You all know I'm a lurker, right? I'm a blog-junkie. I'm a wedding junkie. I think it's a binge thing. I spent the majority of my adult life avoiding all things wedding. Then I get married and I just can't seem to get it out of my system. My poor husband. Here he thought it was just going to be this finite period of wedding planning time. Little did he know that I would fall head over heels for all the stuff. Have pity for the poor Candyman. He got WAY more than he bargained for. So as I was saying, I traipse all over the internet and devour magazines and haunt bookstores looking for divine inspiration in both weddings and all things. I'm looking for something I haven't yet seen, something that means something to me, which I assume might mean something to someone else. Is there a word for that? Is is narcissism? I need my literary compatriots to assist in that one, please. At any rate, I found this photographer who is the guilty party behind the wonderful Unfake Wedding below. Her name is Carissa Fine and she is Dulce Photography.

This wedding is not a typical wedding, so I'm not going to approach it with the standard Thirty-Something Bride questions. It's more of a story than a Q&A feature.

Meet Cindy. Cindy was 44 and had never been married.  

Meet Bill. Bill was married for 25 years, had 3 adult children and was divorced for 10 months.

They met. Six months later Bill proposed.

Cindy said no. Or, more appropriately, not yet.

Four years later, she figured he was sticking around, so they made it official.

They set the date on June 27th for an August 29th wedding - for the same year. On July 5th she broke her wrist mountain biking with Bill and had 6 pins and a plate inserted on July 8th. July 9th they sent out 120 invitations versus the 70 they had initially planned on. Cindy blames the Lortab and Valium. *Note to brides - you might want to lay off the pain killers whilst addressing the invites - as tempting as the drug-induced state may be.*

This lady boogied down her aisle. It's called making it your own, people.

Like a lot of brides, Cindy wanted her father to walk her down the aisle. And holy crap-a-rooni, for 48 Cindy looks DAMN good! Let's hope I enter that decade as flawlessly.

Love the bling in her garden roses!

All done in two months and for $10,000!

It wouldn't be an Unfake Wedding without a little toe-sucking, now would it? LOVE that her father, aka The Silver Fox, caught the garter!

From The Thirty-Something Bride to this Forty-Something Bride and her Fifty-Something Groom: "Hell to the yeah!" There are no rules. There are only traditions that people allow themselves to be tortured by. I love that Bill and Cindy clearly followed some traditions that were special and important to them. What girl doesn't want her dad to walk her down the aisle? The father-daughter thing doesn't end at twenty one, or thirty-one or sixty-one. You will always be his little girl, no matter how old you get or how hard you try not to be. :)  

 What I love the very most about this wedding is this: Bride does not have an age.

Bride does not have a nationality. Bride does not have a skin color. Bride doesn't even have a religion. Help me celebrate this amazing bride and her feisty groom!

Congratulations to Bill and Cindy!

All photos by Dulce Photography.

Unless you plan to channel this bride (thank you Another Damn Wedding for your Deviance series that keeps us screaming back into reality), you might want to consider your centerpieces. And here's the great thing, you don't have to do flowers. You can do candles, plants, rocks, books, whatever it is that you think might be cool. I did a mixture of inexpensive flowers in bud vases with tea lights.Without really meaning to, I felt like it created sort of a random casualness that was still elegant and pretty.

I stumbled across what I thought was a really awesome idea for centerpieces that you could DIY on the cheap.

Source

 Love that they used a toothbrush holder to hold four pretty stems! Now, I don't know about you guys, but toothbrush holders can be really effin' expensive. I did a little leg work and some of these stainless steel numbers can be $20 at Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond! While I think this is a groovy idea, it doesn't really save you at the bank, now does it? So I did a little searching online and here's what I found.

Ikea has a stainless steel version for $5.99

They also have this little ceramic cup for $3.99.

I also found this cool modern thing at CB2 for $7.95. I can totally see some big, fat hydrangeas in this one.

