Category — dana

I’m in shell shock from the price quotes I’ve gotten from hair and makeup people. Seriously? Up to $175 for hair alone?  The same for makeup?  Kill. me. now.

I recently had a consultation with less insanely priced, (but still more than I budget for) hair/makeup artist. I was referred to him through my benevolent bride friend, after I saw how incredibly glowing and lovely she looked in her photos. He seems great - I really like his energy.  However, I’m just not sure I can rationalize the cost…. but I can’t do it on my own, either.

I’m not much of a make-up person. On a daily basis I wear sunscreen and lip gloss. Sometimes I wear mascara and blush gel too… but that’s about as far as it goes. Oftentimes, when I get makeup professionally done, it feels cakey and matte. It might look great on film, but in person, its 3 layers deep. I don’t want that for my wedding. I want to have a radiant, dewy look that looks great both on film and in person. More like I just had an invigorating romp - all flushed and natural. Is it possible?

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Finding dress shoes is always a difficult task for me. I think my feet are pretty, but they’re quite narrow and flat - so I often slide right through sandals. I also have the longer second toe, known as Morton’s Toe (which is rumored to denote wisdom - yeah, dawg) but makes it quite difficult to find shoes that fit comfortably.

So, I knew that while my mom was in town, we had to finally find the perfect shoes. Perfect in style, heel height, color, and most of all - affordability! After so many shoes have broken my heart with their pricetag (hello, Prada) or stiletto heel (4″, seriously?)… I was starting to lose hope for redemption.

We checked out Nordstrom first - and found a pretty pair in pink…. on sale for $40. Not bad.

See? My middle toe almost hangs off the base! But this is a pretty good fit, for me.

But neither of us were too keen on the silver rhinestones, and the heel was at least an inch too high. But the price was so good, my mom suggested we could try to get a cobbler to shorten the heels. In the end, we just weren’t 100% sold on them… so we bid adieu and moved on.

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Back when I visited Claire Pettibone’s boutique, I was introduced to the wonderfully organic, handcrafted, custom headpieces made by the wondrous Tracy of TS Tiara. The moment I was crowned with one of Tracy’s unique and inspired twig headbands…. I knew I had to look no further. They were so bohemian, so rockstar… just hippie enough, but with a touch of the funk…. absolutely perfect.

Even better in person!

{Read the rest of this entry…}

6 months into our relationship, Hunter and I spent a month backpacking Europe together. It was one of the best times of our lives. It was also an amazing opportunity to get to know each other in a new way. Being together 24/7 for 31 days, navigating foreign countries in foreign languages, in the biggest heatwave of the decade was a true test of our strength. I really believe that traveling together should be a pre-requisite of marriage. There would probably be a lot less divorce that way.

(Collobriers, France 2003)

As evidenced by our taste, we’re big fans of the cultural and artistic influences of Asia, but neither of us have been there and we’re desperate to remedy that situation. The honeymoon seems like a perfect excuse. But affording a trip like that on top of a wedding is…. laughable in our circumstances.

{Read the rest of this entry…}

I always knew I wanted personalized bags (cuz that’s how I roll), and definitely wanted reusable ones to suit our Eco-Green endeavors… but being broke-ass doesn’t really suit either of those desires. So, when my sister and bro-in-law came through town on their way to Bali, and mentioned they could get bags made for a fraction of American prices, we were all about it. I sent the file to their contact in Bali, and the bags were ready within a week! My sis was generous enough to carry all 50 home with her, to save us shipping costs. We couldn’t believe how beautifully they turned out! They were even better than we dreamt they’d be.

{Read the rest of this entry…}

You know how sometimes, you just have to try something unreasonable on, so you can see how bad/ill-fitting it looks and “Rule it Out”?

