As the weather turns more and more surly in Miami, I give pause to think
about weddings, this being June and such. A chic friend of mine asked me to
post some wedding musings- although I am not nearly qualified to do such a
thing. Reason being- I got married in Vegas a deux (me and the man, c'est
tout) in off the rack Catherine Malandrino, which I bought around the corner
from my house a week away from the wedding, to the knee. With a Marc Jacobs
cream patent drum majorette type pump. Hmm. Maybe I am qualified after
all... As a girl, I never fantasized about being Cinderella. Talitha Getty perhaps,
Blondie maybe, but not Cinderella. I am not prone toward poufy white
dresses, or white dresses in general. I don't like all eyes on me, and being
the intense commitment phobe I used to be I couldn't have fathomed getting
married with a crowd of people watching and wondering what kind of hors
d'oeuvres would be served after the ceremony. It was for the best, and I
have never doubted my decision to share that moment with my one and only,
only. So instead of being a traditional bride, I simply perfected the art of
being a quintessential wedding guest- I got very good at this as did my
husband- we gave nice gifts, we danced, we ate. We dressed to the nines. It
was always fun being a wedding guest, but the thought of being the bride
never really sat right with me, at least not in the traditional sense. In the feverish wedding era that was my late 20s-early 30s, Vera Wang was
the end all be all of wedding fashion. The strapless Vera Wang became the
little black dress of the wedding set. Could be A line, but most of the
time, it was a sheath, perhaps it had a long glove, perhaps it had a choker
of pearls. But it was the same darn dress. Over and over again. It was
stunning and beautiful and elegant, but it was not terribly exciting. I am
aware that most of my friends did indeed have the Cinderella fantasy as
girls, and I suppose this dress fit the bill, albeit Cinderella playing it
super safe. It was all about light makeup, hair barely styled, and little in
the way of real FUN. Therein lies my issue. I am not sure where it's written that you must look most like "yourself" on
your wedding day. That you don't want to look back on pictures and wonder
who that smoky eyed vixen was on the most important day of your life when
your tastes run to a more neutral thing in everyday life. But ladies- this
is not everyday life. This is your MOMENT, damn it. I wonder where the drama
is, the style, the over the top thing. Had I gotten married in a BIG way,
you can bet your sweet bride butt that I would bring it. And bring it hard.
I am not sure why you want to wear the same makeup you wear to your office
job to your wedding day. This is your wedding for goodness sakes. Obviously,
you will need to experiment pre-nuptials to perfect the best look for you,
I'm not suggesting embracing purple eyeshadow if you've never had it on your
eye before. But I say, just go for it. Make an impact. When will you ever be
in a wedding gown again (hopefully never ever)? This week, I will show some wedding dresses as inspiration. Obviously most
of us can't afford an haute couture gown, but we can be inspired by them. I
can't think of someone who brings the wedding drama more than Lacroix.
Lacroix, sweetie, Lacroix. Look at the attached examples. His dress for the
first "SATC" movie was beyond my favorite look. Yards of pearls, drama, and
over the top chicy uniqueness. It's too much to bear. Amazing. I'm simply saying- GO FOR IT. Just go for it. We have all seen the strapless
Vera Wang. We've seen it at weddings in the park. We've seen it at weddings
at the Pierre. We've even seen it at weddings on the beach. Yes, I think you
should wear a dress that makes you feel your most beautiful- and high drama
may not be your Birkin bag. But I say go out on a limb and have a REAL
moment. Look back and think about how you worked that dress and how in love
you were. If there is one dress that did it for me, it was Marie Seznec's
(Lacroix's muse) wedding gown of ages ago- it was pink and outrageous, and
I'm hoping I can find a photo of it as it has always stuck with me. If
anything, start assembling some images as inspiration- and go over the top
with those- take Kirsten Dunst's Marie Antoinette as an example- you can
always scale back, but I challenge you brides not to play it so safe- create
a fashion moment while you take those vows- after all, isn't marriage a bit
of a risk? And that's true romance, if you ask me- it's all about taking
risks, albeit calculated ones. And that's what's up this dramatic and
romantic Tuesday in the MIA. XO.
