Orcas Island Wedding Style

Handfasting

 Handfasting was the original way in Medieval Britain that couples joined in what we know as matrimony. By handfasting (actually placing of the couples palms in a way to signify the infinity sign) a couple was joined for a year and 1 day whereafter they could renew the handfast or not as they chose. Since access to clergy was not all that easy this made a great deal of sense. 

Today handfasting is used symbolically as a portion of a wedding ceremony. It is a lovely ancient (some say Celtic) tradition being kept alive.

I am glad I came across the term today.  It is fun learning where things come from and why. 

 

 

A Bit of City

I was feeling a bit stale from a long winter and from staring out at all this natural beauty. Seriously, sometimes you really can't see the forest for the trees.

So my husband and I packed up and went on a trip from which we have just returned.

We struggled at first to decide where this much needed break would be, friends in the Caribbean, friends in Bali all tempted us but we realised pretty quickly it was a big dose of City that was needed.

My first post (in forever I know!)is about why that was a good choice, going city that is. I needed visual feeding.  

Coming up with unusual inspiration for Wedding decor that goes beyond bark and moss or can be ferreted out from the two dimensional world of my MAC is at times a challenge.

So it seemed to make sense to go to Paris. 

Isn't this just fantastic!

I know I can't bring the Musee des Moyan Age here (though I wish I could work there) nor can I time travel the ancient stone masons of France for my next project but I can certainly let them inpsire me....  how about for the next time I have a tent ceiling to decorate?

Ah, the jet lag siren song calls and I must answer. More soon dear friends. au bientôt.

Affordable

I am thinking of a big garage sale we just held. Orcas Islanders love garage sales.  Furniture and rugs and decor accessories. Most new and lovely, that came from the end of a staging gig we did. The sale was held out of our storage space which was chock a block with great stuff. It was interesting to watch people as they 'experienced the stuff'.  Some chemistry begins and the energy shifts when you put people in a space that has stuff for sale priced way under retail.  I know it has had it's effect on me.

There was an estate sale about a year ago. I offer to help set it up  for a friend of a friend. At first I am all about the presentation, merchandising the heck out of a life time of goods. There is some really nice possessions being sold.

As a thank you for my efforts and to those others who are assisting we get first dibs on the stuff. I  don't really needing anything but my curiousity is piqued and bit of the ancient hunting instinct comes allive. And I look, and touch and pick up and put aside somethings with my name on it to purchase . The next day is the sale.

I arrive and decide to wander around the tables to see what was laid out after I left. At first there are only one or two other people wandering around. But soon I have ten people, twenty people joining me in the hunt, hunting for that perfect thing, what it is is yet unknown but when seen, I know I will want and I will discover a need  for it I never knew I had. It is obviously affordable because it is at a garage sale. Yippee! 

So I am picking up this pot and that frame. I wonder what I could do with another set of beautiful 700 count sheets.  I pass over the kitchen towels in stack all nicely tied with a ribbon. I am falling in love with some beautiful wind chimes.  As I look back  someone else picks up the stack of towels.  This creepy feeling of avarice comes noodling up from the bottom of my unconscious. Someone else made the kill opportunity I passed over.

Adrenline surges, my arms begin to fill with trophy's.

Soon I am going out of the garage sale with a load of stuff and a smile on my face which after awhile begins to melt in to a look of vague confusion (like Benjamin does on the bus when he finally gets Elaine to come with him in the movie The Graduate).  The satisfaction wears off pretty quickly. It was fun.  I would call this  a diversion, an hour of sport. Affordable fun sport.

Not all garage sales are equal. The one we held was like that and if I was a shopper and not a seller I would have gone all wonky in there. 

Hmm. We still have some stuff for sale! I wonder if that chair will fit in my office......

 

 

SEPTEMBER 1

Oh my. It has been a very long time since I last posted; even my  husband noticed.

Before I had a blog I had all sorts of things to say that seemed terribly important. After the first flush of blog ownership those feelings waned. It is easy to have courage when what you fear is not nearby. It's when it is right in front of you where the real test begins.

It has been a wonderful wedding season for Patina mostly because we have had the most wonderful clients. Really, every last one of them. Truly lovely people who were marrying truly lovely people. I will miss you all.

