Bridal outfits

All of us at the Marriage Factory love the outfits we see at the weddings.  Some dresses are gorgeous and some outfits are doesn't she own a mirror.  We see fun, pretty, bad, and sometimes down right glamorous.  I had a little bit of all on Monday.

My first bride wore a short, very short strapless dress that had a circle skirt.  The pattern was similar to a Jackson Pollack  painting.  Not many women could pull that off, but she did.  I also remember them for all that was wrong on their license.  The license said he lives in Vancouver, she lives in Columbus , Ohio.  As they were leaving they said they both live in Toronto.  I am guessing a recent move and IDs that don't show the new address. 

Another bride wore a peachy taupe chiffon dress.  The sleeves were long and sheer.  Pearls were sewn onto the neckline, and the dress was heavily ruched.  This was the couple with the cameras.  The groom had a 4 foot tall tripod that he set up for video.  That took a lot of time.  Then he handed a digital camera to his mother.  We finally began, and the digital camera's batteries died. On the first picture.  No one noticed the red warning thingy???   So then he had to put in new batteries.  I was chewing a hole in my cheek to keep from screaming at him. 

The worst dressed bride was in my favorite wedding.   Witness, guest, and the bride were all in the Coast Guard.  Oh, and all three were women.  None of the men were military.  The bride had on jeans and a sort of cute top.  But clothes don't really matter.  She was in love, he was in love, and the room was full of love. 

The award for the very best wedding dress in a long long time goes to the glamour dress.  The bride had hennaed hair, very now looking.  But the dress was Old Hollywood Glamour.  It was satin, to the floor, very body hugging and had a tiny train.  There was very delicate ruching about every 10 inches.  The dress was trimmed in delicate beading on the halter top straps,  across the bust line, and at the waist.  And from the middle of her back to just below the waist, were tiny satin buttons.  This dress was gorgeous.  And she had the body to wear it.  She found the dress in a thrift shop and had it altered to fit her, perfectly I must say. 

So people don't just look in a wedding store for that dress.  There are some great affordable places that have beautiful dresses.  Think outside the box.

Last Monday's Weddings

I just realized I never posted about the weddings last week.  Sorry about that.  It was a slow day, which I sort of liked.  With the weddings spaced out, I didn't get so tired.

There were some good looking clothes on the men and the women:
One bride wore a cream colored crocheted sheath with little cap sleeves.  It was very simple yet elegant at the same time.  The dress had rows of design that were about 4 inches tall.  Each row met up perfectly at every seam. That dress cost big bucks.

Another bride wore a sleeveless sheath dress that was heavy brocade with a black trim at the hemline and black mesh from the top of the bust to her neck.  The brocade design was tiny silver and gold squares.   Her groom wore a blue shirt and tie with a grey vest and grey slacks. He wore grey lizard pointy toe shoes.  They were stunning.

One couple each wore black slacks  and white shirts.  At first I thought very casual, and then I looked again.  She wore a black shrug over her shirt.  When she turned the back was lace.  His plain white shirt had a surprise too.  The buttons down the front, on the cuffs, and on the pockets had tiny tiny brilliants around the edge.  Not gaudy, you had to look twice to realize they were there.

My favorite wedding of the day was for two men.  This was a destination wedding.  They were from Florida and had wanted to be married in San Francisco City Hall.  Now that is a fabulous venue, but it  is almost impossible to get an appointment.  There is often a 6 weeks waiting period or more, and then you wait a month or more to get your certified copy of the license.  They called all over the Bay Area and studied options on the Internet.  They picked us for the services we offer.

When they saw our lovely wedding room they were blown away.  It is a pretty room.

Double Wedding Ring quilt pattern art

 Rich wood paneling and pews

 

The men asked if they could use their own vows, and I of course said yes.  One man's vows were very sweet and personal.  But the other man had me in tears.  He said he couldn't sing, but he had written a song.  Then he sang it and the words were so loving.  These men were so amazed at how nice, how caring, how special people at Alameda County made their wedding.  They hugged me over and over before they left.  They kept thanking me for giving them such a wonderful wedding.

 

I am proud of our clerks for their caring and kindness to our two grooms.  I'm so glad we all made a special day for a couple who could not marry in their home state.  And I  am so glad that in doing this special wedding, we did our routine jobs.  We care about all who want a special wedding.

