カテゴリー別アーカイブ: wedding

“As a feminist, there are certain things about weddings and marriage that don’t sit right with me.”

So said Freya, a magazine editor and music teacher from Melbourne. “The giving away of the bride, the woman changing her last name, the tossing of the garter… so we planned to have a fun-filled, colorful and modern wedding!”

She’s not the only one. Yes, the many white dresses dotting your newsfeed are still the norm, and colored dresses only accounted for 4% to 5% of sales from retail giant David’s Bridal, as of 2014, the New York Times reported. But more and more women like Freya are looking to wear something different.

“The majority of gowns I have sold this year are non-traditional,” Portia Brady of the Etsy wedding shopTheodoraJames told Mic. “My brides lately have been going for deep burgundy red silks and satins, rich gold sequins, blacks, grays and sometimes just white or ivory sequins for a modern take on the traditional white wedding dress.”

Celebrities may be the most visible wearers of colorful gowns (thanks, Jessica Biel and Gwen Stefani), and high-end designers like Vera Wang are leading the way. But David’s Bridal also told the New York Times that sales of colored gowns have doubled each year since they were introduced in 2010. These are real women buying them — and their gown choices finally reflect the complexity of what modern women really want from clothes.

A dress that’s local and personal: “Originally I was looking for a white dress, just figured I’d try some on and see what I thought,” Amber, a plus-sized model from Winnipeg, told Mic. “I really didn’t like the style. I woke up one day and said, ‘You know, nobody told me that I have to be in white.’”

Once upon a time, red was the color of choice for brides. Queen Victoria is credited with changing the standard 175 years ago, when she made the then-ballsy move to wear white at her wedding to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. “The choice was almost as iconoclastic as it would have been for Catherine Middleton to walk down the aisle in scarlet,” Time wrote.

Queen Victoria’s dress also supported local businesses, as we would say today, by using only British-made materials. That’s the same thinking, in fact, that led Kelsea, a Seattle-based jeweler, to look outside major bridal retailers for something different.

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“I knew I would prefer to have it made by a dressmaker than going to one of the big stores and getting something that a lot of people have,” Kelsea told Mic. Kelsea’s blue silk gown was made by Wai-Ching, a Seattle-based company that focuses on eco-friendly bridal wear.

Indeed, the times are changing. Time reports that 46% of Americans disagree that women should wear white at the weddings. It’s that changing tide that led Wai-Ching into the wedding business.

“I definitely didn’t start out thinking I wanted to do wedding dresses, because if I were to think of wedding dresses in the beginning I would have thought, ‘Ugh those huge cupcake-looking with beading and flowers,’ which I would not be into,” Chrissy Wai-Ching Leung, who founded Wai-Ching in 2004, told Mic.

“It was my customers that made [wedding dresses] happen, because people kept asking, ‘Would you do something in your aesthetic for a wedding dress?’ Now I think [wedding dresses] are like 99% of my business.”

Leung’s clients also want their wedding dresses to be ethically and socially conscious, just as they would their other clothes.

“We make everything in house here in Seattle, and using natural fibers to be really eco-conscious,” she said. “That’s another part of my clientele — just brides that want to make a statement for being conscious with their wedding.”

A dress that reflects the person wearing it: For Kelsea, who was married last month, her cultural background inspired her non-traditional wedding dress.

“I am Chinese by heritage. So I thought it would be cool to incorporate some Chinese element into the wedding,” Kelsea said. “Since we went with mostly a packaged wedding deal to be stress-free, I didn’t have a lot of choices on the other things. The dress was one thing that I could kind of control. Chrissy’s work is just so beautifully inspired; she uses silk and Chinese-inspired styles.”

That desire for a dress evoking the bride’s heritage, whether it be through color or fabric or cut, seems like a no-brainer, but can be overlooked with pure white. For example, as the Cut noted in 2013, “In Eastern cultures, colors like red, gold and fuchsia symbolized good luck, while white was worn for funerals, so brides chose those vivid hues to ensure a prosperous union.”

