The End.

xoxo

About The Dress

Living in the “city of roses” was all the inspiration I needed to create my wedding dress.  For those of you that would also like to resemble a French garden on your wedding day, all you’ll need is a dress to alter, flowers, tulle, sewing thread, patience, courage, a vivid imagination, a good soundtrack, and a lot of romance.

The perfect pair of purple pumps doesn't hurt.

xoxo

Automne and her dress.

The Honeymoon.

We don’t drive and had to take our dog on the honeymoon. I know. So romantic. Because of this, our options were pretty limited on where to go. I really wanted to spend the week in France or NYC but the only thing harder than finding the money to do that would be finding a friend to watch the neediest dog in the universe. Instead, we decided to take a two-hour cab ride to Cannon Beach with Junior. Graham and I aren’t exactly sure why we thought that four days on the beach would be a good idea. That may sound like heaven to some people but we’re city kids at heart and got a little bored after the second day. The food was pretty dismal, too. Junior had a fantastic time, though.

Yeah, yeah. You’re welcome, Junior!

Exactly.

xoxo

From The Eyes Of Anthony

Shot by Anthony Georgis.

Not sure if you guys remember our photographer friend Anthonny Geogis that I raved about here. He was the one that took those lovely shots of me for SOMA Magazine’s music issue a few months ago.

Anyway, I thought the wedding pictures had come to an end until he sent me some of the ones that he took. As to be expected, the pictures are fantastic. I’m really enjoying all the different perspectives we’ve seen from each photographer.

Close-up.

Okay, get your minds out of the gutter, dear readers. Celeste gave us this squash as part of our wedding present.

Thanks for the pictures, Anthony!

They’re beautiful.

xoxo

Automne

The Other Bride

A few hours before the wedding, Desiree and I were trying to lug all of our stuff into the hotel. We had various shopping bags stuffed with tulle and fancy hats, a few bottles of champagne, a damaged box of french macaroons, and a whole lot of nervous energy to get to our suite.  While I was trying to lug my dress that was haphazardly wrapped up in an ugly sheet, I came across another bride staying there.

I didn't take her picture but she looked identical to this.

I probably wouldn’t have noticed this bride except for the fact that she was blocking all of the elevators with at least five different professional photographers and we really needed to get to our suite.  While I was waiting, I thought about how funny it was that we were both staying at the same hotel and getting married on the same day but were worlds apart.

Still,  we couldn’t be that much different from one another. We both fell in love, said yes, planned a wedding, and were getting all dressed up with friends and loved ones. Obviously we were both human and probably experiencing the same emotions any girl goes through on her wedding day.  Clearly that counts for something. Perhaps it’s the feminist in me, but I looked past the fake tan and felt a kinship toward this other bride – a sort of sisterly bond. I was genuinely excited for her.

After the wedding, I ran into the other bride again by the elevators. My makeup was smeared, hair was a mess,  dress had lost a few flowers, veil was barely hanging on my head, and I had a dozen different shades of lipstick on my cheeks from all the goodbye kisses. The other bride looked untouched. There was not one hair out-of-place or even a wrinkle in her expensive gown. Full of love (and a little wine) from such a perfect evening, I eagerly waved at her and said, “Heeeeeey other bride! I hope you had a fantastic time! You look great. Happy wedding day!” She in return, rolled her eyes, hit the elevator button and went to her suite with four gentlemen wearing the exact same tuxedo in the same shade of blah.

Man, not knocking her world but I’m soooooo glad to be in mine.

xoxo

Automne

All Grown Up

Footloose and fancy free.

You guys, today is my last day as a carefree 34-year-old. Tomorrow I turn into the picture of Dorian Gray.

Dorian Gray photo taken by Alex Eylar.

Seriously, though. A husband, a new job, AND a birthday all in the same month? I’m practically a grown up.  It’s only a matter of time before I get proper furniture and decent posture.  I’m pretty sure those two things go hand in hand, though. Speaking of grown-ups, here are two lovely shots that Desiree took of us with our families/extended families looking all grown up and married.

