Blog Archives
For the love of flowers.
Wedding flowers scare me. I mean, the flowers themselves don’t scare me- the overwhelming sense of color coordination & intricate design that is required to have amazing wedding flowers scares me. I don’t even have a favorite flower, besides those purple cone-y ones you can smell a block away that the corner stores sell every spring in New York City.
Note: the fact that I just described my favorite flower as the “purple cone-y ones” should tell you my level of expertise & preparedness for finding the florist of my dreams.
One thing I noticed in meeting with many florists is that they have a front team- the crew of lovely ladies who try to upsell you way more flowery crap than I could ever want…and then the real people who design your wedding that are hiding in the back of the store, speaking an unrecognizable language & cowering in sweatshop-like conditions. Which gives me a nervous tremor that my newfound preference for English garden roses that are an antiqued Salmon-y shade rather than an overt peach might get lost in translation.
Not the case with B Floral.
I first read about B Floral on “Best of The Knot” and stumbled on this quote:
NYC-raised florist Bronwen Smith makes customer service a top priority at her studio, which never schedules two weddings for the same week in order to fully concentrate on each client’s big day. The aesthetic tends toward clean and classic; check out Smith’s floral and event-planning blog to get a better idea of the vibe. — New York Weddings Magazine
I loved the idea of that wedding week exclusivity & I went on to read that owner Bronwen Smith is not only a Duke grad & former Wall Street maven, she received artistic training from The New York Botanical Garden and The Flower School of New York. Her client list was impressive & I found only glowing reviews online. I decided it was time to meet.
When I first walked in to Bronwen’s gorgeous Chelsea loft space, I had an immediate sense of relaxation. The staff was amazing, the questions were thoughtful & they helped guide me through an easy conversation, in which I realized my aforementioned preference for antiqued salmon-y over overt peach.
They started an “Inspiration Board” filled with pictures of my dress, the bridesmaids dresses, our ‘Save the Date’ design, the apothecary bottles we want to use to hold flowers, a variety of images & ideas we discussed. I have to say, it was the first overarching visual picture I got of our wedding as a whole! It’s so exciting to see how it will all come together & how the floral design will be a HUGE part of bringing the color scheme and vintage feel to life.
Before my meeting with the B Floral team (http://bfloral.com), flowers were an annoying component of my wedding to do list that felt like an obligation in which my only concern was to ensure there were no carnations involved (they giggled at the idea that they would EVER include carnations, thank god. It’s the Chicken Dance equivalent on my DJ rant). By the end of our first meeting, my decision was made, the paperwork was done & I was genuinely looking forward to my next gathering with the team. They’re going to do mock ups & samples of the floral design so we can discuss my preferences in more concrete terms. Don’t worry, I’ll totally post pics.
Here are some of my favorite flowers they’ve designed:
Who knew flowers could be so fun?!
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BFloral
On Twitter: http://twitter.com/bfloralnyc
Happily carnationless,
Rachel
Promise me: No. Chicken. Dance.
We need a DJ for the wedding. Which inexplicably is now less than 7 months away. I just noticed that on the nagging countdown timer on the upper right corner of this page & now I’m completely distracted & panicked.
What was I talking about?
Oh, DJ. So, I’ve realized throughout this wedding planning process that I’m a smidge of a control freak. Maybe not control freak so much, it’s just this: when I do things, I know they’re done. And most likely perfect. When anyone else does things, I have a sneaking suspicion that they are completely opposite of what I would ever want.
Having learned this about myself, and having come to terms with the fact that I do not have the 47 hours in a day required to do all this stuff myself, I made a list of things I could live without controlling. Things that, should I put them in the (legitimately) capable hands of my fiance & should they (inexplicably) go horribly awry, I could live with the aftermath.
So he got the DJ pick. We have utterly opposite taste in music so finding someone who could make us both happy was going to be a job within itself.
