月別アーカイブ: 2017年5月

A bride who said “no” to her wedding dress got a “yes” in Nova Scotia Small Claims Court this week.

In a decision posted Wednesday, adjudicator Gregg Knudsen favoured Ginger Kim Roy’s claim against seamstress Ruth Ryan, doing business as In Stitches with Ruth.

The dress was to be a mash-up of two different gowns, as Roy was unable to find one exactly to her liking.

“However, she found two dresses, each with a part she liked, i.e. one with the skirt and train, the other with a bodice that she preferred over other styles,” Knudsen noted. She asked the seamstress to combine the two, along with making the bridesmaids’ dresses and pocket squares for the groom, best man and ushers.

“In reviewing the evidence, I have no doubt that Ms. Ryan worked hard and tried her best to complete the best wedding dresses and sew it as stipulated by Ms. Roy. The job was more complicated than anticipated and took longer than either party had planned,” Knudsen said.

Pauline Mullin was the seamstress who ended up sewing the bridal gown Roy wore down the aisle after rejecting the original creation. After multiple delays and fittings, and 10 days before the wedding, she saw the dress and testified there appeared to be “one dart too many,” a lack of seam allowances, and that the dress wasn’t the same on both sides, appearing to pull to one side.

Knudsen acknowledged the subjective nature of what constitutes a “skilful and workmanlike manner” for different wedding gowns, but said there were some basics that should have been followed.

“For example, it must fit properly and look how a dress should appear in terms of symmetry and design . . . If the Claimant had not provided photographs in evidence, I would have disallowed the claim. The photographs are clear. The dress was tight, but it was too tight and did not fit correctly as it could not be closed in the back. More significantly, as Ms. Roy described it, the top is ‘lopsided,’” he wrote.

While Roy paid for the cheap wedding dresses and gave Ryan a $100 tip, she wasn’t legally stuck, Knudsen said.

“Although acceptance and payment are relevant considerations in assessing credibility, the Consumer Protection Act applies regardless of whether the garment was delivered and paid for,” he noted.

Knudsen awarded $300 — the amount Ryan originally contracted to do the sewing for — in special damages, $100 in general damages, and costs of $191.26. Roy had sought a total of $1,331.26

“By all accounts, the Roy’s wedding was a happy occasion. That said, Ms. Roy has experienced disappointment, upset and stress as a result of the breach of contract,” he wrote.

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Any American can get a note from the White House congratulating them on getting married, but for most people, getting married at the White House isn’t a reality.

There have been White House weddings—17 in all, according to the White House Historical Association—but they’ve mostly been confined to members of the president’s family or, in two cases, people close to the president.

First Daughter Nellie Grant had “the first really grand White House wedding,” writes the Association, on this day in 1874. President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife redecorated the East Room especially for the wedding ceremony, writes the Association, adding gold leaf accents and replacing chandeliers from the Andrew Jackson years. Big sections of the House were turned over to preparations for the wedding, the Association writes, and the decorations ranged from a big wedding bell made of pink roses to red-white-and-blue bunting.

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At Grant’s wedding breakfast, held in the State Dining Room, the impressive menu included such delicacies as “aspic of beef tongue” and “Wedding Cake iced with Doves, Roses and Wedding Bells,” according to another Association piece. “The wedding breakfast menu was printed in gold on white satin and given to guests as souvenirs of the occasion,” writes the Association.

By all accounts, it was a beautiful day, but though the bride carried a bouquet with the word “love” on a flag in it, the marriage didn’t last. Grant’s controversial husband who she’d fallen in love with while sailing the ocean, “became an alcoholic,” writes the Association, “and Nellie left him, taking their four children with her.”

“It was the first wedding to be held in the White House in thirty years, since President Tyler married Julia Gardiner,” writes Edwin S. Grosvenor for American Heritage. Grant’s famous nuptials were “perhaps the most celebrated nuptials of the nineteenth century,” he writes. The White House weddings of later First Daughters, like President Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter Alice, were big news.

