The Bride of Rochester Plans a Wedding in Rochester, NY

A little public policy...

2008-04-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

See also this post.

Dear angry, anonymous poster,

1. You are free to disagree with me. I welcome it, so please do so. If I loved something but you didn't, people should know. If I didn't have a good experience but you did, same thing. Any opinion that is expressed here, is, after all simply an opinion, and based solely on experience. I do not know everything and don't pretend to.

2. I don't want to be a bitch on my own blog, so don't be a bitch to me. This means: don't personally attack others or me. It boils down to being able to having respect for other people and yourself.

3. If you don't like the blog, or find it upsetting, perhaps you shouldn't read it. I'm sorry you found other's opinions distressing, but let me assure you that no one set out to personally upset you.

4. I'm sorry, but I did have to remove your post. Here is what I got: You liked Peggy's. That's great!-- I'm glad you had a good experience there. I didn't understand the portion of the post that talked about the bride whose finance was about to be deployed, but I was interested in hearing about it. Feel free to re-comment about it at any time bearing in mind number 2. above, because I'm sure that other people would like to know about it!

p.s. The first sentence of your post contained a name, but I don't know that person. Maybe that was your name? I'm just unsure of what you meant by that.

WIN a wedding!

2008-03-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

Now, I know you all like a good party, so I thought I'd let you know about one coming up that can enable you to win stuff, including a free wedding, AND can benefit charity!

Who: The Nuptial Network of Greater Rochester & some local celebrities, including the mayor. I heard that Mrs. New York will be there. I bet she has good tiara ideas.

What: A Celebrity Bartending and Silent Auction Fundraiser to benefit the Center for Disability Rights. Free at the door.

When: March 28, 2008 from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

Where: Shadow Lake Country Club
1850 Five Mile Line Road
Penfield, NY

Why: Well, for a couple of reasons... at the event they will be videotaping auditions from couples to win a wedding worth $25,000. That's alotta cash. You have to have a video audition to be eligible, and the drawing will be held later this year.

Besides the opportunity to save yourself some cash, though it's free to get in, there is also a silent auction, as well as raffles and give-aways that are wedding related. The grand prize for the raffle is a cruise to the Bahamas, and there is a video package from SE Video up for grabs too.

AND it's for a good cause. The Center for Disability Rights is a non-profit community-based advocacy and service organization for people with all types of different disabilities.

I want it. And I want to EAT it, too.

2008-03-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

Mmmm. Cake. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Let's be honest here... who does not agree that the cake tasting is one of the very VERY best wedding-planning activity? Well... at least when it's a good cake tasting.
Is there such a thing as bad tastings? Yes, and I can say that with authority. Taste is a matter of, well, taste. What I like, you may not, and vice versa. There is a world of wedding cakes and sweets that I had never dreamed about. Take my advice and go to many tastings, not for the food so much as to get good ideas about

what sorts of cakes appeal to you
fillings & frostings
inspiration
pricing

Here is what we discovered we liked:

cakes with a denser batter
contrary to what I thought I would like (buttercream, baby!), I was all about the thick chocolate ganache from Premier Pastry.
designs on the simple side, with something natural to them.
that we could get something DELICIOUS and not break the bank (whew)!

And this is we ended up with:

One word: YUM.

images © Stefan Petranek 2007

I've missed you!

2008-03-08T11:27:00.000-08:00

So, yes. I've neglected you, brides.

I needed a break after a year of planning, so I took one. But I'm back now, and let me assure you, I have missed you, lovers.

image copyright Stefan Petranek 2007.

Click on this.

2007-09-21T05:52:00.000-07:00

favor to ask, it only takes a minute...

Please tell ten friends to tell ten today! The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on 'donating a mammogram' for free (pink window in the middle).

This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors /advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram in exchange for advertising.

Here's the web site! You can just cut and paste this to email it to someone.
Please pass it along to people you know.

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/

Drink Up!

2007-09-20T09:52:00.000-07:00

We never considered anything but an open bar.

We asked Sara countless times how many bartenders we would have, negotiated Bass on tap, and made sure they could make mojitos, with fresh mint. We had a little sign for the mojitos, but nothing fancy. I was a little surprised at how many people started ordering them,

What can I say? My people drink, his people drink, and the mojitos were absolutely delicious (I like a little extra mint in mine)!

image by Stephanie Martinez.

Color Scheme? What's that?

