Weddingbee Blog

My friend Magnolia (the bride whose wedding I posted about here) just let me know that her dress was by Cymbeline and that she got it at the Wedding Atelier on 5th avenue and 17th street.

(photo: Laura Kleger)

A few commenters had asked after it, since she looked so perfectly gorgeous, and since she’s now back from her fabulous Thailand honeymoon I am (finally) able to give the information. here’s her response:

…the Wedding Atelier… are the only place that carries her line in nyc. (They were good, but make sure you tell them your wedding date is 2 weeks before the actual date- they are sloooow).

The cupcakes came from Sugar Sweet Sunshine on Rivington Street. 212-995-1960. Ask for peggy. They were DELICIOUS.”

Hope that helps!

…got nothing on words. Because trying to figure out our invitation wording is driving me right up a wall. I would actually rather be beaten with sticks.

Although Mr, Daisy and I won’t be having a Jewish wedding, we both come from Jewish families. Though I remain culturally so, religiously, I’ve not stayed that course. That said, I have heard, though have been unable to confirm, that in the Jewish tradition a wedding invitation ought to contain the names of the groom’s parents.

Does anyone know if this is true? Because my bible (read: Emily Post’s Etiquette) militates for just including the names of the bride’s parents.

she’s a little beat up, but still serves me well!

And even if your wedding wasn’t/isn’t a Jewish one, have you included the names of the groom’s parents where only the bride’s parents are officially “hosting” the affair?

Any feedback would be ever so greatly appreciated, since I have about one week to decide on wording and get the letterpress to pressing.

Not exactly like the nuclear holocaust movie they made us watch in Junior High School:

But certainly devastating vis-Æ’ -vis my sanity.

I’m talking about the Day After the Wedding, folks, and the would-be brunch we’re throwing for out-of-town guests. For our guests we were able to block out rooms at three hotels: two mid-range and one high-end (at bargain basement*–eye roll–prices ranging from $275/room to $410/room).

At the Doubletree, one of the mid-range options, we planned on having a day-after brunch. A leisurely affair, including a buffet and an omelet station and, mais oui, an assortment of breakfast meats (mmmm, bacon). As a bonus, the room was also somewhat non-hotel-y/non-conferencey, since it’s on the 20th floor, has windows and even has a large terrace area. (In case our November weekend is unseasonably warm.)

The Empire Room

However, when the contract from the Doubletree arrived by email, I noticed that the brunch was scheduled for 10am - 12pm. a mere two hours!! This was much to my dismay since, as my colleague noted, brunch is *not* a meal to be rushed.

I immediately contacted the hotel to see about fixing this grievous error. I figured it would be a thirty-second phone call, followed by a minor contractual revision. ah, would that it were the case.

Instead– it was drama. Apparently, the Doubletree Hotel is a union-run shop. Which is fine by me–hell, I saw Norma Rae –go unions! Somehow the union was dictating a two-hour brunch. This was *so* not ok with me. After much discussion, the catering manager was going to check with the union and see if the brunch could be extended to three hours. The next day, I got a message saying that three hours was a go. Hip hip hooray? Not so fast.

When I called to confirm and change one of the menu items, it seemed as if the brunch’s third hour was going to get the red-headed stepchild treatment. i.e., no replenishment of food, cold coffee (gross!), etc. I was not thrilled.

