My artsy photographer side emerges....

Check out my first attempts below. Just as an fyi this was a fantastic distraction from studying for the bar so I highly recommend trying it on one of your stressful days too ... oh crap now I'm thinking about the bar again .... I am gonna go study. Have a great weekend everyone!

The results ...

Unfortunately my first giveaway had fairly limited participation but on the bright side that means that everybody who entered won! Now that is the kind of odds I like! So Brenn, Little J, and Etudiante email to find out how to get your tickets.

E- ring pics to come asap ....

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

... and if you don't live in the NYC spread the word to all of your tri-state area friends!

I will be back tomorrow with some engagement ring shots of my ring (I have to take a break from studying sometimes don't I?). Below are some of my inspirations (my results were definitely not as good but my artistic side is kind of dormant .... it needs a lot of love and coaxing to come out of hiding). 

Images from Wedding Bee Reader Ring Shots II and III.

My very first GIVEAWAY!!!

There is nothing I like more than giving people presents, it's true! I have sick obsession with making others happy and if that makes them like me in return well then no harm no foul right?... but enough about my psychosis back to the point! ... So, you can imagine that I am thrilled, overjoyed, ecstatic (insert your own over-the-top synonyms for happy here please) that I am able to conduct my first giveaway ever!

Here is the deal, remember that fantastic Wedding Workshop I went to back in December? I could not stop talking about how informative and interesting it was. Well, the brilliant and talented Lindsay Landsman is having another Workshop this weekend (full details are below) and you my fabulous friends of the blog world can go for FREE ... thats right people, free! I have 4 tickets to give away to some lucky readers. So just leave a comment on this post, the winners will be chosen randomly, and I will announce them on Friday morning. You only have until Thursday, 10 pm to comment ... so get to it people!

The New York Wedding Workshop

“How To” Series

“How to Hire a Photographer and Videographer”

Saturday, January 31, 2009

10 AM to 12:30 PM

Gina Gallery

454 Columbus Ave at 82nd Street

Course description: Are you overwhelmed by the sheer number of wedding photographers and videographers in New York? Are you wondering how to tell one from the other without calling and meeting each one? Who is right for your wedding and what should you be looking for? Join us for a step-by-step seminar that will take you through the research and selection process for two of the most important vendors you will hire for your wedding day. Learn about film vs. digital, black and white vs. color, flash vs. natural light, candid vs. photojournalistic, discs vs. prints and all the other “buzz words” you are flooded with as you pour over photo and video websites. Also, get tips on negotiating contracts specifically with photographers and videographers to get the best value and to actually walk away with the images you want. This course is well-suited for novice planners as well as brides and grooms. Light breakfast will be served.

Gifts and goodies at every event!

Visit www.nyweddingworkshop.com for tickets and more details.

Featuring wedding photography expert Lily Kesselman

Sexy ties ... who knew it was possible?

Not I but this seller over at Etsy did! These are hot, they're unique, and they are offered in convenient groom and groomsmen packages. Couldn't ask for more!  ... well besides some sexy men to put them on ....

Images from Etsy via Green Wedding Shoes

Green idea for all your post-reception needs...

Ever wonder where all of the food, flowers, and other stuff that you don't use/eat goes after the wedding is done? Well, usually in the trash (not good for anyone). But the people over at Special E have a way better idea. They come to your wedding and rescue any leftovers as well as other items and deliver them to people in need. Their program looks incredible and it makes me feel slightly less like a brat in planning this huge party ... at least others can benefit from my intense desire to party like a rockstar???

Another bout that caught my eye

Ok so maybe I spoke too soon about the whole not caring about boutonnieres thing .. turns out there are some really cute ones out there in the world of wedding blogs. I am digging this one big time, especially if my bouquet is made of cotton too ... possibly like so ...

Sigh .. so soft, so pretty, so ... wintery (its a word!). Makes me think of marshmallows floating in hot chocolate.

The bout is from Almasy Photography via Elizabeth Anne Designs and the bouquet is courtesy of White and Wander.

Cute bouts

As far as things that matter to me, boutonnieres rank really really really low on that list, like just below professional baseball and a wedding videographer (although this one is up for debate too) ... but then I stumbled across these handsome little devils and you know your girl can't resist a personal-touch-adding DIY project. This is one is from the fabulous peeps over at Once Wed, click on the link for detailed instructions. 

The Big Guy and I have decided to honor a throwback Jewish tradition and not see each other for the full week before our wedding (both of our families and all of our friends think that we are crazy but I think its kind of romantic... anticipation of a good thing and all that). So I will have lots of time that week to sit at home and do DIY projects ... oh yeh and do all of the other "little" projects I have dreamt up for myself and work and hang out with my friends/family ... on second thought lets ponder this new project a little further....