Thanks for the shots, Desiree. Graham and I CLEARLY need to work on those “wise-ass” smirks we seem to have in almost all of the family pictures. Good grief. I swear we have nice smiles. Maybe we’ll stop smirking in our late 30’s. I’ll let you know how it goes.

xoxo

Automne

From The Eyes Of A Groomsman

A rare shot of Mark, Graham, Steve, Tammy, Brian, and Jason.

Okay, my mum is probably wondering where all of the shots of the groomsmen are. We were wondering the same thing.  It may come as no shock that my friends are total hams and star in most of the wedding shots. They sing, they dance, they get color all over the place, and are practically honorary members of the Fame school.  Graham’s friends are a bit more subdued. They’re mostly involved in non-profit organizations, are really funny, and like to smoke cigarettes all the time. This may explain the lack of documentation of these delightful gentlemen. Since you can no longer smoke in venues, cigarettes are the great divider in almost all social gatherings.  You’re either inside with the dance party or outside with the smoke.  It appeared that all cameras were inside with the dance party until now. Jason (the  good friend, groomsmen, burrito enthusiast, and photojournalist we’ve written about before) just sent us some pretty remarkable shots that he took from the exclusive “outside party.”  Can I just say how impressed I am over the dreaminess? Seriously, Jason. Well played. We love the pictures and can’t get enough of your photographic perspective. It’s like a totally different (more relaxing) wedding. I don’t even smoke and they make me want to have a cigarette. It’s also nice to see Brian and Laura in some of the shots. I swear I only got to talk to them for two seconds. Weddings are weird like that.

In no particular order.

Jason (the photographer) getting ready at the rock 'n' roll hotel while Davy and his lady relax.

Arriving.

Documenting the documenting.

Graham and his little sister. She's kind of a knockout.

LOVE this.

FAME auditions. Told you so.

Double trouble.

The dapper groom in all his saturated glory.

Steve.

My favorite.

We can totally see you, Jason.

Another favorite.

Brian.

The best man and the bridesmaid's husband make a lovely couple.

Dave.

Davy, Tammy, Mark, Laura, Brian, and Steve.

Mark Eric.

Diana.

swoon.

xoxo

Automne

Us Vs. Them

Photo courtesy of Brooke Farrington.

The internet is a pretty strange place and Our Punk Rock Wedding has been getting an absurd amount of attention lately. I recently discovered that we were mentioned in the Australian Vogue message board (of all places.) Somebody recommended our site (ahhhh, thank you!) and somebody else had this to say about us…

“Hmm, somehow I would like to think that MY wedding is unique without having to make a “statement” with over the top outfits or fanfare I think people tend to forget that wedding is about marriage and committing yourself to one person for life, not a competition as to “what can I do to make it DIFFERENT” And I think that punk rock thing is very tacky.”

Normally I would shrug this off. I’m sure this lady is a lovely person that probably didn’t read our blog.  If she had, she would have been moved and impressed by how Graham, I, our friends and families managed to create a wedding from scratch on a budget close to zero. I don’t mind that she called it tacky. Everybody has different taste. What bothered me the most was her presumptuous statement that we somehow forgot that “a wedding is about marriage and committing yourself to one person for life, not a competition as to “what can I do to make it DIFFERENT.”

Please, lady. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Like all couples getting married, everything we did – right down to the friggen bio-degradable dinner wear – was done because it represented us as people and our love for each other, our friends, and our families. We hardly had the budget nor the time to focus on anything except those things.  We didn’t care about centerpieces, decorations, what the color scheme was or any of that other stuff – not because we we’re being rebellious – but because it seemed wasteful and insignificant in the grand scheme of things.  Instead, we focused on making a beautiful wedding about our love for each other. We wrote our own vows and worked with a good friend on creating the perfect ceremony that was 100% us. Our wedding procession sang our favorite love song because it was meaningful, my father and brother performed music together and it was beautiful, we made a zine celebrating each guest because we love our friends a lot and it was a big deal for everyone to fly out to see us, our marriage manifesto was necessary because we’re activists and wanted to state our beliefs on what OUR definitions of marriage are, the cupcakes showed our mutual love for music (we’re both dj’s and worked hard on those things), and every single person involved with our wedding was a friend or  family member. We didn’t hire photographers or videographers or wedding planners because we wanted to keep things personal. I also have no idea where this idea of fanfare is even coming from. If you’re referring to the blog, it’s because my mother and a few close friends couldn’t make the wedding and we wanted them to feel apart of everything.