It isn’t just the daughters or sons of the president who have gotten married there:

The first White House wedding was the wedding of Lucy Payne Washington, who was the sister of Dolley Madison. In the 1812 ceremony, which was probably held in the Blue Room according to the White House Historical Association, Washington married Thomas Todd, a Supreme Court Justice.

The most recent wedding at the White House was the 1994 wedding of Anthony Rodham, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s brother. He married Nicole Boxer in the Rose Garden, before a black-tie wedding dinner was held in the State Dining Room. It was the first since Tricia Nixon, the daughter of President Richard Nixon, got married in the Rose Garden in 1971. Nixon’s wedding to Edward Finch Cox was highly publicized, and she appeared in her wedding dress in Time magazine not once, but twice.

White House weddings in general stopped being much less common in the second half of the twentieth century: after three happened in the 1910s, the next wedding was that of Harry Hopkins—President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s assistant and one of only two non-Presidential family members to get married at the White House—got married in FDR’s study in 1942.

There are a lot of reasons to have a wedding at the White House if you can, former social secretary to Jacqueline Kennedy Letitia Baldridge told Sheryl Stolberg for The New York Times. World-class catering and staff are at your fingertips, along with the White House’s own florist and social secretary to handle all the decorating and inviting.

But there’s one good reason not to: privacy. “Historically,” Stolberg writes, “such affairs have been feel-good occasions for the country and the commander in chief, casting presidents in the sympathetic role of father.” But there are times when the First Family, or its relatives, just want to fly under the radar.

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Londoner Gabrielle Gant spent months planning a traditional church wedding with her boyfriend Matt, before they realised their perfect day was two plane tickets to Manhattan, a couple of close friends and zero regrets. Here, she tells the Evening Standard why eloping was the best decision she ever made

​I met Matt on a sweaty July evening in 2010, at a mutual friend’s gig in a South London club.

We started talking and something clicked into place. Six years later, lying on a dusky Bridgetown beach with salty hair and sleepy eyes, he put a ring on my finger with relief and revealed that he’d been trying to hide it from me without losing it. We celebrated with beers in the Barbados sunset and talked about the DIY festival-style wedding party we wanted to throw with our friends and family.

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We talked about the wedding a lot. We wanted to grow our own wildflowers, make our own food, dance through the night without a curfew and watch the sunrise with our best friends around us. Matt was keen to get married as soon as possible; he had asked me because he wanted our marriage, not an over-planned wedding ceremony.

We pencilled in the following summer and asked a few loved-ones to get involved as bridesmaids and groomsmen. We both wanted a really intimate DIY feel to the day and set a small budget aside to try and bring everything together.

I started looking into marquee hire costs, food-van options, church fees and colour schemes. It was fun to begin with, but as things got serious I realised I was starting to get anxious.

I didn’t like the idea of being the centre of attention and as the guest-list grew with family expectations, it became clear that we were not going to get the intimate firework display and indie disco we wanted.

On a miserable Sunday evening in December we realised that of our 150 guests, only 30 were friends. I felt Matt withdraw at that point and knew that our wedding plans had lost all meaning.

On the drive home I muttered, “I wish we could just elope.” By the time we climbed into bed we had decided that it was easy, cheap, ridiculous and perfect.

On February 8, the chaotic Manhattan climate gave us a bright, perfect day of love and happiness. It felt perfect as we took a couple of photos in a sunshine spotlight on the steps of City Hall, marriage certificate in hand and a handful of close friends around us.

Our uncertainty led to the best decision we ever made – here are eight reasons why eloping might just be the answer for you too.

1. Do something different

Everyone has that Jenny Packham dress, the naked cake decorated with edible flowers and a photo booth in the corner ready to capture drunk pictures of unknown guests. Ironically it can be a struggle to inject your personality into a day that’s supposed to be all about you. We found the easiest way to get around this was to do something completely different and elope. When we talk to people about our wedding the usual response is, “That’s so typical of you guys!”, which is exactly what we wanted on the day.

