Embroidered wedding invitation

Crikey! When Kate and Avi got married in Brooklyn last fall, Anna Bond created embroidered invitations. She sewed the design onto the paper, hand-painted the lettering, and finally scanned the art for printing. How beautiful is that? xo (Look at the teeny Brooklyn Bridge and the cute green parks!)

Vermont wedding: The ceremony

Yesterday, I shared Gemma and Andy's rehearsal dinner, and now here's their beautiful wedding! They got married in Gemma's parents' backyard, under a giant pine tree with one trunk that splits into two as it reaches towards the sky. Isn't that romantic?

Yellow school buses brought guests to Gemma's childhood home in Marlboro, Vermont.

Gemma and her bridal party walked down the aisle, as their friend played "Harvest Moon" by Neil Young on his guitar. (Gemma's dress was by Zac Posen; Sara Glick did her makeup and Ramie Roth did her hair. Starr McCaleb designed the bridesmaid dresses.)

"I was so nervous walking down the aisle," Gemma remembers. "We came down a dark path in the woods, both parents by my side to give me away. All our friends and family were smiling in the bright sunlight, and Andy was standing under the huge pine tree, waiting for me. He thought something was wrong because I looked so serious, but really I was just concentrating, trying not to burst into tears!"

Their good friend got ordained and married them, and other friends did readings and sang songs.

Tomorrow I'll post the final part -- the reception! xo

(Wedding-kiss photo by Tom Schierlitz. All other photos by Anna Robin. Gemma and Andy will be shooting weddings starting this summer, as well)

Wedding tennis

I'm loving all the relaxed, low-key weddings these days. This bride and groom played tennis!

(Photo by Glen Allsop)

BEST wedding video

Oh. Lordy. Max and Margaux's wedding video (by Shark Pig) is the most joyous and beautifully edited wedding video I've ever seen. My heart is all aflutter. Amazing. (Love the dancing feet!) (Via Once Wed)

Would you date older?

Have you ever dated an older man or woman? I had never dated an older man before, but Alex is a whopping 13 years older than I am. At first I thought his age might be a deal breaker, but it's worked out (old movies, cooking skills, doesn't mind my under-eye wrinkles:).

Have you ever heard this funny trick? "Divide the older person's age in half, then add seven, and that's the biggest age difference you can have. So if you're 30, the youngest you can date is 22." It's actually a pretty good rule of thumb!

So, I'm curious: Have you ever dated an older man or woman? Much older? Would you rather date older or younger? How old would you go? Is your current partner older than you? I'd love to hear your thoughts...

(P.S. Btw, George Clooney is 50, so he's fair game for any of you older than 32 1/2!)

DIY wedding hair: Pretzel braid

I'm excited to share another hair tutorial! My friend (and hair genius) Caroline adores this gorgeous pretzel braid, which she says is easy enough for brides to do themselves. So, we met at our favorite wedding shop, and Jamie Beck took photos. Doesn't her hair look breezy and romantic?

Here are Caroline's steps, if you'd like to try it out...

"I have a friend who was an Irish dancer, and she would always wear her hair in amazing elaborate braids. This one is not-too-fussy (my favorite way to wear my hair) and would look so pretty for an evening wedding or outdoor summer party."--Caroline

1. Start by making two pigtails, using rubber bands. Make them a bit higher up on your head.

2. Braid both pigtails...

3. ...and secure ends with a rubber band.

4-6. Remove the top rubber bands from the pigtails.

7. Cross one braid over the other.

8. Starting with the braid that's now on top, create a sort of "C" shape and pin. It doesn't have to be precise; you just want to have a nice curved shape from the braid.

9. Make the same curved shape with the other braid and pin. Curve it up and over the top of the braid you just pinned down.

10. Ultimately, you want to get a nice sort of pretzel or knot shape from the two braids. Tuck the ends of both braids behind the knot and pin them down securely.

Voila! Isn't it gorgeous? Would you wear it to your wedding (or a summer party)? This is one of my favorite hair tutorials of all time! Please ask any questions in the comments below; the instructions are a little tricky...

P.S. Seven genius hair ideas.

(Photos by Jamie Beck for Cup of Jo. In the step-by-step photos, Caroline is wearing an Eberjey robe. In the wedding photos, Caroline's wedding dress is by Ivy & Aster from Lovely, a gorgeous bridal boutique in the West Village. Her jewelry is from her own line, Brvtvs, and her lip color is lipstick is NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Damned.)