Our rehearsal.

I only address this subject because I noticed this mentality a lot while we were planning the wedding. It blows my mind how many brides-to-be out there judge, critique, and put down other bride’s weddings. I’ve read just as many mean things about “offbeat” weddings as I have about “traditional” ones.  What does it matter? Every wedding is beautiful and meaningful and the “best-wedding-ever” because love is beautiful and meaningful and the “best-thing-ever.” To judge or insinuate anything else is incredibly “tacky” in my book. I don’t care if you’re wearing white and getting married at your church or wearing black jeans and getting married at your favorite bar, anybody that has planned a wedding knows how hard it is.  As women, we all need to stick together and stop judging all the time.  I’ve never put down a wedding in my life. They’re all good fun and memorable in their own way.  Seriously, ladies. The process of planning one is stressful enough and everybody deserves credit for it – regardless of whether it suits your tastes or not.

xoxo

A bride who loved her wedding

More. More. More.

You guys, I feel like this wedding coverage is never ending. It’s kind of ridiculous how many pictures, stories, and video footage keep popping up each day. I can’t wait to post the pictures Desiree and Jason took. Yeah, there’s even MORE photos to come. If it feels like documentation overload, I assure you it’s not. We’re just all still really excited about how much fun it was.

I’m also really excited about the stuff my fantastic Aunt Kerry sent me today and feel a need to show it. Thanks, Kerry!!!!! You’re my favorite paparazzi.

Her incredible RSVP self portrait.

Kerry managed to be the only guest to capture live footage that wasn’t completely dark. I’ll be sure to put it on the YouTube  in the not-so-distant future.  I’m also pretty in love with all of the pictures she took. Out of everything I’ve seen so far, she really captured the spirit of the evening.

This shot is my favorite.

Graham, Davy, and Jack holding Tammy up to fetch the bouquet from the light fixture.

Here are a few more.

The Zingg people have powerful livers.

Until tomorrow.

xoxo

Rock ‘n’ Roll Brides Forever

Okay, if you guys follow this blog, some of you may remember the contest we entered to get a free photo shoot from Tinywater Photography on Rock ‘n’ Roll Bride. We didn’t win but Kat (the totally radatastic creator of Rock ‘n’ Roll Bride) has kept in contact with me and I gave her full rights to do a feature on our wedding.

Kat photogrpahed by Marianne Taylor Photography

You can read all about it at http://www.rocknrollbride.com.

I have to say a few things about Kat’s site. It was really hard finding any kind of wedding site I could identify with when we were planning everything. I know I’m not alone. Umm, have you guys ever googled “wedding” on the internet. It’s an ugly, ugly place and Rock ‘n’ Roll bride was a breath of fresh air. Mainly because Kat is so likable and she featured interesting (non-cheesy) weddings that I could relate to.  She also has a great eye for photography and I LOVE the fact that she communicates with the couples to get their story instead of just putting stuff on her site. It feels more like a community and less like the creepy internet.

Shot by Chanelle Segerius-Bruce

If there are any girls and boys out there planning a wedding and need some inspiration, you should really spend some time looking at the dozens of fantastic pictures she puts up daily. Just from doing my tiny blog, I know it’s a ton of work and she deserves a huge shout out.

Shot by Rosie Parsons

Kat, you clearly rock!

Be sure to vote for her fantastic blog here.

xoxo

Fashion

Photo courtesy of Desiree Pfeiffer

Okay, I have to talk about the wedding fashion for a second. Umm, you guys looked UMMMMMMAZZZZZZINGGGG!

A few of my favorites…

and so much more…

xoxo

Part 6 – Rock ‘n’ Roll Cupcake Land

This may sound kind of ridiculous but we couldn’t afford the colorful frosting for our vegan cupcakes. I have no idea why colorful frosting costs more. It just does. Instead, I decided to print out 120 tiny little album covers that have been meaningful to Graham and I, glue them on popsicle sticks, and put them in each cupcake. Actually, my cousin put them in each one. Thanks, Melissa!