2. It’s really easy

You only have to go onto the Internet and search ‘easy places for Brits to get married abroad’ and you’re presented with countless locations around the world. Some embassies need a bit of time to prepare paperwork but you can get clear information online or hire agents to organise things for you. We chose New York as our wedding destination because it’s a city we love, it’s legal to marry there and very easy. It took 24 hours to get a marriage licence and we were married at Manhattan City Hall the next day.

3. Save the money for something useful, like a house

Honestly, both our families were able and willing to foot the bill for a modest wedding, but as the predicted costs started to add up (and oh how quickly they do) we didn’t feel comfortable about it. For many couples now this isn’t even an option, which results in many using savings and loans to fund their big day. We saved our cash and put down the deposit on our first home, which cost less than the average wedding in the UK.

4. Combine your wedding and honeymoon

Obviously you save money because you’re already there. More importantly, you save time. You could choose to stay where you were married or travel onwards to another spot. We spent the week after our wedding celebrating in New York with our guests; it was great to spend the extra time with everyone.

5. Avoid saying your vows in front of people you don’t know or like

The hardest part of organising a wedding is planning the guestlist. If you have a big family, it’s easy to spiral into chaos before you’ve even considered which friends you have space for. Should you invite your partner’s cousin’s kids? Have you even met them? Our British manners meant we were genuinely concerned that we may cause offence if we missed out an unknown plus-one. By moving our wedding to the other side of the Atlantic we were able to politely limit our invites to those closest enough to travel with us. Understandably there were friends and family members who were unable to make the trip, however their support and excitement for us made our return to the UK an even bigger celebration.

6. Don’t compromise on the food

When you’ve sorted out the invites and the theme, you then have to deal with planning the food. It can be a huge compromise trying to feed so many people at the same time. Not only do the costs go up as you start to add options for the children, gluten-free, dairy-free or vegan guests, the quality of the food tends to go down. We tried to think outside the box with our food options but the reality is, when you have 150 mouths to feed it gets expensive. By taking our wedding abroad, cutting out the guests and opening up the budget, we were able to look at truly special restaurants and ended up having a post-marriage meal that was so good we will never forget it.

7. Be selfish and make the day about yourselves

There aren’t many opportunities in life where you can completely, selfishly make a day about your relationship. As we started planning our wedding we realised that although we appreciated how much friends and family wanted to be involved, the event was no longer about our commitment to each other. Both of us were becoming distant and uninvolved as the romance of ‘marriage’ disappeared. By flying away and making the experience exactly how we wanted it, we felt much more intimate and relaxed.

8. Break the traditions

Stuffing into a large white dress, being ‘given away’ by Dad, awkwardly slow dancing in front of a crowd of flashing smartphones and making a speech about the in-laws; a traditional marriage was never going to feel comfortable for us. We chose our low-key outfits on Net-A-Porter, took a cab to City Hall, asked our few guests to stand with us in the ceremony, ate lobster rolls and Oreos afterwards, played pool and finished the night with karaoke in a dive bar. Naturally, our perfect day won’t to everyone’s taste, but the idea is universal: break the traditions and do what makes you feel comfortable. It’s your wedding and you don’t have to listen to anyone (except probably your spouse).

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Actress Vanessa Hudgens cites the Marchesa gown she wore to the Oscars in 2009 as one of her favourite garments.

Vanessa Hudgens always keeps her purse stocked with around 20 lipsticks.

The Spring Breakers actress never shies away from dramatic transformations, and can be seen rocking everything from classic dresses to bohemian-style ensembles on the red carpet.

To switch-up her look while out and about, Vanessa relies on lipstick, and carts around numerous shades in her favourite handbag.

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“I carry a pouch in my purse with probably 20 different lip colours all in the kind of nude to red to coral to rust category. Just anything in there. Whatever I am feeling that day, whatever goes with the outfit that makes me feel a little more confident works,” she told People.com.

“When I’m not feeling 100 per cent I throw on a bold lip and feel better.”

