"Things that have made my heart skip a beat this week" roundup

1. A letterpress engagement book. The groom compiled all the email notes between the couple from the past four years and had them made into a book. What could be more romantic?

PS: She said yes!

By Studio on Fire, via here.

2. This fabulous "save the date hanky." Wouldn't it be a treat to receive this in the mail?

From Pretty Handsome Paper.

3. Getting married under a tree. Does Jose Villa take a bad photograph... ever?

4. This bolero from Priscilla of Boston.

5. The popularity of the red lip. I will be wearing the hell out of this all spring and summer long. Believe it.



Image from here.

7. These awesome, awesome shots from Candice Stringham. How fabulous is she? Is the umbrella the new balloon? These top two photos have totally inspired me to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge this weekend...

8. And finally, because it's Friday, and we all want to giggle. Paper can't win.

Image from here.

The cake

My cake is one of the (very, very) few things I haven't given a tremendous amount of thought to.

It's provided by my venue, which means fewer choices for me to wade my way through. This is welcome news for the most indecisive girl in the world. Especially as I will likely be making the decision sans Mr. Diagnosis Deferred's input. He doesn't like cake. Crazy, I know.



I'll likely go for something a bit simpler than this one. Photo by Marie Labbancz

Wait your turn!

Hanging in the ladies room at Soho house. Apparently in an attempt to curb the rampant cocaine use in the ladies rooms of New York City.

In case you missed the memo...

I heart NY.

From Hello!Lucky. While you are on their site, be sure to check out their "etiquette" section. Very helpful information for the appropriate invitation wording when your family situation is a bit sticky!

Tuesday inspiration

From here.

I am completely enamored by old photographs. So, you can imagine my delight when I stumbled across The Commons on flickr thanks to Amanda of Peony::Love. I literally placed my hand over my mouth and let out a squeal.

Essentially, the project has two objectives; to increase access to publicly-held photography collections, and to provide a way for the general public to contribute information and knowledge. It is a huge public photography archive. I suggest you pour yourself a glass of wine and get to searching, there are so many brilliant photos to be discovered.

Congrats!

Jessica Lynn has won the poster giveaway. Be on the lookout from an email from me, and again, congratulations!!

Last chance!

Don't forget to enter to win a 16x20 poster of one of your photos here! Winner will be announced on Tuesday morning!

*You do not have to be a blogger to enter, but be sure to include your email address!

A tiger behind the wheel

The best thing about this photo is that I owned the exact same bathing suit as a child and you likely did as well. Right? I wore it until the bottom was more reminiscent of tissue paper than spandex. Luckily the ruffle kept it G-rated.

From here.

As far as I'm concerned...

when it comes to a veil, there is simply no such thing as overdoing it. And FYI, I'm usually right about these things.



Image from Positive Light Photography.

She bangs.

After the wedding, when I'm no longer on a self-imposed, crazy hair growing regiment, I will cut my bangs. A la Lily Allen and Taza.

Our first dance!

Since the first time I heard it, I knew this was the song. It was a battle talking Mr. Diagnosis Deferred out of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," but in the end, I prevailed. It's particularly perfect because our band has two female back-up singers. I.can't.wait!

It's not quite spring, and I've lost him...

There is an endless list of things that winter is not good for; my mood, my coloring, my wardrobe, my weight. But I'm happy to overlook the entire list, because winter is good for evenings and weekends full of Mr. Diagnosis Deferred. We sleep in and take road trips and traipse through the city. We meet friends for brunch, catch up on netflix and stay out until very late if we want to. It's perfect.

Then comes March 15th... and golf season. And rain or shine, he's gone. Vanished. Poof! Friday afternoons, Saturdays and Sundays are all about smacking the $hit out of a silly little ball. It's enough to give a girl a complex.

I am a golf widow before I've even become a golf bride.

Image from here.

Admit it, you love free stuff!

Without further ado, I'm thrilled to announce Online Poster Printing's Giveaway Contest!

Online Poster Printing has offered to give away 1 poster print (16x20) to a lucky Diagnosis Deferred reader! What's not to love about a huge, poster version of one of your favorite wedding or engagement shots?

In order to enter, head over to the Online Poster Printing website and check out what they offer, then leave a comment below explaining what you would do with your poster. If there is no contact information on your blog, or if you do not have a blog, please provide an email address so I have a way of contacting you should you win. The contest will run until Monday, March 23 at midnight EST.

Good luck!

Wedding Salon, March 23

Are you in New York?
Are you getting married?
Do you love a goodie bag stuffed so full that it takes you and three bridesmaids to carry it out?
Well, my darlings, you are in luck!

I know a lot of bloggers have been posting these lately, but in case you don't yet have tickets, use the code on the coupon below for 2 free entries to The Wedding Salon on March 23rd, at the Roosevelt Hotel. See you there!

*In case that's tough to read, use code MRFNY09C on http://www.weddingsalon.com/

PS: Tune in on Monday, I've got another fabulous giveaway!

Because it's Friday, and who doesn't want to laugh on Friday?

From my real-life friend, Maori's blog.