I had one rule. And I wanted it in writing. If the DJ plays “The Chicken Dance”, he is not getting paid. Period. We are not traditional people, we are not having a traditional wedding & I do not want any hint of traditional cheeseball DJ antics. Despite our painfully opposite music taste, this we completely agreed on.
After hours of research & reviews, Richie found a clear front runner & we set up a meeting with Scratch Weddings (http://scratchweddings.com). Here’s what I dug about them:
1) Scratch has over 700 skilled, trained, marquee-level DJs nationwide who have done over 15,000 events for over six million guests.
2) They’ve collaborated with Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, Snoop Dogg & Michael Jackson. (Seriously- good enough for Snoop, good enough for me.)
3) Scratch Weddings offers the option to select from a number of DJs paired to each couple based on their personal style, taste and musical interests with online access to DJ bios, photos, videos and music mixes.
4) Couples are assigned a professional wedding music manager to work with them, their wedding planner, venue and their DJ to handle all musical details of their wedding. There’s guaranteed DJ replacement in the event of an emergency and liability insurance.
5) Scratch Weddings earned the 2011 “Bride’s Choice Award” on WeddingWire, the 2011 “Best of Weddings” award on The Knot and consistently receives five out of five stars on sites like Yelp.
Personally, I like that there are hundreds of DJs. So god forbid a freak chainsaw accident happened and our DJ was unable to spin a record, they’ve got backups on deck. And Richie is geeking out over the fact that they have a DJ school founded by Jam Master Jay of Run DMC. In fact, he kind of wants to enroll.
So we’re going with Scratch!
Here’s what’s cool- based on their first impressions of our (impossible) musical tastes, they emailed us links with bios & pics* for their top 6 recommended DJs:
DJ Trife: http://bit.ly/kE9S6U
DJ Vida Ventura: http://bit.ly/zB5EZb
DJ Dan Chaves: http://bit.ly/ks5wTA
DJ Stef Nava: http://bit.ly/zy36zG
DJ Jon Blak: http://bit.ly/ApHuJA
DJ Alias: http://bit.ly/mcoSjA
*Um, I’m sorry but pics are IMPORTANT! Call me some hybrid of insecure &/or shallow, but I am SO not having the stereotypical NYC supermodel DJ spinning our wedding. Because I’m a chick. And I’m allowed to be occasionally irrational about these things.
The next step is to narrow down those DJs based on their mixing styles (check it out- they really do have different vibes!). Then we’ll go in and meet with our fave who will spin live for us. How cool is that?! I’ll take some video of it & share with you guys on here.
Best of all, they’re completely on board with our “no chicken dance” policy.
Daddy’s Little Girl.
I love this pic of us.
I am- unashamedly- a “daddy’s girl”. I like to think we share the same brain (which means he’s actually thinking the same thing…right…NOW). I mean seriously, it’s creepy. He doesn’t have to finish his sentences, I intrinsically know where he’s going in any given conversation.
My sisters got married when they were younger & with or near my parents. So my dad had the opportunity to plan first hand. And he took great pride in it. When I was a kid, he ran hotels and restaurants across the country and had access to hook ups on the best of the best for their weddings. He still tells me about the extravagant champagne & caviar brands served to the guests and I methodically ooh & aah (despite the fact that I secretly have no clue what he’s talking about).
But alas, as a grown up, I’m living in the big apple while my pops’ is in…THE BIG ORANGE (aka Florida! OMG, I’m totally a genius right now. I can’t believe I just stumbled on that one! Although, of course, my dad just thought of it too). It’s killing him not to be here throwing the party of a lifetime for the baby of the family. Not only is he geographically distant, I’m an adult now. I have a highly developed sense of personal style that I want reflected in the wedding. My sisters we’re just north of 20 when they got hitched. At that age, I would have needed my dad to handle the details or the pink sparkly feather covered lunch box I was using as a purse would have expanded into a horrendous wedding theme. I’m almost 30 now- I got a handle on what it is I want in the world (and the venue. and the dress. and the chocolate fountain of my dreams).
