Picture Perfect

There are the pics for grandma. You know, the sweet, posed, reflecting zero personality of anybody involved.



And then there are the pics for the rest of us.

Photo by Stacey Kane via divinecaroline.com

Couture Invitations

Oh, I'm sorry. Here let me get that. Awful of me to go and drool over the screen.

Good lord that is lovely. New York Weddings has even more stuff to work yourself into a lather over here.

via Oh Happy Day

You Say Mango, I Say Screw You

I can state with confidence that I am fairly obsessed with Indian weddings. What's not to love? The whiff of the exotic hangs over even the simplest affairs: the gilded saris, the brides adorned with mendhi, the sacred fire, a Bollywood-style dance marathon threatening to break out at any moment.

And oh the drama.

Despite laws passed to crackdown on the dowry system which usually serves to bankrupt a bride's family, dowry-gouging is alive and well.

This past weekend, two prominent families gathered together in Pune to celebrate the marriage of their children. By the end of the day, the wedding was called off, the police were called by both families, and the mess made international news, thanks to... mangoes?

Dowry considerations may not always be necessary to render a marital tie asunder, it would seem. A trivial demand — that 'aamras' (mango pulp) be served in the marriage-hall — was sufficient for a wedding to be called off in Pune recently.

The demand for the 'aamras' came from the groom's side during the wedding ceremony at the Shivshankar hall in Mukundnagar here on April 17. The daughter of the city-based Bhise family was to be married to the son of the Botaljis from Talegaon-Dabhade.

Just before the ceremony could begin, the Botaljis demanded that their relatives be served 'aamras'. The Bhises expressed their inability to do so, saying that the menu for the occasion had been decided by both sides a long time back and that 'aamras' was not to be on the fare. They said it was too late to arrange for the 'aamras' now.

No word if the famillies decided to have a dance off to decide who was responsible for the mango mess up.

Story continued here.

He Blinded Her with Science

Love has made us do crazy things.

Going blonde.
Drunk dialing crying jags at 3 AM.
Flying cross country at the spur of the moment for a kiss.
Signing up on Match.com and then deleting your profile five minutes later and then signing up again.
And deleting.
Karaoke.

You know, the cute, crazy in quotations stuff that gets trotted out at the screen at the local cineplex as the crazy stuff we do for love. And then there is just crazy, as in, I will endure rashes, itching and potential organ failure for my dream wedding. This lady sold her body to science because her fiance is "100% worth it."

Wow. Dude is just screwed. How on earth is he EVER going to come with an anniversary gift to top that??

The Soundtrack of your life

itunes indie wedding
Steve Jobs knows your life is hard. It's so hard he made a pretty sleek box to make your life easier. From taking pictures to listening to podcasts to making the next million dollar You Tube video, he's pretty much thought of everything. That Steve Jobs cares abour you so much he even whipped together a playlist for your indie wedding so you wouldn't have to. It's like a mix tape from the billionaire that cares to you.

And thanks to Steve Jobs, I will have the Sundays Here's Where The Story Ends in my head for the next week.

The greenest wedding dress ever

There is recycling.

And there is this dress.

Can you guess the everyday item used to create such a showstopper?

via design*sponge

Rosie Flo

I picked up Rosie Flo's Colouring Book for my daughter when I was last in NYC. Nevermind that my daughter thinks crayons - no less thumbs - are for devouring. I want to color in it myself! I was struck by this lovely image of a garden wedding. The tux and gown - even the bridesmaids dresses - are cleverly culled from the garden itself. Would make a cute flower girl gift.

Get it here.

Etsy Handmade Weddings

I can't help it. Between my husband's birthday, my daughter's first birthday, the news of my dearest friend in the world moving back home and it just be so gosh darn sunny out, I've been a bit distracted. But I can direct you to just the coolest spot on the interweb right now to read all about DIY weddings. 

Etsy has been running a series all month long on finding original, inventive handmade goods for your wedding, and I'm trying not to choke on the bile of envy rising in my throat over all the amazing offerings I missed out on!

But it's not too late for you. Check it out here and have a lovely weekend!

photo by Jillian Kay