Weddings & Magnolias

My cousin is getting married on Saturday. We've been a little preoccupied with attire over here.

Magnolia
by Gerald Stern

The mayor, in order to marry us, borrowed
a necktie from a lawyer which, on him,
looked stupid and kept his eye on a red pigeon
which somehow got in to coo her disappointment,
if only for the record, though one of the two
witnesses who kicked the red got only what
she deserved and that was that, except that the
rain cooed too, but we didn't give a shit
for we had a bed, for God's sake, with two tin buckets
of blossoms waiting for us; and someone there
of Greek persuasion enacted the dancing though somewhat
lickerish and turned to reading the names of the dead
from World War I the other side of the bandstand
but we didn't care nor did we know her name
nor where she came from or what the necktie or what
our love had to do with it anyhow, mostly nothing.

 Matisse: Odalisque with Magnolias

Fleurish Wedding Flowers

Aren't these the lovliest centerpieces? They were made by Fleurish for my wedding in 2006. The tree stump bases were actually made by me, my dad, and my friend Ron. What a happy day.

Wedding Flowers

A dear work friend is getting married in October and once in a while she tosses me some wedding idea so cute, I can't help but get excited all over again. These wedding bouquets made of vintage brooches are incredible. She divulged this week that she is going to attempt to make one. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

 {Photo: Alice Hu} {Blogged: Here.} {Created by: Fantasy Floral Designs}

{Blogged: Here}

Wedding Bell News

The wedding and assorted related events were more awesome, special, and beautiful than I ever could have imagined. Here's a brief recap.

Rehearsal Dinner at Mad Art on Friday was perfect. Ron surprised me with gorgeous centerpieces of my favorite flower, cock's comb (celosia) and dinner was fantastic. It was the perfect relaxing environment for our families to meet and for friends to mingle. I can't imagine trying to do that in a restaurant. Ron and I shopped for all our ingredients on Wednesday and he took it from there. Everyone raved about how nice it was.

On Saturday, my mom, Kelly, and I all got ready at my house. My hair/makeup gal came to my house and did their hair then worked on me. I'm glad we did it this way. It was relaxing and we had a good time. Kelly gave me a scrapbook with photos of us together since childhood and letters we'd written to each other when we were kids. It was hysterical.

The weather was predicted to be very stormy on Friday and Saturday, but there was just minor rain. Lindsey and I were able to have our photos taken at Lafayette Square Park before the wedding afterall and we were able to have the cocktail hour in the courtyard at the Ninth Street Abbey. I was elated about both of these things.

Ceremony went off without a hitch. Didn't fall, didn't cry, didn't laugh, rings went on fine. I was feeling very relaxed and happy. I promised myself I was going to try to stay as "in the moment" as I could and I did. When we came inside for dinner--the place looked gorgeous. I LOVED my centerpieces and bouquet. They were a real highlight. My dad, Ron, and I made the bases and Fleurish did the flowers. Oh and my branch altar pieces rocked. I loved them (Fleurish again. Becky is the best.)

One of the best parts of the night was when the DJ "announced" us and we walked into the room of all of our seated guests. During the planning, I was reluctant to do this, but Alexa (the Abbey's coordinator) persuaded me and I'm so glad she did. Walking into a room of folks wildly cheering for you--felt pretty stinking good. I never felt so happy and so loved and so full of love than I did at that moment. We were blown away.

Lindsey's dad said a beautiful prayer. Dinner was fabulous. Everyone had a great time on the dance floor. And the photobooth was a HUGE hit. (Thanks to Tim & Katy for the fabulous gift.) The whole night was just incredible. We have just great family and friends. Everyone was having a good time.

On Sunday we had a little open-house/brunch at our house so the out of towners could see our new place. I am so glad we did this. It was a wonderful chance to really thank everyone again and we were of course, walking on clouds anyway.

My photos are in so I'm in the process of figuring out how to go about sharing a few. More to come.

Catch Up

ACK! What Made Milwaukee Famous is playing this Saturday at 6pm at the Creepy Crawl! I've never seen them live and they are my new favorite band and I've never been to the Creepy Crawl. But Art of Food is Saturday. What to do? I mean it...I LOVE THIS BAND! 


RSVPs for the wedding are rolling in. I'm starting to get excited and will probably go into full manic mode in about another week. I am in love with my florist, who I haven't even met. I've had two meetings with his assistant--who is supremely cool. I'm using Fleurish. 