Freya, also married in October, on a winery, chose a gold gown because she felt it jived more with her creative personality (and less-than-virginal status, like most brides’) than traditional white would.

“I pored over so many bridal magazines and just couldn’t see myself in white,” she said. “Obviously there are so many beautiful white gowns, but it just really wasn’t me. For one, I’m not a virgin bride — ha, we’ve been living together for four years now. Secondly, I just love the idea of doing something a bit different!”

A dress that truly fits — in every sense: For Amber, the decision to wear a purple and black corset dress was in part due to the difficulty of shopping for bridal gowns for different body types. The challenge pushed her to think outside the box.

“I have Scheuermann’s disease in my back. It gives me a curved spine,” Amber said. “So on top of being a plus-sized, alternative person, and wanting something that no one else really had, I had to deal with this weird body shape that made me really unique.”

As the number of plus-size shoppers finally gets recognized, Amber is in good company. Though plus-size brides often face more expensive gowns and a lack of selection, more designers are creating stunning plus-sized dresses for them, including an outpouring of custom-made options available on sites like Etsy.

The emergence of custom bridal shops on Etsy as well as dressmakers like Leung have ushered in a mindset that, ironically, echoes Queen Victoria all these years later: It’s your day, and you can wear whatever the hell you want.

“I’ve actually never worn gold before, and it just made me feel really happy,” Freya said. “Being happy on your wedding day is the most important thing. Whether you wear white or not, as long as the decisions you’re making are for you and your partner, then that’s all that matters.”

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2016 is around the corner, and brides already have their plans for destination weddings set. So what’s hot for the new year?

Insiders in the world of destination weddings expect clients to travel with larger parties, and move away from the standard beach resort to more adventurous locales. And, as the market for destination weddings grows, a crucial trend for travel agents will be becoming an expert in a specific area — offering expertise in a niche market within this niche market.

1. Think outside the church

“People don’t want the traditional church,” said Brenda O’Neale, founder and president of With This Ring Destination Wedding and Honeymoon Travel Agency in Homestead, Pa. She says now the popular school of thought is “what can I do that’s really going to make it mine?”

Brides and grooms want their big day to be a reflection of themselves — which means each wedding, like each couple, is going to be unique. O’Neale has planned weddings in places like a reserved national park, unfinished churches, even a pirate ship.

She expects people to continue to move away from the typical all-inclusive resorts in places like Mexico, and instead opt for locations in the Caribbean like St. Kits, Antigua, and St. Lucia.

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But, Jennifer Doncsecz, president of VIP Vacations, a member of Affluent Traveler Collection of Bethlehem, PA., warns some of these places can be difficult to get to, because there are only so many commercial flights available. She expects tour operators to take advantage of charter flights to get parties to where they need to go.

2. Plan for bigger groups

Whereas in the past guests at destination weddings were primarily immediate family members, Bobbi Wagner, owner of Destined to Travel LLC, an independent agency in the Avoya Travel Network, says “I’m seeing a lot of friends, and friends of friends, that are joining in, because it’s like a mini-vacation for everyone.”

Where she used to plan for about 15 attendees, now that’s jumped to 45 or 50.

Doncsecz notes that South Asian and Indian weddings, which have been booming, often are four times that size, booking as many as 100 rooms for the lavish, three-day event.

3. Build a niche

Specializing in a particular area of destination weddings will separate you from the pack, and drive up your business. Doncsecz says learning all she could about the complexities of Indian wedding ceremonies got her name passed along from bride to bride, and built her business in a new demographic.

Whether it’s a religion, a specific location, or a resort brand, become educated in one specific field. Brides and grooms want someone they can trust with the intricacies of their ceremony.

Another niche to consider is LGBT weddings. Chris Austin, vice president of global leisure and luxury sales at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, says that as more and more states legalize LGBT marriages, he sees “a growing opportunity today that wasn’t as large a year ago.”

But, at the end of the day, Doncsecz says the most important thing is to “know your client, because that’s really what it’s all about.”

