Garters for Non-Virgins.

Why didn't I think of this before? 

image source

I hate the idea of wearing a garter. So much so that I wasn't going to wear one. Until I saw this. A garter flask.  But I'm not going to purchase one from a place like this. Hell no.  I'm going to DIY my garter flask, motha-ucka'z. And it's gonna be the jam.  I hear Miss Crack Pipe is cooking up a tutorial... So I'll share it with you guys once she sends me the link ;)

What kind of booze will be in your garter flask?  Gin is currently the front-runner on my end...

I Have No Shame...

...in asking you, my lovely readers, to watch the premiere of Psych Season 4.5 tonight on USA Network at 10/9 Central. I work on the show and am very proud of what we have in store for you all this spring.  Tonight, the Psych family welcomes WWE star John Cena to the cast as Juliet's Brother, Ewan. I've seen the episode, and it kicks ass. And with a title like "You Can't Handle This Episode," it's bound to blow your mind. And at the end of the show, you can find my name in the credits, and be like, "Ooo! I know her! I read her blog!"

Or not.

But this video may tempt you:

My In-laws Rock.

For many, many reasons. (Seriously. They're the best).  But today I will focus on one. My Christmas gift from them.

Every year, Mike's family makes a donation in each of their names to a charity of their choosing.  And because I'm considered family, (awww...), they include me in on this deal. In previous years, I've donated my gift to heifer.org. But this year I decided to go with Lambda Legal. For those who are not familiar with their work, Lambda Legal is an organization dedicated to "achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work."  These are the issues that matter most to Mike and me...they matter today, they matter tomorrow, and they will matter every single day until the very *moment* the LGBTQ community is granted their equal rights.  I get to marry the love of my life this year. That, I am proud of. However, I will continue to be ashamed of the institution of marriage until shit in this country changes, and an entire community of human beings are no longer denied their RIGHT to marriage.

Because we care so deeply for this cause, we are going to instruct our guests to make a donation to Lambda Legal in lieu of a wedding gift, should they choose. I mean, shit, if they want to get us the hidden kitty litter potted plant thing from Amazon, that's cool too, but the option to donate to Lambda Legal is there. And we encourage our guests to take advantage of it. And even if they do not choose to donate, they will at least be aware that such an organization exists. And if our wedding can make some kind of contribution, be it large, small, or obsolete, at least we *started* a conversation. 

Setting up a Donation Registry through Lambda Legal is super easy. Simply head to this page, and follow the instructions on how to "Register a Celebration."

And lastly, it's Mike's 27th birthday today! So let's officially welcome him to his late twenties! Woo hoo!  Love you, Sweets. I promise to make your last birthday as an un-married a special one. XOXO! (more like XXXO!)

The Venue Walk-through (& Hiring a DOC) Shall Set You Free!

Every little thang in Bowie Bride World, as of right now, is all G. Allllll good, my babies. The lad and I are totally on track with everything and we couldn't be more excited to enter the last 6 months of our insanely LONG journey that has been planning our wedding.

Saturday, Mike and I rode the LA metro to our wedding venue, and realized, that, thank BALLS, our guests will be able to take the train from the hotels to the wedding venue with total ease. The blue line train travels directly from our hotels, right to the venue.  Guests will have to walk two blocks once the train lets them off, but I really don't think that will deter people from taking public transpo. And if they do, they can rock a 5 dollar cab ride, easy cheesey. So B.F.D., right? Right!

After we hopped off the train, we made it to BOXeight, where we were greeted by our fabulous Day of Coordinator, Wendy Ramos, of Just Wenderful. If your wedding is mostly DIY like ours, and you have a lot of rentals and different vendors, or you don't want to go near anything technical on your wedding day (which is every bride and groom I'm sure...), then consider getting a DOC.  Ever since we started working with Wendy a month ago, our minds have been put to ease. Planning an organized party for 150 people is insane.  I mean, sure I've planned many college parties with close to 200 people in attendance, with no help whatsoever. BUT, all I needed to do for those parties was pick up a keg and make sure the beer bong was clean. A wedding is a whole different animal. Well, obviously, no shit it's a diff animal, but, my point is that DOC's make it so the planning and execution of the wedding is enjoyable. For all parties involved. When the actual day gets here, I'm not going to be the one running around in a wedding dress checking to see if the music cues are right, or that the tables are set up accordingly. Wendy gets to do that! Yay! No stress for this bride and groom. We get to focus on the marriage part, the drinking part, and the fun part. Behind the scenes crap will be handled by our "wenderful" Wendy.  Can you tell we've fallen madly in love with our DOC? 'Cause we kinda have.

