Photography LOVE: Fresh Art Photography December 23, 2009

We had some wonderful news last week.  Our plans with our original photographers fell through, and I was wondering if I knew anyone else who did great photography in St. Louis.  I was even thinking we could fly down someone from here in NYC.

Happily, Jodie and Kim from Fresh Art Photography had the day free, and are thrilled to be doing our wedding.  I’d been a fan of Jodie’s work for a while– she’s a talented photographer, artist, and young mother. Her mother is an old friend from Emmanuel who I’ve known for years, and I started following Jodie’s photography blog over a year ago.  I wasn’t sure if they did weddings, but thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

Check out their site and blog for breathtakingly gorgeous, and totally creative photos of babies, families, couples, and some incredible actions shots of the local football team, and more beauty than I can describe.  We are over the moon that they’ll be capturing all of us on the wedding day.

In love: Njur Design December 16, 2009

It arrived in the mail, demurely wrapped in brown parcel paper, covered in Polish stamps.

Inside, a white box shimmered with silver handwriting, a translucent label, and ivory ribbon.

My heart started racing.  I opened the box: first, I saw the silver handwriting, on a small tag, on an ethereal fabric flower.  The color of the fabric?  Imagine the inside of a seashell, lit by candlelight.

And I hadn’t even ordered a fabric flower. I had ordered a bolero, to wear atop my wedding gown.  It will be chilly in January, and I wanted something to cover my arms.

I had been scouring Etsy for more than six months. I looked at lace boleros, ones knitted with mohair or cashmere, little jackets with beads and satin, and tulle confections and capelettes.

Nothing was quite right. Either I worried that the lace wouldn’t match the lace applique on my dress, or the fabric wasn’t luxe enough, or when I contacted the seller I didn’t feel good about working with them.

Finally, I happened upon Njur Design. First, I noticed that there seems to be a narrative for the collection, and for each piece.  Notice that the garments and jewelry have natural names, and seem part of a near-enchanted landscape.

Now, look at the fabrics.  Oh, the billows of her skirts, the unique lenghths of ribbon falling, the unusual textures and play of shadow and light.

I contacted the designer, and she is amazing to work with.  I ordered the Ice Mountain Bolero.  Honestly, if I had found Njur Designs before I had purchased my wedding gown, I would have happily ordered my gown from her as well.  Look at the Spring Frost dress—-breathtaking!  Maybe for the next fancy party I go to, I’ll have her make me the Spring Frost in a grey or deep blue…

Back to opening the package.  The flower corsage was a lovely, gracious gift.  After I oohed and ahhed over it, and showed it to Matt, I carefully pulled the bolero out of its wrappings.

Oh, my.  It is even more beautiful than in the photographs.  The fabric is incredibly light, the lining is a dream, and it feels like I’m wearing something made by elves.  I cannot describe how the fabric looks in the change of light.  It is exactly the color of the wide ribbon the florist will use for our bouquets, and matches the lace on my dress.

And, the button!  Speaking of elves.  The pewter button that fastens it is itself a work of art, clearly handmade, and signed on the back.  I like to imagine that the designer found it in an enchanted mountain stream, high above the valley.

I am in love.  The sleeves are dramatic and the whole thing fits me perfectly.  I cannot wait to wear everything together: the gown, my golden shoes, Janet’s veil, earrings Matt bought me for the occasion, and this bolero: a perfect piece of art.

25 days December 8, 2009

1.  We are very thankfully, and happily, under budget.  This is important because being thrifty and responsible with money is important to us.  It’s also important because neither of us has a credit card— and if something happens like the cake catches on fire, or 50 extra people show up, we’ll have to pay for it with money we already have.

2. I’m not stressed out, and neither is Matt.  We’re excited. I feel like it’s my birthday coming up, plus Christmas, plus the best family dinner ever.  Our vendors are amazing, and have worked in our spaces before, and so I don’t feel like I need to tell them anything, or fuss at them about anything. I trust them and can’t wait to see how it turns out.

3. I wish I could slow down this time, to relish it.  I actually don’t think about the wedding that often; mostly I’m thinking about school, my kids, the Journal, and the Christmas pageant. And whether the recycling is out, and if we need milk.  I wish I could just take a few days and look carefully at my dress, and write love notes to all of our guests, and daydream about the food and music.  Alas: life is swirling all around me.

4. We went through the hymnal last night. It was fun choosing our hymns; I enjoyed singing out my favorites to Matt, and hearing him point out ones that he liked.

5. Last on the to-do list: Gift for the ring bearer, finish crafting a few gifts for the bridespeople, make table cards and place cards (and mail with books for the tablescapes to the florist) and make paper flowers.  Students may be helping me with the last one.

6. Our wedding bands arrived yesterday. It was exciting trying them on, and seeing a ring on Matt’s finger.  We ordered them from an amazing jeweler on Etsy. We were noting last night that except for using the Hyatt, and my dress, every piece of our wedding supports a small and local business.  Our cake, our photographers, the brewery, the rings, my bolero, Matt’s jacket and accessories.

