At long last, it’s here! Monique Lhuillier’s much anticipated bridesmaid’s collection has been unveiled, and I have to say I’m liking a lot of what I see.

For instance, I love this crinkle chiffon one shoulder gown in eggplant. It’s perfectly on trend for today, but will look classy in a wedding album for decades to come.

Overall, there’s a lot of chiffon and a lot of taffeta in the collection, and a nice range of mostly rather deep or muted shades ranging from plum and eggplant to sage and leaf green to a very zen sky blue to a soft, warm yellow that makes my mouth water. Both short and long looks are shown, mostly either strapless or one shoulder looks, though there are a couple with two straps. No sleeves, alas, but at least it’s a line designed with spring in mind.

In fact, the lowest note I saw in the collection was a strapless, leaf green column dress that reminded me a bit too much of tossing on an oversized towel on leaving the shower. Still, even that one I believe could be saved with the right accessories.

Prices range from $275 to $395. Not chump change, but pretty sweet prices for such a big name designer. All in all… yeah, I think Monique did a pretty great job on these.

Yesterday in a vote of 55 to 43, the Washington State House passed a bill to legalize same sex marriages. The Senate approved the measure last week, and Governor Chris Gregoire is expected to sign it into law as soon as it hits his desk.

In fact, Gregoire issued a statement after the vote that it is:

“a major step toward completing a long and important journey to end discrimination based on sexual orientation.”

It was passed without proposed amendments that would have allowed bakers and photographers a waiver from providing services to same sex couples due to religious belief, such as are granted to churches. Since the last time I heard, bakers weren’t churches, I think this is only right and fair. After all, in my bookselling days I had to sell books to people who were homophobic, racist, sexist, and all kinds of other things I find wildly offensive. As long as they weren’t breaking the law or strongly disrupting the business I was engaged in, I had to serve them to the best of my ability. I didn’t have to enjoy it, but I had to do it.

The new law is scheduled to go into effect ninety days after the end of the session next month, but opponents are already working to put a measure on the next ballot that would negate this vote.

Still, this signals a major turnaround in state marriage politics since the state legislature passed a Defense of Marriage Act in 1998. While the state Supreme Court upheld the act in 2006, it was overturned that same year by a gay civil rights measure. In 2007, a domestic partnership law was passed which the voters upheld.

Washington state legislature, I salute you! And may the voters of your state be more fair-minded and less paranoid than the ones in mine.

If you go wandering on Etsy, it’s easy to find a lot of great ideas for gifts to give attendants, your intended, or even yourself for your wedding day.

For instance, check out these gorgeous cufflinks. They feature a fragment of an antique map (in this case, Italy in 1899) encased under jewelry grade magnifying resin and set in a combination of sterling silver and stainless steel. I can imagine many a groom, groomsman, best man, or bridesman who would be delighted to wear these links on the big day… and use them again afterward. At just $26.00 a pair, they’re also very affordable.

Oh, and don’t worry if you’re not excited about Italy. There are plenty of other places represented in the shop, as well as similarly themed bracelets, pendants, and earrings.

In fact, these attendant gifts might just put your wedding on the map.

(ducks hurled tomatoes)

In a 2 to 1 decision, the 9th Circuit Court has declared Proposition 8 a violation of the rights of gay Californians.

In his write up of the decision, Judge Reinhardt wrote:

“Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.”

Reinhardt was quick to say that this decision is only about this issue in this state, but the court’s decision that denying same sex couples the right to marry violates their rights as human beings and as citizens could well add weight to the case for marriage equality when it comes before the Supreme Court.

Sometimes justice is slow, but I firmly believe it will come for all of us. Today, I got another proof that my faith is justified. It is my fond hope that California will rejoin the ranks of those who offer full rights to all its citizens soon.

Sorry about yesterday. Technical difficulties. They’ve been handled, so we should be good for a while now.

(Image via Hearts and Flowers)
Flowers are usually one of the fun aspects of planning a wedding. They’re colorful, pretty, and hold special meanings for most of us.

Then again, they can be one of the most frustrating aspects of planning a wedding. They’re often expensive, and they hold those pesky meanings which might vary drastically from one person to another.

But we can all dream big. I didn’t, but then I’m sometimes a bit unusual in my tastes and priorities. My dream was simple: find pretty flowers and tie them into a simple sheaf bouquet. Oh, and I did want a couple red roses in it. Why? Because they’re the flower Mr. Twistie gives me and always has from day one. He does that because roses are literally the only flower he recognizes from one day to the next and he knows I love red.

So my MOH and I headed off to the open-to-the-public florist’s supply in my hometown, bought a bunch or two of whatever happened to be long stemmed, pretty to me, and fairly inexpensive along with a roll of florists’ tape and some corsage pins. I had some pretty red ribbon at home to tie decoratively around the sheafs at the end. And BAM! we were done.

In fact, while I’m a lot better versed at flowers than Mr. Twistie, the only blooms I recognized in my bouquet were the aforementioned roses and some lavender snapdragons. I have no clue to this day what the yellow or the pink flowers I carried were. All I know is I carried the perfect bouquet for me. It was the right shape, I thought all the flowers in it were pretty, and it had a couple red roses. If I’d had more money, I might have had someone else put them together, but I would have wanted something very similar to what I carried.

But I’m curious. What sort of flowers do/did you dream of? Will you/did you get them? What if money were no object?

Tell me all about it!

Oh my dearie darlings.

Last week I smacked you around with this fantastical image:

… and you guys came back swinging with three captions to capture the feeling.

In the end, though, there can be but one. This week it’s the musically-talented Impkitti for channeling a pop legend with this entirely lifted verse:

With apologies to Frank….

Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly
It’s perfect for a flying honeymoon, they say
Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly
Pack up, let’s fly away!!

Me? I don’t apologize to Frank, but to composers Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn. Oh, congratulations to Impkitti! And thanks to everyone who played.

I believe I’ve mentioned before that Mr Twistie is a musician. He’s also a tremendously talented recording engineer. I love to watch him work. One of the things I get a huge kick out of is seeing the wave forms different instruments and voices make as he records things.

Well, jeweler Sakurako Shimizu has taken this idea and run with it. Those rings above? Are Shimizu’s work. The design is the wave form of someone saying ‘I love you.’ The rings come in silver, platinum, or 18k yellow, white, or pink gold. If you request it specially, they can also be made in 14k yellow gold. Oh, and if you’d rather it say something other than I love you, yeah, you can get a different (short) word or phrase instead. Each piece is custom and uses the wave form of the person you choose.

I don’t know about you, but I think this is one of the most romantic ideas in jewelry I’ve seen in a very long time.

In fact, if I come into some money soon, I’d love to have one made for me of Mr. Twistie’s voice. I may not need a new wedding ring, but another symbol of his love is always welcome.