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So apparently for a couple to be legally married by the lovely state of New York, you need a wedding license. Cheryl and I had that task this past Friday morning. We woke up extra early to beat the lines and headed over to the Queens Marriage Bureau located in Kew Gardens.
 one lucky bride arrived in a wedding dress.... could have been Cheryl.  happy couples...notice the cupid and hearts decals on the glass. Gives it the romantic edge. Luckily the line wasn’t too long, I’d say about 7-8 couples before us. It was very helpful that we had already filled out the online application. So after an hour and a $35 credit card charge later, we obtained our marriage license! The funny thing, or well the thing I found most interesting, is that for just a mere $10 more we could have had a ceremony and been officially married right there.
That’s right folks, it’s $45 to get married. I don’t think you understand… so let’s break this down some more.
Average wedding in the United States – $20,000* ($45 is 0.002%)
Average NYC wedding – $35,000* ($45 is 0.0012%)
*According to www.costofwedding.com
So the true cost of a NYC wedding is $45, but yet why do we spend over 100,000% more ? I don’t understand it either, it boggles my mind. One of the many mysteries of the world… like UFO’s, the Loch Ness monster or who shot JFK?
None the less the story ends like this…
1. we got the license
2. we are still having a wedding
3. i’m happy … (no sarcasm)
The wedding dress I made is not particularly ornate or embellished because of the limits of my sewing skills. So I decided the perfect way to add some vintage glam to my look would be to wear a statement necklace. I figure its not giving away too much to post the finished result here on the blog.
 This is the closest thing i have to a "before" picture. I've been getting pretty lazy about taking process pics. I bought the fresh water pearls from one of the bead shops around my office in NYC The necklace is made out of freshwater pearls, clear crystal beads, and sterling silver findings. The vintage brooches are purchased off of ebay. It was mostly inspired by this Christos ad campaign (image below). I made some changes from the original design, as you can see, but it was definitely strongly influenced by this necklace.
 from the Christos ad campaign I was also very inspired by the designs of Elva Fields, who’s jewelry I only wish I could afford.
 Some examples of the inspiring past designs of Elva Fields So yeah, that’s the final result and I’m very happy with it. Now I just have to figure out what type of earrings will go with it.
Thanks for being patient, I finally got around to compiling our favorite shots from the engagement shoot. Connie did an amazing job, and I can’t wait to see what she’s able to do when she shoots our wedding!
 
One thing I’m excited about for marriage is having my “forever roommate.” This is the first time in the six years of living in my apartment that I’m actually looking forward to the end of my lease (only half a month away). I’ve had many, MANY roommates throughout my single adulthood. Some experiences were really awesome and lead to life long friendships, some made for crazy stories, and some were definitely less than ideal. But as great as my roommates had the potential to be, they were all temporary. And those close to me know of the annual panic I have experienced in order to find a new roommate, both in college and expensive NYC.
So after six years in one apartment I’m finally packing up my stuff to move into a new apartment with Joe. I’m so excited about it. I know we will experience our share of trials and troubles, but I love that it is so natural for us to be honest and open with each other (an important dynamic to have with any roommate). I love that I will always be able to rely on him and that I can always be there for him. And I love that I won’t have to say ‘goodbye’ to him at the end of the night and that I can wake up next to the one I love every morning. I love that he is not temporary.
But for now, I must face the monumental task of packing up six years worth of accumulated crap. I wish i had pictures of the new place to show you, but I know decorating it will be my new project once the wedding is over. The blog will go on!!!
On a side note, we finally got all of our engagement pictures, and I plan to sort out and post our favorites here on the blog tomorrow! So definitely check back soon =)
This past Friday and Saturday Joe and I met with our photographer, Connie Wang to shoot our engagement pics. We had a really awesome time. First of all Connie was so fun to work with. She is very passionate, but also very sweet and giving. We are not only thankful that we found such a talented photographer, but one who we get along with so well too.