We also didn’t want to spend $40 on a cardboard cupcake stand so Graham made one out of records.

Yeah, we’re kind of music nerds. Don’t judge.

Anyway, I was too busy drinking and dancing to even remember we had the cupcakes until Graham pulled me aside and escorted me to them in a shopping cart.

Let me explain. It’s not as ghetto as it sounds. One of the most romantic nights Graham and I ever had took place at a Buzzcocks show in San Francisco. We were a couple of drunk punks at the time and my shoes hurt. Graham (always the gentlemen) tamed a stray shopping cart and pushed me home. We were full of Jagermeister and I kept falling into the street. Anyway, both of us mentioned this in our vows and my dear friend Celeste took note. She found a shopping cart outside and brought it to Graham.

The rest is rock ‘n’ roll cupcake history.

Okay, I only have a few more posts left. I know it seems like these posts are endless but I really want to document everything for the friends and family that couldn’t make it. Stay tuned for wedding fashion and some goregous shots by Desiree.

xoxo

Part 5 – The Reception

Alright. We didn’t have fancy centerpieces.

Or gorgeous decorations. Our guests were pretty enough, thank you very much.

We also didn’t have any flowers on the tables. I’m hoping there were enough flowers on my dress to make up for the lack of foliage.

Honestly, none of these things were that important to us. We mainly focused on the music.

DJ Noah Fence (aka Jeff, the BEST DJ EVER!!!!)

And the food.

And the booze.

There were some pretty fantastic toasts, too.

Sasha made us cry. It was one of the most touching speeches I ever heard.

Chris made us laugh.

Mark Eric made us cheer.

We just made you eat.

The room was full of friends that have known each other for most of their life.

And a few that were meeting for the first time that weekend.

Mostly it was full of unabashed love.

And did I mention the dancing?

Our “first dance”.

It’s not everyday that we get to see our parents dance to Joy Division and The Clash. It’s also not everyday that you get to hear Spectrum and Spiritualized at a wedding. We were so pleased with everything that Jeff played. Seriously. His soundtrack was perfection. It wouldn’t have been the same without him. Thank you, Jeff. You are my dream DJ.

A few highlights.

We also had a crunk off.

Eugene totally won.

It must be the creepers.

While on the subject of dance, instead of engaging in the dated tradition of a bouquet toss, I decided to make everyone get on the dance floor (boys, too) and dance for it.  The bouquet was supposed to represent luck since everyone I know has been having a bad year. As to be expected, I accidentally tossed this “lucky” prize into the light fixture. It seemed kind of fitting. Marvel at this incredibly dark footage of Ana and Tammy trying to save it.

With the assistance of Davy, Graham, and Jack, Tammy won the prize. Of course.

Next stop, my shopping cart ride to rock ‘n’ roll cupcake land.

xoxo

Part 4 – The Ceremony

Our good friend Diana (the one that introduced Graham and I) played the cello as guests arrived. Photo courtesy of the lovely Aimee Shapiro.

You guys have a second? How does one write about our wedding ceremony? Words fail me. Even though I was raised to not be boastful about such things, I’m going to make an exception just this once. You guys, our ceremony was pretty friggen spectacular. I’m not just saying that because it was our wedding. I say it because it’s the truth. Together with our friends and family, we made up our own traditions and created a ceremony that reflected us, our communities, our beliefs, and our love.

Mad props to Tammy... the best officiant/friend EVER!

A few of the highlights.

We absolutely loved our PULP – Birds In Your Garden sing-a-long wedding procession. True, we had our doubts during rehearsal. It was kind of a hot mess but everyone pulled it together at the last minute. I wept when our friends got their bird whistles out and actually learned the words to the song. Jarvis Cocker would have been so proud. You out there, Jarvis?

The fantastic Linda Moody performed the song while Diana, my dad, and my brother played along.

They (of course) got a little help from some song birds.

Here is another clip of it.