Vanessa doesn’t just change up her make-up from day to day, but also plays around with her hair colour and length via the addition of hair pieces and extensions. At the moment she is loving extra long hair, and is very inspired by the sleek tresses worn by singer Cher in the 1970s.

“Right now it would be very chill. Just like a cool girl. Just chill and laid back and from the ’70s,” she shared, adding that her looks depend on her mood.

The 28-year-old is one to watch at California’s annual Coachella festival, where she is known to sport an eclectic mix of prints and accessories. But Vanessa’s favourite fashion moment actually happened in 2009, when she attended the Academy Awards in a black Marchesa gown.

“(The dress) was actually a little cocktail dress and I asked (the designer) if there was any way we could make it long, so she grabbed this tulle and started wrapping it and pinning it on me, and I just felt like an Audrey Hepburn mermaid princess that night,” she smiled.

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If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Pippa Middleton in the weeks leading up to her May 20 wedding, it’s that she apparently loves rules. First, there was the “no ring, no bring” rule that precludes guests from bringing ring-less plus-ones to her ceremony (except for Meghan Markle, as it turns out). And now, the Telegraph reports she’s instituted a two-dresses-per-guest rule. What?

In a move that even Vogue declares to be “slightly high-maintenance,” Middleton has asked guests to bring two outfits to her nuptials to British man James Matthews. The first outfit will presumably be worn at the church ceremony in Berkshire, which basically all of England is planning on attending at this point, and the second will be worn at the wedding reception at her parents’ house.

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News of this rule serves as a satisfying end to an earlier detective mission we briefly embarked on (and immediately gave up). You see, E! News had reported earlier in the week that Markle already had two separate dress fittings for the wedding. Procuring two dresses for her boyfriend’s sister-in-law’s sister’s wedding sounded like a bit much to us, but now that we know she actually needs two dresses, it all makes sense.

No word yet on whether this two-dresses-per-guest rule is an actual wedding trend or just a Pippa-specific thing (Vogue says “only time will tell” on that front), but we do wonder where guests will change and where they will be able to store their other outfits. We can only assume the wedding will provide some sort of secure locker-room situation, like at all the nice gyms.

Chasity Byrd always wanted a Christmas wedding. But when her then-boyfriend, Robbie Riddick, proposed to her last June, she knew she wouldn’t have time to plan a wedding in just six months. So Chasity “had to re-think things,” she said.

Since April and October are the best months in Mobile “as far as the temperature goes” (and Chasity, who works as a meteorologist, should know), they settled on April 8 for their wedding at Springhill Avenue United Methodist Church, followed by a reception at the Bragg-Mitchell Mansion with about 325 guests.

Chasity said that she’s “not a crier,” but she was emotionally overwhelmed when she walked down the aisle on the arm of her brother, Clifton Byrd. “I saw so many faces from different parts of my life,” she said. “I was flooded with memories. It was very emotional. As the tears starting welling up, I couldn’t help but smile.”

Robbie’s son, Alex, 14, was his dad’s best man, and his daughter, 9-year-old Isabella, served as junior bridesmaid. The ceremony was officiated by Dr. Chip Starnes of First Baptist Church of Bay Minette, Chasity’s home church. The Hon. Robert Wilters was a scripture reader, which was very special to the couple because he married Chasity’s mother and stepfather.

As the couple left in their limousine, the groom whispered to his new bride that the day “could not have been more perfect,” and she agreed. “Everywhere we looked, people were smiling and having a good time,” she said.

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Where they live: Mobile

Her job: Meteorologist and Studio10 host, WALA Fox10 News

His job: Corporate investigator, Alabama Power

Wedding date: April 8, 2017

Wedding location: Springhill Avenue United Methodist Church

Reception location: Bragg-Mitchell Mansion

How they met: On the job, Chasity said. “We knew each other for many years before we started dating.”