{Image Source: Brides.com}

I used to think I wanted a Claire Pettibone dress. The Juliet, to be exact. I couldn’t afford it, but it didn’t stop me from wanting it. I dragged my mom while she was in town for Christmas, to try it on, hoping I’d hate it in person. But it was just lovely. And to wear one of her dresses is like bathing in silk…. comfortable, sensual, and rich-feeling. Too rich, for my wee bank account. I looked and looked for an alternate, but to no avail. I was nervous.

Cut to: May ‘08
Our great friend Billy (aka our officiant, more on that another time) teaches yoga. He came over one night and gave me a business card for a local, eco-conscious dress designer who took his class that evening, thinking I might be able to use it. I was all, “pssshhh - we’ll see if I like her stuff better than the Juliet - yeah, right!”

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Are you sitting down? I hope so, cuz I just discovered the funnest, easiest color board toy online! I’ve been trying to find good color samples and inspiration for the longest time….

Enter Montage-a-Google, a web app which generates montages based around keywords, from the full library of google images. So, I just popped in the colors we’re working with, and voila! Its so easy a monkey could do it, and look at the inspiring outcomes!

Here’s our colors: fuchsia, peacock blue, sunset orange, purple, and gold as an accent.



Delish, no? (click to enlarge)
{Read the rest of this entry…}

Growing up, and well into my relationship with Hunter, I always dreamed of a ring like this:

(image source)

My mother inherited a ring very similar to the above several years ago. I love it a lot - and thought it would be a meaningful solution to our “can’t spring for bling” on a starving artist budget issue. So I politely (read: whiningly) suggested it. She refused. Wouldn’t budge an inch. You see, when my parents got engaged it went something like this:

{Read the rest of this entry…}

I really WANT to tell you all about my dress. But I’m trying to keep it kind of sacred (especially from Hunter, an occasional reader). I’m trying to sort out what I can and cannot tell you, but suffice it to say - “I’m in LOVE with my dress!!!”

In the meantime, I’m awaiting delivery of my first accessory!

I’m a girl that loves me a nice purse. I’ll admit I may have a few too many in a drawer. Some are die hard love affairs, and some are spontaneous purchases who’s glory days are over. I am , however, pretty selective in my taste and rarely do I have an intense reaction to the sight of a purse these days.

That is, until I saw these clutches. I absolutely required one. I couldn’t help it.

(image source: etsy seller RedRubyRose)

Big ups to One Small Star for alerting the bridal world to these stunners.

This stunning Peony clutch is currently being made with peacock blue lining, just for me!… Its so sexy and edgy and exotic. It was just. too. tempting.

How can a bride be expected to resist? Its preposterous. Shipping from the UK is only $6.50, she takes custom orders, and is a doll to work with, too. Big love to my mom who gifted this to me, after I emailed her, drooling with purse-lust. I’ll post pics once it comes in. I’m so excited!

Even before we were officially engaged, I liked to torture myself by spending hours looking at the galleries on wedding photography websites. We both knew from the start that photography is possibly the most important element (after the love, of course), because every bride I know says the day is such a blur that the photos are the only way to remember certain details. I quickly learned that there are really two types of photographers worth considering. Some are reasonably (though not easily) affordable and take ‘pretty’ pictures. You look at them objectively and say, “aw, how nice”, and quickly flip to the next one. And then there are the kind who are able to communicate the energy, emotion and drama of each moment. They make the viewer feel close to the people in the photo, even though they’re complete strangers. Their photographs rivet you and make you emotional, just looking at them. That’s exactly what we wanted, but I knew we’d never be able to afford a photographer like that, not on our budget.

Then, I saw a post on A $10,000 Wedding about a photographer who offers 3 pro-bono wedding packages each year to needy/deserving brides who cannot afford high-end photography for their weddings. Rather than being a competition-style offer, its just an incredibly generous outreach to support couples who cannot otherwise afford remarkable photography. I looked at the Chennergy website and I honestly could barely breathe. His pictures were so vivid, so moving, so beautifully composed and emotional… I had never seen anything like it. For a couple days, it was all I could think about. I decided I had to write in and see what happened, or I’d always wonder ‘what if…’

{Read the rest of this entry…}