Closing Out A Journey, Sensuously

A lovely product that's out there in the world has taken our photographer's work and turned it into amazing gifts for family. The 7 x 7" book I designed arrived today as a birthday gift for my Mom. It's a chronology of amazing photos of our wedding day that Margaret took. For a Beta, these folks have figured A LOT out. My apologies to readers of both my blogs, I've already ranted about Blurb!

Not only does Mom love it, she praised the design which I did myself- it's so easy to do! Maybe, someday when I have time, I'll find myself actually making one of these for me and David to enjoy. For now, I've got a few more of these in the queue.

This will be my final post, unless I get some terribly brilliant idea that can't possibly be handled by my improvised perspective (with no commitment to topic, I can hardly go wrong).

I will leave you with a sweet parting story. Anyone with Italian heritage should celebrate the romance of this Venetian practice. It sure would be a cool thing to re-enact in a wedding.

This golden galleon (shown here in Venice's Naval History Museum) is a replica of the Bucintoro. On Ascension Day, May 17th in Italy civic, religious and military VIPs would sail this ship out from St. Mark's for a marriage ceremony with the sea.

As part of the ceremony, they would actually throw and then drag a metal ring symbolizing marriage to the sea through the water behind the ship. There seems to be a discrepancy between the Naval History Museum's dating this ceremony back to 1277 vs. Wikipedia's version which places the start date for the ritual at 1311.

Thank you for taking part in our wedding journey. All 900+ photos (2.31GB) worth of images we captured during the month will be coming on-line gradually on our Flickr page, in addition to the podcast of the concert Dave gave in France.
It was an amazing 31-day journey through 10 countries and we're blessed to be able to share it with you in this way.

Auspicious Nuptial Signs

A misty day in January, with drizzle as thick as bear's fur. It gently soaks through to the bone making you hurry indoors. Thus was the setting for the first day of our weekend away in Elk and Mendocino- some time away to write our wedding vows.

Our first stop inside a store found us face to face with Barbara Phillips, our host for Latitude who lives in Berkeley. One stop on our honeymoon includes the Lot Valley in southwestern France for a weeklong workshop on Medieval singing, food and culture. We have the honeymoon suite in this 14th century Mill (shown above) at La Toulzanie.

The sea outside the window of the Mendocino Hotel is filled with rollicking waves crashing against cliffs and the dreariness has a mystical quality to it. Built in 1878, 26 years after the town was founded, the Mendocino Hotel boasts elegant decor with lots of russets and blues that remind you of the previous century. Old, well-kept wood and a large fireplace in their lounge is where we periodically warm our backsides and sit surfing the net and scanning various books to create the ceremony.

As we work, friends and strangers appear. David's high school friend Kevin calls from Africa to say he and his family will be coming to the wedding. They'll be journeying from the Gambia in West Africa. Visitors come and go, lured by the fire. Two young blond boys take up a game by the fire and eventually, the older asks if we are writing a book.

Two foamy cups of hot chocolate streaked with chocolate sauce appear to nourish our spirits as we write. "How civilized," David says. Without trying, I think this may end up being a tear-jerker of a ceremony. We seek out the whimsical and eccentric to lighten the heaviness that even life's most wondrous joys can carry.

At the end of the weekend wandering the private beach of the Elk Cove Inn, we find an abalone shell on the beach (photo of its pearly inside shown above). It is a gift from the sea with meaning relevant to what this weekend is all about for us. The universe has given us its blessing.

Mon Voyageur Doux

I thought with such a nice photo of David in front of this year's Canadian Christmas Revels set that I should tell something of the story of how we met.

For the past 21 December's this local Oakland organization has been producing the Christmas Revels- a winter solstice celebration of song, dance and stories of a particular culture and geography of the world. For many years it has taken place at the Scottish Rite Temple in Oakland. In this photo he's on part of this year's set wearing part of his costume which we used for our photo shoot. We were trying to get a good one of me doing his makeup for use on the label of the Jones Soda wedding favors we are producing for the day.

I participated in the show in 2002 and in 2003, I was a volunteer doing makeup when I found myself making up David. A cast party and an email later, he was scoping out apartments in Oakland where he ended up moving a few months later. Thus started us out as dating neighbors.

Oh yeah, right the Revels. Chad Jones at ANG Newspapers likes the show this year- it's about the songs, dances, fairytales and folklore of early 19th century French Canada. Most fun thing is every year, the audience comes out into the audience to dance around the theater as they sing Lord of the Dance. Photo of that above.

Location, Location, Location

In the spirit of using this blog as the answer (antidote?) to "How are the wedding plans coming?" I'm happy to announce that the Brazil Room in Tilden Park is our now signed and sealed location for March 18, 2007.


In my recent Blogships post to my business/personal blog- I explore the function of blogs. Can I tell people who ask me to "go read the blog" if they want to know the latest on the wedding? Should we expect people to read? Would Emily Post think this would be like me saying, "Go play in some Internet traffic, wouldja?"

Dumping for a moment on the Emily Post Institute , I searched their site on "weddings and blogs" and nothing came up. Enough said there.

In our discussions, David and I are planning on using this blog for all sorts of information dispersal to our out of town guests- but is that fair to those who are or choose to be sans technology?

Photo credit: Don Pritchard Wedding Photography

1 Dom Part $40.00 (Non-Taxable)

That was what the tiny cash register receipt we were first handed by the City Clerk read- just as plain as jane, as if it were a coffee and muffin we'd purchased. Dom Parts R Us! Hmmm, that kind of goes in several directions not worth linking to...

So that's it, as of this past Thursday, November 16th we're officially, in the eyes of the great city of O (that's Oakland, not Oz- though sometimes you wonder...)- domestic partners. I wonder what other itemized line items the City of O has to offer?

Flash update- as I post this, both the dress (starting point for the seamstress) and shoes have arrived!

Slipping on the shoes, I have to give my kudos to Nine West- these Koolbrides feel great (even with my swollen foot)! Despite the attempts to not be so by making the product name one word, doesn't the spelling kind of remind you of the old COOL cigarette campaign?

Hey Nine West marketers- be careful which generation is buying, will ya? All that evil advertising from the 70's is locked in here like sick cultural glue: I'm a Pepper, you're a Pepper, he's a Pepper, She's a Pepper, Wouldn't Ya Like to Be A Pepper Too; Pickles, lettuce, something, something...is it don't upset us or don't forget us? Anyway, I believe that was Burger King (I'm not Googling that either). 1/21/07 An update: So... I head to the cobbler to get the shoes dyed and these aren't made from the kind of fabric that can be dyed. Are you kidding me? BAD Nine West. Go directly to jail; do not pass go; and do not collect $200. How many brides to be like me fell for their sale only to find out that if they were wearing these shoes- they'd be white. I guess Nine West is too stuck in the murky backwaters of Victorian era marriages to realize that women want all sorts of color on their wedding day in THIS century; not just white!

Funny, the most neurologically imprinted campaigns are those about things that are now social phobias- at least here on Planet California: inhumanely slaughtered meat cut by underpaid workers, soft drinks (known as pop in some parts of the country), and cigarettes (now cancer sticks). It only took over 30 years for our culture to develop some new behaviors in opposition (rather different from) those these companies spent millions fostering as I was a child.

I'm sorry, this post was about what?