Vegas Wedding Teaser Shot

I'll try not to put the Royal Wedding to shame with this one, but here you go... a teaser shot of our Vegas Wedding ... shot by photography genius Nick Radford. (Yes, if you didn't know already, we had to get married again. Read the whole story here).

We took this shot after the ceremony at the insanely posh hotel we stayed at, The Cosmopolitan.  There were so many stunning backdrops at this hotel.  We felt so lucky to get to shoot here.  As you can see from the photo above, Nick is an artistic photographer through and through.  There are more artsy ones just like this that I am dying for you all to see.  We couldn't have been more thrilled with how this whole scenario played out. 

Wanna see the rest?  Rock n Roll Bride has awesomely offered to post the whole lot of pics next week (!).  Have I mentioned how in love I am with Rock n Roll Bride?  She and I are going to party one day together and it's going to be epic and fabulous and booze-filled.  I will also be posting the story behind the second wedding, along with tips on getting married in Vegas on The Broke-Ass Bride (!).  That will all go down Tuesday, May 3rd.  Can't wait for everyone to see!

First Dances

Mike and I totally winged our first dance.  We had planned on practicing in our living room, but time got away with us.  Luckily, our lack of practice ended up not mattering one bit.  The joy of finally being married overtook our first dance jitters and we just went for it and had a blast.  We danced to "Heroes" by David Bowie.

 

Then my dad and I danced to "Heart of Gold" by Neil Young. 

Then Mike and his mom, and Mike's sister and dad, danced to "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan.

All photos by Nicole Polk Photography

Prince William Absent From Wedding Rehearsal; Wax Figure to Replace

Well, not quite. 

Prince William's life-size wax figure would have been of great use to fiancee Catherine Middleton at their wedding rehearsal on April 15th, as the "real deal" William decided to honor his obligation to the Royal Air Force instead of his bride-to-be. 

Apparently, getting married in front of 2 billion people doesn't phase the Prince.  But then again, why would it?  William has been in the public eye ever since that enormous noggin of his emerged from Diana's loins 28 years ago.  Yet, his absence from his wedding rehearsal is making headlines around the world.

Most engaged couples rehearse their wedding ceremonies to ensure they don't muck it up on the big day.  And considering the Prince's big day will be far bigger than any big day you or I will ever experience, one has to wonder why The Royals couldn't host the rehearsal on a day when the groom would actually show up.  Further details as to why his obligation to The Royal Air Force (RAF) superseded his priority to rehearsing his impending nuptials were not released.  So for all we know, his "duties" could have meant not missing the The RAF's Intramural Basketball scrimmage (after all, Prince William has a mean lay-up).  But for now, the world will give William the benefit of the doubt. 

As for those who actually made it to the rehearsal?  William's brother and Best Man, Prince Harry was in attendance, as well as Catherine's sister and Maid of Honour Pippa.  The Royal Wedding, rehearsal or no rehearsal, is set to take place on April 29th, 2011 at exactly 11:00 AM sharp.  Let's hope William remember what side of the aisle to stand on. 

"Big Bliss" Question

Do the women featured on "Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss" know they are being taped for a spin-off version called "Big Bliss" instead of being taped for "Say Yes to the Dress," the original "skinny bitches" edition?

If so, how would you feel about that?  Personally, I would not be havin it. 

Oh, and if you missed me ripping this show a new asshole, click here.

Redemption Honeymoon Rocked My Face Off

Snow. Sunny skies. Fresh air. Trees. Nature. Hot tubs. A ski resort across the street from hotel. Free shuttles to other ski resorts. Snowboarding. Breweries. Good eats. Cheap movie tickets. No stress.

Emphasis on NO STRESS.

I highly recommend taking a second honeymoon if your first honeymoon sucked ass. You've been through way too much in the last year of planning to have to endure a shitty honeymoon. So make it a good one. And if it's not a good one for whatever reason, take another one. And tell your bank accounts to blame me. The enabler.

And instead of having honeymoon pictures that look like this:

You'll have honeymoon pictures that look like this:

 Much better!!

Our Wedding Video

We weren't even going to have a videographer to begin with. We so wanted one but our budget was spread way too thin already.  But then something magical happened. Our friends Jason and Becca of A Los Angeles Love fame recruited their friends Jocelyn Kelvin and Brock Wilbur of Inevitable Productions, to shoot and edit a wedding video for us.

It felt so right having our wedding video shot by Inevitable Productions because they truly embraced Mike and I as a couple and really spent time getting to know us as people.  And not only did we get an amazing video of our wedding (which we have watched about 20 times, and cried during every viewing), but we also made some amazing friends.  Brock and Jocelyn rock as human beings.  They are lovers of love.   Please hire them to shoot your wedding.  They are a talented duo, fun but very professional, easy to work with and they get the job done right. In fact, they are just fresh off of filming Becca & Jason's wedding. So snag Brock & Jocelyn before they blow up on the wedding blogs, yo.

