Save the Date Magnets - Flash Moments

I ordered my Save the Date Magnets from Flash Moments. They helped me with a custom design for my magnets. I had a lot of international and out-of-town guests, so it was important for me to get them out early (of course, I lagged, and didn't get them out early, but it would have been important).



Save the Date magnets, magnet holder cards, and envelopes

I worked with someone via email - we discussed my ideas, and many emails later the design was done! It did cost more to do custom, but I was so pleased with them. I also bought their magnet holder cards to give the magnets a little extra oomph in the envelope. Some people still have our save the dates up on the fridge...four years after sending them!


My favorite - Halloween Save the Date magnets

I don’t think that Save the Date magnets or cards are right for every wedding. If all your guests are locals, you probably don’t need to send Save the Date magnets or cards. But generally I think Save the Dates are more fun than wedding invitations. Just don't add your gift registry - show some restraint!


Stripey magnetic save the dates!

How many times can I say magnets in one paragraph? MAGNETS!

-Kay Banks

when blogs collide...

Check out this picture from FAIL blog:



Everyone has their part in the wedding airbrushed on to their clothing. The shirt on the right says "I'm the BEST [man]" and the bride's ass says "Wifey". Oh, no. Ladies, please don't let other people spray paint stuff on your butt. It looks like the groom is airbrushed from head to toe - I see writing on his hat, shirt, and jeans.

Maybe I'm just being judgemental because I'm getting OLD(er) and I don't understand youth today...what do the kids think?

From Texts from Last Night:
(402): The wedding was scheduled to start 5 min. ago. 20 people here so far, groomsmen in tees and jeans, catering by Costo. NO ONE OUR AGE IS READY FOR MARRIAGE!


Happy Friday!

-Kay Banks

Goth Russian wedding part 2

Remember this crazy/awesome goth wedding from Russia? I happened to find more pictures from their wedding day thanks to Goths in Hot Weather. Check these pictures out. They're a more artistic set than before, and I luff them!


The desaturated color is perfect for them. This angle gives you a better idea of her loooong hair and veil.

In this one you can see more of his crazy space-boots, and the shape of her dress. I love that shape!

More of her corset.

More of that hair! Or, lack of hair!

They are so cute in a scary way! If you visit the link to the girl's blog, you can also see pictures of their baby. What does teenage rebellion look like when your parents are head-shaving, face-piercing, goths? Alex P. Keaton?

Obviously these people are pretty extreme, but I love it. I don't have the boto* for it, but I'm glad someone does!

-Kay Banks

Yeah, I said boto. No, I'm not Filipino.

Couple donates part of their wedding budget to Haiti relief

The powerful images coming out of Haiti prompted a Maplewood, Minnesota couple to donate some of their wedding funds to Haiti relief efforts. And they hope their move prompts others to do the same.

"It's a lot of money to us, but it's really a drop in the bucket," said groom-to-be Will Nicholson.

Nicholson will marry Leah Bogen this June. While reading the Sunday morning paper, it struck Bogen how greatly the desperate images in Haiti differed from the smiling faces in her bridal magazines. So she asked future husband if they could donate some of their wedding funds to Haiti relief efforts.

"He sort-of gave me this shocked look and said, 'Yes, I love you!'" Bogen said.


Leah Bogen & Will Nicholson - generous people

They gave $2,500 -- their entire food budget and a quarter of their wedding budget --to Partners in Health, a group that has been working in Haiti for more than 20 years.

"If this was going to make things more perfect for her, I figured, what the heck, we should do it," Nicholson said.

They hope their move encourages other couples to consider similar donations.

Meantime, the couple is already working on a new wedding budget and looking for areas to skim back, including the honeymoon and flowers. As for the food, Bogen said peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches are a possibility. But they're not worried about the food.

"We'll still have the core elements," Nicholson said. "We'll have the people we care about around, we'll have us and we'll have the rest of our lives."

I love these people! Good for them for putting everything in perspective. But Leah, you make me feel cheap. Maybe I'll make a secondary donation...

