pssssssssst.

i started a newsletter.

it has nothing to do with weddings. so far it's mostly just a blurty, semi-casual, once-a-monthly update on me and my burgeoning career.

other topics may include: tv, tacos, and (??)

i'm still figuring it out.

anyhoo, it would be my distinct pleasure to send this strange little thing straight to your inbox. click here to make that happen.

xoxo,
meeeeeeeeeesb

hello, fabulous.

this disco ball planter by chaparral studio is a little pricey.... but would it not make the. most. fabulous. wedding present for that couple who has everything? or how bout a third anniversary present (HELLO: GLASS!)

handmade, tile by tile, in good old los angeles, california.



(many thanks to gracie for the heads up)

Press Release of the Week

[Click to see photos. I CAN'T POST THESE. I JUST CAN'T.]

Kitty Stardust Tee

Wren teamed up with Langley Fox to create this graphic tee benefiting NKLA (No-Kill Los Angeles Animal Shelters)

The cause feels very near/dear to me. We just cared for the sweetest pup for precisely 24 hours. When H took her to the pound to check for a chip (not to leave her! we had no intention of leaving her!) they threw her in a cage. Wouldn't let us foster her while she's waiting to be claimed.

If her people don't claim her within two weeks, we'll scoop her right back up and hang on tight until we find her a permanent home. But my heart breaks for all the dogs and cats who won't be so lucky.... 

Bri & Ben's chill-but-gorgeous LA wedding

Because you know I love a good follow-up............... How could I not feature Bri & Ben's wedding, featuring THAT MARA HOFFMAN DRESS in the wild?

Also, this is just the kind of wedding that makes me love weddings. (Though it brings back those old why-did-I-grow-out-my-bangs-for-my-wedding?! regrets.)

Anyhoo.

Here are a few words from Bri:

When Ben and I planned our wedding we really wanted to be kind of chill and laid back about it. That's easy for him, but not as easy for me since I struggle with a need to always be in control. But we focused really hard on remembering that it was just like our small house parties, only huge. 

We consulted each other on our wedding attire (no secrecy here -- he's my most influential fashion adviser), and relaxed on nitpicking the wedding party attire. I asked the bridesmaids to wear bright colors as if they were flowers in the spring garden and they totally nailed it. The groomsmen wore springy suits and colorful plaid ties to fit with the theme.

Writing vows was so much harder than I expected! It's not that I have trouble expressing my feelings for Ben, but that it was a public declaration. It was really hard deciding what all those friends and family should hear or would want to hear. In the end we coordinated our vows by agreeing on a general length and rhythm and they turned out lovely. Even now friends and family continue to bring up how much they were moved by our very personal vows, and it feels like the best compliment you can get on your wedding.

Ben sings in The Silver Lake Chorus and plays fiddle and mandolin, and has also played music in his hometown of Charleston, SC. We both have a lot of musically talented friends, and several of them provided the sweet sounds - a personalized processional song was performed for us by the songwriter, an a capella female trio (friends we met through the chorus) sang "The Book of Love" mid-ceremony, and two of Ben's friends and former bandmates from Charleston performed a first dance version of "The Luckiest." My sister Genevieve and another friend co-DJ'd the after-dinner dance party.

The projects I decided to labor over were ones that I truly enjoyed putting together. My tin can succulent centerpieces were my pride and joy (and took forever), and designing my own invitations was really fun (and cheap!). 

The scariest moment of the day happened to Genevieve who was my maid of honor. I asked her to hold onto my vows until the moment I would read them. During the ceremony, she realized she didn't have them with her. Panicked, she quietly left the ceremony to frantically search the bridal suite. She didn't find them, and came back certain that everything was about to implode with her failure. When it came time to read them... I pulled them out from the inside of my palm, and she was of course completely relieved. (Before the ceremony began, I was feeling overwhelmed and wanted to reflect for 5 minutes. She didn't realize that I had taken the vows back to look them over alone in my bridal suite. Then when it was time to go, I tucked them into the bouquet and carried them out with me.) Little did I know what a scare I gave to her -- Ha! We laugh about it now, but I still have pangs of guilt for putting her through that.

The best part of the day was taking a moment alone with Ben after the ceremony where we breathed a sigh of relief and drank some champagne before heading out for photos and reception. We just looked at each other like "We just did it! We just got married!" We took some terrible selfies and posted them to instagram. Finally I got to stop worrying about everything.

The wedding was just a party, and yet so much more. I never wanted to be a "bride" in the pinterest sense, but looking back, I was and it was fucking fun.

♥

Photos by the lovelies of Rad & In Love (as always, there are lots more over on their blog)

Holy Loeffler Randall, Batman!

Steph emailed me a while back asking for shoe help, and I didn't even bother posting the question. Because HELLO, LOEFFLER RANDALL

That's pretty much what I tell anyone who asks for shoe help.

(Sadly, those little gold wedges are no longer available, but I'm thinking this blocky blush pump is the new go-to wedding shoe.)


Photo by Kim J Martin. Check out more from this lovely, woodsy wedding--and lots more shots of the shoooooes--over here

Press Release of the Week

(Click to enlarge!)

Someone should rock this as a wedding dress.

WHAT'S IN YOUR BAG? Emily Gould edition.

Remember that series* I started last summer and then sorta just lost interest in....?

Welp, Emily Gould tweeted a STELLAR ENTRY this morning. Clearly I had to post.

______________________________
*Inspired by a douchey "What's in your Clare Vivier bag?" series that seems to have disappeared. 

Miamify my wardrobe

Dear ESB,

I am moving to MIAMI in the fall for work. I read your fantastic guide to the city and am so so excited for the food, the beach, Wynwood, speaking Spanish, and a new place.