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Sheer comes the bride.

The wedding dresses that were slinking down the aisle at New York Bridal Fashion Week left little to the imagination.

Transparent panels, thigh-high slits and plunging necklines guarantee that every blushing bride has her something nude.

“The old traditions have been broken. Brides are asking for sexy, so the designers are making it for them,” says Terry Hall, fashion director at Kleinfeld Bridal. “More than half of the brides who come into Kleinfeld every single day end up leaving with illusion (see-through material) on their dress in some capacity, whether it’s a little in the back or across the midriff or down the side.”

Long gone are the modest ball gowns and chaste veils dating back to Victorian times when marriage was seen as a sacred rite.

Today’s runway brides aren’t saving it for the honeymoon.

THEIA creative director Don O’Neill, who first raised nuptial industry eyebrows by designing crop top wedding gowns four seasons ago, is really pushing the envelope with his titillating new Fall 2016 collection.

His dresses include a completely see-through “Khaleesi” white tulle one-shoulder gown inspired by “Game of Thrones” dragon queen Daenerys played by Emilia Clarke, Esquire’s new “Sexiest Woman Alive.”

There’s also a nude tulle dress with a whispy geisha print, which O’Neill assures has a very sheer lining so that, “your grandparents aren’t going to fall out of their pews when they see you swagger past them in your dress.”

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That remains to be seen. Even the more modest gowns at Anne Barge and Monique Lhuillier risked bared shoulders or featured detachable skirts to convert the floor-length wedding gown into a flirty reception mini dress.

Designers credit celebrity exhibitionists with pushing more wedding day gowns toward wedding night lingerie, such as the mesh dress Bella Hadid wore for her 19th birthday on Wednesday, or the see-through skirt Kendall Jenner slipped into while partying in London last weekend.

And they can all bow down to the Givenchy naked dress that Beyonce wore to the Met Gala in May, where Jennifer Lopez also showed her famous curves in a very sheer, red-beaded Versace gown. Pronovias’ 2016 line of racy lace wedding gowns, which flashed plenty of cleavage and pevage alike, would be right at home on these provocative pop stars.

“A wedding is a woman’s red carpet moment,” explains Hall. “So Hollywood has such a huge influence on what the bride has in mind for her wedding day.”

O’Neill agrees that the A-list influence on brides-to-be is moving them away from traditional A-line dresses. “Girls are following [naked celebs] on Twitter and Instagram, and now it’s showing up on the Pinterest board of every bride,” he says.

So expect more engaged girls to sign up for bridal boot camp workouts once they lay eyes on Houghton’s full-frontal see-through gowns and corsets. There was even one very pregnant model in a Houghton dress that was transparent from the baby-bump up, similar to the sheer Givenchy gown an expecting Kim Kardashian wore at New York Fashion Week last month.

Inbal Dror’s nearly-naked Fall 2016 bridal collection paired high slits and transparent skirts with strategically-placed beading and floral embellishments to cover the lady bits.

Wedding couture queen Vera Wang even sent her women to the alter barely dressed in bodices with bold cutouts, and one lace floor-length lace gown that was even gauzier than the traditional bridal veil.

“Women are pushing the envelope,” says Hall. “They don’t want to look like what their best friend wore, or what their sister wore. They want to make a statement.”

And that goes for the mother of the bride, as well.

“We’re doing sexy across the board, even with mom!” says Jose Solis from David’s Bridal. “They’re playing with a sheer illusion sleeve, an illusion back, or even a slit up the skirt so that they’re not so matronly. There are different versions of sexy for everyone.”

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When I was little, I was a flower girl in a couple of weddings. Back then, I just thought weddings were pretty. Pretty flowers, pretty dresses, pretty girls. Just pretty.

As I began growing up, I would start putting myself in the bride’s shoes. What would my wedding be like? Who would I marry? Who would my bridesmaids be? What would my dress look like?