7. The bridespeople continue to be amazing, and I know we both feel tingly and excited by how our friends and family are supporting us, and excited for us, in countless ways.  25 days until I can tell everyone how happy I am in person.

Maps and Such December 6, 2009

I have been working on a Google Map for the wedding. I put some restaurants down on it, plus where some of the MetroLink stops are, and the locations of the hotel, wedding, and reception. Finally, I have some of the different locations mentioned as “Things To Do in St. Louis.” I’ll likely add some more things to do and restaurants, but I wanted to have this up.

View Larger Map

Then, our dear friend and bridesmaid Janet found some information about parking in downtown, so we have a handy map here.

“Don’t call what you’re wearing an outfit” November 16, 2009

Despite what Jason Isbell sings, I have been most definitely putting together an outfit in my head for the wedding. I find it a bit odd to walk into the shoe department at Macy’s on 34th, which I did yesterday, and have very definite opinions to explain to the saleslady about what I want my shoes to look like. I am not used to having strong opinions about these things. Right now, I can pretty clearly visualize what I will be wearing when I am standing in the front of Emmanuel Episcopal Church on January 2, waiting for my love to come down the aisle to me.

My jacket: I have a charcoal grey tweed Crail jacket and three-button waistcoat on order from Thistle & Clover, the Scottish/Irish store on Main Street in Old St. Charles. They have ordered it from a supplier in Scotland, and hopefully it should arrive in the first week of December. Stephanie got a look at the version they had in the store, and I assume it will look pretty much like this (only in my size):

My shoes: I wanted to buy shoes that looked nice, were appropriate to wear with a kilt, but which I might wear other times when I was dressing up, and not just with my kilt. After poking around online to see what I liked, I went twice down to DSW to see if they would have what I wanted, and ended up yesterday at Macy’s, settling eventually on this pair:

They feel pretty comfortable for dress shoes, and look good with the kilt stockings.

My belt & sporran: We haven’t chosen these, really, but from Stephanie’s scouting trip to Thistle & Clover, I saw a belt and sporran that I like. For the belt, I favor the one with the embossed thistle design:

For the sporran, I didn’t want anything with fur on it, and I didn’t want anything with tassels that would clatter when I walked. This one, with a Celtic knot design looks good to me:

My kilt: I have a kilt in the Dunbar tartan, custom-tailored, which I wore in Andrew’s wedding.

Flashes and Socks: Finishing it all off, I have cream-colored woolen kilt hose, and the flashes I got when I originally got the kilt from my grandparents, way back in high school:

Tie & shirt: I’ll be wearing my green Burns tie, and I’ll get a new white shirt, but a regular buttoned one, I imagine, not one needing cuff links. We’ll see about that, though.

Things to Do in St. Louis: Wineries! November 15, 2009

I was thinking this morning about when I went to my friend Carlos’ wedding in Switzerland. The day before the wedding (or maybe two days before), we were casting about for something to do to get ourselves out from underneath all the people planning the logistics of the wedding. Carlos and the whole lot of young non-Swiss guests ended up taking a day trip out to Gruyere. It was fun. I was thinking what would be a similar trip for people hanging around St. Louis before our wedding, who might want to dash out for a day trip, and I thought of the wineries.

Most people don’t think of Missouri and wine together, but the state actually has a long, proud history of winemaking. Most of that history stopped at Prohibition, and it is only just starting up again, but surrounding St. Louis on all sides are some really nice wineries, and Stephanie and I have happily visited several of them. My family has also made a sort of tradition of going out to Hermann (one of the major wine towns), because it is so close to my grandmother’s house.

Hermann – Hermann is a town on the Missouri River, about an hour and a half west of St. Louis. It is a seasonal town, with a lot of stores that open only in the summer, for the traffic that the wineries bring. The wineries themselves, though, are open year-round. There are three good ones, which I have visited. Stone Hill is the most prestigious, and they have their building on top of a hill, surrounded by vineyards. They have an old cellar, a restaurant, and a big tasting room and store. They give regular tours, which are really cool (and quite cheap). Closer in to town is Hermannhof Vineyards, which seems a bit more homely. I have never taken their tour, and their tasting room is much smaller. They also feature sausages and cheese, which they sell. Their port, though, is excellent, and near and dear to my heart. Further out from town, in the countryside, is the Adam Puchta Winery, which may have the best wines, and definitely had the best tasting experience when I went there. Very personable and creative.

Ste-Genevieve – Down the Mississippi River, an hour’s drive south on I-55, is the town of Ste-Genevieve, which has some of the oldest buildings in the Midwest, and tries to maintain some of the old French frontier feel. I was not as impressed by the wineries in town as I was by Hermann (which may be German chauvinism on my part, I know), but outside of town is the Charleville Winery & Microbrewery, which is great. The beer is good, the wine is OK, but the atmosphere is fantastic. They have tables set out on the hillside facing their vineyards, and you can buy wine and beer from their shop, bring your own picnic, and sit out and enjoy the view. In May, 2007, just before moving out to New York City, Stephanie and I went out with some friends (most all of whom are in the wedding party) and had a lovely picnic here. In January, this may not be the best thing (and in inclement weather, I think that the dirt road out to the winery may be impassable anyway), but if we get one of those odd Missouri winter days when the sun is out and you could be tempted to wear short sleeves, it might be cool to go there.