2007-09-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

SO.... we never really picked official wedding colors (see the STD post, below). Why? Well, when it came down to it, we couldn't choose.

Here is the list of colors we ended up with (all non-pro pics):

1. Bridesmaids all wore black. They got to choose their dress, but it had to be floor length and not strapless. I had no shoe requirements. At the last minute (the night before the wedding) I decided to add a black ribbon to my dress as well.

2. Invites/response cards/rehearsal invites/envelopes/thank you cards/escort cards were all printed in the color scheme of my header above - brown, green and orange. They were printed on various papers ranging from ivory to a light brown.

3. I became obsessed with a teal ribbon I saw in a Martha Stewart magazine. It was this gorgeous rich color... my florist found the EXACT ribbon for me (because she is beyond what you could ever ask for in a florist) and we used it on my bouquet. It was a beautiful something blue.

Then she found another (also, less expensive- whew!) ribbon that was an even deeper teal. She used that to accent the flowers on the arbor and in some of the other arrangements. I also got some from her and made it into thinner ribbons for my hair.

4. As you can see above, the bridesmaids all had ivory ribbons for their flowers.

5. The mothers (four of them!) all wore black as well, but their flowers were ivory, along with the father's boutonnières. Doc wore an orange orchid, the groomsmen had yellow orchids, the bridesmen (there were two of them) had blue delphiniums, and our son had a lego boutonnière.

6. The flowers for myself, the bridesmaids, centerpieces and all other accents were multicolored. They were amazing. I wanted a feeling of warmth, and nature. They were UNBELIEVABLY GORGEOUS. I'll be putting up a post about Maura as soon as I get my pro pictures back because I can't really post too much now that gives you a clear picture of how beautiful they were. There were reds, oranges, purples, etc. etc.... every color I can think of. This is a little blurry, but it get the point across:

So instead of colors, we ended up using some great old animal illustrations (a couple are in my banner above) all over the place to tie stuff together (more on that at a later date). All in all, we ended up setting a tone for our wedding, rather than having a distinct color scheme. Because of it, I felt like I had a lot of flexibility. And with my procrastination, I needed some flexibility!

What are you doing (or did you do) to tie your wedding together?

all images by Stephanie Martinez. As always, please ask before using any personal images, as well as give credit. Thanks!

Save the Date, Baby!

2007-09-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

My brother and sister in law had a wedding date only seven weeks before the Doc and mine. That meant that getting a save the date out as early as possible was important so that people could start planning ahead to (hopefully) attend both.

This was the first wedding related project I tackled, and I felt completely overwhelmed. I hadn't found WeddingBee or DIY Bride yet, was working full time and was taking two classes with teachers who apparently were hell bent on burying their students alive with homework. We hadn't chosen colors or a theme, but we knew that we wanted something to reflect nature, and the rustic feel of our venue. So after getting some freakishly cheap card stock from Big Lots (no kidding - it was $0.99 for all of it) I got a couple of stamps, ink, colored pencils, double sided tape, a Friskars trimmer, downloaded a couple of free fonts from dafont.com, and got to work.

I printed the invitations, stamped the flower and the bee on,taped the top layer of card stock to the bottom and then colored the stamps in with the pencils when the ink had dried. They weren't fancy, but they had the tone that I wanted, and that was enough. I made all of the envelopes from tape and the extra card stock.

These aren't the best pictures, but you get the idea. All in all, they cost approximately $0.25 per save the date, including the materials (and a good Michael's sale). Of course, midway through, we changed our wedding site from the knot to one from ewedding.com, and so that I didn't run out of materials, I frantically printed little tags with the new URL to tape over the old one. I wish I was kidding, but alas...

I love the bee. He actually was part of a trio of bees on one stamp, but I took a razor blade and cut him off. To stamp I just kinda balanced him on my finger, which worked fine.

How did tackling your first wedding project go for you?

Pearl-fect! PearlParadise.com gets a big fat A.

2007-09-14T06:29:00.000-07:00

I had a terrible time deciding on what to get the ladies in my bridal party, but love what I settled on... they all got 18" pearl necklaces from PearlParadise.com. as bridesmaids gifts. This in itself was something that I found out of character for myself as I tend to steer clear of
pearls, but I knew that none of my ladies had one, and in my opinion, a good pearl necklace can be worn to any event, with any type of clothing, and make you look like a million bucks.

They all arrived in gift boxes with dusting clothes and appraisals. They also were heavier than expected.