Every couple that gets their wedding shot by Inevitable Productions gets the "music video" version of their wedding (set to your song, or a song of your choosing) and the whole enchilada long version of their wedding.

Without further ado, here is the 6 minute "music video" version of our wedding video, set to the tune of our song: "Heroes" by (who else?) David Bowie.

HEROES - HITCHFEST 2010! from Jocelyn Kelvin on Vimeo.

Didn't that look like the greatest night ever?!  Well, I ain't gonna lie. IT WAS. And I am so happy that we will have this for ever and ever and get to look back and say, "Whoa, we were like, cool n stuff."

Please visit Inevitable Productions for more info.  Or you can just go ahead and contact Jocelyn and Brock by emailing them here: inevitablepros [at] gmail [dot] com

Uber thanks to Becca & Jason for hooking this all up.  I can't wait to see the magic Brock & Jocelyn did on your y'all's wedding vid!

Subverting the Subversive Wedding Trends

The once subversive use of cupcakes, Chuck Taylors, bunting, cranes, chalkboards, photobooths, jars of homemade jam and parasols has become mainstream.  To the point where brides and grooms are turning to sub-subversive ideas just to have their wedding stand out on the blogs*.  I mean, is the Toms wedding line the new 'hip' footwear for brides and grooms?  Here's a wedding that took the sub-subversive plunge and rocked Toms instead of Chucks or (the occasional) Vans.

So I decided to have a little fun with this notion of subverting the subversive trends of wedding blog yore. I came up with a list of 'trends' that I would pay to see happen.  Just to prove my point.  Andsimply to amuse me. Whether or not you really think the following suggestions are "serious" ones, is your call.  So have some fun with this.

1. The "After the Reception & Wedding" Dress

1a. The "After the After Party, Reception, & Wedding" Dress. Or, "The Bridal Toga"

1b. The "After, After the After the After Party, Reception & Wedding" Dress

2. Cauliflower Bouquets. No assembly required.

3. Accessories made of actual hair.

4. Custom Condom Wedding Favors

5. Martinelli's Apple Juice Glass Bottles used as vases.

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6. Dessert: Jello.  I bet you could be even more subversive by making a "Jello Bar" - all types of flavors and shapes!

*Yes, I realize this statement has absolutely nothing to do with the actual important 'marriage' part of a wedding.

[WTF Friday] Condom Wedding Dresses...

...Actually Exist.  I changed my mind: There is a God.

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Red Kegger Cups

I put Mike in charge of the last minute shopping for the wedding -- cups, utensils, cocktail hour snacks, etc.  One of the big items he was supposed to get at Costco was clear plastic cups. Clear. See-through. Colorless. C-L-E-A-R.  So that when they are shown in the wedding photos, the cups won't make us look like we were at a frat party.

Well guess what?  Mike made our wedding into just that.  By simply purchasing cups of the red college kegger variety.  As shown here:

 I said that I didn't care about the cups.  Well I lied.  I hated those red kegger cups.  Hated them.  And I hate them even more whenever I see an image of one ruining the rest of the shot, making it look like a Theta Chi rager as opposed to a wedding*.

But there was no time to get new cups.  There was no money to get more cups.  And I couldn't justify letting all that plastic go to waste.  And I was already way too exhausted from everything else that was going on.  So we used them.  And they have since become the bane of my wedding picture's existence.  Thankfully our amazing photographer Nicole Polk was able to get shots that didn't heavily showcase the frat cups, but still.  Those cups make me feel icky whenever I look at them in our photos**.

Why the hell am I still so goddamn hung up on this?  Do you still have hang ups from your wedding even though it's over and done with?

*A Theta Chi rager would be a perfectly lovely wedding don't get me wrong - I just didn't want that for our wedding.
**Watch. Red kegger cups will be the "it" thing to use at weddings in a couple years. "So college kitsch!" 

Bridal Footwear Craze 2011: My Predictions

Last year, we had the Vivienne Westwood Heart Pumps craze.   Pics of those puppies got passed around the wed web like the town whore.  But rightfully so.  I mean, they're really freaking cute. And they spell love. On your feet. And add an extra sweetness to the requisite under the bridal gown shoe shot.

Naturally, brides will be on the hunt for something just as cute, or girlie, or fun, or photogenic as the Vivienne's for their 2011 wedding.

So below are my Top 5 Bridal Footwear predictions.  Any brides rock a pair of these yet?  Anyone planning on it?

1. Marc Jacobs Mouse Flats

2. Melissa Butterfly Jelly Sandals

3. Irregular Choice Scotty Dog Pumps

4. Poetic Licence Polka Dot Pumps

5. Unlisted Gingham Pumps