How he proposed: “Robbie and I love to go out on the boat, which is where you’ll find us most weekends. He had talked to my mom, and talked to his kids prior to this particular outing to the west end of Dauphin Island. Anyone who knows Robbie knows he is a very private person, so it’s no surprise there on the secluded beach he asked me. He said he was very nervous when he asked me to go for a walk down the beach. I still had no idea what was going on when he stood in front of me saying the nicest things about me and about our relationship. He went down on one knee and then, very shocked, I figured out what was going on.”

The dress: “I could not wait to put on my dress! It was a Sincerity Bridal organza ball gown that I knew was my dress from the moment I saw it. The wonderful ladies of Bliss Bridal in Fairhope said my eyes lit up when I put it on!”

Wedding planner: “The amazing team at Noble Events. My wedding planner was Laura Hails Taliancich.”

Junior bridesmaid: Isabella Riddick

Matron of Honor: Laurin Tew

Bridesmaids: Jessica Hadley Corbitt, Melinda Coleman Harville, Christie Gammage Atkins, Caitlin Belder Wood, Whitney Ryan Law, Jessica Nesbitt Taloney and Shiela Hajjar Perry

Best man: Alex Riddick

Groomsmen: Eric Lauzier, Carlos Baylor, Clifton Byrd, Jason Hadley, Casey Coleman, Christopher Corbitt and Michael Golson

Bridesmaids’ dresses: “The bridesmaids wore a Dessy Group long, strapless gown of soft tulle in a classic blush color. The color was very faint. I’m a big fan of neutrals.”

Flower girl: The bride’s niece, Mary Syndel Byrd

Ring bearer: The bride’s nephew, Swayden Byrd

Wedding cake: Cakes by Judi

What made it special: The cake was simple and elegant, said Chasity. “I chose a round, five-tier cake with ivory icing adorned with flowers and greenery. The cake flavor was almond with Mrs. Judi’s signature icing.”

Wine selection: Domke Market

Flowers: Tim Harrell

Transportation: Old Shell Trolley, Hunter Limousine

Hairstylist: Phrankey Lowery, Studio PH

Makeup: Emily Stiles

Photography: Posh Images, Mobile

Catering: Naman’s Catering

Rentals: Mobile Popcorn

Ceremony music: Chelsey Smith and family, violin and cello

Reception music: The Denver Hawsey Band

Lighting: Showbiz Theatrical Services

Most memorable moment: “One of the best moments of the day happened at the ceremony. Robbie’s daughter Isabella was a junior bridesmaid and the first person to start the procession. I, of course, was not in the room, but everyone said when Bella started walking down the aisle, Robbie started tearing up, which led Bella to do the same. I heard there wasn’t a dry eye in the place! She told her dad after the ceremony they were ‘happy tears.’”

Funny/unexpected moments: “Unexpected moments always happen with weddings, but we had a couple that were ‘fun’ to deal with that week. There were two days where our area was put under the risk of severe weather, with the possibility of tornadoes. It was kind of ironic, with me being a meteorologist. Everyone at work joked that of course there would be tornadoes the week of our wedding. Luckily, our wedding day ended up being one of the best weather days we see here along the Gulf Coast. The temperature was perfect!”

Wedding traditions: “My favorite was my ‘something borrowed’ and ‘something old.’ My mom had saved a bonnet from when I was a baby that she had made into a handkerchief with my new initials monogrammed on it. I carried it around the handle of my bouquet.

“My ‘something borrowed’ was an antique brooch my grandmother had let me pick out from her collection. It had so many beautiful colors and was the perfect addition to my bouquet. To make my flowers even more special, my mom had given me a small picture of my late stepfather, whom we all wish could have been there. It was attached and joined me on one of the most important walks of my life.”

First dance: “Robbie picked the first dance song and contacted The Denver Hawsey Band without me knowing! It was so sweet. We danced to ‘Holy’ by Florida/Georgia Line, one of our favorite bands.”