Yesterday...
I saw an aspiring evangelist in the 7 train tunnel. Only, he sucked. He lacked passion. He lacked a doomsday approach. He lacked brimstone, Jesus, the bible, personal hygiene, and no one was listening to him. I needed to rectify the situation. I was late for swimming, but this, clearly was more important. Gripping my throat and spluttering, I staggered around wildly, trying to make my eyes bulge, and my knees buckle. I threw myself at the evangelist’s feet, and beseeched him to save me. I exchanged a private glance with the man and his eyes widened in comprehension. He tapped my head, my shoulders, and uttered, passionately, “Rise my daughter, God accepts you into his bosom.” I jumped to my feet, shouted, “Hallelujah!” and ran off.

The girl is good.

This is the stationery wardrobe that Amy of Bespoke Stationery created for her own New York wedding. I can't imagine a more perfect invitation, and that's not just because I'm a New Yorker. All of her work is truly fabulous!

Sigh... If only my paper budget were slightly larger. Check out her wedding on Southern Weddings.

Dear Bernie,

You are an awful and terrible person. You are the monster that you've been called. What you have done has personally and profoundly affected people that I know and they didn't deserve it.

It gave me great joy today to see that your trademark smirk is gone. I hope you spend the rest of your life in prison.

Yours truly,

Me

I am such a trend setter.

Turns out, word of my love for a photo shoot featuring a bunch of balloons has spread... like wildfire. Everyone wants in on the fun!

How does one respond to such attention and admiration? I'll simply say "I'm flattered and you're welcome."

I can't get you out of my head.

More shots of that Christian Siriano gown I mentioned a while back. I can't stop thinking about it. Please don't tell my dress.

Photos by the amazing Jose Villa.

Mr. Diagnosis Deferred

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? Lost, some documentary about some obscure war in some obscure part of the world, or a financial news program.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ha! Hahahaha. Salad? Yeah right. This question is not applicable.

3. What's one food he doesn't like? If it grew out of the ground, the odds are good that he's not a fan.

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order? To eat, something that had a mother and to drink, some fancy, overpriced beer.

5. Where did he go to high school? Private school in Connecticut.

6. What size shoe does he wear? Am I supposed to know this? I don't. Large, maybe?

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Exotic and obscenely priced cars. Until he's able to do that he collects argyle sweaters. No, seriously.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Something with multiple varieties of meats and Russian dressing.

9. What would he eat every day if he could? Veal.

10. What is his favorite cereal? Granola and Honey Nut Cheerios.

11. What would he never wear? Skinny jeans. Thank God. And athletic jerseys. Thank God, again.

12. What is his favorite sports team? Giants? That's New York's football team, right?

13. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Pick my cuticles, overpluck my eyebrows and whine.

14. What is his heritage? His father is a German Jew, his mother is.... Irish-ish.

15. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? He doesn't eat dessert. And, as someone who could (very happily) eat twizzlers, pudding and oreo cookies for every meal of the day, I still can't quite wrap my head around that one.

16. Did he play sports in high school? Lacrosse, and soccer. Both very well. He's one of those people who has never tried a sport that he hasn't ended up playing fabulously. Just like me... Hahaha!

17. What could he spend hours doing? Gazing into my eyes and trying to synchronize our heartbeats. Just kidding, working.

18. What is one unique talent he has? Making me laugh so hard that tears stream down my face and I have to use my inhaler. He does this most days.

*19. If money were no object and he could have any occupation in the world, what would it be? Ski bum or professional golfer. Those are occupations, right?

I heart him. Big, huge time.

Via Mason Jar Bride.

* I added this one, just for fun.

A spring full of cardigans.

There are many things that I am looking forward to when it comes to ushering in the next season. Sunshine, my engagement photo shoot (yeah, I just called it a shoot... three costume changes and props that include one dozen white balloons constitute a shoot, don't they?), and a half dozen bachlorette parties. But most of all, I'm looking forward to wearing the hell of a cardigan.

(Clearly, it takes more than just a cardigan to look like Megan Fox, but a gal can dream, can't she?)

Image from here.

I really wish I had the time to create an inspiration board, but....

I've got to ______________________. (ex: walk the dog, learn Mandarin, practice the viola, wash my hair...)

Don't panic, bride to be, Chrissy of The Perfect Palette will do it for you. Even if you've already created an inspiration board (or 17), it never hurts to have a fresh look at what someone would do with your colors/theme.

Here is what she came up with for me. Lovely, isn't it?

"Rumors of our progress have been greatly exaggerated."

Last night was such a sad display. In 2 short hours, this dude managed to set the women's movement back about 50 years. I could barely watch, but watch I did...Why am I so invested in reality television?

Going off the registry. Part I

When attending a wedding, I tend to stick with items from the registry or cash. But, lately I've been inspired to go a bit creative. There are so many handmade, custom, special options for wedding gifts, why not surprise the bride and groom with something they never knew they needed... until they received it as a wedding gift from you!

The couple that cooks together...

custom printed plates from palomasnest on etsy.

adorable cake stand, all the rage these days...

Who couldn't use nesting bowls? Both items from whitneysmith's etsy shop. She really can do no wrong, if you ask me.

My mother still has a lovely butcher's block that she received for her wedding over thirty years ago. The marriage didn't last, but the gift is still going strong. From substrata on etsy.

From isabelleabramson's etsy shop

Seaglass plate sets from VivaTerra. My FMIL has these and they are even more beautiful in person.

From baumanstoneware on etsy.

Stay tuned for off the registry gift guides for everyone else you know!