More Reading than Weddings

As soon as I arrived at the Marriage Factory Wednesday, I had three weddings back to back.  I thought, yes finally Wednesday is back to being busy.  No, just the three as soon as I got there, and then I read and played games on my phone.  I miss those busy busy afternoons.  As always I enjoyed doing the ceremonies.

Wedding 1 was for a very Americanized Vietnamese couple.  The bride wore a creamy white chiffon sheath, a black belt, a black shrug, and black heels.  He wore a white shirt and black pants.  They were both grinning, great smiles.  Their parents were with them.  I realized the parents had very limited English.  I asked the couple if one of them wanted to translate during the ceremony.  They said, “No need.  This ceremony is for us.  They get what they want at the cultural ceremony.”  It wasn’t mean spirited.  It was a compromise.

The next couple the bride was 10 years older than the groom.  She was mid forties, he mid thirties.  The groom looked 10 years older than the bride.  He had graying hair and a lined face.  It was his third marriage and her first.  They were so solemn.  There were no smiles, no jokes, no reaction to anything.   Then as he started saying his vows it was as if the sun came out.  They smiled, relaxed, and just beamed.

The last couple the groom was Iranian and 61.  The bride was Chinese and 47.    He was dapper, in a light grey suit with half glasses on his nose.  She was exquisite in her bright red sheath.  The dress was knee length with an A line skirt, a square neck, and cap sleeves.  Her jewelry looked antique.  The necklace was silver filigree with a dark patina through the design.  Garnets were set though out the necklace.  Her hair was up and had two clips in it.  Both clips were silver and black metal bows.  And the groom gave her a huge diamond ring.  For the first time I saw a groom receive a circle of diamonds for his ring. 

This couple was having such a good time at their wedding.  During the vows the bride got a bad case of giggles because she could not say the R sound.  The harder she tried, the worse it became, and the more she giggled.  Before the ceremony I had barely noted her accent, but nerves did her in.

It was a quiet day, but three more couples have begun a new level in their relationship.  They had a civil marriage ceremony that was not cold and impersonal.  They were congratulated in the elevator and the hall by staff, people in the lobby called out good wishes.  We may be a government office, but our couples feel the good wishes from all.

Valentine’s Day at the Marriage Factory

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day.  We only had 10 appointments, compared to 30 in other years.  Staff knew we could have walk-ins, but no idea how many   How many volunteers would be needed to work that day?  I came all day and two women came for an hour each.  Staff did non English ceremonies.   We worked at a steady pace, nothing frantic until the 3:00 rush.  White dresses were everywhere.  And it was only me for the English.  From 4:00 to 4:30 I did three ceremonies, and then I had to leave.  Staff still had at least 6 weddings to do.  We had a total of 41 ceremonies for the day. 

Memories of the day are of white dresses, red dresses, tuxes, and flowers everywhere.  Staff decorated the counters, marriage rooms, and the lobbies with roses, other flowers, and hearts.  They raise money through the year to buy the flowers.  Thank you to the staff. 

Every year we have a problem with people stealing the roses and other flowers.  Last year they took flowers off  the clerks’ counters, as the clerks were telling them not to. After the first theft yesterday, I jokingly told the deputy he was to frisk people as they came off the elevator.  He offered me his Taser to protect the roses.  He did make up signs Please don’t take the flowers.  Thank you and hung them around the building.  We didn’t lose many after that. 

This was the day for romance, the building was full of love.  Many of the brides were in gorgeous wedding dresses.  The wedding dresses had sequins, seed pearls, boned corsets, embroidery on the skirts, lace cut outs.  Every style you can think of came through the doors.  We had long white chiffon dresses.  There were short lace dresses with cap sleeves. One lace dress had a tight bodice and a circle mini skirt that stood out with a crinoline under it.  The bride was long legged and definitely could wear this look. We had white satin dresses that were skin tight and way too short.  And white satin dresses that were ruched and fit nicely.  We had boobs falling out of a V necked dress.  Many brides were in jeans and fancy shirts.   And the grooms you ask?  We had jeans and tee shirts, black suits, tuxes, dress pants with white shirts and ties that matched the brides’ dresses.  One couple wore matching tennis shoes.  And the shoes, you know I love shoes.  Even the men had great shoes.  Cowboy boots, high heel boots, high heels, platform heels, sparkly buckles, sequined heels, it was a feast of shoes.