But I do want his help. And I trust that words like “warming kitchen” and “sterno” actually mean something to him, whereas I tend to just nod knowingly and let my mind wander to Jersey Shore when confronted with vendors pontificating on these topics.
So I need ideas. How can I involve my dad from a distance? Anyone been in a similar position with their parents & have any advice?
Here’s one thing I’m working on- he’ll be in town in a couple weeks & I’m planning The Official Engagement Party- which, I’ve been told, is a thing we’re supposed to do. Do not get me started on the process of running around town to pull off an obligatory and affordable party on short notice with snotty event planners who scoff (and charge like their FAR from scoffing) at my little 40-person soiree. Gigantic sigh.
xoxo,
R
The Cake Tasting.
So, I finally have a second to tell you about the epic day Richie & I sat in a coffee shop with http://alittlesomethinsweet.com founder/cake designer/artistic guru, Adam Beckworth.
Let me set the stage. I was starving. I had strategically not eaten that morning in order to fully appreciate the freecakertunity (in hindsight, I don’t recommend that, as my sugar buzz & subsequent crashing were ones for the record book).
We met in a quaint little coffee shop. Richie & I were excitedly waiting with palate cleansing bottles of water on the ready. Adam walked in with a little picnic basket and joined us.
Umm, how cute is he?? 🙂
We chatted for a bit (side note, I completely love this guy- he’s so much fun!) and then he proceeded to unpack our delicacies. I can’t even believe how adorably organized his system is.
Before.
And I’m in HEAVEN. The cakes were AMAZING- so moist & flavorful. The frostings were rich & delicious.
Richie & I immediately start chowing but realize quickly that we need to slow it down so we save enough of the cake samples to pair up with the different frosting samples- each combination is so different and unique!
Here’s what we tasted-
Cake:
Malted Vanilla cake
Red Velvet cake
Roasted Banana cake
Dark Chocolate Devil’s Food cake
Espresso Bourban Chocolate Fudge cake
Frostings:
Whipped Marscapone
Malted Sweet Cream Buttercream
Peanut infused Buttercream with French Sea Salt and Candied Peanuts
Milk Chocolate Ganache
Dark Chocolate Fudge Buttercream
And yeah, we did some damage 🙂
After.
The coolest part was, when you combined the cakes and frostings in different ways, you can create completely amazing flavor profiles!
Ultimately, these were our three favorites combinations:
-Red Velvet cake with Mascarpone Frosting
(This one was so light & delicious. Plus I feel like everyone loves red velvet)
-Banana Cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache and Dark Chocolate Fudge Frosting
(I would have never thought banana + wedding cake would be in the same sentence but it was DELICIOUS. Very chocolate covered banana, but in a mild, cakey way)
-Dark Chocolate Devil’s Food cake with Milk Chocolate Ganache and Peanut Buttercream with Sea Salt and Candied Peanuts
(Holy eff, this one was insane. And my favorite. It’s got the salty/sweet thing going on, like a chocolate covered pretzel. I can’t even describe this one & do it justice)
Who says we have to just pick one?
Overall, the day was amazing, the cake was amazing, Adam was amazing. This was definitely my favorite part of the wedding planning to date.
Side note, Adam just posted some new cake pics on his website- I had to share. These cakes were for a CAT. Well, for people, but in honor of a famous cat at the Algonquin Hotel in NYC.
Seriously, he's amazing.
Love it!
Definitely the perfect cat cake.
Adam opened my eyes to what’s possible as far as wedding cakes go & how to break out of the non-traditional rut. I’m thinking about asking him to write a guest blog on the topic because I know there are others out there who want a funky, personalized, unique, kick ass wedding like we do 🙂
xoxo,
R
Wedding Weekend: Richard & Kristin Christy
I’ve attended a good number of weddings. But now, in the midst of planning my own, I’m seeing the entire event through a whole new set of eyes. Case in point- last weekend’s wedding of two of amazing people, Richard Christy & Kristin Jenco (aka Kristy Christy).
Richard & Kristin
Richard & Kristin are two of my favorite people. They are kind, genuine & an absolute blast to hang out with. I was honored to share their wedding with them.
