"Bridal" is a (Mostly) Dirty Word
Thursday, February 22, 2007 at 9:56PM 
"Bridal" - it's a dirty dirty word... Not weddings - weddings are beautiful, romantic, monumental, memorable, crazy, and fun. I love weddings, but I hate bridal.
Bridal is everything that leads up to the wedding. The boring, complicated, minutiae of details that brides-to-be feel compelled to discuss ad nauseum during the weeks and months preceeding the big day. If you're even remotely involved in a friend's/relative's wedding, or have merely been in the vicinity of a bride-to-be via work, spin class, bus route, or line of the supermarket, you know exactly what I'm talking about. There never seems to be a dearth of detail worth discussing. It's truly amazing.
Before this goes any further, I should absolutely state for the record that the two brides whose weddings I have participated in (my sister, & my college roommate Emilie) were utterly delightful. Both of them were the most non-bridal brides I've ever encountered, and I will always cherish the fun times I shared in as their bridesmaid.
But, handsome Chilean groomsmen aside, being a bridesmaid is hard work and is a responsibility of no little expense. If you are in someone's wedding, you have to deal with dresses, shoes, hairstyles, makeup, and bachelorette festivities. Oh, and other bridesmaids - there's nothing like having to clear the planning of "where to do kamikaze shots" through a committee of other girls with strong opinions. By the time you add everything up you find that...it really adds up! After the last wedding I was in, I thought "that's it for a while..." but then, someone else I love and adore got engaged.
My darling friend Genevieve of Closet Space fame, is going to finally tie the knot with her boyfriend Derek later this fall. It all came together over the Christmas holidays, when all of a sudden my cell phone received a photograph of Genevieve's hand graced by a fairly substantial diamond. I believe I said "holy shit!" at the time...and then forwarded the message on to other friends. (Isn't that what we do in this day & age?)
So, last week Genevieve forwards me a link to a "bridal" event, letting me know that she put yours truly down as her"plus one" to attend. "Um, okay?" She's one of my best friends, and someone whose unique style and shopping technique are among my favorites - this kind of event would be excellent insider research! The day of dawned, and I realized what I had committed myself to: women of a certain age, all in the same room, talking over gowns, accessories, hors d'oeuvres, "the song", flowers, and beginning every sentence with "our colors are..." Oh God, what have I done? one of my coworkers asked me "So is it at some bridal studio?" "Oh no - atelier...everything bridal is done in an atelier..."
In truth, the event was entitled the "Design Your Day Soiree" and was held at the Amy Kushel Bride Design Studio, on Grant Avenue.
I decided that it wouldn't be so bad if I walked over to the event from work - a walk always improves my mood, and it was wonderfully cold and grey out - warmed by the colorful windows of North Beach, Chinatown, and Union Square. Such a pleasant way to spend twenty minutes, and I took it on account against the pure torture I was to endure in the next hour. One block away from my destination, I was window-shopping Hermès when the sky exploded in a torrent of hail. How very romantic.
Genevieve was running late, so I forced myself to enter the party alone. The hairs on the back of my neck began to rise, but I took a few deep breaths to dispel my fight or flight response. The elevator was slow and we could all hear the party going on as we rose higher and higher...and then the doors opened. It was lovely.
The open loft-space was candle-lit, elegant, but not fussy, full of jazz, and breathed a very relaxed atmosphere. The hostesses wore beautiful party dresses (some new, some vintage) and looked like your best girlfriends at your best cocktail party. I was greeted, given a pre-printed nametag, and my damp raincoat was checked in a whisk of efficiency. Then, I was directed to the bar. "Thank heavens, there's cocktails!" Good cocktails too. The very stylish Drink Event Bartending hosted champagne, or an apple-lemon-sage martini. I went with the martini: amazing. Light, refreshing, complex, and garnished with a tiny sage leaf on the glass. I picked up one of their business cards. (Clever business card too! You get all of the pertinent company information, but on the reverse there's the recipe for Drink's signature Sidecar - how fun is that?)
Drink in hand, I was still waiting for Genevieve, and started to notice the trays of tasty things going around. "Would you like a bit of ahi tuna with avocado mousse?" "Can I offer you one of our mini BLTs?" "Would you care for a fresh shrimp springroll?" Yes, yes, and yes...Delicious! The food was elegant, unpretentious, and plentiful - who are these clever caterers...? Fork & Spoon Productions were those that contributed the vittles. And my, were they tasty. Don't think I wasn't eyeing the little cupcakes either. Apparently, Fork & Spoon will manage your entire event, food, decor, and flowers - and they had some amazing examples. The place-setting they showed looked like a vintage French mirrored table sprouted up in a candlelit magical garden. It was so beautiful I almost cried.
There were other vendors too for beauty, photography, gowns, and what-not, but my other favorite was Hello! Lucky Wedding - a letterpress invitation company with offices in San Francisco and London. Their designs were a little bit traditional, a little bit hip, and overall completely beautiful. Something every guest would identify as a real treat when it arrived in their mailbox.
Overall, I realized that between the food, drinks, friendly & efficient staff, that I was being shown and example just how perfectly a wedding reception could go...Yes, you too can have this delightful affair if you use us. Now that's good marketing.
Genevieve finally arrives and I force her to finish my delicious cocktail before we get more. "Oh my God, you have to try this!" She agreed that it was interesting and addictive - something rare when it comes to "new" cocktails. "Okay, so what are we doing here?" I asked, "What are we looking at first..."
"Um...let's look at bridesmaid dresses...but first we need to talk..." Like I didn't know what was coming. "So, you know you're one of my oldest friends..." this time I did cry, and so did she. Sometimes it's okay to use a dirty word.
Image from Getty Images
Reader Comments (4)
I'll be keeping the links you mentioned in mind if I ever need them myself someday. :)
Have a super weekend!