You know you’re a total nerd for homewares when you go to a restaurant and find yourself going ga-ga over their glasses instead of concentrating on their menu. That’s what happened to me on Saturday night at Superba Snack Bar in Venice (which was awesome, btw). I’ve seen Schott Zwiesel’s wine glasses before, and being a Riedel fan know that the two are often compared, but I’m new to their entire line. While I love the Riedel Vinum water glasses, I’m now a fan of the Schott Zwiesel Tritan Crystal Glass Pure Collection, especially the tumbler (pictured above) and whiskey glasses, which is what Superba had. After I convince my husband that the Costco pint glasses we currently have are way too outdated for us, I’m putting these on the list.
If you’re looking to register for a set of glasses, you’ll want to check these out. While Pottery Barn has a Schott Zwiesel collection, they don’t currently have the ones I’m coveting. However, Amazon offers them at $41 for set of six tumblers, which is a fairly decent price for nice glassware.
If you don’t know it already, I’m a big fan of non-traditional wedding music (having walked down the aisle to Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good”). If you love a song (and you can totally see how it could fit into a wedding), I say go for it, even if it’s not something that people would expect to hear.
When planning your wedding music, you should think about not only what you’ll walk down the aisle to, but what your wedding party will walk down to as well as your groom (which depending on the size can be two different songs). In fact, here’s a quick guide to all the music you have the opportunity to plan for:
Arrival: The music, if any, you’ll play while guests are arriving to your ceremony venue
Prelude: What will play while your guests are finding their seats
Processional: This includes the music that’s played for your wedding parties, parents, groom, and even the bride. These can be the same song or different songs for one, two, or all of the parties.
Recessional: The music you play as you and the groom exit the ceremony venue
Postlude: Music played as guests exit the ceremony venue
Cocktail Hour: If you have one, this is music played while guests are drinking and eating hors d’oeuvres
Reception Music: This can include the song played while your wedding party is introduced, your first dance with the groom, the father/daughter and mother/son dances, as well as the music played during dinner until the end of the event.
I’m working on a wedding music playlist that I hope to share with you guys soon, but in the meantime here’s my latest wedding song of the week.
If you don’t know Bo (Diddley, that is), I highly suggest you put him on your download list. He’s an insanely awesome singer and guitarist who had what I consider one of the best songs ever made (“I’m a Man”, which you can play below). If I was a DJ, I would seriously play this song at every event I was at. It’s so good, I think it could even make a super fun processional song for your groom to walk down the aisle to (if he’s into it). It could also work as a recessional song and play as you and your now husband walk back down the aisle. Because he’s the man, right?!
OK. So these wedding dress codes pictured below might not actually exist, but sometimes it feels like they could. Since when did dressing for a wedding (or telling your guests how to dress for a wedding) get so hard? From Beach Casual and Dressy Casual to White Tie/Black Tie optional and everything in between, soon we’ll be telling guests what kind of undies to wear on our invites.
With that said, I often find it baffling that guests don’t kind of already know how to dress for a wedding. I mean, I can see the need to put Black Tie on an invite if you expect your guests to all wear tuxedos instead of a suit, but does it mean you can show up to an evening wedding wearing a golf shirt and khakis if a dress code isn’t listed on the invite? The short answer is ‘No.’ While some instructions are helpful if your desired wedding attire is out of the ordinary (Swimsuits Only!) or a specific dress code is required from your venue (IE: jacket and tie, in which case you would say Formal), I don’t always see the need to include a dress code on an invitation unless it’s important to you.
If you do want to include a real dress code on your wedding invite (excluding the funny ones, below), here are the meanings behind the most common ones.
White Tie:
The most formal of all wedding dress codes, it means men should wear a tuxedo with long black tails, a white pique vest, a white bow tie, and even white gloves would be appropriate. Women should wear a formal, full-length gown.
Black Tie:
This means men should wear a tuxedo, a cummerbund, a black bow tie, and patent leather dress shoes. Women should wear an upscale cocktail dress or a full-length gown.
Formal or Black Tie Optional:
Men wouldn’t be out of place in a tuxedo, but guys can also wear a formal dark suit and tie. Women should wear a cocktail dress, dressy suit, or a long dress.
Semi-Formal or Dressy Casual:
For daytime weddings men and women should wear lighter colors, and for evening darker is more appropriate. Men should wear a suit and tie, and women should wear a cocktail dress or a dressier skirt and top.
Beach Formal:
This has the same attire requirements as a formal wedding, but you’re dressing for the elements (IE: wind, sand, etc.). Men should wear a daytime-appropriate suit (no tie required), and women should wear a dressier sundress.
Casual:
While some might think this means anything go, think office-appropriate (which means no shorts or jeans). Men should wear dress pants with a button-down. Women should wear a casual dress or nice top and skirt.
Groom gifts are definitely optional, and to be honest I didn’t give one before our wedding. Amidst all of the planning and prepping and gifts for parents and the wedding party, it just seemed a bit superfluous. With that being said, I know a lot of bride-to-bes who did give one, and I think that’s awesome and a super sweet gesture. But what do you get your almost husband? I feel like I have a hard enough time figuring out birthday and holiday gifts….how is this gift different?
Well, it can be sentimental…like monogrammed cuff links or a flask or an inscription on his wedding ring. It can also be something you know he’ll totally love, like tickets to a big game or a first edition of his favorite. Or, if you know he’s super into, let’s say–food, you can get him a surprise subscription to hard-to-find items. I recently did this for the hubs’ birthday in March. He’s gotten super into beans (yes, beans), and making bean-based dishes, which is kind of adorable. So I did some research and discovered this company that makes heritage dried beans called Rancho Gordo. They had a gift box available for $54 that included 5 pounds of different varietals of beans and a cookbook (along with a tote bag he’ll probably never use). He loved the beans so much he ended up subscribing to their Year of Beans program. So, yeah. We now belong to a Bean Club, which is something I never thought I would say, but it’s pretty awesome.
These recent clubs I’ve seen—from the Rancho Gordo Bean Club to Trunk Club (a clothes subscription service for dudes that is great) totally speak a guy’s language. I’m convinced they love anything that involves them NOT having to step foot into a store.
The hubs’ most recent “club” that seems like it would also make a great gift (groom or birthday/holiday) is something called Mantry. They describe themselves as the “Modern Man’s Pantry,” and they are a food-of-the-month club that sends you a crate of six, full-size foodie items each month from New Orleans to New York. You can buy a one-time crate as a gift for $75, or sign up for a 3-month or 6-month subscription for $225/$450 and get everything from beans (they have Rancho Gordo) to BBQ sauce, olive oil, and grits.
We haven’t gotten our first box yet but I’ll let you know how it is when we do. In the meantime, if you’re always looking for gift ideas like me try one of these club options out.
As a newly engaged writer, I had a hard time finding the practical information I needed to plan my wedding. While the wedding books, magazines, and websites I read had pretty pictures, they seemed to just skim the surface when it came to providing helpful ways for me to create the wedding of my dreams. Now that I'm married, I hope this blog serves as a resource for all you other bride-to-be's, with unique ideas for wedding venues, wedding decorations, wedding dresses, and more!
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