The witnesses wore reds, pinks, and purple.  Many wore hats with feathers or flowers, and some wore fascinators. One guest had an interesting accessory, a pint bottle of liquor in his hip pocket. 
 
Always we have standout couples:

One couple had two children .  The baby boy was in a little black suit.  The  3 year old daughter wore a bright red satin dress, red sparkly hair clip, and red sparkly shoes.  The bride wore a long white wedding dress with seed pearls.  The groom wore a red shirt, black tie, and black slacks.  The little girl did not want to be left out of the ceremony. To prevent a temper tantrum, I had her sit at the feet of the couple with the red dress billowed out against the white dress.   What a lovely picture that was.  When the couple joined hands to say their vows, the little girl got up and put her hand on their joined hands.  Not a dry eye in the room.

My favorite couple was in their 40’s.  The groom was all in black with a red rose in his shirt pocket.  The bride wore a dark dress with a white lace coat sweater with ruffled edges.  She carried pink roses and she wore a turban.  I could see a thin fuzz of hair at the edge of the turban.  The turban was not a fashion statement.  The ceremony was intense and the bride was crying.  Everyone in the room cheered when I pronounced them married, and then they all cried.  I later talked to the witness and asked if the bride was sick.  She said, “She was, but not now.”   And that made me really happy.

Dispatches from the Marriage Factory: Children

Weddings, how I miss doing weddings.  I read this post from Joe and nearly cried.  He is having all the fun and I am so jealous.  Poop on you San Diego County for not letting me blog.  And now here’s Joe.

A tattoo parlor (Why parlor? Why not “shop” or "emporium"?) in Alameda has a sign in the window: "If you have to come in with children, please control them."

I would like a copy of that sign for the wedding room.  Several children were part of weddings this week -some rowdy, some very well-behaved.

The centerpiece of the wedding room is the arch, a lovely garden trellis strung with plastic vines and Christmas lights.  The tables on either side of the arch used to hold bouquets before the staff discovered couples were leaving with them.  Now they sit empty, sentries for the arch.

The rowdy child spent the entire wedding fiddling with one of the tables, which at least kept him busy.  When
he reached for the arch, I had to ask the parents (aka the bride & groom) to stop him.  Children love to pull on things, and the arch must not be disturbed.  Luckily, the boy was distracted long enough to let me finish the ceremony.

On the other side were the couple who had 3 children between them, all of whom participated in the wedding - 2 ring-bearers and a best "man".  It was beautiful to see how happy they and the couple were to have the whole family involved in the ceremony.  The parents obviously had impressed upon them how important the wedding was and how important their part in it was.  Well done!

As a bonus, I got to train a new staff member.  She observed me performing a couple weddings, and didn't understand why I didn't need a copy of the ceremony.  "I've done 1,500 weddings," I told her.
"It's muscle memory now, and it will be for you too."

Fashion report: the bride who arrived in sweats and emerged from the ladies' room in a lovely full-length white dress to match her groom's 3-piece suit.  Clever girl - I wouldn't want to get anything on that dress, either.

--
Joe Mallon

The Week’s Weddings Part 2

 I did bare bone civil ceremonies for couples who had had a cultural wedding.  There were ceremonies for couples who had been together for years and years.  One of the couples, the groom was 54, the bride was 68.  He had never been married, this was her fifth marriage. One clerk said we will see her back next year.

One ceremony the bride was crying, not much but there were tears.  The groom was so worried.  He kept saying, “Don’t be sad, don’t be sad.”  She told him she wasn’t sad, just very emotional.

Not being unkind, but one couple looked a little strange together.  She was tall and big boned, not fat, just big boned.  He was tiny, tiny.  He looked like a jockey.  Maybe I thought that because the Kentucky Derby Festival was this week.  Anyway he was very emotional during his vows and cried.

When Marty dropped me off at the County Building on Wednesday, we saw a long dress and flowers heading toward the front door.  Well, there was a woman in the dress.   I lucked out and the couple spoke English and I was to do the ceremony.  She was from Italy and he was from Argentina.  They spoke English with heavy accents. 

The dress was one shouldered with a drape at the  bodice.  It was a silver blue heavy satin that went to the floor. The skirt was gored.  It was fitted to just mid thigh and they gently flared out.

