Yay New York!

I am SO excited to finally be able to announce a project that I have been working on rather frantically for the last two weeks (I can’t believe it’s only been two weeks – it feels like forever, in a good way)

I’m an unabashedly-vocal supporter of marriage equality rights, and so when New York state passed their marriage equality bill two weeks ago, I really wanted to do something other than drink champagne to celebrate (of course, some champagne was consumed as well.) So I reached out to Meg at A Practical Wedding, and she turned my little idea into a big one, and well, a lot of detail hashing, refining, and some favor asking later, that little idea has turned into the fantastic reality of not one wedding, but two awesome events (one of which involves FIVE weddings. ahhhhhh!)

Yay! I am so happy to be working with Meg and her killer team over at APW, and Kathleen of Jeremy and Kathleen, who designed all of the crazy-awesome graphics, as well as a million other amazing helpers & sponsors who we’ll be announcing over the next few weeks. For now, you should head over to APW to read more about what exactly we’re doing, how you’ll be able to attend, and other ways you can help us celebrate the radness that is New York becoming a more equal place to live.

And because we want more people (including ourselves, ahem California) to live in places where everyone’s love is treated equally under the law, we’re going to be using our nighttime event to raise money, hopefully an awful lot of it, for Lambda Legal, “a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.”

And if you’re going to be in New York in August? I would love to see you there. It’s going to be an incredible day.

posted in joy, marriage equality, parties, wedding | Comments closed

yay weekend!

I’m technically on vacation in the middle of nowhere right now, but had a few work things to wrap up so am spending some time at what might be the world’s cutest cafe, which, at 15 minutes away from where we’re staying is the closest wifi spot. I love coming up here, since the only way I can actually take a real vacation is to go somewhere without readily available wifi or good cell reception, because my name is Elizabeth and I’m a workaholic. Sigh.

an assortment of links and info before I head back into the woods for the weekend and open a book:

image: windmills in Altamont pass, the sight of which officially turn a drive into a road trip.

posted in my life, travel, wedding | Comments closed

LulaKate

If you’re going traditional with your bridesmaids, I’m kinda digging the simple bridesmaid dresses from LulaKate. In the right colors, some of them seem like actually might be wearable again*…

on left: the Ashley, on right: the Pam

*most dresses that are official “bridesmaid dresses” are decidedly, really, when it actually comes down to it, not very wearable again. Unless you’re going to a high school dance, or maybe a really fancy garden party. In which case – sure! And while single-use dresses may not be a problem for you or your friends, let’s all just agree to stop pretending that pink-satin-knee-length is an easy look to pull off once you’re not flanking an alter.

images: LulaKate

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Alissa & Alex’s Brazilian Room Wedding

The first of the pro-photos came back from the wedding I did on June 12, and they are gorgeous. Carmen Alvarez was a true dream of a photographer to work with, and she did an amazing job of capturing the utter joy of this wedding.

Also – one reason to think about getting married at the Brazilian Room, besides all of the obvious this-venue-is-great ones? You can take pictures at the near by Tilden Park Merry-Go-Round. Awesomeness:

This wedding really was such a pleasure to work on (which was good, since I worked on it for 14 months!) – I’ve known the couple for a long time, which of course made it meaningful for me, but really in the end what made it special for everyone was seeing Alissa & Alex so obviously in love. As I like to tell my clients when they’re starting to get freaked out by details – in the end, that’s the only part of a wedding that really matters.

Go and check out Carmen’s blog post on the wedding to see more photos.

photos: Carmen Alvarez Photography

posted in client wedding, photography, wedding | Comments closed

Yes

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday, and I have been so busy that I forgot about it until Wednesday. Busy with the thirteen weddings I still have coming up in 2011 (not to mention the half dozen I’m already working on for 2012,) busy with a big currently-secret project that I am so excited about and should be announced next week, and busy with life. Trying to catch up with old friends and hang out with new ones, working to find the time to fit a little bit of joy into every single day, even the ones where I end up working for twelve hours (luckily I have discovered that sitting outside in the sunshine while working completely and totally counts as a joyful activity.)

And through all of it, this quote keeps running through the back of my mind – because, my friends, life really is about saying yes. And when you remember that, and you do it, and you have faith in yourself and in the people around you? That’s when things get pretty awesome.

“The thing is, I really like saying yes. I like new things, projects, plans, getting people together and doing something, trying something, even when it’s corny or stupid. I am not good at saying no. And I do not get along with people who say no. When you die, and it really could be this afternoon, under the same bus wheels I’ll stick my head if need be, you will not be happy about having said no. You will be kicking your ass about all the no’s you’ve said. No to that opportunity, or no to that trip to Nova Scotia or no to that night out, or no to that project or no to that person who wants to be naked with you but you worry about what your friends will say.

No is for wimps. No is for pussies. No is to live small and embittered, cherishing the opportunities you missed because they might have sent the wrong message.”

-Dave Eggers

So, here’s to yes, to spending time in the sunshine, and to happy holiday weekends everywhere!

posted in joy, life, quotes | Comments closed

looking up

Sometimes, my friends, it is good to spend time lying on your back in the grass, looking up at the sky through a tree. I think that as adults we collectively don’t do this enough – let’s work on changing that.

Have a lovely weekend!

posted in colors that make me happy, favorite things, joy, life | Comments closed

Eliza & Nathaniel

This past Sunday I got to coordinate the loveliest wedding. I’ll write more about it when the pro-photos come in (which I am *so* excited about, because I love the photographer’s work), but suffice it to say, they got it right – love, commitment, ceremony, joy, and community. And some pretty damn delicious mini cupcakes to top it all off.

I am going to end up saying this way too much on this blog, but I really, really, adore the couples I get to work with. This was my first A Practical Wedding couple, and they just made me even more excited than I already was for all of the other APW weddings I have coming up this year. 2011 is shaping up to be incredible.

posted in client wedding, joy, wedding | Comments closed

rock collections

I am really digging these rock collections by Cori Kindred. The perfect thing to slip onto a bookshelf, or place on top of a dresser along with some framed photos.

photo: Cori Kindred originally found via Emily P-S

posted in art, wishlist | Comments closed

a glimpse of myself at work

I almost never get to see photos of what I look like when I’m working (appropriately: I’m not usually also a guest, and so I work hard to be both easily accessible and out of the way, which means professional photographers don’t always capture me,) so I’m loving the photos popping up on Facebook from the wedding I did two weeks ago that have me in them.

I especially love the look of total concentration on my face in the photo on the left – I was lacing up the corset of the bride’s dress, and well, if you’ve ever done it, you know that it’s a task that takes some concentration. And the photo on the right, where I’m getting ready to shut the door to the venue as soon as they walk through it so that the couple can go to their yichud in peace, shows me that I probably need to work on unlocking my knees while standing still in heels.

This was *such* a great wedding – I can’t wait to share more images of it once the pro-photos come back.

photo credit: friends of the bride, via the bride’s personal camera

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tigers

Tigers

What are we now but voices
who promise each other a life
neither one can deliver
not for lack of wanting
but wanting won’t make it so
We cling to a vine
at the cliff’s edge.
There are tigers above
and below. Let us love
one another and let go.

-Eliza Griswold

This has long been my favorite poem, and it’s been running through my mind even more than usual lately. I used to think I didn’t like poetry, and then I came across this piece in the New Yorker in 2005, and it made me stop and catch my breath. And changed the way I felt about poetry forever, which in turn changed my life. That, my friends, is the point of good art.

posted in books, poetry, things I love | Comments closed