I have pieces in two upcoming shows at Mad Art. I've donated a piece to the Art of Food fundraiser for Slow Food St. Louis. It is a textile work that I showed at The Potato Eaters exhibit at the Contemporary Arts Collective last year. And next Friday, I'm part of a collaborative portraits show. I finished up my found object/assemblage piece last night and love it. It is pretty self-portraity, that's for sure. I can't wait to get my studio set up and have a real work space again, but that will have to wait. Fish to fry.


Oh, and the new print and online issues of 52nd City are out. We are trying to raise the cash to get our online store up and running. Please buy a copy. Advertise. Submit. Support. We get tons of great feedback. Check it out.

Exotic All American

This was the first week in FOR-EVER that I didn't have a single after work obligation. No meetings. No events. No social activities. It was delightfully strange. I could lazily do my domestic chores, read, and watch tv. It felt so all-American.

On Wednesday, Lindsey took me to dinner at Aya Sofia, one of my new favorite places. I love the atmosphere. The food is fantastic. The service great. And sommelier Jill Aboussie is strikingly gorgeous, in my opinion. Everything about Aya Sofia is exotic yet comfortable. The waiters don't seem to mind when Lindsey asks about spelling and pronunciation of menu items. Our waiter this time even went so far as to write the name and phonetic spelling of Asure, the strange Turkish wheat pudding dessert that was a special that evening. It included nearly 20 ingredients—chickpeas, dried fruits, pomegranate seeds, nuts, etc. It isn't the kind of dessert I would crave, but it was definitely worth sharing.

To my surprise, Lindsey had gone by Noel's and picked up my engagement ring. We've been working with her for months and I've been anxious to get it. I thought she was out of town so I wouldn't have it until my birthday. But he went by her place before picking me up for dinner. So he got on bended knee and proposed all proper—even though he asked and I said yes back in September and the wedding planning train left the station a long time ago. I was delighted with his romantic gesture and we spent the rest of our dinner sitting next to each other in the booth like little dorky lovebirds cooing over each other and the ring, while belly dancers entertained. It was so fun.

My ring is a big chunky silver thing with an awesome pearl that is in this odd organic shape that I used to paint in a lot of my paintings. I really love it. Not until after I got it on Wednesday, did I begin to research the pearl. Now it seems even more to be the perfect choice. 

Folklore, Legend, Healing Properties: Cultured or freshwater pearls are considered to offer the power of love, money, protection, and luck. Pearls are thought to give wisdom through experience, to quicken the laws of karma and to cement engagements and love relationships. They are thought to keep children safe. Early Chinese myths told of pearls falling from the sky when dragons fought. Ancient legend says that pearls were thought to be the tears of the gods and the Greeks believed that wearing pearls would promote marital bliss and prevent newlywed women from crying. 

And Lindsey says there is a parable in the bible about a man finding a pearl in a field and burying it. He then sells all his worldly possessions in order to have enough money to buy the entire field, and thus gain the treasure. The story illustrates giving up all you have with joy in anticipation for something better (the kingdom of heaven). And since Lindsey sold half his belongings and left his life in Austin to move here to be with me...well, the story has some similarities. I'm not suggesting life with me is anywhere near heavenly. But it is an interesting parable, nonetheless. I'm so glad we picked the pearl and that we worked on it together. Noel Leicht, the designer, has turned out to be such an incredible joy. I am going to work with her on redesigning her website. So the whole process has just been wonderful.

My parents are arriving tonight and we are celebrating my birthday and my mom's birthday tomorrow, along with doing more work on the house. It should be a nice weekend of visiting, although the frigid temperatures are a real drag. Can't wait for spring--although this has been one of the best winters for me in a long time. I think all the exercise is helping my spirits!

Hitched

This week Lindsey officially asked me to marry him and I officially said yes. We haven't done much planning beyond that. We have slowly been telling family and friends this week. It has been great fun experiencing the responses--everyone so kind, happy and full of questions. Next month we are traveling to North Carolina, where I will meet the rest of his family and friends. We are quite giddy these days--very much in love. 


Work has gotten much more intense for me lately. I like being busy, I don't like being pressured. And I'm way behind at Mad Art. I fear I'll never catch up. Another reason I'm looking forward to the escape to North Carolina.


My parents visited over the weekend. We tried to go to the balloon glow but it was too freakin' packed, so we went to Ted Drewes instead. On Saturday we took a road trip up the river road in Illinois and had lunch in Hardin. It was such a nice day. But now I better get started on my Sunday. It looks cloudy. A good day to hunker down inside.