If music be the food of love.... Play on

Ok my dears, as most of you know, I love, love, love my dancing, so finding a good band, DJ, digiree doo player is crucial for the wedding, which is probably why I have been so petrified to even begin looking for a musician. 
At the moment, I'm thinking band, more than DJ -- because a bad DJ?  Soooo much worse than a bad band, but a good DJ does not surpass a good band.  If you want to make a case for a DJ, please, please do so.
BUT, for now, I am piggybacking off the research my mom has done for the Strawberry Festival, in addition to looking at a band that has played BOW before and gotten good word of mouth. 
So here are the bands currently under consideration.  Click the links, take a listen and please, please, please weigh in with your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, anything!!

The Woodshedders: jazz, bluegrass, swing fusion.  Question: do the songs sound too similar? 
http://www.myspace.com/thewoodshedders

John Luskey Band: Awesome country singer who does original songs and covers as well.  Question: too country?
http://www.johnluskey.com/

Magick Kat: Bluegrassy, tuneful music -- apparently really engaging live, play covers, and would be okay with mixing them and an IPod for some breaks
http://www.myspace.com/magickkatmusic

Advice, please!!!!

Save the Date, starring Rudy?

Well, given the fact that the comments to my last post tended to support using Rudes as a messenger of the good news, I thought I would fill you all in on the first idea we had, which my mom shot down, but I would happily resurrect:






A photo card of Rudes cocking his head as he does when he hears a word he recognizes, with text, such as to the left...

Also a possibility: three photos - one of my hands with 10 fingers held up; one with Jay's hands, 10 fingers held up; and one of Rudy's paws -- to play on the 10/10/10.

Cheesy?  Awesome?  Should I abandon all thoughts of this and return to the classics from below?  Weigh in, please -- but don't let the school art class look of these images sway you -- if we do go this route, I'd spend more than 30 seconds in Photoshop! :)

Save the Dates...

The things that seem the easiest...

We are so lucky because Jay's mommy is making us fabulous, unique invitations for the ceremony and reception. (Pictures of the samples to follow; they are AWESOME.)

But now we're working on the Save the Dates and I want them to do justice to the rustic, personalized feel of the whole affair.  So the basic photo card with pretty design seems a bit too generic.  So I need some opinions.  What say you of these?

The vintage look: it reminds me of The Great Gatsby and we'll be doing a literary theme...

The typewriter save the date: See above -- the literary theme, and I like that it doesn't look like a typical save the date -- more modern...

The oak tree: very natural, on recycled paper.  I like the old romance of the carved initials in the tree.

Sunflowers: The reception flowers will have sunflowers as the basis.

Ok, folks what do you think?  Which cards would you like to receive?  Which one makes the wedding seem like an event you want to attend?

Have at it in the comments!

A Dress! At Last! (Click "Read More" to see the actual dress)

We have a winner! The trigger has been pulled! And other metaphors indicating happiness at having finally made a decision that had been plaguing me for, admittedly, long before Jay got down on one knee. (Yes, I had clippings at brides.com. I know.)

It's different than I expected. I'm blaming it on this Anne Barge you see here -- which is NOT my dress. I saw this dress in a magazine and was enthralled by it. The 50's styling on the model; the floaty English net on the skirt; the delicate embellishment; the non-straplessness. The problem? Uncomfortable top, $1500 over the price range, and the realization that the delicacy of the details that really make the dress (pintucks on bodice, etc) weren't visible from more than 3 feet away, so it just looked plain, rather than than intricate. Sigh. Oh Anne Barge, LF150. The coulda, shoulda, woulda dress.

BUT, it made me deviate course, just a tad, just enough to find my dress. Before Anne Barge LF150, I was not aware that English net over silk creates a dreamy, floaty look without the cupcake effect of layers of tulle. I had been shunning sparkle and beads and embellishment, fearing the dreaded "Jersey princess effect." 

And so, by opening my eyes a bit, and getting back on the horse after the sample sale of which we shall no longer speak... I was able to find my dress.  After the jump, of course, to dissuade Jay from peeking!

Emily's Dress Shopping Breaking Point

If you know me, you know how much I enjoy a good fashion deal. I used to live in Filene's Basement in college. I count scoring my Burberry wool coat for $140 (mistakenly marked down from $1100), as one of my greatest personal achievements. So the concept of scoring a designer gown for $300-500 at the Filene's Running of the Brides immediately appealed to me. ...Until I went to a tiny microcosm of such a sale: the sample sale at Carine's in DC, and it nearly broke me.

Let's begin with Tiffany and I waiting in line to even get into the salon: rain-bedraggled, me in glasses, no makeup, and old jeans. Surrounded by gorgeous, coiffed, tanned girls who are already wedding-ready, and whose hair is somehow miraculously straight despite the rain. And then they all squeal and clap whenever a girl came out with a dress. Yeah, I don't get it. I felt so out of place and insecure.

Then we get up in there, and it's a madhouse. People grabbing dresses, stealing mirrors, and Tiff was such a trooper, stalking a gorgeous Rosa Clara dress that another bride was waffling on, until she took it off.



Now, here's the thing about this dress. Gorgeous. Very different -- dropped waist, layered skirt that alternated between thin bands of lace and thicker bands of this crepey, antique looking fabric. The picture doesn't do it justice, unfortunately. Very different, very gorgeous, but very much in need of tailoring, and right at the top of my price range (tailoring not included), and very...big. One of those dresses that no doubt everyone would remark upon and remember, but I couldn't get away from the feeling that people would see only the dress, and not me in it. And as much as I love fashion, I'm not going to be that girl who makes the day all about her. Boo to that girl. Our wedding is to be about us, our friends, our families.

