enter the feather love contest. srsly.

Noa changed the rules. May schmay! Couples getting married any time are now free to enter. Plus she is really talking up this whole East Side Bride feature thing. She thinks I'm a big deal. (Hee hee.)

p.s. Have you looked at Noa's portfolio? I think she's the big deal.

(Image by Noa Azoulay-Sclater of Feather Love Photography)

s p a r k l e

I'm officially obsessed.

But f*ck Free People. And Anthropologie. And Urban Outfitters. I won't give my money to Yes on 8, even retroactively.

Via Le Fashion

Speaking of brides wearing converse....

This look is kinda working for me.

From the new Anne Valerie Hash book via scout holiday

the shrug has arrived

The shrug Elizabeth made for Myra inspired by this one rocked by our own cevd.

cevd says she wants another one. Now that is just greedy.

A feather love contest

I never post contests... but Noa of Feather Love Photography just gave me the scoop on this, and it's too cool for me not to put up.

Noa is offering free wedding photography to one lucky couple getting married this May. She's looking for something "vintage/ hippie/ indie/ handcrafted/ hip." (Read: in dire need of free photography.) Extra points for English Garden or Great Gatsby inspired.*

And we are hatching a wee plan to feature the winning wedding on esb... If you think you might be down for that.

(Image by Noa Azoulay-Sclater of Feather Love Photography)

*Am I imagining things, or is everyone obsessed with The Great Gatsby all of a sudden?

Doc Martens live on

In case there was any doubt.

Photos of Romance Street by Hedi Slimane

As do leather jackets. Yikes I need a new leather jacket. Vintage, Christina, I promise.

Norwegian wedding style

How rad are Ingebeth's hightops?? And Matthew is rocking that coat, which belonged to Ingebeth's great-grandfather.

Lots more photos by Bryan Johnson of A Bryan Photo on Snippet & Ink.

p.s. Is that flourless chocolate cake?

Sneak Peek: Crashed Wedding

This lady sent me a preview of her badass Brooklyn wedding. The one I was invited to crash, remember? Turns out we were all invited... Man do I wish I'd been there.

Anyhoo, more photos to come. Soon.

(This one's by Ezra Caldwell.)

"You're My Match" rings

By Laura Lobdell. And you thought the candy heart necklace was rad!

thoughts post-earth day

I'm late, obv. Lotta stuff going on and I honestly didn't think much about earth day until I read everyone else's posts. But here's what's going through my head now:

1. Can I give up ziploc bags? Joslyn has inspired me to try. (She gave them up long ago and has moved on to paper towels, a step I'm not ready for.) Anyhoo, I love ziplocs but they do seem like a lot of plastic tossed into the landfill, not to mention a waste of money. And I could get excited about carrying trail mix around in these. I bought a brushed aluminum SIGG water bottle months ago, and may I say it is much more stylish than plastic.

2. Am I an a-hole because I don't have a bike?? No part of living in LA makes me want to ride one. But lately I have been channeling my inner new yorker and walking. To the coffee shop, to the grocery store, to the farmer's market. Can I get some credit for that? (I also enforce carpooling, ie. whine and make my friends pick me up on the way to the bar. So that's green.)

3. And finally, Rachel has given me a new mantra: Don't bring junk into your life. I'm already a freak about getting rid of stuff. I've lived in small spaces for too long. But from now on I will be more vigilant about what I bring through the door. No more shopping at H&M. Even if they do have a sequin dress for $24.90. I want clothes that will last longer than six months.

(Polaroid by Porter Hovey)

I want more sparkle in my life

I blame Gossip Girl mostly.

Been wearing my sparkly sweater coat to shreds, but now I might really need this. I do have a birthday coming up....

(Vogue UK January 2009 via .v)

flowers for Beyonce

Aren't they gorg?

I especially love the dogwoods. They're the provincial flower of BC (where we got married) but I've never seen em off the tree before!

By the fabulous Sarah Saipua.

handwritten invitations

See the little guys swimming? The invites (in Swedish) are for a pool party. Elisabeth said it took her son "one concentrated hour" to make em.

Anybody getting ideas? Because our printed invites sure took longer than an hour to make.

fine little day via {frolic!}

p.s. It is effing hot today. I wanna go to a pool party!

Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere...

Fuck yes! I'm printing this out and tacking it over my desk.

Via Life in Lomo

I'm digging Little Doe

And wishing my weekend was gonna look more like this. Ah well.

Littledoe via auburn & ivory

p.s. Littledoe takes custom orders. In fact, they only do custom orders. The gorg headpieces aren't cheap, but each is one-of-a-kind, handmade from antique materials. I say take your bridal headgear to the next level!

He made her ring

Jami Saunders just sent me this video.

Her beau is a woodworker, naturally. And there is a dog, of course. Man I love Brooklyn.

a burst of Joy

I was trying to get some writing done. Staying off the blogs. Having an assy day.... Until I finally checked email and got this missive from a reader:

crash my wedding

If you were in NY I would totally invite you!

i heart your blogs guts out! (does that makes sense.. its easier to heart a persons guts out but i don't want to sound too stalker)

Joy

Stalker?? Try too adorable for words. (Check out Joy's engagement-y pics here and here.) My mood has done a complete 180.

Image courtesy of dear creatures from Vain and Vapid via camp comfort

When cool girls get engaged

With cool little rings....

Good things start to happen on the blogs. This I know.

(Photo by tyson fast for daughters of dawn via unruly things)

wedding budget vs. bridal sanity

This lady has her priorities straight. In my opinion.

Because if you're too busy running around and DIY'ing to breathe and enjoy your wedding day, who cares how much effing money you saved?

