The reluctant groom and I go out with some regularity, but usually it’s to the bar around the corner and that seldom necessitates busting out the “going out” makeup routine that every girl has–for me, it’s eyeliner, then smudged with a taupe cream base (love NARS’s The Multiple), then dark brown eyeshadow, and often finished with a light dusting of white shadow on top for some shimmer and mascara.  It’s a routine I picked up years ago after attending a free session at my local Clinique counter–I was on my way to college, and even my mom saw the value in me knowing how to properly apply more sophisticated makeup.  I’ve always really liked it–it’s a softer version of a smoky eye, and doesn’t go too over the top.

(Image from Sephora)

But you know what?  Having a go-to look is great and all, but it gets awfully boring.  That’s when I go to my favorite place for makeup and hair inspiration:  Style.com.

Every season the editors cull through the hundreds of runway shows and select their top ten looks–and usually, these are the looks that in some way can be converted into civilian wear (but perhaps not for everyday!), so bonus:

I’m going to a semi-formal this weekend (yes, I’m 26 and I’m going to a semi-formal.  What can I say–I hang with grad students), and given that my outfit is heavily inspired by Gwyneth Paltrow’s turn as Pepper Potts in Iron Man (see it see it see it!), I wanted something that would jive with that sleek minimalism, but be more than just some black eyeliner and mascara.

(Image from imdb.com)

Et, voila, courtesy of Narciso Rodriguez:

Yep, complete with the side part and swept up bun/loop thingy (which is a techincal term, of course).  I’ve ordered some navy eyeliner from Sephora–let’s all hope it comes in time for Saturday (otherwise, I’ll need to go to the bookstore and hit up the Clinique counter there).  Given that my look is a simple navy silk/cotton tank from Miu Miu (this one, actually, but in a deep, deep navy), a pencil skirt from J.Crew, and these insanely tall-but-comfortable heels from Old Navy of all places (but in black), the blending of the navy and black around the eye should work well. 

Where do you look to get yourself out of a fashion/beauty rut?  Have you considered doing something different than your go-to look for your wedding day?

I’m currently not the biggest fan of weather.com–for the last two weekends, they have predicted torrential downpours for both New Haven and NYC when they couldn’t have been more wrong.  Given that the RG and I were planning on spending a lazy Saturday browsing the MoMA and then wandering Midtown as I took pictures of signs and such two weeks ago, having our plans thwarted needlessly made us determined to try again this past weekend–there were two exhibits at the MoMA that we both were dying to see, and given that they are only on view until May 12th added to our sense of urgency to try again.

(Logo obviously from The MoMA)

While it wasn’t gorgeous, sunny and warm for the entire day (it did look like it would rain by the time we left), we certainly were able to get in and out of the city with nary a raindrop on our heads, and we were able to see both exhibits:   Color Chart and Design & the Elastic Mind.  The latter isn’t really relevant to a wedding blog, but I did want to share some of the highlights of the former to perhaps provide some inspiration to any brides out there looking for a spark.

The works chronicle the use of color in modern art from 1950 to today–and since so much art in this period focuses on the color itself instead of other compositional elements, the works on view are serious eye candy to anyone who can gaze at the paint chip display at Lowes for far too long (this reluctant bride included).  They didn’t allow photography for much of the exhibit, but I culled these images from its website as some of my favorite works (all images from www.moma.org, again):

For anyone who would like to see the few pictures I was able to take (as well as shots from Design), feel free to browse here.

What inspired your color palette selection?

For a variety of reasons–not a lot of vacation time, many obligations bogarting said vacation time, plus not wanting to ask my grad-student FI to shell out a ton of money–this reluctant bride and groom don’t get to take real vacations much.  It gets to be a bummer at times, of course, especially in March when pictures start going up from friends going on cruises and the like over spring break (which, in of itself, is something that I haven’t recognized since college).  But we manage where we can–day trips to New York on the Metro North and jaunts to the local beach have gone a long way in adding some (relatlively cheap) fun to our springs and summers past and will be something we rely on heavily this year as well.

That said, we will be on a plane come October 5th, flying out to go on our honeymoon.  Where to, you may ask?  I’ll tell you…….later (I know, I’m a tease!) but for those looking for ideas on someplace different (but not too different) to go, allow me to make the humble suggestion of:

Malaga, Spain (accent on the first a).

Malaga is “the capital” of the Spanish Riviera, more commonly known as the Costa del Sol.  Happily situated along the Mediterranean, Malaga is the primary city (and also the birthplace of Pablo Picasso for all you art fans) and smaller resort towns close to the beach dot the majority of the coast.

We visited in early March of 2005 and stayed in Torremolinos, the first town out of Malaga and a crazy cute little town.  Getting an awesome deal on Expedia where most of the cost was spent on the ticket price, we stayed at a four-star hotel suite with marble floors, a massive, blue-tiled bathroom, and not one, but two balconies–one overlooking the Med, and the other providing a mountain view:

The view from one of the balconies

It was a fifteen-minute walk between it and downtown, but being that we had no real itinerary save from exploring everything by foot (an excellent way to work off the massive quantities of food and wine we ate and drank), it mattered little.

If there’s any interest, I can post more pictures if you like, but I have to hook up my scanner–all of these were taken on a (gasp!) film camera.    That will not be the case when we end up going to…

Where?  Stay tuned!

Having now read a number of serious wedding blogs out there, I have nothing but respect for the brides running with any sort of overarching theme, especially recreating a particular era down to the smallest details, like the twenties or fifties.  That is no small undertaking.

And while it should come as no surprise that this reluctant bride does not have any such theme, I can’t say that I’ve been completely devoid of inspiration as I put this together–reluctant though I may be, the opportunity to place my and my FI’s mark on the celebration is one way we’re deriving enjoyment out of planning all of this.  The main difference is…well…we’re not the kind of folks who can just stick with one aesthetic.

