Thanks to Becky, I found Hanna Hartnell, and thanks to Hanna, we have the Phoenix. This elegant dress can be made in pretty well any color, and would make a lovely wedding gown for anyone channeling the soft-sexy Hollywood vibe. I love the blue/green version at the bottom, but I also really love the romanesque quality of the ivory one at the top. While the front sort of says "I am classical, I am a goddess" the back just kind of issues forth a low purrrrrrrr. I really like what the back has to say.

A while back, I discovered thru Oh Joy! that there is a BROWNIE STORE. Ya. That's all they sell. Brownies. It's called Mari's New York. But just yesterday I discovered via Outblush that this brownie store also sells gift boxes. Different sorts of brownies all mingling around in a beautiful box, just ripe for the picking? Yes. Please. They even have a gift box especially for Valentine's Day that I'm seriously considering sending to myself, I mean my husband. If you're wondering how this relates to weddings, it doesn't really. BUT! I do have proof that these brownies have been used as wedding favors, which you could also do... if you were awesome.

So THIS is fun! Especially for those of you who are planning black and white themed affairs, I thought this new Lacy Tape from Rockett St. George would make a nice addition to favor boxes, just to dress things up a bit. Don't you think?

On a more boring note, we have put a rather large Band-Aid over top of the commenting problem. It should be working just fine now, albeit a little different than you're used to. Note to anyone considering the switch to the New Blogger: Blogger Beware. My comments stopped working all-together the second I switched and we still haven't figured out why.

Please bear with us, we are experiencing some technical difficulties in the comment department. I'm going to have my tech people look at it more closely this evening (and by "people" I mean Dell). I apologize, and hope that the comments will be functioning again very soon. Damn it, Blogger. I hate it when we fight!

Good Monday everyone! I was just starting to feel the winter doldrums set in last night when I looked outside and saw an inch of snow on the city streets. Normally, here in New York, that doesn't happen until late March when we're all hoping for spring and prematurely wearing pastels. So, we count our blessings where we can get them.
On that note, I'm going to pass you over to Sam for her usual Monday morning update.



First of all, thank you so much S.O.S.N. readers! Your advice about registering has been so useful. We registered at Bloomingdale's and we may do one other place like Amazon or maybe even Anthropologie? The Bloomingdale's experience was like a movie scene. Dave and I got to the registry office not knowing what to expect and got our very own registry agent. A dapper older man with a whole spiel began explaining all the policies and procedures with such aplomb. Other couples buzzed around the office with their clipboards and paperwork. We were given a scanner and proceeded to walk around clicking over item barcodes. I think this was Dave’s favorite part being the technologically inclined fellow that he is. Though a close rival would be the help-yourself espresso machine in the registry office. So just imagine your fiancé all hopped up on espresso with a scanner gun in hand. If I did not stop him we would have 10 cutlery sets and 5 mug trees. Anyway, I was less than thrilled with bedding and towels, they were all very drab and plain. I was thrilled about the stainless steel flatware and the dishes and frames. Kate Spade’s collections have the perfect combination of clean/modern with colorful/funky. I am a huge fan of her stuff. We registered for Gwinnett Lane dishes and also these lovely frames. We also scanned some great Emil Henry cookware. I guess registering is not so bad after all, especially on espresso!

I'm really digging these earrings by Amrita Singh. My favorites are the first ones with the black enamel accents. She has some other really lovely jewelry, which you should totally go see.

Bride's Head Revisited. Get it? What an adorable name for a bridal milliner. I get it even though I've never read the book... or seen the movie. Is it a book or a movie or both? Or a mini series? Was it sort of like The Thornbirds? Because I didn't see/read that either. Anyway, even though I didn't previously participate in any media by the same name, I still enjoy their veils... especially the french ones.

In my opinion, this dress is as close to perfect as it gets! Let's list the reasons. It has an empire waist (very flattering). It features a built in corset (adds structure and holds the dress in place, no slippage). The pattern is an all-over gorgeous Asian inspired wave (it's subtle and such a unique touch). I love the romantic flowy-ness (it is so very in). AND while not exactly bargain priced, it still beats out many multitudes of wedding gowns I've admired in the past, including ones from J Crew.
This would be the perfect for the unique bride having a less than uber-fancy wedding. I can't even begin to count the number of reasons why it would be perfect for a beach wedding.
This dress is part of the Notte line by Marchesa. To be found at The Marcus.

I love these incredible shawls for so many reasons. They're gorgeous, first of all. Second, they're handloomed by artisans across South Asia with sustainable, environmentally friendly materials. My favorite pieces are made of a naturally golden silk. Naturally! The material is quite rare, and was apparently a state secret of Assam, India for centuries. Called "Muga", it was reserved strictly for royalty, but is now being woven into exquisite shawls for Indigo Handloom. Secrets out! I'm always looking for things that are very special for very special occassions. These really do qualify.

Hope everyone's weekend went well! I'm going to pass you right over to Samantha, so you can get to reading about her venue breakthru. Here she is.