I listen to the news irregularly now because it is too difficult to follow, requires too much of my soul to endure. When last I did, day before yesterday I believe, I heard this amazing statistic about 1 out of every 46 men in this country do not have a job. It could not have been more stunning. Dustbowls in Texas. Soup kitchens crowded beyond their capacity. The song "Brother Can You Spare A Dime" has rolled across my mind ever since.

But I and those around me are blessed. We eat well, we email. We play with friends or read books. Work hard. We are living normally. How is it that we can do that but there are so very many people who will find this hour this moment insurmountably difficult. It feels like there is a thin membrane between where they are and where we are.

And in the face of it people get engaged. People get married and want to share with everyone this great joy they have found. The indominitable human spirit I guess is at work.

Some pictures to share of the work we have been doing. Hope you enjoy them. They were great fun to do. New Pics for 2011

Hats

Kate and William. As a planner and designer it is an interesting exercise to imagine what working a Royal Wedding would be like. Impeccable staff helps. A full wallet doesn't hurt. But the pressure of it all requires a very strong stomach. Like as not, I will not have to test myself on that scale.

Loved the hats! I think that was my favourite part. Did you see them? If not check out this slide show link Royal Hats on the NYTimes.  Some of the hats look like they come from Yves St. Laurent via Dr. Seuss. Some went in for height. Others for brim. Don't get many events on Orcas where hats like this show up. Our loss.

Most everyone here dresses as my friend Nikki says, 'prepared for a Hiking Emergency'. Polar Fleece, tired jeans, rugged shoes and earrings. You get the image. Another friend tells the story of how she and her husband were going to an evening party and it wasn't a potluck. She came out feeling very pretty,  lovely pants and top, a bit of girl frill, jewlery and makeup. Her husband came out in pants and a polar fleece and rugged shoes, sans jewlery. They looked as if they were going to different events.

So what do you wear to an Orcas Island wedding? Unless specified for black tie or aloha party, an outfit that makes you feel very pretty, that you can where with out tugging at it to put it back in place, is the right thing. Shoes are of course a challenge. I have sadly missed several seasons of shoes that I would have loved to wear because I live here. I see a lot of women in heels twisting ankles as they chase their 3 year old off the path into the forest. I've seen Christian Louboutins aerating lawns while ruining heel and toe. Ca-ching! It is distressing to say but low heels and flats work for the grass and the dance floor. Leave the polar fleece in the hotel room. Bring a sparkely sweater or wrap. It is chilly at night for sure.

And if the mood hits and style works, wear a great hat. There are those of us here who would be so very grateful.

This Moment

The New York Times has before and after pictures, these types of photo assemblies always please me, today they opened my heart. Northern Japan satellite photos comparing April 2010  to March 2011. They made me understand in a  3 dimensional way what the people of Haiti, Chile, New Zealand and now Japan have faced and are now facing. When I say 3 dimensional what I mean is intellectual astonishment, emotional compassion and now the added sense of the physical. My body literally hurts for these people. I feel the fear that such devastation can cause. I am not there but I am there.

Oddly enough I am not running around trying to figure what to do to help. My first reaction to a disaster anywhere. No, I am sitting here trying to go into to the feelings, the sensations to appreciate what it takes to survive this kind of event.

A friend here on island received an email from a friend in Japan. He requested our prayers but he also requested we hold the appreciation and the love of the lives we lead every day in our hearts. He requested we love now. We live now.

That I get to hear my dog Molly snoring on the couch, to think about the weddings that need attention, to excitedly pull stuff to pack as I go on vacation I am once more reminded that my life is so very blessed. It is a fragile life that can be taken away in the blink of an eye, the shake of the earth but for right now, my gratitude is what I have to offer. It is humbling.

A Comma

Like a birthday, New Years is to me a comma. It is a pause in the long stream that is our experience of life. The pause is very useful for allowing reflection and stimulating anticipation. Without it we might flow along without gauging where we are and where we wish to be. The blissful drift.

And like birthday's New years is an opportunity to acknowledge the people that are in lives with gratitude and love for their part in our world. And it reminds me like a red string on the finger to not take for granted that which is gifted to me. Whether it is in the form of love from friends and family or in the form of being trusted by new clients to be part of their wedding. And of course to stop and enjoy the joy of my dogs and to stop and really see the beauty that is our home Orcas Island.

As we all struggle from time to time and sometimes more times than not, it is hard to remember to default to gratitude, to acknowledge that, in addition to our own efforts it is everyone in our life who makes what we want possible. We could not do this life alone.

