Say Yes to the Dress?

"Remember brides... A wedding gown is worn once, but photographed forever!"
(Randy Fenoli)

I had a chance encounter with Randy of Say Yes to the Dress fame a few years ago at Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan when my friend Angela was trying on wedding dresses. I wish I could tell Randy now that I said "Yes!"... but I haven't had time to order a dress yet. So it works out that for some reason I'm not itching to do so, even though I know it can take several months to arrive and then a couple more for the fittings. And as much as I agree with Randy and do covet a beautiful gown, I'm confident I'll be able to stay well within my budget because the thought of spending more on a big white dress that I will only wear for a few hours of my life does not sit well with me. As my friend says, "The wedding does not make the marriage," which I think is very important to remember since it's easy to lose perspective in wedding planning. 

Wedding Dresses

Right after getting engaged, I bought bridal magazines and clipped pictures of dresses that appealed to me; not necessarily a dress as a whole, but some aspect of it: the neckline, the back, the fit, etc. I pasted collages of photos onto plain white letter paper to serve as inspiration boards. But the truth is, I tried on 3 dresses this summer and I know which one I want. Shh. Hopefully I'll have time to seal the deal within the next couple of months. I don't want to try on more dresses, just like I didn't want to visit more venues. 4 venues -- done. 3 dresses -- will be done. Done and done.

Bridesmaid Dresses

As for bridesmaid dresses, I already tried on several and narrowed down the options on my own, and will allow Maureen, who is my sister and matron of honor, to make the final call. There will no coordinating busy schedules, no potential of having too many cooks in the kitchen, and certainly no attempting to sell the belief, "You could totally wear this again!" Regarding color and length, I knew exactly what I'd choose. Ideally I would love for my bridesmaids to wear the same color and length of dress in different styles to suit their shapes and personalities, but after doing my research I found that it will be more cost-effective to order the same style. The exception is if one of my ladies is expecting at the time of the wedding, which is very likely and would be wonderful!

Flowers

I love flowers, and even named this site after a couple of my favorites! For the bridesmaid bouquets and reception centerpieces, I decided to go with what I'm calling my "mixed berries" palette: varying shades of rich pinks with accents of purple for a feminine yet nuanced look. Ceremony flowers will be simple and tasteful, in paler hues. Off the top of my head, my top wedding flower choices: peonies, ranunculus, orchids, lilies, gardenias, anemones, hydrangea, delphinium, freesia, dahlias, tulips, and of course roses.

 

 

After going through a few initial bridal magazines, I stopped buying more since they are all pretty much the same and have fulfilled their purpose for me. They are definitely helpful if you're looking for ideas and need a place to start, but if you have a fairly clear sense of what you like as I do, they are not really that useful; especially with the abundance of wedding blogs that update multiple times on a daily basis! (Many times I just click "Mark all as read" on my Google Reader because I can't keep up with all the wedding blogs, Perez Hilton, and TMZ.) But I do love Martha Stewart Weddings. My sister still has issues from when she was planning her wedding 9 years ago, and they remain very "good things."

Personally, the hardest part about wedding planning so far has been accepting the fact that as much as we would love to invite every special person in our lives to share in the day, it simply can't be. (Even Kim Kardashian couldn't include everyone she wanted to invite.) Another gentle reminder: "The wedding does not make the marriage." It's only 1 day. I never thought I could elope, but now the idea appeals to me sometimes and seems so utterly romantic. It would never happen though.

Long post... New York is starting to hole in, bracing for Hurricane Irene. I hope she won't be as mean as reports are forecasting.

Chores and Marriage

"We labor to make a house a home, then every time we're expecting visitors,
we rush to turn it back into a house."
(Robert Brault)

Or, an off-color quote by Joan Rivers: "Don't cook. Don't clean. No man will ever make love to a woman because she waxed the linoleum. 'My God, the floor's immaculate. Lie down, you hot bitch.'" Oh, Joan... Gotta love her.

I had a thought-provoking conversation with 2 church friends yesterday, but I'll protect their identities to avoid any domestic strife that could result! Lady A told me, in all seriousness, that before getting married I should draw up a contract to make it clear who would be responsible for what when it comes to domestic duties. She isn't pleased by the fact that she ends up doing most of the housework, but it doesn't help that she says she has a higher standard of cleanliness than her husband and doesn't approve of the way he does things; so she ends up taking care of most things almost by choice, but not quite. Lady B, on the other hand, said that her husband is more organized than she is so she doesn't have the same problem.

