Weddingbee

Confession: I am a terrible accessorizer. I wear the same few pairs of earrings and two or three necklaces in a constant rotation, because they’re safe and I *think* they don’t look stupid together, but I usually don’t have a clue. I usually feel silly wearing bracelets. I can spot great jewelry on anyone, but when it comes to putting it on myself, I never know how much is enough or too much, or what looks best with what, or if earrings and necklaces should match each other. As an artist, you’d think I’d get into it, but this is one blank canvas I can never quite figure out.

Wedding jewelry is no exception. (Mr. Cupcake, this is where you stop reading). My dress is v-neck, so I’m assuming that unless I want to wear a choker-type of necklace (which I am pretty sure I don’t), I should go sans necklace. But then the earrings…. should I make up for the lack of necklace with dramatic earrings? Or keep it simple?

Another point of contention is that my dress has a lot of beading, but no crystals. When I tried on veils and shoes with crystals, they just didn’t go with the overall look. For jewelry, I’m sure I’ll have to stick with beads and pearls, which seem to be a lot less popular right now (which means they’ll be harder to find). I’m not even sure where to begin looking for inexpensive but well-made jewelry.

Eek. Me confused

I don’t know what it is about me and cameras; I buy a new one every few years that I research and research and research about, but after a little while of thinking it’s the latest and greatest piece of photography equipment, I start finding flaw after flaw after flaw.

My biggest issue lately is a common gripe with digital cameras: the delay. I love digital, but I am a big fan of candid shots, so there is nothing more annoying than missing a great moment because my camera needed to “think” for a few seconds first. I also yearn to be able to take decent close-ups without them being a blur-fest. Maybe it’s my newfound blogger status that has put me over the edge, but it drives me insane when I can’t get a single good shot of a project I’ve created that I want to show the world!

The honeymoon is now only about 7 months away, and although we haven’t booked a trip yet, I know that wherever we go I’m going to want some fabulous pictures to come home with! I don’t want to regret missing any great shots just because my camera didn’t have the chops. I’d love to get a new camera now so I have some time to mess around with it and get to know it a little better while being able to better document the wedding planning process.

I love the idea of having a signature cocktail served to guests at our cocktail hour. It would be a nice way to incorporate another personalized element while adding a splash of color. Not just any color, mind you, but a color that fits into our scheme of teal and chartreuse. And really, any excuse to create more work for myself by making cute little drink flags is what I’m all about.

With a simple Google search I came upon Drinkalizer.com, where you can search for cocktails by category, spirit or — you guessed it — color! There are certainly some, ahem, interesting (read: gross-sounding) concoctions out there, but many sound yummy and look so pretty!

No, this is not an infomercial…. this is the name of the dance class that Mr. Cupcake and I signed up for!

When I was growing up, dance was my “thing.” Some girls played sports, some girls were in band or orchestra, and I was at dance class three nights a week. I never really took it seriously enough to pursue as a career, but it was something that I felt good at and I loved doing. Mr. Cupcake, on the other hand, was involved in sports and music, and actually was pretty talented at multiple instruments. However, his knowledge and understanding of rhythm does not translate to the dance floor.

Now that Valentine’s Day is a thing of the past, I thought I’d take the opportunity to talk about another V-Day you may or may not have heard about. (Although this is not necessarily wedding-talk, it certainly relates to our freedoms and sexuality, and I thought it would be something that many of you bees and bee-readers would be interested in!)

V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sexual slavery.

Taken from The V-Day website: www.vday.org

During my undergraduate career at the University of Delaware, I was first introduced to V-Day when a friend of mine organized a performance of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” to raise awareness and funds for anti-violence organizations. I happily contributed to the event by photographing the performance, and in the process I was moved and intrigued by the show and its purpose. It is daring and sometimes shocking, but overall it is honest, heartfelt, and unashamed and brings to light the important issues facing women everywhere who are victims of sexual violence. That same year I went to NYC to see an amazing performance of “The Vagina Monologues” at Madison Square Garden, with stars such as Oprah, Brooke Shields, Calista Flockhart, and Queen Latifah performing the monologues. It was beyond moving.

For anyone who may have a case of the Mondays, here’s a photo/story that is sure to give you a giggle….

Friends of ours got married in October in Maine; Mr. Cupcake and I were unable to attend because we had a family wedding occurring the same weekend. Apparently, though, some funny business went down during the exchange of vows, which the groom has so graciously allowed me to share with you, in his words:

During our rehearsal, the minister reminded us to look at each other when we say our vows. His rationale was that even though we were repeating his words, we were making promises to one another and not to him. I was going to be speaking first and when the big moment came, he whispered a quick reminder to look at each other.

My (now) wife has the stereotypical Italian habit of constantly gesturing with her hands. Upon hearing the minister’s reminder, she decided to lighten the mood by doing her best Robert De Niro impersonation from Meet the Parents and gestured with her fingers to remind me to look into her eyes. My uncle was playing amateur photog that day and happened to catch the moment from a slight angle in the congregation……

I guess I know where I stand in her book for the rest of my life!!

Nothing says “I love you” quite like an (accidental) obscene gesture!

I used to call shoes “shoes” because, um, that’s what they’re called…. but since watching shows like Project Runway and What Not to Wear, I have learned that the real style-mavens of the world call them by their singular name — it is not a pair of shoes. It is a shoe.So, I am looking for “a shoe” for my wedding that will accomplish the following:

• thou shalt make me taller, but not quite as tall as Mr. Cupcake (who is only about 3.5″ taller than me)

• thou shalt not make me grimace in pain and curse the day that I bought thee

• thou shalt look dazzlingly handsome with my vintage-esque Casablanca gown

• thou shalt not cost so much that I feel the need to wear them to work with jeans after the wedding in order to justify the cost (even if they are just that cute)

I have never really worn a peep-toe heel, but for some reason that is all I am drawn to when I look at wedding shoes. There is something classic and sophisticated about them, and classic and sophisticated is what I’m pretending to be on my wedding day!