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.