Okay.

I need some major help.  Actually, Jen, this may be useful for you and The Lawyer, as well, when you write your wedding vows.

I’m looking at non-traditional wedding vows, and can’t believe how many of them still include God, Jesus and not a single reference to Domestic Goddesses and Partners!  Sacrilege!

Anyway.

Which is your absolute fave?

DomestiVow #1:

Dear Doctor, I take you to be my husband from this time onward,
to join with you and to share all that is to come, to be your faithful Domesti-wife,
to give and to receive, to speak and to listen, to inspire and to respond;
a commitment made in love, kept in faith, and eternally made new.

DomestiVow #2:

You have become mine forever.
Yes, we have become partners.
I have become yours.
Hereafter, I cannot live without you.
Do not live without me.
Let us share the joys.
We are word and meaning, unite.
You are thought and I am sound.

May the nights be honey-sweet for us.
May the mornings be honey-sweet for us.
May the plants be honey-sweet for us.
May the earth be honey-sweet for us.

(Ahem, clearly I only like this one because it brings up honey every 5 seconds.  As you all know, The Doctor and I love honey and want to be bee-keepers!)

The Doctor and Sue in their 80s!

DomestiVow #3 (Actually called The Eskimo Love Song… Jen, did I ever tell you how I was once mistaken for an Eskimo when I was at a bar in Dublin?):

You are my husband
My feet shall run because of you
My feet shall dance because of you
My heart shall beat because of you
My eyes see because of you
My mind thinks because of you
And I shall love because of you.
DomestiVow #4

To My Dear and Loving Husband, my Anne Bradstreet

If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me ye women if you can.
I prize they love more than whole mines of gold,
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought by love from thee give recompense.
Thy love is such I can no way repay;
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere,
That when we live no more we may live ever.

Well?  Any DomestiGal out there want to share their bee-u-ti-ful wedding vows?

Love,

Vowless Sue

Ladies,

Rejoice! It’s Wedding Gown Wednesday!

Today is all about simplicity. Lela Rose’s debut wedding gown collection is divine, elegant, perfect. I love. Do you?

Lela Rose Spring 2009. This and all images via nymag.com.

Perhaps this gown is deceptively simple. An easy silhouette, but the criss-crossing fabric of the bodice is actually quite complex. And gorgeous. And flattering to boot!

Here’s another goodie:

Lela Rose Spring 2009

I grow ever more fond of lace as all this wedding-obsessing goes on. Again, a simple shape here - too curve-hugging for me, thanks, but I do appreciate it! - but the lace adds a layer of complexity. Not to mention romance!

Finally, a third and more daring number:

Lela again. She seriously rocks.

The boobie bow is not for everyone. I certainly could not pull off this look. But I covet. I heart. I think it’s different and modern yet enduring and timeless.

Exactly what a bride should be.

xoxo,

DomestiGal Jen

And the marriage begins! 

Of course, the following has not yet been completed:

1.  The dress.

Chinese Red Wedding Dresses

Have I seen the dress that my sister has designed for me?  Um, no.  Am I concerned?  Actually, no.  Will I even try it on before the actually wedding date?  Not sure.  My sister and I are the same size, so whatever fits her will probably fit me.  (BTW, the above photo is a joke.  I shall not be wearing a big question mark down the aisle.  Hmmm… although I won’t be walking down any sort of aisle, so I guess you weren’t concerned.)

2.  The location. 

East Village Garden

Has the garden where we’re getting married in the Lower East Side actually written us back to confirm?  Nope!  Have I reached out a couple of times to confirm?  Surprisingly, yes.  Shouldn’t I be worried?  Probably, but I’m not.

3.  The post-wedding lunch.

Have reservations been made?  I’ll let you take a guess.  However!  My future mother-in-law did plan our Sunday Mother’s Day brunch.  Phew.  She obviously knows what sort of daughter-in-law she is about to get!

4.  The officiant.

Apparently, unless The Doctor’s brother all of a sudden becomes a priest/rabbi/whatever, the marriage wouldn’t be recognized.  But!  Two of my other DomestiGal friends used this certified-ceremony-woman who apparently does fab wedding ceremonies (she did a wedding in Central Park for one of my friend’s, and another wedding on the Hudson for the other).   The Doctor took me into his arms last night and said, “Um, honey.  Did you know we’re getting married?”  And then demanded that I get out my day planner so that we could plan a day to meet with this certified-ceremony-woman (CCW).

5.  The rings!

Sue's Former Moissanite of Dreams

Hello.  You all know I’ve been trying to get my moissanite-of-dreams.  Unfortunately, the moissanite, upon arrival, was not that dreamy.  But, I did get confirmation yesterday that my cushion-cut engagement ring (and wedding ring friend) will be arriving in the mail soon.  We still have to get The Doctor’s ring, which, I can assure you, will be 5 times the cost of mine.  (The Doctor can be a wee bit fancy.)