I was also excited to see how a few things I’ve thought about doing in theory ended up working in actuality. For instance- no formal sit down dinner. The Christy’s had great passed appetizers and then buffet stations. It was really nice not to have the flow of the evening dictated to us- we never had to stop the party & sit, waiting to be served. When we were hungry, we ate. Easy!
Another thing I was happy to see was the reception held at the same location as the wedding, immediately following it. We’re planning to do the same thing- we’re going to get married & start the party there ASAP. Why kill hours in between and make people travel? Especially if you’re not getting married in a religious location where it might be inappropriate to have a reception. It was great to enjoy a quick, fun ceremony and then immediately celebrate the hell out of it.
Another was the flip flop basket. I’m a HUGE fan of the flip flop basket, ever since I first heard about it a few years ago. The basic idea is that most women hit a point where your ridiculously stylish shoes start to strike you as just ridiculous & your forced with the option of sitting immediately or risking amputation. So why not change into a brand new pair of flip flops, available in assorted sizes & provided by the bride & groom? Easy solution & we all keep dancing. In fact, I’m SUCH a fan of the flip flops, that I decided to make Kristin a special bridal pair as part of her gift. Check em out:
Seriously, how awesome are these?
Yup, those jingle bells do jingle with every step.
I wanted them to be super comfortable because I figured her feet would be killing her. So I went fuzzy.
So comfy!
(I included 12,000 pictures of them because they took me a solid week to make)
Speaking of creative gift components, I also made them chalices of sorts, based on what I guessed liquor consumption levels might be 😉
These look about the right size.
Overall, the wedding was an absolute blast. What I most admired was the sense of Richard & Kristin that I got from the evening. It was a true reflection of who they are. There was no formality or pomp & circumstance about the night- it was just their kind of party. And I think that’s my biggest take away. I want my wedding to be a true reflection of us. One hell of a party that shows our spirit, our sense of style, our idea of a perfect night.
Richard & Kristin, I wish you a lifetime of happiness & I love you so, so much.
Before I sign off, I thought I’d share a few more of my favorite pics from the wedding. Enjoy!
xoxo
R
About to head out to the venue!
In the limo & on our way!
Having a blast!
George Takei always makes a wedding more fun.
With Claudio from Richard's favorite band, Coheed and Cambria.
The infamous hot Lisa G pic discussed on air. She looked great!
And my favorite of the professional pics-
Photo by http://bscphoto.com
We Now Return You To Your Regularly Scheduled Blog…
Ok, I suck. It’s been way too long between blog posts. And while I’d like to blame it on things like impromptu trips to Florida, AC, Philly & Wisconsin (and I sort of do), I take full responsibility (except see above).
First off, before I even get into wedding-y stuff, the response to my last blog post was…amazing. I got emails and facebook messages and tweets from so many of you who were touched by our sentiment. I wish I had the words to tell you how much it hit my heart to know that what we wrote was so well received. It’s always a little scary to take a stand that you know full well will (and did) alienate some people. I can tell you that in hindsight after the TENS OF THOUSANDS of webhits my last post received, not only did I feel heartfelt appreciation from so many of our gay friends, but I also received a couple messages from people who stopped to rethink their position and have started to feel differently about the issue. That’s beyond words amazing. It takes a lot to admit you may have been wrong about something (ask Richie- I think he’s heard those words come out of my mouth maybe once? And if pressed I might still deny it), so I wholeheartedly congratulate those of you who paused to reflect. I know, I know- a little blog that made a couple people think is a drop of water on a blaze, but it’s also indicative of the fact that change begets change and one voice can inspire thousands. So, you know, say something.
Speaking of saying, I need to say one more thing about the subject before I return you to your regularly scheduled blog, as promised by the now slightly misleading blog title.