To give you an idea of this, I’ve followed the lead of many brides before me and created an inspiration board (note:  this is actually really easy to do if you have Powerpoint or Publisher but not Photoshop–just insert your images, arrange, and then group them all together and save that as a JPEG).  I’ve already created a few of these boards for satorial inspiration that are now currently hanging in our bedroom, so this isn’t something completely foreign to me.  Regardless, I think it will give you an idea of how stylistically schizophrenic this bride can be:

 (mouse over for photo credits, from top left)

See what I mean?  It’s kind of all over the place–this crazy pastiche of minimalism, mid 20th-century European chic, quirky Salinger/Wes Anderson bookishness, but with some definite (albeit muted) Regency/neo-classicism thrown in for good measure.

You’ll see…it’ll all come together.  Has anyone else out there had difficulty in determining a theme or at least an aesthetic?

Salacious confession, no?    As a longtime blogger I’m very much aware that a good selection of links makes any blog more useful to their readers.  (Granted, I’ve had no hits since I started this a few days ago, so right now I’m speaking to an empty room.  But that’ll change…I hope).

Being that this is a wedding-themed blog, I’ve created wedding-themed categories:

crafting resources:  These are sites that I’ve either used or will likely use in the coming months to finish my DIY projects, both wedding-related and not.

• Beadworks:  While visiting the physical store is preferable–especially when browsing for inspiration–locations are scattered (the closest one to me is a good 45 minutes away!).  Great collections of hard-to-find beads, including fancy gemstones.
• Crafts, Etc.–Online resource for basic beading supplies at lower prices than Beadworks.
• JoAnn Fabrics:  Nationwide chain of sewing and crafting needs.  Again, good for inexpensive materials.
• Paper Source:  Found this originally through Weddingbee users, and a great collection of papers (obviously), unique gifts and albums.  Reasonable prices and very fast service.
• The Paper Mill:  Great for buying large quantities of paper for a variety of needs–will likely turn to this group in order to make my programs and favors.

favorite inspirational catalogs:  these are the catalogs that I get once a month (if not more often) and I can’t help but look through them thanks to sumptuous set design and quirky styling.

• A.P.C.:  A French clothing company specializing in minimalistic clothes that ooze with that certain casual French chic.  If it were in my price range I’d be always kitted out in this; sadly, my budget only allows a few pieces per year.
• Anthropologie:  Another expensive line, they tempt me monthly with visions of spice markets and libraries.  A great starting off point when looking for accessory design inspiration–but proceed with caution.
• J.Crew:  will get its very own post for reasons I will elaborate on later. 
• Styledesign.de:  I’ll explain this one later as well…
• The MoMA Design Store:  generally a wonderful resource for quirky, unexpected gifts–great for couples who “have everything.”  Although if they really do have everything, perhaps a donation would be more appreciated.

general inspiration:  where I go to find something new and different, or to look at something familiar in a completely new way:

• Foodandwine.com/Foodnetwork.com:  great resources for information on all things food, especially if you’re dreaming up your menu for the reception.  Food & Wine is more upscale, but both provide plenty of information at your fingertips.
• Longwood Gardens:  local to my reception venue in PA, this is an amazing public garden and horticultural center–worth checking out in person, or at least peeking at the photos here.
• Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art:  All wonderful to visit, and all have excellent online catalogs to view their collections.
• Style File and W Magazine’s Editors’ Blog:  sure they advocate spending loads of dough that you don’t have on things you don’t need, but every once in a while they post some brilliant photos or an interview with a reasonably interesting designer or artist.

not-so-scary wedding sites:  the title speaks for itself.

• Brides.com:  to be used sparingly, and mostly for the ability to create online scrapbooks of “clippings” so you can organize vendors, looks and color combinations.  I’d stay away from the forums, though.
• Weddingbee.com:  the reason why I started blogging in the first place.  There are a number of wonderful blogs from a variety of brides and a very strong DIY focus.  The least scary of the bridal websites I’ve so far come across, with some of the best-written blogs out there.

“Every true artist has been inpsired more by the beauty of lines and color and the relationships between them than by the concrete subject of the picture.”

–Piet Mondrian

When it comes to art, I tend to be drawn to strong color and line; it’s little wonder that this Picasso is easily my favorite work of art.  I’m also a huge fan of Frank Stella and the aforementioned Piet Mondrian–the former because he uses bold strokes of many colors but in simple geometric patterns so that the color and line are the focus, and the latter because of his strict adherence to primary colors as his career progressed.  The MoMA in New York is unsurprisingly one of my favorite places in the whole world, as I can awash myself in this minimalist goodness.  In fact, for any brides looking for inspiration who will also be in the New York area between now and May 12, this exhibit may be of help–I’ll be seeing it myself this weekend, and will post photographs of anything that particularly catches my eye.

All this said, when I first stumbled onto Brides.com, I was understandably very excited by this tool:

Between this and discussions with one of my bridesmaids who formerly worked at a local florist for years and therefore knows this stuff better than almost anyone, this is the basic scheme for the moment:

Navy is the dominant, with orange and purple providing the contrast and complementary notes, respectively.

Despite this love of color, I’m not going to overwhelm my reception location with it because the room does have color on its own (albeit muted) and it would be perhaps a bit much.  Instead I’m going to incorporate the scheme into smaller touches–one of the bridesmaid gifts I’m planning are self-designed bracelets (more to come on that later), the flower centerpieces and (potentially) the favor gift wrap.  It’s a start, but I now ask you, cyber-bridal world out there, for comments and constructive criticism and most importantly, creative ideas.  How else can I incorporate this, albeit in a subtle way?  What would you do?  What inspires you?