Lil Kim Says She's Back With Mr. Papers

Just a week or so ago, Lil Kim took to her Twitter page to let her fans know that she was no longer in a relationship with her boyfriend, Mr. Papers. Many Lil Kim fans were happy to hear the news because they thought that with Mr. Papers out of the way they would be getting some new music from the Queen Bee herself.

However, in a turn of events and with a change of heart, Lil Kim once again took to her Twitter page to announce that she is back with Mr. Papers and that the two are very much in love with each other. But if you can't take my word for it, then check out Lil Kim's tweet for yourselves when you click on that "Read More" button below:

Let's just hope that Lil Kim can split her time between being in love and putting out that music that we have come to expect. Lord knows we need some more female rappers in the game, but that's just my own opinion. What's yours?

Have you ever fallen for someone's...bookcase?

Years ago, my sister invited her friend Paul over to her apartment. While she was in the kitchen making some snacks, he took a look at her bookcase. At that moment, he says, he knew he would fall in love with her. Her bookcase revealed all her passions-from Roald Dahl short stories and funny plays to mountain biking guides and How We Die. She had even tucked The Baby-Sitters Club next to a book on Linear Algebra.

Three years later, they were married.

It's funny how much your bookshelf can reveal about you. So I was PSYCHED to hear about the new book My Ideal Bookshelf, in which one hundred creative thinkers share their absolute favorite books. The book interviews writers (Michael Chabon, Mary Karr, Jonathan Lethem) and chefs (Alice Waters, David Chang) and Hollywood personalities (Judd Apatow, James Franco) and big thinkers (Malcolm Gladwell, Atul Gawande) and musicians (Patti Smith, Thurston Moore) about the particular books that made them who they are. My only small quibble is that I wish the people explained why they chose each book, but overall the collection is fantastic and makes you want to curl up under a blanket and read all day.

So now, of course, the big question is: What's on YOUR ideal bookshelf? Mine would include: The History of Love, Epilogue, Ghost World, Peter Pan, Private Lives, Operating Instructions, Sense and Sensibility, The BFG, Middlesex, the list goes on...

(Top photo of my sister and her husband by Max Wanger)

How did you meet your significant other?

If you're in a relationship, how did you meet your significant other? Here's our story from six years ago...Read More >

How long do you wait to sleep with someone?

We've talked about everything from break-ups to breasts, so today let's talk about sex...
Read More >

Are you too busy?

Do you feel like a chicken with its head cut off? My sister sent me this fascinating article, which says that, even if we feel swamped, most of us are actually less busy than we think...

The last paragraph really struck me: Change your language. Instead of saying "I don't have time" try saying "it's not a priority," and see how that feels. Often, that's a perfectly adequate explanation. I have time to iron my sheets, I just don't want to. But other things are harder. Try it: "I'm not going to edit your r sum , sweetie, because it's not a priority." "I don't go to the doctor because my health is not a priority." If these phrases don't sit well, that's the point. Changing our language reminds us that time is a choice. If we don't like how we're spending an hour, we can choose differently.

What little things do you want to purposefully make more time for? I'd like to take baths some evenings, learn how to play guitar and call my mom for random chats. Also, eat this olive oil cake.

P.S. Remember what happened on Seinfeld when Kramer got too busy?

(Photo by The Sartorialist)

NYC Date Idea: Trapeze class

So. Last Saturday, Alex and I took a trapeze class, and it was wild...Read More >

Kenya Moore Covers "Hype Hair" & Responds To Walter Jackson

Photo courtesy of GumBumper.com

"Real Housewives of Atlanta" castmember, Kenya Moore, is gracing the December cover of "Hype Hair", but not many of us are really interested in her cover more than we are about her made up relationship with former boyfriend, Walter Jackson. If you guys are not familiar with the story then take a moment and let me pour you some tea!

Yesterday, Mr. Walter Jackson visited V103 to address his role on the "Housewives" reality show and admitted that his relationship with Kenya Moore was fabricated for the cameras. Many of us knew that something was not right with the two since every time Kenya brought up the topics of marriage or children Walter would either choke or make funny faces.

Fast forward to just a few hours ago and Kenya Moore has responded to Walter's interview via her Twitter page and says she has more information that she would be revealing soon. So get ready to check out Kenya's tweets when you click on that "Read More" button below:

I'm wondering if what Kenya has to share with us is what Walter has warned us all of? Walter stated that Kenya was going around town telling everyone who had an ear that he was gay, but Walter says he is far from gay. So what do you guys think of this? I'll hold!

Before Midnight

Have you seen the beautifully romantic films Before Sunrise and Before Sunset? Well, director Richard Linklater has now made a third film in the series, Before Midnight...Read More >