Author: MASadmin

Registries are for ridiculousness.

Okay, I know that’s not true but that’s how I feel about them in some way. K and I have already started working on our registry (since, when we first told people we were engaged, several “congrats!” messages back asked to see our registry). I’ve written before how we’ve disagreed what to put on our registry, how expensive the items should be, what should we not put on, etc. And, as of this moment, our registry is pretty small and I think complete. When you’ve lived on your own for awhile, and you live in New York City where your future “home” together is going to be a small closet, there gets a point when the registry becomes less about “essentials” and more about “spur of the moment ideas”. Like this one: I need a deep fryer.

My roommate actually gave me the idea. She was home, thinking about dinner, and lamenting her need to deep fried things. It peeked my interest. She asked how much they went for and I had no idea. A quick check of Amazon found some in the 50-75 dollar range which would fit perfectly in a small apartment. I instantly had ideas of living in a room covered in french fries. Twinkie would be barking (and munching) under the pile, her cries muffled by the deliciousness. Chula would be sleeping on top of it. I would have both of my hands holding cups of mayo and ketchup and I would be using my mouth to eat everything. It would be fantastic. I sent a quick IM to my fiancee asking her if I can put it on the registry. She said no. My dreams of a french fry castle vanished and I think I made a frowny face in response.

But, of course, my fiancee is right and I’m wrong. Why? Because I would never use it, I would burn myself if I did use it, and I probably would develop an unhealthy obsession with deep frying everything in my apartment. And a deep fryer is just another in a long list of items that I stumble upon in passing and then want to put on the registry (a kindle! we both read a lot! it would be great!). Registries aren’t an extension of my amazon.com wish list (as much as I’d like them to be). They’re suppose to be for items to build, and maintain, a household for a long long time. That means no cheap dishes, no crappy pans, and no extravagant kitchen appliances that you’ll never use. Except that toaster that looks like a tank, costs more than my camera, and could toast a wild buffalo in 30 seconds while singing showtunes. I NEED THAT.

My fiancee was perusing the Wedding Plans Livejournal community when she found this lovely wedding in South Africa. I loved the photographs, the overall vibe they gave to the outdoor wedding, but I particularly loved the cake setup.

That is exactly the layout I’d like. A small cake on top, white frosting, simple (but minus the ribbon). And I’d like it to sit up on top of a collection of desserts. And instead of flowers on the top, I’d want a cake topper. I haven’t figured out which one yet but I’d like it to be awesome.

But besides the cake, the overall feel of that wedding is fantastic. The bride looks lovely (and is wearing a dress with straps!). The couple looks like they go together. I really like the one button suit the groom wore. And I think the bridesmaid dresses work. All in all, an extremely well put together wedding. I hope, when people look back at my wedding, that’s what they’ll say about mine.

Do you know how much a bride’s bouquet costs? $150 dollars.

That’s right. A florist charges you $150 dollars to create a little creation that you carry with you down the aisle, gets photographed to death, and then is manhandled when you toss it into a huge throng of women who then rip it to shreds trying to catch it. The life of a bride’s bouquet is short, not sweet, and incredibly violent. If I was that bouquet, I’d feel pretty sleezy and used.

Bridemaid’s bouquets can cost near $100 each and don’t suffer as nearly as a bad fate but they are only used for a few hours. After that, they’re either tossed into the trash or “dried”. What’s dried? Well, young women try to dry the flowers out, hang them upside down, but what usually happens is that they’re not very secure, they attract pests, and the gradually wilt, fall to the flower, and end up in the trash bin. Now, yes, if they’re done well, they are very pretty and they will be shown in pictures with your lovely dress but bouquets don’t last and they can also be limiting if you decide that your wedding shouldn’t be entirely wiltable. Plus, if you’re poor, spending a huge amount of money on flowers is probably the first thing you’re gonna cut from your budget. And when you at up the boutonnieres for the groom and his army, flowers start to get expensive.

But luckily you can spend less money, get some toys that even more elaborate and decadent that a florist could provide, and these suckers would actually last. I give you faux flower bouquets by Design Whimsy.

Bridal Bouquet- Vintage Inspired $87.50

Wedding Boutonniere $15

Small and Quaint Bridesmaid bouquet $35.00

Wedding Day brooches $35.00

My fiancee loves this stuff. It’ll fit in great with the overall feel of our church, her dress, and is a much more flexible and tangible way to carry flowers down the aisle. Plus, it’s cheaper than anything you could get from a florist in NYC for anything of similar shape, size, style, weight, etc. The closer it gets to the wedding, the more likely it is that we’ll place a custom order (and most of this stuff is custom made) for something similar to the items above. It’s awesome stuff.