Next, we stepped inside our venue, BOXeight. And it was even more beautiful and glorious than I had remembered it to be... This was the first time Wendy saw it, so she was majorly impressed with it, and reassured us immediately that 150 people will fit EASILY - both inside and outside (thank BALLS).  Then, we had the walk-through.  Up until this point, I was seriously freaking out about how everything was going to look, where the aisle was going to be, where the altar was going to be, how many chairs, how many tables, how many centerpieces, how many lights to string up, where to put the dance floor, where to do cocktails, and toasts, and photobooths, and dessert, and holy shit I'm going to implode!!!!!!!!!!!

Does this crazy person sound like you? Yes? Then I'm telling you it's time to stop freaking out. Wait til you do your venue walk-through, then you'll know *exactly* what is necessary to freak out about, as opposed to freaking out about the unknown.  I suggest doing your venue walk through 6 months before the wedding, so you have ample time to adjust rentals, technical BS, decor, schedule, and set-up.  6 months, I'm finding, is the time where shit actually starts to happen - money is being paid to vendors, hotels are being booked, the schedule of the day is starting to shape up, and generally all the things I was worrying about all these months are finally starting to fall into place.  Perhaps not everyone will feel *exactly* this zen after the venue walk-through, but at least you will have some piece of mind knowing the general outline of how the wedding will be run. And just that, right there - just knowing how the day will be run, is a huge load off. So relief is on it's way, ladies and gentlemen. And once it's there, you and your partner better turn up some Bowie, shed your clothes, and dance naked. 'Cause, dammit, you two deserve it! That's our plan for tonight.  As for what Bowie song we'll dance naked to? I'm thinking, "Under Pressure" may be fitting... ha

A couple questions for you, lovers:

1. When did you stop freaking out? Was it when you did your venue walk-through? Or did the stress never go away?
2. What song would you dance naked to?
   

The Crack Pipes in DC: Tales from a Successful *Joint* Bachelor/'ette Party

Tales from a Successful *Joint* Bachelor/'ette Party
 ----------------------------------------------------------
 Wednesday, January 20, 2010 @ 10:55 am by Miss Crack Pipe

The general reaction to the idea of a "joint bach party" is not a desirable one. Many immediately frown upon it because it contradicts the bachelor party's traditional, intended purpose: to have one, last, crazy, fake-titty-filled, douche-fest.  But we here at the [High]ve could give a flip about following the rules. So the idea of a joint party is fully encouraged. In fact, I'm here to tell you that a joint bach party can be just as cracked-out and crazy as a gender segregated bachelor party.  And if you're like us and you want to throw a joint party that isn't focused on soft alternatives like mini golf and go carts, then this is the post for YOU!

Mr. Crack Pipe and I just came back from a successful joint bach party in DC.  It was insane.  Truly.  "Go Balls-Out, or Go Home," was the phrase I repeated in my head throughout the entire booze-filled weekend. I haven't drank that hard, partied that hard, or laughed that hard in a while, thus making all three hangovers each of us experienced totally worth it. 

The first thing to do to get the party started off right is to show up in a 1980's neon ski jacket. Like Mr. Crack Pipe did. On purpose. To look like a jackass. And to, of course, be the fashion envy of all around. AND to possibly pass for my mentally challenged brother should he get too out of control, or should the waitress threaten to call the cops because he drank out of another table's wine bottle (which *cough* did end up happening...) Let's just say that this jacket, errr, set the tone for the weekend's all-out jackass-ery...