And, hey, don't worry about Leah and Will's shrinking wedding budget. As soon as I found the original article, I found this one. When people heard about the couple's generosity, donations starting pouring in to bridge the budget gap. They got offers for services, and Leah and Will say they'll donate more money for every free service that they receive.

-Kay

Hot Colin Firth's hot wife Livia wore a second-hand wedding gown to a boring awards ceremony

Colin Firth's wife Livia wore a second-hand wedding dress to the recent Golden Globes as part of an eco challenge.


Fluffy, fluffy! How I love fluffy dresses!

Livia revealed how she received many compliments about the dress, which she wore as part of a challenge to wear only 'ethical and sustainable' dresses and make-up during the awards season. She said: 'No one here seems to get ethical fashion. But everyone was crazy about this dress. I don't think I've ever had so many compliments for a dress in one night.' She added: 'I kissed George Clooney, which made my night frankly.'



DEAR JEEBUS, THEY ARE SO GORGEOUS! She is really pretty! And the dress is really pretty, but it really looks like a wedding gown. My theory is that people kept complimenting her to see if she'd say "Thanks! It's my sister's wedding gown from 2007." While I hate the terms "green" and "eco-friendly" I do love to be cheap and recycle/upcycle things. I'm all for whatever that's called. And, for the record, I would much rather lock lips with Colin Firth than George Clooney. In my mind, it's not even a contest. Oh, Mr. Darcy...

-Kay

Pretty, pretty dresses

Today's wedding snark is brought to you by the letters P and A. Cut me some slack on this one because I'm doing this from my phone and it's hard. I had to wake up really early this morning and I left the house without filling the Internet with more useless weddng crap. Oh yeah, Happy Friggin Monday.



Yeah, I hotlinked*. I have no idea how to upload photos from a phone. Frankly, I'm impressed with my ability to even do this. What an age to be alive.

Kay Banks

*Fixed!

Palos Verdes Bridal

Buying my wedding dress started out as a disaster. I wasn't ever the kind of girl who wanted a white wedding dress, but for some reason I went along with the tradition. I tried on a few dresses at Palos Verdes Bridal shop, decided on the dress that I liked, and then, like any good bargain hunter, went to find it cheaper online.


More reviews of Palos Verdes Bridal

Well, I found out the hard way that you should never buy a wedding dress if the price seems too good to be true - I never heard back from the company. Two months before my wedding, I finally got the company on the phone and he admitted that they were having financial problems, and he'd never ordered my dress. He said he would "try" to get me my money back.


This is the dress that I fought to get. I wish I could have made it look this good on me too! Ha!

So I went crawling back to Palos Verdes Bridal. I told them the whole story and instead of "I told you so" they quickly started figuring out the best way to get me a dress in time for my wedding. Phew! And the story has a happy ending because I got the dress that I wanted, and I got my money back from the company (Thanks to American Express. No thanks to the shady online company). Palos Verdes Bridal doesn’t seem to have a website, so here is their contact info:

Palos Verdes Bridal
30 Peninsula Center
Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274
(310) 265-9770

They are far, far away from anything, all tucked away up on that hill, but the people were not snobby AT ALL, and prices were good. I went to several other gown shops in LA and OC and felt like I was being judged. Palos Verdes Bridal is very low-key and highly recommended.

-Kay Banks

Wedding Vendor Reviews

I'm going to do something different and post some wedding vendor reviews over the next few Saturdays. I had a lot of good (and bad) experiences with planning my wedding, and since this is my blog and I can do whatever I want, I'm going to share those experiences with you.

The creepiest Nigerian scam

GREETINGS. II AM YOUR LONG-LOST UNCLE FROM NIGERIA AND I HAVE MONEY FOR YOU IF YOU ATTEND MY SHAM WEDDING TO MY DAUGHTER.

