By: Jerry Beck,
on 3/1/2013
DreamWorks cosplay is hardly as widespread as Pixar cosplay, but when people dress up as DreamWorks characters, it’s a thing of beauty. This Shrek-themed wedding happened on the British island of Jersey. There’s an article and video about it on the BBC website and more photos on Yahoo’s Shine.
(Thanks, Nathan Wilkes for the post title suggestion)
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By: Sara Burrier,
on 2/22/2013
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| "Spring Maiden" |
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By: Jennifer DeDonato,
on 2/7/2013
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By: Christina Wald,
on 8/18/2012
We just got back from whirlwind tour of the Northeast including Upstate New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts.
I have been attempting to keep up my sketchbook.
Here are some of the images:
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| My Aunt Joan and Uncle Dick's Victorian mansion in Stamford, NY. |
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| Welcome to Vermont... |
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| Looked good but we stuck with a lobster roll. |
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| The first bite is taken with the eye... |
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| Cool building in the library quad... |
The next day was a farewell brunch. |
| Pano of Quechee Gorge outside of Woodstock |
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| Bernie Sanders and this view! (This photo is in evening light...) What more could you ask for? Stay tuned! |
By: genevieve,
on 7/2/2012
By: Julie,
on 7/2/2012
|
Title: Tempting the Best Man Author: J Lynn Publisher: Entangled Publisher |
May Contain Spoilers
From Amazon:
| Madison Daniels has worshipped her brother’s best friend since they were kids. Everyone thinks she and Chase Gamble would make the perfect couple, but there are two major flaws in their logic. 1) Chase has sworn off relationships of any kind, and 2) after blurring the line between friends and lovers for one night four years ago, they can’t stop bickering. Forced together for her brother’s wedding getaway, Chase and Madison decide to call a truce for the happy couple. Except all bets are off when they’re forced to shack up in a tacky 70’s honeymoon suite and survive a multitude of "accidents" as the family tries to prove their "spark" can be used than for more than fighting. That is, if they don’t strangle each other first… |
Review:
I didn’t realize that J Lynn is a pseudonym for Jennifer L Armentrout. I would probably have read Tempting the Best Man sooner had I known. I enjoyed Obsidian, though I thought it lost some stream near the end, but I didn’t find that to be the case here. Tempting the Best Man clicks along at a rapid pace, taking place over the span of about a week. When a reservation snafu lands protagonists Chase and Madison together in the honeymoon cabin, Madison thinks she’s died and gone to hell. She has been running away from her childhood crush on Chase, but no matter what she does, she just can’t get over her feelings for him. Chase, on the other hand, treats her like a little sister, which drives Madison insane.
While I found the setup improbable (Madison’s parents don’t blink an eye when the hotel’s management solves the room shortage issue by putting Madison and Chase in the same room), I enjoyed the banter and conflict that kindled between the protagonists. While Madison has always worn her heart on her sleeve, Chase has had to work hard at hiding his feelings for his best friend’s younger sister. Chase is afraid of making any waves with Madison’s family; his parents’ relationship was so dysfunctional and his home life was so awful that he found a much needed refuge at the Daniels’ house. He is afraid of jeopardizing that, and so he rejects Madison at all turns, even when he knows that his actions will devastate her. And they do. Big time.
Tempting the Best Man is a quick, breezy read that’s perfect for an afternoon by the pool. This is a very fast-paced story with one of my favorite romance tropes, and I zipped right through it. I enjoyed the conflict between the leads, and wondered why they were the only two who didn’t recognize the chemistry that zinged between them.
Grade: B/B-
Review copy provided by publisher
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By: Petrina Case,
on 6/24/2012
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By: Aaron Polson,
on 6/16/2012
Today, Aimee and I would have been married for eleven years.
Eleven years ago today, in my room at the Holiday Inn, I dressed in a tuxedo. I drove with a carload of groomsmen to the bed and breakfast to pick up a key, and then on to the church. I stood in the sacristy and munched on Scooby Snacks. A lump clogged my throat as I watched Aimee walk the long center aisle of St. Pius the V Catholic Church. Words swam in my mouth as I recited our vows.
It was, simply, one of my best days on Earth.
Here are three of my favorite pictures from that day eleven years ago, each scanned and coated with a tiny bit of dust. Nothing passes time without a little wear.
By: Hazel Mitchell,
on 5/5/2012
Palapa Bar and Grill, San Pedro.
