Tip-Tastic Tuesday
“The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.” -Oscar Wilde
People are always asking me for wedding advice. Period. No matter where I am – cab, cocktail party, colonoscopy appointment (ok, ok, I was at the dentist but alliteration is such a nice literary device, isn’t it?). It seems that the whole world is either getting married or knows someone that is getting married, and of course wanting what else but some free advice.
So, following the wise words of Oscar, I thought I would take the last Tuesday of each month to share some little gems of knowledge with you. Yes, this means you no longer have to hit me up at rand-o places… (you know who you are crazy-woman-on-line-in-the-bathroom-at-Iron-Man-2!) looking for that one golden nugget.
Tip #1: Have the groom’s speech be as early in the night as possible!
I know this sounds like a big “duh,”, but you’ve all seen it happen and it ain’t pretty.
And gentlemen, I have heard the whole Dutch courage argument, but unless you want your speech (which, chances are, will be videotaped for all of modernity) to be reminiscent of Mitch Martin a la Old School, please, I beg of you…speech first, drinkie second…capisce?!
Wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing…
I went on a date the other day (please keep your comments to yourself, it’s not going to be that kind of post). But what I do want to talk about it where we went. Okay, skip the dinner and drinks and get to the god stuff (again, minds out of the gutter please).
And by “good stuff” I’m talking about the incredible band we went to see at Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn. Sybarite5 are a stings quartet that we’ve (as in Marcy and myself… not my date) have had the pleasure of hiring for two past events- once for a cocktail party in Aspen and the other for a ceremony in Newport- and they truly rocked each time. However, I’m sure you know, that at an event you are running around like a chicken sans head, so I’ve never really had a chance to sit down and fully appreciate just how kick ass they are. Until last week, that is! The Sybarites juxtapose Stravinsky with Radiohead (yes, that did come directly from their website) and turn out some mind-blowing music that even those fearful of a little classical will enjoy. Their rendition of Stairway to Heaven is pretty amazing. It’s like that spice that you know is familiar but just can’t quite pin down- “is it cardamom she wonders, no it’s Led Zeppelin.”
I normally don’t like to let our little cats of their bag but I just felt selfish keeping these guys all to myself.
And if you don’t trust me you can see for yourself: http://sybarite5.org
Like a proud mama…
I don’t have any children… yet. And when/if I do I’m not sure if I’m going to be the kind of mom who whips out photos of her kids from those little plastic protectors in her wallet (or is that what they all say?).
However, I sorta “get” the gleaming pride these parents feel when they show unknowing strangers their little one-toothed wonders. I can only compare it to the same sort of shameless delight that I feel when I see one of MY brides in print.
Not wanting to be the freaky lady at the grocery store check out line flashing you the newest (July) issue of BRIDES, I’m taking this opportunity to share them with you (just in case you haven’t already seen)…
A couple additional shots… more wonderful details from this wedding on a future post.
BRIDES chose such a great shot of the bridesmaids that I thought it was only fair to include this stunner with the dashing groomsmen.
Each table was named after one of the many places the bride and groom had traveled.
A view of inside the tent from the opposite angle. The bride and groom chose one long attendants table for 33 guests.
Special thanks to:
Decor: StoneKelly Events
Photography: Ron Lynch Photography
p.s. I’m going off to Europa (I know, I know, so jet set) for a little holiday, but I’ve left Marcy with some posts so you don’t miss me too much. Pics and details when I get back… if I get good reports.
Cast Not Your Pearls…
Wedhead here, and I’m so incredibly excited to share with you my news! I’ve been sitting in on the casting for the new show, Who Wants to Be America’s Next Top Wedding Planner – OMG – it’s just going to be absolutely amazing! The finalists are speaking and the casting crew are just over the moon, let’s listen in:
#1- Oh, hello, My name is Ashton, just Ashton, no last name needed. I’ve planned all my parents cocktail parties since I was a little boy, and I’d be fabulous on television, because I’m the only person on the planet with taste and style.
#2- Hi I’m Sue, Sue Cluliss, I just got married, I planned our wedding for 20 people and everyone said it was the best wedding they’d ever been too, really and truly… so now I have business cards, I know I’ll be great.
#3- Hello, I’m Brandon, and well, I’ve never actually planned anything but I can be really mean and scream a lot- is that good? Oh, and I did intern on the publishing side of Louisville Brides a few years ago.
#4- Hi, I’m Polly Pluperfect- Well, I majored in interior design in college and then went to Hotel and Restaurant School for four years, after that I took a two year floral course in Switzerland and then got my Masters in psychology, I’ve had my own business planning weddings for twenty five years now, and I just love what I do.