 I also looked around on Wal-Mart's site and they sell mostly bathroom sets on-line, but I'm betting you can get some individually at the store. They had some pretty cute styles too - little retro looking ceramic ones with pretty floral patterns, groovy colored acrylic and rattan wrapped versions.  Don't forget to hit up your dollar stores for this kind of thing too. Floral containers for a buck cannot be beat! You might also check out Goodwill or thrift shops for a cool miss-matched look that would rival the stylists at SMP any damn day.

*We interrupt this post for Sunday errands with The Candyman!*

OK, so in our errands, The Candyman and I went to Wal-Mart. God, I hate that place, but who can afford NOT to go there these days? So frustrating. Anyway, I checked out their toothbrush holders and while some would actually be really cute, they were all $8.00, which I think is too pricey. However, keep reading and I'll show you what I did find.

Another idea I found was this one:

Source

The gist? Holding together a bunch of flowers using those clear hair bands! Goody makes the Ouchless ones you can pick up at your local Walgreen's or Duane Reade, depending on your locale. But what about the vases? Ladies, that's where Wal-Mart comes back into play - the place you love to hate. Look at what I saw when we were there. I happened to have my camera on me!

So Wal-Mart totally has some big vases, cylinder style and ginger jar style for only $5! Trust me, these are a really good price and if you are contemplating a DIY on your flowers, or want to provide vessels to your florist like I did, then I would RUN to Wal-Mart and clear these suckers out. These jars are significant in size and a real steal. I would say they are about 5-6" in diameter and maybe 7" high (I would say about the same size as the pretty pic above holding the ranunculus flowers). The ginger jars were bigger.

I'm tempted to try my hand at the above DIY just to see how cheaply I can make some lovely arrangements. Anyone interested to see if I can pull off a centerpiece arrangement? Hm, I wonder. If those jars are $5.00, then I bet I can make a kick-ass arrangement for under $20. Any takers? Who wants to see me try?

Update on Monday, March 15, 2010 at 2:55PM by Louise

So I took myself on a lunchtime challenge! I swung by Wal-Mart and bought that silly vase for $5. It's 6"diameter and 8" high. I also got the clear hair bands, 75 for $2.00 (or $.03 each). Wal-Mart had some OK looking flowers, but I knew I could get them cheaper at Costco. So when I was there, I picked up two dozen roses for $15.99. So technically, I lost. I am over the $20 mark, but not by much! The whole thing (using 2 bands) cost $23.01. Now mind you, I went to Wal-Mart and Costco and put this little bad-boy together in an HOUR. Think of what you could do with more hands and more time.

MATERIALS: Flowers, Clear Hairbands, Vase, Scissors (floral shears are actually better), Water, Bleach (a drop or two in the water keeps bacteria from growing and keeps the stems from mildewing).

 

I trimmed off the all the leaves from the roses, estimated a height and started cutting the stems at an angle. They say you're supposed to cut stems underwater, but that's a giant pain in the ass and I only had an hour, so eff that.

 

Once I had one at the length I desired, I started holding onto them one by one and trimming so they were all the same stem length. I held them a little too tight and popped one stem in half. Boo. Be careful. Flowers are delicate.

Once I had all the flowers gripped together, I wrapped two of the hair bands around the stems, stuck them in the vase and rearranged them a little. I totally could have done a better job at this if I'd had more time. The bouquet from Costco came with some leather leaf and eucalyptus. I don't believe in leather leaf (hello, 1980's!), but thought that the eucalyptus looked nice with the pink roses.

So now I have a lovely arrangement on my desk to enjoy all week. Screw Monday - buy flowers. I even took the little bud I snapped off and stuck it in a tea light holder I've had sitting in my office for like, oh a decade or so. Right next to the picture of me smoochin' on The Candyman on our wedding day! Yeehaw!

OK, so two dozen roses on the fly for $23.01. Think about this: Let's say you need 50 arrangements. On Costco.com, the cheapest rose you can buy is a long stem white rose, 100 of them for $74.99. If you did 24 roses in 50 vases, you would need 1200 roses. That would cost you $899.88 for the flowers and $250 for the vases. You'd need to add tax, of course, but you're looking at less than $1300 for 50 BIG flower arrangements. I'm not saying that these are the best arrangements out there or that you need to do 2 dozen roses as centerpieces, but what I am saying is that there are LOTS of options to do stuff on the cheap! You just need a little time and some inspiration!