Somber reflection I suppose but it is a rainy morning in Portland and I am in that mood.

Sending everyone out there thoughts of loving kindness and thanks for being my red string.  Happy New Year to you all.

 

First Pics then thoughts

Let's get to the pictures first. Once again photo jj has done an amazing job of capturing the essence of the people she is photographing. If you are looking for a photographer check this out and feel the love photo jj. 

Don't run away but I must write these two words to get to what is important. Breast Cancer. No, not me. My friend Sarah who was recently diagnosed and has blessed me by asking me to help her. Yes blessed because my eyes, which I though were open, are really opening to the love and profound caring the women on Orcas Island have for each other. Even those whom they have not yet met. Stand back, open up and let the love flow.

Now while I am on this nasty pesky everywhere you look subject I must state that the men and women, doctors, nurses, technicians, social workers, admin assistance, volunteers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Care Alliance in Seattle are some of the most compassionate, joyful, careful, smart people I have had the pleasure to be around. They get it. They really get it.

I read a quote from Henry David Thoreau (thank you Ms. Karen): "The purpose of life is to find your gift. The meaning of life is to give it away."

Get those eyes open. It is amazing out there in this crazy blastedly screwed up world we live in.  

Designing Your Wedding

You've been looking through magazines since  you got engaged, seeing the things you like and the things that you MUST do at your wedding. You've been looking at dress colours for your bridesmaids, ties for the groomsmen, flowers that are in season. Slowly, slowly pieces and bits, parts and pics are piled high into a stack of "this is what I want for my wedding, well sort of". Because really, you want all these things but you want it to be yours, signature to you. And therefore there is no photograph to reference because it is going to be created for you! So you worry, you ask your self, " What is it going to look like?" You have the grey silk with the yellow bits over here from Martha and you have the bouquet of peonies you pulled off of "what was that blog"? You have these candle holders you think are stinking cute and that escort card design idea you think is so sweet, but you worry what is the big picture? You want your guests to be  delighted by the wedding world you are creating and you hang on each detail as if it will make or break the experience.

Short of going out and actually securing all the props and materials, flowers and containers and doing a test drive in the reception space, you can ask your designer for what Snippet & Ink does regularly and does very well, an Inspiration Board.  These boards show colour, mood, texture, props, flower ideas, sometimes dress and jewelery, paper and favours.  The boards communicate the direction the designer is taking your wedding from Modern to Vintage from Country Farm to Woodland glade. Sometimes it is a signature prop that is the unifier - a nest of blue eggs or a minaret pillar candle holder. Sometimes it is a bowl of lemons and a white flower that captures it. Placed side by side, one snugged up against another you feel you have entered into the neighborhood of your wedding. And that would be enough to please.

But were you to let go of having a hand in each and every detail, relax into it just a bit, put yourself in her capable hands, you will allow for the most important ingredient to be brought to bear, Surprise. Allow for the surprise. It is what will make it really yours.

Time Off

Been spending time with my grandkid, Bella watching with amazement how in the space of one month her reasoning skills and pattern identification skills have rocketed upwards in complexity. We wanted Bella to have some Orcas Style fun so we want to visit our old neighbors.

We are very lucky to call Amy, Eric, Martha and Rachel Lum our friends. The Lum's have this farm, family, friend thing going on. Every time we go over for a visit there is always something wonderful happening. Friends visiting from afar, duck eggs in the incubator,  Amy's rhubarb berry crisps coming out of the oven, 2 donkeys in need of a good brushing, handsome chickens running amok  and this time a 2 day old baby lamb needing to be bottle fed.  Bella was in heaven. Well we all were.  We always have a warm wonderful and something very other from our daily lives kind of time. 

Out of the sheep raising part of the farm, has evolved a thriving cottage industry and child care solution. Bossy Felt Works is the name of the business. Bossy being the big sheep in the pen, gives over her wool to  Amy and 2 other moms and while the moms felt and make funtastic, wonderfully sweet felted figurines and ornaments and mobiles the kids get to play together, eat and nap together. It is wonderfully chaotic and very real.  They were honored a little while passed to be included in the Smithsonian's Cultural Heritage and Crafts Fair. Bossy Feltworks is a great feature on Orcas Island and you will also find them at the Saturday Market starting in May. Check them out when you come.