Huge hub bub, and major commotion transpires, lots of grumbling through the casting staff and the producers are screaming- who the hell let her in here? How did she get this far? (Polly is unceremoniously escorted out of the studio) “Geez,” the director says, “are you trying to make the worst television show ever? Make sure no one like that gets in here again- got it?”…
Babies on Board
A luncheon table
Faux seed packets, calligraphed with guests name for seating cards
Introducing Lea Brumage, who is the second in command at Marcy Blum Associates, she’s been just dying to blog, so here goes:
There’s a new phenomenon going around the MBA offices lately. No, it’s not the new iPad, el Niño, or a sweep of brides wanting teal and brown. It’s babies, lots of them.
I know, I know, women have babies all the time. But this is the first time MY brides are having them and they seem to be coming fast and furious! This spring three MBA graduates became new mommies (welcome Ryan, Satay and Bea). Another is pregnant and I have it on good word that another is definitely trying.
We were lucky enough to be hired by the two grandmas to be to create a surprise baby shower for one of the miniature additions. Now, while we love a good party, I wouldn’t use the words cute and cuddly to describe Marcy’s aesthetic. But I have to say I think we found a really great balance between disgustingly, nauseatingly, sickeningly cutesy and well…boring. The sex of the little newcomer was also kept a mystery, so instead of the predictable pale pink and blue palate, we used the beautiful, budding Central Park back drop of A Voce at the Time Warner Center as our inspiration and ran with it. Baby pea pods in chartreuse and orange were the starting point and you can see from the photos where we went with the theme. One thing you can’t see in the photos was the iPod we had programmed with a “baby” themed play list- I thought that was a super cute touch! It turned out to be a stunning ladies lunch, with the proud papa-to-be even making a surprise appearance.
The menus at each place
An adorable sugar baby on a Sylvia cake
The invitation
Special thanks to:
StoneKelly – decor
Sylvia Weinstock – cake
Harold Hechler Photographers – photography
BDUB – paper goods
In Defense of Brides vs Bridezillas
For those who are etymologists, I seem to remember (I’m sure you will correct me if I’m wrong) that Stacy Morrison, then the editor of Modern Bride, came up with the word. She wanted to run a hysterically funny cartoon series featuring Bridezilla as the main character, but the publisher was way too nervous at the time and, thinking readers would rebel, refused to run it.
Personally, I’ve never really been too keen on the term as 1. I just don’t think any sane, decent person all of a sudden morphs into a monster ONLY because she’s getting married and 2. because what a surprise, no term for difficult grooms? I’ve always suggested Groomensteins, but it never caught on…
The abundance of dumb, trashy and melodramatic shows around weddings has contributed to the caricature of the bride as a giant, insatiable, bulldozer whose only vocabulary consists of “I want” and whose only other forms of communication are crying, foot-stamping, tantrum-throwing and generally being extraordinarily nasty to everyone around them. Here’s the glitch: how about perfectly lovely women who have a very specific idea of their taste and style, know very well what they like and what they don’t, and may just have a few ideas that complicate things, but they really, really want them, does that make them monstrous? Isn’t there a bit of the classic confusion at work here, ie. strong woman = bitch?
Two anecdotes to illustrate:
Many years ago I planned a wedding in Central Park at The Boathouse, where the bride had chosen the space because she had a fantasy of arriving via gondola on the lake with her father. I think it’s far less complicated to arrange now, but then it was a major ordeal. Her parents, the banquet manager, her fiance – all were intent on convincing her that it was a waste of time and energy to continue trying to make it happen after we ran into some difficulties. This is a very lovely women we are talking about, really a doll, but she had her heart set on this midsummer night’s dream arrival, and I felt, as her advocate, that it was my job to make it happen. Eventually we prevailed, and pulled it off. She was incredibly grateful, feeling that we were co-conspirators in saving her dream.
Recently, a delicious couple we are working with was choosing between a classic, traditional venue and a downtown loft space. The bride knew from the start what she wanted, that despite all the usual arguments: Will you look back and regret it in 10 years.. Most of her family and friends have had traditional weddings.. The classic venue has an iconic name that resonates with people.. She deeply wanted a very different sort of wedding, and she stuck to her guns. She did it gracefully, politely and lovingly, not a smidge of a ‘zilla in sight, and her fiance and family correctly decided the venue was far more important to her than it was to them – so they acquiesced.
The point to all this? The opposite of a Bridezilla is not a dishrag, it’s a woman who has opinions and grace in equal measure.