For me a backyard garden wedding was so befitting. However with the fantasy, came the reality. The more tent people my dad met with, the more my parents came to realize that putting in a floor that fit the entire tent along with drainage systems and gutters, was going to cost a ton. At least as much as renting a place. Plus having the wedding at home, you have to rent everything from silverware and linens to port-a-potties. So for fear I would go all Shining Bridezilla on them, they secretly started looking around the area for an outdoor venue that had a weather contingency plan.
Thursday they came in to the city to hang out with Dave and I. Over coffee and cake (the cake was to preemptively sooth me I think) they broke the news that having it at home could be a potential nightmare if it rained and difficult even if the weather were fair. After a little coaxing I realized that the alternative plan was better than the original. We’re having the wedding outdoors at this place called Dolce within the IBM complex a mile from my parent’s house in Palisades, NY (we still get to have a great brunch at their house the following morning). We still get to bring in our cupcake tree and hydrangea centerpieces. The place has hundreds of acres, a swan pond with koi, a beautiful stone wall and a tent leading into a room with all glass walls (guest rooms too!). If the weather is nice we’ll get married by the stone wall and then all walk to the tent for cocktail hour and then party inside with the large glass windows open to all the surrounding trees. So all bases are covered and I don’t have to meditate, pray and make deals with the world that it won’t rain. I’m hoping for gorgeous spring weather and the scent of lilacs in the air but if it does not happen that way, our guests won’t have to wear rain gear and use port-a-potties… phew.

The Aspen and The Seville


The Charlotte and The Aberdeen


The Cozumel and The Havana

After months of work, the new invites are finally ready for the world! I'm so proud of them, but a little nervous for them too. I think this must be a mild form of what parents feel when they send their kids off to the first day of school.
A big thanks to everyone for so enthusiastically helping me name them...
"Aspen" was the overwhelming choice for the first invite. Mary helped me name the Seville and the Cozumel. The Aberdeen I came up with all by myself, and the Charlotte I named with help from Heather. Last but not least, Mari (with an i) came up with Havana for the last one, which is perfect!
It made me so happy that you all helped name them, it was a great confidence boost to know that they were already eagerly anticipated.
If you want to get a closer look at any of them, you can go to the KenzieKate catalog page, or click directly to them here:
Aspen
Seville
Charlotte
Aberdeen
Cozumel
Havana

Neiman Marcus people. Neiman Marcus. Vera Wang dresses for under $800. All part of her Lavender Label, these gowns, in my opinion are just as gorgeous as their $10,000 counterparts. I've never been oppossed to the idea of a bride in lavender, or champagne... or any other color. You should check it out. They're really too pretty to pass up.

I love the careful presentation and perfect little details at famous french pastry shop Ladurée. The macaroons look fantastic, (my favorite presentation is the rainbow colored box above). The croquembouche is to die for and the pastries come in mysterious flavours like violet and orange flower. I imagine that if I lived in Paris, I would send a box of these treats to my best friend and then I might just drop by for a visit so she could offer me some.

Ah Monday. A lot of lucky people have today off. I am not one of those people. But, it is a great day just the same. Today, we must give Samantha our advise. She is having some trouble with her registry. I'll let her tell you all about it.



Drama. The registry. I thought that it would be good to work on something together with Dave… you know, a couple bonding thing for the wedding. It did not work out as well as I’d hoped. I thought we would be able to sit down together and do a registry. Wrong. I read a lot of design blogs so I’ve been collecting interesting sites that would be good for registering or online shopping. Dave is a master guru at organizing filing and creating systems. So I thought I’d be able to come to the proverbial table with my collection of findings have him organize it all and then go through it together to make sure we have everything and agree on it aesthetically. He created a system using google notebook to categorize all my info. But by the time we got to the first item he was freaking out and getting frantic “how big is this dinner plate? $22 for a mug, are you crazy Sam, we break mugs everyday!! What’s an accent plate? IS this pasta bowl for a single serving or for serving a whole dinner party?“
UGH! We were sitting next to my 18-year-old punk brother having this conversation and he chimed in how bourgeois we are and everyone wound up going his or her separate ways. I don’t see what’s wrong with registering at 5-6 different sites. A few of the typical ones for older guests like Bloomingdales, Crate and Barrel etc. and then a few younger more independent designer kind of sites like Clio Home or Design Public. I love Kate Spade’s Gwinnet China but I also love these.
Dave thinks we should only register at two or three places, I think more like 5-6! What should we do? I really want some unique stuff and I want to support some indie designers. I figure the older people will be comfortable at Bloomingdales and the younger people will shop online. What’s the best compromise? And does anyone have any good registry suggestions. HELP!

You'll have to excuse me for my lack of wedding insight right now. With all the new designs scheduled to hit the website on Monday, things are a little scattered over here. To relax a little, my dear good buddy and neighbor Dierdre and I decided to play a friendly round of Scrabble. I do believe I got the worst letters anyone could ever get, EVER. You see that grin on her face? That's her "I'm going to beat you so easily" face. Granted, the only reason she was so confident is because I said "my letters are such crap, I have to take a picture". Which sort of blew my cover.

