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Katherine Heigl isn't moving in until they tie the knot

Kate Musgrove — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Celebrity Weddings, Celebrity Relationships, Polls, Celebrity

Katherine Heigl isn't moving in with fiance Josh Kelly until after they get married. She said, "I ... didn't want to live together before we were married. I still have enough Mormon in me -- not a lot, but enough -- that I wanted to keep that a little bit sacred."

Now, I am perhaps more liberal than most, but I can't imagine marrying someone I hadn't lived with. I think living with a person gives you a clearer and more honest picture of who they really are, and how they handle stress. Plus, the idea of planning a large wedding, getting married, going on a honeymoon and then learning that my husband is literally physically incapable of putting his dirty clothes in the laundry hamper would have been disheartening, to say the least. I felt like knowing all the little quirks and shortcomings of my spouse to be helped me to make a fully informed decision about marriage. Yes, he would never put his dirty tees in the hamper, but wake the man up in the middle of the night because you had a bad dream about crazy dolls and he is comforting, patient, and kind.

What do you say, AisleDash readers? Are you all for living together before marriage, or does it offend your sensibilities? Did you do it to the disappointment of your parents, or refrain to keep them happy?

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Vintage Basset Hound wedding photos

Kate Musgrove — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Alternative Weddings

I love weddings -- I do, after all, write for a wedding blog. And anyone who has ever met me knows I'm pretty much crazy about my two Basset Hounds. I am therefore the perfect audience for this series of vintage Basset Hound Wedding objects -- they have mugs and mouse pads and coasters and more -- but I'm...not sure I'm sold. I mean, they are hilarious. And I definitely come down on the "yes" side of the "dogs in clothes" debate (my husband is a firm "no," though, which is why our dogs don't have any sweaters). And yet, when I look at these sepia-toned, obviously photoshopped beauties, I wonder if maybe, just maybe, owning them would push me from "devoted dog owner" over to "crazy dog lady." And that's not a gamble I'm willing to take.

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Wedding dress with special history

Kate Musgrove — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Alternative Weddings, Bridal Beauty

I just love this story -- it is so noble, so romantic, and so distinctly old-fashioned. In 1944, when Maj. Claude Hensinger was fighting in WW II, a parachute saved his life. He used it to jump from a plane and land safely, and that night, he wrapped himself in it and used it as a pillow. Three years later he presented it to his girlfriend, Ruth, and suggested she might want to make a wedding dress out of it -- that is, if she would like to marry him. Ruth said yes, made a lovely dress out of the parachute, and they got married. Beyond the sheer awesomeness of the story, I am also pretty astounded that Ruth was able to create such a lovely dress out of a parachute. I cannot begin to imagine what I would have done in the same situation, although I fairly certain my wedding dress would have been something...Roman. Like a toga. Held together by safety pins.

Even more wonderful: later, their daughter and their son's bride wore the same dress.

The dress is on display at the Smithsonian -- as it should be.

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Best wedding cake ever

Kate Musgrove — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Cakes and Catering, Alternative Weddings

Maybe this is only awesome if you were born in the 80s, but I, for one, have developed a full-blown pastry crush on this super-detailed Super Mario Brothers wedding cake. The cake was made by Gateaux, Inc. for a couple named Brent and Annette, and apparently, the very hardest part was finding the princess character to be the bride half of the cake topper. I love, love, love it when people show their personalities, hobbies, and quirks in their wedding choices, but this one really takes the cake (terrible pun intended).

Like I said, the appeal of this cake might be limited to the twenty-something crowd. I have to admit that my mother, for example, would probably give me a quizzical, "that's very...colorful, dear" if I'd this at my wedding. But that doesn't make it any less awesome. There's a full set of cake photos here.

[via boing boing]

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I do...NOT

Kate Musgrove — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Rings, After the 'I Do's'

So what do you do with your wedding ring after the marriage falls apart? Do you keep in your desk drawer? Throw it over the side of a ship? Or do you get a tiny wooden coffin (with a glossy mahogany finish!) for it, engrave it with a bon mot like, "Gone and forgotten" or the disturbingly vengeful, "Six feet isn't deep enough" and call it a day?

Yeah, I'm not so sure. I mean, a marriage breaking up is an awful, awful thing, but when it's over, there's nothing to do but move on.

I'm not sure that a wedding ring coffin would exactly facilitate moving on for me personally -- although I think the idea of threatening to get a miniature coffin for my wedding ring is sort of funny. You know, maybe the next time my husband asks to have chicken for dinner instead of pork I will burst into tears and bellow, "Well FINE! I'll just get a TINY WOODEN COFFIN FOR MY WEDDING RING IF THAT'S THE WAY YOU'RE GOING TO BE!" I'm sure he would find that hilarious. And then he would have me committed.

