religion. We are both agnostic yet were raised in the Jewish culture. His grandparents had a great role in raising him and were Holocaust survivors. Mine were both raised in Jewish communities and in families that celebrated their culture by observing with friends and family (in a reform and festive way). I was raised within a relaxed cultural context. Dave’s upbringing was a little more stringent, but not much. We chose to favor the cultural components of faith instead of the religious, for us it’s primarily about family not personal faith.
We can’t imagine eloping like my folks did because we want to share our experience and set our cornerstone with the friends and family. Nor do we want a stranger marrying us. A close family friend of my family (whose son I grew up with) is a rabbi. We would like to have him marry us but don’t particularly want a religious ceremony, yet we don’t want to deny the culture of our families or ancestors. It’s quite complex to explain that to us there’s a line between culture and religion without insulting family, but that we don’t feel that a marriage is necessarily a religious event.

Sometimes the earrings over at Anthropologie are very... theme-y. A little too much fabric here, a little too many bobbles there. Too much shabby, not enough chic. Sometimes.
NOT today. Today they are dainty and feminine. Just pretty enough to wear with anything from a collared shirt to a floor length gown.

What a fun way to personalize... everything! These embossers come in a variety of messages, from "Save-the-Date" to "Happy Holidays" and everything in between. I love the monogram embossers for tagging wedding favors. They're a bargain at only 28.00 each from Room Service Home.

*We're off to Connecticut for Thanksgiving today! I'll be posting all week from my parent's house. Hopefully I'll have plenty of spare time in between eating and... eating.

Once again, it's time to hear from Samantha.
*Warning* If you're on a diet, you may want to sheild your eyes.




Me: "Mom, you know I really want to have a unique wedding, so how about we cook all the food? You love to cook, I love to cook. We could make everything summer-ish and delicious. It could be served room temp, buffet style! Whaddaya think?

Mom: "Honey, I love you, but are you crazy?! I'm not cooking dinner for 130 people!"

My mom does love to bake, though, and loves baking cakes, so we've decided that, instead of having a traditional wedding cake, we're going to make a "cupcake tree." Yeah! I want to create my wedding in an unconventional way but that is easier said than done, as I'm learning all too well. When you're dealing with a party that involves so many people coming from all over the country who expect to be fed and watered..or...er…alcoholed, there are certain expectations that need to be met if you want happy guests. Dessert, however, leaves more leeway for a creative and fun approach.

above:
Bollywood themed cupcakes from Little Venice Cake Company
Queen's Garden cupcakes from Alice's Teacup
Whimsical cupcake tree from Maise Fantasie Wedding Cakes
Polka Dot cupcake tower from Little Venice Cake Company

So, I trolled. I found some lovely vintage wedding dresses on eBay, and I hope you'll give them a look.



1. I love this gown. It reminds me of a cross between last season's Reem Acra and Claire Pettibone. Imagine it without the sleeves.
2. I love the pleating in the bodice of this dress, and am convinced that with a liner in the bodice (please not black), a petticoat, and maybe a light blue ribbon around the hips, it could be really stunning for an informal affair.
3. Are you tall? Are you slender? Whyyyy aren't you wearing this RIGHT NOW?



4. I want to rip the sleeves off this one so that it can realize it's full drop dead fabulous potential.
5. This is vintage Henry Bendel. Hello Henry! It is also gorgeously embroidered all over the place and could be so very NOW.
6. This one could take the cake. It could be my very favorite of the whole lot. All you have to do is dry clean it. It's perfect.
7. This is a long satin and lace "topcoat" to wear over your dress. The pictures are crap, but it's got potential.
8. Again, the drama in this dress whifs of Reem Acra. I must ask that you mentally rip the sleeves off this one to sense it's full potential.



9. Did I say number 6 was my favorite? I meant number 9. I still like number six, but ooooo, number 9. I love the pleats!
10. This one is all set to go. Never been worn. Which makes me a little sad for it. It needs a happy home.
11. This one is so sweet. I can picture this with a stylish little blusher and some peep toe pumps on the pages of Martha Stewart Weddings.

Cheeky designers Viktor & Rolf teamed up with H&M to design this wedding gown, which is (sort of) available in stores now for $349.00. It is the first and only wedding dress H&M has sold, and they are flying out of stores all over the country! I'm guessing they're already all over eBay. H&M together with V&R have also come out with a men's tux, and other wedding appropriate wear. If any of you get to try one of these on, let me know how it goes. It's hard to tell anything about the cut of the dress from the photos.

