The wedding was wonderful.
Thursday night my mother and stepfather hosted dinner at the Foreign Cinema in San Francisco. Just immediate family, about 25 people. I asked my stepmother to take my picture so I could keep my promise to you all. Full disclosure? I took out my frown lines. Yes I did. When I become the Buddha I will stop that sort of silliness.
Not a bad thing, having an award-winning photographer shoot one up. As I have said previously, Studio Choo’s flowers were spectacular.
Friday night, again as I have said, my father and stepmother hosted dinner for the extended family and out-of-town guests. The party grew to around 65. I did not ask my stepmother to take a picture, she was the hostess and had put down her camera. I would not have wished it otherwise.
The flowers were spectacular.
Saturday afternoon I put on my dress with flat shoes and tights, and wore it up to the city. I spent the afternoon at the salon with the bride and her bridesmaids, helping to, um, facilitate discussions with personnel to make sure the bride realized her vision of looking like herself. That’s a leather flower, by the way.
I’m thinking she looked just like herself. Especially when she started smiling at lot, later in the day.
My job also included perambulating a baby around to help him stay asleep while his mother, a bridesmaid, got fluffed. It was lovely to be part of the group, and share baby hands into the bargain.
I then drove the bride and attendants to the Golden Gate Club, where the wedding would be held. What with glorious babies, and bridal party chauffeuring, and so on, I wound up doing my hair and makeup sitting on the floor, squinting into a hardware store mirror propped up against the wall. I thought to myself that I actually cared very little by this point what I looked like. To be included in the preparations trumped self-primping. Easily.
That said, Operation Artsy Cousin was a huge success. Thank you all for the support. Turned out that the shoes were just dark enough to work. The jewelry played a fairly discreet supporting role. It was fun having something dangle at my ears.
I didn’t ask anyone at all to take my picture but it happened anyway.
The guests arrived. We were close to 200 people strong. A artist from the Burning Man community had installed the ceremony backdrop.
A Buddhist priest officiated.
It was perhaps the most thoughtful and intentionally meaningful ceremony I’ve ever attended. Also, my brother got married to a woman my family adores. We whooped and hollered with glee. Here’s a snapshot, complete with some closed eyes and my brother-in-law’s handsome jaw.
Then we all wandered over to a large room for drinks, and then an even larger room for dinner, dancing, and toasts. When the professional photos arrive we’ll have a more comprehensive post, with more pretty stuff. But for now, I’ll just say, the flowers were spectacular.
And, lurking behind this arrangement, my son and daughter. It was a wonderful wedding. We thank you all so much for the well-wishing.
Images: Photo of me by my stepmother. Other images, by me, except the rocks, which are by mid-sized anonymous niece:).
64 Responses
Why on earth you’d remove your “frown lines” is beyond me. You are GORGEOUS, lady.
Gorgeous flowers and you look great.
your hair is glorious, lisa. and i do hope you told your new sister-in-law we whistled.
lovely! can’t wait to hear about the rest.
I can’t help myself and *note* that the ceremony backdrop appears to be showcasing one certain purple and a burnt orange. see!? see!? perfect.
congratulations to the happy couple.
I just KNEW it would be a success! What I didn’t know was on what scale. Extreme success– only the best kind. So glad it worked out perfectly!
Beautiful, beautiful flowers! Beautiful you too. Congratulations to all of you, especially the newlyweds.
Thank you for sharing. You look spectacular!
The setting and couple are beautiful.
Looking forward to more pictures.
BarbaraG
Wow, they are a beautiful/handsome couple! Like, seriously good-looking.
And the flowers are spectacular.
You look spectacular yourself. So tiny.
Of course the flowers were spectacular, you had geniuses.
looking forward to MORE.
xo jane
Looks beautiful – love the vibrant colors! And you look fabulous, by the way! Great pic!
Lovely flowers, lovely photos, and it sounds as if it was a brilliant, brilliant wedding. And though, like Jan, I can’t imagine that frown lines would detract from your gorgeousness, Photoshop is a simpler, less painful, less toxic alternative to Botox injections. We can’t all have the skin of those teeny tiny charming baby hands (thanks for including that photo!)
Gorgeous, every bit of it! Looking forward to more, more, MORE!
Thank you for sharing this unique occasion with all of us. So great to see a full picture of you for a long time. You look just fine, healthy, wealthy and wise!!
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful…you, the flowers, the colors at the wedding, the bride and groom…beautiful.
Congratulations to your brother and his bride and may they have a long and loving marriage.
