Goes Together Better Than (crunchy) Peanut Butter & (anything-but-grape) Jelly

See if you can follow along...


1) Beckie Newton portrays a fab Amanda Tanen on "Ugly Betty". Check out this spotlight next to Damn-I'm-too-cute-Kelly Ripa.

2) I'm sure Beckie has been called 'Becks' at some point in her beautiful 29 year old existence.

3) The real Becks has finally made it across the pond to magical land called LA. I think it was worth the $250m.

4) David (we're close like that) is married to Posh Spice (aka Victoria Beckham) who just happens to blog about the trials and tribulations of learning to call 'sneakers' sneakers and not trainers. Read about it here. This normal girl from London (who just happened to travel to elementary school in a Bentley) chronicled her recent move stateside in NBC's "Victoria Beckham: Coming to America". Sadly, it was streamlined down to one episode instead of six. Bad NBC.

...coming full circle......

5) Posh, achem, Victoria, is reportedly set for a guest appearance this fall on - you guessed it - "Ugly Betty". The scene, a wedding scene, duh, pits the new Becks vs. Mrs. Becks. (Wo)mano e (Wo)mano. One can only guess who will seem fatter than the other. Check it out here.


For more Brit-inspired laughs, check out the Beckhams and Borat having a meeting of the minds.

Brief Hiatus

Gone camping....

Non-Wedding Babble - Harry Who??

Ever notice the similarities??




Harry Potter: Harry Potter (orphan living with uncle and aunt)
Star Wars: Luke Skywalker (orphan living with uncle and aunt)

Harry Potter: Bearded rescuer Hagrid
Star Wars: Bearded rescuer Obe-Wan

Harry Potter: Magic
Star Wars: The Force

Harry Potter: Wizard
Star Wars: Jedi

Harry Potter: wand
Star Wars: light sabre

Harry Potter: adventures with friends Ron Weasley & Hermione Granger
Star Wars: adventures with friends Han Solo & Princess Leia

Harry Potter: Lord Voldemort
Star Wars: Darth Vader

Harry Potter: Lord Voldemort killed Harry's father
Star Wars: Darth Vader killed Luke's father.

Harry Potter: movie score composed by John Williams
Star Wars: movie score composed by John Williams


Downright uncanny, isn't it. Way to go J(o)K(e) Rowling. Here's even more.

Wedding Questions Of The Day

Q - I wonder how I should wear my hair that day?

The Bride conglomerate at Conde Nast doesn't seem to have much.


Q - If I had to rename this blog what should I call it?

A Chaordic Affair to Formember.


Q - What should the wedding cake taste like?

Buttercream. Chocolate. Rocky Road ice cream. Fondant. Vanilla-almond.


Q - How can we reduce the green footprint of the wedding?

Adopt an animal through the World Wildlife Fund.

Purchase carbon credits for the travel related to our affair.

An eco-limo; a Prius limousine. Yes, that's correct. A car that I could shoehorn into my own trunk and use as an emergency escape pod is now the Eco Limo calling card.

Use ecofetti - now that's a splash of colour if I do say so myself.

New Song Of The Moment - (die) Pilot

Colorado-based (die)Pilot tops the charts this week. It should be noted that new music can be 'found' anywhere. This find comes a la, how you say, "adult cinema". Enjoy. I know Rocco did. The rest of the album kicks.

Random Ramblings

Wedding Insurance

With the cost of weddings forever rising, it seems only natural to provide oneself a safety net just in case things don't go as expected. I still haven't pulled the trigger on this. My only real concern is how far in advance do I need to secure it. I obviously understand that going to contract a fews days before is most likely not an option. Thoughts?

I would tend to argue that insurance should be procured as soon as we start putting down deposits on the reception venue, band, photographer, etc.

Doh! Better get on it.


The Dress Ordeal

Rockstar designer Monique Lhuillier has this to say about dress shopping:

1. Go in with an open mind. You may think you know what you're looking for and what works for you, but you have to try on several different dresses.

2. Don't shop with too many people. You'll just get confused, because everyone has an opinion. Listen to the little voice inside of you.

3. Fit is key. Be as comfortable as you can in your wedding gown. The better it fits, the happier you will be on the big day.

Talk about enlightening.

Did you also know that she is teaming with Royal Doulton in October to launch a fine china and stemware collection??

Here's more juice on her.

Watch out Vera Wang - your designs seem to resemble targets.

The Magic Of Potter

Somehow these soon-to-be newlyweds are preoccupied with JK Rowlings writings a bit too much, no?

Readers, can I get a show of hands how many are planning on procuring the final book this Saturday at 12 midnight?? I know Coco plans on lining up outside our local Barnes & Noble in full regalia. That means dressing up like my FAVORITE character - Hermione Granger aka Emma-can-you-believe-I-am-only-17?!-Watson. Grrrrrr.