A Nigerian Home Office worker 'married' his own daughter to get her a British visa, the Daily Mail can reveal. The extraordinary scam was apparently executed by Jelili Adesanya while ministers turned a blind eye. Mr Adesanya, 54, has lived here for more than 30 years and holds a British passport, but wanted his daughter, her husband and their four sons to join him from Nigeria.

He faked a wedding ceremony complete with a photograph of the happy 'couple' which helped fool immigration officials that his daughter, Karimotu Adenike, was really his wife. Miss Adenike, who is in her mid-30s, was duly granted permission to live in the UK. The pair are waiting for her to be granted a permanent right to remain before they undergo a quiet divorce and attempt to bring the rest of her family here.
It is expected she would try to remarry her real husband to get them all visas.



Mr Adesanya, who came to Britain in 1976, flew back to Nigeria on May 29, 2007, and held the bogus wedding ceremony a few days later at a register office in Ikorodu, Lagos. A source said: 'They paid people to attend the wedding so that the British High Commission in Lagos would believe it was genuine. The commission then gave Karimotu Adenike a two-year settlement visa in October 2007. 'On her settlement visa application form, of course, she did not mention that she already had a husband and four children. The date of birth on her Nigerian passport is not her real date of birth.'

Miss Adenike is believed to have aged herself by ten years on her wedding certificate to disguise the age gap with her father. Although her settlement visa expired, she is hoping to be given the right to remain.

Mr Adesanya, who lives with his daughter in Dagenham, Essex, vehemently denied the plot and said he had never been questioned about the allegations. He said: 'Married my own daughter? I have never heard anything like this in my life. I deny it. She is my wife, not my daughter.' However, asked to confirm his 'wife's' date of birth, he said he did not know without checking her passport, and refused to allow her to speak for herself.

Unbeknown to him, his daughter had confirmed the arrangement when she told a friend she would shortly apply for her own British passport and 'divorce daddy'.

Gross! Go into the weekend happy in the knowledge that you are not married to your own kin.

-Kay

Conan O'Brien's wedding

Since Coco is the talk of the town, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at his wedding.

Conan O'Brien met Elizabeth Ann 'Liza' Powell in 2000 when she appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in an advertising skit. The couple dated for nearly 18 months before their marriage in Powell's hometown of Seattle. They were married at a Catholic church on a very rainy day - January 12, 2002. They have two children - a daughter Neve (born in 2003) and son Beckett (born in 2005).


Here they are in the church. Look at all those people - so happy to be done with the looooong Catholic ceremony. She's really tall for a lady! She doesn't look dwarfed by Conan and his giant head at all.


I love the lace "jacket" that she's wearing over her dress. It's very pretty and very appropriate for such miserable weather. While I love the rain, I don't love the idea of trying to wear a gown in the rain. But I guess that's what you get when you get married in Seattle. I like his white-on-white shirt and tie with the classic dark suit. His hair is looking especially wacky.


You can really see the rain here. He looks so funny! The bridesmaid in the background has a funny look on her face too. I love the color scheme that they chose. Red, white, and black will always be a beautiful and elegant color scheme - especially for a winter wedding.

Also, I found this adorable photo on a Seattle wedding photographer's blog


From the Cory Parris blog: It shows me making faces trying to make a child smile. Oblivious to the fact that Conan O’Brien, one of the world’s funniest men and the child’s father is standing right there. I’m fairly confidant that he could have done a better job!

No word on whether the masturbating bear and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog were there. Triumph probably had better things to...POOP ON!

Kay

Bizarre couple loves their bizarre photos

I almost feel guilty snarking these people twice, but I would love to know the thought behind their weird wedding photos?



Last time they were about to get down to business while listening to the world's tiniest violin, and this time they're contemplating jewelry and fruit.

Here are some theories:
They are Adam and Eve, and she's about to mess everything up by eating that apple
She lost her ring and the photographer offered to Photoshop it in over the apple
She is pregnant, and the apple represents the fruit of their love

Agnieszka and Daniel, WTFingF?