After I myself got married, I would go to weddings and reflect on my own marriage. I knew what it meant to be married. I would think about my husband. I would remember the feeling of being the bride. I would think about how excited the bride must be. How nervous. Unsure of what the future would hold as her role would change to wife instead of girlfriend.

This week, that all changed. This week, I realized that I am relating less to the bride, and more to someone else.

This week, I was at a wedding and I watched the family being escorted in. It was the typical walk in—the sweet great-grandparents, followed by grandparents, siblings, and then boom– the mother of the bride walked in.

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I thought to myself “Oh she looks gorgeous! I wonder if the grooms or brides moms stress over their diet, hair, nails, and dress before their child’s wedding…” Then it hit me. I got the chills. One day I will be that mom. I will be the mom watching as her son gets married. I will be the one giving his heart to another woman.

I will be the one spending hours praying over my son’s wedding. I will be the one who hopes the bride will involve me. Hoping that I get to be there to watch her pick a dress. Watch her take bridal pictures. Help decorate. That young bride will be the girl I have prayed for, for years and years.

Someday it will be my time to be that mom.

And I feel that time closing in on me. I know it is still years away. But years turn to months, which turn to weeks, which turn to days, to hours, to minutes. It will be here before I know it.

I’ve never put much thought into it. I knew that the moms spend time on the wedding, but now I’m realizing that the moms spend years on the marriage itself. They spend years pouring their love, kindness, discipline, into that future bride or groom. Years are spent investing into their child’s future marriage.

And I realized as I watched that mom walk down the aisle this week that much more goes into preparing for your child’s wedding than just hair, nails, makeup, dresses and diets. I am preparing my child right now. My husband and I are raising him to be a husband, friend, servant, lover and more.

So while my time to be that mom may seem distant, I know that what I am doing right now will have a lasting impact on who my son will become when it is his turn to walk the aisle.

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Wedding photographers would like to hold their clients — or would-be clients, for that matter — to certain standards. As a collective, we’d love to see them shop for the best vendors, spend good money on photography, and have unplugged weddings with nary an Uncle Bob in sight. The list goes on. It would stand to reason that most of us in “the business” would probably find the idea of a bride acting as her own photographer to be pretty abhorrent. We’d chalk it up to selfie culture run amuck or DIY gone wrong, wouldn’t we? Would you? I probably would have, if I’m being honest. However, we might be wrong.

Enter project manager and photographer Liisa Luts, an Estonian creative who recently did just that. When confronted with planning a wedding, Luts took the task of being the documentarian into her own hands.

“The idea to shoot my own wedding came quite naturally,” she said. “We knew we don’t want to ‘plan a wedding’ with all the wedding elements, including a wedding photographer, we just wanted to make it legal and celebrate a bit.”

Luts’ situation was unique since her wedding was less than formal.

“So since there was no wedding pressure I thought that it might be an interesting challenge to take some photos myself,” Luts said. “About a week before the special day I decided that I’ll take photos from the moment I wake up to really get the bride’s perspective of the whole day.”

With that in mind, Luts decided to use a FujiFilm X-T10 as her tool for capturing the day, citing the camera’s portability as the primary reason for picking it over a DSLR. She said she wanted to be able to show things as honestly as she could — for the moments to be documented just as she reacted to them.

It’s hard to argue with the results. She finds a modern aesthetic and shows an honest attention to both the moods of the day and the personalities involved. As a documentary of a wedding, I’d say that Luts’ project pays off.

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Still, this photographer-bride hybrid realizes that she made a very outside of the box decision that might not be suitable for everyone.

“The idea is not to prove a point and it most definitely isn’t a call-to-action to cancel the wedding photographers and to take your own photos,” she said, adding that she wanted to really collect a series of images that were true-to-self. Luts was willing to have a set of photos without bells and whistles, since the wedding matched that motif.

“For an example, if I had to take one photo that day, I’d probably have planned it in advance, cleaned the scenery and thought a lot more about the perfect angle, lighting, and composition,” Luts said. “But, in these series every photo was taken as the moment let me, nothing staged and nothing made look fancier than it really was. Overall I think that everyone should make their own decisions whether to get married at all, how to celebrate that day if they do and all other aspects in life, too.”