We started off the shoot in the Meatpacking District, wandering the streets, ordering frozen treats from an ice cream truck, and trying to minimize the shine on our faces in the nearly 90 degree weather. Eventually we ended up at Highline and got some great shots there too. Joe and I had planned to search various wedding blogs for engagement photo pose ideas, but we got lazy and busy and arrived at our own shoot unprepared. I know I’m going to love a lot of the shots from this shoot and Connie did a great job directing us, but we regretted not having more of our own ideas to make it more personal.
But Saturday was better. Connie had more experience with our Saturday location so she shot very confidently and we also did our homework and researched new pose and prop ideas. I feel like these shots ended up feeling more natural, with more variety. We spent most of the evening at Kissena Park. I had no idea, but deep in the park, there is this amazing field with lots of overgrown grass and weeds. It was such a romantic, bohemian location and is one of Connie’s favorite places to shoot. She sent me a couple of preview photos to look at and I absolutely LOVE them. I cant wait to see the rest!
After Kissena Park, Connie suggested going to a street carnival that happened to be set up near her home. It never occurred to us to use a location like that, but it was a brilliant idea. We got pictures on the ferris wheel, playing games, eating funnel cake, etc. I think this was definitely our most fun and playful location, and I’m so glad Connie thought of it… I’m so curious to see how this set turned out and I will definitely be posting the whole engagement shoot on the blog once I get them =)
To all of our guests, You should be getting invites in the mail this week. Also, please check out our updated “Guest info and FAQ” page. Three months to go!!!
Things have been slow here on the blog, but wedding planning has been pretty constant over the past several weeks. We picked out praise songs for the wedding; I’ve been working on various print materials, including assembling the invitations; I’ve been chasing people for mailing addresses; etc. Basically I’ve kept myself really busy with the nitty gritty stuff, but I haven’t had anything really worth writing about on the blog. Stay tuned though! I think June will be a good month for blog posting as we have a lot of vendor meeting and various other wedding related things in the works.
This past Saturday we met with our caterer to finalize our menu and discuss certain logistical aspects about setting up the wedding in our venue. They really put me at ease with their suggestions and knowledge of how to host a party. I’m definitely even more excited to see how everything will come together.
anyway, here’s a bit of a preview of what to expect on our wedding day!
 In the Front: Baked Brie, Fuji apple, pecan and mango chutney in tiny phyllo cup... In the Back: London Broil in tiny Yorkshire Pudding, portabello mushrooms, hunter sauce and horseradish  Gin and Tonic Shrimp Skewers with pepper and snap peas in spicy Thai-Ginger sauce, gin and a slash of tonic  the asparagus, goat cheese, mango and red pepper wrapped in prosciutto These are just a few of the dishes that will be served at our wedding. my personal favorite is the apple and brie hors d’oeuvre (to be served during cocktail hour). Our caterer, Sharon of Fallier Foods, has an almost obsessive attention to detail in her presentation and the fusion of flavors she combines in her dishes. Each dish is so complex, and I hope everyone appreciates all of the care she puts into each item she prepares. She has been so enthusiastic through this whole process and I feel very lucky to have found her.
Its here!!
I’m soo excited about our groomsmen ties. My very good friend Andrew; who is always generous with with his time, knowledge, and resources; offered to custom make our wedding ties. He is the owner of 3sixteen, a NYC based menswear line, and he let us come to his tie factory and flip through pages and pages of swatches. Joe and I picked out the fabrics we liked most, decided on tie width, and Andrew put in the order. Then wa la! four unique ties that totally fit the style and feel of our wedding. I love them!!!
 Much like the bridesmaid dresses, we are going for the "purposely mismatched" look. I think these coordinate well without looking too uniform  This is the image that I found which inspired our look More pics!
 The black tie with the dark gray stripes was the result of an ingenious suggestion that Andrew made. What you see is actually the BACK side of the fabric, the front had lighter stripes and looked much more preppy. So its basically an inside-out tie that looks so much more sophisticated!
I can’t thank him enough. You should definitely check out more hip ties at the 3sixteen online shop.
I don’t think I’ve ever put it into words before, but I think one of my philosophies in life is, “if you can’t afford to buy it, then make it yourself.” Two things lead to my decision to make my own wedding dress. 1. our low low wedding budget, and 2. my extreme pickiness due to my exposure to high fashion dresses at work. I was definitely taking a risk by making my own dress, though. When I told my friend, who is a fashion designer, about my idea, he advised me against it. He had made a dress for his wife for their wedding and warned me that it would be way too stressful.
