Always a Blogsmaid

What They Did Right: Jean-Marie and Chris

I know that these days, I get a lot of brides writing in with questions and concerns about how to have your wedding be lovely, but without overdoing it.  Robert Wagner of R Wagner Imagine Photography came by to visit with one of our clients here the other day and showed me some pics from Jean Marie and Chris' wedding.  This is a great wedding to look to whenever you start to sweat the small stuff, as it's probably one of the most simple, lovely weddings that I've seen.  Clearly they spent a lot of time seeking out the perfect venues for their ceremony and reception and then they let nature speak for itself.   Robert said "What I liked about this wedding was the choice of location and the use of abundance of nature near by, everything was performed outside, the ceremony under a large oak, flowers where picked that day from the field and there were fields of flowers on adjacent lots."   How awesome of a DIY project is that?  Centerpieces and bouquets picked from right next door????  It's Eco-Chic and Sanity Saving.  Also, I love that their reception was lit with all of those twinkle lights- it has the same open air feeling as the rest of the day, but with the romance of a dance in Our Town, or that scene in Big Fish.  I know it's simple, but I just loved this wedding and how comfortable the couple was with letting the big picture speak for itself!

In case you are wondering WHERE on earth such scenic fields exist, it's a mere 100 miles from little 'ole New York on the North Fork.  The ceremony and reception were held at the Inn at the Blue, which is across the road from Lavender by the Bay and next to the field of wild, stunning Dahlias.... Can you imagine the amazing smells that day???  If you want to share your wedding and what you did right with us, please shoot photos over to [email protected]

I'm Savvy!

I am THRILLED to announce that I will be GUEST BLOGGING on Thursdays (in case you can't get enough of me here, or on Real Simple) at OneWed.com's Savvy Scoop wedding blog.  If you haven't visited OneWed yet, you should definitely check it out- it is filled with information on style, local vendors, local bridal events and more.... all layed out in a great format.  The Savvy Scoop blog is just getting up and running, but in addition to MOI, you can read guest posts from It's a Jaime Thing, DIY Bride, Hostess with the Mostess, Bubbly Bride and The Man Registry. 

Spring or Summer Weddings

The Q:  This sounds really random, but from your professional opinion, on the East Coast, do you think that a wedding date in late March is preferable to a wedding date in early July?  I'm trying to decide between a last weekend in March or a July 4th weekend wedding and I can't figure it out. 

The A:  Well, frankly, I'd go with March.  It might just be me (like a lot of things I write on here) but March is the month of FIORE!  Flowers, flowers, flowers!! It's amazing.  It's generally not too cold or too hot AND you aren't fighting that East Coast chance of rain at 5PM or the humidity OR the holiday traffic.  Also, it's the top of the season- the wedding season- so you get your vendors fresh.  That isn't to say that your vendors fall off, but I can tell you that mid- to -late summer when your photographer is back to back to back weddings, and your caterer has 3 weddings in a weekend, it's a lot harder to get phone calls back immediately or your proofs turned around really quickly.  But, the bottom line is, I'm back to the flowers.  Here are just a peek at the lovely gems that can be had in March, March, March!
Here, spring blossoms with some of the coveted Cherry Blossoms!

Here, gorgeous Hyancinths (potted - ooh, environmentally friendly!)

Or these dazzling TULIP bouquets! (this is courtesy an ancient copy of In Style Weddings.... ladies, I have 6 years worth of magazines scanned and ready to go, btw!)

Which isn't to say that July isn't awesome, but the bounty of in season floral selection makes me a fan of lioness March!

Om!

So, our posts were a little erratic this week because Mayra was in the office nearly alone while I toured Amsterdam on an "All the Cheese You Can Eat" vacation to see my friend and her awesome new baby girl.  In any case, we are back and I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel MORE stressed out AFTER a vacation than I do BEFORE.  All those EMAILS!!!  So, in the spirit of relaxation, I thought I'd share the joys of "Yoga for Weddings" with you. 

Yoga for Weddings is a Coast to Coast network of very experienced Yoga teachers who will do private or semi-private sessions of 1 hour and 30minutes for you and your maids either during the planning process or earlier in the wedding week, to try and get you focused, and relaxed in advance of the wedding.  In addition to your downward dogs and pigeon poses (I love the pigeon pose) they will work into your session some of the meanings and symbols of marriage as a way of keeping you in the zone.... the wedding zone.  I think it would be an awesome alternative to a bridesmaids' luncheon for the yogi bride out there, or just the girl who is kind of stressed out.  

They will also work you out in advance of the wedding, but private sessions for several months may not be part of the wedding budget these days.  Never the less, I love the idea of a relaxation session pre-wedding.  Always good to take it down a notch before it gets kicked up to full steam ahead!

In the Bag...

Last week, Xochitl did a post on wonderful colorful wedding shoes. Now, I am going to tell you how to pack them up! Soomean at Shubilove sent over some images of these awesome and affordable shoe bags. I loved them!

A fun way to pack up your wedding shoes!

They are also great for packing up for your honeymoon! 

I personally hate when food touches on my plate (maybe I've watched way too many episodes of Monk), but I must admit I have cared of my shoes touch. However, if you do care, then you can buy these separate bags!