I actually found the idea of a bride committing to something like this to be refreshing. It might sound slightly insane, given that this is essentially a job that another photographer didn’t get. Still, you can’t deny that this is a far cry from putting disposable cameras on all of the tables or even settling for your uncle or cousin to stretch the comfort zones of their favorite hobby.

She did this very intentionally. Not to be cheap. Not to spite high-priced shooters. Not to make a statement. She did it to serve herself and her husband best. Who would have thought it would work?

It just goes to show you that no matter how many weddings you photograph, or how often you see things done the “right” way or the “wrong” way, you’re still just seeing them unfold from your own perspective.

Stepping outside of our own point of view can be a critical tool for creating honest wedding photos. Honest is certainly an adjective that I’d love my clients to use while describing my work. Luts’ collection reminded me of that.

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Just more reasons to love Helen Mirren: the Oscar winner is sharing her thoughts on love, marriage and what she wishes she knew as a younger woman.

In a new interview with Daily Mail’s You magazine, the septuagenarian revealed the advice she’d give herself if she could go back in time.

“At 70 years old, if I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be to use the words ‘f**k off’ much more frequently,” she told the mag.

The actress, who will soon be seen playing Hedda Hopper in “Trumbo” alongside Bryan Cranston, also advocated waiting until later in life to tie the knot.

(She wed director Taylor Hackford when she was 52 years old.)

“I think marrying late is a very good idea – it worked out for me. In general, I’d say it’s not a great idea to marry young,” she said. “And it’s a really terrible idea to get married for the [dress].”

Adding, “I was lucky because I’d worn so many incredible dresses as costumes. But girls nowadays have a princess complex – they’re longing to have the gorgeous dress, be the center of attention and live the dream for 24 hours.”

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Helen acknowledged that times are changing for women, but we still have a long way to go before reaching equality.

Women living in this era are stuck in an awkward transition period, where there is tension between independence and subordination.

“Women are still toddlers in this modern world, trying to find their position in the age of sexual liberation, birth control, education and financial independence. We’re still finding our path,” she said. “And yes, we’re making a lot of mistakes along the way.”

The actress also took issue with one form of PDA.

“It annoys me when I see men with an arm slung round their girlfriend’s shoulders. It’s like ownership,” she said. “Of course, when you’re young, you want the guy to take your hand and look after you. But when I see girls being leaned on, I want to say, ‘Tell him to get his damned arm off your shoulder.’”

“Trumbo,” based on the story of 1940s Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and the McCarty era, will hit theaters on November 16.

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Welcome to Wedding Guest Wednesday, a feature in which Solo-ish explores the joys and woes of attending other people’s weddings. Because it’s not all about the happy couple — it’s a big day for guests as well.

It feels weird to say this as a single man in his mid-30s, but I’ve been planning my wedding for years. Every time I come home from someone else’s wedding — and I’ve been to dozens in the past 10 years — I think about what elements of their celebration I would want to use at my own someday. And what I definitely do not want.

I’m not talking about clothing, flowers or table linens. For me, it’s all about the ritual parts of the wedding. Was there a chance for real connection between the couple, or did it feel like a show for the guests? Was the wedding an expression of the couple’s commitments and values? And what’s the community’s role in upholding them?

Planning a wedding in your head, without a partner no less, can be dangerous. Whatever “real” wedding I wind up having will look quite different from my current daydreams. Yet what I’m actually doing is spelling out what I’m looking to find in a partner, and more important, what I want us to build together.

The best weddings I’ve been to have been intensely personal. One of the most beautiful things was simply the moment my friend saw his bride step into the aisle to walk toward him. What made this so breathtaking was that the couple had not seen each other for the prior 24 hours. They each got ready for the wedding separately, and greeted guests at separate receiving areas. Even though they had been living together for a couple years, this separation and reunion made the drama of the wedding come alive.

