Heeeaven, I'm in Heaven...

I was chatting with one of my coworkers today about dancing dates (Dave and I hit up the world's smallest salsa floor over the weekend), and she asked if Dave and I were going to take dancing lessons for the wedding. I won't stoop so low as to insult my future's husband's dancing skills (again. sorry puppy.), but I said that yeah, probably dance lessons would be fun, especially since our first dance might be to a 1940s romantic jazz song. I said something about wishing I could be Ginger Rogers, or at least having a dress like hers. Something about big romantic jazz which needs a low-cut, flowing dress...

The infamous feather dress from Top Hat

After the first scene they had to stop filming because
all the feathers were flying up Fred Astaire's nose


Note: wedding dress must have cape.


I love everything about this
from the Chiquita Banana shoulder ruffles
to the page boy collar
to the row of delicate front buttons
to the exploding bustle of hums
all the way on down to the sweet little rosette on the shoe

It's probably some kind of bad luck to post an image
from The Gay Divorcee on a wedding blog...

And because no post about the lovely Ginger
would be complete without a shot of her dancing:



Did you know she put lead weights in her skirts,
so they would fly up and twirl exactly right? Sigh

Tips to Get People Up and Dancin

My Glenn Miller shout-out reminded me of something I saw at a wedding that I absolutely loved. A few years ago when our friends Jacob and Jeanette got married, instead of the traditional box-step first dance, they opted for an elaborately-choreographed salsa number.* It was awesome--Jeanette traded her wedding gown for a cute little short gown, Jacob worked his two left feet like a rockstar, and they left everyone equal parts impressed and jealous.

When they were done, they invited a friend up on to the dance floor and explained that she'd choreographed the whole thing and gave them all dance lessons. But what was more, she also offered to give everyone at the reception a dance lesson. It was great! Everyone got up on their feet, trying out a few salsa moves, and when the dancing began in earnest, people were already up and having a great time.

I don't really plan on putting on a show at my reception, because besides the difficulties of learning, remembering, and performing a complicated, show-stopping number on a day when I will probably be so nervous that BREATHING IN AND OUT will be trial enough, Dave is not really such a great dancer (he does what I affectionately call the white boy shuffle). Still, I love the idea of arranging a 10-minute dance lesson for our guests to help them get into a groove.

Sweet, simple, and fun--and one of my favorite wedding memories.

Don't have your own amazing salsa-teaching friend? Hello, YouTube:



*I'd also like to take this moment to recount one of my favorite wedding stories ever. Dave and I, tasked with picking up Jacob and Jeanette's cake, disappeared out a side door as soon as the ceremony was over, where we ran into the brand new Mr. and Mrs. Bryant. They were not giggly, they were not jumping for joy--Jeanette turned to Jacob and said with the straightest face I've ever seen on a bride outside a wedding dress catalog, "Hey. We just got married." And Jacob said "Yeah, you're right! That's pretty cool." And then they smiled at each other. I know, right?

A Song to Dance To

The search for our song continues, but the new front runner is
Moonlight Serenade, by Glenn Miller.
Sweet and slow and mysterious and full of love.
I've kind of always been a fan of love songs with no words.

Now all we need is a vintage-style wedding,
with red lipstick
and birdcage veils
and suede shoes

(Nooooo, says Dave....)

What a Doll!

When I walked into Dave's apartment this weekend, I was stunned to discover one of my good friends had made me a little buddy for my 24th birthday! Kathy, one of our college friends and one of the craftiest people I know, made me a little mini-Kendall (complete with a change of clothes!). She modeled it after the cartoon version of myself I drew for my other blog, Res-oh-puh-leese:
I am very fond of this little cartoon. I started drawing it a few years ago when I was sitting in class or buried in the library or staring outside at 3 feet of Cambridge slush; I would draw a little cartoon Kendall and a little cartoon Dave doing something fun (tropical locations featured heavily). For our second anniversary I gave Dave a whole sketchbook filled with cartoons of my favorite memories of our relationship, and we're even planning to incorporate them into the wedding, either in save-the-dates, or molded in clay for a cake topper. So, I was touched and thrilled to see my little 3D girl.

Although, I think this wedding planning thing is getting to me... In a nod to my explosive forays into the world of cooking, Kathy included two doll aprons, one a sturdy working apron (seen here), the other a frilly hostess apron (seen...tied on her head, because I thought it was a veil...). Wedding is in my braains...BRAAAAIIINNNSSS!!!!