And for the record, I would not, under any circumstances do as this woman did and display my wedding ring on a bloody rubber finger. A woman has to draw the line somewhere.

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RSVP with complete honesty

Kate Musgrove — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 17:45:00 EST

Filed under: Invitations

I think I might be a little in love with notattending.com. It's a site set up by two writers, Haje and Kate, who scripted a fake wedding invitation and asks others - including you, if you like - to RSVP as honestly as you want. My current favorite is from Michael Dietz, who says, "you two picked the exact weekend that my cat is getting married!" and later clarifies, "his mom is coming in from California." And really, how could Kate and Haje expect their friend to dissapoint their...cat's...mother.

I am also fond of this contribution from user germanfreek: "I would love to be there, especially to see how much weight Kate has gained, and how much hair Haje has lost since our last encounter. Remember when you hit my car and didn't leave a note..."

Continue reading RSVP with complete honesty

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Recent lottery winners splash out on wedding

Kate Musgrove — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:15:00 EST

Filed under: Over-the-Top Weddings, Ceremonies

Emma Cox and Luke Pittard won £1.3 million in the lottery -- about $2.6 million US -- and had the wedding of their dreams. They even went so far as to dress their family and friends in all-white outfits for the special day. The 150 guests dined lavishly at Cardiff's swanky Hilton Hotel and the bride pronounced the day "fantastic" and said that "This was something which would have been unbelievable if it hadn't been for winning the lottery."

Now, I have a confession to make. Even if I'd won the lottery before I got married, I wouldn't have spent any of the winnings on an extravagant wedding. I would have kept it as small and simple as could be and I certainly wouldn't have purchased an all-white outfit for each of my guests. (Although the mental image of pitching this idea to my shy and modest husband makes me laugh: "That's right, honey, we're buying white outfits for your whole family! Now get me your father's inseam, STAT.")

Continue reading Recent lottery winners splash out on wedding

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Invitation etiquette quiz

Kate Musgrove — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Invitations, Etiquette

You've quizzed yourself to see if you're bridesmaid to a Bridezilla, and you've determined what kind of bride you are. (I was a modern bride, which I think makes me sound more polished than I actually am.) Now, how much do you know about wedding invitation etiquette? Do you want to take a quiz and find out?

This is precisely the sort of quiz I wish I could take competitively for cash prizes. As it is now I am forced to ace it at home with only my husband and dogs to congratulate me. Where are my adoring fans, my floral wreaths, my presidential phone calls? And while we're on it, can we make Tetris a professional sport? I could really use a 20 million-dollar contract.

Gallery: The honor of your presence is requested

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Another way to get a gown on the cheap

Kate Musgrove — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 10:15:00 EST

Filed under: Fashion, Ceremonies, Eloping, Bridal Beauty

Last month Ilona wrote a great post on getting your wedding dress for less. She suggested renting, borrowing, or buying a bridesmaid's gown. And last week, Kerri wrote a great post on how everything costs more at a "wedding." It was a combination of those two tips that scored me the wedding dress of my dreams for a mere $75.

First, I told all the salespeople that I was looking for a dress for a wedding -- omitting the fact that it was my wedding I was looking for. My husband and I got married at City Hall, and I didn't need an ornate wedding dress. By not specifying that I was actually looking for a wedding dress, I avoided the top tier of fancy, floor-length dresses, and the salespeople showed me mostly tea-length, unembellished dresses. It wasn't particularly important to me that the dress was white, although I did mention that I wanted to avoid black. I told them that I wasn't flashy, that I wanted to avoid going strapless, and that I'd wear my hair down. These things were true for my wedding day -- and they'd be true for any party I went to, too.

Continue reading Another way to get a gown on the cheap

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Getting married...online

Kate Musgrove — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 08:45:00 EST

Filed under: Alternative Weddings

Initially, my husband and I met online, through the internet personals. After some emails and a little chatting, we met in person for our first date. I mean, you can't have your first date online, right?

Apparently you can. In fact, you can get MARRIED online. And I don't mean get married to someone you know and love while others watch online; I mean, get married. Online. To another player in your role-playing game, either because you are genuinely in love with him or her, or simply for the fun of it. From wikipedia: "It is interesting to note that in many cases the participants do not know each other outside the virtual community. Some couples may not even know each other's true name, gender, etc. Some do, in fact, extend this union outside the virtual, but many do not."

These weddings have cyber guests, cyber rings, even fake cake and photographs. In essence, they have everything -- virtually.

