Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Catching up with Rita: The Great Gatsby Inspired Wedding Edition

My mom took this "official" photo of us on our apartment stoop, 
because we fancy like that. 

As I sit down to write this post, I must ask myself: what have I been doing with my life during my most recent hiatus from Whoreders? Well, in addition to a whole lot of nothing, I got a promotion and a 17% raise at work (::waves tiny flag::), I got a root canal, I joined a gym and then managed to gain 5 pounds (how does that happen?), oh yes and I went to Iceland where I ate lots of Skyr (Icelandic yogurt. Get some at your local Whole Foods right now.) and came back engaged to light of my life, fire of my loins, my favorite manboy extraordinaire, Casey O. Oh and I just bought tickets to see New Order this summer. Overall, things are pretty darn good.

Despite the fact that the word fiancé still feels a little weird and that I made all the married women at work wince by wearing my engagement ring on my middle finger and on the wrong hand for a whole week before I finally had it resized, I am slowly settling into this engaged lady thing and that includes my fair share of searching on the internet for all that is vintage, lovely, and (off) white. And while I'm far from an expert on getting married fabulously and inexpensively, I sure do hope to be one day so today I will share some ideas for a Great Gatsby inspired affair on a not so Jay Gatsby budget! First off, if you haven’t seen this trailer yet, you must not have a television and/or the remains of a teenage obsession with Leonardo DiCaprio like I do and therefore are much cooler than me. Whatever the case, watch it now and you won't be sorry. I mean, how much celluloid gorgeousness can auteur after my own heart, Baz Luhrmann, cram into 3 minutes?

Très romantic, right? 



Alongside the societal woes, greed, class struggles, prohibition drama, and (spoiler alert!) murder in The Great Gatsby, there is a never ending array of decadent 1920's fashion and Art Deco design that, to this day, is as timeless and lovely as ever. For the below look, I went with a simple, 1920's inspired romantic style that would be perfect for a small, intimate wedding. However, to get your flapper glam on à la Daisy, do check out Unique Vintage for sequined frocks on a budget!

Here goes:

 Click to enlarge.

1. Ornate Art Deco ring box $49 (Keep your eyes out and you can nab these on Ebay for a fraction of this price) 2. Deco Era etched diamond solitaire engagement ring (swoon!) $369 3. 18K wedding band in daisy (get it?) pattern $285 4. 1920s silk dress in ivory with lace accents (Spanx not included) $290 5. Art Deco enameled mesh purse (who says brides can't rock some color?) $93 6. Kewpie style celluloid bride and groom cake toppers $59 7. Old Hollywood style strappy gold shoes $78 8. Flapper style floral crown in ivory $65

A few tips:



-Whether you end up having your wedding catered or doing it yourself, a full open bar can get very expensive fast (in NYC, I've seen $55 per head for two hours for drinks alone. Ouch.) I would recommend serving beer, wine, (lots of) champagne, and just one or two well-made custom themed cocktails. Pick up this book for lots of ideas (and keep it around for hosting fancy cocktail parties in the future). After one or two mint juleps, no one will even notice the lack of jack and cokes (does one ever miss those?).

 -A big ol' live ragtime band would be swell but is not necessary for a raucous good time. Just load up your iPod with a stellar, finely curated playlist and make sure the sound system is really good. Avoid the movie soundtrack at all costs (although this Lana Del Rey track is really dreamy). Picture cocktail hour to Cab Calloway and Josephine Baker and slow dancing to Ray Noble's By the Light of the Silvery Moon. Close your eyes, can you see it?

-For the groom, why pay for a pricey tux rental when getting hitched is a great opportunity to invest in a special suit that he can wear and enjoy again? And while the Brooks Brothers new The Great Gatsby collection is pretty swanky, check out some of the great suits for a fraction of the price at online retailer Indochino. I doubt Gatsby would disapprove of this gray seersucker suit and I'm feeling particularly partial to this rust colored Herringbone blazer

What is your era of choice for style? Do you have any tips when it comes to this wedding business? More importantly, will you be seeing The Great Gatsby on
May 10? 



Cheers!


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