The ultimate goal of the party was to focus the fun solely on drinking, so the Bride and Groom came up with a game for all to enjoy. Let's call it, "The Chinatown Challenge: A Scavenger Hunt. For Booze."

Now. This is your warning. ONLY play this game if you are willing to accept that the following consequences may or may not occur while playing this game*:

1. Extreme public drunkeness.
2. Dismissal from bar[s].
3. Being wasted before 8 PM.
4. Getting arrested. 
5. Taking a swig out of another table's wine bottle.
6. Indigestion.
7. Loss of pants.
8. Cutthroat team sabotage.
9. A 110 Proof Chartreuse Liquor-induced hangover.
10. Running into a brick wall.
11. Male on male public dry-humping.
12. Hives.
13. Loss of hearing.
14. Pissing off pedestrians.
15. Telling a waitress to "Move her titties."

Ok. Here's the game...if you dare to read on...

The bride and Groom split the group into 4 teams of 3, according to what "seed" you were ranked. For example, if you were a 1 Seed, you would be considered the BEST drinker of the bunch and would be placed with a team member of a lower seed. And so on and so forth.  I was right in the middle, a respectable 6 Seed.

Each team was handed a map of Chinatown and on that map were 5 bar locations. And at those 5 bar locations, your team was to order and consume the drink listed on the instructions. So, that meant we had to order three glasses of that drink, and our team had to consume the three drinks in any combination we wanted. So a 1 seed team member could potentially pick up the drinking slack for a lesser seed member. Sharing booze wasn't against the rules. But the hardest part about this scavenger hunt was that it was a race. Which meant drinking fast. And running fast after drinking fast. Not such a great combo, but dammit, I'm a competitor, and I did it. And I did it hard. And all in all, in the course of a measly 45 minutes, I had pounded--not sipped--POUNDED, a pint of beer, a sake bomb, a shot of tequila, and an Irish car bomb. And to make sure everyone didn't cheat, you had to prove it by uploading photos of your team on the Facebook Group Page the bride and groom created.

Aside from the fact that the game left all of us wasted out of our minds before 8PM on the streets of DC, it was a total BLAST.  And I think Mr. Crack Pipe and I are going to try a similar game for our joint party in Las Vegas.  But a scavenger hunt for booze is just *one* of the many possible activities for a joint party.  What are your ideas? How can you make a joint bach party be just as fun and crazy, if not more fun and crazy than a bach party where the focus is solely on the strip club or on a nude male review?

*I will neither confirm, nor deny that this list of occurences did or did not actually occur. But you can probably take a guess...

The Concept of a Bachelor/Bachelorette Party

I'm about to head to my first joint bachelor/bachelorette party in DC this weekend and am unsure on what to expect.  All I know is this: Our wild Arizona State friends and former roomies will be there and we'll be hardcore partying for three nights straight.  Yeah. Three nights. Two nights is pushing it, but three?! We represent the #1 party school in America according to Playboy magazine, but we're not in our early twenties anymore, man.  See that pic to our right? That's the groom-to-be and I in undergrad, challenging each other to a Guiness Chugging Contest.  I get ooogie just looking at it. I mean, the groom's face just says it all.  Guiness is some thick, shit, man. I don't know if we'll be able to roll like that this weekend, but hey, I'll give it the old 'college try.' Don't you worry about that. And in case you care who won the chugging contest, it was me.. I was a TANK.

But in all seriousness, when did the bachelor party go from being the night before the wedding to a three-day weekend boozefest you travel cross-country for?  The only reason I can come up with is this: BECAUSE WE CAN. Think about it. "Oh, what's that you say? You're gonna throw me a party where it's encouraged to act like a jackass in public and pound free drinks all night?" Yeah, like hell I'm going to say no to that. Same goes for why we ultimately end up blowing hundreds or thousands on a wedding gown - BECAUSE WE CAN. BECAUSE IT'S AN EXCUSE TO BUY A PRETTY DRESS. Weddings are one big excuse for treating yourself like a VIP.  I'm guilty of it. We all are at some point. Do I really NEED to stay in the hotel two nights before the wedding when I live right down the street? NO. I don't. But I say to myself, "Well, it's our wedding day, so wasting money on three nights of hotel stay when I could easily stay at my own apartment down the street is okay."