Which reminds me... I meant to do a Trolling eBay post exclusively devoted to vintage gowns. Would that be helpful to anyone?

This makes a fantasic alternative to this, and the former costs twenty-three dollars a piece. TWENTY-THREE. Now I can't say for sure how much the latter costs. But I can say that it is for sure more than twenty-three dollars. Plus a fingertip or two. All I'm saying is that it's a dern good alternative. Consider the possibilities! At an evening wedding outside, hung in the trees. Hung low over the tables at a loft type event, or hung at different lengths, clustered together over the buffet table. I'd say there's lots of potential here. These can be found at Smith & Hawken, in white or red.

*AVOID DISCO FEVER: try not to hang just one over the dance floor.

Again, it is Monday. This morning we have another installment from my good friend Samantha. Take it away Sam.



We've been to many weddings in different places: fabulous lofts in Manhattan, tents on farms and on vineyards, campus chapels, all lovely in their own way. My main wish is that, wherever we have our wedding, the venue represents Dave and me. I really want it to be personal. So we've decided to have it at home...my parents' home, that is--we live in a tiny Manhattan studio. 130 people in there? I think not. My parents have a great aesthetic. My mom's an artist and my dad has an amazing eye. So if the three of us put our heads together we'll come up with some fantastic centerpieces and décor (I saw some lovely paper poppy pomanders somewhere…if only I could remember where).

The plan (as of now) is to have the wedding on June 9th-ish. We'll get married in the backyard under a big oak tree and then move next door to a lovely little one-room school house from the 1800's (now a community center) with a tent and dance floor outside. We'll have appetizers and champagne while mingling and listening to music. Later, we'll do a buffet dinner and watch a slideshow of me and Dave as kids. I adore slideshows! (We may even project it onto the barn in the yard). The only glitch is that if the weather is inclement, we would have to get married in the tent. Which I think would be less scenic. My dad made me promise to have fun regardless of the weather. His fear is that, if it rains, I'll sit there all night crying. (Dad, this is not my 1st-grade birthday party! I promise to roll with the punches.)

I just got an urgent SOS from a reader, requesting help finding wrapping paper. Since I know that that season will be upon us very soon, (when we all will need a little wrapping paper), I'm pointing you to my absolute favorite wrapping paper sites.


Whimsy Press- I like to imagine that princesses and Oprah probably use these papers on a regular basis. They're stunning, up there on the left is their "Hollywood Hills" pattern.
Heidi- gorgeous, delicate papers for all seasons. That's her's on the right, the pattern's called "Pine Cone".
Luxe Paperie- offers several brands of very cool papers, including Snow & Graham and Eieio.
Nineteen Seventy Three- a posh British studio, selling some pretty funky papers.
Kate's Paperie- Last, but certainly not least is Kate's Paperie, who has a nice selection, (including that Birdie and Pussy Willow pattern I believe someone was looking for)!

Since I usually "troll ebay" for pretty, special, or generally useful items, I thought today I'd share a few examples of what might not make the cuts during my usually rigorous selection process. For whatever reason, I tend not to post any of the hilarious crap I stumble across, but today, there was just too way too much to pass it up.

First, this product is described as a "Globe de Mariee" and I have absolutely no idea what it's for. It is shaped like a chair, it's covered with birds and mirrors, there's a wax crown (?) involved... I just don't understand what anyone would do with this. If you know, you must share.

Next, a hilarious juice glass that depicts an innocent 1930's bride in various states of undress.

Then, the world's most unflattering cake topper. The bride looks like a dejected Pillsbury Dough Boy in drag. The groom has to pee real bad, and isn't quite sure how he's going to remove his skin tight one piece jumpsuit before there's trouble. All that, PLUS they both have the same haircut. And it's not a very good one.

Last, if this veil could talk, it would say "phooooooof"

Anyone looking for a unique wedding gift? Rockett St. George is owned by two British design lovin' ladies, Jane Rockett and Lucy St. George. This boutique features some of the UK's freshest design talent and their website offers an incredible range of both beautiful and useful items. Personally, I love the fuzzy boot slippers and think they would make a fantastic gift for someone special on any occasion. The rose cut-out shelf or some of their distinct glassware would both make stellar wedding gifts.
*Also noted by Oh Joy, Rockett St.George will ship to the states. Fantastic!

