Weddings in Ireland!

There have been some recent changes in the laws relating to getting married in Ireland, essentially loosening up the restrictions and requirements for where and how a legitimate ceremony can be performed. Which is fantastic for all those brides who have dreamed of getting married in a castle or on a lovely manor estate in that perfect, friendly, and verdant country. Rates have fallen all the place as well, and with the Euro strong but not so out of control as in the past several years, it's actually quite realistic to think of planning a destination wedding in Ireland.

And to that end, I have a recommendation for renting castles, manor houses, estates, villas if

you will, in Ireland.

Elegant Retreats International, Inc.

Destination weddings are in some ways less stressful than regular weddings because there are certain wedding "musts" that you can just forget about when planning for far away events. The "special touches" you obsess about are sort of built in to the grandeur of being in a foreign place. Food, drinks, favors, what have you can all be related to the locale, shrinking the pool of possibility enormously, thereby limiting analysis paralysis over finding the very perfect choice in a sea of options. Plus, your guest list is often limited (those obligatory invitees probably won't throw down cash to travel to show up and avail themselves of your hospitality, food, booze, dancing-late-into-the-night, etc. as they might if the event were a few zip codes or even a few states away) and you have the opportunity to craft an event with only your nearest and dearest in attendance.

Having traveled extensively in Ireland, I highly recommend it as a unique destination for a great wedding. The Irish are incredibly kind and friendly people, and there's so much history and beauty and tradition that can be imbued into your celebration. Between the self-catering castle rentals, the serviced holiday Manors, mansions and estates, and even the sweet Irish farmhouse cottages, there is no shortage of options for hosting an amazing event.

We have lift off.

Pretty sure I intended that pun, but hopefully won't be made to suffer for it via a peep show at my wedding. Because ladies and gent, it has been decided that indeed kilts will be worn, along with the jackets and fancy bits to cover the other bits and some dangly stuff to be bitsy with some other bits and whatnot.

May I present to you the ensemble of the groomsmen:


Voila! It's more formal than I had been aiming for, but it sure beats the barefoot/barechested look that Groom has been threatening me with lately. I'm sure the jackets will be on for all of ten minutes, but won't those be a dapper few sixths of an hour?

Now my only problems in wedding life related to this are: gussying up the bridal party with fancy accoutrements like jewelry and feather hair gewgaws, and making sure my Great Aunt doesn't make good on her threat to walk around dropping change next to the groomsmen, a la John Candy in Splash* in order that she might take a gander up at the goods under there. Perhaps I should save her the trouble and just have the guys where really shiny shoes...


*rumors of a remake had tales of Heidi effing Montag vying for the mermaid. Really? It's come to this? And by the way, that movie came out 25 years ago. I. AM. OLD.

Shoegeoisie

My dress was so cheap (even after I made the budget-busting move of changing the ribbon color from royal to midnight blue, gasp!) that I had thought to spend some ducats on a sweet pair of shoes, something fancypants that I would be able to wear more than once and continue to admire from afar (not unlike the Fluevogs I got in Ashland during Doctor Jones' wedding festivities, for example) again and again in all the long years to come. Would I dare go so far as a Choo or a Blahnik? You know me, so the answer is: Obviously not. However, I wouldn't turn away a good pair of Chanel or Weitzman or similar finery on the sale rack at Nordstrom or maybe even Saks (maybe).

One small problem with my shoe-fetishistic plan of going shopping for an expensive bargain: I have no time. Well, two problems: One, I have no time, and two, I have this fucked up toe that needs fixing and needs even more to not to be busted out in the light of day until after such fixery (which will happen this week and which will apparently be costing upwards of seven times the pricetag for fixing the same damn toe in an Urgent Care in Ventura five years ago - of course it never quite looked right after that and clearly needs to be done again, so maybe you get what you pay for? whatever, anyway...). So public shoe shopping spree not really on the docket for your favorite bride up here in Stumptown. Add to the complications: I've been advised to go with creamy/ivory/similar-to-my-dress-color tones, rather than easy-to-find pewter/silvery stuff. (In part, I've been informed, because my dress is a more buttery/creamy shade of warm off-white, not the blueish/cool bent of a more eggshell or ivory white, and therefor might not mesh as well with silver as with golden tones, etc etc etc. Gold doesn't work for my thematic goings one, really, so that's off the table anyway). After hearing this, I admit I fretted for longer than necessary about what kind/color/shape/height/color/color/color shoe I would or wouldn't be able to find, and how would I make this happen in the few weeks we have left, etc.

But then lovely Ren-bird turned me on to Endless.com and voila, a shoe-shopper was (re)born. On their way to me now are the following:


Love t-straps, but don't love pointy and could do without the rhinestones.