I don’t know much about the Southern Illinois wineries, or the Augusta wineries, but I know they are out there. I think in all likelihood, everyone will stay in St. Louis, and enjoy the sights and company of the city, but I figured I’d throw this out there as a Thing to Do.

Stephanie’s Bridal Shower October 31, 2009

Where to begin?!  I was overwhelmed with joy, happiness, surprise, and gratitude the entire day.  My girlfriends (with some behind the scenes management from Nick, I suspect) are amazing.  It is an incredible, light-filled experience to walk into a room surrounded by beautiful women of all ages, and to feel their love directed at you.

The beautiful dining room, decorated and laid out with delicacies. And Jennifer, not sure if she wants to be in the photo or not.

I obviously hadn’t expected a cake. And look a bit crazed with enthusiasm for it.

Wish this wasn’t fuzzy– this is an old friend and teaching mentor, Jan.  We have in common Oxford, women of faith, hagiography, teaching…

Okay, I kind of forgot that I had registered for things, and so many times I was completely delighted and surprised. I’d say, “We WANTED this coffee pot!”  And everyone would laugh, as in: “Um we know.”

From Matt’s family in Price’s Branch, Great Aunt Dorothy and Great Aunt Imogene (Matt’s Grandfather’s sisters.)

Janet and Nedra–Nedra is Amy’s mom, and a great woman I’ve been blessed to know for years.

My Mom, Vickie, with Matt’s paternal Grandma.

Forgive the fuzziness!  This is Mya, Matt’s cousin-in-law and the most glamourous pregnant lady I know, and her daughter Gaby, and her mother-in-law (Matt’s father’s sister) Aunt Diana.

Another photo of me shocked and delighted by something I apparently registered for and then received.

Mmm, plush new towels.

My Mom, Vickie.

Erin, in front of the cutest pumpkin welcome sign possible.

Erin graced me with a vintage parasol.  LOVE.

Me with Amy, cutting the cake.

Janet, Erin, Amy, and me.

Gaby, me, and my Mom.

Jennifer, Janet, me, Erin, and Amy.

A splash of color from St. Charles– it was a perfect, perfect day.

Later that evening, I went to another party at Amy’s home– it was for couples, and we were joined by her husband, Janet and her husband, Erin and her husband, and my cousin and groomfolk Larry and his wife.  We had wine and delicious food, and told stories that made my sides hurt from laughing.

The day was so much more than I could have imagined, and I will never forget how happy and blessed I felt all day.

Bachelorette photos! October 20, 2009

I’m not going to recap the entire night, because that would be quite the long, sprawling post, and the photos speak pretty well for themselves.  I’ll give a few notes:  Nick, my “maid” of honor planned the night, with input from Jodut and Macy, and help from his girlfriend and another of my Green World classmates, Jamie.  There were also p3nis cookies. But as Eric pointed out, they were multicultural p3nis cookies.

Participants: Nick and Jamie, Sex Ho former roommates Tom, Eric, and Jodut, wife of a former Union classmate Julie, and my Journal co-founding colleague, Josh.

Locations: the Frying Pan, a restaurant/bar on a really old boat near Chelsea Piers, a Harbor Lights Boat cruise up and around Manhattan, a limo, and the Slipper Room, the home of burlesque in NYC.

Surprise guests included another bachelorette party, where the bride gave me an origami crane like the ones that will be decorating her wedding, and a nun, who spent more than half an hour with our party, gave us encouragement and blessings, and gave me  a present.

Where should we stay? (hotel block for guests) September 12, 2009

We have reserved rooms for our guests at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis Riverfront.  Rooms for our guests are $75 per night, available from 12/31/09 to 01/04/10– and these dates correspond with the time Matt and I will be at the hotel.  However, we will also be in St. Louis before Christmas, and the entire week before the wedding.

Please contact either of us by e-mail if you would like to make reservation– we have a special hyperlink loaded with the rates for the block, which we can give to you via e-mail.

Photography LOVE: Mirah Curzer Photography September 4, 2009

Long before I met her in person, I had been a huge fan of Mirah Curzer Photography.  In my lucky small world, Mirah is the wife of Josh, with whom I co-founded the inter-religious journal last year.  I first saw her portfolio while they were still in Israel, and looked through it, looking then for images for our website and journal.

And THEN I started noticing her engagement pictures, her wedding shots, her bridal portraits.  She is one talented woman.  A force.  She takes reception shots like no other photographer I’ve yet seen (including the ones I hired for our wedding this winter.)  And I am over the moon that she’s offered to take portraits of me, and of me and Matt together.

Here are some of my recent favorites of hers– but do check out her blog and online portfolio. Every time I look at it, the beauty and immediacy of her photos inspires me and reminds me of how in love I am with Matt.

(All images copyright Mirah Curzer Photography)