The Penguin Suit

So, being that the wedding is only 84 days away, the time has come for the guys to get in gear, literally.
Here's what wikipedia tells us:

In the spring of 1886, the Prince invited James Potter, a rich New Yorker and his wife, Cora Potter, to Sandringham House, his Norfolk hunting estate. When Potter asked the Prince's dinner dress recommendation, he sent Potter to Henry Poole & Co., in London. On returning to New York in 1886, Potter's dinner suit proved popular at the Tuxedo Park Club; the club men copied him, soon making it their informal dining uniform. The evening dress for men now popularly known as a tuxedo takes its name from Tuxedo Park, where it was said to have been worn for the first time in the United States, by Griswald Lorillard at the annual Autumn Ball of the Tuxedo Club founded by Pierre Lorillard IV, and thereafter became popular for formal dress in America. Legend dictates that it became known as the tuxedo when a fellow asked another at the Autumn Ball, "Why does that man's jacket not have coattails on it?" The other answered, "He is from Tuxedo Park." The first gentleman misinterpreted and told all of his friends that he saw a man wearing a jacket without coattails called a tuxedo, not from Tuxedo.[2]


But wow, are tuxedos ever confusing!

In brief, the traditional components are:

A jacket with silk facings (usually grosgrain or satin), called the dinner jacket
Trousers with silk braids matching the lapels
A black cummerbund or low-cut waistcoat
A white dress shirt with either a marcella (piqué cotton), stiff, or pleated front
A black silk bow tie
Black dress socks, usually silk
Black shoes in patent or highly polished leather, or patent leather court shoes

Jackets can be single or double breasted, pants can't have belt loops (what do you use? rainbow suspenders?), if there's no cumberbund there must be a vest, which can have a back, or not (!), shoes can be patent leather or velvet and are referred to as opera pumps ... the list goes on ...there are as many exceptions as there are rules.

Maybe suits will be easier ...

I guess the labour day rule doesn't apply?

I have never been one to wear white shoes past labour day. Not because I'm a stickler, but because I just never wear white shoes (except maybe runners. The wedding is the exception to this rule. If you scroll way back to the beginning of this blog you'll read about my Bridezilla-ness about red shoes, trying to have them all to myself and then the overwhelming sense of need to wear white shoes with my (essentially) white dress.
So today I found them, and they were even on sale!

It's a spring thing

No wonder April, May and June are the busiest wedding months! I think romance is greater than the sum of each season, though some months do say "love" more than others. There is just something about the sights and sounds of spring that really get the blood flowing. In spring, things are budding and blooming, awakening and coming alive. The Earth spills forth new energies and colours and seems to inspire everyone, human and beast alike, to go forth and multiply. Interesting though, that spring doesn't seem like a "sexy" season, not like summer (perhaps it's all the skin?). No, spring has retained it's pastel sweetness. If Rob and I had chosen a spring wedding, it might have looked something like any of these details ...







all images from marthastewart.com/weddings

Success!

Back from shoe shopping. It was a roaring success. I got 2 pairs of black wedges because I couldn't choose and they were both reasonably priced. They are both very comfy so either one would be perfect for my up coming bridesmaid duties.


and



Now for the most exciting part! My lovely niece, Justine, who will also be a bridesmaid in our wedding found red shoes to go with her black dress! Not only are they HOT, they were a major steal, especially considering they are Steve Maddens.

Back on track ...

Wow. I have been a delinquent blogger. It's been a busy couple weeks (no excuses!)
But I am back and on track. Apology over.

Now, on to more pressing issues. SHOES.
As mentioned in previous posts, I am a bridesmaid in my BFF's wedding which is suddenly ridiculously close. (three weeks away, close!) My dress is ready (thanks again for choosing black, Janna!) but I need some shoes! Of course I own black heels, but none of them are very comfortable because I don't wear them often so I buy cheap, trendy ones. I have never invested in good quality, non torture device, heels.

In addition to needing black heels I can wear all day for Janna's wedding, I need some to wear for MY wedding and clearly they cannot be the same shoe. I have some changes to make to my wedding dress (adding sleeves) and the length needs to change (I'm 5'2": story of my life) but none of those things can happen without the shoes dictating height and all of that.

So today is shoe day. I will leave the house in about an hour in search of some cute new kicks, but before I go, here is some of my inspiration:

... and something blue

In case your right hand is jealous, just bedazzle it with one of these suckers from Birks:




from top:
heart shaped 3.5 carat aquamarine and diamond ring in 18K white gold
8mmx6mm oval cut blue topaz in 18K yellow gold
1.37 carat sapphire with a halo of micro pave diamonds set in 18k white gold

"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a sixpence in your shoe" is one of my favourite wedding traditions. I love the idea of being mindful of something old from your life before marriage, welcoming the new, borrowing the luck from a happily married woman you love, and carrying something blue (to remind yourself of being virtuous. ha! we all know what THAT one means!)
And a sixpence in your shoe: excellent if you need to stop and make a call in a Dickensian phone booth? But seriously, a symbol of monetary fortune is not a bad thing to start out your marriage with.

More on cake...

Thankfully the days of fruitcake as wedding cake are almost over! When it comes to the deep mahogany coloured, booze spiked, peel and nut studded fruitcake, I have one slice per year, and only at Christmas. Truth be told I don't usually finish it, I just pick the marzipan off.
So when looking at images of cakes and thinking of flavours, Rob (that's the fella I'm marrying)and I went as far from that age-old confection as we could.

The short list was:
Lemon poppy seed with strawberry filling
Coconut with passion fruit filling and vanilla butter cream
Pistachio with mocha filling and vanilla-bean butter cream
Red Velvet with Cream cheese frosting

The winner is ... coconut with passion fruit filling and vanilla butter cream!
Much like this beauty from Martha Stewart, only smaller ...