My dad LOVES the picture Richie & I took with NOH8. Loves it. To an embarrassing extent. Like, he’s had it printed in 8x10s, had it blown up to poster size, mounted it on foam core board, and had some sort of canvas portrait created as well. I literally can’t get away from myself, which is completely creepy. I’m waiting for my next birthday present to come wrapped in custom marriage announcement wrapping paper as I sit home in my NOH8 pic checkered pajama pants, cuddling with my custom printed throw blanket, sipping coffee from a mug with my face looking sternly back at me. Essentially, our duct tapped faces are everywhere & it’s gotten slightly out of hand.
So, it came as no surprise that my dad sent our picture to a popular website to have custom postage stamps printed so our smiling faces could haunt the upper right hand corner of every letter he mails out (also, who even sends letters anymore? But I digress).
Imagine his surprise when his order was rejected & he received this email:
__
Dear Frank,
Unfortunately, we are currently unable to accept the image you have submitted as part of your order.
For this reason, your entire order has been canceled and your credit card will not be charged. We were unable to accept your image for the following reason:
This image was not accepted because it did not meet our content guidelines. Click here for more info on our content
guidelines.
Please note that owing to privacy concerns, our customer support representatives do not have access to any submitted images and they cannot provide additional details on why your submission did not meet our content guidelines.
We thank you for ordering from us and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We encourage you to try again.
__
So naturally, I looked up content restrictions and found this:
__
Content Restrictions: You agree not to upload, order for print, or otherwise transmit or communicate any material for any unlawful purpose or that is obscene, offensive, blasphemous, pornographic, sexually suggestive, deceptive, threatening, menacing, abusive, harmful, an invasion of privacy, supportive of unlawful action, defamatory, libelous, vulgar, violent, or otherwise objectionable.
__
Ok, seriously. Blasphemous? Pornographic? Deceptive? Obscene? Do I need to post the picture again?
What about our pro-marriage equality statement did they find so thoroughly offensive?
There are many companies who print custom photo stamps. I thought long and hard about whether or not to publicly blast these guys on here (umm, obviously I found the CEO’s home address and I’m not gonna lie- it might have been fun to start a friendly campaign of sorts- perhaps exploring stamp designs more…overtly…in violation of the aforementioned “content restrictions”), but ultimately I’ve thought better of it. When I look at what happened as a whole, it just serves as a reminder that as open as NY has proven to be post-equality vote, the rest of the country’s just not there yet. If more people speak up, hopefully we can get to a point where any loving relationship….can be pictured on a postage stamp?
Sigh.
Ok, so it’s now clear that my blog post title was a complete (but unintentional!) lie. Seriously though, how could I go back to dress shopping (OMG! I have so much to tell you!) and cake tastings (I’m trying the chocolate peanut butter invention next week!! Wheee! Free cake!!) when the custom postage stamp industry had some ‘splainin to do? 🙂
Love to all of you-
Rach
Love is Love.
I interrupt this frivolous blog to bring you an important message. Feel free to tune out if you were hoping for a diatribe on save-the-date etiquette (which I totally have questions on…but now’s not the time).
Richie and I released our engagement announcement today. And we waited until now for a very specific reason. As I type this, same sex marriage is being put to the Senate floor for a vote in New York.
Although I have strong beliefs across the board, there are very few political issues that I speak about publicly. Coming from a family I love that happens to be filled with staunchly opposing political viewpoints, I’ve learned to shut my yap & just enjoy playing dominoes with the people I absolutely adore. Because at the end of the day, they’re so much more than a party ticket. Nothing I say will change their minds, just as nothing they say will change mine. And instead of the frustration of trying again and again to craft the perfect argument that will cause some big “a ha!” moment where they’ll all see why my perspective clearly makes the most sense, I learned a long time ago that I don’t need someone to agree with me to make me “right”. And when you really let go of that quest for approval of your opinion, you’re free to just love and appreciate other people, exactly where they are.
That being said, there are times when it’s important to take a stand. When sitting in silence legitimately hurts another person. I have too many gay friends not to stand up and say that equality matters. I’ve watched them be mocked behind their backs, rejected by family, passed over for employment, turned down for adoptions. I’m not speaking theoretically, I’ve seen every one of those examples first hand. And it breaks my heart.