Anyway, I hope this email didn’t give DomestiGal Jen a complete break-down, as I know she’s stressed enough with her own wedding plans and MBA classes!

xx,

Sue

DomestiGal Sue,

I bet you’re wondering where I’ve been the past week. Well, it hasn’t been pretty. Finals got the better of me and I have emerged puffy, bloated, and broken out. It is not my finest hour, Sue. But starting today - TODAY, I tell you! - I am in offical detox and fabulosify mode.

Which is why I do not appreciate posts like your most recent one. Granted, I have been MIA so what right do I have to scold you for posting about carbtastic wedding cakes? Whatev. You know you love me.

For the record, I think the initial attempt at your wedding cake by your sister is A to the Dorable. And really? Can we clone her and give one of her to every bride-to-be out there? Because dude, if I had a sister who was willing to both sew my wedding dress AND bake my cake, I’d be one blissful bride.

The cake does need a little work, but I do applaud the use of buttercream frosting instead of fondant. I am really not understanding the increasing popularity of fondant-frosted wedding cakes. Is this Martha Stewart’s influence, I wonder? The more wedding magazines I buy the more anti-Martha I become, which may come as a shock considering I am the Domestic Goddess. But I simply do not appreciate the pressure she puts on us brides to have every detail of the wedding look totally perfect.

Martha, it's nothing personal.

Not that I want my cake looking like the sad, sloppy brownies that I baked for my sixth grade bake sale with multi-colored dinosaur sprinkles that my arch nemesis dropped down the stairs which I always suspected was on purpose - but I also do not need my wedding cake looking so - well - inedible.

Check it:

This is a wedding cake with fondant frosting.

Is it just me or does that just not look particularly yummy?

As opposed to this:

See now, the frosting is still smooth but you can tell that it’s creamier - and thus yummier - than that tasteless fondant.

I wish I actually knew who baked that cake with the buttercream swirlies, because that is what I want on my wedding cake! What do you think, Sue?

Thank goodness I’m back, because this cake issue is a big one and there is lots to discuss. Don’t even get me started on cupcake wedding cakes…

More soon! It’s good to be back!

xoxo,

DomestiGal Jen

So my youngest sister, who runs the shop, Shoda, from Boston, has recently added baking me and The Doctor’s wedding cake to the list of items she would like to do on May 9.

Mind you, she is also the same one who is designing my hot red wedding dress.

Chinese Red Dresses (But remember, Sue is half-Taiwanese!)

Let’s take a look at same of her sample wedding cakes from the other night.

Jewish Wedding Cake: Oy ve!

Just like Magnolia's Cupcakes

Okay, just kidding.  Sort of.  While my sister did bake these bagels (and, as The Doctor said, “I don’t even know any Jews on the Upper West Side who could make bagels like that!”), I don’t think we need to serve bagels as dessert to our families.

This is what my sister has been working on.

Sue and The Doctor's Wedding Cake: First Draft

My sister, let’s call her Debbie, has already been working on perfecting swiss buttercream frosting, and, I may or may not have requested that Nutella (that’s right Jen, did you just start foaming at the mouth?) be in between the layers of cake.

Hmm… will my cake look like this?

This looks like a cake of baby bottles. Or does it?

Or, perhaps, this?

This would merge perfectly with an orange wedding dress!

Or, ahem, like this!

Simple, elegant and all for me!

Frankly, I could eat that last cake all by myself.  Too bad there are going to be another 14 people at our wedding.

Love,

DomestiGal Sue

Sesame Street is in mourning this season:

Monique Lhuillier Spring 09 via NYMag.com

Ok no but for real Monique. Why. Do. You. Do. This. To. Me. Unless it’s so that I lust after your other dresses less, in which case The Lawyer’s bank account says, “Merci beaucoup!”

She can still pull it out though:

Monique again. Via NYMag, obv.

Ok so these veils she showed this season were weird, but ignoring those - I love the asymmetrical layer here, and the interesting texture of the dress. Very luxe, very noughties. Yes, that’s noughties, as in this decade, not naughties. Thank you.

But back to the first creation - seriously? Would anybody ever actually wear that in real life? Down the aisle? It’s one thing to be fashion-forward, but this is not even flattering! It’s fugtastic! Right? Or am I just missing the bird - uh, boat - here?

xoxo,

DomestiGal Jen

Hello Sue!

Apologies for being MIA recently… that’s Miserable In Assessments. Seriously. I have had two group projects, two exams, and three papers to write! Insanity! And SO not fabulous!