We’re leaving in a few weeks (can’t wait!!), so this week, I did some homework. We’re staying in an ocean-side cabana on Ambergris Caye, which is a little island off the mainland. San Pedro is the big city on Ambergris Caye, and Belize City is only a quick boat ride away. So beyond lying on sunny beaches and drinking the aforementioned margaritas, what do people do in Belize? Well, let me tell you.
Mayan Ruins
The peak of Mayan civilization was from about 600 to 900 AD, and Belize was an important part of their culture. The country’s fertile climate and access to marine life led to the growth of a large population of Mayans, and when they disappeared (aliens?), they left breathtaking ruins. There are several to visit, but Caracol is the biggest and Xunantunich is most heavily visited. Maybe we’ll see both!
Shark Ray Alley.
Eat/Drink (My Favorite)
When researching restaurants and bars in Belize, I didn’t look for the ones with the best food. I looked for the ones with the best views of the ocean. One of them is literally in the ocean; now, that’s what I’m talking about! The two places we HAVE TO GO and possibly spend LOTS OF TIME: The Rojo Lounge in San Pedro and Palapa Bar and Grill—the one literally on stilts above the sea. I discovered both of these locales online yesterday, and I giggled with glee. If Palapa is as cool as it looks, we might just never leave …
Ocean Essence Day Spa.
I'm delighted to be able to share the finished designs of my cousin's thank-you cards. The groom is a pilot, who before the wedding had a rather fabulous beard (I was shocked to see he had shaved it for the wedding). This is the second stamp design I've done for a wedding (something very economical for the bride and groom, as they can choose the paper stock and ink colour themselves and have the option to use the stamp for other purposes later on, such as a scrapbook). The first was an invitation for my brother & sister-in-law last year. I love the look that the stamps provide and how different the applications can be.
Some of the other sketch designs:
I flew back to Phoenix Monday evening after eleven days in Ohio filled with wedding shenanigans, happy tears, and beer. I missed my Jake terribly (Ripley, too), and I’m indubitably happy to be home. Now looking back on my trip, I feel it was all very, very necessary. Yes, even the penis veil.
Susie's spectacular backyard.
I ran home and changed and then, at 6:30, was escorted to my bachelorette party. I need to say it again: my bachelorette party. It was so surreal! I’ve been to several bachelorette parties in my day, but it was always for someone else. It was never me getting married. Now, it’s ME! I’m getting married! I won’t get into all of it. I will say we drank quite a bit of tequila. My girlfriends—from elementary school through to post-college—got along as though they’d known each other for twenty years, and I wore several penis-adorned decorative items.
Randy, my stripper.
Skip ahead to Thursday. If you do, yes, you’re skipping over great days and nights spent one-on-one with some of my favorite people. This trip was really about one-on-one time. The moments spent catching up with friends and family members are some of the most memorable moments of the past two weeks, which is why Thursday was so important. Not only did I get to spend countless hours with my little brother, but I spent those hours in Athens, Ohio, home of me and Matt’s alma mater, Ohio University, recently named the #1 party school in the country.
That Thursday night I was up until 5 AM. The night was spent eating at my favorite Athens restaurant, Casa Nueva, and drinking freshly handmade margaritas. It was spent at my favorite bars, cackling with my brother and some of his best friends (who were wonderful). After hours, Matt sang me the song he wrote for me and Jake’s wedding ceremony, and I sobbed. He said I once told him that great relationships are “easy.” There’s no drama, no muss, no fuss, only peace, love, and laughter. The song he wrote for us is about that, and I hope he’ll soon find a woman who makes his life feel easy,
A little doodle of a sweet pair of doves, one pale blue and the other light pink, cuddled in an embrace shaped like a heart. It started out as a pencil sketch in my moleskine that I scanned and then digitally painted in Corel Painter, then played around with in Photoshop to create a pair of separate blue and pink hearts as well:
I've used them to design cards and matching gifts for ...
Weddings: Two Doves One Heart Wedding at Floating Lemons Events;
Baby Showers for twins: Twin Doves Heart at Floating Lemons Events;
and Valentine's Day: (coming soon!)
Cheers!
By: genevieve,
on 7/25/2011
Once you get engaged, everyone wants to know the wedding date. Once you have a wedding date, people want to know “Are you going on a honeymoon?” Jake and I were not prepared for this question, which got us thinking … Huh, are we going on a honeymoon?
The question had a lot to do with Jake’s work schedule and lack of vacation days. Plus, we already live in a version of paradise. We don’t have inclement weather to escape (except for freak dust storms, which was a helluva show Tuesday night, I might add). When you live in paradise, where do you go to “get away?”