What a glorious photograph, you always remind me of Reese Witherspoon.
Yes! I was trying to think of who it was. It’s the smile, I think.
The flowers were indeed spectacular. I love that they created such a personal space and ceremony. So much better than meaningless pomp.
You look great in your black dress! Someday you’ll have to teach me that frown line erasure trick…
A stunning event, the wedding couple, the florals & the setting are gorgeous.
By the way, Lisa you look fabulous!!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
What a precious time for you and the family…
frown lines begone until you become the Buddha…well said Lisa!
The celebrations sound all too wonderful…and such a great day for the memory book…
the colours of the flowers look so vibrant and are remind me of the buddhist robes in India.
Thank you for sharing…
Hostess
XO
How beautiful everything looks. You look great (no need to remove frown lines, but if it makes you feel better…)I love the wedding dress. And most of all, I love the idea of families getting together to celebrate love :)
May they be very, very, very happy together!
It all looks amazing, you included.
The hit of nasturtium in the tall vase is unexpected and perfect. The wedding has a fabulous feel. And that eagle…is it is or is it ain’t high WASP? Just hadda ask. :)
The flowers do indeed look stunning, but it is best that he married someone you all adore and that he likes, too. Weddings should resemble big, happy parties, to my mind; one of my favorite things about the Huge Ceremony Across the Pond was how happy both William and Kate looked, and how excited he was to see her in her dress. Just non-stop smiling, except for necessary solemnity: hope you had the same.
Such a great feeling when it all comes together perfectly! Of course, it’s always perfect when the bride/groom are sooooo in love, isn’t it? Glad you had fun – you look gorgie! xoxo
Ahh! This just made my heart swell. The joy is tangible. And those flowers were truly spectacular.
It was absolutely beautiful, even prettier than anticipated, and let’s face it, I had some pretty high expectations! You look gorgeous, there is a happiness that emanates from you, not always seen at such occasions.
And those flowers. Wow. They go beyond statement or stunning to an entirely different place.
You are wonderful to share it with us. Happy hugs to you. :)
tp
Lovely!!! Lovely flowers….lovely set-up (love the stones!)….lovely couple….lovely you! I used to be a floral designer and I always preferred those vivid colors…such a high vibratory feeling to them…perfect for a wedding day filled to overflowing.
Love it! Love that the bride was able to be herself and look like herself too (down with meaningless unfamiliar hair and makeup along with the rest of the unwanted pomp).
hi lisa,
you are just damn gorgeous. and what do you mean you took out your frown lines? what are you talking about and what am i missing? the flowers were amazing and colorful and so perfect. it sounds like a beautiful ceremony and beautiful memories were made.
xo
janet
Why Ms. Privilege, you are beautiful!
Your smile is brilliant. You look wonderful, and the joy is evident.
What could be more wonderful than a beautiful woman of substance, YOU!
And there was I thinking you were already the Buddha, or at least a combination of the Buddha and Winnie the Pooh (inherent wisdom) and Aubrey Hepburn (style). You’re looking well!
Everything looks lovely! Especially you! Gorgeous!
Awww, congratulations on your lovely new sister-in-law. True family weddings are always perfection, and no more so than here–everything in these photographs is radiant, including you. Best wishes to them both, and a happy and long life together.
(And I absolutely adore her dress and hairpiece!)
How lovely! All the best to them. You, of course, looked magnificent.
Sounds and looks like a wonderful day. You look absolutely gorgeous. XX
That’s a lot of leg!!
It all looks amazing!! Congratulations to your brother and your new sister-in-law. It must have been so awesome to be a part of.
You look very pretty. The flowers are wow. Baby hands are adorable. I want to be just like you when I grow up.
What strikes me is how happy you look. The love and rapture shine through. Congratulations.
Look at the gorgeous couple! I was suprised how young they both look. Can’t wait to see a photo with the two of you. The circle of blossoms around the couple is interesting.
PS: you are a good photoshopper, no one could have told …
Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing them. And leave your face alone in the pictures! You don’t need any touch ups.
You look so elegant!
There is such ease within deliberate composition, and the bride, the bride! You look wonderful too, and put paid to any notion that blondes or whatever colour your hair is ‘can not; wear black. (Thank you for your photo!) Just so elegant, Lisa!
Lisa, sorry, now that we entered family affairs, I am nosy: you showed us your brother-in-law’s jaw. Does this mean you have a sister? Did she attend the wedding, too? More photos! More photos!
I love it! Definitely an Only in San Francisco wedding. (And I mean that in a very positive way.)