-Kay

First public gay wedding in China

I am terrified of China. I love their food, and a few of their people, and I hope to see China for myself someday, but the government scares me. A LOT. With the scary overlords in mind, I think that this takes balls. Four of them, to be precise:

According to China’s state-run newspaper, China Daily, on January 3, 2010, Zeng Anquan and Pan Wenjie had a wedding at a gay bar in Chengdu of southwest China’s Sichuan Province. The couple regrets that they cannot receive a marriage certificate from the Chinese government, but the fact that the state-run newspaper has given their wedding publicity shows a movement toward that goal.



Neither of the men who were wed had family in attendance, but they were surrounded by gay friends. Pan’s former girlfriend volunteered to be Pan’s bridesmaid at the wedding. “We are no longer hiding any more. The wedding is our happiest and most precious moment,” Zeng told the China Daily.

The government has made no official response to the wedding.

Huang Zhiling and Zhang Ao report, “The country has roughly 30 million homosexuals – 20 million gay men and the remaining, lesbians, according to estimates by Zhang Beichuan, a professor at Qingdao University and an expert on homosexuality and HIV/AIDS prevention.”

When I was studying the rhetoric of gender years ago, a professor told me that there was not even a word for “gay” in the Mandarin (Chinese) language. This is a big leap, and I am encouraged that China allows gay bars to be open, and that the Chinese state-run newspaper is making an announcement of lifelong love between two men so public.

Good luck to them [run for your bloody lives!]

Kay Banks

Earthquake interrupts wedding

If I started writing for the cheesy local news, I'd say something silly like "Couples usually feel the Earth move on the wedding night but this couple had a moving experience on their wedding day!"

Yeah, I'm sorry. Let's move on.


Addie Hauschild-Willis and her husband to be, Ian Willis, were changing clothes just 20minutes before their wedding ceremony on January 9 in Eureka when a 6.5 magnitude quake hit 27 miles off the northern coast of California. The earthquake occurred at 4:27 p.m. It knocked out power in the Eureka area and caused moderate damage to some structures.

While no one in the wedding party was hurt, it wasn't exactly part of the couple's plans. "And I looked at him and grabbed his arm and said, 'Oh my God, we're having an earthquake,'" said Hauschild-Willis. "We thought we were going to fall from the second floor down to the bottom floor."

Hauschild-Willis said the earthquake yanked them left and right, about six or seven inches. "I saw my younger daughter go flying down the hall. She was yelling, 'Where are my children? Where are my children?,'" said LaRee Hauschild, the mother of the bride. The kids were safe. They were sequestered under a table as the shaking seemed to go on forever.



"We were looking out the window and the trees are shaking, the windows are shaking...and then it got really violent," said Hauschild-Willis. Her uncle's store at the nearby Bayshore Mall was a mess. Merchandise was with littered across the floor. But after a quick check, the family decided the wedding had to go on.

"This is our wedding day and we had a major earthquake. How awesome is that?," said Hauschild-Willis. With the power out, family members lit candles and the couple read their vows by flashlight. "It turned out, actually, quite beautiful," said Hauschild-Willis, adding she is not superstitious. "I don't take it as a sign that our marriage is doomed or anything, because there was an earthquake that day."



Her mother said except for a slimmed down wedding dinner, it was everything she'd hoped for, and more. "She certainly had a memorable wedding day. It was one that we will never forget, ever, in our lives," said Hauschild.

As long as there's no damage (and certainly no lost life), the little earthquakes generally don't disrupt anything. Visitors to California always seem terrified that The Big One will strike during their stay, but anything under 5 just makes the day more interesting. The earthquake scene in LA Story is not that far off from some of my experiences. But I don't drink half-caff. Oh no.

-Kay

Renewing your vows won't erase infidelity

This is just sad and delusional. But...whatever. They're celebrities - maybe they are good at acting like this will fix their marital problems. Here's the gossip article:

Nicole Forrester who?! One has to think that was the message Josh Duhamel was trying to send last week when he surprised his wife, Fergie, with a vow renewal ceremony. The couple, who married exactly a year ago today, wed again Wednesday, with just the two of them and a minister just outside Santa Barbara, Calif. "It was a total surprise for Fergie," a source said.