(ps...Jenoa, sorry you may have been duped into reading this post just because the title mentions a 'Potter'. There are others in this world you know!!)

Happy Birthday Amy!!

You're legal now.

Hotel Review & Locale Suggestion

You may recall this post where I ponder the logistics of hotels come wedding time. Well, it turns out that Aunt Kathy and Jeff (of the Great Barrington Construction Camp) stayed at the Garden City Hotel the night of the engagement party and gave it two thumbs up. How can they not - it's supposed to be one of the nicest hotels on Long Island. It's also only about 25 minutes from The Carlyle. See for yourself. I've never been there so I have absolutely no idea what's it's like but if Aunt says it's ok and Jeff can justify the expense then there must be some good value in it.

I'd like to append one piece of information to my recent post about the changes to The Carlyle website. In fact, this is a tip to all wedding venue websites - "Please include a list of suggested hotels that are near the event."

Is that too much to ask? I didn't think so.

Carlyle On The Green Changing It Up

I was struggling to find something to write about until I happened upon some changes the Carlyle on the Green has made to their website. It's a definite improvement and gives viewers a better feel of the facilities and layout.

The "Weddings" and "Corporate Events" selections on the left-hand side of their site show some nice pictures of the chapel where we will be having our ceremony. I believe it's called the Lenox Room. This room sold us on the Carlyle. Our thinking was that we have to have a contingency for bad weather - this will always be a game day decision in my opionion- so we decided that this room, adorned with candles & "all things romantic", will look amazing regardless of the weather. We haven't really decided how we are going to decorate it but by itself the room looks stunning.

"Social Events" has a photo of the Conservatory which will host the reception. We love this room and how it opens up right onto the practice putting green and the first tee of the Red Course. Score.

The Heritage Room will host the cocktail hour. With huge cathedral ceilings, 2 bars, a fireplace and a piano, this will surely kick of festivities the right way.

Also on site is a great restaurant called The Oak Room. The culinary staff here will be in charge of preparing the dinner we'll select. One of the 'perks' in going to contract with The Carlyle for our wedding, an expected perk nonetheless, is the option for the two of us to have dinner at The Oak Room on them. I'm really looking forward to sampling the menu at some point. I wonder what their specialty is?

Enjoy the weekend campers! Keep an eye (or two) out for Jason. I hear the Vorhees family never really dies...

Hot Off The (Very Slow) Press - Engagement Party Pix!!

It took me a while to compile them since there were a little over 500 to choose from, but these 423 made the cut. Enjoy! Thanks again, Alan and Susan. The party was great! Sorry again to those that couldn't attend as you were missed - and don't worry - we believed every excuse you gave us. See you in September??

(To view them just click on the link/picture below. Special thanks to Gil, Yehuda & Liron as they manned (and womanned) the cameras. If you'd like to see more of Gil's work check out his website Embedded In Brooklyn. )

For those that may be visiting for the first time; stick around and read about what we've been planning. This 'thing' is called a blog.

Brian & Stef's Engagement Party (Team Brefanie Rules!)

P(ark)S(lope) Wedding Dress Blues

Damn! I feel so (not) badly for this lil lady. Her PS dry cleaner shut down abruptly whilst still having in their possession her wedding dress!!! Eeek!

Who gets a wedding dress cleaned these days anyway?? I hope it was after the wedding and not during some "at home alone" time. And here I thought the latest trend was trashing a wedding dress. What? Don't believe me? Read about it here and here. For the record - this guy started it all.

In any case, trashing one sounds like a great way to salvage a dress that will be worn only once granted it's actually being purchased. Is renting one that wrong?

A Blessed ( & Logical!!) Union

I wonder if Dave from Renegade (our kick ass wedding band!) knows about this yet??! Is it me or should all things "music" have a mySpace page??? It seems that a "wedding" search returns the following:

*The Real Wedding Crashers (NBC spoof reality show)

*A Santa Cruz Wedding Photographer

*Various HYSTERICAL clips of Wedding Crashers the movie; "Listen, do you smell something?", "Motorboating-son-of-a-bitch" , "She has man-hands" and "Balloons are my enemy's friend"

*A wedding 'group'

* An actual wedding; they really do happen!

*A "DIY Wedding Video and Dress Guide". Props for creativity. That color would look great with my blue eyes. Word.

*UK indie-rock collective The Wedding Present. Of course.

*A tragedy entitled "My Big Fat Italian Wedding (Please note that I am refraining from using the derogatory euphemism "dago" that I sometimes like to use along with "mick".)

*Another wedding videographer whose handle just happens to be `6'8 "Black Male`. Scary.

*A classic spin on commitment.

*An advertisement for dental work.

The Engagement Party

Much thanks to Big A and Mrs. Big A for a hosting an awesome party! It was great to see those that could make it.

Those that couldn't attend were missed - and don't worry - we believed every excuse you gave us.

More to follow...