Sparkles and Sticks

The other night I went and saw a really implausible movie, and I pretty much loved it.  That movie was Breaking Dawn.  Yes, I am one of THOSE.*

The reason that Breaking Dawn is probably my favorite book in the Twilight saga is because it is so utterly implausible.  You don't get much more implausible than a woman caring a demon fetus inside her.  That is, unless you decide to let her forever survive it's birth...

(well, she survives in an un-dead way, at least)

...and add in some talking wolves...

(we are having a really big, wolfy argument! RAWR!)

...a sparkly vampire that is scared to have sex with his wife...

(Bella, I'm afraid I might break you if we try to do it again, so let's spend some time incorporating cover art from the books instead, mmkay?)

...and a teenage shape-shifting Alpha Dog falling in love with a barely born baby. 

(Yo, Brother Wolves!  You can't kill the crazy little hybrid kid that was just born!  I freakin' love her, dudes!)

I love all of those elements of the story.  They are so twisted, far-fetched , and gothic that they create a sort of hyperbole about crazy newlywed life.

(Everyday of our eternal marriage will be this perfect... right?  RIGHT?!?!)

But unfortunately, there was one implausibility in the movie that bugged me like a scarab.  The fact that a group of vampires who sparkle if they stumble into a patch of spotlight choose to have an outdoor wedding in one of the rainiest areas of North America makes no sense.  When a wedding could easily be destroyed by both sun and rain, there really is no winning.  Yet somehow, the only thing that really goes wrong at the wedding is that their friends and family give pretty embarrassing toasts.

(Really, a sunny outdoor wedding in Forks, Washington where the dozens of vampires in attendance don't turn into disco balls? )

That just wouldn't happen.

*************************************************************************************************************************************

*(A lot of people think that the Twilight Saga is a poorly written series, I know.  I even agree.  But I read the series at a very special time in my life: a time where I was discovering new caves of my imagination, a time when I was letting my mind leap into new worlds.  And when you read a book at the right time in your life, it sticks with you.  I'm hooked on monsters now, and Twilight was my gateway drug.  And for that, I will critique it, but I will never bash it.)

.a wedding for an anglophile.

Tomorrow morning, I am going to wake up at 3 AM, shuffle out to the living room, throw myself on the couch, flick on the TV ad watch the Royal Wedding.

Some might think it is quite silly to miss half a night's sleep to watch a wedding for two people that I never have and never will meet.  Some are sick of hearing about the Royal Wedding in general; my (British) husband in particular is fed up with all of it.

I am going to watch it anyway, because I love weddings, I love London, and I love waking up at silly hours to do things that I will probably only have one opportunity in my lifetime to do.

So there.

In the meantime, I suggest you enjoy some of the sweet lovelies that Etsy crafters have made in honor of this sparkly ceremony.

1. Dessert Plate: Kate Middleton, House That Lars Built, $22.75

2. William and Kate Royal Wedding Print, Taylors Type, $20

3. Red Sparkle Heart Fascinator, Dark Pony Designs, $20

4. Fairy Queen Soap, Soapy Chica, $6.50

5. Prince William and Kate Middleton Royal Wedding A3 Print, 2DScrumptious, $27.32

6. Royal Wedding Engagement Ring Desert Plate, House That Lars Built, $22.75

7. London England City Skyline Series Notecards, Architette Studios, $16.75

8. Royal Wedding Union Jack Desert Plate, House That Lars Built, $22.75

9. Kate and William T-Shirt, Kate Garey, $47.81

10. Blue Bayou Navy Hair Fascinator, Silver Pencils, $20

11. Union Jack Hand Carved Rubber Stamp, Skull and Cross Buns, $9.39

12. Westminster Abbey Cushion, Helena Carrington Textile and Design, $65

13. Custom Wedding Cushion, Heli Creations, $45.54

14. Prince William Commemorative Desert Plate, House That Lars Built, $22.75

.wedding stories- all that glitters.

When vendors asked what colors we were using in our wedding I told them this: "eggplant, ivory, stone, chocolate and sparkle."  Yes, I decided that sparkle was a color.  With the rate of sparkle going on in our wedding, it deserved a mention.  For some reason this ridiculous insistence was barely noted by vendors, but they continually corrected my eggplant to aubergine.  I hated to break it to them that aubergine was simply a fancier name for the same vegetable.

Of course, the most important bit of sparkle was my ring.  And while there is a bit of an embarassing story behind it, I now wear this gorgeous ring.

The wedding band has the same little diamons running across the top and the same triangular designs on the sides.  It's also inscribed with "Golau Gogyfer Mannau Tywll" which means "A Light for Dark Places" in Welsh.  You see, sparkle is not just a color.  It's a meaningful color!  The same words are inscribed on Ashley's ring.  They make it look a bit like the one ring to rule them all.