A Big City Elopement

The Q: Hi, there!  I love reading all your advice and venue options for in the city weddings.  My husband and I eloped to Vegas a few years ago and my only wish is that we did so in New York!  Just curious to how you would stage a New York city elopement?

The A:  You know, it's so funny, years ago (as in year 1 of Always a Bridesmaid) Mayra was out of town and I got a random call from a woman in Virginia who wanted to come up to New York the next day and get married.  It was Christmas time and they wanted to get married under the Christmas tree at Rockefeller center and then have a great meal out on the town.  I said  no problem, only to find out that legally, marrying under the tree is a no-no.  Not being one to be stopped by RULES (so silly!) I let them know and consulted with my officiant of choice (or necessity, it being like, 2 days before Christmas) and we all agreed to go full speed ahead.  Myself and a friend were their witnesses, and we videotaped and shot the whole thing.  It being NY, of course a crowd gathered and took pictures and all in all, it was pretty wonderful.  Made even better by the fact that we knew we were "breaking the rules".  Afterwards they headed off to Lutece, I believe, where we had made them reservations.  So, from that  point on, I was in love with eloping in New York.

These days, I might head down to the New City Hall Chapel and bring some friends around with me to meet up for dinner.  Maybe I'd walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, take some photos and then do a small and amazing dinner at the River Cafe. You can do a ceremony in conservatory gardens and lunch at a luxury hotel. OR, maybe I'd get in touch with us about our NEW "I Do" package with the Hudson Hotel (btw, I didn't make this question up,I really got it).  The one thing I would definitely do is hire an awesome photographer!  Here (above and below), some shots from Dave Robbins via New York Magazine Weddings that I just loved.  They are in McDonald's and on the subway!

Hanky Panky!

Whenever Mayra or I try to get out of town, it's always a hot mess.... Last minute packing, booking the wrong flights, etc, etc.  This week we were just so busy, she never had a chance to pick up her laundry, so Friday evening we were running around town looking for a place to pick up some, well, intimates  for her trip. She was not happy with the store I found that only sold Hanky Pankies.  (they are sooo comfortable!) That actually has nothing to do with anything, actually, except that COINCIDENTALLY, Elizabeth Anne Designs happened to do a post that day on these AMAZING save the date Hankies! (nothing panky about them!)

They are from Lucky Luxe designs and are just STUNNING!!!!!! 

Happy V-day Stories

I love happy Valentine's day stories, especially when we get to share in them.  Here's a run down of some of the joy going on around us!

Tomorrow, WeddingChannel.com has partnered with The Early Show on CBS and will be hosting a wedding in their studio tomorrow morning. Jonathan Lin and Bonnie Lam are native New Yorkers and have been together for 10 years!!! 10 years!! and will be tying the knot on the air tomorrow followed by a brunch reception at Rue 57 (so chic!)  Aren't they cute?
Then, Essence Magazine FINALLY announced the winners of their 3rd Anual "Will You Marry Me Contest".  It's a $50,000 Wedding Giveaway that they partnered with Tiffany's to make possible! Couples had to submit stories of their love and literally thousands and thousands of people entered.  Ultimately though, one couple won and they are Ebiakpo Jituboh and DeKeisha George from Queens, New York!  Essence offered guys the chance to surprise their girlfriends with a dreamy proposal in the pages of the magazine for its third annual Will You Marry Me? feature. They were bombarded with letters from men wanting to propose in the magazine. Readers were able to log on to Essence.com to see videos of each of the romantic proposals captured by ESSENCE’s hidden cameras, see each woman’s shocked responses and vote for their favorite duo. All five of the top proposals are on the website and are ADORABLE, but here are the winners with Robin Roberts (who my old roommate is obsessed with) and the Editor-in-Chief of Essence, Angela Burt-Murray. 

Wishes and blessings for Jonathan and Bonnie's big day tomorrow and CONGRATULATIONS to Ebiakpo  and DeKeisha!  Happy Valentine's day everyone!

More SVU tines

It's too late to order them, but here I am for another year, hoping and wishing that a special  someone would send me a Brandon Bird SVUtine......  A girl can dream, can't she? ;-) I think this is the second or third time I've written about them.

 

Billy' s Fabulous Bakery

Last night I had some wedding friends over for dinner.  It which ended up being take out brought in and put onto plates, but that's neither here nor there.  However, I was excited to end the night with some WONDERFUL cupcakes from Billy's Bakery.  Billy's is located in Chelsea and although I'm generally afraid of baked goods- nightmares of being chased by donuts, etc- I've long been aware of their icy frosted goodness.  I had the red velvet last night, thought it was divine and was told the banana was just beyond words.

They are a favorite of Martha Stewart's and for those of you in NYC thinking of cupcake trees in lieu of cake OR of a cupcake favor (like yesterday's featured wedding) Billy's now delivers.  A MAJOR plus if you don't have a DOC (and, frankly, a plus even if you do!) AND they offer these adorable FAVOR boxes.  Actually, I have one of the boxes in my house and it's even cuter in person... it's the handle that does it for me!

I have a little gift certificate for 2 free cupcakes.  With all the contests on the blog-o-sphere I'm sure that this is the one that you're just DYING to win, dear reader!  Anyways, the first person to shoot me an email with the subject Billy's, your mailing address and your wedding date will the the LUCKY recipient of two frosty treats.  [email protected]