Note my sister's fabulous cleavage.

And GORGEOUS. This picture will have to do for now, as will the one of yours truly found below. I promise to give you better shots when I get them!

When they came, I opened all of them, ran my (clean) fingers over their beautiful round little bodies, and immediately began to covet some for myself! The only issue was that on top of my ivory dress, I was going to wear a peacock colored hair ribbon and was thinking of a black sash. I didn't think that regular pearls would cut it. So I went back to PearlParadise.com, and found these gorgeous saltwater babies:
I was in love.

So I got them and LOVE them. They have an almost ethereal blue glow about them in person, and between the ribbon in my hair and the sash I decided to wear on the dress, they were perfect.

PearlParadise was amazing-- great prices, fast shipping, and when we did have a minor shipping issue the first time, they got back to me about 10 minutes after I emailed them, and corrected it immediately. When Doc emailed them on a Sunday to ask a question about my pearls, the head of the company emailed him back about half an hour later. P.S. They were also inexpensive!

Everything was stunning and, best of all my bridesmaids and myself loved them!

first and third images from PearlParadise.com. In that last picture I only have one eye!.

I heart you, Stefan Petranek

2007-09-11T08:05:00.000-07:00

It's not just that random women at my wedding repeatedly told me that my photographer was good looking. Or commented that he looked like Topher Grace (actually, my sister in law walked right up to him and told him).

My mother even sidled up to me to tell me that he had great hands.

But he was polite. And unobtrusive. And really funny.

When looking at photographers, I was really taken with his documentary style shots. Nothing fancy, just real. And I immediately liked him during our first meeting. Out of everything, my uncle, a photographer himself, told me that feeling at ease was the most important thing when you hired a photographer.

Also, I am in love with his art work. In love!

Last night he emailed me a couple of our pictures. Let me show you one now...

image copyright 2007 by Stefan Petranek.

I needed that so bad...

2007-09-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

So, it's good for you to laugh. Which is why you totally have to READ THIS POST RIGHT HERE from Joy Unexpected. I literally was crying I was laughing so hard (which happens, I'll admit, often).

Dear Michelle DaRin,

2007-09-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

Let me remind you of our meeting:

Sunday, September 9 in the damp of the Clothesline Festival at theMemorial Art Gallery in Rochester.

I had a Blow Pop. You, Michelle, asked where I had gotten it.

I drooled a little over one of your beetle bracelets.

You had to go somewhere, and said if my sister or I needed any help, your friend could help us. We watched you walk away and my sister said, "She looks so cool. I want to be her friend." And I said "me too." (Then she and I had a brief discussion about how if you want to be friends with someone, saying "you look so cool, I want to be your friend" normally doesn't get you anywhere, even if it is the most direct approach.)

We should have bought something, but we didn't, because we are hoarding our money. My sister is saving for a grand scheme that will go unnamed here. I just spent an unmentionable amount of money on my Totally Kick Ass Wedding. And in the next year Doc & I are going to buy a house.

Yes, we realize now that money is not all it's cracked up to be when faced with your magnificent creations.

Now I have non-buyer remorse, and will have to rectify this by trying to find the awesome earrings we fell in love with at the MAG.

Sigh.

all images from www.MichelleDaRinJewelry.com and are by David Broda & James DaRin

before you click, get tissues!

2007-09-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

From WeddingBee, the BEST ENGAGEMENT STORY EVER from Mr. Monkey.

Weather Service

2007-09-08T17:06:00.000-07:00

Our ceremony was planned for outside and we had an outdoor surprise for everyone, so it stands to reason then that I was terrified about the weather.

We had religiously been looking up the weather for ten days on not one, but four weather sites: Weather.com, AccuWeather, Wunderground (the Weather Underground), and NOAA's National Weather Service. From our months of obsessive research beforehand, we found we could get an accurate account by looking at all of them, and averaging stuff. Of the four, Weather.com is the most pessimistic, and AccuWeather is the most optimistic.

All of them said to expect rain on our wedding day. All of them were right, but not in the way that we expected...

It was, if not sunny, certainly bright during our ceremony, warm, and a little gusty. It stayed beautiful until dinner, when all of a sudden a rain storm rolled in from the south end of the lake (which we looked down on). It swallowed everything in a cloud of fog, so that one moment the lake was there, ad then suddenly, it wasn't! It was amazing, and most of our guests went outside to watch it from the terrace before their entree came.