So for these same reasons, Mike and I decided that we are indeed going to have a bachelor/bachelorette party.  Because we can.  And not because it's necessary. But so many grooms and brides-to-be see it that way though. I don't get the necessity of a bachelor party in the traditional, "I need to have one last night of freedom with nude women grinding on my jock before I say 'I do'" kind of way. Mike and I don't even like strip clubs. My only experience at a strip club involved me purchasing my best friend a private lap dance from a pregnant stripper. Real glamorous, right? Mike describes strip clubs in one word: "Sad." He went for a friend's bachelor party in Vegas one year. A stripper walked over to him, started to dance, and he just looked at her and said this, flatly: "I have no money."  And with that, she left.  Aside from the whole expensive factor, and the whole 'sad' factor, strip clubs have one more glaring problem: they're cocktease warehouses. I mean, you wouldn't go to an Indiana Jones flick and leave before the climax, would you? Well, that last piece of shit Spielberg squeezed out of his ass doesn't count, but you get the point.  But seriously, who wants all the lead-up with no finale? Not this bitch. When mamacita gets fired up, she wants to take home the gold, not the bronze. ...aaaaand with that, folks, I just turned into a horny middle-aged, casino rat. But in all seriousness, man. The only load you should be blowing is the one in your pants. Not the wad of hard-earned in your wallet. So if we are going strictly on the definition of a traditional bach party, then I don't NEED one. Mike doesn't NEED one. Not at all. We're goooooood. Thx.

So, what kind of bach party are we interested in, if ogling plastic titties alongside frat asswipes and truck drivers is out of the question?  I think we both agree that we'd like our parties to be about drinking. And public displays of silliness. And letting loose with our best buds after months of stressful planning. And karaoke. Lots of karaoke.  Since we have a lot of the same close friends, and want to party with everyone regardless of gender, we are going to go the "joint" route. Thinkin' Vegas.  We can split up on Friday night, have it be Team Bride/Team Groom, then rock together the second night as one unified Team. I've seen a lot of couples do this. Seems to work out nicely. I understand I too am now putting unnecessary pressure on my friends to blow money on a two day party, but again that little phrase keeps popping up in my mind: BUT WE CAN 'CAUSE IT'S OUR WEDDING.  And we did it for their weddings. So payback's a bitch, son ;)

I'll be sure to report back about my DC bachelor/bachelorette party adventure. I'm actually very much looking forward to it. It's a rare opportunity in our circle of friends to all be together in the same city at once, so I'm MORE THAN HAPPY to blow my load on that ;)

What are you dudes doing for your bach party?

I Banged a Bridesmaid at Hitchfest 2010

We've decided to refer to our wedding as Hitchfest 2010.  This wedding already has a balls-out, rock n roll, hippy-dippy, outdoor concert feel to it anyway, so why not go for the gold and refer to it as such?  Plus, it's fun. And catchy. And promotes hardcore partying at all times. And it gave me an idea for wedding favors. Yes. FAVORS.  We had originally NOT planned on giving favors to our guests. I mean, really? Are they reeeaally gonna expect to receive a gift after intensely feeding and liquoring them up for 5 straight hours?  Yeah. Well. We weren't going to hand out gifts, especially ones that involved a personalized magnet with our wedding date on it... Don't you guys just throw that shit away anyway?  SO, I came up with something that I certainly would have NO business throwing away.  Something that will give them a chuckle. Because giving favors to our guests wouldn't be AT ALL worth it if they didn't induce laughter.  Just like naming our tables after Bowie alter egos.  I don't give a shit about naming our tables, but if I can use it as an opportunity for comedy, then I'm game.  This whole evening will be comedy fueled.  So the favors will be too, dammit.

