Wear Palettes

{ image }

Sometimes wedding inspiration comes from unexpected places. Today I stumbled upon the blog: Wear Palettes. The blogger, a Swiss graphic design student Daniel, takes color palettes from The Sartorialist clothing. This blog is a great place to find unexpected color combos. The best part? The attire selection for your wedding is already halfway completed for you.

{ image }

If you already have a primary color selected and are looking for some complements, there is a side bar where the palettes are sorted by color. Daniel updates the site everyday and currently has over 1600 palettes posted.

{ images }

Other great sites for color palette inspiration:
Adobe Kuler
Colour Lovers (the site Daniel uses to build his palettes)
Color Palette Generator (using your favorite photo)
Sherwin Williams

Where do you find unexpected inspiration?

My Other Dress is...

When I picked out my gown, it was a one stop shopping experience. I did my research ahead of time, found several possible gowns, tried them on, and bought one. I love my gown, I think it is very "bridal" and it makes me feel pretty.

Every once in awhile though I think of the dresses that weren't. What would my dress look like if I was built like a hanger (you know the kind of woman who looks good wearing anything)? What if money was no object? What if I wasn't worried about not feeling like a bride on the big day?

In my fantasies my other dress is:

{ Alfred Angelo 1142 }

Short. I love the look of a short dress, I think it is so fun and adorable. But, I didn't go short for a couple reasons: 1. my wedding is in the fall and I didn't want to be cold and 2. I was worried I wouldn't feel like a bride (whether or not I would feel this way is debatable).

{ St. Pucchi 9298 }

Slightly Outrageous. This dress is wonderfully unique and breathtaking. Could I pull it off? Questionable. Could I afford it? Laughable : )

{ Pattis Bridal 1327 }

Mermaid. Nothing quite save va va va voom like a mermaid gown. (Seriously, check out Miss Cookie - everyone except you Mr. Cookie.) This one is particularly girly and pretty with the lace and light ruffles.

{ Maggie Sottero Fiorenza }

Red. Bold and passionate with a whole lot of wow. Red gowns are definitely stunning, but if were to walk down the aisle in one my family might not have been able to recover.

{ Carolina Herrera 35806 }

Country Bumpkin Chic. I adore this dress. If I were getting married outdoors or a warmer time of year this would be the dress for me.

What dress would you have chosen if you could have thrown all caution to the wind?

When You Know, You Know

Mr. Pineapple and I dated "officially" for 8 months before he proposed. Yep, that's it - 8 months. The first time he introduced me to someone as his girlfriend was 5 months before he proposed. I never thought that I would be dating my boyfriend for less than a year before he became my husband-to-be, but once we were there it felt like perfect timing.

Since Mr. P and worked together before we started dating, we got to see each others true colors long before a first kiss. I was a stubborn manager of a residence hall desk and he was my supervisor. If one of my employees didn't show up for work and I had to sit at the desk from 4-8am, no excuse was good enough. Immediate probation. Mr. Pineapple on the other hand was the good cop who would convince me to give them another chance. I would get distracted and doodle during Mr. P's meetings and there was the one time we had to call him and remind him that he should be at work with us rather than watching the Steelers.

The desk services team out for dinner in 2005.

For us, building a working relationship first made a loving relationship that much easier. From the first date we knew the good and the grumpy about one another. He knew I was weird and I knew he was even weirder (debatable). It scared me that several months into the relationship we had yet to have an argument - everyone argues, right? Everything was just so good, so comforting.

Mr. Pineapple was the first to say the word "wedding." A few months into our relationship we were at our favorite hang out, and the location of our first date, Smokin' Joes Saloon. Mr. P popped over to the juke box and a few minutes later Howie Day's Brace Yourself started to play. Mr P. whispered in my ear "I want them to play this song when we get married." From then on there was no doubt.

Since Mr. Pineapple and I both worked at Carnegie Mellon, often in a client/designer relationship, we kept our personal relationship fairly hushed. We told the people who mattered - my boss and his, but for the most part we didn't want people making assumptions. This, of course, all flew out the window after we became engaged. We got a lot of shocked responses such as "I didn't even know you were dating!" So, convincing people we were serious, and in love, was not an easy task.