There was a moment early on in the process, after totally botching my first attempt at making the bodice, where I regretted my choice and felt a sense of panic that I had wasted too much of the budget on fabric to buy anything worthwhile at that point. Luckily after a day of mourning and not looking at my sewing machine, I learned from my mistakes, created a new plan, and started all over again. After more than two months of using all my free time to hunch over my sewing machine, I brought the finished dress to work for a professional hemming.
Now the hem is done and I’m very pleased to say that I have a finished wedding dress that I’m very happy with!! Of course its not quite to the standards of a professionally made gown….some stitching is uneven and obviously sewn by amateur hands, but overall, it looks like what I had in my head. Unfortunately I can’t post pictures because I want to preserve that moment moment at the alter where Joe sees me in my dress for the first time. But here are a few ambiguous looking process shots that I don’t think give too much away.
 this collage gives away nothing about the final look of the dress, and is mostly under structers and early draping. Unforuntely I got pretty lazy about documenting the process since it was a pretty frustrating process at times. So you'll have to forgive the quality and lack of pictures.
This past Saturday my mom and my sister drove up to New York to join us for our cake tasting at Nine Cakes Bakery. I have to say, this has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of wedding planning so far, and Betsy Thorleifson (the baker and owner) far surpassed my expectations.
When we arrived, I was surprised to see several plates of unfrosted mini cupcakes, with bowls of butter cream frosting that we could mix and match. I have never been to a cake tasting before, but this was much more than I thought we would be able to try. In my head I had pictured tiny nibbles of sliced up cake.
 I forgot to take pictures at the begining. by the time i took this picture we had already eaten half of what was there. 
We found Nine Cakes when my sister noticed a tiny blurb about it while perusing bridal magazines. What attracted me to seriously pursue this option was the unique and amazingly sophisticated flavors in their seasonally rotating menu. I am a huge lover of floral and tea flavors, and Betsy’s menu was full of choices like almond rose water or earl grey. In the end we decided on our favorites and plan to have two different cupcakes served at our wedding. One is an orange blossom cake with lavender frosting, and the other will be an almond flavored cake with a strawberry rosewater frosting. What I really loved about every flavor offered is that it was nice and subtle and didn’t feel like you were eating soap, so the cake and frosting flavors were not overwhelming when combined. I also loved that the buttercream frosting was not too sweet yet thick and creamy and the top of the cake had a light crispiness while still being slightly moist on the inside (not gooey moist).
 Joe and I posing with Betsy, our baker. Betsy was also a delight to work with. She was super sweet, and easy to talk to. At one point, Joe and I were debating about which frosting we preferred, the rosewater or the strawberry. She came up with the idea to combine the two. It was such a great suggestion that we ended up deciding to use it! I also brought my finished cake topper for her to see, along with some print outs with inspiration, and she reacted really positively towards it. I feel like she totally understood my aesthetic, not that she needed to change hers much, I love almost all of the pictures on her website. This ultimately makes me feel really confident about hiring her for our wedding. Oh check out her tiered cakes too, we are only ordering cupcakes, but her tiered cakes are super cute too!
The only sad part is, I’ve heard that the bride and groom tend to be too busy at the wedding to really enjoy the food. But I made my mom and sister promise to save us a few cupcakes to take home with us (this is in addition to the cake that you freeze for a year). Since she makes all of her cakes to order, this will be the last time we get to taste the yumminess until we hire her for some other event who knows when!
 All of us, very happy with what we've just tasted  My mom and my sister. I loved that they could join us for this since they are both down in Maryland and dont get to be as involved as they would like...especially since Nicole has a passion for cupcakes and frosting.  The aftermath! Oh and speaking of my cake topper, I finally finished it! Take a look at the pictures below. I’m so happy with it!
The base if very Anthropologie/Jcrew/EmersonMade inspired and follows that arts and crafts, vintagey feel of the whole wedding.
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