I could see disagreements revolving around household chores to be a big and ever-present downer in a relationship, and I'm wondering if any married people do have at least verbal agreements or tacit understandings about these responsibilities. I'm sure premarital counseling touches upon this topic, but it's good to talk about it even before that point.



Image: Poster Revolution

There's a website called LoveToKnow which has a section on cleaning, including a Household Chore List:

Daily

• Dusting
• Sweeping
• Vacuuming
• Washing dishes
• Feeding pets*
• Doing laundry
• Preparing meals
• Cleaning bathrooms

Weekly

• Washing bedding
• Mopping floors
• Watering plants
• Mowing the lawn*
• Weeding the garden*
• Taking out the trash
• Washing the car*

Monthly

• Washing windows
• Bathing pets*
• Cleaning the refrigerator
• Changing air filters on furnace or air conditioner
• Cleaning blinds
• Vacuuming curtains

Yearly

• Shampooing the carpets
• Winterizing the house*
• Cleaning the garage*
• Pruning trees and shrubs*

*Probably not applicable for a while.

That's a long and not even comprehensive list!

Ultimately, marriage is about teamwork and therefore household duties should be shared between spouses. I can see how it would be easy for people to have certain expectations of the other and fall into set roles. But like my father told us, "The key to a successful marriage is lowering your expectations." I told my sister he said that, and she said it's true.

Going to the Chapel

"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue."

(Old English Rhyme)

I'm wondering: Do people still try to wear or carry old, new, borrowed, and blue things on their wedding day? The only difficulty I might have would be finding something old. Maybe I'll shop around for an inexpensive vintage bracelet.

I've been away from Red Poppy | Pink Peony for a few months. Life and work have been chugging along, but I haven't felt inspired enough to write or report on the usual topics. But now with a wedding to plan -- Sam and I got engaged 1 month ago -- that might be inspiration enough.

Good news: We almost have our date and venue set. They aren't finalized yet, but should be after tonight. And of course we already have our wonderful bridal party!

If you know of any great wedding-related blogs, please share. I follow 100 Layer Cake, Masterpiece Weddings, Style Me Pretty, The Broke-Ass Bride, Wedding Paper Divas Blog, and Weddingbee.

Lastly for now, in other news, I'm leaving the apartment I've lived in for the past 6 years and moving back in with my parents in Westchester by the end of this month. It's not the best, but it's for the best. It's time I moved on from my elderly Peruvian roomie and his neverending legal issues with the landlord. Since I'll be getting married, this living situation will only be temporary.

Spring 2011 Events

"So much to do, so little done, such things to be."
(Elizabeth Taylor)

It's been a very busy season! Aside from work-related events for one of my agencies -- we held a great young professionals cocktail reception on March 9, and then raised a record-breaking $1 million on April 13 -- I've had the pleasure of going places for fun. Below are some highlights.

Made in NYC Trunk Show

Accessory designers at The Marcel at Gramercy's Polar Lounge on Tuesday, March 22, featuring Tina Tang handmade jewelry, Bambina di Cioccolato unique leather goodies, and La China Loca handcrafted headwear.

Tina Tang

Bambina di Cioccolato

La China Loca

Jennifer Chun Preview and Sale

I bought a fantastic dress at Jennifer Chun's Fall 2011 Preview and Sale at the Chelsea Stratus Lounge on Tuesday, March 26, and had a great time with the designer and good friends. I can't wait to wear my dress!

 

Spring designs

Fall 2011 line

National Cherry Blossom Festival

The weather in Washington, DC on Saturday, April 2 was stormy at first, but cleared up beautifully in the afternoon for prime cherry blossom viewing.

The Washington Monument

The Jefferson Memorial

The International Culinary Center Fifth-Floor Loft Launch Party

In the throes of our own event planning, I had to attend a launch party at The International Culinary Center in NYC on Thursday, April 7. The ICC is the larger organization of The French Culinary Institute and The Italian Culinary Academy. It was a fabulous evening, and we will be using this space in October!

 

Fifth-Floor Loft kitchens

Delicious hors d'oeuvres (Image: Neilson Barnard)

Chefs at work (Image: Neilson Barnard)

 

New York International Auto Show

My first time at the annual New York International Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center was on Saturday, April 23. I went with a couple of friends, and my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew met up with us. I just found out they bought a silver Prius last night!

Dodge Charger from Fast Five

Funky Mini Coopers

Transformers Camaro

 

The Royal Wedding

Alright, so this was one event I did not attend, but I watched the highlights and the royal wedding of Prince William and Princess Catherine, or the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, was so lovely. Prince William looked dashing, Prince Harry is always adorable, and Pippa Middleton is gorgeous as well. (Images: Red Carpet Fashion Awards.)