Creepy photo from their wedding shoot

Duhamel whisked Fergie away via private helicopter. During the 15-minute ceremony, overlooking the ocean, Fergie was "crying and very emotional." [She was probably picturing her husband having sex with a stripper. I'd cry too. Then I'd punch things. And by things, I mean testicles]

Afterward, the couple had a romantic dinner at the resort's upscale Miro eatery, then returned via helicopter to Los Angeles with their renewed marriage. In November, Forrester, an Atlanta stripper, alleged she had an affair with Duhamel while he was shooting the film Life As We Know It, a claim he denied. Sources close to the couple say that enduring the ordeal, which was widely reported by celebrity gossip tabloids, actually made their marriage stronger. Whether that's true or not, they're working hard on it!

Eh, whatever. If my husband cheated on my so soon after our wedding, I'd be done. But that Fergie, she never gives up. I remember her from KIDS Incorporated AND Wild Orchid (her terrible girl band). She really, really wanted to be famous. I'm kind of hard on her, right? Yeah, I am. And I don't care.

Bitchily,

Kay Banks

P.S. Have a great weekend! :)

P.S.S. If you haven't already done so, shoot me an email for your chance to win the Gothic Wedding Planner!

Haiti

You don't need my encouragement, but in case you're too lazy to figure out how you can help the people of Haiti, here are some links:

Doctors Without Borders

American Red Cross

Both links will take you right to a donation page.





I won't post pictures of the human destruction, but just look at this picture. This is the Palace. Where the rich guys live.



Kay Banks

Can't touch this

Laura submitted this to Awkward Family Photos:



Says Laura: I recently photographed my sister-in-law’s wedding (my husband’s sister). I knew the window overlooked a part of the hotel’s roof, but I didn’t notice the workers until after I snapped a few pictures. When I got home and downloaded all the pictures, I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw this. Lucky for me she has a good sense of humor and allowed me to share it with you.

I love the juxtaposition of "This is my wedding day!" against "I am working in the snow". And, of course, butts are always funny.

-Kay

Enter to win a FREE Goth wedding planner! Just check out Monday's post for details!

Couple marries after getting divorced

After their divorce was finalised in November, Jan and Lee Jones from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, decided they could not live without each other and got remarried on Christmas Eve. They had their 10 children at the ceremony.

Mrs Jones, 44, said: "We separated because of the usual things which cause problems, like finance and other issues which put pressure on any relationship. But we simply decided we couldn't live apart so we got married again."

The bride and her husband, 41, met in April 1989 and were married in July 1990 at the United Reform Church in Southend. Mrs Jones said: "It was a traditional church wedding with all our friends and family."

She had a son James, now 23, from a previous marriage, but the couple had their first child together Lee, now 18, in January 1991. After that came Paul, 17, Stephen, 13, Hannah, 9, Amy, 7, Ella, 5, Emily, 3, George, 2, and Callum, 1. They decided to separate after nearly 20 years of marriage in January 2009.


Delusion makes people so happy

Mr Jones said: "We had a lot of problems, like money problems, me working and Jan doing all the work at home, relying on friends to help take the children to school. We tried to make it work but we couldn't. We thought we would get divorced and see what happened. I moved out and got a room and I was coming around seeing the children every time I could."

The pair stayed amicable for the sake of their kids and were in constant phone and text contact. Mr Jones said: "I'm used to the children and Jan being around me and being on my own was like something was missing out of my life. We were texting each other and ringing and I was coming around all the time. It was the worst time of my life."

They pressed ahead with the divorce but when the papers came through in November, the reality of what they had lost hit home. Mrs Jones said: "The crux was when the divorce papers came through, it all hit home. I opened up the letter and thought, 'this is a bit final'. I texted Lee and said, 'have you got it?'."