Anyone else have a fairly short stint as boyfriend and girlfriend before deciding you were ready to take the plunge? What do you tell people who doubt you could know in such a short period of time?

Seeing Copper

Mr. Pineapple will be starting a new job next week and decided to have his prescription updated and worn glasses replaced before switching insurance companies. He took me along to help pick out his new frames. (I guess I will be looking at them more than even he will be.) Here is the pair we chose:

{image}

What does this have to do with wedding planning? They are copper, one of our wedding colors! Mr. Pineapple will be so coordinated, without even trying. They will even match his rose gold wedding band after the big day. We picked them out, because we both loved them , not because it was one of our wedding colors. But the fact that we have been buying and creating so many coppery things has defiantly influenced our tastes. We now love all things copper - copper cookware, copper mail boxes, copper paint, copper jewelry, copper planters, and I will certainly miss the penny if the mint stops making them.

Has anyone else become obsessed with their wedding colors outside of wedding planning?

Paper Roses Progress

Since my parents live in South Florida I don't get to see them very often. When I do get to see them it is usually because they are working on the now 14 year renovation of my father's childhood home, about an hour from Pittsburgh. They decided to come up this week to do some work, little did my mother know it wasn't the house she would be working on, it was paper roses.

My mother, bridesmaid Katie and I created an assembly line to crank out some more paper roses. I had made about 40 and the three of us got another 40 done. It was so nice to have their help. Mr. Pineapple tried to help me one night, but got very angry at his flower by petals 5-8.

My mother's roses were looking more like pine cones than flowers so she got demoted to cutting out the petals. She was a real trooper! Her hand molded to the scissors and got stuck (sorry for the fuzzy shot):
So all in all it was a great success and I have about 40 more left to make. There will be a total of 120 - 80 brown and 40 white.
What kind of assembly line projects have you roped your family and friends into?

Our Free J

{image 1, 2}

Mr. Pineapple and I decide to join the bandwagon and have an iPod/Macbook set-up for our wedding. The main driver, like with many people, for us was cost. I feel that the DJ can make or break the reception. I have been to both a wedding with a good DJ and one with an embarrassing DJ. Often good DJs come with a hefty price tag. So, if we were going to take a risk with going cheap, we figured we would go ahead and take the plunge to DIY our music.

There are a couple things that are working in our favor. First and foremost, is my wonderfully amazing friend Mike. He and I met line dancing a few years ago at our favorite place to boot scoot, Saddle Ridge. Mike went to school for musical theater and performs here in Pittsburgh. He just finished up his role as Rif in West Side Story. Mike will be one of Mr. Pineapple's groomsman and our MC! He teaches theater and dance classes and has a huge library of music (in addition to what Mr. P and I have acquired over the years).

I am very excited that we will know our MC we are confident he will do a great job getting everyone excited. I will make sure to get my playlists very organized so all he has to do music-wise is click play.

Additionally, the Rivers Club has a sound system we can use. Originally, we thought we would have to rent or borrow the equipment, but we are lucky to have that resource already available to us. Of course there is a flip side, I'm nervous. What if no one dances? What if something goes wrong and even after our test-run, the set up doesn't work the night of the wedding?

I've read a lot of how-to articles about DIY music. So, I think I have the logistics figured out, but I have never seen it in action. Has anyone else had an "iPod wedding?" What is your advice for me?

Fontastic!

Way back in the day when I wrote about some early invitation concepts a few readers asked about specific typefaces. So, in addition to answering their questions I thought it may be helpful to write about a few of my favorite typefaces for wedding invitations. The type style and face you or your designer chooses is going to depend on the look and style you are going for, so these are by no means the only typefaces that are appropriate, they are just a few that I think work well.