Jake and I are both well-traveled kids. He was in the Navy for nine years, so he’s been all over the world, including places like the wild city of Dubai. I traveled all over the country as a child. Then, when I was sixteen, I went to France. When I was twenty-one, I hit up Italy. When you’ve already been all over the world, where do you go to “get away?”
That'll be me in 2012.
Then, it happened … somehow, Jake got inspired, and he said, “What about Central America? What about … Belize?”
Do you know where Belize is located? I didn’t. I do now, because I’m obsessed with their tourism website. Ob-sessed. I look at it every day. Belize is located on the eastern coast of Central American, facing the Caribbean Sea, just about equidistant from the top of North America and the bottom of South America—smack dab in the middle but right on that bright blue ocean water. The kind of ocean water you see on postcards. That is Belize.
Waterfall in Belize rainforest.
Jake and I will be going on our honeymoon in early 2012. We will be celebrating our marriage on the beaches of Beli
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By: Lorie Ann Grover,
on 6/24/2011
Running around Facebook, I discovered one of our first readergirlz ever has just married! ALEX! Best wishes from your fans and friends here as we remember the days when you were still in high school, and we regularly chatted. Thanks for your work on the rgz Street Team!
Happy marriage to you! May your home be filled with books, books, books! xox
By: Sandra de Helen,
on 6/18/2011
Congratulations to the bride and groom, may you be happy together forever. Here is the small stone I wrote for the couple:
Purple hearts of the redbud tree weep raindrops of happiness onto white roses who hold their petals as if for the bride's bouquet.
As I look out my window today in Portland, Oregon the weather has changed once again back to rain for a couple of days. My Eastern Redbud sits in front of my door, its beautiful purple heart-shaped leaves bright against a background of many shades of green. Under it is a rose bush with stark white roses. Today, the purple leaves are drip drip dripping with rain, and drops are glistening all along the branches as well. Yesterday the sun was shining through the leaves, making them deep red -- another gorgeous sight, today it is rain and I choose to see the drops as tears of happiness for the bride. They do seem happy and have gathered so many people to celebrate with them, asked people to write these small stones for their wedding. To share in their joy. Brilliant! Ask for what we want, share our joy. These are concepts to be taken up and employed in all our lives, people. Better than wedding cake!
By: Michelle,
on 4/22/2011
The Royal Wedding is days away and every detail – from the regal breakfast to the honeymoon – is under scrutiny. But we think there’s only one thing that really matters: the dress. So, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to select a few options for Miss Kate. In the off-chance she turns us down, we’ve paired up other celebrity brides-to-be with these charming gowns. Pictures and historical facts courtesy of The Berg Fashion Library.
Artist/Maker: Emenson, ca. 1970
We hope that “Kate the Great” soars in her new role as princess, and she literally can, with
these wing-like sleeves and a 188 cm long cape, eh train, 188 cm long train.
Back-up celebrity: If Kate vetos, we recommend this one for Natalie
Portman (she was after all, a much better white swan).
Artist/Maker: Created for the Corvin Department Store in 1943 (Hungary)
We think the white georgette embroidered apron is a nice way for Kate to let the
people of England know she will never forget her “humble” roots.
Back-up celebrity: Jessica Simpson (we hear she’s on the lookout for a
low-cut dress, which for the 40s this was).
Artist/Maker: Victor Edelstein, 1987 (Great Britain)
Newsweek recently stated: “In a world gone to hell – thank God, a wedding.”
We couldn’t agree more. This a gift to the world, so lets put a bow on it (see: enormous bow above).
Back-up celebrity: Amy Adams (lest we forget her princess flair).
0 Comments on 5 dresses for Kate as of 1/1/1900
By: ArtbyAndy,
on 2/12/2011
I call this one "Cold Feet" because his feet are in the water. Get it? LOL I did this one as a wedding gift for a friend. She used it as her wedding invitations. 
My Blog: ArtByAndy.blogspot.com
Image via Wikipedia
What’s your best/worst/funniest Valentine’s Day story?
I never thought I’d start a fight with Billy Idol, but never say never, right?
As you know, Jake and I got engaged on Valentine’s Day. We want to enjoy our engagement time, so we haven’t set a wedding date. There are too many things up in the air right now for us to seriously book a venue, DJ, caterer, etc. However, my parents were in Phoenix for our engagement celebration. They live in Ohio, so since they were here, I agreed to go wedding dress shopping with my mom and Jake’s bro, Zach.