Congratulations and Best Wishes to the happy couple!
How beautiful–all of it. You look gorgeous, and of course I’d love to see your outfit from the wedding. What a bunch of good looking people your family is–love the whole ceremony, decor, and flowers!
p.s. Missing you on twitter!
xo Mary Jo
Jan – Thank you so much. I really don’t like looking worried. The lines are quite pronounced.
K-Line – Thank you very much.
lauren – I haven’t told her yet. The first wedding recap discussion, I’ll tell her:). Thanks on the hair. It’s always an adventure.
Liz – Exactly. Perfect!
Muffy – Thank you for your trust in us AND your congratulations:).
Susuan Tiner – Thank you very much.
BarbaraG – My pleasure. Thanks for the kind words. I’m looking forward to photos too.
Patsy – Ha! I will tell them! The couple, not the flowers:).
Jane – I got tiny because I was too nervous to eat:). I hope more comes soon too.
Jen – Thank you!
Mater – Well, you’ve seen my frown lines in person. In photos lighting can make them so pronounced. I’m glad you liked the baby photo, it was such a moment of the day.
Maggie – Thank you! More as soon as it arrives. I was too amazed to take pictures:).
metscan – Thank you. Looking healthy would be the best thing.
Belle – Oh thank you so much.
Tabitha – Uh oh. She always looks a little grim to me…;)
Deja -Seriously, I just did a little healing brush on each line between my eyebrows. I swear I ought to just do Botox, if the lines bug me so much. Or else meditate and evolve:). As the Zen priest would advise.
Karena – Thank you very much.
Hostess – You are right. We didn’t think about the robes, in planning, but it did all hang together more than we knew. My brother is a practicing Buddhist, so it was very meaningful to him.
Marcela – Thank you for being so supportive about my self-retouching. The best part absolutely was the families uniting – all of us, all the permutations.
Kate – Thank you.
Laura – So glad you like it. And is the eagle High WASP? I rather think yes;).
Pearl – The bride grinned from ear to ear. “Awesome!” she said, at the end of the night.
Preppy 101 – It was so nice to see the planning pay off, and to see how much fun everyone had, beyond anything like table settings and flowers.
Agirl – :). We were all so happy about my brother we almost burst.
TPP – My pleasure. Thank you for keeping me company. I know you understand the kind of happiness I was feeling.
Lara in Long Beach – Yay! So glad you approve. Even of the stones:). And thank you.
MJS – “Down with meaningless unfamiliar hair!” Truer words were never said.
Janet – Thank you. I photoshopped out my two pronounced vertical frown lines. It’s just so tempting, with the tools at hand. I don’t like looking worried and disapproving. Aging I can tolerate.
Jen – Well I thank you so much!
Julia – God I was so happy.
Susan – Aw. That is a really nice thing to say. I appreciate it.
Mise – Couldn’t be further. Just use writing to practice, practice, practice. Thank you my dear.
Stephanie – Thank you sweetie.
Staircase Witch – They are always perfection. Thank you – and I agree on the dress and hairpiece:).
Marieanne – Thank you. From me and the bride and groom.
Lori – Thank you. I so hope you are feeling better.
Alan – Oops:).
Ms. Bunny – It was wonderful to be involved.
Em – Oh gosh. Get a jump on wisdom and little black dresses. I took a winding path. It warms my heart for you to say that. As did the baby hands.
KWB – Yes. Mostly I was just so happy. The whole family was.
Paula – :). I have to keep the blog as true as I can make it. The flowers on the ground were just gorgeous. And I’ll tell them they look young:).
MYFWBS – I should leave them alone. I will. From now on. I promise. Yikes.
The gold digger – Why thank you! It was the least I could do.
Duchesse – “Ease within deliberate composition” might be the perfect description of the High WASP ideal. Thank you very much.
Paula – I have two sisters! More photos to come, but I can only show those of my family that are comfortable.
rb – Ha! Only in San Francisco indeed. Maybe Vermont:). Or Austin.
Mary Jo – Thank you. I’m back on the Twitterverse. I missed you too:).
You look amazing and what a fabulous ceremony- those flowers are all divinex
You, dear, are a looker – and when I become Buddha I’ll stop Photoshopping out my lines too.
And speaking of the Pretty, what a wedding. There’s nothing quite like attending a ceremony that perfectly captures the spirit of the couple.
Lisa,
You look great with your hair pulled back.
Ann
You rival the flowers in their beauty!
You look fabulous! And that was one beautiful wedding:)
How stunning you are along with this celebration.
pve
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