I've lumped them into three groups Sweet/Girly, Traditional and Offbeat. The names of the groups are a fairly arbitrary way to start to categorize them that I made up, so you might think a traditional one is offbeat. (you can click to enlarge the images)

The typefaces that I am calling Sweet and Girly I think would be great for a spring or summer wedding that is traditional and slightly modern.

Linoscript

Murray Hill

Wade Sans Light

Brighton Plain

Dorchester Script

Fling

Bickley Script

Here are the typefaces I am calling Traditional (and fancy):

Carpenter

Gravura

Mahogany Script Std

University

Academy Engraved

Artisan Roman

Bickhan Script - Shown with some swash capitals and alternates

Bodoni

Cancellaresca Script

The next set I am calling Offbeat, but some are more modern or retro:

Avenida

Bernhard Fashion

Huxley

Parisian

Rubino Sans - Fill

What are your favorite wedding typefaces?

Clay Flower Samples

Yesterday, Mr. Pineapple and I had to work all day for Carnegie Mellon's Commencement. After shooting several hundred photos of happy grads I was tired and grumpy. Then, I checked my e-mail and got a wonderful treat. Diane from Dk Designs Hawaii had my clay flower samples ready! She wanted to show me the colors and types of flowers (roses - different kinds, double center rose, victorian style, tuberose, stephanotis with the pearl center, gardenia, peony, and ranunculus) she had created to get my feedback before proceeding with the actual bouquets, boutonnières and corsages.

You may remember, a few weeks back I sent her some photos of bouquets that I liked, as well as a possible color palette for inspiration and Diane totally hit the nail on the head. She gave me two different options for the large center flower, a gardenia or a peony. Which do you like better?


Here are the bridesmaid's flower samples, the colors are slightly more saturated:

That peony is just incredible, the petals are so delicate.

Here is a shot of how the two work together:
The colors are soft and romantic. The flowers are classic and a bit rustic. I love them. I know I must sound like a spokeswoman for Diane, but I cannot think of anything I would change about them and she is a doll to work with. After the wedding, I will have them forever and that makes me very happy.

What do you think?

Common Sense for the Committed by Mr. Pineapple

First, let's just get this out of the way. I already get a lot of grief from my friends (and the Best Man is consistently first in line, daily) for being known as Mr. Pineapple. And, while it's certainly nothing I'll be inviting my softball teammates to use when listing me in the weekly lineup, I'm happy to be a (very small) part of this community and thankful for all that it's given to Miss P.

So, why am I taking a chance writing in this space where I am clearly not the target market? Easy. The target market (you) has a common interest/love/problem of a fiance, significant other, or emergency date for a friend's wedding. I fall in that category, and I have made some very stupid (albeit generally innocent enough) mistakes in the last eight-ish months of wedding planning. Your other half shouldn't say those things. And, while context is king (and/or queen) in all relationships, there are probably a few lessons learned in the Pineapple household that can help out anyone.

1. The light's always right.
Miss P is the dedicated designer of all print media associated with our nuptials. One day, during our bus ride home, she wanted to show me the proofs. I thought it best to wait until we got home where we'd have a nice, big dining room table to spread out the cards and plenty of light. I was wrong. It doesn't matter where you are, dummy. Just say yes. I'll give you (and me) the benefit of the doubt, here - you're excited about all of this to some degree, even it's just because she's excited. So, say yes. And be careful not to drop those proofs on the floor.

2. Knowing she's the expert isn't enough.
I have the privilege of being engaged to a designer, and a damn good one at that. She's also a photographer. So, when someone like that (or her other photography/design kin) is asking for my input, it's easy to feel like an idiot (I've become used to it in all facets of my life, not just in these interactions). "I'm the only one in the room who's not a photographer, so just tell me where to stand and I'll do it," is a remarkably self-aware and cooperative statement, don't you think? Well, try harder. A couple of suggestions here and there go a long way, even if you know bridesmaids, family, and other friends are better at all of this. Be a springboard for her brainstorming. You may even find a detail or concept that is really important to you. I wholeheartedly trust all of her ideas/decisions about the decor, the invites, all of it. She trusts that my differing opinion or other suggestion(s) show a bigger investment in the end product. So, win-win.