My recent infatuation with eyeshadow has lead me to these combos from Pop Beauty. I'm venturing to Sephora today to try one of them out... Now I wonder if you're supposed to buy based on your own eye color, or the eye color you wish you had. For example, I would like to buy the green one, but I guess I should really buy the brown one. If only they had hazel... I could probably get away with hazel.

ps.I really should be getting the brown

Since the last invite naming went soooo well; we're having another one! The creative juices are flowing over here at KenzieKate and we've got new ideas coming and going (and by we, I mean me). But I need names! The game is the same; I like to name each of my invites after cities. I usually pick the first city that comes to mind when I look at the finished design, but alas, I am not as well travelled as I would like.



Oh yeah, and the results of the last naming! A huge thanks to Mary for coming up with some fantastic names! The beachy one will be the Cozumel, and the jewelry inspired one will be the Sevilla. Thanks Mary!



I'm hoping to come out with all four new styles at the beginning of January on the KenzieKate site.

*best announcer voice*
This week, on Sam and Dave, Samantha shops for her wedding dress! Will she find what she's looking for? or will she crack under the pressure? Find out as we continue our coverage of Samantha's wedding journey.
*end announcer voice*


Hi everyone, Samantha here.
Why can't I be a more traditional bride? My parents eloped on Martha's Vineyard in a teepee, which may be a source of the problem (that's them, up there). Either way, I'm looking for a non-traditional wedding dress. I already know what I don't want: anything poofy, sequined, beaded, or veiled. As far as what I do want: something romantic and ethereal. Something special, but also un-bridal. That narrows it down, right? Luckily, I happen to have a close friend who works as a fashion editor. Together, we visited some vintage/bridal shops in search of the elusive perfect fit.

First, we went to New York Vintage and pulled some slip dresses for me to try. I learned very quickly that anything cut on the bias is bad. Really bad. A stunning silk, unlined '30's nightie that hugs every curve and then flares at the bottom makes me look like a mermaid that ate too much lobster. I couldn't have looked worse if I'd been wearing a magnifying glass. Great for some, not for me.



Next, we meandered over to Foley and Corinna in the East Village, followed by Blue, also in the East Village. Last, but not least, we hit Thread, located on the Upper East Side inside The Wedding Library. They make lovely, unique dresses for bridesmaids and fancy occasions (pictured above). The colors were perfect: pinks, blues, whites, and creams. The fabrics were primarily chiffon and satin. My friend rolled her eyes at me every time when I said: "But I want shiny!" In her most diplomatic tone of voice, she said, "Sam, maybe 'shiny' shouldn't be at the top of your priority list."

Of all the dresses I tried, there was one that stood apart from the rest; a beautiful, strapless, multi-tiered dress of cotton eyelet with a small flower pattern. My friend loved it, and the helpful sales clerk loved it. I felt great. The only reason I didn't buy it on the spot was that I still had plenty of time to keep looking before making my final decision. But it's a wonderful relief to know it'll be there if I want it, and it's not even shiny—see, I'm open-minded.

I'm kind of ashamed to say that I'm looking forward to this show. Really, I would have expected more "aloofness" from me. Lately, I've been addicted to TV shows on DVD. Every week the Netflix fairy brings me new episodes, sans commercials, of Six Feet Under, which I am totally addicted to. I watched the first episode of season 3 last night, and all I have to say is "wha?". That was a little strange.
BUT... that's not why you came. I just wanted to give everyone the heads up, Big Day, a comedy about one couple's wedding day starts Tuesday, November 28th at 9:00 on ABC. The entire season takes place in one day, with each episode covering an hour of the day. I must admit, I have my reservations. If the decor they chose is an indicator of the quality of the show, it may never make it to the vows. Balloons? Really?

When women fall in love with men named William, do they play that song at their wedding? You know the one.
"Bill, I love you so, I always will..." The one from My Girl? The one Veda Sultenfuss sang to her unrequited love? I hope those girls play that song. Because none of the rest of us has a song.
But I digress. I'm supposed to be posting about these veils I found. We all know that great websites for veils are pretty hard to find, so I'm posting a link to Sara Gabriel. She has some lovely tulle* AND a fun little tool* to help you decide on your veil length.

*Um, hello. How many bloggers do you know that can use a homophone with that kind of ease? Hmmmm? That's right. A HOMOPHONE.