Surprisingly, my fanciest dress is made of cotton/spandex. It's a dress my mother bought in...I think the 70s.
The last place I wore it was at my husband's ex-girlfriend's wedding. (why she would invite us is a mystery to me...). I feel strange dressing up...because no one does. I've been to plenty of industry events and galas and things... but no one ever dresses up. The other thing about dressing up in NYC is that no matter what black-tie event you're going to, you still have to ride the subway. You get to be the overdressed person on the subway. Kind of ruins the magic.
While we're talking about fancy dresses and special occasions and weddings, might as well share some of my wedding pictures, which I haven't done yet. I'll share some wedding planning tips as well. The wedding was in Chicago, and I planned it from New York. About 50 people came. And it cost about 3K
Tip 1: ditch the wedding hall
2: Check out your local park district. I kid you not, the historic mansion below cost $60/hr. See, the city park district doesn't differentiate between an after school kid's program and a wedding. It's the same rate for everyone, and subsidized by tax money. The park district doesn't just have parks and gardens, but they have buildings too. worth a look. The drawback is that while they DO provide chairs and tables, you have to set them up and take them down...and the park district doesn't give a shit about your special day, so don't expect any sympathy if you're running behind schedule.
3: shop vintage: my wedding dress cost $12 (Beacon's Closet, Williamsburg). The same day I bought my dress, I actually bought a BELT that cost more. The slip I wore underneath my dress cost $49 (from American Apparel). The hat was my mom's, as was the jewelry.
4. It's cheaper just to rent a back room of a restaurant than to get a hall and have it catered. The restaurant we used, Honkey Tonk BBQ, didn't even think about hosting wedding receptions. We just asked. They said ok. They created a wedding menu. Easy. also. I LOVE bbq.
5. Get live music. Don't do the ipod thing. We used a 2 person gypsy band: guitar and accordion. I kind of fell in love with this one accordion player's music by where I used to work, and knew I had to have accordion music at my wedding. My husband was like "no we can't just have an accordion," so he found this indie gypsy duo. No one likes to dance at weddings, and if you're doing it cheap, there probably won't be a space for dancing. Live music gives people something to stare at while they eat.
6. Just get a white cake. We used to live in the Mexican neighborhood Pilsen, which had a cafe known for its tres leche cake. We loved this cake. We just asked for a big one. I think it was something like $60. It was DELICIOUS and everyone loved it. No one really cares about the cake anyway. By the time you cut the cake, everyone wants to go home. Oh and cake toppers.... I actually realized I forgot to buy a cake topper 6 months after my honeymoon ended. stupid shit you don't need.
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| this was actually a cell phone picture that one of my friends took |
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| close up of the lace on my dress... and in the distance, my favorite cheap beer... LONE STAR |
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| tres leche cake |
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| the historic mansion overlooked lake michigan. beautiful bay windows. |
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| the mansion. us setting up for the ceremony. Like I said, you have to set up your own shit. |
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| my mom loooooooved the gypsy band. I think this was her favorite part of the wedding. |
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