(Photo by Victoria Pearson via Simple Lovely)

tiniest wedding cake ever

Jenny Gordy, of the super cool clothing line Wikstenmade, just posted a few photos from her brother's intimate wedding at their childhood home. How effing adorable is this tiny cake for two?

I told you cupcakes are over!

(Tina Fey knows what I'm talking about. Even though she loves em.)

p.s. Who is Joel and why is he a favorite topic of conversation? He is also adorable.

Knee socks are the new tights

I mean, right? If I see another pair of tights I will die of boredom.

And I believe sexy, wedding-y dresses demand bare legs. Call me old-fashioned.

(Peonies and cevd have me thinking about this recently.)

Images courtesy of The Sartorialist, Wai Lin Tse, Saltwater via {frolic!}

And damn you, Garance

Now I need to go bra shopping.

I've been wearing the same two Target bras (one black, one grey) I bought a year ago. They've held up incredibly well. But let's face it, I could sex it up a little in the lingerie department.

Anybody have a favorite (discount) place to shop for bras in LA? I've learned the hard way that ebay just doesn't work. Even if you think you know exactly what you're getting, you have to try that sh*t on.

(Photos by Wai Lin Tse)

Damn you, Gwyneth

I've pretty much managed to avoid GOOP up until now. I mean.... a) GOOP? and b) Isn't she doing it backwards? Shouldn't blogs be left to those of us who aren't already famous??

But this Simple Lovely post led me here. And now really I want the Roksanda Ilincic jumpsuit. Doesn't it say, "Oh this? I'm just sitting at home blogging today." (Minus the heels, obv.)

I'm not actually planning to buy it. But I did shop my closet and pull out the denim jumpsuit I'd forgotten I bought at Meg last spring. Yippee!

wedding dress ambivalence (part two)

You guys? I just tried my dress on again. Um, our wedding was eight months ago.

But Joanna's Smitten post about my wedding dress ambivalence post and the gajillion reader comments freaked me out a little.

The good news is my dress still rocks. The bad news is I'm a big dork. Oh well.

(Photo by ellen kooi via Girl Meets NYC)

Five wedding trends I'll never get tired of

Lately I've been harping on trends that drive me up the wall (let's face it, just the word trend drives me up the wall). So I decided it was time to step back and recognize a few wedding ideas that rock.

1. Photo booths. Whether you rent the classic or go with a modern update, people effing love to pose for pictures. And I for one wish I had more photos of my wedding guests.

(Image courtesy of The Flashdance's Smile Booth)

2. Mason jars. I love em for cocktails, florals, and especially votives. They have a fabulous rustic chic vibe, and they're amazingly photogenic. Leave the rings on to get an extra glimmer from your candles. (Jars of the non-mason variety are good too, and easier to collect.)

(Image source here)

3. Shrugs. The bigger and fluffier the better. Did Elizabeth Dye just hint that she's working on a shrug inspired by this one....?

(Image source here)

4. Creative catering. I am a sucker for a backyard barbecue. Or a wedding catered by a taco truck! How rad is this?

(Image found here)

5. What am I leaving out? Please submit your ideas! I'm getting very lonely listening to myself think.

Curl Up and Go To Sleep

The crucial flip side.

H-town, who is away in the wilds of the midwest visiting family, read this post last night. And at 1:55am the above image arrived in my inbox, labeled simply "for peonies."

F* keeping calm and carrying on

moleitau via 43 Folders

Dear Cat Power

If only I could channel an iota of your cool while I sit around the house. Blogging.

Maybe I should start with getting dressed in the morning. A little eyeliner wouldn't hurt either.

Bitch, pleeze (Did you see this? OMG.)

Image found here

wedding dress ambivalence

The following is an actual transcript from a conversation I had last night via Twitter. (Names have been changed to protect the innocent.) I've posted it here because I thought brides-to-be might find it instructive and/or reassuring.

friend: Nervous about my wedding dress. Why did I have to find the perfect $250 vintage dress today, huh?

me: @friend did you try it on?

friend: @me Nooooooooooo. But now I want to go back. This is so pathetic. I was NOT looking for a dress.

me: @friend you're not pathetic. this is normal. go try it on and get it out of your system. chances are it won't even fit.

friend: @me That is such good advice. You're a good advice giver.

Be prepared for wedding dress ambivalence to hit 3-4 months before the big day. I'm not saying you have to go try on other dresses, but it might help you love the one you've got.

Or you might buy a new one like I did. Oopsy.

See, I don't hate converse!

This pair looks fabulous on Chris with his slim-fit black suit. (I suspect he's someone who wears them on a regular basis.)

And notice how his groomspeople are allowed to express their individual style?

More on The Bride's Cafe. Photos by Jessica Johnston.

Speaking of Joy Division....

In January, we saw a screening of the documentary in Williamsburg. It's really beautifully done.

Then my friend K won a t-shirt and I got so excited that she gave it to me.

(Image found here)

Spin This

Last night I had a chance to see this man in action. No, not spinning records. Killing the jukebox at Little Joy.

It turns out Michael lives in my neighborhood, so we got together to talk about weddings and alt-weddings and wedding blogs.* (While he hit me with these guys and of course them.)

Beware The Flashdance. They may just take over the indie wedding world. Via Echo Park, of course.

Now I'm listening to the demo cd Michael gave me and kinda wishing I had a wedding to go to this weekend.

*I'm not sure the other (two) happy hour patrons appreciated all the w------ talk, but anyhoo.

(Image courtesy of girl.x)

ffffound + fashion fille via Le Love