Cake in a Box

Today I wanted to pass on some excellent information I found at good ol' Ritzy Bee for those of you who have the Super 8 MM bug as I do. Layer Cakes has a great package for those capable DIY'ers out there. They send you everything you need. All you have to do is have someone reliable record the memories, send back the footage and they do the editing for you!

Venue, Venue, Venue

So on to my own personal day for a little while. The engagement party reinvigorated my wedding planning. We had an atypical engagement in the sense that we picked everything based on our venue's availability. Hopefully you can see why just by looking at these great shots of the site. My mother and I checked out a couple of places but when my fiance and I drove up to Laurel Hall, we knew immediately that it was the place.



"The impressive 1916 Jacobean Revival manor combines history, beauty, and character with modern convenience to create a timeless backdrop for any special event. Described as private, comfortable and stately, Laurel Hall is designed for people with high standards and discerning taste on most any budget. The building's exotic hardwood floors, antique wood paneling, vaulted ceilings, limestone fireplaces, grand staircase, and expansive windows that capture natural light and views of the surrounding landscape make it event-ready or the perfect setting to bring your individual style to any gathering." - Laurel Hall Homepage

I am hoping to see this idyllic picture in person sometime next year! After choosing the venue, everything else has been easy. Well, honestly, choosing Laurel Hall was pretty easy too.

The Wedding Game engagement gift...

My parents recently gave me the best little engagement gift called The Wedding Game. It is a card game originally published in 1880 that chronicles a Bride and Groom's trip to the alter. I was so impressed by the cute little characters of all the members of the wedding party that I looked up the company and found it was reintroduced by F.G. & Company. This boutique carries so many great items for those creative types who just can't get enough of anything that is one of a kind or vintage. I can't wait to get into one of their stores myself especially since I am trying to stay inspired by the venue we have chose for our ceremony and reception. More on that tomorrow! For now, take a look at all the great items available at this unique store and let me know if you get the chance to visit any of their locations. They even have paper princess crowns for royal brides out there. You know who you are.

• MAGICAL GIFT TAGS
• CARTES DE BIJOUX
• COMMEMORATIVE PAPER CROWNS & WINGS
• UNIQUE WRAPPING PAPERS INSPIRED BY VINTAGE EPHEMERA
• RARE PLAYING CARDS & PARLOUR GAMES
• CONFETTI D'COEUR
• REPRODUCTIONS OF VINTAGE ADVERTISING SIGNS
• OTHER PAPER REPRODUCTIONS INSPIRED BY VINTAGE EPHEMERA

Engagment party for Mimi and Mr. Mimi to Be....

Not much of a post today because I am getting prepared for our awesome engagement party that MIL to be is throwing us. It should be a lot of food, drink, and good times. See you one Monday!

"hello.... hellooo.. Is there anybody in there?" - Pink Floyd

I know you are out there! I hear some comments in my personal email about the page and how much you love something or hate something. Let me know! I am so curious about what everyone else is thinking about these latest "trends" in wedding planning. It is kind of a crazy industry. So don't be afraid of being the first to comment, just go for it! To get you started, here is something to get you all involved.

I am currently listening to my "engagement party" playlist and it is making me note my favorite songs that must be played at the wedding. Do any of you quiet stalkers out there have any favorites for the ceremony, father/dauther dance, bouquet dance, first dance, on and on..... I want to hear EVERYTHING. From every genre imaginable so don't be shy about your "guilty pleasure."

(image - xkcd: a webcoming of romance, sacarcasm, math and language.)

Let us eat cake...

I am a television addict, yes, but I usually steer away from reality t.v. Now that I am planning a wedding I have checked out every show I can find on planning weddings, crazy brides, and cakes. Yes, wedding cakes have their own spotlight in Ace of Cakes and Amazing Wedding Cakes. If you wonder how you could possibly get involved in watching people bake a cake just give me the benefit of the doubt this once and commit a half hour of your time to one of these shows. Maybe this great photograph from Kate Spade will motivate you to reclaim the remote control. Be prepared for some great ideas so have your planning notebook at hand.

Monday Organization....

Every Sunday evening and Monday I usually just spend the day catching up from what I missed the week before and setting an agenda for the coming week. Because I am doing that all day today I thought I would just share another great website I found called See Jane Work. It makes me want to recreate my entire back room into a super chic working woman office. Yes!

Don't you love these clothespins that have the days of the week on them so you can just take things one day at a time? Go check them out!

Save the best for last...

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier. It took a little more time to get some of the details for her marriage to John F. Kennedy Jr. so I save the best for today since I am taking a two day blogging break over the weekend. I am taking you directly to the two sites I where I found the images and information just as any good journalist would.