At this point, Jennifer, my superduper wedding planner at the Wedding Library, intervened and phoned the Doubletree. I have no idea what conversation was had, but suffice it to say, the three hour brunch lives to see another day (hot coffee and all!), and I may actually sleep through the night…

~~~

* Yes, I realize that $275 is not at all a bargain. Even though we blocked our rooms about five minutes after getting engaged (back in December), these were the best prices we could find. Hopefully the (once again) awesome brunch will ease the pain. A little. (Ok, a very little).

Having honed my shopping craft to some degree at a recent trip to the outlets, I proceeded to drag Mr. Daisy to start the wedding band search (we’re talking finger-wear here, not ear candy). At the suggestion of wedding planners Farrell and Jennifer, Mr. Daisy and I headed to Fragments in Soho on a very rainy Saturday.

In the past, we had great success at Fragments, but we didn’t plan on buying on this particular occasion. The trip was more of a reconnaissance mission. There weren’t a ton of men’s rings, but there were a couple of contenders. I wasn’t allowed to bring my camera with me (cough–strict Mr. D–cough) but we especially liked a few brushed platinum bands, with some tooling/indented lines and also plain.

Then yesterday, taking full advantage of my new part-time schedule, I headed to the Fifth Avenue shops to explore more ring options. At Tiffany, I found some classic options:

plain platinum 4.5mm Lucida band

with milgraining

Somehow, in my quest to find Mr. Daisy a ring, I managed to find a band contender for myself as well:

the Tiffany Legacy ring

Aren’t I efficient? I kind of love that band for me but, at the same time, my engagement ring has detailing on the sides:

So I wonder if it’s a lame idea to block those details with a band that has plain, unblingy sides. I also suppose I could have the place that created the e-ring design a band of the same style, that would incorporate the e-ring band details, sans stone basket. Mr. Daisy thinks I should just switch my e-ring to my right hand once we’re wed, but I kind of like the stacked look. Do I switch? Do I stack? Do I customize a band?

And if I switch, then whatever do I do with my Trinity ring, which I love and currently wear on my right ring finger? And also happens to be the very first gift Mr. Daisy gave me, when we’d been dating just under 4 months.

However, all in all, I now am starting to realize the dangers Mr. Daisy warned me about. All this free time is allowing me to go completely batshit insane. I literally just spent the last 1/2 hour photoshopping my e-ring to approximate how a band in its style would look. I think this is my cue to head to the gym. For an entirely different kind of torture and stress.

Much to my dismay, the following face appeared when I entered my weight into Weight Watchers’ online “weight tracker” feature.

For those of you who are robots and, thus, unable to interpret emotions, that is *not* a happy face. That’s right, Weight Watchers is not happy with my gain of +1 pound(s). Now, to be fair, this weight gain is since December, when I had already lost 9 pounds on WW, and was the last time I was so brave as to enter my weight into the tracker. You see, the engagement and the holidays caused me to gain back most of the 10 lbs. I had already lost on WW, between September and December. Slowly but surely, I have managed to re-lose all but 2 of those pounds. Which would otherwise be impressive if not for the additional 20 lbs. that I need to lose on top of the first 10.

They do hold out hope for me, though, as the computer tried to take the sting out of its grouchy face with this oh-so-inspirational quote:

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt

So now I embark upon my no holds barred weight loss regime. This involves much kicking of my ass on the part of Matt Hayes, and his intense “bridal boot camp” program. Matt used to be in the Army and does not f around when it comes to torturing me. In addition to the two to three times a week that he comes to train me, I am now on an everyday, no excuses workout program.

My week thus far and looking ahead:

• Sunday: cardio combo: rowing and treadmill
• Monday: obscenely difficult “homework” weight training (i.e. weight without Matt)
• Tuesday: cardio combo: rowing
• Wednesday: Matt and his bag of torture
• Thursday: cardio
• Friday: Matt again!
• Saturday: more Matt…

And my diet? Also, medieval. Yesterday, for example, I ate the following:

• Breakfast: Quaker Weight Control oatmeal (3 pts.)
• Lunch: Campbell’s Select microwavable lentil soup (3.5 pts.) and 6 oz. of WW yogurt (1 pt.)
• Snack: Quaker rice cake with one wedge Laughing Cow Lite cheese (2 pts.)
• Dinner: Lean Cuisine Enchiladas Suiza (5 pts.)
• Dessert: Blue Bunny HealthSmart ice cream pop (0 pts.–miraculous!)

This is no fun at all. But since the wedding rapidly approaches, I need to focus up and stop screwing around. If anyone has *any* great diet tricks to share, I would greatly appreciate them. I am desperate!!

…almost a bride.

This past weekend, Mr. Daisy and I attended another wedding. This time it was Magnolia and Scott– the couple to whom we entirely owe our happiness, in that Mr. Daisy and I met at Mags’ birthday.

The wedding was called for 7:00 pm. At 5:40, CaliSister (who had missed her flight earlier that day) called and told me she had landed at JFK and was in the car en route. She walked into the apartment at about 6:20, did the quickest freshen-up-and-change ever, and we got to Bryant Park Grill, where the wedding was about to begin. (This wasn’t one of those weddings where it’s called for 7 o’clock but actually begins at 7:30. It was starting promptly.)

A still slightly stressed me + my perennially calm sister

We were seated just in time for the nuptials which were touching and amazing. And the vows — oh boy, they were incredibly well written and delivered with such genuine emotion that it just filled my heart with joy. And I am *so* not the kind of girl to get joyful on a lark. I am usually all about the cynicism. But really, these two are so in love and so happy, even my cold, black heart was moved. Did I mention how bee-yoo-tiful the bride was? See for yourselves:

The ceremony and cocktails were on the roof, where the weather was definitely warm, but not unbearable.

Please note Mr. Daisy’s expertly (ahem) tied bow-tie.

The cocktails portion had a cruditÆ’©s station, as well as passed hors d’oeuvres including pastry-wrapped salmon, half-hamburgers, pigs-in-blankets, mini-goat cheese/veg tarts, beef satay skewers, sushi rolls and probably other stuff that i’m forgetting. Mr. Daisy being a non-aggressive hors d’oeuvres grabber, I enlisted Tyrone to help me snag the coveted burgers.

This is what Tyrone looks like when the burgers are all gone.

Once the hors d’oeuvres were exhausted, it was time to head downstairs to the dinner/dance portion of the evening. Our table was in a prime location– right next to the dance floor and the cake! Instead of one cake, they had tiered cupcakes, but with a single layer of regular cake for the cake-cutting (trÆ’¨s forward-thinking, no?)

The tables were simple and lovely:

Forgive the askew knife– I managed to do that within five seconds of getting to the table.

And the band! I have to find out the name of this band that kept all people on the floor the entire night despite the warm weather (that somehow crept inside). Warmth notwithstanding, everyone was dancing like it was their job (if one’s job was a job one enjoyed, while also not being particularly lucrative) and it was a great time. Mr. Daisy even cut a rug with the groom’s mom, who called him out in a manner not unlike the one The Boss used to get Courtney Cox up on the stage with him in for his Dancing in the Dark video.

Except Mr. Daisy looked somewhat less winsome.

All-in-all the wedding was a success! the food was (shockingly) delicious. I note this because, so often, wedding food is nothing to write home about. Mr. Daisy and I both ordered filets, which were perfectly cooked, mine being exactly rare* as per my request and not some b.s. medium-rare substitute. And the fries that accompanied them were awesome! Even my vegetarian sister (and don’t even get me started on how this pains me) loved her ravioli option. (The third option was crab cakes, which looked like they would have been good, based on my observation of others eating them).

Now the newlyweds are in Thailand, where I am sure they are having more fun than I am, as I stress the f out over planning my honeymoon. Thus far, I have even designed a spreadsheet for that purpose. (I thank part-time work for allowing me enough time to become super-OCD.)