Here they are:

I'm secretly hoping everyone will proudly display these stickers on their person towards the end of the night.  It would just feel so right to see Grandma wearing a sticker on her dress that said, "I Went Balls Deep at Hitchfest 2010."  I mean, come on. That's gold!


*All stickers made on Zazzle.com

Our Save the Date Card: In Support of the Human Rights Campaign

We are marriage equality supporters. Both Mike and I agreed that if we are going to willingly participate in an institution that excludes an entire community of human beings, then we are going to do it on our terms.  Our Save the Date card is a tongue-in-cheek eff you to the  hate-filled "Support Traditional Marriage" campaign (I refuse to provide a link to that shit-ass site).  This card isn't meant to offend our guests, or to persuade anyone to think one way or the other.  You can take this card as seriously as you want to.  You don't have to be a marriage equality supporter to get in the door at our wedding, nor will you be made to feel like a jerk for not being one. Everyone has their personal beliefs. These are ours.  This card is meant to let everyone else know how we roll... And to poke fun at heterosexual couples who believe their "traditional" love is superior to the love shared between LGBT couples. And plus, Mike looked so damn sexy in my wedding dress, we just had to let everyone see it for themselves. So, you're welcome.

Here we go. Our Save the Date card.

FRONT OF POSTCARD:

BACK OF POSTCARD:

My First Email to My "Bridesmaids"

♥♥♥ My First Email to My "Bridesmaids"* NOT edited for content... hehe... ♥♥♥

(Yes, this is a real email I sent to them)

Hey lay-deeez!
This marks your first annoying email from me about our wedding! YAY! 

OK. So this email is all about what to wear.  And get excited because you can whatever the FUCK you want.  The wedding has no color scheme.  Our colors are the fucking rainbow and beyond. 

All I ask is that you do everything in your power to look like you're gonna kick a little ass. Whether that means wearing a pantsuit, or a super short dress, or a jumper, or a pair neon cowboy boots - anything goes! I'm not shitting you. BUT if I may, I have some ideas for you - just to get your beautiful minds a thinkin'. 

1. Don't be afraid to accessorize. Example: cool patterned tights, jewelry, brooches, hair flowers,
2. Think retro, vintage-y.
3. Andrea is already wearing black - so if you can, try to avoid that color.
4. Get some killer shoes. Anything goes.
5. I imagine most will go with a tea length or short dress - you can rock a long one, but the wedding isn't going to be black tie - so just keep that in mind.
6. You will be carrying a handmade bouquet not made of real flowers, so also keep that in mind.
7. Be as out-there as you want. if you want to rock some offbeat fashion, i'm totally game. In fact, I encourage it.
8. Everyone is getting professional photos of them taken, so style yourself as if you were doing a photoshoot for "Kickass Magazine" 

We have 6.5 months til the wedding, so we have time. But I thought I'd let you know in case you all wanted to get crackin on finding a dress.

Love you guys. Like a friggin ton. Thanks for being awesome.
-B 

How chill are you being with your wedding party?  Personally, I just couldn't find it in my heart to make them wear $200 matching taffeta.  Or even $100 matching taffeta. Or even just matching taffeta. Or even just matching anything. Or even just bossing them around in general. This isn't a whorehouse in Deadwood. I'm not their Madame. Fuck no. Our wedding is but a mere fraction of their life concerns in the grand scheme of things.  I've been a b-maid in a couple weddings, so I know that it can be difficult to balance life with being there for the bride and groom.  I was Maid of Honor at my best gal's wedding in Disney World during the time I was nearly finished with grad school.  I was literally writing the last part of my Master's thesis in the hotel room the entire weekend - I didn't even step foot in any of the theme parks. (So I've been to Disney World - technically. Just not inside it. How sad is that?).  Anyway, my point is that while her wedding was super friggin important, and I of course WANTED to be there for her every step of the way, I needed to keep focus on my own priorities - particularly an insanely important one such as finishing my Master's.  Because no matter what happens, there is NO WAY, my best gal, or I, or any friend for that matter, would have expected me to put their wedding above ALL priorities. That's just silly talk.  I think Cupcake Wedding said it best in this post here, reminding us that our "Bridesmaids aren't [our] bitches."  Honest. To the point. No apologies. That's Cupcake Wedding. And I love her for it.  All we want from our wedding party is for them to stand beside us. And get really wasted on the dance floor. And maybe come to our bach party and get really drunk and slutty for a couple nights in Vegas. If they feel up to it of course ;) If not, it'll just be Mike and I getting really drunk and slutty in Vegas. Which a-okay with me. No pressure. PLEASE. No freaking pressure. This is a wedding. Not a logging competition.**