Since our wedding was (supposed to) take place in a garden resplendent with flowers, I decided that there was little need for more flowers on the tables.  We went with candles.  Of course many would just rent some candle holders from the vendor that was supplying their bouquets, grab some candles from any big box store and call it a day.  Nope, sorry, that was just too easy for me.  I was obsessed with the need to make our wedding 100% totally, originally us.  I decided to cut coupons, stalk craft stores, and buy nine sets of three cylindrical hurricanes and about a million and a half packages of self adhesive swirled crystals.

This is what the craft room looked like during all of these shenanigans.

This is what the tables looked like at the wedding.

Worth it?  Heck yes.

.wedding stories- paper.

One of my favorite parts of planning our wedding was the paper.  I want to say that it was also one of the least stressful parts, but I would probably be lying to you if I said that there was a single part of planning our wedding that wasn't stressful!  Take a tip from me, if you ever want to have a really stressful time planning a wedding, take two over-achieving perfectionists, put them in seperate countries, make them apply for a visa, add some weather, and you got yourself a fantastically stressful situation!

But nevermind, this post is supposed to be about pretty paper, not stress. 

A lot of the imagery that I had in mind while planing the style of our wedding had to do with fairy tales.  The tables were named after castles we had been to in Wales, I felt like an Elvish princess in my dress, and our wedding was (supposed) to be in a garden that rivals Mary Lennox's.  We didn't want our wedding to feel like an attraction at Disney Land, but the subtle influences were there.  Therefore, I wanted our invitations to look a bit like an old fairy tale book, but with a modern twist.  The secret, I learned, was in the font and the regal colors.

I asked my friend Ashleigh to do our calligraphy for us.  She's in art school, and I loved telling people that my friend "who wants to be a tattoo artist when she grows up" was doing our wedding invitations.  It was just too, too fun.  She also did all the other signs we used at the wedding (table names, guest book table, escort card table, etc.).

We had our invitations designed at printed at a lovely little local paper boutique called PaperWhite.  You can trust that I am 100% not lying when I say that I was giddy and not at all stressed when I got to take this pretty-ily wrapped box home!  There were a few shining moments when I felt like a normal girl planning a wedding during this process, and (not so oddly) paper was a part of one of them!

The shot below was taken after the wedding and includes our favors (sweet little handcarved lovespoons from Wales), a few jewel encrusted rocks that decorated our tables, and our "Thank You" card.  Yes, Ashleigh made the sign we are holding.

Vendors mentioned in this post:

PaperWhite

Ashleigh

Lovespoons Wales

.the wedding blanket.

A few months ago, I saw a pattern for a pretty rose blanket on the shelf in Michaels.

I squeed at it's granny-chic-ness. 

I flipped it open and saw that it was considered an "Easy" level crochet project.

I bought it, and spent the next several months salivating over purple yarns.

Then about a week ago, I hooked my first chain stitch, and started making a flower.

Then I ripped it out, and started again.  And again.  And again.  And again.

You see, I have never crocheted before.  But just like I refuse to be the type of person who can't find anything they like on the menu of ethnic restraunts, or refuses to drink any wine except chardonnay, I refuse to be someone who only knits and doesn't think that there is any reason to learn how to construct yarn based garmets in any other way.

I might decide I hate crochet, and that's totally ok.  The point is to learn how to construct things in a different way.  Like learning a new discipline in school, it makes my mind work in new paths.  It teaches it new ways to build things and solve problems.  And let's face it, you can make prettier flowers with hooks than sticks anyway.

Thus, I present to you The Wedding Blanket.  This is the yarn:

This is the pattern:

Expected results:  A completed blanket that we can take on a picnic on our one year wedding anniversary.  Hence, The Wedding Blanket.

It's noteworthy to state that the sparkly, dramatic color choices and the emphasis on flowers originally had a lot to do with how we thought our wedding day was going to turn out.  It didn't turn out that way at all, but that's a whole 'nother story that I will tell another time.

And so my dear readers, I wish you all some happy hooking!

And now, a Special Halloween Safety Announcement from Sparkles and Sticks

Don't dress up as anything that would render you unable to stake, decapitate, or otherwise slay this Halloween.  Because you just never know when Ethan Rayne will pop up in your town.

By the way, I got married one week ago today!  To a guy who does not like Buffy!

Wish us luck. ; )

.today is...

The day that I fell in love with David Tenant as Dr. Who.

The day that I watched Dr. Who all morning while putting pictures into frames that will serve as wedding decorations.

The day before Ashley's visa interview at the US Embassy in London.

They day that I ordered our wedding invitations.

The day that I upped our order for wedding favours.

The day that I finally found one sheet of purple vellum after searching all stores I could think of in the tri-city area.

The day I spent laying on beds in stores.

The day that I chose the bed that we will be sleeping on for the next fair amount of years.

The day that I was a nervous wreck.

The day that I decided that seeing a t-shirt that said "Love London" on it in a department store was a sign.

The day that I found out and old friend had a baby.

The day that I saw a friend's sister's wedding pictures from this past weekend.

The day that I read this post by my heroine Ali Edwards.

