huzzah

Huzzah!

We have pictures!
Check out Dan Chen's blog. Our amazingly talented photographer has posted some photos from our wedding-stravaganza and interlaced them with a reading and some words from our program. The effect was... well, it felt like Josh and I got married all over again! To say the effect was powerful is an understatement.

Is there a word stronger than honored? Josh's and I were embiggened to have Dan's talent at our wedding. We are honored that Dan chose us to be one of his RENT weddings. He's such a cool guy, an artist, a poet, a time traveller. Thanks, Dan, for hanging out with us on Halloween.

It feels the same but with more cake

Thank you to everyone who helped with the wedding and to all our family and friends who made it a great day by enjoying your fantastic selves!

Here's a copy of our wedding readings and the "Irish wedding vows" (click to embiggen)

papel picado

.... or punched paper!

wedding shoes

There are only 101 days until the big day. My bachelorette party is on Satudary. I'm having a petit-panic attack. There is so much to do. Planning long distance is...challenging. Have I communicated enough with my vendors? Why haven't I heard back from my guitarist? Have we been approved for a Parks permit?

Well, the part that isn't challenging in the least is shopping. Is it a trend? Is it a cliche? Is it a new classic? Yes, folks, I'm talking RED WEDDING SHOES!

Gabriella Rocha Neve at Zappos.com


Perlina Luxury Comfort Footwear Pebbles at Zappos.com



Gabriella Rocha Ginger at Zappos.com

Wedding Makeup Tips for Women of Color: Video Series | eHow Videos

Due to the tight budget, I will be doing my own makeup on my wedding day. I have been scouring the webiverse for good makeup advice. You see makeup and I, we have this love-hate relationship. I love the pretty colors. I can walk into any department or drug store and be fascinated to distraction by the shiny sparkly creamy display of the makeup counter.

Oh, how I love and fear it! The actual choosing of colors! The exchange of hard, cold cash for promises to transform me into a softer woman. "Perhaps," I muse,"This lip gloss will launch my acting/modeling/singing career."

As a friend of mine says, no matter where you go, there you are. That being said, here are some foundations and primers that--I'm hoping-- will surely get that novel finished:

Stila Sheer Color Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15
Josie Maran Tinted Moisturizer

Boscia Skin Perfecting Primer

MakeUp For Ever Camouflage Cream No. 5
BareMinerals Discover Introductory Kit
Valana Minerals Stardust Foundation

I found this informative series that gives makeup tips for women of color. Very useful for all of us ladies who've gone to a makeup counter and walked away an ashy, frosted mess! Martha Stewart Weddings and Real Simple consistently have inclusive beauty tips for achieving a classic, feminine look. They won't make you look like a clown!

For great advice on products for everyone, check out:
Afrobella
The Makeup Girl
Pretty by Nature- for great planet-friendly beauty advice
Shake Your Beauty

Love Songs, Part ii

Continuing the theme of love songs-- the good, the bad, and the unexpected-- I found an article on About.com's Wedding Blog listing the worst wedding songs. Author Nina Calloway even breaks her Do Not Play list into three distinct sections of "no." Here is her "Cheesy Group Dance Numbers" list:

* Chicken Dance
* Macarena
* Conga
* YMCA
* Hokey Pokey
* Locomotion
* Cha Cha Slide
* Limbo Rock

For my part, I thoroughly cosign on all of the above! You can read the entire list here, including the remaining sections, "Strange Break-up Songs and Other Mood Killers" and "Just Plain Bad."

What would go on your Do Not Play list? There are some great ideas here, and also some songs I have never heard of, considering I don't listen to much country music. Also, I really like the song "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang!

Of course NPR's music blog, All Songs Considered, weighs in on the subject here. Their list of the least appropriate love songs include:

• Send in the Clowns: Judy Collins
• You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin': The Righteous Brothers
• Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobodyt: Louis Prima
• Verdi: 'La donna e mobile' (Rigoletto): Carlo Bergonzi
• The Lady Is a Tramp: Frank Sinatra

Lesser-Known Love Songs

Sometimes I catch a whiff of what the kids are listening to these days and I start to feel old. Then I remember that I didn't like the music that was on the radio when I was in school (Candlebox anyone???).

However I do like NPR's blog "All Songs Considered." Check out their list of lesser-known love songs. They vary from the downright funky-sexy (Betty Davis' "Anti Love Song") to the sweetly plaintive (Magnetic Fields "Book of Love") and everything in between. I spy some great first dance songs!

real wedding: Seth and Dionna

It almost breaks my heart how beautiful this wedding featured on Once Wed is. Dionna's dress ruined me for all other wedding gowns for weeks after I set eyes on these pictures.



Check out more at Once Wed and Braedon Photography.

Real Wedding: Nancy & Adam

How adorable is this couple? Nancy and Adam, featured over at The Bride's Cafe, have had the epitome of an intimate, loving wedding.