So why is the word Marriage important, versus a Domestic Partnership or a Civil Union? Very simply, our country tried “Separate but Equal” and we saw how well that turned out with Jim Crow Laws. The truth is, separate is never equal. It’s separate. It separates. It inherently teaches our children that one group of people are of a different class than another.
I believe our grandchildren will look back at this time in history with some shame, and that saddens me.
All this to say that today, as this vote goes to the Senate, I’m encouraged. I feel the excitement, the ground swell of change. I feel an awakening and an awareness of an evolving generation that says “enough is enough”. For the first time, I think progress is truly imminent.
So we chose to celebrate our engagement by standing up and saying something:
Love is love.
-Rachel
UPDATE 06/24/11 10:51 PM ET: GAY MARRIAGE PASSES IN NEW YORK!!!! New York is now the 6th (& largest) state in the Union to adopt gay marriage! Here’s my favorite quote: “when Republican Roy McDonald famously defended his unexpected decision, saying “fuck it, I don’t care what you think. I’m trying to do the right thing” — the scale in favor of gay marriage seemed to tip.”
What an amazing day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Heinous dresses.
I’m back in town from my first weekend away from Richie since the engagement. Missed him! I spent time with my family; Richie had the “work” assignment of covering Ronnie Mund’s appearance at a strip club in Indy. Tough day at the office, eh?
While I was home, I finally had the face-to-face chance to sit down with my sisters annnnnnnnd ask them to be my bridesmaids! 🙂 I don’t want a big crazy wedding party- just my two sisters & one of my childhood best friends, Cyndi.
It’s got me thinking dresses & I thought I’d bring the debate to you guys because you’re awesome at this stuff. Generally I despise bridesmaid dresses (no offense, Cyn- I loved* the dress I wore as your Maid of Honor and am going to wear** it all the time).
Here are the priorities:
-I want the three of them to look and feel beautiful & elegant.
-I want the dress to be appropriate for different ages, my sisters are (mumblecough) years older than me (I was a flower girl in one sister’s wedding & a 10 yr old bridesmaid in the others) and I don’t want them to feel like their wearing something out of the juniors section that they’re uncomfortable in.
-I want colors that complement some of the design elements. One thing we’re dealing with is a unique shade of blue in the wall behind us and some centerpieces we’re looking at that are made of old amber/brown glass. So maybe in the neutral/blush colors?
-I don’t want them to spend a boatload of money.
What do you guys think about using three related colors for dresses rather than them matching? Like different shades of the same basic color. What about doing that AND using three different style dresses so each person looks their best? But then how do you tie them together? Use the same material maybe? And how do you coordinate it with the groomsmen? I feel like the whole matching cummerbund thing is very prom-esque.
I’m prepared for your genius thoughts on all things bridesmaid dressy. Go.
Use these for some quick inspiration:
The dresses are awful enough to have distracted me from the shotgun the first 3 times I looked at this pic.
Where the "bridesmaid dress/ curtain" comparitive originated.
Perhaps camo IS the best option. At least no one can see you.
*read: theoretically appreciated
**read: remember it fondly
Post-Rapture.
Now that we’ve survived the Rapture & the wedding’s still on, I figured it was time to get back to blogging.
So, it’s one week since the engagement announcement. And what a week it’s been! If you missed any of the excitement, I gotta give some big props to one of my FAVORITE twitter feeds, @SternShow – if you’re on twitter & not following them, stop what you’re doing right now and go follow.
I’ll wait.
Awesome. You’ll thank me later.
And incase you no-speak-a the twitter, I’ll “retweet” (read: copy/paste) their posts from the news department about the engagement, mostly because I completely love these audio links.
Stern Show: Listen to H100 News: Robin’s self help tapes teach her about men & relationships and Rachel & Richie get engaged. http://bit.ly/kDBSlc (story & staff reactions start at 2:30)
Fine, change. 