~~~~

* I really find it hard to talk about how Mr. Daisy likes his steaks. It hurts me to think of those poor, little steaks, on the flame for so very long before they are cooked to Mr. Daisy’s liking. Last night, at Bobby Van’s with the DaisyParents, he actually whispered his order to the waiter, so as not to upset my delicate sensibilities. (Isn’t he the sweetest?)

Since Audrey asked after my ring, over in the beehive, I thought I ought to post a pic.

As I mentioned in the comments there, I ended up with a cushion-cut stone after a lifetime of lusting after Asschers and emeralds… Now Mr. Daisy and I knew we were getting engaged (from just about the moment we met), so we did have some ring discussion pre-engagement. His thoughts were that if he were about to drop a fair amount of money on a ring, it probably should be something I would enjoy wearing. So I told him how I adored the Asscher and it was absolutely, 100% the ring for me.

Not my ring… Just an Asscher example.

The only fly in the ointment, was that I just had no clue as to what kind of a setting I wanted. We went all around the city checking out various Asscher cuts in various settings and I quickly became discouraged. None of them looked nearly as elegant on my hand as they did in the jewel case. Then, at Graff, they had a knife edge band that I wanted to see, but it had a cushion-cut stone in it rather than an Asscher. I tried it on anyway and, much to my surprise, fell in *love* with the cut. It was what worked for me and though I had previously eschewed anything but a step-cut, I was loving the bling-y sparkle.

Some months later, Mr. Daisy proposed; I burst into tears; I said “yes” at least once; and then I noticed that the ring-which was (is and will always be) secondary to my unfettered joy at the thought of marrying this amazing fellow-was just perfect. Well, perfect for me, anyhow!

(I apologize for the blurry/dark photo-I have not yet mastered my new camera’s “Macro” mode.)

Did anyone else have a complete change of heart as to ring choice? Or did you/do you plan to stick to your guns?

Ok, as I alluded to in a prior post, my china pattern has returned from the dead.

Orsay Powder Blue by Philippe Deshoulieres.

“But, how ever could a china pattern be so swiftly resurrected?” one might ask. The answer is, it’s fairly easy when the pattern was, apparently, never discontinued in the first place.

Flashback to April 28, 2006. On that day, my mom’s friend went to Bloomingdale’s, 59th Street, to purchase some china off my registry. An unidentified registry sales associate informed her that the pattern had been discontinued. Upon hearing this tragic news (trust me, it *was* bad news–it took us-for-freaking-ever to pick a pattern), my mother also contacted Bloomingdale’s, whereupon the discontinuance was confirmed. Reluctantly, my mom called me to break the news. I wasn’t looking forward to choosing another pattern, but I was definitely far more consolable than Mr. Daisy who highly dreaded another scorched earth china search mission.