By the time dinner ended, and Doc and I were gearing up for our first dance, Sara, Bristol Harbour's fantastic coordinator, pulled us over to a window to show us a full rainbow that had suddenly appeared. It not only full, from one end to the other, but it also was amazingly strong. There was no straining to see any of it. It looked like magic! As pictures keep appearing from guests, I am hoping that someone took a picture of it. I hope our photographer, Stefan Petranek, got some pictures, but I never got around to asking him, and because our first dance was right then, I'm not sure he was able to before it melted away...

About an hour later, there was a thunderstorm on the hills at the end of the lake that never made it near us. This meant that we stayed dry, but got a great, far away lightening show. It never came close to us.

As it got later, the sky became clear, which was perfect for a beautiful view of the moon, and a great of our FIREWORKS!!

images ©2007 Catherine King

Oh, right, the one where you get married...

2007-09-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

The heart and soul of the wedding is what-- the favors, the details? No, silly, it's (at least supposed to be) the CEREMONY.

When Doc & I originally began our planning, we decided we would write our own vows, however, that turned out to be much harder than we originally anticipated. Instead, I "wrote" the ceremony, which really meant pulling bits of ceremonies that I liked from different places and mashing them together until we were happy. We chose two readings, and to mix it up a little, we had our first reader begin the ceremony, which I ended up loving. He did a great job, and I felt it set the tone for the ceremony.

Here it is (with name changes) from start to finish:

1st Reader (from Plato's Symposium):
Humans have never understood the power of Love, for if they had they would surely have built noble temples and altars and offered solemn sacrifices to honor it; but this is not done, and most certainly ought to be done, since Love is our best friend, our helper, and the healer of the ills which prevent us from being happy.

To understand the power of Love, we must understand that our original human nature was not like it is now, but different. Human beings each had two sets of arms, two sets of legs, and two faces looking in opposite directions. Due to the power and might of these original humans, the Gods began to fear that their reign might be threatened. They sought for a way to end the humans' insolence without destroying them.

It was at this point that Zeus divided the humans in half. After the division the two parts of each desiring their other half, came together, and throwing their arms about one another, entwined in mutual embraces, longing to grow into one. So ancient is the desire of one another which is implanted in us, reuniting our original nature, making one of two, and healing the state of humankind.

Each of us when separated, having one side only, is but the indenture of a person, and we are always looking for our other half. And when one of us meets our other half, we are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and would not be out of the other's sight even for a moment. We pass our whole lives together, desiring that we should be melted into one, to spend our lives as one person instead of two, and so that after our death there will be one departed soul instead of two; this is the very expression of our ancient need. And the reason is that human nature was originally one and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called Love.

Officiant:
Welcome! Love is why we have come here today. In this space made sacred by our presence and intent, we gather to celebrate love in the marriage of Doc and the Bride of Rochester. We have come together that these two individuals might bear witness before you and before the world to the relationship that has grown between them and developed since they first met eleven years ago; that they might affirm their dedication here, as they have affirmed it to each other. As they now exist as a family in their own eyes, so may they exist in your eyes.

Doc and the BOR, are often said to be very different from one another. While some may imagine that their differences put them at odds, what it does is strengthen them, individually and as a couple. They learn from each other, as well as respect each other's individuality.
(to Doc & BOR) Love grows and changes over time. It is a live thing between the two of you that must be tended to on a continuous basis.

2nd Reader (Pablo Neruda's Sonnet XVII):
I don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving

but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

Officiant:
Doc, do you come into this union of your own free will, and with the desire to take the BOR as your wife?

Doc:
I do

Officiant:
BOR, do you come into this union of your own free will, and with the desire to take Doc as your husband?

Bride of Rochester:
I do.

Officiant:
Please face each other and join hands.

Doc, repeat after me: (Doc repeats)
I, the Doctor of Rochester, take you, the Bride of Rochester, to be my lawfully wedded wife. I promise, from this day forward to be your faithful husband, for better, for worse, for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish. As I have given you my hand to hold so I give you my life to keep.

BOR, repeat after me: (BOR repeats)
I, the Bride of Rochester, take you, the Doctor of Rochester, to be my lawfully wedded husband. I promise from this day forward to be your faithful wife, for better, for worse, for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish. As I have given you my hand to hold so I give you my life to keep.