The most intimate moment at many weddings is the sharing of vows. It can be incredibly powerful to hear a couple vocalize their love and commitment for each other. For example, at my uncle’s wedding to his partner of 16 years, each man peppered his vows with romantic lines from the show tunes they both treasure. In that moment, these expressions of love, often written by gay men for straight musicals, were reclaimed.

Rather than exchanging vows, personally I’m drawn to the model of the wedding contract, because it represents marriage as collaborative enterprise. A modern take on a traditional Jewish practice, this contract expresses the couple’s mutual commitments to each other, their possible future family and their communities. Crafting this document together gives a couple a chance to clarify their specific goals for intimacy and communication. For example, as one couple I know wrote:

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We pledge to love each other with tenderness and strength, with wisdom and understanding, respecting our differences and rejoicing in our commonalities. We will patiently support and challenge each other to become the people we are yet to be, and remind each other of the people we already are. Even as our intimacy deepens, we will encourage each other’s independence and personal growth. We will strive to be slow to anger and quick to forgive, to pursue a path of open communication, compassionate listening, and generous compromise.

This document also gives the couple a chance to spell out how they wish to be cared for in the event of illness or death. Most strikingly, it can also contain stipulations for how they will fight, and the processes the couple will go though if they decide to break off their relationship.

Signed by witnesses who represent the couple’s friends and family, this document is typically hung on on the wall of couple’s home as a reminder of their commitment to each other. These friends and family are tasked with helping the couple work through whatever inevitable challenges arise in their relationship. I’ve had the honor of signing a number of friends’ wedding contracts as a witness. I take this obligation quite seriously, and have valued the times I’ve been called on to support my friends in their relationships.

Another element that makes weddings incredibly personal is when the couple has a strong relationship with their officiant. Whether this person is ordained by an Internet church or a recognized denomination, someone who knows the couple well can really express the uniqueness of a particular couple’s relationship. This stands in sharp contrast to traditional weddings where you can substitute the names of the bride and groom for any other couple.

Finally, I have seen powerful moments arise when the community is invited to bless the couple.

I know one couple who, the evening before their wedding, invited friends and family to share stories, blessings and perform hilarious skits about them. It was like a rehearsal dinner, but without the expense of dinner or the limited guest list. Having a designated “toasts and blessings” event meant the reception after the wedding could be focused on dancing and celebrating, without lots time for toasts.

So, that’s what I’d want in a ceremony: a dramatic moment of reuniting with my bride; a public commitment to our vision for our collective life; an officiant who knows us personally; and a time (not during the reception) to receive blessings from the community.

As for the reception, as long as there is enough food, good music and room to dance, the celebration should take care of itself. There is no need for a seated dinner, a wedding cake, fancy flowers or elaborate entertainment. Because, in the end, loving commitment and community are all you need for a wedding.

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Dear Amy: I have a wonderful boyfriend who is kind, understanding and shares my values.

We work at a nonprofit medical center. Many of our dear friends and colleagues are LGBT.

The problem is that we’ve not even (officially) begun planning our wedding and I’m already begging to elope. You see, I have an uncle who borders on being a zealot.

At my niece’s baby shower he scolded my brother’s girlfriend for being a “sinner” for having a baby out of wedlock. At my cousin’s wedding while the bride was walking down the aisle he screamed, “And in my Bible it says it is Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!”

I’ve asked my mother if I could not invite him if I ever got married. She advised me to marry out of town.

The man is awful. He’s been divorced three times and is currently on marriage number four, but he is quick to judge everyone around him. Loudly.

I hate the thought of him making anyone else I care about uncomfortable on what should be a happy day.

Are we allowed to leave him off the guest list, or should I start shopping for plane tickets to our destination wedding? — Worrying About Wedlock

Dear Worrying: I often advocate for wedding inclusion — even with difficult or challenging family members (or family members you just “don’t like”) — but my intention is to remind people that “family” is not about insisting on perfection, but about accepting flaws and foibles.