A big thanks to Bea for pointing me in the direction of these lovely hair jewels by British designer Jo Thorne. I love that each of the pieces seems so organic and eternal. I have a test to see if things are timeless. I try to picture Queen Elizabeth, Gwen Stephani, Cleopatra, and Audrey Hepburn all sporting that item. If I can pictue it, then it passes. These pass.

As pointed out so astutely by Vanda, COLOURlovers is a magical place to browse for color schemes. Whether you're looking for wedding colors or painting a room, this is a great place to brainstorm. It's kind of like standing in front of the paint-chip display at Home Depot, (one of my favorite places ever), only you can enjoy it in your own home, and for unlimited amounts of time. You can create your own palettes, or you can cruise other people's palettes and look for inspiration. I'm loving the deep red, pink, teal combo. So sultry, so perfect for winter.

Just because you endured that last post, I'm leaving you for the day on a slightly sweeter note. These petits fours would make fantastic favours. From Dragonfly Cakes in Sausalito, CA. Just look at the chocolatey caramel goodness. Who could say no to that?

to point a laser at your face.

Patience. You must have patience. I realize that you are looking at this highly uninteresting image and thinking about clicking back to where you came from.
But wait!
There's this common fear among all brides that when the big day comes, she'll have a mammoth zit somewhere conspicuous. I know about this fear, because I had it. Everyone has it. You're afraid that two days before the big day, you'll get a big zit on your chin. Everyone knows that the big ones don't heal in two days. Fortunately, makeup covers a lot, but if there was some way we could heal it faster...
NOW we come to my point. Your patience has been rewarded. The point is that I've discovered this little laser gizmo that heals blemishes very quickly. I'm not kidding. I have one. It really does speed up the process quite a bit. The basic gist is that you point it at your blemish, and the laser stimulates cell grown to help the "problem" heal faster. It also helps with redness and small scars. The only catch is, you have to have some time to use it (about a half hour every evening before you turn in). I like to use it while I'm watching TV, and that works out well for me. I also found that since I've been using it, I've gotten less breakouts in general.
The best price I've found is here. They also sell them here.
I realize that everyone has little tricks that work for them. What are your beauty secrets?

To hire, or not to hire a photographer?
That’s the question. My dear friends Erin and Anna are both photographers (a sampling of Erin's pictures above). A family friend (whose son I happened to go to prom with) is a film maker/videographer. Problem solved? The only dilemma is that I don’t want them all to be working the whole wedding. I want them to break it down to the Cuban music. I want them to have plenty of time to stuff themselves with cupcakes.

I'm thinking about asking every guest who considers themselves visually savvy or a budding auteur to bring along their digital camera and then send us their favorite candid or posed shots. I’ve asked Erin and Anna to each work an hour, one at the ceremony and just after and one in the tent in the yard. So I think all of our bases will be covered and the photos will feel expressive and free. With my Photoshop skills, we are bound to end up with a wonderful collection of photos documenting a lovely (god willing rain-free) wedding. Right? I'm right, right? Seriously, what do you think? Can we cut this corner?

Pritty! Jana Starr creates beautiful, one-of-a-kind dresses out of vintage handmade European lace to wonderful effect. There's something so special about one-of-a-kind. I mean, we are all one-of-a-kind, but to have a wedding gown unlike anyone else's... They're heirlooms in the making.
I love the middle one, it's has such a simple timeless shape. And the back on that right one, gasp.

You must watch this! Sound on.

Today was such an insanely busy day. I felt like I haven't sat at my desk in years. I was eventually able to answer all the emails, return all the phone calls, eat all the cupcakes. All in a hard day's work. In case you didn't catch that, I made cupcakes this weekend for a New Year's Eve party. They were Grapefruit Pomegranate flavored, and they were super. Hands down, the best cake batter I've ever tasted. Next time, I'm not baking it. I'm putting it in parfait glasses with whip cream and serving it straight up.
I've also been playing with the new digital camera. (Who, from here on out will be affectionately referred to as HAL 9000 because it is sooooo smart that it rotates the images so they are all right-side up, no matter how you're holding the camera. whoa.)
That was all a very long way around to tell you that even in my extreme busyness, I was able to eat cupcakes, play with presents, and shop on Amazon, where
I came across a few new books that I thought were fun. The first is coming out TODAY, hot off the presses, and has some beautiful photography. The second, I actually found on Just My Cup of Tea, and looks to be perfect for the list-a-holics amung us. Plus, I love the cover.

Happy New Year everyone!
I know I've been posting a lot about jewelry lately, but I just keep finding things that I love!
Most recently...
Miguel Ases has some beautiful freshwater pearl and gold earrings. I love the ones in the middle especially, they seem so unique.
Many of his pieces can be found at Fragments, you should go see.