Unwilling, to take Bloomingdale’s word for it, I contacted the china manufacturer, Philippe Deshoulieres. In my very poor French, I asked them if this were true. When I didn’t receive any answer, my mom–being ridiculously helpful–went to Bloomingdale’s and switched our registry over to Bernardaud’s ElysÆ’©e, which we had previously seen and quite liked:

The fact that the cost of an ElysÆ’©e place-setting is roughly 2x the cost of an Orsay setting stuck in my craw, but only for a bit. I came to love my ElysÆ’©e even more than the Orsay that came before. But then, I received the following email in my inbox:

From: [Bloomingdale's Registry Guy]
To: Miss Daisy
CC: [Philippe Deshoulieres Lady]
Date: Friday - June 9, 2006 2:41 PM
Subject: Fw:
RequÆ’ªte envoyÆ’©e depuis le site internet Philippe DESHOULIERES

Dear Ms. Daisy,
I’m not sure why you were told that Philippe Deshoulieres “Orsay Powder Blue” is no longer made. It’s our best selling china pattern from Philippe Deshoulieres. It is still manufactured, we still carry it, and we would be happy to register you for that pattern.
Most sincerely,
[Bloomingdale's Registry Guy]

Below his email was my original email, which had been forwarded to him by the Philippe Deshoulieres’ national sales manager. She had written the following note:

Hello,
Sorry for not sending this email to both of you sooner but I am still cleaning up from my maternity leave. I will translate and summarize this email from a Bloomingdales bride: She emailed the factory to find out if the factory was still making Orsay Powder blue, the pattern she is registered for because she had been told by the store that the factory had stopped the production of this pattern.
Best regards,
[Philippe Deshoulieres lady]