about weddings, this being June and such. A chic friend of mine asked me to
post some wedding musings- although I am not nearly qualified to do such a
thing. Reason being- I got married in Vegas a deux (me and the man, c'est
tout) in off the rack Catherine Malandrino, which I bought around the corner
from my house a week away from the wedding, to the knee. With a Marc Jacobs
cream patent drum majorette type pump. Hmm. Maybe I am qualified after
all... As a girl, I never fantasized about being Cinderella. Talitha Getty perhaps,
Blondie maybe, but not Cinderella. I am not prone toward poufy white
dresses, or white dresses in general. I don't like all eyes on me, and being
the intense commitment phobe I used to be I couldn't have fathomed getting
married with a crowd of people watching and wondering what kind of hors
d'oeuvres would be served after the ceremony. It was for the best, and I
have never doubted my decision to share that moment with my one and only,
only. So instead of being a traditional bride, I simply perfected the art of
being a quintessential wedding guest- I got very good at this as did my
husband- we gave nice gifts, we danced, we ate. We dressed to the nines. It
was always fun being a wedding guest, but the thought of being the bride
never really sat right with me, at least not in the traditional sense. In the feverish wedding era that was my late 20s-early 30s, Vera Wang was
the end all be all of wedding fashion. The strapless Vera Wang became the
little black dress of the wedding set. Could be A line, but most of the
time, it was a sheath, perhaps it had a long glove, perhaps it had a choker
of pearls. But it was the same darn dress. Over and over again. It was
stunning and beautiful and elegant, but it was not terribly exciting. I am
aware that most of my friends did indeed have the Cinderella fantasy as
girls, and I suppose this dress fit the bill, albeit Cinderella playing it
super safe. It was all about light makeup, hair barely styled, and little in
the way of real FUN. Therein lies my issue. I am not sure where it's written that you must look most like "yourself" on
your wedding day. That you don't want to look back on pictures and wonder
who that smoky eyed vixen was on the most important day of your life when
your tastes run to a more neutral thing in everyday life. But ladies- this
is not everyday life. This is your MOMENT, damn it. I wonder where the drama
is, the style, the over the top thing. Had I gotten married in a BIG way,
you can bet your sweet bride butt that I would bring it. And bring it hard.
I am not sure why you want to wear the same makeup you wear to your office
job to your wedding day. This is your wedding for goodness sakes. Obviously,
you will need to experiment pre-nuptials to perfect the best look for you,
I'm not suggesting embracing purple eyeshadow if you've never had it on your
eye before. But I say, just go for it. Make an impact. When will you ever be
in a wedding gown again (hopefully never ever)? This week, I will show some wedding dresses as inspiration. Obviously most
of us can't afford an haute couture gown, but we can be inspired by them. I
can't think of someone who brings the wedding drama more than Lacroix.
Lacroix, sweetie, Lacroix. Look at the attached examples. His dress for the
first "SATC" movie was beyond my favorite look. Yards of pearls, drama, and
over the top chicy uniqueness. It's too much to bear. Amazing. I'm simply saying- GO FOR IT. Just go for it. We have all seen the strapless
Vera Wang. We've seen it at weddings in the park. We've seen it at weddings
at the Pierre. We've even seen it at weddings on the beach. Yes, I think you
should wear a dress that makes you feel your most beautiful- and high drama
may not be your Birkin bag. But I say go out on a limb and have a REAL
moment. Look back and think about how you worked that dress and how in love
you were. If there is one dress that did it for me, it was Marie Seznec's
(Lacroix's muse) wedding gown of ages ago- it was pink and outrageous, and
I'm hoping I can find a photo of it as it has always stuck with me. If
anything, start assembling some images as inspiration- and go over the top
with those- take Kirsten Dunst's Marie Antoinette as an example- you can
always scale back, but I challenge you brides not to play it so safe- create
a fashion moment while you take those vows- after all, isn't marriage a bit
of a risk? And that's true romance, if you ask me- it's all about taking
risks, albeit calculated ones. And that's what's up this dramatic and
romantic Tuesday in the MIA. XO.