I normally don't post on the weekends (even The Thirty-Something Bride needs an effin' break), but I had to thank everyone who came out yesterday to donate dresses and accessories for The Fairy Godmother Project of Music City! It was a great success! We collected over 150 dresses! Folks donated shoes and clutches, wraps and make-up. We had a ton of jewelry donated as well. It really was a feel good experience for everyone!

The view of the backseat of my car: satin and tulle and silk - OH MY!

Props to Wedding 101 for help in spreading the word. Amazing ladies: Beth Glascock and her team at Vanderbilt Orthopaedics for following through on their New Year's resolutions to get more involved in philanthropic endeavors. A big ol' round of applause to Blush Boutique, J.S. Fields & Co. and Faccio Bridal for their amazing donations! Thank you so much! I had such a great time meeting all these new people!

Ooooooooh. Sparkly.

Shoes as far as the eye can see! 

Gobs of dresses.

We even had a dad show up with his daughters dresses! Methinks that perhaps they might have been stored in his closet and he wanted them gone! I'm wondering how long it will be before the girls notice....

And of course, we have a winner of the $50 gift certificate toFrugal MacDoogal! That would be my very own Tabitha (yes, she belongs to me) who donated the dress she wore to her reception in Singapore! So cool.

Thanks again to everyone!

And guess what? It's not too late to donate! We can take donations right up until boutique day. We'll even arrange a pick up if you need it. Just contact me, or go to The Fairy Godmother Project of Music City and contact Beth. Either way.

Local Chicks: Don't forget that this Saturday we are collecting prom-style dresses, shoes, jewelry, clutches, wraps and unopened make-up for The Fairly Godmother Project of Music City! So come on out to The Factory at Franklin and donate! Remember, the person who donates the most items and mentions The Thirty-Something Bride gets a $50 gift certificate to Frugal MacDoogal Wine & Liquor Warehouse. That's right, I'm giving you FREE BOOZE to donate. Come one, come all! See you there!

All Chicks: Dont' forget that the Gilt Wedding Sale starts in just a little over an hour! You can bet you Stuart Weitzman's I'll be checking it out!

All Chicks: So I found this interesting semi-wholesale company called Styla*Mount. It's geared towards retailers, but I went on their site, ordered what I wanted, put in "The Thirty-Something Bride" as my company name and voila! Ordered! It's basically like a low-end canvas wrap knock-off thingy. I bought an 8"x10" mounted piece as a last minute gift. I used a hi-res photo. It only cost $10 and the shipping was FREE! The backing pieces they use to mount on are super-duper lightweight. The don't look cheap, but they kinda feel like it. The photo quality was just okay. I pretty much got what I paid for. However, if you're looking for a low-end option to print and mount some photos, I'd go here and check it out.It's seriously a really great deal! Don't miss it!

And you guys, if you buy anything at the Gilt sale, I want to know what you got! I'll show you mine you if you show me yours!

Happy Friday!

A well earned weekend is almost here!

Holy crap! Have you guys heard about this yet? If not, y'all need to be ready to click away on Friday, March 12th at noon, EST. The Gilt Groupe has teamed up with The Martha and is having an amazing sale all weekend long! You know quantities will be limited though, so make sure you get on line early!

Not familiar with Gilt? What about Gilt Fuse? No? Oh honey-pie, you must become a member toute de suite (that means right now, y'all!). Go. Hurry. I think you get membership faster is someone invites you, but I'm not sure - I can't remember. I'm a member of so many of these damn shopping sites that I don't know if I had to wait on this one or not. Anyway, if ya need some help, shoot me an email and I'll hook you up! So what is it? On-line shopping that is so fabulous it hurts. Great designers, great prices, limited quantities.  I love Gilt Fuse, it's a lot more affordable than Gilt, but Gilt is total eye-candy.

So what's going on this weekend? It's their Weekend Wedding! Here's a list of some of the incredible designers for sale!

