Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Special Occasions + wedding advice

Surprisingly, my fanciest dress is made of cotton/spandex. It's a dress my mother bought in...I think the 70s.
Bone buttons to match the bone earrings:


The last place I wore it was at my husband's ex-girlfriend's wedding. (why she would invite us is a mystery to me...). I feel strange dressing up...because no one does. I've been to plenty of industry events and galas and things... but no one ever dresses up. The other thing about dressing up in NYC is that no matter what black-tie event you're going to, you still have to ride the subway. You get to be the overdressed person on the subway. Kind of ruins the magic.

While we're talking about fancy dresses and special occasions and weddings, might as well share some of my wedding pictures, which I haven't done yet. I'll share some wedding planning tips as well. The wedding was in Chicago, and I planned it from New York. About 50 people came. And it cost about 3K

Tip 1: ditch the wedding hall

2: Check out your local park district. I kid you not, the historic mansion below cost $60/hr. See, the city park district doesn't differentiate between an after school kid's program and a wedding. It's the same rate for everyone, and subsidized by tax money. The park district doesn't just have parks and gardens, but they have buildings too. worth a look. The drawback is that while they DO provide chairs and tables, you have to set them up and take them down...and the park district doesn't give a shit about your special day, so don't expect any sympathy if you're running behind schedule. 

3: shop vintage: my wedding dress cost $12 (Beacon's Closet, Williamsburg). The same day I bought my dress, I actually bought a BELT that cost more. The slip I wore underneath my dress cost $49 (from American Apparel). The hat was my mom's, as was the jewelry.

4. It's cheaper just to rent a back room of a restaurant than to get a hall and have it catered. The restaurant we used, Honkey Tonk BBQ, didn't even think about hosting wedding receptions. We just asked. They said ok. They created a wedding menu. Easy. also. I LOVE bbq.

5. Get live music. Don't do the ipod thing. We used a 2 person gypsy band: guitar and accordion. I kind of fell in love with this one accordion player's music by where I used to work, and knew I had to have accordion music at my wedding. My husband was like "no we can't just have an accordion," so he found this indie gypsy duo. No one likes to dance at weddings, and if you're doing it cheap, there probably won't be a space for dancing. Live music gives people something to stare at while they eat.

6. Just get a white cake. We used to live in the Mexican neighborhood Pilsen, which had a cafe known for its tres leche cake. We loved this cake. We just asked for a big one. I think it was something like $60. It was DELICIOUS and everyone loved it. No one really cares about the cake anyway. By the time you cut the cake, everyone wants to go home. Oh and cake toppers.... I actually realized I forgot to buy a cake topper 6 months after my honeymoon ended. stupid shit you don't need. 

this was actually a cell phone picture that one of my friends took

close up of the lace on my dress... and in the distance, my favorite cheap beer... LONE STAR
tres leche cake
the historic mansion overlooked lake michigan. beautiful bay windows.
the mansion. us setting up for the ceremony. Like I said, you have to set up your own shit.
my mom loooooooved the gypsy band. I think this was her favorite part of the wedding.

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6 comments:

  1. I love this dress. The buttons remind me of a spinal column. Fabulous! I'm a sucker for buttony things.

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  2. That's so many buttons! Does it have a zipper or something too? I can't imagine if you had to button all of those! It would take so long...but it doesn't really look like you have to. It's awesome regardless.

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  3. What a lovely vintage dress! It's awesome that you spent so little money on it. It doesn't have to be expensive after all: it just needs you to like it :D

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  4. Wow! You're wedding dress is so pretty! I love the location too. The lace and the pleats just really make it.

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  5. The "spine" button column is one of the coolest and most unique features I've seen on an article of clothing! It's awesome that you mom held on to that dress and now you get to enjoy it.

    Your wedding looks like it was so beautiful, and perfectly suited to YOU rather than bogged down in meaningless details and traditions (those things are great if the couple is really into them, but so many people just feel obligated). Thank you for sharing such a wonderful occasion for this month's theme, and for the excellent tips on getting the wedding you really want without the crazy expense!

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  6. I think the general look of the wedding is just fantastic. Even if you had to take the underground to arrive, I guess it was worthy. And congrats for your outfit! You really made it :)

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