Something you need to understand about me … Although I have fantasized (vaguely) about my wedding day (exponentially more since I met Jake), I have never seriously considered my wedding dress. There are women out there—one of them being my gal pal Janine—who have known the precise dress they will wear down the aisle. As soon as these women get engaged, they buy their dream dress, because the dress has been waiting for them for years; why wait any longer?
After my David’s Bridal experience, I am jealous of these women, because my David’s Bridal experience taught me three things:
1) I look heinously chubby in traditional wedding dresses.
2) Zach looks better than me in most veils.
3) I look sickly wearing white.
Although item 2 is disheartening, items 1 and 3 are of much greater importance, considering I will soon be a bride, requiring a wedding dress, and I look terrible in most wedding dresses. My mother would argue this point; she thought I looked beautiful in a couple of the gowns. However, the problem is, I didn’t feel beautiful. And isn’t the bride supposed to feel beautiful on her big day?
I decided to do some research into the whole white wedding dress thing, and here’s what I found … Wedding dresses were not popularly white until 1840, when the British Queen Victoria wore a white dress for her marriage to her cousin, Albert of Saxe-Coburg. (Do we really want to perpetuate a tradition founded in incest? Uh …) This famous people wearing white thing became the symbol of Hollywood when actress Grace Kelly married the Prince of Monaco in 1956 in a fancy, white gown. So the white wedding dress is fairly new.
I know what you’re going to say. There’s the image of purity that is associated with wearing white. Granted. But how many women in America can wear white as a sign of purity anymore?
Jake and I have discussed all of this, and he admits he prefers me in blue. Chinese women get to wear red. Gothic chicks get away with black. So what about me? How am I going to make this work? Although the trip to David’s Bridal was helpful, it certainly didn’t bring me any closer to finding the dress of my wedding dreams.
I’m starting to get ideas, but it’s going to be awhile before I find the PERFECT dress. I’m happy to know I don’t have to wear white. I’m sad to tell Billy Idol that his wedding song is no longer my favorite. I probably won’t be a traditional bride, but I’m gonna find a way to look good for my man—my soon-to-be husband—because Jake is too hot to have a chubby, sic
By: nicole,
on 4/7/2011
duet - a pair who associate with one another; "the engaged couple"; "an inseparable twosome". according to thefreedictionary.com
here is a sweet piece i did last year just because i'm crazy about "happily ever afters":)
It’s my own fault that I’ve been watching evil TV shows like Bridezillas and Say Yes to the Dress. I think they really screwed with my head—Bridezillas, in particular—but I needed help. I didn’t know how to plan a wedding, so I thought watching TV shows about wedding planning would be useful; but have they been useful or detrimental?
Bridezillas is a reality TV show that follows a bride through the wedding planning process. Sounds simple and interesting, but it’s scarier than you might think. The women they feature on this program are self-absorbed, awful people who treat their families and friends like crap. If I had a chance to punch one of these brides in the face (preferably right before her ceremony), I would. I wish I could feel bad for their fiancés, but I can’t. After all, the poor bastards knew what they were getting into when they proposed.
Say Yes to the Dress is about wedding dress shopping at Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City. This isn’t your basic wedding dress shopping. The dress I saw on this program the other night was twenty-seven grand, to give you an idea. This show—about one of the happiest moments in a woman’s life—also features annoying, spoiled brats and the stupid parents who cater to their every whim. I wish I could feel bad for the sales associates, but they knew what they were getting into when they turned in an application.
Almost "The Dress," from Saja. But not quite ...
We started with dress shopping, first in Scottsdale and then, in Cave Creek. I was ready to battle and pout (after all, that’s what Say Yes to the Dress condones). It started at Bella Bridesmaid, where I found glamorous, dream-worthy dresses by Saja and the pleasant personality of co-owner, Kristen. I was shocked! Wait, you mean wedding dress shopping can be a peaceful, fun experience? But that’s not what the TV shows taught me!
We moved on in the afternoon to Almond Tree in Cave Creek, where co-owner Pam treated me like the only bride on earth. And I was the only bride in the shop. (They like to give their customers full attention.) I found “The Dress” at Almond Tree, but I still had additional appointments Friday, so I held off on purchase until Saturday afternoon.
Black bacarra roses. I'm obsessed.
This is great and always Sara, wish can meet you someday :)
Hopefully some day I will be able to meet you! It would be great to meet those who follow my work. :) Thanks!