The bride had a tiny “diamond” glued by one eye and another one on her check.  Her bare shoulder had a swirl of larger “diamonds”.  All very tasteful.  All very gorgeous.  Her bouquet was a mixture of pastel flowers.   The groom wore a rich blue suit with a blue shirt and tie.  They looked fabulous.

It was a busy week and fun.  I love this volunteer job.

 

Well Dressed Brides and Grooms

Many of our couples are wearing street clothes, or sometimes not even that dressy.  We  have couples who do not plan to marry the day they buy their license.  They get to the county building and go, why not?  Let’s do it while we are here.  But sometimes we have a day like Wednesday.

Every wedding the couples were dressed for the occasion.  From as simple as a white cotton strapless sundress to a lace wedding dress.

The cotton dress bride looked adorable.  The dress had a wide ruffle around the hemline. She had a wide brown leather belt and matching sandals.  She carried beige roses wrapped with brown satin ribbon.  The groom wore a green complexion and a cold sweat.  After the ceremony the groom recovered and was fine. 

One bride wore a short, heavy lace dress. It was the palest of pale yellows.  She wore matching lace heels.

Another bride wore a strapless black and white floral dress.  It had a full skirt and may have had crinolines under it.  She wore a bright red belt and red heels.  The groom wore a light brown suit.  He was so crisp and debonair looking.

As I was taking the above couple into the marriage desk to get their certified copy of the license, another wedding party moved into the wedding room.  They were with a commissioner who does Spanish ceremonies.  They looked at me and said, “We want her to do our ceremony.  English will be fine.”  Now that was just weird and a little rude.  But we think we know why they dumped Clerk T.  She is in her early 20s and looks like she is 16.  We think they wanted a “mature” person for the ceremony.  So I took over.

The bride wore a silk suit that was a pale silver.  It had a ruffle around the neck almost down to the waist.  She had a button in fake blouse that matched the suit.  The groom wore a black suit.  The ceremony went well, but then I couldn’t get them out of the room.  I told them I had another couple to bring in,(true) and they left the room.  I told the couple to get their certified copy from the marriage desk.  They all turned around and went back into the wedding room.  I left, and went for the next couple, hoping I wouldn’t have to deal with them later.

The last couple was stunningly good looking, and cute as a button at the same time.  The groom was in a darkish blue suit.  His hair was his crowning glory.  Dark almost curly hair. A little longish, just past the ears.  And it was spiked in a few place.  One curl here, one curl there just barely pulled out.  OK, I wanted to take him home.  But the county  frowns on that.

The bride wore a white suit with a white sequined top.  On her head was a feathered flower a little bigger that a saucer.  It was similar to this.  Every woman who saw it, wanted it.  Every time the bride moved, the little feathers would rise up and down.  It was like a graceful dance.  The bride carried yellow roses and many of the guests carried bouquets of yellow flowers, including her father.

A lovely day of beautiful weddings.  Another day of making people happy.

Wedding fashions and other stuff

Wednesday some of the couples had some good looking outfits, as did their family members.

One bride wore a strapless satin sheath.  The burgundy bodice had ruched roses and the skirt was black.  She had on black tights and black peep toe shoes.  He wore a lavender long sleeved shirt and black slacks. But the fashionista was the bride's 5 year old daughter.  Her dress had a black and white checked top trimmed at the neck with a small burgundy line, a red sash, and a black velvet circle skirt.  She wore black tights and grey suede boots that were trimmed in "fur". 

The next bride wore a one shouldered white ruched dress with a black sash.  Are you noticing that ruching is back in?  The groom wore a grey suit, a tan ivy cap sometimes called a flat cap, and shoes that matched the weave of his cap.  His 4 year old son wore a white shirt, black vest and slacks, with a little cap like Dad's. 

The son walked up to me, stuck out his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Nate and I'm four."  He grabbed my hand and held it all the way up to the wedding room.  He was just darling.  He sat down and watched the ceremony quietly.  I pronounced the couple married and they kissed.  Nate went ballistic! He ran screaming," NO!!!! BAD!!!! BAD!!!!"   up to Dad and started hitting him over and over.  He kept hitting and Dad had to pick Nate up and hold him away from him.  Nate calmed down some, but ran around like a crazy child and kept saying BAD.   While we were in the Marriage Desk Office, Dad said that Nate didn't like him kissing girls.  I told the couple they better keep the bedroom door locked.