I am loving Nancy's natural hair!

To see more photos of this gorgeous wedding, check out The Bride's Cafe, or Bloom photography.

Save the date!

Invite - Front
Originally uploaded by digitaleffie

Okay... I must show you where the inspiration for our save the dates came from! DigitalEffie's national park invitations are. too. cool.

With this ring???

Men's wedding rings are somewhat of a new phenomenon. Most likely your fathers don't wear wedding rings but your friends do. In the United States it was very rare for a groom to receive a ring before World War II. But during the war, rings became symbols of wives left at home, and their popularity soared. Certainly you are not required to have a ring, but it will be a comfort when your love is far away, a reminder when temptation is high, and a symbol of pride to the world that you are a married man.-- Nina Calloway: weddings.about.com

I'm not much of a jewelry person. By no means do Josh and I need to have matching rings, but I have been having difficulty finding rings I like. It took months for us to choose my engagement rings.

With the clock a-tickin' I have found a few good prospects, however:

Millinocket. Turtle Love Committee.

Diamond Dewdrops Ring. Sundance Catalog.

Path of life ring. Sundance Catalog.

Unravel ring. Sundance catalog.

Antonyms attract. Sundance catalog.

Real Wedding: Amanda and Matt

Real Wedding! I found Amanda and Matt's wedding featured at Snippet & Ink. Amanda also has the same dress as I do, which she bought online.




They have an amazing photo booth set up.

They kept their entire budget under $15,000 for about 75 people, while keeping the entire event personal and fun! You can check out more details on Snippet and Ink's website here or photograper Jessica Johnston's website here.

I got accepted!

Into Regis University's Teacher Education program. I am so excited.

I think I'm getting married

Josh and I made it out to Luray and Shenanadoah over spring break last month. We booked the caterer, and toured our ceremony and reception sites.

I finally bought and received my wedding dress! Josh insists on not seeing me in the dress until the ceremony. At first I was torn between this Demetrios dress or a less expensive, more practical bridesmaids dress but Ebay told me that I didn't have to settle!

Now I am making my cover up. It will be *cold* up on the mountain. Hopefully it will end up looking something like this:

Everything feels so real lately.

The ring (Squeeeee!)

The rings are blueberry, and blueberry with gem, by artist Carla Caruso.

wedding update

We have (finally) decided on a reception location. I love this place! It's a working goat farm that also hosts weddings:


http://eventsatthefarm.com/

We will also get a year of web hosting for free, so it is likely that superlong URL
http://www.mywedding.com/erinandjoshuaswedding/index.html will be moving in the near future.

The ceremony will be about 25 minutes away in Shenandoah National Park. Carpooling is definitely encouraged, since there is a park entrance fee.

We have added a list of nearby accommodations to the wedding website, from campgrounds to cabins to luxury suites. Enjoy!

pretty pretty presents of mind

Look up "Bridal Jewelry" and you get the same old pearl necklaces. While I have nothing against pearls, I don't wear them every day-- or ever-- and I plan to look like myself on my wedding day.

Along comes Presents of Mind, a shop based in Portland, Oregon, that has some of the most beautiful jewelry. They are handcrafted by artist, and many of the pieces are one of a kind. These necklaces by Fernworks caught my eye in particular:

Exclaim! Not -so- Plain English

The English Dept. has an Etsy store!

Dark Teal Design

I stumbled upon this dark teal inspiration board at Bride Design and it caught my breath with its balance beauty and dark tealness. I love this color.

DIY Calligraphy

What a fantastic idea at With this Ring !

Vena amoris

Latin "vein of love". Ancient belief held that the heart was directly connected to the fourth finger, the ring finger, of the left hand by this vein.

The act of giving and accepting a ring was considered legally binding. Rings were often used as currency. After the advent of coinage, medieval Europeans commonly added gemstones to their rings.

The idea of the more elaborate "betrothal ring" was popularized by 17th century Italians. It was traditionally silver, as some considered it bad luck for a bride to wear gold until her wedding day.

That was not the only superstition associated with bridal rings. If a ring was too tight, it symbolized a jealous partner. The ring must not be dropped during the wedding ceremony, or removed until the birth of the first child.

Maybe because of its pagan origins or the superstition surrounding it, some early Christians considered wedding rings ungodly. Today most people embrace the tradition of the wedding ring, as it is not a fetish item or object of superstition, rather a sign to the outside world of partnership and permanence.

Wedding ring superstitions
History of the wedding ring
Engagement ring
Vena Amoris

Which Name to Take

Here is an interesting article by Cary Tennis at Salon.com. Many women have ideas of what is and isn't feminist. Feminism exists because women's choices were completely out of their hands. Tennis refers to choice as a 'political dowry' that we can spend how we choose.