But. I'm nervous, too. I have moved around a ton and always found a great community and made a great life, but this is going to be worlds apart from the Midwestern and East Coast cities where I have spent my whole life. 

My fear of moving is manifesting in the particular anxiety that I don't know how to dress in Miami (I don't think I will have much use for the oversize sweater/short skirt/wool tights outfits that I have perfected). 

I get that fixing my clothes isn't going to resolve the larger problem, but humor a girl. I have a bit of a bonus coming my way soon -- if you were going to spend about $500 to update your wardrobe for such a move, what would you get?

Besos.

*****

WHO SAYS the right wardrobe won't fix everything?? I would never make that ludicrous claim.

Since I have not once set foot in Miami, I brought back the badass Caro, our resident Miami expert....

Hola!

The key to being happy while living in Miami: Live like you’re on vacation. Or at least pretend like you’re on vacation as much as you possibly can. I.E. Go to the beach, drink Miami Vices, wear shorts everywhere.

My six tips for MIAMI-fying your wardrobe:

1. Neon is a neutral. Over here it’s summer year-round, which means you can wear color all the time. Ever since neon arrived at J.Crew, I’ve been keeping these shorts + t-shirts in heavy rotation.

Editor's Note: Stock up! That shit is on sale.

2. Always bring a sweater. Miami air conditioning is not subtle. Find a goes-with-everything cardigan [also on sale] you can leave in your purse because the transition from 90F to 65F every single time you walk into a building isn’t something your body acclimates to all that quickly.

3. Always have on hand: emergency flip-flops and emergency heels. After-work thunderstorms and after-work happy hours are equally likely – you should be prepared for either. Keep a pair of flip flops in your purse to protect your work flats in case of tropical weather, and a pair of black pumps in your car to switch into once you get to the bar.

4. You need at least one dependable clubbing/bar-crawling outfit. Bar-hopping starts at 11:30 PM at the earliest and everyone outside of Wynwood will expect you to wear heels. I default to colorful stilettos and a black minidress I bought at Forever 21, but if I had money to burn I’d go with this BCBG body-con dress [sale sale sale].

5. You need two bathing suits: one to look cute in and one to tan in. And if you heed my advice about living like you’re on vacation, you’re probably going to wear them out pretty quickly.... so consider your tanning bikini an investment. I like the bandeau tops from Victoria Secret because they’re not egregiously expensive and even though they have that fun strappy back detail they don’t actually leave horrendous tan lines.

Editor's Note: PLS WEAR SUNSCREEN. BOTH OF YOU.

6. Frizz-Ease. Because the humidity is real.

*****

And a few updated Miami recommends because my lady Caro knows how to live......

Eat: Butcher Shop, Khong River House, Swine, Uvaggio.

Drink: Broken Shaker (it’s permanent now, and still awesome), The Reagent Cocktail Club, the Martini Bar at the Raleigh Hotel, Wynwood Brewing Company, AC’s Icees.

(Image via Freehand Miami, home of the Broken Shaker)

Be Merry: Spend a day at the Standard, go get cinnamon buns at Knaus Berry Farm, check out the new art museum, rent some kayaks, host a bbq at the beach.

Just because you’re living like you’re on vacation doesn’t mean you need to pay vacation prices for your booze. Find reasonably-priced craft beer without driving to BFE (“Butt-Fucking-Egypt”, aka Kendall, aka, really really far) at: this gas station, this unassuming convenience store, this other unassuming convenience store. And this gas station has a tapas restaurant and an imported wine selection with great priced.

In my original post, I told you the wonders of Publix (cookies, pastelitos, etc), but now that you’re going to be a local, you need to know about PubSubs. Publix Sub Sandwiches: you can order them online ahead of time at most locations now, and getting a chicken finger sub to pair with a cucumber-lime Gatorade and some chilled pinot grigio for a day on the beach is nirvana. Trust me. They put chicken fingers IN THE SANDWICH. You’re welcome.

Finding parking on South Beach takes the same sort of blind faith ancient cultures put into rain dances – believe there will be parking and it shall appear. Be patient. Also, be sure to download the PayByPhone parking app – you can add more time directly from your phone and if your address is local you'll save 20%.

No one is on time anywhere.

Probably because they’re looking for parking.

But don’t take public transportation, seriously. That stranger who punched my friend in the face on the train, he’s punched other people now.

Uber is still not available, but UberX and Lyft are operating illegally anyway and staying true to the city’s time-honored tradition of ignoring most vehicular-related legislature (using your turn signal is widely regarded as a sign of weakness).

Bienvenidos!

Image at top: Zara S/S 2013 via Style Pantry (Maybe more Palm Springs than Miami? Miami style scares me a little, you guys.)

The Accidental Cougar

Dear ESB,

This is not a wedding question. . . yet. But maybe you can advise. 

I'm in love with a man nine years my junior (I'm 32. He's 23.) I had no idea he was so young when I met him. I acknowledge this is absurd and can't possibly work out. But. I think I need someone else to tell me that. Can you knock some sense into me?

Or else tell me about your best friend who did the same thing and it magically worked out and they are still madly in love 20 years later? (HAHA)

love,
the accidental cougar

***

Are you in a hurry to get married and have kids and shit? Has the subject come up?

For now: ENJOY THE SEX and try not to think too hard about the future. (I'm more concerned about him being 23 than being nine years younger. But he won't stay 23 forever.)


Photography by Brendan Freeman / Styling by Katy Lassen / Makeup by Isamaya Ffrench for Used Magazine AW12 via HUNGER TV