#285: i am not an island.

what makes this blog work.........

........is (are?) other blogs.

if you don't believe me, take a gander at my profile. i compile my ideas from blogs i visit daily. i really do.

and i found another one to add to my blogroll. meg is the funky fresh over at a practical wedding. plus, she's TEAM $10,000 as can be verified by her budget friendly (and quite practical, i must admit) posts here and here.

#283: welcome to my backyard.

beverly hills greystone mansion

i found these reviews on yelp and got uber excited. here's a great little roundup by one of the reviewers.

*********************************************
Great things about Greystone:
+it is free! and has a ton of parking
+the gardens are quiet and serene, perfect for napping, chatting, reflecting. There are also a ton of beautiful fountains and a pond filled with carp, turtles, and abandoned gold fish.
+the history of the grounds is colorful and creepy
+people of all ages love it
+the views are killer
+you can picnic here (illegally), but I have never had a problem with park security.

The only negatives.....
-during the summer there is a camp here, which is cool for the kids who get to run around all day, but it changes the quiet atmosphere of the park.
-you cannot go into the mansion, unless you come for a special event inside.
**********************************************

why does this suit my fancy?
1) i adore kids and could care less about a ton of them running around making a muck of the ceremony.
2) i don't care about using the inside of the mansion.
3) i love colorful and creepy...it also means i wouldn't have to do much in the way of decorations (no more killing flowers!).

my fantasy wedding here would go something like this, assuming the sun was set to, uh, set at 730:
430 ceremony
515 cocktails
545 dinner served
800 reception complete
830 afterparty at a club, bottle full of bub

hm.

#282: FOTB.

remember when steve martin pictured himself manning the grill (whilst donning a chef's hat, at that) in his backyard with picnic tables, streamers and balloons and kids running around everywhere...

the wedding ultimately ended up being much more of a schmancy affair, at $250/head. (a little trivia: i'm very familiar with the actual house they used in the movie; my piano teacher lived 2 blocks away from it!)

so that begs the question...does going budget-friendly automatically mean having to go casual like a simple cake and punch affair. or, if not casual, limiting your offerings to just champagne and dessert. or, if not limiting your offerings, paring down your list to 25 people.

fact: when you're going 'budget', you have to give hard-knuckled consideration to and from the get-go decide where you're willing to compromise and where you're...just really not.

i think i've been fairly consistent in saying that i'm ok letting go of: the $5000 dress, the flowers that are going to wilt within days, the huge bridal party, the extensive guest list, the fancy paper, and the extras (favors, bathroom baskets, OOT bags, etc).

but i'm also getting more stubborn with the there-are-no-compromises-here items: good food (meaning a complete meal. not just apps or desserts. this is top priority.), style, pizzazz, amazing photography, and a blow out party (aka major drinkage for all!).

knowing this, bf said to me the other night: "$10,000 isn't possible when a decent chicken dinner for a wedding costs $70/pp. i think you have to consider spending more than $10,000. how about setting the limit at $20,000?"

i'm a capricorn which means i don't handle defeat well. and i'm stubborn as hell. which means i'll just have to find a way. i just have to.

#281: do you love it.

thanks to graces birdcage wedding for the tag.

RULES:
1) you link back to the person who tagged you.
2) post these rules on your blog.
3) share six unimportant things about yourself.
4) tag six random people at the end of your entry.
5) let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs

uno: my thumbs bled today.
dos: i took spanish for 4 years in high school and know about maybe 40 words.
tres: i minored in japanese in college and know about maybe 30 words.
quatro: i don't know if "4" in spanish has one or two "t"s.
cinco: david cook's performance yesterday made me cry.
seis: the colberr reporr is really growing on me these days.

i tag...tu.

#280: tiered.

$318 at bcbg max azria

i came across this post on brooklyn bride. i liked the dress so i went looking for it, oh yes i did.

but instead, i found my own little treasure. $318. i dunno, it's just so lovely.

#279: balls.

on sale for $0.75 each at cb2.

3" in diameter of fun accessory goodness. i'd glue a bunch of these together into a centerpiece arrangement. monochromatic, of course. or perhaps place a handful into a colorful bowl.

#278: burlap.

from daisy chain.

i would imagine burlap to be a rather cheap, i mean economical, and possibly 'green' way to add some texture to invitations. particularly if you're having a rustic or outdoorsy affair.

question is...where oh where could you get your hands on recycled burlap?

#277: oh, make me over...

are you getting married on may 3rd?
are you getting married in l.a.?
do you still need a makeup artist?
are you willing to blindly entrust your wedding look to a stranger for the sake of good tv?

if you've answered yes to all of the above, this here's an opp you don't want to miss.

i've seen those black/white/pink napolean boutiques pop up at malls (specifically sf center and century city) and always wondered what they were all about.

#276: my one regret.

effing a. somehow, i managed to click onto some spammy website through this blog and now i keep getting comments that say "click here" or "read this". hopefully you guys already know not to "click there" or "read that". i'm deleting as i get them but just wanted to give you a heads up...don't give them any love. pretend they are an ex you abhor. everyone needs to make a living, i guess...even spammers...but still, they are effers in mine eyeseth.

#275: becky kelso.

$6270 becky kelso ring.

i heard that $10,000/carat is about the norm for a decent diamond. *?!?!?!?!?!?!* maybe a rose cut diamond doesn't cost as much because the 1-carat ring above by becky kelso will only set you back $6,270.

must be hard to be a guy shopping for an e-ring. so many choices, so much money to be spent.

...not to say we ladies aren't worth it. *wink*

#274: does yours?

so. one of the ways in which the bf spoils me is by completely peeling grapefruit for us to enjoy together. he's much better about having the patience to prep food before digging in (me = dig right in) so i suppose it's partly his nature to want to peel the grapefruit entirely before eating it. but i look at it like this...he could cut the grapefruit in half and hand me mine to deal with my own way which would be to bite away the pulp from each piece without peeling anything...patience, what?

but he doesn't. he peels his half. and also peels my half (completely clean of the white fibrous bits, just the way i like it).

can't make this sh*t up. i love my man.

#273: save $500!

i know. i'm in sales for a living. can you tell?


photo by matthew nistor photography.

amanda's hubs (the bride of post #271) is a photog building his portfolio. his going rate is $1,000 but for you folks getting married in april in new york, email them at matthew@matthewnistor.com and if available, he'll come shoot your day for $500.

i think something like this is a great opportunity to add a second photographer to your list of vendors. photography is going to earn the top spot when it comes time to start setting priorities. or maybe #2, only behind food. so the opportunity to get a fresh eye to capture moments my {faux} primary photog might not get, for $500...you'd best believe i'd be all over it.

good luck!