What IS fabulous? Your moissanite wedding rings!! I love love LOVE them! Good for you for crossing over to the bling side, baby! I have now worn the Ring of Dreams for over a month and have yet to see a piece of jewelry that compares. Not that I’m biased. Not to mention the fact that I will totally have kicked ass on my exams because I doubtless blinded everyone else in the room. Gotta love the engagement ring as competitive advantage!

I am also slightly obsessing over the fact that you are getting married on Buddha Day. You will have the greatest Feng Shui Wedding of all time! I am rather devastated that I will not be able to be there, as we will have just returned from our Wedding Planning Whirlwind. We have thus far made five appointments in as many days. Full itinerary to come, Sue, as I know that Sue of the Non-Wedding Feng Shui Fest will want to live vicariously through Jen of the Wedding of Dreams.

In other wedding-related news (like there’s any other news that matters), we received our Save-the-Dates! Keep your eyes on your box - your MAILbox, Sue! - because we’ll be sending them soon. They are super cute. A tri-fold card with a detachable calendar with our date circled on it. Simple and different and fun and lovely. And orange! Yes! I used an orange color for the font! After all, if I can’t actually have an orange wedding dress, I might as well make as much of the rest of the wedding orange, right? Right.

More news to come. You know you want it.

xoxo,

DomestiGal Jen

DomestiGals,

As the Doctor and I were about to settle down and watch LOST (our newest obsession), we looked at our calendars and noticed the following:

Not only is our feng shui wedding date, May 9, 2009, on a most auspicious day - as days that end in 8 or 9, according to my fellow Asians and half-Asians - but it’s a) on a Full Moon and b) on Buddha Day.

I mean.  Seriously??!!!

Okay, question #1:  What is Buddha Day?

Hold on, please, as I google this.  Or, er, wikipedia this.

While I go do that, remind yourself all about feng shui and your home.

DomestiGals Heart Feng Shui and Feng Shui Weddings!

Aha.  Apparently, Buddha Day is known as Vesak and is an annual holiday observed by Buddhists in places such as Taiwan.

I’ll just let Wikipedia tell you the rest:

“The exact date of Vesak varies according to the various lunar calendars used in different traditions. In Theravada countries following the Buddhist calendar, it falls on the full moon Uposatha day (typically the 5th or 6th lunar month). In China it is the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, coinciding with the first full moon of that month. The date varies from year to year in the Western Gregorian calendar but falls in April or May.

Sometimes informally called “Buddha’s birthday,” it actually encompasses the birth, enlightenment Nirvana, and passing (Parinirvana) of Gautama Buddha.”

I find this to be tremendously fun, especially because I’ve seen the buddha in all his greatness.  I went here when I was 8.

Did DomestiGal Sue know at age 8 that she would one day be married on Buddha Day?

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you our excitement about getting married on such a fun day.  Especially because we’re less than 2 months away from our garden wedding!

xx,

DomestiGal Sue

So for those of you who were not as obsessed with New York Fashion Week as I was, I will have you know that Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham showed a collection. It was not ground-breaking, but it was far from fugly! In fact, two of her numbers would work perfectly for a courthouse wedding. Check ‘em:

Victoria Beckham Fall 09 via NYMag.com

I mean, right? Not ugly! Kind of lovely! I like this one even more:

Victoria Beckham Fall 09 via NYMag.com

Give that gal a chic birdcage veil and a few calla lilies and she is good to get hitched!

Nice work, Posh. Now please go and eat a Krispy Kreme.

xoxo,

DomestiGal Jen

Hello Sue,

Ok, so obv I am not going to actually buy it, people. But look what I found!

Fab orange gown that could totally be a wedding dress by Carmen Marc Valvo

Sigh. Orange perfection.

Now, I heart Carmen Marc Valvo for a number of reasons - not the least of which is that he makes very gorgeous dresses, one of which I will be wearing for my rehearsal dinner! Yes! Yes! I will! It’s a lovely dark green cocktail number with a deep V-neck (HOT) and a black beaded belt (double HOT). I have lusted after Carmen Marc Valvo’s designs for a number of years and was thrilled to find one I could actually afford. Unlike the Orange Wedding Dress of Dreams pictured above. Sigh.

Another reason I heard Carmen Marc? He is a colon cancer survivor. Pretty amazing, right? And he does lots of work to help spread awareness about the disease.

Speaking of which, March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month, DomestiGals! The Colon Cancer Alliance has more info about this very treatable and beatable disease - take a moment to check it out and help spread awareness!

After all, butts are just as hot as boobs - isn’t it time we started talking about them?

xoxo,

DomestiGal Jen