And these babies, which I adore, and pray to the wedding gods of Easy Peasy Lemon & Squeezey that they will work as perfectly as I imagine them to in my mind:I love them beyond all reason. And ps they are only like $50 bux. And they have them in a lovely mauve and a gorgeous blue (hint hint). Check em out if you have a chance. In the meantime, I'll let you know how this works out. They should arrive tomorrow, in time for my final dress fitting (which reminds me to tell you to remind me to tell you of the horrible strapless bra hunt shopping experience I suffered through on Saturday. blurgh).

So that's that for the moment. Long live Imelda in our hearts and closets.

omigodomigodohmigod

This wedding is ABSURD. Ridic. Out of control.

But check the Maiden dresses, y'all. (((shiver of glory shudders through my body)))

Seriously? Look at 'em close up:

Probably more fifties than anything, but look at the glorious, rich colors all together! Blue, green, teal, purpley! Yes! Love love love super love with all kinds of lovins on top.

I would also commit a very serious crime or two for that GD bridal gown, Jesus H. Wowza.

Breathtaking

Every single dress in this collection is perfectly amazing. Takes my breath away. WANT.

A taste of the beauty:

Possibly difficult to pull off, but so what? Slap on a few industrial-strength pairs of Spanx and good to go, right?

Actually, it's good that these styles are impractical. It is the unlikelyhood of rocking such satiny material with a full set of curves that I will cling to in order to renew my love for the dress I actually did purchase, which as yet I've not laid eyes on in fully functioning form and so have no idea how it will realistically manifest, but in the ideation is nothing at all like any of these Thirties inspirations. Well, maybe a little Thirties in the frayed edges department...

Anyhoooooo. Click that link up there. Look at the whole collection. It's a feast for the design senses.

Drink Hendricks Gin

I need 7 more of these bottles. These empty bottles, I should clarify.

So please go drink Hendricks Cucumber Gin (seriously, muddle some cucumber in your GT and you will be the happiest happy ever in the history of happys) and save me your empties. It's "from Scotland" and like $25 bux at Trader Joes in CA, but $34 bux here in OR (land of retarded liquor laws) and I'm not really drinking right now (I know, WHAAAA?*) so it's going to be tough to make it happen. But I know you, and with your help, I know we can make it happen.

Actually, I suppose if worse comes to worse, I just get 7 more bottles and empty them into an apothecary jar and put some cucumber slices in that shit and bam! booze for the masses and empty bottles for the show. But in the meantime: Drink up, Johnny!

And ps: thanks for your support.

*starting to realize this is my problem in life: why am I not drinking alcohol during such a stressful time as wedding planning? whose idea was this? Dumb. Dumb dumb dumb. Please pass the martini glass.

If I were bold.

If I were really, truly bold, I would wear this on my wedding day.




I don't mean the beak et. al. because that's just crazy. But the dress. With the feather spray and all. Unbelievably, sensationally, totally gorgeous in every way.

Need. Not want. NEED.

And here I was needlessly stressing about what to wear to a rehearsal dinner type situation. Bingo! On ANY piece of clothing I want? Sold. (Though to be honest, you had me at "Peacock.")

random etsy finds that speak to me, loud enough to drown out the crowd all up in there.

In which we will discover that Etsy has a) lots of weird stuff and b) a ton o ruffles, which c) I apparently have a secret affinity for - who knew?




English Rose Ruffle Dress by Lirola. Reminds me of stuff that the wee Portland girl from Project Runway was doing before she moved to NYC. And yeah, I know there are very few people who could actually get away with this ruffled front. I didn't say the things speaking to me made any sense, now did I?



Ditto on the Project Runway girl comment for this blue number, too. It has a weird pleat on the skirt that probably wouldn't lend itself to easy hang-n-wear, but whatever. Is cute.



The bottom is a little culotte-esque, but the top is rad.



Long ruffled skirt from Econica. Completely infatuated with it, I am not afraid to admit.



$225 worth of peacock-colored awesome. (Swoon).





LOVE. Period.

Fancy change 'em up dresses.

I've not wanted to admit this, but I'm WAY partial to the crazy 46millionwaystowrapit dresses. I keep coming back to them on Etsy. I will throw it out there, and you can tell me if I'm crazy or if you would have to be crazy to be forced to wear such a straight jacket, etc etc.

I mean, come on, look at this blue (not my favorite wrap, but a great blue!):

Also a fan of this blue-ishness, and the wrap style:

See more examples here, here and here. And here.

