On wedding planning and other matters

Did you have a lovely weekend? It was a bit chillier than I would have liked, but we still made the best of it. On Saturday, Eugene, my dad, and I went to check out my first choice wedding venue, 632 on Hudson, an incredible three-story townhouse downtown near the meatpacking district.

It used to be a sausage factory back in the 1800s, but was converted into this absolutely gorgeous home decorated with eclectic antiques and details. It's like each room has it's own theme--from art deco to Asian to Tuscan farmhouse--and yet it all melds together beautifully.

I'd been kind of obsessing with this place since I saw a story in the NY Times about a wedding that took place there. I was really happy when we finally saw it because it was just as gorgeous (perhaps even more so!) as I'd imagined.

Of course, this being New York City, it's a little bit on the pricey side of the spectrum for the space alone (not even including things like catering, rentals, etc.) so it's definitely something we'll have to think about. It's kind of amazing though because it really fits the vision that I have in my head quite perfectly; that being something a little less traditional and much more like a relaxed and flowing old-fashioned house party than the usual seated "check one for chicken or fish" type of event.

Fortunately (for the budget), there are already a lot of typically expensive things that I know are not that important to me in terms of the party. I'm not, for example, really all that interested in flowers; I may even skip them altogether and stick with lots of candles and some kind of fun alternative like those big oversized paper flowers I was raving about last week; mostly because I love the kind of Mad Hatter's tea party feel of them. Or I may go with something edible like bouquets of giant lollipops. I'm planning on making my own sparkly heirloom bouquet out of bits and pieces of flea market costume jewelry and brooches from family members.

I'm going to design the invites and other stationary myself. I have no need for calligraphy or expensive letterpress. I really don't want a video (I think they're annoying; I'd rather my friends just bring their Flips and record stuff they think is fun so we can upload to YouTube later) and I don't really want any limos or cars; the ceremony and reception will be in the same place so there is no need for that since I can get ready there. (I also kind of just love the idea of being whisked away, with Eugene in his tux and me in my wedding dress, in a classic NY yellow cab at the end of the night.)

One of the things I was talking about with my dad (on saturday as we considered the option of a destination wedding) was that I really do want to do as much as I possibly can myself; not to save money (although there is definitely that) but rather because this is what I love to do. I love to throw and organize and plan parties, and that includes being a part of every little detail, from designing my own invitations and doing my own make-up to making the cake, decor, and favors. I so wish that I could cater it myself, but even I can admit that's totally ridiculous.

But for the most part, I don't want to hire other people to do what I know I can do well myself; what makes it special for me is to be able to say, at the end of the night, I did this. (And fortunately I'm blessed with a fiance who is OK with this; "hey, it's less work for me!" he happily says).

Besides the above wedding planning, I did a little bit of housekeeping here this weekend. Most notably, I changed the commenting system over to Disqus. I'm really excited about this latter change because it's going to allow me to reply directly via email to any questions that you may have. So be sure to ask away! :)

I also had a bit of fun playing around with Google Search Stories. Have you tried it? If you remember that wonderful Google commercial about the Parisian love story that was on during the Super Bowl (not that I was watching) you might know what I mean. The application lets you enter search terms to create your own little story and then turns it all into a little movie via YouTube. I created the one below.

I hope you enjoy!





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Photo Credits: 632 on Hudson photos by Toni Meneguzzo; brooch bouquet photo from weddingnouveau.com; cake tiers by Alejandra Ramos (me!)