Long overdue.

I haven't been blogging at all this summer - something about needing to be outside. Since it's basically wintery for what feels like 9 months out of the year, I didn't want to waste my three months of sunshine.

Recently, I submitted my wedding dress for a thrifting post at Adored Austin. When that post went up this morning, though, I imagined what readers would see if they clicked over to my blog. Before, the first post was reminscing over my NYE outfit from 2000. Now, it's mainly excuses for not posting for 3 months and several blog design changes. That's fairly typical for my blogs, but oh well.

To give this post at least some interest, I'll share an update on the dress. It still thrills me, nearly two years later, that I managed to pick up my wedding dress so cheaply!

In an odd twist of fate, the bride I gifted it to decided not to wear it, in the end. Though I had given her the dress willingly, part of me harboured some regret, so I'm glad to be getting it back. Because I do have a somewhat practical nature, I think I'll chop it to a knee length, add some sleeves (I need more than spaghetti straps!), and dye it (probably navy). The thought of wearing it again, hopefully to the weddings of family and friends, makes me smile.

Potential wedding shoes #3.

Bright yellow "Nina" shoes by Critia. I've heard they're comfy.

Potential wedding shoes #2.

Seychelles' Box Step Pump in seafoam green leather.
#1 was a pale pink leather ballet slipper, possibly studded.
Hmmm...

Breathtaking.

gorgeousness all courtesy of whichgoose on etsy.

to veil or not to veil?

I've been thinking a lot lately about wedding headgear. It's really easy to get caught up in the hoopla of pretty feathery flowery lacey tulley hair accessories. They're all expensive, though, so I'll definitely be making my own. But what will it be?

The thing I'm having the most trouble with is the idea of the veil. Is it unfeminist to wear one? Would I feel like I'm getting married without one on my head? Though that might seem like a stupid question, I have looked at pictures of veil-less brides and thought "She just looks like a girl in a white dress to me". Now, this isn't true of every bride sans veil that I've ever seen, but it makes me wonder.

I think it's time to consult Google. Here are some of the things that a wedding veil can be or represent; protection from the elements; protection from evil spirits (in ancient Rome, women wore bright red veils to confuse demons - I think this is awesome); and the bride's viriginity/protection of her modesty and purity (only first-time brides could wear veils, because they were virgins, and in pre-veil times women just wore their hair down to symbolise purity).

When the groom lifts the bride's veil, it means that he accepts her. This is why some feminists feel that the veil represents the man's ownership of the woman. A possible compromise to this is having the bride lifting the veil instead, meaning that the couple are equals.

This doesn't really solve a lot of my problem. Veils are worn for aesthetics and tradition now, and you can't really say which one is more significant. Some feminists wear veils because they just like veils. A friend of mine said that she wore her veil simply because she liked the idea of it scaring off evil spirits, and it made her feel pretty. Maybe I'm too concerned about fitting into one definition of "politically correct"?

I decided, on the aforementioned friend's advice, to try some veils on and see how I looked in them and how I felt. I looked through my wedding boutique photos. I tried on a few veils during that quest (and ended up with a dress from a thrift store - best $9.50 I ever spent). The first photo I found was in a cute-ish dress and an albow length, fairly standard white veil. I didn't look terribly impressed. However, in the photo of me in a simple dress and a cute birdcage veil, I look ready to burst into happy tears. I think I may have a winner...

What do you think, ladies and gents? To veil or not to veil? What did you do?
PS: I did consult my fiance on this, and he was fine either way, but did indicate that he thought I'd look lovely in a veil.

Dreaming of the Summer...

This is where we're getting married.

It's so simple!

How did I not think of this sooner? I am wearing ballet slippers to my wedding!

1. I took ballet classes for twelve years
2. ...and am considering more dance classes (for which they would come in handy, since my old shoes are ratty)
3. They're as close to barefoot as one can get and still be wearing flats
4. They're heckuva comfortable
5. I can dance in them
6. I can play hide and seek in them
7. I can strap them on my feet and they won't come off
8. No blisters!
9. My wedding is supercasual anyway
10. They're reasonably priced
11. They can be modified:

Awesome, right? I'm now officially on the lookout for coloured ones, especially red and blue.

P.S.: Whoa, they even have bridal ballet slippers! Is it sad that I'm not surprised at how geriatric they look?
Bleccch.

Sweet nothings...

With exams and deadlines looming, I'm looking forward to the summer and to my wedding. We're having a fun afternoon affair - part picnic, part potluck, part barbecue, followed by games and dancing for anybody who wants to dance. Over the past week or so, though, I keep coming back to one special part of the party in mind: the dessert table.

The fella and I have discussed the cake a few times. A local baker was very enthusiastic, but too expensive. Since the world's best bakers are my mom and my fella, I figured we'd be better off taking care of things ourselves. However, there are about a million options for wedding desserts! Decisions, decisions...

Option 1:
We first considered doing cupcakes: cute and an easy way of including different flavours (a must, since the fella adores chocolate, but my maid of honour is allergic).

However, we had to abandon the idea because of how labour-intensive these beauties are. It takes a lot of careful frosting application to make these babies look good, and I think we'll have enough going on without a messy "pimp my cupcake" bar. They are really cute, though...


Option 2:
Two cakes! One chocolate, of course... (I am really attached to tree-themed cakes, and part of me wants tree-trunk cake stands)
and one... rainbow? I love rainbow cakes - the fella and I baked one for my younger brother's birthday last year, and it was beautiful.
This is the tye-dye style we used for his, but we could also try different-coloured layers...
Sweet, right? I'd probably err on the side of pastel, though my inner child is digging the vibrant colours...

Option 3:
Speaking of my inner child, how about a rice krispie cake?
So adorable, eh? It would be easy to make, really cheap, and easy to customise with, for example, layers featuring M&Ms or peanut butter.

Option 4:
Another wedding dessert option is pie. It's currently on the trendy side, and for good reason: who doesn't love pie? You can pick and choose from a ton of flavour options and permutations - fruit pies, cream pies, meringue pies... Plus, the Tec Pataja photoshoot this image is taken from remains my favorite source of wedding inspiration (I still want horses wandering through my wedding).
Option 5:
The thing is, none of these desserts thrill and delight me as much as the prospect of my favorite summertime dessert: strawberry shortcake. My mother always made it with biscuits, and I would want just that: fresh whipped cream, piles of sweet, juicy strawberries, and buttery biscuits soaking in all the flavour.
Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you're feeling indulgent. Oh man, not ANOTHER option!

Option 72: Homemade ice cream sandwiches

Option 73: Gelato

Option 74: Candy bar

Option 879: The biggest dessert bar that anyone has even seen.
Thank goodness we still have months to decide...