So, now, what do I do??? Do I stick with the pricier ElysÆ’©e, or do I take back my poor, beleaguered Orsay? (wasn’t Helen Hunt faced with a similar choice in that movie Cast Away?)
I need guidance*!
~~~

* And, as Mr. Daisy knows by now, despite my own request for such guidance, I reserve the right to ignore any and all guidance with a “Whatever! I do what I want!” It’s kind of my life motto, modeled after the great Eric Cartman.

When it rains, it pours. At least vis-Æ’ -vis bridal showers of late. This past weekend I had the shower of Liz, the (once) little girl for whom I used to babysit and the weekend before that was Mags’ shower. (Mags and her fiance can be credited with introducing me to Mr. Daisy). Both showers had a couple of things in common: great food, fun people and lovely brides-to-be. Aside from that, they differed greatly and I definitely will plumb both for any ideas to coopt.

In order of appearance:

Shower de Magnolia
Mags’ shower was at the apartment of her sister-in-law-to-be. Although I initially fell for the clever ruse of Magnolia’s mom, the food was not actually all home-cooked by her, but was from Trader Joe’s. The spread included the following:

• appetizers: cruditÆ’©, hummus, another dip (maybe chipotle, maybe crab), coconut shrimp, hot chicken wraps, and probably other things that i am forgetting.
• mains: mini-meatballs, sushi, cous-cous with cranberries, sesame noodles
• desserts: spice cake with lemon frosting (actually made by Mags’ mom) and a trifle with brownies, pudding, heath bars and a whole lot of awesome (made by the hostess).

The shower was low-key and sans bridal games, except for a cute idea that I’d never seen before. As Magnolia opened a gift, the gift giver had to pick a little scroll from a bowl. The scroll contained a question about Scott, her fiance, and before she could open the gift she had to answer the question correctly. As a bonus, two of the scrolls contained the word “gift” meaning, shockingly, that whomever picked that one got a little gift from the hostess. The questions were insanely tough and had I been asked them about Mr. Daisy, I would have gotten maybe 10% right. (Happily, ignorance is bliss, so I guess that means the less I know about him, the happier we’ll be. Or something…)

Shower de Elizabeth
Although it’s still hard for me to accept, Liz is actually a grown-up now and about to be a bride. The shower, thrown by Liz’s two aunts, was a tea at CafÆ’© Opaline in the Dahesh Museum. Not only did the shower coincide with the timing of the Puerto Rican day parade, but the location was just a block east of the festivities.

Despite the proximity, neither J.Lo nor parade grand marshal Marc Anthony stopped by the shower. Too bad for them, because they missed:

• mini tea sandwiches: salmon napoleon, lobster sausage, mint and yogurt rolls, sesame chicken wraps, grilled cheeses, cucumber cream cheese and maybe a couple of others
• petit fours: mocha Æ’©clair, chocolate squares, carrot cake, fruit cream tarts
• scones, clotted cream and jam

This shower also had one game, and that was one where the mom of the bride-to-be (and the woman under whom I have a subsidiary Costco membership, so big ups to her) asked if you had something in your purse (i.e. thread, food, a train ticket) and then whoever answered first received a book that thematically related to the thing asked for. Because I am so utterly charming, I was able to win the book How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable, since I was able to raise my hand for the “who has had an argument today?” question. I probably will not read this book, since I rather enjoy being disagreeable and fear that, were I to abandon that trait, my own family might think I’d been taken over by pod people and have to exterminate me in order to save the human race. I mean, probably.

Anyway, another shower perk was the favor they gave out:

A little box of two Teuscher champagne truffles. So freaking good! And, they came in a little decorative box, which you can actually create with a custom color box/ribbon combination.

If my guests are extra lucky, I may well try to incorporate these as favors for some aspect of my wedding events. Because they really taste a lot like what I imagine heaven would taste like if it were an edible bonbon.

I love the name Miss Daisy (even though the moniker comes without the Morgan-Freeman-chauffeur perk) and I am also loving my little daisy icon that comes with.

I suppose I should summarize a few of my wedding details for those just tuning in. I’ve booked a venue, the Metropolitan Club, which is a private club in Manhattan. (My sponsor is my friend Mrs. A’s dad. I introduced Mrs. A to her husband Evil A, so he seems happy enough to do it.)

The Great Hall, with 55-foot ceilings, where the cocktail reception will be held.

• My port-in-the-storm, sounding board, stress-reliever is my wedding planner Farrell of the Wedding Library. The Wedding Library is an incredible resource, even if you don’t use them for planning, as they do custom invitations/stationery, shoes, accessories and maids dresses there. I can’t go on about this place enough. Oftentimes, sans Farrell, I would be rocking back and forth in the fetal position, overcome by wedding drama.
• My gown is by Monique Lhuillier and I bought it at Saks. But those are all the details I’ll give now since Mr. Daisy, my groom-to-be, reads this blog (isn’t that sweet?) and there is no way he is getting a dress preview!
• My florist is the amazing DeJuan Stroud. He is in Tribeca and also did Emma Bloomberg’s wedding, so clearly he has awesome (Wall) street cred.
• My photographer is Lilian Haidar, who does wonderful photojournalistic stuff, and is someone I could happily spend 10 stress-filled hours with. (And surely will on the big day.)
• My band is Soul Connection from Total Entertainment. We worked with Jeffrey Foster there, and he’s just a fantastic guy to know.
• Bridesmaid dresses are from Thread, though I haven’t yet put in the order. My San Francisco sister will be in town in two weeks to choose her dress and then, bang, that one’s done too.

We’re just now deciding on our videographer and are about to embark on cakes, rehearsal dinner venues and brunch spaces. Officiants, favors, invitations, veils, headpieces, etc. are still on the horizon. And next week I start my part-time work schedule, so I cannot wait to take full advantage of my newly-found spare time.

First on the agenda is deciding what to do about my former china pattern, which, though I had been told it was discontinued, turns out to have been resurrected from the dead. Oh, the drama!

Because some people were curious about the hair clip I wore to the last wedding I attended, I took a couple of photos of it. (I’m just so all about sating your undying curiosity.)

I bought the clip from my ab fab stylist Adolfo (at Paul Lebrecque), who introduced me to the concept of layers.

my hair, many years ago and P.L. (that’s pre-layers)

I adore Adolfo, even though between me and Mr. Daisy, Mr. Daisy is definitely Adolfo’s favored client. Yes, for wedding day efficiency, I have also forced Mr. Daisy to get his haircut by the same guy as me. Happily, Mr. Daisy loves Adolfo too, so it’s worked out well.

Anyway, here is a close-up of the front and back of the clip. To be sure, I think I want more Swarovski-esque bling for my wedding day hair, but this clip is definitely a good “night out” go-to…

In case any of you had thought the following t-shirt would make an appropriate engagement gift:

It would not.

Here is how I wore my hair to a recent wedding I attended. I was trying to replicate Felicity Huffman’s Oscar hairdo, but my stylist decided to editorialize a bit, and added the Medieval-esque twists. Hmmm…

Compare with the Felicity ‘do below. Although I have a lot more hair than she does, I think hers looked a little more “organic,” and I think I prefer that to mine. Well, we have another wedding on 6/17 where I’ll experiment yet again. Maybe a loose pony… or another updo. Who knows!?