May I have the rings? (Best Boy places the rings on ceremony booklet)

Doc, Please give this ring to BOR and repeat after me: (Doc repeats)
I give you this ring as a constant reminder of the vows we exchanged today. As you receive this ring, receive my heart. (places ring on BOR's finger)

BOR, please give this ring to Doc and repeat after me: (BOR repeats)
I give you this ring as a constant reminder of the vows we exchanged today. As you receive this ring, receive my heart. (Places ring on Doc's finger)

We who have come together in this place today have heard the willingness of Doc and BOR to be wedded. They have come of their own free will and in our hearing have made a covenant of faithfulness. They have given and received a ring to seal their word and faithfulness.
Therefore, by the power vested in me by the state of New York, I pronounce them man and wife.

Doc, you may kiss your bride.
(Doc & I make out like fools. Ha! A word to the wise-- practice your kiss.)

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, Doctor and Mrs. Rochester.
*******************

I cried all over the place during the second reading, in part due to the excellent emotional reading skills of 2nd Reader (she did a very good job). We also couldn't use our microphones because of the wind and I thought that I was never going to get the ring on Doc's hand... but we're married!

What do you plan on doing to personalize your ceremony?

image ©2007 OMadden Photography .

The MARRIED Bride of Rochester

2007-09-07T10:48:00.000-07:00

Yeah babies-- I'm back, with a vengence!

Here to kick ass and take names all over Rochester. Just because I actually walked down the aisle (and it was awesome, by the way), doesn't mean I'm not looking out for all my home girls.

This being the case, get ready for some fun as we revisit my wedding as well as visit the ongoing local and online bridal scenes!

WHOA- procrastination!!!

2007-08-22T05:13:00.000-07:00

I have really been slacking off in the blogging department, but I can only blame myself: I am a terrible procrastinator.

Because my wedding is now right around the corner (couple of days!!) I have been working my ass off to get all of my projects finished. Yes, I know it's last minute. Yes, I wish I hadn't done that. Yes, I have some FREAKING AWESOME DIY to show you in a bit, including our CD programs, table numbers & escort cards, and my Martha Stewart initial wreaths, which came out better than I could've hoped.

Anyway, I haven't fallen off the planet, or stopped blogging, although I may be gone for a bit!

xoxo!

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

2007-08-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

When your coworkers, at the last minute, decide to throw you a shower, I suppose you must be gracious and say, "what a lovely gesture!"... so after a brief, shocked moment this morning, that's exactly what I said.

I do not always feel gracious, however. Ok, let's be honest-- I don't want a shower at work. I don't want people I work with, who were not invited to my wedding, feel like they have to spend money on me. I feel even worse that they are throwing a shower for someone the day before mine that I told them I would be unable to attend.

After I said, "food would be wonderful, but please, don't feel like there need to be presents." She looked horrified. Put-off even. Then she wrote "gift certificates" on her little notepad.

To Lash or not to Lash!

2007-08-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so maybe false eyelashes look like spiders. Especially when laying in a circle as pictured above. But my big eyes have sparse lashes so I decided they might be worth a try to get some falsies (eyelashes, that is). This past Friday, after work, I drove my butt over to Sephora in Eastview Mall (in Victor). Let me just pause here once again to tell you once again how much I love Sephora.

After going all over the store, and spending a good deal of time marveling something that looked like these:um, wow.

I picked up these half-lashes by Vincent Longo, after the fabulous and funny sales girl told me that they really opened up your eyes, but looked natural:
I went home and first thing on Saturday morning, put them on.

It took me some time and energy, and they weren't lined up quite right, but overall they were pretty amazing. I walked around all day with them on, batting them at everyone. I will tell you that when I rolled down my car window, it sort of felt like my face had wings, but I felt very pretty!

I want to make sure in pictures, especially close ups, that they will look natural and now I am wondering if I shouldn't have gotten these:
If I had been going for high drama, I might have considered these:
And I would truly be interested in seeing someone wearing these little baubles, although I don't think I would do it myself, ever:
Are you falsifying anything for your wedding day?

Images all from Sephora except for the feather lashes images from shu uemura.

I do. Love my wedding site.

2007-08-13T21:41:00.001-07:00

Fuzzy, but beautiful:
We're getting married at Bristol Harbour, on Canandaigua Lake. It's rustic, quiet, and elegant all rolled into one. As soon as we walked in and saw this

we were hooked. Even with the bear head hanging there above the two doors. Nice touch, eh?

This is where dinner and dancing will be (notice how it's all set up for Christmas in this picture-- I took these quite a while ago!)