• The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Cha Ching!!! This site is simply amazing. They gave me details down to the type of invitation the couple used to invite their 800+ guests. Make sure you check this place out and then you can tell people you took an interest in government and politics this year. All the wedding day details are quoted directly from this site.


• The fantabulous (my own word) photographs are all available for purchase at PrintsandPhotos.com! Yes. For all of you crazy, vintage-photography loving freaks out there, I have found the pot o' gold at this great site. I'll start with my favorite and then take you through the details of the day.

(Image - PrintsandPhotos.com)

"Jacqueline Lee Bouvier and John F. Kennedy were married on the morning of September 12, 1953, in the picturesque St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Newport, Rhode Island."

(image - PrintsandPhotos.com)

"The bride, given in marriage by her stepfather, Hugh D. Auchincloss, wore a dress of ivory tissue silk, with a portrait neckline, fitted bodice, and a bouffant skirt embellished with bands of more than fifty yards of flounces. Her rosepoint lace veil, worn first by her grandmother Lee, was draped from a tiara of lace and orange blossoms. Jacqueline wore a choker of pearls and a diamond bracelet that was a gift from the groom. The bride’s bouquet was of pink and white spray orchids and gardenias. "

"[The] attendants, dressed in pink taffeta, included her sister, Lee, then Mrs. Michael T. Canfield, as matron of honor: her stepsister Nina G. Auchincloss as maid of honor: a bevy of ten bridesmaids, among them the groom’s sister Jean and sister-in-law Ethel, and the bride’s former boarding school roommate, Nancy Tuckerman. Half sister Janet Auchincloss was flower girl and half brother James Auchincloss served as a page. "

Senator Kennedy’s best man was his brother Robert and among the ushers were brother Edward Kennedy, brother-in-law Sargent Shriver, cousin Joe Gargan, brother-in-law Michael Canfield, Lem Billings, Red Fay, Torbert MacDonald, Senate colleague George Smathers, and Charles Bartlett, who had introduced the couple."

"The ceremony was performed by Archbishop Cushing, a friend of the Kennedy Family, and he was assisted by four other priests, including the former president of Notre Dame and the head of the Christopher Society. Before the mass, a special blessing from Pope Pius XII was read. Tenor soloist Luigi Vena from Boston sang Gounod’s Ave Maria. "

"The reception was held on the huge terrace of the 300 acre Auchincloss oceanfront estate, Hammersmith Farm, for more than twelve hundred guests. The wedding cake, four feet tall, had been ordered by Joseph Kennedy. Meyer Davis and his orchestra played under a huge canopy."

Invitations: lettering on the invitation was not raised. It was printed in black ink on a cream colored paper.

Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Dudley Auchincloss

request the honour of your presence

at the marriage of

Mrs. Auchincloss' daughter

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier

to

The Honorable John Fitzgerald Kennedy

United States Senate

on Saturday, the twelfth of September

at eleven o'clock

Saint Mary's Church

Spring Street

Newport, Rhode Island

The invitation in the holdings of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum is framed. The frame is nine inches high and seven inches wide. Presumably the invitation was originally approximately six inches in height and approximately four inches in length. (5.75" X 3.75" of the invitation is visible).

Princess Diana Spencer's Wedding....

The Bridal Party - AP Photo


The Ceremony - AP Photo


The Recessional - AP Photo

Bride and Groom - AP Photo


The "getaway" carriage - AP Photo


These beautiful images of Princess Diana Spencer, Princess of Whales marrying Prince Charles of Whales still take my breathe away. According to good ol' wikipedia, "Prince Charles proposed to Diana in February 1981, she accepted, and when he asked her father for her hand, he consented. After the British and Canadian privy councils gave their approval for the union (which was required as the couple was expected to produce an heir to those countries' thrones), the Queen in Council gave the legally required assent, and, 29 July, Charles and Diana were married at St. Paul's Cathedral before 3,500 invited guests and an estimated woldwide television audience of 750 million people." I remember getting to stay up past my bed time to watch this royal wedding. At the time it really was a fairytale. Even though Prince Albert and Princess Diana had a troubled marriage that eventually ended, they had two beautiful sons who have turned into some smart looking, charming young men. This wedding was something very few people had ever witnessed.

What is it with all this "it must be white!" business?

Queen Victoria who ascended to the throne at 18 on May 24, 1819, is famous for starting the trend of a white wedding gown. Born Alexandrina Victoria on May 24, 1819 she bucked tradition of royalty wearing silver for their nuptials. She married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg on February 10, 1840 carrying orange blossoms and wearing them in her hair.

(image-posted by "AGBF" at pricescope.com)