Luxe + Boho + Fluttery = Carol Hannah Whitfield
If you missed the memo, it’s high time you check out Project Runway darling (and finalist) Carol Hannah Whitfield’s first bridal collection launched just last week at Michael C. Fina in NYC.
From $160 bridesmaids’ dresses that give the entire industry a run for its money to $3,000.00 gowns that are probably giving the big name designers a bit of a “pause”, the South Carolina native’s whimsical collection is sophisticated and yet succinct in its debut.
A few snapshots below:
Crafted of the finest hammered satins, charmeuse, organza, and chiffon, the perfectly-draped pieces are light on adornment and heavy on style.
Chaud ou Froid
Let’s boil it down again, people. If I thought these wee wedding notions had gone to their crypts long ago, as would have been apropos, I would leave well enough alone. Yet pick up your latest issue of Unnamed National Bridal Magazine, and what assails you has found its reckoning here.
What’s hot:
Or just what’s timeless. . . macarons of the quality of esteemed and famed Ladurée or Patisserie Payard, tiered in varying heights or given à deux, oui. C’est chic.
What’s not:
The “Tuxedo Strawberry”
Ladeez, please. The “regal” is long lost. Groomsmen are in tuxedos? Lovely. Strawberries are, as well? Record scratch. Dead silence. Literal gone awry.
What’s hot: classic chignons, a-la-the ladies of the Bolshoi Ballet.
Classic chignon with upswept rest-of-hair. Slightly sleek, with body-in-the-bun. Gorgeousness incarnate. Lovely? For sure. Overwrought? Not at all.
What’s not:
If the pincurl updo you’re receiving takes an interminable amount of time, something just isn’t right. Your coiffure shouldn’t look like it took 2,022 bobby pins and an entire can of White Rain to stay in place. Add a few WTT (white trash tendrils) and you’re really in trouble.
What’s hot:
Goin’ local (not loco, please). A fish taco station in Charleston is a fabulous treat for wedding guests. Most months of the year, we can furnish a locally-caught wild fish that will surely please those traveling from afar for fresh fare.
What’s not:
Confession: I feel a bit guilty posting this picture of well-meaning Chef No Name and his pseudo-bloody carving station. But rilly, people? Let’s re-think presentation. I’m a carnivore du carnivores, but something’s got to give on the whole heat lamp, hunk-o-meat, etc.
What’s hot:
Ok, if not hot, per se, again-classic. This picture is a fantastic representation of what an incredible paper petal toss entails. I’m guessing paper because something’s shooting black- perhaps a black velvet rose petal, but most likely paper. Regardless, I feel like jumping up and down just seeing it. We totally respect the time-honored nature of a few of these traditions.
What’s not:
Your folks are (presumably) watching. And stop the presses: is she wearing white sateen booties? I’m miffed. I’m also seriously not missing the mental streeeeeeeeeeeeetch of garter toss to post-wedding shenanigans.
Diamonds and Popcorn and DVDs Oh My
So you’re engaged? Fab.
Here are your marching orders:
1. Stare with abandon at sparkly number on left hand.
2. Pick up some popcorn.
3. Rent below movies because you’re only a bride once.
4. Bribe fiancé to watch with.
Some are oldies-but-goodies, others are camp classics:
The Way We Were
I dated a mini fake Robert Redford in DC for like, a millisecond. That’s as close as I ever got to the real deal. Watch and drool.
Sabrina
You can’t beat the classic, but the Harrison Ford version is precious too, because who doesn’t love Greg Kinnear?
Casablanca
Fun fact: “Play it again, Sam” isn’t actually a quote in the movie.
An Affair to Remember
Shamefully, I’ve never seen. I too shall rent.
Father of the Bride
Best Steve Martin (“George”/FOB) quote from the movie: “I used to think a wedding was a simple affair. Boy and girl meet, they fall in love, he buys a ring, she buys a dress, they say I do. I was wrong. That’s getting married. A wedding is an entirely different proposition.”
The Princess Bride
I always see André the Giant stickers on lampposts around Charleston, v. weird. Every time I say “I mean it!” to my husband, he answers with “Anybody want a peanut?” just to irritate.
Steel Magnolias
Blush and bashful are soooo your colors, confess.
When Harry Met Sally
Can’t pick between my favorite quotes:
[Playing "Pictionary."]
Jess: “Baby talk”? That’s not a saying.
Harry Burns: Oh, but “baby fish mouth” is sweeping the nation? I hear them talking.
or
Harry Burns: There are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance.
Sally Albright: Which one am I?
Harry Burns: You’re the worst kind; you’re high maintenance but you think you’re low maintenance.
Sally Albright: I don’t see that.
Harry Burns: You don’t see that? Waiter, I’ll begin with a house salad, but I don’t want the regular dressing. I’ll have the balsamic vinegar and oil, but on the side. And then the salmon with the mustard sauce, but I want the mustard sauce on the side. “On the side” is a very big thing for you.
Sally Albright: Well, I just want it the way I want it.
Harry Burns: I know; high maintenance.
My Best Friend’s Wedding
Fun fact: Cameron Diaz really truly can’t sing- she wasn’t having to “act” at all for her role in this karaoke clip.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
If you can put up with Andie MacDowell’s infuriating accent (which oddly enough, she hails from upstate SC!?), then this is a must-see.
The Wedding Singer
Fave quote, because it never fails to spring to mind when I meet a Julia:
Robbie: I don’t even know your last name.
Glenn: It’s Guglia.
[says it Gulia]
Robbie: Guglia? Oh, so Julia’s last name’s gonna be Guglia. Julia Guglia! That’s funny!
Glenn: [unamused] Why is that funny?
Robbie: I – don’t know.
Wedding Crashers
Fun fact: the reception was shot at the Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michaels, MD, where you too can have a gorgeous affair.
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