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)

Rainy day beauties June 18, 2009

It has been raining here for weeks.  I have been noticing how normally grey sidewalks and slate roofs become multi-colored, dark, and sleek.

I was inspired to daydream about pretties in pewter, and grey.  An Etsy search with those colors brought the following:

 

Aren’t these felt pebbles charming?  For a casual winter wedding, I can imagine them scattered along table-tops, serving as cozy keepsake favors.  From Kneek.

 

 

This necklace from Clean Break is extraordinary, and not too frilly.  I imagine it with a V-necked oyster colored gown, very subtle and luminous.

 

 

Speaking of breathtaking, look at this darling little wrap.  I love the ruffles, and the lace detailing at the sleeve.  I’d love this over a simple black or grey dress for a party or rehearsal dinner.  From Mary and Angelika.

 

 

This necklace looks like it might have been found at the bottom of an old trunk full of books and maps.  From Pole Star.

 

 

And this incredible ring is both sophisticated, and somehow organic looking.  From Moon Faces.

 

 

Finally, this velveteen blazer from Bonzie has so many of my favorite things: velvet, trim, lace, hand-made flowers, and look at the beautiful button!  Perhaps perfect for the morning-after breakfast, with tousled curly hair piled high?

 

Who knew the never-ending rain could be so inspirational?

Cake Topper April 17, 2009

 

We made a visit back to the Midwest for Easter.  While we were at my grandmother’s house, we officially asked her about using the cake topper she has in one of her glass cabinets.

 

At first, we thought it might be really old, a sort of antique, but in fact it was just from my grandparents’ 50th anniversary cake in 1997. It is still cool, and a part of our theme of honoring our connections with our families, through our wedding.

 

 

ETA: Stephanie here– I just add to jump into Matt’s post, because I _love_ this cake topper so much.  I spied it the first time I visited Matt’s grandma, and I have to admit– I made a mental note  It is so romantic and old-fashioned.  And, because it was used as a topper for a 50th Wedding Anniversary cake, it holds special meaning– a sort of good luck blessing.

Serious color inspiration March 2, 2009

Once we decided upon lapis for the brides-ladies’ dresses, my search for all things deep blue-to-purple commenced.  Add to this a love of lace, gold, and texture, and you can see how my eye spied the following collection of images.

 

(Sigh of contentment.)  Beautiful, beautiful things.

Inspiration: pewter March 1, 2009

I described before how we’re hoping to use old pewter containers (as yet unfound) in the entry-way of our wedding reception room.  I’m crazy about the unshiny lustre of pewter.  It’s elegant, but not flashy, old-fashioned, but not ugly, and mutes the colors of flowers in a most romantic way.

 

Notice that a monochromatic bundle of flowers like this can be picked up in a grocery store for just a little– but they look amazing in this gorgeous container.

 

 

I never thought of using fir boughs on a table!  How lovely and perfect for a winter wedding!  I don’t think pine boughs are expensive that time of year, and I know a lot of youth and student groups sell them for fundraisers.  And, the wedding is _after_ Christmas, so perhaps we could pick up several swaths for a good price.  Fir, pewter, candlelight…  remaining inspired!

More book inspiration March 1, 2009

Here, Martha Stewart uses stacks of books to complement, in color and texture, kinds of invitations.  But I still love it– and can’t wait to start gathering and playing with stacks of my own.

Table ideas (instead of table numbers): Shakespeare, CS Lewis, Whitman, Tolkien, F Scott Fitzgerald, Nabokov, (Matt says he could go with Douglas Adams), Chekhov… we need some women writers…: Wharton, Willa Cather, Jane Austen (except she’s always wry about marriage)…  

Help us out here, reader friends.  Or, do you have any favorite quotes about love?

Beautiful beige January 27, 2009

It might be these bright winter days with no snow, but lots of light that are making beige and “neutral” colors seem so appealing.

Look at these amazing tulle ball gowns for lights that Seeking Everyday Beauty made:

Here’s a close up:

And guess what they’re made of?

Old sewing patterns.  Beautiful, worn, patterned pieces of tissue.  One of my classmates last year used sewing patterns in her artwork, and in her senior thesis installation, which was a series of mixed-media paintings and writings that focused, in part, on a woman’s sense of self.  Patterns for women’s clothing are such a great medium to use for that kind of exploration.  But I’m loving the beige, the soft fullness, and all the possibilities– I imagine wrapping gifts with the patterns, and using pale colored ribbon to finish them off.

 

A simple Esty search for “beige” reaped more beautiful things:

 

 

 

 

I’m tempted to keep deep lapis as the dress color for the lady bridespeople, and accessorize them in all shades of creamy pale.

 

Ritzybee had an entire inspiration board around beige:

I adore the giant fabric flower on the shoulder of that gown.  I also think, with my basic sewing skills, I could make flowers like that from cheap cast-offs of pale, creamy fabric from fabric stores.  If they don’t turn out well enough to use for the wedding, I could still decorate little blank books, drawer pulls, and gifts with them.

PS: My friend Shelly contributed her ever-wise and dashing two cents to the question of registry inserts–go back to that post to read her comment.  We should all be so lucky as I am, to have someone as no-nonsense as her around to prick the faux-bubbles of constricting etiquette.

Pretty, pretty things May 8, 2008

An Inspiration Board is a collection of images, photographs, colors, or icons that are meant to inspire and set a theme for the entire wedding.  I love images and photographs, so I am sort of addicted to these Boards.  Style Me Pretty is full of them; both the editor of the blog and her readers create them to share and inspire.  I think I will eventually make my own, but for now, here are a few of my favorites.

Anna

 

Hailey

 

Krista

 

Tara Guerard

 

Green is in the air–the ring, our love of Farmers’ Markets, Matt’s veggie-ism, branches, cottonwood, fireflies…these seem to surround the idea of our wedding with natural things. 

One of my most enduring ideas from undergrad is, also, the Green World.  It is the place in comedy where things can be transformed.  Picture the forest in _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_–it is in the forest, away from Athens (the world of reason, order, and law) that magic happens, wishes can be discovered, loves and lives transformed.  All can be made new again.  In every comedy, a Green World exists.  I used to joke with my English major classmates that we, studying literature in an old house and garden on campus, were living in a Green World ourselves.  It’s no coincidence, of course, that weddings also frequent comedies.

(All Boards from Style Me Pretty.  Names indicate the names of the boards, sometimes tied to the women who created them or for whom they were created.)