However, if your uncle has a track record of disrupting family gatherings to the extent of “screaming” during a wedding service, then you shouldn’t include him now. He has proven himself incapable of keeping his trap respectfully shut during an important ceremony.

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Your choices are to let this bully chase you out of town; to have your wedding locally and not invite him (you’ll feel liberated if you take this route); or to be completely transparent and for you and your intended to say to him, “You’ve been disruptive in the past, and if you are disruptive or disrespectful toward our guests you will be asked to leave.” You could hire security (or assign a willing and able party guest) to be his special escort. Given these limitations, he may choose to stay away. If so, the rest of the family will high-five you all the way up the aisle.

Dear Amy: My husband and I have lived in our current house for many years.

The retired couple across the street bought a darling puppy about 15 months ago. Their yard, landscaping and lawn are incredibly beautiful. The neighbor keeps it looking like a golf course. (The rest of the neighborhood is a lot more casual.)

He started walking his puppy across the street to our strip of grass below a hedge at the end of our yard. He and the puppy would walk back and forth a number of times and then return back home. He is actually using our lawn strip for a doggy potty!

He collects the droppings and takes them away, but now other leashed dogs become interested in the same area of our lawn. They sniff around and many spray and leave their own scent, drawing yet more dogs.

How can I approach this without stuttering or hurting feelings? I have no clue. —Neighbor

Dear Neighbor: I can’t help you with stuttering, but if you are genuinely so nervous about making a very reasonable request (“Would you mind not bringing your adorable dog onto our lawn to do his business?”), you could get a sign to post in that spot, notifying all dog walkers of your restriction. I looked into this for you and have found a business called — wait for it — dogpoopsigns.com.

Dear Amy: In my world, when you accept a ride of many hours’ duration from an individual who is using her own car (as was the case with “Not Cheap, Just Curious”), passengers don’t split the cost of gas — they pick up the entire tab. The car owner is extending a lot of effort and expense, and the least people can do is to pay for the gas. — Grateful for Rides

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Justin Lanier knew Nina Reynolds’ aunt only as his boss when he first moved to Birmingham. However, she would soon become matchmaker, and ultimately family.

“Although it doesn’t sound very glamorous, our meeting still amazes me,” Nina says.

Thanks to fate and a bit of help from family, Nina and Justin’s love story began after meeting at work. The two had research positions at the University of Birmingham at Alabama. Justin had just moved from Mississippi to Birmingham, and ended up working under Nina’s aunt, who also helped Nina find a position there, as well, while she was applying for graduate school.

They went from working together to dating. A favorite past-time became hiking together near the King’s Chair at Oak Mountain State Park. The trail leading to this boulder had become a favorite of the couple and provided the perfect setting for Justin’s proposal.

The couple wanted their wedding to showcase Birmingham, so their guests could fall in love with the place where their own love began.

Originally, Nina wanted an outdoor wedding. However, because of the date — Aug. 2 — they decided to be wed indoors to spare guests of the unforgiving Alabama heat.

The ceremony was at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in the heart of downtown.

In addition to showcasing the Magic City, Nina also envisioned a garden-inspired wedding. She sought the help of wedding planner Ginny Au and florist Holly Carlisle with Rosegolden Flowers to bring her vision to life.

Inspired by colors in a Mark Rothko painting, the couple decided to dress their day in a dusty blue-grey, soft creams and pale lavenders.

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Bridesmaids wore long dusty-blue dresses or soft cream ones. Nina wore a Romona Keveza with a classic cathedral veil. The groom wore a custom made tux from J. Reiss Custom Clothier, and the groomsmen wore traditional tuxes.

Following the ceremony at the Advent, the celebration continued at The Club on top of Red Mountain, providing guests with panoramic views of the city.

The grand ballroom was a unique venue for Nina and Au to capture the delicate, garden-inspired wedding she sought. Au took advantage of the sweeping views of the city and lined tables along the windows. They were topped with linen cloths, floral garlands and candles.