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No, seriously, the bride wore capris

Kate Musgrove — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fashion, Alternative Weddings

Susan posted last month about the new Vera Wang bridal capris and the cropped pants received a bit of a mixed reception. I mean, really, who gets married in capris?

Well, my older sister, for one. She got married at City Hall in a pair of white capris that she sewed herself and a white blouse she'd gotten on sale the week before. Afterward, she changed into her "get-away" outfit, which consisted of a pair of camouflage cut-offs and some blue adidas slides. She and her husband got a hotel room, whereupon he immediately contracted a terrible case of food-poisoning and she, five months pregnant and starving, spent the evening alternately calling "you okay in there, honey?" and "you're not going to finish those hot wings, are you?" through the bathroom door.

Continue reading No, seriously, the bride wore capris

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My proposal story

Kate Musgrove — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:45:00 EST

Filed under: Engagement

I loved reading Kristen's and Kerri's proposal stories. This is mine.

A poster on one of the internet forums my husband frequented started a thread asking where he might find a banner-towing plane, because there was this girl, see, and he was fixin' to ask her to marry him. Via a plane.

Marc responded by offering a few banner-towing websites and then commenting politely on the fact that a banner-towing plane might not actually be the way to go, there, and that if he were to ask a woman to marry him, why, he'd take her out for a nice, romantic supper, and then take her out for a nice, romantic walk. He said this because he felt that moment should be shared between two people, not two people and a guy named Steve towing a banner at 3000 feet.

After reading Marc's response in that thread, I couldn't hear the word "walk" or the letters "W", "A", or "sneaker" without mentally smoothing and polishing my skirt and my left ring finger and any possible errant cowlicks. Days that Marc was slow to put on his shoes -- days that he spent in jeans and a t-shirt and NO SHOES, because he WASN'T PLANNING ON TAKING ANY WALKS -- well, those days were about 12 kinds of endless. I mean, a man cannot ask you to marry him IF HE'S NOT WEARING ANY SHOES.

Continue reading My proposal story

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When it makes sense to bend the rules

Kate Musgrove — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 10:15:00 EST

Filed under: Gifts and Registries, Bridal Bloopers, Eloping

When we got married, we registered for gifts, even though we eloped, which Ilona has told us is an etiquette no-no. And I understand why: no party, no presents. In my defense, though, I had just returned from some time living abroad and had no household goods to my name, and my husband had just returned, from, uh, a many-yeared stint of being a stereotypical single man, and the only real pan he owned was his Hamburger Helper pan. (He called it that because it was the pan he bought to make his nightly Hamburger Helper in. And then I married him and there was no more Helping of any sort Hamburger, and we all lived happily ever after.)

So we registered.

Continue reading When it makes sense to bend the rules

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My blue shoes

Kate Musgrove — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:45:00 EST

Filed under: Ceremonies, Eloping, Bridal Beauty

Meg just wrote about using Irregular Choice blue shoes as your "something blue." When I got married, I wore a pair of very pale blue heels. Style-wise, they were perfect and understated and I loved the sly pop of color they gave my wedding outfit. In terms of fit, though, they were hideously, horribly uncomfortable - and our ceremony was only fifteen minutes long! I took them off in the car on the way home and they have never been on my feet again. If I had to do it over again I'd pick Cynthia Rowley or Fifi Annika shoes, I think, which are white with blue soles or footbeds.

And for the record: my dress was new, my lingerie was old (although, really, it was my wedding day, so it wasn't that old) and my something borrowed was the Kleenex that our Officiant handed me halfway through the ceremony. I used it to dry my eyes and then thought, WAIT, we're going to exchange rings in about forty-five seconds, what on earth do I do with the Kleenex NOW? (In the end, I rolled it into a tube shape and flung it into the first row of seats. And now you know the real reason we eloped: if we hadn't, the Kleenex would have landed on my Grandfather, or worse, my new in-laws.)

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Safe sex wedding dress

Kate Musgrove — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Alternative Weddings, Do-It-Yourself

We talk a lot about wedding dresses here on AisleDash. And we talk a fair bit about good, safe sex practices, too. But we haven't ever combined the two: safe sex and wedding dresses seem like two separate, distinct topics, and never shall the twain meet.

Unless you make a wedding dress out of condoms, of course.

Made for World AIDS Day, the dress was crafted from 12,500 condoms. Each condom was individually colored and stitched. Apparently making clothes out of condoms is more common than I thought: the artist, Adriana Bertini, has a whole website full of condom outfits.