*Our "bridesmaids" aren't called bridesmaids.  They are members of Team Zissou.
**There's nothing more pressure-inducing than a timed competition of furious log sawing. NOTHING.

Anyone Else Having This Nightmare?

That it's your wedding day and you remember to do everything, but you forget to write your personal vows and you're stuck up there in front of 150 people, freaking out because you had planned on writing this long, eloquent, heartfelt, funny, beautifully articulated declaration of love, partnership and eternal devotion to the person you love and you can't for the life you spit out a single word because you forgot to write it!?

I have this nightmare. A lot. Perhaps I need a dreamcatcher. A badass one.  With a wolf in the middle.  Like this ------->

I know that I won't forget to write my vows. Major duh-balls on that sh-t.  But constantly having this nightmare has made me question WHY I am having it. And I think I finally know why.  All the days leading up to the wedding, from proposal to "I Do," we are constantly focused on aesthetics. What does the dress look like? OMG what are your colors?! DJ or band? Cake or cupcakes? Did he get down on one knee? Did you cry?! Did he go to Jared?! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm tired of these questions. I'm tired of being obsessed with answering these questions. Because ultimately these things don't matter.  I'm having nightmares about not writing my vows because I've been too obsessed with all the other bullsh-t that I've lost focus.  And my body knows it.  And it's warning me.

To me, our personal declarations of love and our vows are the one thing that I need to get right that day. Everything else can go to sh-t for all I care.  But the vows.  The vows are all that really matter.  The vows are the words we will remember for rest of our lives.  They are the words that will bring tears of happiness to our eyes. They are the words that will keep us strong through the difficult times. They are the words that we've been waiting to say to each other for seven f-cking years.  So I am going to focus my energy there.  The words of the day.  The words that will shape the ceremony. The words we will choose to have read. The words that will surely give everyone in the audience a case of the lovey dovey's.  The words that will bind us together for life, yo. Thasss some serious sh-t.  So that's where my focus will be.

What nightmares are you dudes having? Wedding or Non. I'm interested in both. And most importantly, what animal would be on your dreamcatcher?

Me in My Mom's Wedding Dress

Over XXXmas I had the pleasure of trying my Momma's wedding dress on.  She and my pops got married on New Year's Day, 1982, and planned it in 4 months. FOUR MONTHS. Yeah. I know. Insanity. I'll do a seperate post on that bit of craziness soon, but for now, let's get to the dress. My mom bought the dress at a local shop in Lake Bluff, IL for $400. No muss. No fuss. She just went in the bridal shop by herself, tried it on, and bought it. End of story. The crazy part is that while trying the dress on, my mom said I could do anything I wanted to it. Meaning I could wear it as is, cut it up, turn it into a different dress, or a purse, or a veil, or an ascot, or a dainty Speedo, or even a pair of Hammer pants - the sky's the limit!  So OF COURSE this got me thinking.  Do y'all remember when I said I'm having a second dress made for the reception? WELL, I may use the lace from this dress - because seriously - these pics don't do it justice. The lace is GORGEOUS.  It's Venetian and super detailed and I would die if I could wear it in some way. I feel bad cutting this beaut up, but Momma assured me that it was more than okay. And the fact hat she had it stored in a plastic bag all balled up through the years, makes me feel a-okay with playing with it. So thank you, Mom!  I hope this works out because I would be honored to wear a part of your wedding memories on my big day.  It would be super-spesh! (That's "special" in Hilgers-speak).