Open letter to the lovely ladies of my Bar Exam Review Course

Dear Ladies:
I know that from a very young age we are told, “Do not sit on the seat of a public toilet.” I am on board with this principle. There are germs and germs are bad and really lets get right down to the bottom of it … it’s just kind of gross, our booties do not need to be rubbing up on grimy surfaces. So, when I say I am with my sisters, I am sooo with you. BUT, I just need to know, what the hell are you doing in there, that every time I enter one of the stalls, the only thing that keeps me from passing out is the absolute horror I feel at the prospect of anything but the soles of my shoes touching that floor.

Let’s disregard for a moment the fact the bathrooms at our review classes have seat covers in every stall. Maybe you are anti seat covers of any kind and have stripped your houses down to the bones in a frantic upholstery-inspired rage. Or, maybe studying for the bar has made you so delusional that you have forgotten what seat covers are for and are wearing them as lovely paper necklaces during your private time. Or, maybe you believe that toilets are so gross that even with a seat cover you won’t dare let that seat within a foot of your bootie. All of these things I have accepted, but if you are going to “hover” above the toilet seat (as so many of us ladies do) then hit the gym hon! Because either your thigh muscles are not strong enough to support you in a squat position OR you are all having sever epileptic seizures the minute you drop trou.

Either way, kindly, stop being so damn gross.

Thanks!

- Me

We will now continue with our regularly scheduled and wedding-oriented programming.
{Image source}

Obama me

What better way to celebrate this historic inauguration than by making your very own Obama-inspired poster? (Answer: there is no way! Well ok maybe there are one or two better ways but this one is the best way to do it while at the same time avoiding studying for the bar).

Big thanks to iDiY for posting about this, I have been playing with it all weekend.  Go here and make your own.

Congratulations and welcome Mr. President!

Great words from a great man

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. 

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Another NYC Wedding Event

From the peeps over at The Wedding Library...

The Only Bridal Event You'll Need

Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 10:00 AM

New York Palace Hotel

Madison Avenue between 50th and 51st Street

New York City

click here for the deets 

A little wedding magic

I like the idea of the guests throwing something at the bride and groom as the walk down the aisle (although after re-reading that sentence, I am having strange images of guests throwing rotten fruit if they are displeased with the ceremony). There are so many options for guests to throw ... flower petals, biodegradable confetti, feathers, rice (although I hear that rice has bad effects on birdies ... something about them exploding after eating it) .... these all seem like very cute options to me (minus the bird explosions of course) but then I see these from Classic Bride....

I am loving up the image of the guests waving pretty white flags as we pass through. Yet another DIY project to add to my list!

Vignette

An actual e-mail convo between me and my two MOHs:

Yevs: Dress for us .... thoughts?

Mushu: Love it

Me: love everything but the beading on the neckline... blech i hate beading more than i hate the eagles .... ps: i hate the eagles a lot

Yevs: I like beading, but i hate the eagles! 

  I bet if the giants had beading on their uniforms, they would be able to injure the eagles more and win the game!

Mushu: I normally hate beading, but I think in this style it dresses it up and eliminates the need for a necklace. But you’re the boss…
PS – I don’t care about football. Bridechka, I know you care and I’m sorry you’re depresso over the eagles. Yevs, what the F? Football?

Yevs: Mushu, I don't REALLY care... it's just nice to see your friend happy! Bridechka has feelings too!!! you have to be supportive. SHAME ......SHAME ..................................................................ok NOW can i have the beading!?!? :)

FYI for some discount wedding gowns

Thanks to the Globetrotting Bride for the heads up. Check out the Filene's Basement website for more details.

Oh hell yes!

If only I could tear this dress off of her and increase it by about 50 sizes... I would totally wear it for the wedding.

Just a thought....

As some of you know, I try to attend classes about Judaism and Jewish history as often as possible because it is really important to me to regain the traditions that my family lost while living in Russia where practicing Judaism was illegal. This past week I went to a lecture about the 5 levels of happiness by one of my favorite Rabbis (yep thats right, I am his groupie.. I go to all of his classes).  He mentioned something that I have been rolling around in my brain. He said that a person may attain a brief (as in momentary) glimpse of the highest level of happiness while standing under the chuppah (translation of chuppah = the jewish wedding canopy).

  

{Image source}

This of course made me think of what it would feel like to gaze at the Big Guy while we are standing under the chuppah, which gave me the good kind of fluttery feeling up and down my skin. Not only is it a hugely emotional moment but it is also something which many of my family members never got to experience. By simply standing under a cloth with the man I love, I am giving life to traditions that were denied to so many people I love. Thinking about it makes my skin feel warm, as if it is glowing with a gentle light. If standing there will make me even partially as happy as I feel just thinking about it, then 5th level of happiness, here I come.

"In our tradition, celebration of life is more important than mourning over the dead. When a wedding procession encounters a funeral procession in the street, the mourners must halt so as to allow the wedding party to proceed. Surely you know what respect we show our dead, but a wedding, a symbol of life and renewal, a symbol of promise too, takes precedence."

- Elie Wiesel

Happy Birthday to the first best friend I ever had!