Continue reading Safe sex wedding dress

Post-wedding brunch

Kate Musgrove — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 18:32:00 EST

Filed under: Keeping the Memory, After the 'I Do's'

A post-wedding brunch is a wonderful chance to casually visit with out-of-town guests, share memories from the night before, and make that warm, happy wedding feeling last just that much longer. The morning after our wedding reception, my husband and I had brunch with his parents, and it was really the only chance we had to talk in depth with them all weekend. Ours was a small wedding, and I can only imagine how much harder it would be to see all the guests at a large wedding.

The menu and theme is up to you, of course. Martha Stewart suggests Eggs with Caviar Butter (garnished with heart-shaped toast, obviously) and a personalized crossword puzzle for your guests. This menu at Epicurious is a little more to my tastes (less caviar, more bacon) and includes a Bellini Bar. I say we break out the bellinis and use the crossword puzzles as coasters.

Whatever you do, have the brunch at a restaurant or get it catered: your parents and bridesmaids shouldn't be cleaning and cooking up after putting so much effort into your wedding -- and neither should you.

Branding your wedding with a logo

Kate Musgrove — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Invitations

When you start to plan a wedding, you find yourself hiring trades people -- a florist, a caterer, and a graphic designer. Yes, a graphic designer. It seems that weddings, along with everything else these days, are being branded, trademarked, and promoted. And goodness, is it pretty.

The graphic designer in question makes a logo - it could be a single bird, a tree, or maybe a stylized, abstract shape. The logo decorates everything in your wedding - linens, place cards, even the wedding cake. Honestly, I love this idea. I think it is perfect for the modern bride who wants to theme and coordinate her wedding without being too matchy-matchy.

If imprinted wine glasses, bridal sashes, and cookies seem over the top to you, you can limit your logo to just the wedding stationery. Printing Save the Date cards, invitations, and thank you notes with a simple, distinctive logo will convey a sense of continuity without appearing ostentatious. Many of the invitations in the gallery below have all been printed with gorgeous and unique logos. Seeing them makes me want to plan my wedding all over again, if only for beautifully branded invitations.

Gallery: The honor of your presence is requested

Grey's star ties the knot

Kate Musgrove — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Celebrity Weddings, Celebrity Relationships, Eloping

Sure, Katherine Heigl has set a wedding date, but last week, Grey's Anatomy co-star Ellen Pompeo one-upped her by going ahead and getting married -- without notice -- at City Hall in New York City. The ceremony took place last Friday but was not announced until yesterday. The witnesses were New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Patti Harris. No one else attended. Pompeo said she didn't want a big ceremony because "we want one thing to ourselves." I really support her desire for privacy - as a celebrity, she's photographed every time she goes to the gym or buys tampons. I'm so happy that she and her new husband, Chris Ivey, had this one thing for themselves. The only question that remains: how does Ivery feel about all those hot sex scenes between Meredith Grey and Dr. McDreamy?

Gallery: Ellen Pompeo

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Happy anniversary! Here's some thank-you cards.

Kate Musgrove — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:02:00 EST

Filed under: Etiquette, Bridal Bloopers

Via the always-entertaining AskMetafilter: this woman gave her cousin a lovely gift for her baby shower, but didn't get a thank-you note. Later, she went to the same woman's wedding shower with a lovely gift, but...didn't get a thank you note. Now, the cousin is getting married, and the woman wonders if, after all this, she really needs to get her a gift.

I understand completely where she's coming from -- it feels a bit like rewarding bad behavior to keep handing over presents despite a total lack of thanks. Other posters suggested that she "get over it" and just give another present, or that she regift something if she is strongly opposed to spending money. My very favorite suggestion was that she give the cousin a gift of stationery. Namely, thank-you cards. It's forward, sure, but I can't say it's completely inappropriate. (Just mildly inappropriate.)

Here's the horrifying confession of the week, though:

Continue reading Happy anniversary! Here's some thank-you cards.

Prince Harry a single man again

Kate Musgrove — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Celebrity Relationships

At just the time Prince William may be proposing to his girlfriend, it looks like Prince Harry has been dumped by his. The lovely Chelsy Davy has reportedly grown tired of Prince Harry's "playboy lifestyle and lack of commitment" to her.

Before I go any further I have to confess, that yes, I spent the majority of childhood enamored with a Royal Prince, but it was William, not Harry, that I was enamored with. There was something incredibly appealing about Prince William's sincerity, poise, and unfailing politeness. And my goodness, the man is handsome.

Being as I am mildly enamored with the Royal family, I can't help but remember that in April of this year, William and Kate split up...and here they are, just seven months later, perhaps on the verge of engagement. I wonder if Chelsy and Harry have broken up for good or if they are just taking a little space for themselves to think about life alone versus life as a couple. Frankly, they could get married tomorrow as far as I am concerned -- my heart still belongs to William.