The audio isn’t as good as the first clip I posted a few days ago but the visuals are a little brighter. Umm, you guys sick of this song yet?

Okay, the music didn’t end there. My extremely talented father and brother serenaded us with a spot on version of  ”In My Life” by the Beatles.

Seriously. Their harmonies were perfection.

Love you, Matt and Dad!

It wasn’t just music and tears, my friends. Graham and I are pretty political and wrote our very own marriage manifesto. We had Tammy read it before we cited our vows.

Here’s a clip of our vows. We wrote them ourselves and kept them a secret from each other until the wedding. I’m only posting this so my mother can watch it. You may want to turn the volume way up, mum. They’re kind of hard to hear.

Okay, I’m pretty sure my mum is crying now so I better post some comedy relief. Here is a clip of our ring-bearer forgetting our wedding rings. It’s a good thing you’re cute, Junior.

And here is a clip of me placing the wedding ring on the wrong finger. It’s a good thing I’m charming. Good grief.

Finally, this is my favorite clip of all. Graham and I fell in love after a spin-the-bottle game and we really wanted to incorporate that in the ceremony.

The two of us were pretty relieved that the bottle actually landed on me and not somebody in the audience. I also have to add that, yeah, that’s our dog barking (bad dog!) and the music you hear as we leave the stage is a beautiful wedding song Diana wrote especially for us. Umm, we’re so in love with our friends and family right now that we can hardly stand it. What a crazy talented bunch you all are.

Speaking of crazy talented friends, can I gush some more about Tammy? This is the first wedding she ever performed and it was flawless. Everyone is still raving about the ceremony she created.

It was beautiful, touching, hilarious, and it represented our entire community. We can’t thank her enough for making it absolutely perfect and a little bit rock ‘n’ roll. Our only complaint is that we were so ecstatic after the ceremony that we actually forgot to give Tammy the marriage certificate to sign.

Have no fear, Rev Tammy is taking care of it.

Anyway, if any of you are interested in watching some other parts of the ceremony, here are a few clips.  We all look like menacing shadows but the audio is okay. Hopefully somebody out there has some brighter footage to share.  I’m still kicking myself for not having the funds to have hired a professional videographer. Le Sigh.

Officially married. We both chewed gum through the whole ceremony. How tacky. I want to thank Aimee, Eugene, Eric, Rachel, and Melissa for some of the photos.

Tomorrow I will be doing the posts you’ve all been waiting for. Yes, my dears. I’m going to tell you all about the reception, the guests, the food, the crunk off (Eugene won by the way), the shopping cart ride to rock ‘n’ roll cupcake  land, the dance moves, the bouquet toss tragedy, and of course – pictures.  Be prepared for all kinds of  eye candy.

Good night.

xoxo

Part 3 – Moments Before

Okay, this one is for my mum. Here is some shaky footage as the flower girls, two bridesmaids, and myself leave to go the wedding.

It’s not the best footage in the world but I had to put it in here.  Mum, if you’re reading this, meet Emily, Vanessa, Jennifer, Desiree, and Natalie. I love these ladies so, so much and they really calmed my nerves.

Stay tuned for posts on the ceremony, the groom, the reception, the guests, and my shopping cart ride to rock ‘n’ roll cupcake land.

xoxo

Part 2 – Getting Fancy

Anybody that reads this blog knows two things about me.

1. My friends and I don’t have a lot of money.

2. My friends and I love watching Gossip Girl.

I’m pretty sure the two things go hand in hand. Anyway, I desperately wanted to do something nice for everyone in my bridal party by creating a decadent atmosphere for all of us to get ready in. It seemed impossible on our limited budget until my pal Dhananjaya hooked me up with the “Friends and Family” discount at a fancy suite in the Hotel Monaco.  It was the perfect place to relax, drink mimosa, eat French macaroons,  get our fancies on, and channel Blair Waldorf. Thanks, Dhananjaya!!!

This is how us poor kids roll. Take notes.

Our dresses. Everybody in the wedding party chose what they wanted to wear. It all came together beautifully in the end.

French Macaroons. Umm, we ate the whole box.