The day that I acknowledged that I have been so scared that this process we have been going through over the past year wasn't really real, that it was just a daydream, that I have done very little to document it.

The day I decided to change that an inundate you with posts of a more personal nature, because that is all I have right now.

The day hat I decided that the best antidote to stress was tea and more Dr. Who.  And blogging.

.the most beautiful bride ever.

Just a few days ago one of by bestest friends married one of the bestest guys.  And when I wasn't bawling my eyes out because my friend looked so incredibly stunning, I was thinking about how sort of surreal wedding ceremonies are.  One minute she was just a lovely lady in a white dress, then she and he said some stuff and their priest pronounced them husband and wife, and bam.  They were officially married.  Husband and Wife.  Mr. and Mrs.  Married.  Just like that.

Of course, it really isn't "just like that" at all, at least not in the cases I know.  There is the whole deal of meeting, dating, building a relationship.  Fights.  Making up.  Kisses.  Meeting family.  Making meals.  Going places.  And a few more kisses.  Then comes the question.  And an answer.  And the ring.  And some parties.  And some mailing of invitations.  Choosing flowers.  Tasting cake.  Having a "discussion" over what types of chairs should sit around the reception tables.  Then the ceremony, which can be quite long, or not, depending on all kinds of stuff.

But the official part is that "I now pronounce you" moment.  Bam.  What was a gradual progression is sealed with that little sentence.

I don't think I'm on to anything all that profound here, just musing.

Anyway, let's celebrate Wedding Wednesday than with the most beautiful bride ever.

I love this last photo the most.  I feel like I am getting a sneak peek of their future.

.offbeat bride love.

Who the heck knows when my wedding is going to actually take place.  I mean, he asked, I said yes, and I wear the ring.  We even know what our colors are going to be, who the bridesmaids are, and where it is going to be held.  But when?  That is entirely up to the U.S. Immigration Department.  (If you guys have google alerts and are now reading this- hi!  I love you.  Please let my fiance move here as soon as you can.  You'll love him, I swear.  He has a rockin' accent and killer blue eyes.  And that's all you guys care about when deciding who gets to enter the country, right?)

Pigeon walk aside, I have no idea when the wedding is going to be.  But that doesn't mean I can't do research in the meantime.  Fun sites like The Knot make me want to throw any tiny shred of financial sensibility I may have out the window in order to have a drop dead gorgeous wedding.  Martha Stewart magazine makes me want to hand cut, stitch, and bake every single aspect of my wedding (which I may actually attempt to do.  Someone please try to talk me out of it a little bit.).  David Tuterra's tv show makes me want to go into the wedding business so I can spend all day planning the most beautiful, seemingly budget free weddings ever.  But reading Ariel Meadow Stallings Offbeat Bride book made me remember the most important thing about planning my wedding: Ashley and Jaime.

At first I wasn't sure that I could classify myself as an offbeat bride.  I do like me some foufy white dresses and sweet white cake.  But after reading Ariel tell her story about her self proclaimed "hippie-raver-freakfest" wedding, I came to the understanding that the most important qualification for being an offbeat bride wasn't the type of clothing I wear on my wedding day, or even where the wedding was held, or how the ceremony was conducted.  The most important aspect was that you plan a wedding that truly reflects the personality of you and your fiance.  And since Ashley and I are nothing if not honest and genuine people, we intend on doing just that.  Of course, a wedding that reflects our personalities may be a bit more traditional than some Offbeat Weddings, but that's ok.

And here's one of Ariel's wedding photos:

Isn't she gorgeous?  I wish my name was Ariel.

.a dress. Or, like you care.

I have a dress.

A wedding dress.

Here's a photo of it:

Despite the fact that this photo shows more detail in the carpet at the bridal boutique where I purchased my dress rather than detail in the actual dress itself, it's the only image I am going to post until after the wedding.  Because I talked to Ashley on the phone yesterday and he told me that he actually read my blog.  And I asked if he liked reading all the nice things I wrote about him.  And he said yes, thankyouverymuch.  But now, it is possible that he will read this blog again, if he decides he would like to read more nice things about himself.  So, no dress.

But I will tell you this: this dress was the very first wedding dress I put on in my entire life.  And now, it will be the last.

(Unless I become an actress who is in a play about someone getting married, or something.  But I really doubt that is going to happen, but I really didn't want to end on such a sappy wedding note- it makes me a bit worried that you will be like "eeeeew, like we care this much about this girls wedding!" and then click away and refuse to be my friend.  So instead, I will leave this blog post on a note that resembles the monologue of a cute, quirky gal character on a smart, cult tv show.  Like Winifred Burkle, or a Gilmore Girl.  Cause if you don't want to hear about my wedding, I'm cool with that.  But if you can't appreciate babbling tangents and cult pop culture references, I may have to do something drastic.  Like chop off all your long super curly hair or get Weavel put an open can of tuna in the air conditioning system of your brand new red convertible.)