Sweet Wedding Sign

Again, spotted on Green Wedding Shoes.

Beatles!

Photography by Clayton Austin.

Pretty jewelry photo

Just a little one-off shot in a Green Wedding Shoes post that I thought was so sweet:

Photos and Styling by Simply Bloom Photography

Love the necklace hanging sweetly from the branch of berries.

Wedding Shoes

I should have posted this ages ago, but I bought my wedding shoes, after much deliberation.

So, here's what happened: I bought a pair of ballroom dance shoes, which looked perfectly adorably perfect on the website. They arrived, I opened them, only to find that the color was totally wrong. What looked like flesh toned satin vs. gold leather trim really just looked like gold on gold. Which wasn't bad, but it was too flashy and the seams looked sort of ragged and cheap. Disappointing, because I was expecting this:

 Look so cute in the picture, right?
Still bummed these didn't work out.

They didn't seem like shoes I was going to keep, wear again, etc. So I returned them with a heavy heart, because I knew I'd have to start searching again. For those of you new to the blog, or new to me, I HATE SHOE SHOPPING. I only like vintage-looking shoes, and I often have a hard time finding what I like.

However, after a few weeks of searching (Endless, DSW, Plasticland, Modcloth...) I bought not one, but two pairs of shoes (shocking!).

The first, I wore for my engagement photos, found on Plasticland. I love them so much, I may buy them in black. They are the most friggin' comfortable pair of heels I have ever owned. I have worn these babies with jeans, because they are so darn comfortable.

There they are in action (and in black and white)! 
http://www.toomuchawesomeness.com/danaandjohn  
© 2011 Kenneth Clunk.

And, other than the engagement-photo shoes, I bought my wedding shoes:

Bowm-chicka-bow-wow.

I had a temporary moment of "Do these look vintage, or more like something Lady Gaga would wear?" Eventually, I decided to bite the bullet and buy them. I love the little gold leather tie, the teardrop cutouts, the peep-toe. I never in a million years expected to buy an ivory shoe, or anything in the white family. I was expecting to buy blue/teal shoes and rock the house that way, with my something blue taken care of. But these are fantastic, no?

I shipped them to my parents' house, and so I got to open them in front of my mom, whose immediate response was "Aren't those heels a little high?" in a tone that really deflated my initial excitement. But, my mom can't help but worry about everything. Her mind immediately goes to places like "Is that pathway at Mohican level? What if she trips in her dress while she walks down the aisle? Is the peep toe going to pinch her toes at a weird angle? Will she get blisters and not be able to have her first dance?" (I fielded some of these questions; that's how I know she thinks this way. Must be exhausting!).

None of which should matter to her, since I am the one who has to actually wear the shoes, and weigh these supposed risks myself. I've already practiced walking in them, and they are fine because they are made well (yes, it's a surprising 4" heel, but I am actually at a height where John doesn't have to stoop too much to kiss me at the altar. Also, my wedding dress doesn't need to be taken up as much now, which makes me happy since I wanted to do as little to the train of the dress as possible).

And I friggin' love them. This isn't to say I don't adore my mom. She's been awesome throughout the wedding planning process. Her main complaint has been that I haven't given her enough to do, which I count as a sign that I am doing a great job of keeping things simple and focused on the whole getting married part of the wedding.

Hopefully I'll take some halfway decent photos of all the DIY projects in the works and get those posted. At the very least, you'll see some photos after the wedding is over, since our photographer rocks my socks off. Less than 2 weeks now! Wish me luck in the final days of harried crafting and planning and running about (and hemorrhaging money. Don't forget the hemorrhaging of money that will happen from now until the wedding day).

Cheers!

Whaaaaaat. Photo Love.

Love love love these photos on Snippet and Ink. Photography is obviously by Feather Love (if you read as many wedding blogs as I do, you can pretty much learn to spot Feather Love's distinctive, vintagey style).

Love this duo. We're doing the whole framed-photos-of-
loved-ones thing too! It's a major part of the decor!

LOVE.

I love these photos so much I want to be this bride. Literally. Her style is perfection (that veil with that dress with that jacket), the black and white perfection that captured their best moments (walking out of the church, the cake cutting).

I want to duplicate these. Consciously. As in, their poses and their perfect little moments committed to film. That's how much I love the vibe of these photos. Gosh, I can't wait to make our own moments just like these. I hope we get photos that look this happy and genuinely bursting with joy.

Awesome Cake

It's been a while since a cake caught my eye, but this one was just striking:

On EatCakeBeMerry

Gorgeous!

Engagement Photos

Anybody who is a friend on Google+ or Facebook has probably seen the engagement photos by now. They went live this morning on our fabulous photographer's website. Check out the whole set here.