Outside, the terrace will house our bar and the cocktail hour set up. The ceremony will be held at the arbor overlooking the entire southern half of the lake.

I feel bad, because these pictures don't do the place any justice. It was freezing out, and the back wouldn't open for me to shoot outside. Oh well. I guess you'll have to wait for actual wedding pics!

Let's set some rules here

2007-08-11T11:07:00.000-07:00

I really am not thrilled that I have to write this post.

I like the idea of everyone having different opinions, and trying to help everyone out. I also like the idea of people being respectful and nonjudgmental. I have had to remove three comments in the past two days due to downright rudeness.

Please help to keep my blog a positive place for us to learn and gain inspiration from one another. Vendors should feel free to comment as well.

You are free to disagree with both other posters and me in a respectful way. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and thoughts.

These things will cause your comments to be deleted:

snarkiness
threats
racist or sexist remarks
spam
personal attacks of any kind

I will delete any comment as I see fit. If you have any questions or comments, please email me directly at brideofrochester@gmail.com

VENDOR HORROR Part Deux!! - Recovery!

2007-08-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

Well! To update you on what has been going on since my last vendor horror post, I have a brand new ceremony musician! Yay!

I sent out mass emails after I lost my last, unprofessional musician, and found what I was looking for right away. I actually like this guy better than the first one (well, I guess it's pretty easy to say that now, but I mean it. Really). He is very responsive, is inexpensive, and is going to show up at our rehearsal as well so that we can practice with him!

I want to post more about who these vendors are, but seeing as how some of my bridal party read this blog and the music supposed to be a secret.... well, I'll have to just wait on that. :)

VENDOR HORROR!!

2007-08-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

We booked a musician for our wedding that I am a little angry with. Ok, a lot angry.

I had to email him three times trying to get a response to confirm from him, and to finalize the music. Finally, today I hear from him and he tells me that his "sister just rescheduled her wedding for the exact time as your own" so he won't be able to play my wedding. WTF?!?! My wedding is only a couple of weeks away. I want to reach through my email and strangle him, as I scream THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW, MORON!

He did offer, in the same email, to help me look for someone else, but I am LIVID. I was polite in my email back, but only because I'm afraid I will need every ounce of help that I can muster!

Do you want to strangle any of your vendors?

How fabulous is it when you get a shout out??

2007-08-07T11:57:00.000-07:00

It's awesome. Especially when you get it from someone like Khris at DIYBride.

If you have never been there, Khris is a bonafide genius. DIYBride is like the holy grail for all things wedding diy related. Go there right now, and register to get all of her goodies and wisdom.

And thanks Khris-- I'm totally honored!

Wrapped Around Her Finger

2007-08-07T06:59:00.001-07:00

On Park Avenue, in a little shop attached to his home, Gudmund Jos Olsson makes astounding jewelry.

At Northfield Designer Goldsmiths, functionality is key to the design itself, so most rings are made to fit the finger so that they are comfortable and don't turn. If you have ring with a stone in it you might understand how wonderful this idea can be.

Gudmund's creations have an organic feel to them. The rings have distinct personalities, and vary from effortlessly delicate to strong and angular.

Custom jewelry is something that Northfield specializes in, sculpting pieces to fit your personality, mood, memories. I have two custom rings from Gudmund, and I love them both.

Some words about the shopping experience:

Expect the unconventional. Really. He can blow your socks off.
You will probably be there a very long time. This is because Gudmund has an awful lot to say. About everything.
Pet his dog. If you are allergic, take some antihistimine or something before heading in to the shop. As I mentioned before, the shop is small, and his dog is cute, but is a dog.
The dog will hump your leg. Nuff said.
You can find beautiful jewelry in every nook and cranny, because almost every inch of the store is stuffed with it.
He is a Diva. Ok, a swedish male diva. I'm not sure what the term would be in that case, so we will use diva. If you disagree with him on any level, he tends to take it to a very personally, and this is not always pleasant. He is very obviously passionate about what he does.
Expect to have any deadline extended. Northfield is a small place, and they have a lot of business. That being said, if you are told two weeks, expect about four.

I know people who swear by Northfield and people who, although they love the bling, won't set foot inside (even after acquiring several pieces) because of sour experiences. It really is a matter of what is important to you, but either way, I will reserve my personal opinion except to say this:

No matter what else, the man is a genius.

all images from NorthfieldGoldsmiths.com