They look so effing comfortable, right? But maybe hard to vintage up. I don't know. Definitely not a good fabric match with my dress, I don't think (well, maybe... not sure. Actually, no no, it would be totally fine).

But whatever. Bottom line: they look so pretty and comfy that I just want to nap in them, looking gorgeous all the while.

An Assortment of Assorted Dresses.

What I imagine when I say "Assorted Bridesmaid Dresses" generally lays out something like the following:



Nothing old fashioned here, but sweet styles/colors/arrangements.



How you feel about black dresses, ladies? This is the default back-up plan. It would be simple and lovely and go FAB with peacock feathers.



Also loving the neutral/cream situation. Could really rock it, I'm sure. Seriously, how do you feel about neutral pallettes? Some people get a wee washed out, right?




More green. Love the one to the right (my right) of the bride. Not the color, but the little flower and the bust. SO CUTE. (But hey, what is with the pheasant hunt carcass in Bridey's hand?).



More formal than necessary, and pinky/mauve/rose/etc, but how cute? (Hate the gown, by the way).


All these blues are AWESOME.

No on pink, yes on the intermingling of styles. Nicely done.




Did you know that mustaches on sticks were a popular wedding gag thing last year? Why? Who started that? It was cute at the first three weddings, and that's about it. (Of course I plan to have dress up options in the photobooth section of the wedding, so there you go).




All in all, well executed, simple, caszh. LOVE LOVE LOVE the simplicity and the cut of the bridal gown. Dang.

I totally have more, but internet was down at home, and I'm surreptitiously blogging this from work with saved photos in the post that I started a million days ago, so that's it for now.

Oh, except to tell you that I bought a wedding dress. Thanks be to Jessica for helping me through the process! I kind of made it up from a dress on display in a shop and they are making it for me and it's a gamble as to how it will turn out, but I'm confident it's going to be fabulous. For the record I've only tried on one actual dress, and it was a size 6 and so I use the term "tried on" VERY loosely here. I will be the happiest bird on the planet if this dress is as lovely as I think it's going to be. Check mark one on the million-entry To Do list.

Haggisina.

Preliminary searches for Scottish wedding dresses have pulled up the following:

1) The Gweneviere. I have to admit that I semi-like the cut/shape/outline/drape/shoulders aspects of this dress from afar. But the celtic/ropey/medallion pointing at the hoo-ha situation is unrecoverable from, I'm afraid.





2) The Semi-Modern Scottish Lass: Um. Yeah. I don't really know if this is a thing thing, or a joke thing. Because. Um. Yeah.... though I do so especially love the crude stitching, the semi-ripped layer of fabric below the waste, and the wee splay of lace above the one breast. Utterly fascinating. And also something vaguely whore-ish about it... No, wait - Wench, that's the word. She looks like what I imagine a true (tried and true, ba dump bump ching!) wench would look like.




3) The Scottish Amby. Dudes, I could totally grandstand this! Love the cut, love the ribbon band at the top (in a more peacocky or tartany color), love the little shrug* she's got going on. Also love that I think that could be me in the photo, due to the fact that it actually looks like Tina Yothers from Family Ties, to whom I was always always always being compared in the long-ago 80s, and therefore could potentially have ended up looking like, not unlike this brilliant Scottish gal.



4) The Strangely Attracted To You Lacy Layers Dress. I would be a lying liar if I said anything other than: I totally adore this dress. And I could not for the life of me give you a good reason, except that I think the whole layers of strange and clashing lacy fabric thing is just completely odd and cool. Like Molly Ringwald's otherwise ugly dress in Pretty in Pink, this shmata is like some kind of magic made out of the scraps of things far more ordinary. I have fantasies about running around the city collecting bits and bolts and leftover remnants, buying some godawful 80s gown with puffy sleeves and lace and beads and hearts and gauze and ugh, and ripping it all up and sewing it all back together into a strange and beautiful layer cake of a Frankenstein dress like this one. Too bad I'm only a very very very moderate sewer (as of my last sewing class... in eleventh grade).



There are more, of course, but nothing to write blog about. There is a weird trend in the British wedding attire that I would like to point out to you, but I can't quite put my finger on. I will try, though, at some point, because it's just so odd. I really can't find the words. And you know, maybe it's not odd, maybe it's just that those weddings are more au natural, and I'm used to the augmented stylings of all these blogged weddings, so it's hard for me to understand what I'm touching, I mean looking at anymore. Hm.

* I have a whole thought/plan about a shrug or wrap situation, but that will have to be another post.

Another Random Assortment of Dresses Have I loved.

It's bridal, it's bri-dal ti-i-ime. I said it's bridal time, that's why we call it bridal time.