Ken Clunk and Angela Clunk rock so hard. We had a blast shooting the engagement photos and the results are beyond amazing. We are so thrilled with them. John keeps saying "I've never been so excited about photos before." It's only going to get better with the wedding day fast approaching! I know Ken will document our day in a way that will make it totally on par with any of the stuff I see on all those wedding blogs!

All photos are of course located at http://www.toomuchawesomeness.com/danaandjohn and are © 2011 Kenneth Clunk.

I like this shot because it looks classy and vintage. Also, this was early in the shoot, so my makeup and hair look their best. :)

"Bow ties are cool." -Dr. Who

Such a classy shot where I'm supposedly "fixing" his bow tie, though I
think I actually made it messier...

Playing with a sweet lens Ken rented for our shoot. See how the one
half is blurry but our whole side is in focus? Love it.

Dana and John, sitting in a tree...
I like our poses in this one.

Friggin' beautiful black and white shot.

My only original fear in going with a digital-only photographer was
that I wouldn't get amazing black and white shots the way you do with
film. I don't miss the film now, that's for sure. Also, this is one of my
favorites in the whole set! 

Had to get a couple by Severance Hall. Love the tilted angle and how
he got the whole building in the shot. I love this one!

Love the coloring on this one, and John's laughter.

Perfection. For me, my personal favorite. I hoped beyond hope
we would get a good kiss shot, but this one manages to also
be so classy and vintagey (check out that foot pop) and the
colors are perfect and the framing of the shoot is perfection.

Such great sepia-goodness.

Such a beautiful and classic shot of us. I love how crisp the black and
white is; wearing white was a definite plus for these shots.

Perhaps the second favorite shot of the day. Something about the angle
of our legs and the colors and the way the shadows look at the edges
of the photo. The whole thing is awesome.

Slow dancing on the Severance lawn. Of all the
shots, this is one of the most popular with my
friends. Several have declared this the
best/favorite pic of the day.

The spot where it all began. See that front Stonehenge-thing? That's where
John first told me he loved me. Also, he proposed in this spot. Glad to
have a kiss picture here, where I'm on tip-toes because John is so tall.

The rock where the first "I love you" happened.

We brought a couple of records; I definitely wish we had done more
with this idea since it's so funny in practice. Perhaps we'll throw some
records in the car to bring to Mohican for pics before the wedding
rehearsal? There's just nothing like Coltrane staring down Stravinsky.

Like I said above, Ken is fabulous. The best investment of the wedding by far. We are so happy to be working with him and can't wait for the rest! I know he'll make our day look so incredible and capture everything brilliantly.

Vintage Book Page Decoration

I recently saw two fabulous photos where brides made use of vintage book pages in their decor, to stunning results.

Seen on Green Wedding Shoes, photos by Focus Photography 

Seen on Love and Lavender, photography by Jason and Anna Photography

The second version is a lot easier to pull off, but both are so beautiful!

Ruffled DIY Strikes Again!

Ruffled always has such amazing DIY tutorials. My most recent favorite involves pretty paper wheels that mimic the look of those seen at BHLDN.

Pretty, but not something I can afford to pay $34 for

The best part of Ruffled's version? Totally customizable with your
wedding colors!

I've made a couple, and they've turned out really cute. I'd take pictures, but I'm too busy crafting. I promise I will document all my recent crafting successes. With only a few weeks to go, things are busy around here!

However, I'm having fun. At this point, everything adds some beauty and personalization but nothing is absolutely necessary. We have food, venues, an amazing photographer (Ken Clunk; he's the bestest), places to sleep, and a bunch of excited friends and family. It's going to be a frikkin' awesome wedding.

If I can just decide what the heck to walk down the aisle to...it's been the hardest decision I've ever had to make. I'm arranging some music for the quartet, but it's tough to decide what should go where! More on that in another post, I'm sure.

A Belated July 4th Celebration

I saw this beautiful engagement shoot on Style Me Pretty, and immediately fell in love with a single detail...(can you guess what it is?). Mike Colón Photographers + Visual Exposure Photography.

I want one!

The other shoot that caught my eye last week was on Creature Comforts, with photography by Butterfly Sparks and Kelly Trontel Photography. I love the outfit. So classic and American without looking too costumey.

Photo Love

Spotted on 100 Layer Cake, Photography by Weddings by Two

I'm not sure if this photo is the result of vintage film or clever editing of a digital image, but I love it. It's perfection. It looks just like a vintage photograph! Is there a way to make a digital image look like this? Somebody tell me more!

The Jazz Age Lawn Fest

I've seen this on just about all my favorite blogs, and you'll soon see why...

The Jazz Age Lawn Fest happens in Manhattan every year. Folks show up in their vintage finery, roll out old cars, and have a downright Gatsby-esque lawn party. It's vintage fabulousness.