 So what do you guys think?  Any suggestions on how I could use the lace in my dress?  Here's an inspiration pic of what my reception dress is going to look like:

Photo by Renee Brazel

I'm One of the Top 100 Wedding Bloggers in 2010 on Bride Tide!

Damn it feels good to be a gangsta.  If only I had a copy machine to destroy with a bat right now... But since I don't, I'll get my excitement out right here! 

I'm One of the Top 100 Wedding Bloggers in 2010 on Bride Tide!

What in the balls in Bride Tide, you ask? Well! Bride Tide is a "new wedding community where members can share & discover the latest wedding news, ideas, blogs, tips, trends & advice."  It's basically a one stop shop for everything wedding, so if you're currently immersed in the wedding world for whatever reason and are looking for some hot tips, then hit up Bride Tide, fo' sho.

I was shocked when I learned that The Bowie Bride was listed under the "Offbeat Wedding" section amongst all my offbeat wedding heroes. I've been reading these lady's books, magazines, and blogs ever since I got engaged so you could imagine my surprise when little old me was placed alongside them! Check it out:

OFFBEAT:

Rock n Roll Bride
Kat Williams, aka the Rock n Roll Bride, aims to provide a little haven of kick ass weddingness in the overly poofy, pastel and often puke-worthy wedding world.

Offbeat Bride
A daily celebration of couples who dare to walk off the beaten aisle.

Anti-Bride
Tying the knot outside of the box, the Anti-Bride celebrates the rich diversity of brides, budgets and styles with an eye on the alternative.

The Bowie Bride
Stepping towards the altar, and in true Bowie fashion, the Bowie Bride plans her wedding in the most pe-cu-li-ar way.

The Unbride
The UnBride was created to inspire and empower the creative, confident bride to plan the wedding of her dreams.

SO! A huge thanks to Bride Tide and to all y'all who voted for this crazy little spaced out wedding blog. I'm tickled pink and totally flattered. Bowie would be so proud...

I Survived XXXmas

Hey, kitty cats! Mama's back! I had the best XXXmas ever.  The triple "x" thing is indeed no typo.  Christmas at the Hilgers' household is always a wildcard...for various reasons I won't go into... but this year, it rocked the casbah.  Here's why:

1. None of my extended family got too wasted or belligerent, or came over to our house ALREADY wasted and/or on a tandem bicycle.
2. I got a Costco Membership.
3. I got to see all my friends.
4. I ate a ton of good food.
5. I found out my 16 year old sister is a songwriter, and is writing us a special tune for the wedding. (Best XXXmas gift ever!)
6. There was no drama. Whatsoever.
   

Seriously. That last one is a Hilgers Family XXXmas mainstay.  I can't remember the last Christmas where there was no fighting, or no drama, or no trying to hide the booze from the alcoholics. Everyone was perfectly zen. Almost too zen. It was weird.  Good weird, but still weird... And since there's no way I'm NOT going to refer to Christmas with three "X's," we had to get a little wild to even things out.  So once the extended family left for the night, I immediately turned off the Xmas music and put on The Talking Heads.  Then the bottles of champy started a -crackin' and the dance party started.  Yes.  Dance party.  The Hilgers like their music. And their dancing. And their extreme silliness.  And by the end of the night we were listening to The Flight of the Conchords, playing with my Mom's nutcracker collection, and doing the "boob dance." Like so:

So XXXmas rocked.  Hard.  I'm pumped. I'm energized. Rejuvenated.  Ready to take on 2010 with a clear head and a no fear attitude.  After all, I'm gettin' married this year, yo!  And we got 7 months left to plan it!  But dude, I've never felt more zen about planning this wedding ever.  We are totally on track, and have been crafting our BALLS off for the past three days.  I'll do a whole other post on crafting, don't worry. Let's just say that I'm a f-cking awesome crafter. Like AMAZING.  I was so scared the centerpieces would look like assh-le, but seriously they look insanely good. And they're personalized. And Mike actually enjoyed crafting. Like a lot.  Yes. You too can get your dude to craft and enjoy it. I'll let you know my crafting secrets soon... I'm so excited to show off our hard work!