And so the dress stayed behind, as did my enthusiasm for dress shopping. I admit it. I came home and nearly burst into tears on the couch with Jay. Suddenly I felt like I would never find anything right. Never become that perfect bride that had surrounded me. That somehow I would never be able to pull this all together. Thank goodness for wine. And no kidding, the next day, I found the dress that would become mine! :)

Hannalore's: Dresses Part 2

So onwards, we went -- this time with Mom in tow, and attending the Rosa Clara trunk show at Hannalore's in Old Town. The 2010 Rosa Clara collection is ridiculously my taste -- ruffles; organza; and lightness, lightness, everywhere. There were several contenders: Cache was the closest: the skirt = amazing. Not ruffles, but rather the look of layered handkerchief corners. Graceful, whimsical, elegant. But...

The neckline just wasn't right -- too flat, too harsh, and not able to be altered down to a sweetheart because of pleating. Now, the sales lady starts talking about how in the 2009 collection, there was a dress exactly like this in a halter. She didn't have it, but said she would call the design house and get me pictures, then we could bring it in if I liked it. So perfect, right? Um, yeah, ask me if I heard from her again. Boo.

She also offered a similar dress from Pronovias: the Huesca, but... eh. Just wasn't right -- even with the crazy halter ruffle removed. Suddenly the ruffles in the skirt looked cheap and wedding cake-y. Not what I was looking for.
So we began to look around the store, and came across a couple more Pronovias dresses that caught my eye: looking for shapes I hadn't really examined before, but still had some of that whimsical quirk to it. Mansion: gorgeous dress, very different way of pairing tulle and lace, but just not quite for those of us with the small bosoms... Such is life.







Then there was Mariona, and I will tell you, this very nearly became THE dress. I didn't see it at first, but when I put my hair up with a headband, I got the long, elegant Grecian feel and it looked lovely. But, a night of sleeping on it only increased my concern that it wasn't special enough. Lovely, graceful: yes. Flattering? Very. But, I couldn't get out of my head that I can wear this dress anytime (and not spend $1500 on it!). It didn't make me excited to get married. (Not that I need any other reason to be excited, but still! :))
I will also say. The one shoulder thing: I love it. I've worn it before and it really works for my body type, but everyone is wearing it now! So I'd rather be fresh than trendy.

And so I kept looking...

Dresses, dresses, everywhere...

So I've been avoiding chronicling my search for a dress, since what I thought would be the most fun and energizing part of the whole planning thing, is actually turning out to be one of the more stressful! Because, apparently, not only does wedding dress shopping involve the fun parts of playing with fashion, and playing dress-up in fabulous pieces, but it also involves this entire existential process of "who do you want to be" when you get married.

I don't know, maybe I'm overly buying into the wedding porn, but this whole fantasy of "you have the GASP moment and you know it's your dress" seems almost more impossible than the whole "one person in the whole world for you" thing. Because, seriously, do you know how many freaking wedding dresses there are out there? And how many of them look extremely similar, but with one little tweak here, or one different type of fabric there that then makes them either shine or fall flat?

Insanity.

But rant over, and back to the pretty dresses. Going into this, I had some notion of what I wanted.
1) NO satin, taffeta, heavy silk, or anything that makes swooshy noises when I move; no embroidery; no strapless; and no super tight mermaid looking dresses that would make me patter around like a geisha all night.

2) Something light and ethereal, but grounded enough to make sense in our rustic setting.

3) Lace, organza, and tulle. Love it.

4) Some "interest" factor that sets it apart from all the "cindarella" dresses these other chicks in the salon are trying on. (Because boy howdy, that's a whole other post)

I went into this imagining Rose Byrne's Valentino dress from the 2009 Emmys (and yes, I checked the Valentino website, but they don't sell gowns. Also, it was apparently vintage. Boo.)

Lovely, frothy, light, with some interesting sparkle, but still playful enough that it could run through a field. (In my head anyway.)

So I began my search at White Swan bridal in Vienna with Kelly -- and, ps, needed to take swigs of Pinot Grigio to deal with the crazy help there. If one sales lady wasn't forcing me into a dress that was at least two sizes too small (still have no idea how that worked without pliers), another one was hitting my chest to demonstrate the "ugly bones" that you could see there, if we were to alter a dress to have a sweetheart neckline. (Look, look, you feel -- grabs Kelly's hand to press into my chest -- she has bones. You don't want to see bones. But whatever, you do what you want.) Sigh.

Anywho, came away with one dress I loved and didn't expect to: the Rosa Clara Salome:


Tight across the bodice, but in an attractive way, with a full, frothy skirt with interesting detail. Still a top runner, but I hate the straight neckline, and this isn't really one that can be altered down to a sweetheart. Also -- strapless, and upon research, a fairly popular gown amongst brides, which I'm not dying to do. I know. Call me shallow, but I like the idea of being original.

Another dress we saw that day was in the shop of a tailor that I used to walk past every day on King Street. She has lovely stuff, and when we walked in, there stood a dress that I had always imagined getting married in. Lace on top, organza bottom, backless, save organza ties that fell into a bow at the low back. I later found out that this was a copy of Amy Michaelson's Grace dress.


So of course, I try it on. But as I'm standing there in the dress I've always dreamed of, I just feel... nothing. Blank. I don't know why, but it just did nothing for me inside. I've had some time to think about it and realize now that it's the dress I would have gotten married in at 22. But at 28/29? Not anymore. Which is nice to know. I've managed to become elegant in my age! :)

Next stop: Hannalore's for the Rosa Clara trunk show, wherein more success is had....