Her husband continued: "It felt like we were not just throwing away 20 years together, we had grown up together." The couple started talking about the future and realised they did not want to be apart. Mrs Jones said: "We were sitting at the kitchen table together one night talking about it and I said, 'but I still love you' and he said, 'but I still love you – why are we doing it?'. We decided to give it another go."

Mr Jones said: "We thought it would be romantic to get married on Christmas Eve but never thought we would be able to. I rang them and they said they had an opening at 11am on Christmas Eve and we decided to go for it."

All the children were bridesmaids and page boys and the nearly new bride got her strapless pink wedding dress and butterscotch-coloured attendants' gowns from a local shop. They had 25 guests and held their buffet reception at the Exchange pub in Southend.

I can't get behind people who have ten freaking kids and decide to get divorced, but I'm glad they stayed together. I think it's pretty irresponsible to plan a wedding with new dresses and dinner guests when they were arguing over money troubles and they have (again) TEN FREAKING KIDS to support. Ugh.

-Kay

Found here

Don't forget to enter the contest to win a FREE Goth wedding planner! Just check out Monday's post for details!

When it comes to cake, this is me...

HAHAHAHA!

That is all.

Found here

A-MAZING geeky wedding cakes

Check out these fan-freaking-tastic geek cakes from Cake Wrecks!


This one is for all the 8-bit lovers out there - Link & Zelda cupcake mosaics. Awesome!



This one is nearest to my heart - A mixed-race, cast member* couple with a SNES cake! I think it's funny that their Miis top the SNES. If you had explained a Wii to me after I first got my SNES, I would have told you that you were full of s*** (Sega, of course), because I never thought video games would advance past that. Yeah, I was a dumb kid.


This next one just blows my mind. I've seen Mario wedding cakes before, but this one is executed so perfectly.

The most complex, perfect, beautiful Super Mario Brothers wedding cake EVER. ...EVER!

According to Jen (from Cake Wrecks, of course) this cake was made by a hobbyist named Frances Clayton. Not a pro! For the love of Luigi, Frances, GO PRO!

GeeDee water levels! Grumble grumble grumble. I love that the tier supports are the warp tunnels. Obsessive detail!


As if that weren't enough, there are these amazing side cakes!

I only wish I knew what flavor is inside all that gorgeousness. Why don't they ever say???

Hungrily,

Kay

Don't forget to enter the contest to win a FREE Goth wedding planner! Just check out yesterday's post for details!

*Oh, you didn't know? "Cast Member" is Disney-speak for employee. You are a "guest" not a visitor or a customer, and when you go to the parks you will never see "backstage". Got it?

Product Review: Gothic Wedding Planner (plus a chance to win a FREE Goth wedding planner!)

I recently got a copy of the Gothic Wedding Planner from Wedding Skulls, and I'm pleased to say that it is a great guide for anyone planning a spooky or dark wedding. The bones of the planner are very good - it is well thought-out, it urges you to decide what's important for your wedding, and it sets forth a basic budget. It is an eBook downloaded in the PDF format, but if you're the touchy-feely type, you can print it. And if you're the techy type, you can put it on your electronic book reader. [OT, but damn I love my Kindle!]

A main focus of the planner is setting a realistic budget, and planning accordingly. So many of the planners that I saw when I was planning a wedding were over-simplistic. X + Y = Your budget. So not true! There are so many unexpected things that crop up while planning a wedding. Steff (the author) specifically says "Now take your budget, and add 10% to it. That is what your wedding will probably actually cost..." Excellent advice. If your budget + 10% seems unmanageable, start your budget again! The worst thing you can do is start your new life drowning in debt.


Here's the cake from my imaginary Halloween wedding

Of course, the planner is different from other planners because it focuses on Goth/spooky/dark/macabre weddings. My favorite kind! There are tons of great ideas for themes, non-traditional ceremonies, locations, food, attire, entertainment, and even a list of first-dance songs for a dark wedding. You might think that you already know everything from the dark realms of pop culture (and beyond!), but this planner is very thorough. Elements from all corners of the Goth world have been covered - whether you want a romantic goth wedding or a freaky space-age goth wedding!