Today is my grandma Nata's 75th Birthday. She is everything to me; she has been my friend, my grandmother, and everything in between for me. She has sacrificed for me, she has loved me and most importantly she has taught me, more than I could ever describe. 

Nata, I love you. You are my shining beacon of light; because of you, I can always find my way home. Happy Birthday!

mmmm cakes

There is nothing I like more than sweets ... cakes, cupcakes, .... bucket full of frosting and I am in! And you all know how I feel about trees (see here, here, and here) and pine cones (here and oh yeah here). So these cakes look extra yummy to me....

I hope the branches are edible (mmm and made of sugar... or chocolate!)... I think I would take off the birdies though. This cake comes from Ritzy Bee blog.

This one makes think of snow falling and hot chocolate (bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens?). This one comes from the incomparable Martha.

And now I am going to continue to study for the bar exam ... if by study for the bar you mean dream of sugary sweet frosting, maybe even with some cake underneath it.

Wedding Photography Raffle and for a good cause too!

via Blue Orchid Designs via Brooklyn Bride...
Pink Initiative is a non-profit organization comprised of wedding industry professionals and private donors dedicated to funding awareness, outreach, education and research for breast cancer. Emilie Sommer, the founder of Pink Initiative and the owner of emilie inc photography is hosting a raffle where the winner will receive $5000 worth of wedding photography coverage good from now until 2012 for their wedding anywhere in the United States. Raffle tickets are $50 each and all proceeds benefit Pink Initiative.

Buy your raffle tickets here.

[image from Pink Initiative]

Help out the Broke-Ass Bride

If your a fan of the wedding blogs, then you know The Broke-Ass Bride, and you know that Broke-Ass (aka Dana) has one very kick-ass blog ... and now her ass needs our help.

Dana and her future hubby are in the lead in the Green Wedding Contest at Trees Instead and if we keep voting for them they will be able to win fabulous and eco-friendly prizes. Here she explains what she needs from us:

"We've got a great lead on the competition, but its sure to tighten up quickly, so please remember you can vote once per day on their website, but note that the questions change up every day or so...

Usually, they ask for:

Our names: Hunter Stiebel and Dana LaRue

Our wedding date: May 24, 2009

The location of one of their planting grounds - all of which can be found here

Their toll-free number: 1-866-972-8733

Any other answers are usually quite easy to locate.

You can also vote once per day on Twitter!

Just post the following link, along with our names:http://www.treesinstead.com/Green_Gift_Valentines.php Dana LaRue/Hunter Stiebel @TreesInstead

Or, once a day on Facebook!

Follow the link below, clicking "join group" and leaving a message on their wall stating that you vote for us! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22482072281

Voting is open until Jan. 29th, so vote early and often... your 3 potential votes each day can really be the thing that makes or breaks the competition! If we win, we get an amazing array of earth-friendly rewards such as trees planted for all our guests, and carbon offsets for all our travel, but the grand prize is a honeymoon to Costa Rica! Lawd knows we could use it!"

So come on people... start voting!

Some useful events for my NYC peeps...

The New York Wedding Workshop “How To” Series

Upcoming events:

“How To Design on a Dime”

Saturday, January 10, 2009

10 AM to 1 PM

AVEvenue

13-15 West 28th Street, between Broadway and 5th Avenue

10th Floor

Course description: This invaluable course will teach brides on every budget level how to maximize the look and style of their wedding. Starting with invitation design right through to tabletop and every decorative element in between, learn what is worth the splurge and where you can save while enhancing each element of your décor. Work hands-on with actual materials and experiment with colors, textures and styles for your wedding. Attendees will leave this session with a list of NYC and online décor shopping resources, how-to guides for creating breathtaking decorative elements and referrals for decorators and florists who will give you a proposal that is within your budget parameters. This is a do-not-miss for DIYers! Light breakfast will be served. Call 212.206.9201 or email info@nyweddingworkshop.com before January 7th to purchase tickets at the discounted price of $45!

* * * * *

“How to Hire a Photographer and Videographer”

Saturday, January 31, 2009

10 AM to 12:30 PM

The Gallery at The Prince George Ballroom

15 East 27th Street, between 5th and Madison Avenues

Course description: Are you overwhelmed by the sheer number of wedding photographers and videographers in New York? Are you wondering how to tell one from the other without calling and meeting each one? Who is right for your wedding and what should you be looking for? Join us for a step-by-step seminar that will take you through the research and selection process for two of the most important vendors you will hire for your wedding day. Learn about film vs. digital, black and white vs. color, flash vs. natural light, candid vs. photojournalistic, discs vs. prints and all the other “buzz words” you are flooded with as you pour over photo and video websites. Also, get tips on negotiating contracts specifically with photographers and videographers to get the best value and to actually walk away with the images you want. This course is well-suited for novice planners as well as brides and grooms. Light breakfast will be served. Call 212.206.0026 or email info@nyweddingworkshop.com before January 25th to purchase tickets at the discounted price of $30!

Gifts and goodies at every event!

Visit www.nyweddingworkshop.com for more details.