Honeymoon: Sandals Royal Caribbean, Montego Bay, Jamaica

Advice for other couples planning a wedding? “Know things are going to happen – things you may not even hear about until you get back from your honeymoon! Remember, at the end of the day, those minor details will be forgotten, so don’t forget to forget those worries and have a good time.”

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Weddings are all about love, unity, celebration, and, of course, FOOD! From the first champagne toasts through the last bites of wedding cake, there’s no doubt that wedding food can be a make-or-break factor (and rightfully so!). Here, wedding guests gush over the best wedding food their taste buds were lucky enough to experience.

“I attended a wedding that had a macaroni and cheese bar during cocktail hour. You could pick the type of cheese and toppings. My mouth is literally watering just thinking about the mac and cheese with bacon I ate that day.” —Katelyn, 30

“My friends had bakery-fresh sprinkled donuts at their post-reception/after party. I literally had six in one sitting, and then hoarded more in my hotel room for a midnight/pre-breakfast snack. I also may have brought two home with me. I may have a problem.” —John, 29

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“The best food I ever had at a wedding was a shrimp and grits/chicken and waffles buffet. It wasn’t the fanciest food, but it was delicious, original and exactly what I was craving after drinking and dancing!” —Meredith, 28

“Cheeseburger sliders! At the cocktail hour they had a station of hot dogs, barbecue and cheeseburger sliders: all summer staples. It was the best wedding I had ever been to—they had everything!” —Aydin, 26

“Waffles! One of my good friends went to college in Vermont. He spent four years bonding with the local waffle maker (like people do), so when it came time to pick the dessert option for his wedding he knew exactly what he wanted. I’m not sure if it was the atmosphere, knowing that these waffles traveled for six hours to get to the wedding, or the Vermont maple syrup, but bringing in these waffles was the best decision he made all day. Well, second best.” —Ken, 30

“Two words—pasta bar. I had been dieting to look good in my bridesmaid dress and when I saw a pasta bar with tons of styles of pasta, flavors of sauces and mix-ins, I went nuts. I was in carb heaven.” —Alyssa, 28

“One of our friends had this insane Viennese hour with tons and tons of dessert options. From the “Jersey Shore” station with boardwalk staples like fried oreos and zeppoles, to the ice-cream sundae bar, cordial station and endless pastries, I was in sugar-coma heaven.” —Chris, 30

“My cousin had fancy caviar at his wedding. I had never had it before because it’s too darn expensive, but I tried it there and I really liked it! —Liz, 46

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Choosing music for your ceremony is all about picking songs that are meaningful (and appropriate) for the moment. But for your reception, it’s all about getting your guests on the dance floor! No matter the style of reception party or the age range of your attendees, these five wedding songs are guaranteed to have everyone getting out of their seats to get down.

Who better to fill us in on the top most-requested wedding songs than some of the biggest DJs in the country? Scratch Weddings features some of the most funky-fresh spinners out there. It was even cofounded by Jam Master Jay of Run DMC, so you know it’s got the credibility you’re looking for. Haley Knauer, Scratch DJs’ weddings manager, breaks it down for us. Are any of your favorites on the list?

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1. “P.Y.T.,” by Michael Jackson

A wedding just wouldn’t be a wedding without the king of pop. This one’s a total crowd pleaser that will have everyone from Grandma to the flower girl on the dance floor.

2. “Get Lucky (Feat. Pharrell Williams),” by Daft Punk

This is so upbeat, catchy, and oh so easy to dance to, you’ll want to make sure your wedding dress gives you plenty of room to groove when it comes on.

3. “Poison,” by Bell Biv DeVoe

A little old-school hip-hop to get you and your guests groovin’! Perfect for later in the evening when the dancing really gets under way.

4. “September,” by Earth, Wind & Fire

Talk about a crowd pleaser! Your parents will love this throwback to their youth, and there’s a good chance every guest knows the words.

5. “Crazy in Love,” by Beyoncé

Just like Bey and Jay, your wedding day is a time when your love for each other will really take over. Kick off the dance party with this Beyoncé favorite, or save it for a fun moment like the cake cutting.

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