Reading this planner is like getting good advice from a seasoned friend. Steff covers all the elements of weddings that you know, and the ones that you hadn't thought of. I had a lot of surprises when I was wedding planning because I didn't really have many married friends. Having this planner is the same as having a smarty-pants friend, only she doesn't second-guess your ideas. She encourages you to do what you want, and focus on the things that make it your special day. But you're the bride, you're not a bloody princess. Like a good friend, the planner gently reminds you to keep your cool and keep that bridezilla attitude in check. It's a special day, and one day is not worth a ruined relationship.


The candy buffet from Corey and John's Halloween wedding

There were a few points that I personally disagreed with. Sending out Save the Dates and setting up a Wedding Website were imperative for me because I had so many out-of-town and out-of-country guests. About a third of my wedding guests needed to know the date well in advance, and needed the travel information that I put on our site. But, just like friends, you're bound to disagree. And I'm sure that Steff would agree that if it's right for you, do it! Having a Goth wedding doesn't mean that you can't have any elements of tradition. Having a nice-girl, traditional wedding doesn't mean that you can't let your Goth side show. If you and your Groom want it, and it fits within your budget, then DO IT!

Toward the end of the planner, there are some worksheets and checklists for you to use. They are a good start. Perhaps because I am an anal-retentive planner, they wouldn't be enough for me. I need interactive spreadsheets! I need color-coded guest lists! But the checklists are an excellent foundation, and you'd have to buy several bridal magazines to get all of this information. Who wants to dig through all of those cold, plastic-smile bridal magazines to get to the good stuff?


The author Steff Green and her cantankerous groom on their lovely wedding day

In addition to the Goth Wedding Planner, I got to take a peek at Steff's Goth Wedding Directory. I don't think you even need to be in the throes of wedding planning to enjoy it. I found several things that would make my day-to-day life more fun and a little more spooky. The stores listed will inspire your Goth wedding, and make your daily shopping easier. I found several shops that make beautiful hand-made things that I had never heard of before.

Overall, I say YES, buy this planner. It costs a mere $9 and you don't have to sift through a lot of ads to find the good stuff. The format is not as polished as a magazine, but it is easy to read, easy to search through, and features lovely photos from Steff's wedding.

Want to win a copy for yourself? Of course you do! All you have to do is send an email with the subject GOTH WEDDING PLANNER to bloggerofthebride {at} gmail {dot} com. You know what to do! I'll announce the winner next Monday.

Skulls and kisses,

Kay Banks

Alternative (and geeky!) ideas for wedding rings

Not into the look of a big showy diamond atop a showy display of little diamonds? Me neither. Check out these alternative ideas for wedding rings from Wedinator.




These are thick bands topped with male and female CAT5 connectors. I'm not sure anyone could actually wear these, but they are different. And they loose the ring adornments, they can just replace them at the local electronics store - cheap!



These are rings molded from plastic zip ties. I love them! The way these ones are shaped is a little strange, but I love the concept and the texture of the plastic in metal.

It's been a long first week of the year - hooray for Friday! Have a great weekend. Be sure to drop me a line if YOU have an alternative wedding ring.

-Kay

Light-writing marriage proposal

A guy named Derick spent three nights in Raleigh, North Carolina making a light-writing proposal for his girlfriend (now fiance) Emily.



Using a digital SLR and a powerful light, he created this photo because he wanted "to find a very special way to propose to a very special woman" Smart guy - always put effort into the proposal or you'll never hear the end of it!

You can read more about how he did it at their site. Here's a (well-produced, but lengthy) behind-the-scenes video.



-Kay

Found at Blame it on the Voices.

Funny hyphenated names

I have a weird name, and it's even worse when combined with my husband's name, so I can sympathize with these people (while pointing and laughing)



They could change their name to Pabst. I don't care how much the hipsters like it, it's crap.



I...um...hm.