Each place setting came with a rustic loaf of bread topped with fresh herbs along with a menu for the sit-down dinner, which included an herb roasted chicken and vegetable Wellington. They finished their meals with white velvet cake with almond buttercream icing.

After dinner Justin and his new bride, along with their guests, headed to the dance floor. The night ended outside with a dramatic fireworks show overlooking the city.

“I remember standing by Justin, amazed by the display, and looking over my shoulder at all our friends and family marveling at the fireworks, us and each other,” Nina remembers. “Everyone looked so incredibly happy. I will always cherish that moment.”

Although Nina says all the events of the day were perfect, none was more so than that moment she saw her groom the first time on their wedding day.

“We made eye contact for the first time and just smiled.”

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Side-parted braid bun

This is a very popular hairdo which shows off great facial features and is especially perfect for those with straight hair. It is a very easy style and barely takes five minutes — all you have to do is part your hair on the side and braid it tightly. If you want to make the braid look more intricate and elaborate, try the fishtail braid or the mermaid braid, which brings a great modern twist. Then wrap the braid around and pin it neatly into a bun with several bobby pins. If you want to add an additional oomph factor, use bedazzled bobby pins or fresh flowers which match your bouquet. This hairdo works best for those that don’t have bangs, so that the side partition will be more evident. If, however, you do have bangs, then pin them neatly to the side and make sure you use lots of hair spray to keep in place. In order to look extra polished, make sure that you comb your hair and keep it tangle free. A hair accessory like a hair comb can also be pinned on the top of the bun for a nice sophisticated effect.

Half updo

This is a lovely romantic hairdo that’s elegant but actually very low maintenance, hardly taking two minutes to create. Loosely gather the top half of your hair and pin it in place. Make sure there is a little volume at the top, otherwise it will end up looking flat and limp, so do some gentle backcombing if necessary. “For this style, I recommend using bobby pins that are similar to your hair colour, so that the effect is more subtle and don’t forget to use hairspray to keep the hair in place and avoid humidity,” says hairstylist Asgar Saboo. Add a flower chain or a string of pearls to add to that romantic bohemian vibe, which is something we are seeing more on celebrities who want to bring a fresh take to their wedding look.

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The head wrap chain

If you want to add an exotic vibe to your look, wear a head wrap chain. The style options are endless, ranging from the styles with big stones and crystal to the delicate ones with small chains and bells. “If you have smaller facial features, then I recommend opting for the more delicate and subtle head chain, whilst those with bigger features can get away with a more extravagant look,” says Asgar. You can choose to wear the chain with your hair tied up in a bun, but this accessory looks best when the hair is left down and flowing. Also make sure that the hair is parted in the middle, since symmetry is important for this accessory to look glamorous and exotic.

Messy twisted braid

This hairstyle is perfect for women with thick hair, which is very common with my clients from the Middle East and India. To get this look, gather all your hair and braid it loosely. Don’t be worried if you have a lot of flyways, it adds to the charm of the hair style, but make sure that you add bobby pins so the braid stays in place. “If you really want to take the hair style a step further, go into the garden and pluck some flowers,” says hair dresser Agnes Chen. You can find brightly coloured flowers all over the world that look gorgeous when you braid them into your hair. Make sure that when you pick the flowers that they have a small stem at the bottom for you to use. This is a very bold hair style, so pair it with some subtle earrings.

French twist

This is a hairstyle that suits all hair textures and brings glamour to any bride’s look. Grab all your hair into a low pony and twist it all around, twice. Tuck the ends inside the twist and secure it firmly with bobby pins – that’s how simple this style is to do. You can customise this hairstyle according to how much volume you want around your face, and you can accessorise by wearing a headband or a hair comb at the back. If you want, you can even tuck some flowers beneath the twist, which gives the style a little edge and modernity. However, it’s really important to ensure that you use enough bobby pins to place your locks firmly in place, otherwise you will be fiddling with your hair throughout your big day. Adding some hairspray is all you need to fix the hair once this is done, leaving you to relax and enjoy your wedding day in style.

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