3. Filter your pie hole, Pie Hole.
Inertia. It's a law of physics. The first law. It happens. Even in wedding planning. Learn to handle it. Your timeline, assuming it's more than the "Hey, this happy hour was great; let's get married in twenty at the MGM Grand Chapel" version, is going to have periods of a lot of planning and other periods that are slower. There will be waiting. There will be time to be patient and thankful that there are weeks when a payment isn't due, a coordinator doesn't need to be called, and a hotel doesn't need to hear from you. Trust in that fact.

Trust in it, dear reader, so steadfastly that the words "Can we not talk about weddings for one night?" never ever ever cross your lips. It won't matter how bad your day (week, month, etc.) has been at work. It won't matter that your friendly bus driver has been replaced by a mongoose with a Red Bull IV and a love for demo derby. And your witchy next door neighbor with a strange attachment to that specific on-street parking spot doesn't count, either. None of those reasons will do. So don't say it. Some days, The Wedding will develop a mind of its own, and it will control her. Some days, though she won't admit this for years, she'll have Wedding Fever. It's like Buck Fever in the corners of the world (like Western PA) where deer hunting is king. Guys with Buck Fever will shoot a rifle (a rifle!) at their best friend if they get too obsessed (and his buddy mistakingly leaves the Blaze Orange jumpsuit in the truck). Be thankful she's only shooting questions, photos, and other wedding-theme-colored paraphernalia in your direction. The bullets will only start flying if you say something stupid.

As much as I've just rambled, the three core lessons in there are clutch. It won't take much to show her that you care, but that little bit will show a lot. And, if you step back from it, she probably pretends to care about random sporting events and fantasy leagues more than you realize. To your advantage, you're not pretending. Just be smart about it.

To Boot or Not to Boot?

I have not had any luck finding copper heels to wear with my gown. Metallic shoes are quite trendy right now, but copper does not seem to be as common as silver, gold, or bronze.

I am seriously considering just wearing the cowboy boots that Mr. Pineapple bought me for my birthday. I wear these boots (or my black pair) every time I wear jeans, without fail. I love love love them. They are perfectly molded to my feet, they have a heel, I know I can wear them all day and they were a gift from Mr. P.

I was already planning on wearing them for the reception so I can get my cowgirl line dance on, but I am not sure they are "nice" enough to wear for the ceremony and photos.
As you can see, they are pretty well worn and I will probably wear them another 140 times before the big day. The tops of the boots are stained with the dye from my jeans.

What do you think? Any other suggestions?

The Food

One of the main reason we chose our venue, was because of the food. We had never eaten there ourselves, but we had heard wonderful things! Mr. Pineapple took me to the Rivers Club for Valentine's day giving us our first official taste and we were thrilled.

A couple weeks ago Mr. Pinapple's father and step-mother traveled to the big city to join us for our menu tasting.

First up: hors d'oeuvres
Miniature crabcake with chipotle aioli

Clockwise: mediterranean sausage stuffed mushrooms, roast tenderloin canape, five spice sea scallops wrapped in bacon and bbq duck wrapped in bacon

Main Courses:
Pecan and roasted shallot stuffed chicken with orange frangelico cream

Scallion and shrimp crusted salmon

Truffle scented chicken breast with wild mushroom marsala sauce

Parmesan grouper with smoked tomato buerre blanc

Choosing the "winners" was a lot easier than we expected it to be, all four of us were nearly unanimous on all counts. Each of us kept score on a print out of the menu. We decided to go with raspberry brie canapes (which I scarfed down before talking a photo), the sea scallops, crabcakes and mushrooms. For the main courses; the pecan stuffed chicken, the shrimp crusted salmon and a vegetarian dish that we have not tasted.

We were completely stuffed and excited after our tasting, everything was very yummy. So far this has been one of the wedding tasks that was purely fun. It was also great getting some of the future in-laws involved, something we aren't able to do often.

What has been one of your most "fun" wedding tasks?