For your feasting (and vicarious living through my process) pleasure:




How do I love this dress, let me count the ways... No, it is too much, let me sum up: slight ruffle, good boob coverage, cute band/flower/waist-defining thing. And look at that, she seems to have a peacock thing going on. Hmmm. I saved this on 10/31/09. I was so ahead of my time.



Pretty sure I saved this because I thought I could rock that hairdo, but now that I'm seeing the dress again, my god, I am in love with it. Not the big sleeves, necessarily, nor the colors (which I like, just not in the peacock/blackwatch tartan vein), but the satin shine and the sash... freaking gorgeous.




This is a one-of-a-kind being sold in the used dress section of Once Wed and I it even though I not a huge fan of layered ruffles like that. Love love love. The top is a perfect shape, I think. There are more photos on Oncewed.com if you got to Used Dresses area and search for 'beige blue custom' I think it will come up.




Dear Santa, please bring me this dress, and the life that goes with it. I've been a very good girl. Love, Amber.

It's maybe too Fifties to pull off for old-timey, but other than that it's a dream dress. Seriously, God's perfect dress in my universe of dress pleasures. Via Etsy.com, if I'm not mistaken.




I've a fondness for the straight/A-line skirt, with some kind of fancy/feminine top. Not sure exactly how to pull it off, though.





Totally not me, but I love it anyway. Appeals to my Kindergarten self, with the butterfly wings and the fairy princess play and all that.





Not sure why I saved this one. The fabric reminds me of the suit my mom wore when she and my step-dad got married, but I do like the overall shape, cut and drape of this, if were a little fancier (but not TOO much more fancy).




I have neither the belly nor the hips to pull this off, but I am extremely fond of it, never the less.




Too much boob in my life to handle everything this dress has going on up top, but I like the shape and concept going on everywhere else.




This makes me think of dancing the Charleston. And I adore it. And it has swirls and a weirdo little bustle. What's not to love?

Next up: all the crazy Scottish dresses.

Inspiration! Peacock Feathers.

I know, I know, hardly original.

HOWEVER: Peacock feathers match pretty closely with the colors of the Blackwatch tartan* for the kilts, so bada boom, bada bing, I have some sort of inspirational item to work with, perhaps, when it comes to dress colors for the ladies. And to the flowers, maybe? And to some kind of hairpiece?

Plus the location I have now secured (well, secured with a contract in my inbox but not yet signed or paid for, anyway) is a little bit orchard/barnyard/nature abounds near by/ish, which always reminds me of the Peacocks that used to live nearby... well nearby someplace that I can't remember right now. Wow, brain. Wow. It was some house where I, like, lived. Or my Dad lived? Oh my god, I can't remember. Jeezus.

Anyway, Peacocks remind me of that. And also of Art Deco designs, which will not be featured prominently (my idea of Old Timey is more Depression-era Thirties than Post-Roaring Twenties Deco Thirties) but may sneak in a bit, you never know, because I'm me and that's how I (un)roll.

I'm also twirling the idea of thistles around in my clearly loose brain. They are so adorably prickly. (Like us). Though they are much more impractical for things like boutonnières (wow, did I just spell that right? GO BRAIN! Wait, no I didn't, I didn't make that pretty little accent. Dammit.) and bouquets and decor and the like. Not so adorable when jabbing into skin. (Like us).

Anyway, things are moving along. Now if I do well at this job interview on Monday I might actually have the ducats to pay for some of this jazz. Wish me luck!


*Which I think we might have found a rental resource from which to procure for $50 per kilt or $100 for the whole outfit, which is INSANE (in a good way - a good kilt is $400 bux! A crap kilt that you make yourself still costs $100 in materials alone!). But I need to order one and see if it's the real deal, or one of those aforementioned crap or lady skirts from Godknowswhere.

Bridesmaidsy Dressish Type Things From Nataya.

Love the entire "Montmarte Doll" collection by this crazy Russian designer Nataya.

http://www.nataya.com/catalogue.php?id=59

Some of it's a little Stevie Nicks, but what are you gonna do? Some of it is spectacular for old timey (not old timey Scottish, necessarily...), including these:



These are just things I found early on in the planning, in the Pre-Kilt-Storic days when it was going to be 100% "Old Timey" theme.

I am definitely leaning toward a "here's your color palette and some old fashioned looks, wear what you want in the general vein of all this" sort of scenario for the ladies, so anything I post here is more of a breathy admiration, "I like your bass, your beat is nice" kind of thing. *

*At least until Bridezilla rears her head and orders you to rush delivery on something in Taffeta and Organza, with sparkles and puffed sleeves. It could happen. (Seriously, have you Googled Scottish Weddings?).