Well, where else would hookers live?



Sounds uncomfortable.



Hardy-Harr is hysterical! I would keep it and wear it proudly.


-KB

Vince Vaughn had a low-key wedding

I mocked Vince Vaughn for saying that he hates overblown celebrity weddings, when he purchased a $125K ring for his fiance, but true to his word he was married in a small ceremony.
Actor Vince Vaughn has married his partner Kyla Weber in a low-key ceremony in Chicago.



The couple tied the knot on Saturday with close family and friends in attendance- according to the star’s spokesperson.

Vaughn is famous for roles in movies including Dodgeball, Wedding Crashers, Old School, Swingers and Anchorman.

Weber is a Canadian estate agent. The couple have rarely been spotted together in public.

Hey...good for them...

Kay

Best of Craigslist - wedding cake

I love the best of Craigslist. It's always fascinating to see what people really think.
Formatting changes done by me:

So, first of all, congratulations to my good friends who got married last weekend. Congratulations, mazel tov, good luck. It was great and I hope you guys are happy forever. That said, I couldn't help but look around at your wedding and think, Wow. I don't want any of this.

But don't think that your wedding specifically turned me off to weddings. No, we are all now in our late twenties and wedding invitations appear in the mail with almost the same frequency that delivery guys slip take-out menus under my door. And now, having attended and been in a few weddings, I can't help but think "I don't want any of it."



I don't want a country club or a church. I don't want a hotel ballroom or a big white tent. I don't want a priest or a rabbi. I don't want 200 people there who I don't even know. I don't want numbered tables. I don't want to put all of my random "single" friends at one table in the corner of the room, making them feel even more alienated than they already are at a stereotypically "coupled" event. I don't want bridesmaid drama. I don't want all of my bridesmaids wearing the same ugly color and the same ugly dress and hating their shoes so much that they curse me behind my back. I don't think I even want bridesmaids. I don't want anyone to sign a guestbook where they have to come up with some spontaneous wisdom about love and happiness. I don't want cute little party favors with the bride's and groom's names scripted in gold, proclaiming "our special day." I don't want people to figure out their seating arrangements by picking up their party favors, which are also wrapped in pink chiffon. I don't want a big white dress. I don't want to have to ask friends and cousins whom I see maybe once a year if their 5-year-old son/daughter whom I don't even really like can be my ring bearer/flower girl. I don't want guys in blue shirts and khaki pants measuring each others' dicks with the phrase, "So, what do you do?" I don't want bored out of their mind cater waiters and bartenders, who hate weddings in a way that even I will never understand. I don't want "cocktail hour" and passed hors d'oeuvres and most people only caring about getting buzzed before the open bar ends. I don't want to mail out then sort through 300 invitations to find out who wants steak and who wants salmon. I don't want to be registered at Crate&Barrel. I don't want my friends finding that all the cheaper items on my registry are gone and that, like, five of them have to go in on a set of overpriced knives. I don't think I want a registry at all. I don't want to have to kiss all of my mother's friends on the cheek, or, even worse, all of my future mother-in-law's friends. I don't want a color "scheme." I don't want a creepy DJ or a weird band that does a cover of YMCA. And I don't want the place turning the lights up at 10:30 telling us it's time to leave. But I do want cake.

I completely understand! Well, not completely, because I love passed hors d'oeuvres and wedding invitations, but I completely understand about wanting them to get on with the cake.

-Kay

Happy New Year!

Wow, 2010! I hope this year treats us all well. I know three couples who are getting married this year! They are all the kind of couples that I have no doubt about whatsoever - each couple is great for each other, and they seem to bring out the best in their significant other. I still don't know their dates or their exact plans (*cough* GET ON IT!), but I know they're going to have beautiful affairs.

Want to read some sappy stories about life-long relationships?

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward - Painfully gorgeous and together 4-EVA

Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi - A young couple with unending love

Harry & Bess Truman - A US President with a crush that lasted a lifetime

Wishing you the best,

Kay