Carolina Herrera gowns

Bridesmaid dresses by Thread, Amsale and Vera Wang Lavender

Flower girl dresses by Pippa and Julie

Lingerie by Elle MacPherson Intimates

Hickey Freeman Boys suits

Lulu Frost accessories

Temperley London dresses

Judith Leiber 

Vanessa Noel

Lauren Merkin

Prive Salon

Tara Pearls 

Blueprint Cleanse

Heather Moore

Sergio Rossi

Stuart Weitzman

The savings are generally pretty great. For Gilt Fuse prices are about half of retail. Right now they've got an American Retro silk floral dress for $68, retail of $198. Gilt has a Cynthia Rowley shoulder bag for $199, retail of $395. Not bad, right? I'd bust out the credit card and get ready to shop, especially if you are pretty true to size. And jewelry, come ON! It's a no-brainer.

Not sure how to buy a wedding dress on-line? Well, Gilt enlisted the help of Gabriella Risatti of Gabriella New York Bridal Salon for a little Q&A on their backstage pass area. Here's what she's got to say about it.

How long before the wedding should brides start looking for the gown?

If you plan to buy the gown on-line, you'll need plenty of time for alterations - at least three months before the wedding.

The Thirty-Something Bride Commentary: Dude. I say WAY before that. Keep your sanity and go for  6 months.

What information should you have on-hand when you're looking to buy your dress on-line?

You should know what types of silhouettes flatter you body and what color looks best on you: pure white or ivory. You should also have yourself professionally measured in advance. The three most important measurements are bust, waist and hip. You should reference the size chart of the designer and compare your measurements before purchasing your gown. And don't buy a gown with the hopes of losing weight - always play it safe with a wedding dress. It's a lot easier to take a dress in than it is to let it out!

The Thirty-Something Bride Commentary: Totally. You need to try on dresses in a shop before you buy on-line. And make sure a TAILOR measures you and not some 16-year old shop girl! And seriously, you need to check out the designer size charts. When I was measured for my gown, I was really worried that it would not be long enough. My worst nightmare was a high-water wedding gown. Even though the ladies balked at my request, I MADE them measure me from hollow (that little spot between your collar bones) to waist, waist to hem and hollow to hem. Why? Because I'm long-waisted as hell and you cannot tell this by looking at me at all. I ordered a size 6 dress. My hollow to hem measurement? A size 16 on the designer chart! I thought the sales girl was going to shit her pants. That measurement ensured my dress would be long enough.

How often should a bride go for fittings?

A bride should have three fittings, with the final fitting seven to ten days prior to the wedding. Brides often lose weight right before the wedding due to nerves, so that final fitting is crucial.

The Thirty-Something Bride Commentary: Yup. Sadly, I unintentionally lost several pounds the week before the wedding. Dress was a little lose and my chicken cutlets slid all around.

Do you have advice for brides on a limited budget?

If you have a limited budget, opt for a simpler gown and accessorize it yourself. By avoiding the embellishments - beading and lace - you can still have a wonderful gown, but at a lower cost. To personalize your gown and save money, ask friends and family for jewelry, sashes, veils and headpieces that you can borrow.

The Thirty-Something Bride Commentary: This is such fabulous advice and totally what I did for my own ensemble. My dress was classically simple with zero embellishments. I was able to make it my own with accessories.

Have you noticed and recurring trends among brides lately?

We have noticed most of our brides are looking for a fitted silhouette, rather than a full skirt. The mermaid silhouette and the birdcage veil are also very popular.

The Thirty-Something Bride Commentary: True enough, but you need to go with what looks good on you. Do not sacrifice beauty for trend. I REALLY wanted a birdcage veil. However, I have a REALLY long neck. The poof of the birdcage veil on top of my head made me look like one of those bobble-head dolls. I was so sad not to have one, but I know I would have looked dumb as hell.

How does the bride to be know when she's found "The One."

I often hear, "I couldn't stop thinking about that gown." There will be one special gown that you think about more than any other, and that is your dress.

The Thirty-Something Bride Commentary: True dat.

So get organized and get ready for this amazing sale! It starts on-line Friday, March 12th, at noon EST.

All photos and interview courtesty of Gilt.