Hello cuteness? Indeed. I sort of want to make a Dave doll so we can smash their faces together and pretend they're kissing. And then make them fly. And explode each other. Did I mention I turned 24?

Sweetheart Chairs

Generally, our wedding planning process goes something like this:

Me: Hey future husband, what do you think about wearing a suit instead of a tux/getting married on a farm/having a candy bar/misc other suggestion?
Dave: Ummm...ok!

While I'm inclined to believe Dave's blanket acceptance has less to do with my amazing pitching skills and more with his (admittedly, reasonable) point that we are not actually planning a wedding right now, I still get excited when I can get him excited about some little detail I've thought up to make our wedding special.

Like: chairs!


These beauties, of course, come with a story. They're the same chairs from the dining hall in our college dorm, Cabot House, where we met. The dining hall was sort of the main social space in our dorm, and on mammoth study days people would stay in there for hours, a growing pile of trays and empty coffee cups surrounding them.

I have very fond memories of long lunches and dinners with friends, although I have absolutely no memory of the meal where Dave and I actually met (introduced by mutual friends). I also have no memory of the lunch a few days later where, sitting by myself doing a crossword puzzle, I was approached by a cute, friendly Dave, who...I completely blew off? Yes, I am a sharp one...

In any case, love prevailed, and the Cabot House dining hall remains a very special place to both of us. When our house master decided a few years ago to replace the chairs, I suggested that Dave (newly graduated and moved into an apartment down the street) ask for a few of the old chairs. After he moved out, we packed up two of the chairs to keep.

Initially, I'd thought they would just be sweet mementos to have around our house--Mom and Dad used to sit in these chairs and study until their butts went numb! --but then I had the idea about incorporating them into the wedding somehow, maybe at a sweetheart table at the reception.*

It feels very full circle to be sitting at our wedding in the same chairs where we met. Plus, Cabot chairs! Aren't they nice?

*wedding lexicon alert! A sweetheart table is a table where just the bride and groom sit together at the reception. Can you believe I used to study comparative literature and now I spend my braincells on this?

Proof that there is Logic in the Universe

Dave and I are in Charleston right now, taking a little spring break vacation (him from graduate school, me from a job where insane narcissistic econo-bloggers choose to sacrifice innocent radio producers on the altar of self promotion. what me bitter? noooo...), and on our lovely travels we stopped by a cute little vintage store wherein they had for sale.....

(dramatic pause)

...LITTLE RED COWGIRL BOOTS!!!

kickin up some heels...

Like, exactly what I have been looking for but have never been able to find! They are calf-high, pointy-toed, bright bright red, nicely embroidered, fit perfectly, exist perfectly! I had a half second debate whether I should buy them or not--"But will I ever really wear them in real life?" I asked. "You blogged about them," Dave said, "you have to buy them."--and of course, the moment I handed over my debit card I knew I had made the right decision.

I spent the rest of the night interrupting the conversation to say "No, but really, aren't they soooo cute???" And it's still hard for me to pass them in the hall without wanting to put them on and go dancin.

Now all I need is a sweet full-skirted wedding gown to go with them...

Dave took this picture.
I was so excited about the boots I put them on as soon as we got outside the shop.

Cake like WOAH

Going with our laid back, chill out, keepin it simple wedding planning style, Dave and I really aren't planning an over the top cake (cake shaped like a 6-foot statue of myself? do not want). And while I have been known to swoon over the Martha Stewart Wedding Cakes book (hello lovelies...), I'm hoping we do fondant-free because, let's be honest here, fondant does not taste good.

Something plain and white and pretty, sitting atop a cake stand, is more to our style (although I think Dave's style, when it comes to cake, is fairly broad...). I like this pretty garland one (Dave says no to maps--again--so we would have to do something different). It's muted colors, traditional shape, clean lines--it is beautiful without being fussy, fancy without being over the top, simple without being boring.

Or, at least, not tooo boring. It'd be nice to have a cake with a little pop and personality, like crisp white frosting covering a WOAH of color:


The rainbow might be a little too Lisa Frank for a wedding, but a nice color gradient? How cool would that be?


I am 90% sure that the top cake is by d.sharp, although I am dumb and forgot to make any notations when I saved this picture 5 months ago. In any case, they have very pretty white cakes with little vintagey strings of garland. They are pretty. Hurrah.

The bottom cake is by Kaitlin, from Whisk Kid. I think she is not a professional baker, but just one of those ridiculously talented people who are just like "What? Oh, this? Yeah, I had nothing to do while I was waiting for my pedicure to dry." Who are these people and how do I befriend them before our wedding?