This Will Be Our Year: Marriage Is a Process...ion

And the first step in that procession is getting down the aisle. :)

First the groomsmen and Middle Brother Spaniel took their positions...


Then Younger Brother Spaniel walked Grandma Spaniel to her seat and took his place...


The Spaniel-in-laws...


Mama and Step-Dad Spaniel...


And my bridesmaids. I still love their dresses every time I see them. :)


The music changed, and my nerves went haywire. OhmygodI'mgettingmarried!


Papa Spaniel walked me to the bottom of the stairs before he took his seat, as I'd planned to walk up the stairs to meet Mr. Spaniel alone.


But after Papa Spaniel gave me a hug and started to step away, the processional music abruptly stopped. Suddenly, I became very conscious of my sharp heels, the cracks in the ground that I couldn't see beneath my heavy dress, and the eyes of 150 people on my back. I was absolutely terrified, but somehow I made it up on my own!


It must not have taken forever, since I'm the only person I've talked to who remembers the music getting cut early, and I made it to the top, grabbed my mister, and was ready to get married!

All photos by the stupendous Meg Perotti and Regis Photography.

Miss anything?
The Spaniels Are Married!
Watching Paint Dry
Vendor FAIL
Putting Our Faces On
Something New
Boutonnieres and Tuxedos
Sneaky Spaniel (The First Look)
Something Borrowed, Something Blue
Hey Laaadies!
Signing Our Lives Away

This Will Be Our Year: Boutonnieres and Tuxedos

The wedding day sure looks different from the other side of things. While my bridesmaids and I spent hours "in" hair and makeup (leaving us no time for anything other than room service), my groom and his men were able to head to the hotel restaurant for a long, relaxing brunch buffet. Hmph. On the other hand, they had to arrange their own transportation to the venue (we got to take the hotel shuttle, because we delicate flowers can't be bothered drive), and get way fewer pictures of them getting ready. ;)

We can draw the story out by starting when my brother-in-law (HA! I GET TO SAY THAT NOW!)'s girlfriend walked in with the guys' boutonnieres.


They were already dressed in their tuxedos when they arrived at Calamigos, so there wasn't much left to do but put on the finishing touches!

(Apparently that last one was problematic, judging from Middle Brother Spaniel's perplexed face, and the fact that two different people attempted to do it!)
Once the boutonnieres were safely attached, it was time for the glamor shots...


...or should I say, glamor SOCKS?

All photos by Regis Photography and the incomparable Meg Perotti.

Miss anything?
The Spaniels Are Married!
Watching Paint Dry
Vendor FAIL
Putting Our Faces On
Something New

I'm putting a ring on it

I don't think I've told you yet about Mr. Spaniel's wedding ring, so gather round; it's story time!

Once upon a time, Mr. Spaniel was reluctant to go shopping for a wedding band. He'd gotten the idea somewhere that the only acceptable men's ring is a plain white band.

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While I really like the simple, modern but also classic style of a platinum or white gold wedding band, it didn't strike me as being particularly Mr. Spaniel—which he confirmed by his lack of enthusiasm for it. Instead, I figured I knew Mr. Spaniel better than he knew himself, and dragged him along to another jewelry shop to get him to try on rings. I had a feeling that if we found the right one, he'd get excited about the prospect of wearing it, and doesn't everyone want their partner to be happy wearing their ring? I also had a feeling that the right ring would be two-toned.

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As it turns out, we were both wrong! A plain platinum band actually never touched his finger (he had no interest at all once he saw all the other options), and he seemed to gravitate toward more "interesting" and complicated designs all on his own. But he didn't go two-tone...

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He threw some rose gold in there too and went three-tone.

That Mr. Spaniel. Such a diva.

Did your fiancé(e) have any preconceived notions about the wedding band? Did the choice surprise you?

A black tie affair

On Black Friday, Mr. Spaniel and I avoided the mall and hit up the tux shop instead. We went back and forth about whether to go for the shadow stripes or solid black, and we had a heck of a time choosing between two or three buttons. Pure agony! Okay, so it wasn't that hard: Mr. Spaniel knew he wanted tuxedos for him and his groomsmen as opposed to suits, and he knew he wanted black. Menswear in general has a lot of catching up to do to ladies' fashions in terms of complexity and stress induction, because there really weren't that many options once those two choices were made. (I promise I will make up for the simplicity of his decisions by belaboring the sock selection as much as possible.)

For the groom: a black shadow stripe, two-button coat with Victorian Gold paisley vest and tie (we'll be substituting the rental tie for this one).

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For the groomsmen (and the bridesmen!): the same thing, but with a black vest and tie.


Not too shabby! Since the rental includes the coat and pants, shirt, shoes, vest, tie and cuff links, the only item we still need to track down are the socks. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find nine complementary pairs of green, patterned dress socks? It may be the most difficult wedding-related research task I have taken on! I'm giving myself an end-of-January deadline to find them before I kiss this idea good-bye and just ask the guys to all bring their own black socks. But I would hate to give up goofy pics like these!

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What was your tuxedo-shopping experience like?

Outfitting the Mister

For the longest time (okay, for the last few months, and only since deciding I wanted to be a hennaed bride, really), I've had a fascination with all things paisley:

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Since paisley on my dress is obviously not an option (obviously), I got the bright idea that we should incorporate it into the men's attire. (And maybe the cake, but I digress.) I mentioned it to Mr. Spaniel, who seemed receptive, but "couldn't imagine what it would look like."

I had in mind an ivory tie with a gold and silver paisley pattern. I actually had a very clear visualization of it; so clear that I absolutely knew that I would be able to find it, and, if not, find someone to make it: this tie, which may or may not already exist, was exactly the tie that Mr. Spaniel needed to be wearing. A quick search on Google ("ivory+gold+paisley+tie") yielded this:

Paul Malone Silk Tie Set: Golden Paisleys, $29.90 at Tie Drake

It couldn't have been more perfect if a tie designer extracted my thoughts and wove a tie based on them. Especially because that would have been very creepy.

Mr. Spaniel is on-board, so we'll be ordering the set (tie, handkerchief and cufflinks) shortly (and hoping it goes with the black tie/ivory shirt combo I also have in mind). I wish I could find a perfectly matching vest, but maybe it's not necessary. The groomsmen will probably be in ivory-on-ivory paisley accessories, but there is plenty of time for that decision to be made.

One groomsmen-related that is certain: the men will be in awesome socks.

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I'm excited to try to keep the men's attire as interesting as the ladies'. Have you seen anything unusual that has caught your eye for the guys? Other than just the hotness of men in tuxes? ;)