My dress. I got it from Ebay and ended up sewing hundreds of flowers all over it.

Linda even came to help everyone rehearse "The Birds In Your Garden."

Getting pretty. Can we talk about how gorgeous Sasha looks? She created that elaborate hairstyle in less than 5 minutes.

The flower children beauty brigade.

Linda and Chris sang songs the whole time. It was perfection.

The Bridesmaids.

Desiree.

Roxie.

Sasha.

Chris.

The Flower Girls

Emily and Vanessa.

Jennifer June

Natalie Valentine.

All together now!

Most beautiful friends in the world.

Actually, our wedding was full of PULP.

Thanks to Sasha and Jennifer for some of the pictures. So much more to come.

xoxo

Part 1 – Arts, Crafts, Shows, and Friends.

Not going to lie, things were a little bit crazy the days leading up to the wedding. So many guests were flying in early and staying with us that it seemed nearly impossible to get anything done. I also had a show to practice for.  Because of this, we didn’t get to do a lot of things that we wanted to do. Obviously it would have been nice to have had a photo booth built,  some elaborate “spin-the-bottle” themed centerpieces, flowers on the tables, crafty boutineers, Graham to have written about his family in the blog, and our heart shaped seating chart with all the guests’ pictures on it.  I even printed out all the pictures and had heart shaped sticky notes. Alas, it never got done. We had a lot of great ideas but when it got down to it, the greatest idea of all was to be able to spend time with our friends and family. On Thursday night when we were supposed to work on our seating chart, we ended up  drinking beer on the porch with Vanessa, Sean, Jackie, Sasha, Chris, Jennifer, Ahsen, and Anthony instead. The following night we went bar hopping.

Nutritious bar goodness.

And the night after that I had my show.

FEVER.

I love it that my Dad and brother got to see us play.

We did, however, find the time to make this zine (complete with a romantic mix cd) for all of our guests.

Front cover inspired by the movie, Rock 'n' Roll High School. Back cover inspired by our first date.

Our marriage manifesto and information about the dear friends involved in our wedding.

A few of the RSVP self portraits. We wanted to include all of them but there were a few we got after the programs were made.

Pictures of all the guests. Sadly we made the programs before we knew that Aix, April, Jenni, Jenny, Travis, Stacia, Marcy, Kaetlin, Davy's girlfriend, and Dylan were all coming. I wish I would have known sooner so I could have included all of you. It's one of my few regrets.

The story of how we met and a complimentary mix cd full of romance. Ahhhh.

Graham and I weren’t the only ones engaged in crafty endeavors. Jennifer (my dearest friend and flower girl) is a book maker and made us one of the most beautiful guest books we’d ever seen.

The beautiful Jennifer June

Her handmade guest book.

She even created a beautiful little box to safely store it in.

A number of you forgot to sign this (ahem, GROOMSMEN) but we can only asume it was because you were all having too much fun. We’ll let this minor wedding faux paus slide because we love you guys.

Ummmmazzzingg!!!!!

Speaking of crafty ladies, mad props go to my mother for making a ton of beautiful paper birds.

One of her birds posing with the guest book.

Next stop, Getting Fancy…

xoxo

A Musical Interlude

It’s going to be a while before I gather my thoughts and post the dozens of pictures that everyone took at the wedding. I’m hoping to get some of them up on this site tomorrow. While you dearies wait, here is a video of our wedding procession singing “The Birds In Your Garden” by PULP.  I still get a little teary eyed watching it. For all the old folks out there, you hit the arrow to play the video.

Enjoy!

xoxo

It Was The Best Night EVER!

Cover of our wedding zine.

We can’t even articulate how much we love our friends and family. It really was a brilliant, romantic, and perfect evening. I promise to post a ton of updates with millions of pictures when we return from our honeymoon. In the meantime, here is just a taste of what’s to come.

Tammy reading our marriage manifesto.

Our "first dance."

My shopping cart ride to the wedding cupcakes.

Rock ‘n’ roll cupcake land.

Yeah, we totally put tiny album covers on each one.

Full post on Friday.  We really do have the best friends in the world.

Love,

Automne and Graham