Bride in Alexander McQueen by Sarah Burton

Reception dress, also by Sarah Burton

Suggested blogs:
I highly recommend Hostess with the Mostess, a fabulous site with inspiring ideas for events, occasions, and entertaining. I also follow 100 Layer Cake (a wedding-related blog, just for fun).

Tidy Up

"The desire for order is the only order in the world."
(Georges Duhamel)

The television show Hoarders absolutely terrifies me. I don't like clutter, tzotchkes, knick-knacks, figurines, or having too many material possessions in general. I romanticize the notion of being able to leave town on a moment's notice without anything weighing me down. I also take comfort in knowing that if I had to evacuate my apartment, all I would really want to take with me would be my phone, my wallet, and Heart To Heart (aka H2H), my old teddy bear.

That being said, I still have plenty of belongings that need to be organized! There are the girlie things, like makeup and accessories; the random little things, that often find their place by the bed; and that old school audio music format, also known as compact discs.

Cosmetics

It's nice having everything all in one place. Sephora offers a variety of styles and colors in their Metro Train Case collection.

Ivory diamond makeup case

Jewelry

I separate my gold and silver in anti-tarnish trays, but necklaces are tricky to keep organized. I recently saw a post on CasaSugar with a great display idea. I borrowed a drill, and despite the nay-saying of some who said I should have a man do it, I was able to buy the correct screws, figure out how to use the drill bits, drill holes, and then screw key racks into the wall, all by myself! I felt very Bob the Builder-y. "Can we build it? Yes, we can!"

Anthropologie key racks

Gold earring case

Bedside

I brought home a spinning organizer from Bed, Bath & Beyond a little while ago. It's great for holding my glasses, some books, a booklight and flashlight (which I never use, but could come in handy), pens, and my mini koala and killer whale.

Rotating metallic faux leather organizer

Music

I know, I'm stuck in the '90s. I still rent movies from Blockbuster, and I don't have iTunes. To keep my CD collection clutter-free, I alphabetized everything in 2 black albums. Lots of musicals, country tunes, and Christmas songs.

CD storage album

Now that I'm somewhat organized, I think it's time for some spring cleaning.

The Potter's Hand

"This clay, well mixed with marl and sand,

Follows the motion of my hand;

For some must follow, and some command,

Though all are made of clay!"

(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

I've been thinking about pottery lately, especially since I received the unfortunate news this past week that the studio I had been working in will be closing soon. I have been on hiatus for the past several months, and will miss my pottery buddies and instructor, the feel and smell of the clay, the anticipation of seeing what my finished pieces will look like, and the creativity of it all.

If you are interested in taking classes or finding a studio, this helpful site provides a comprehensive comparison of pottery studios in the city: Pottery NYC. Pottery is a wonderful art form that can be ancient and modern, utilitarian and decorative.

Below are some photos of my efforts. I ended up discarding many pieces because I just was not happy with them, but I would love to continue on my ceramic journey in the future.

My Pottery



Cracked cup and saucer

Wide bowl

Mini bowl

Noodle bowl

Dimpled sake set

Rosette bowl

Ridged bowl

Ginkgo bowl

Scalloped bowl

Chip and dip bowl

Pots with altered rims

Fluted berry bowl

Chocolate flower pedestal bowls

Birdbath bowls

Fluted berry bowls

Ringed shino bowls

Sakura

"In the cherry blossom's shade there's no such thing as a stranger."

(Kobayashi Issa)

The fleeting beauty of cherry blossom season is almost upon us! Cherry blossoms are richly symbolic in Japanese culture, and in America, cherry blossom festivals -- also known as sakura matsuri -- commemorate Japan's gift of over 3,000 cherry trees to the United States in 1912.

There are festivals in the NYC area -- most notably at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and even in White Plains and Newark -- but they aren't nearly as renowned or extensive as the National Cherry Blossom Festival held annually in Washington, DC. An estimated 1 million visitors flock to our nation's capital for the 2-week event, which will be from March 26 to April 10 this spring. Timing is everything. If you go after peak bloom (which occurs later in the north), most of the blossoms will have fallen off the trees.

It has been too long since I've attended one of the cherry blossom festivals, so I'm planning a day visit to Washington, DC on one of the first two Saturdays of April. Road trip, anyone?

White Cherry Blossoms

Sakura Matsuri at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

 Pale Pink Cherry Blossoms

National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC

 

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the Pacific Coast.