Wedding-themed entertainment in Broward County!

Both of us Bride at 35 girls are big fans of the classic oldies sing-a-longs - we're still swooning over Darlene Love's girl group-tastic "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" performance from "The Late Show With David Letterman"`last week (That woman has to have an aging picture hidden in her closet, because I think she looks younger every year).

Which is why "A Taffeta Wedding" caught Leslie's eye. OK, the fact that this play, happening down her neck of the woods in Coral Springs, has the word "wedding" in the title has something to do with it too (Them things are on the brain, you know), It's about a sister act girl group called The Taffetas, who marry the four members of a doo-wop group called the Cardigans (also, incidentally, the name of the Swedish pop group that sings "Love Fool," Lynne's karaoke jam).

The play, a musical review with all your favorites of bobby soxed yesteryear ("Sh-Boom," "Do You Wanna Dance," the slightly culturally tin-eared but pleasantly catchy "Running Bear"), runs through Jan. 16 at the Broward Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs. Check it out here here at http://www.miamiartzine.com/issue_main.cfm?btitle=taffetas+and+cardigans+wear+well&issuecatid=1007.

Go be cultured!

Merry Christmas from Bride At 35, Part 2!

As promised, this is the other half of the Bride at 35 team, Leslie, as I sit at a Little Rock, Arkansas sports bar with my husband, who is cheering on the Baltimore Ravens. And I'm writing about weddings, which is pretty much the antithesis of what he's doing. It also reminds me of the first time he took me to his favorite Baltimore sports bar with his old friends, where I interrupted him during a crucial play to ask him to look at a darling reception place setting idea in Martha Stewart Weddings.

Which brings us to why I, and my sister, am so thrilled to be able to share our experiences as brides of a certain age with you. The above story is just one teensy example of those funny things that happen as you are planning a wedding and more importantly planning a life. I am learning to integrate my life with my husband's, as I learn about Ray Lewis and interceptions and he learns about place settings and guest books. He is my partner and I am his, and as we celebrate our first married Christmas, we are both happy for the gift of each other and the patience, at the age of 39 and 40, to be able to accept the things we can not change and be humorously thrilled about the things we're learning.

And here at Bride at 35, we're embracing the season as well as our mission: to celebrate the love and circumstance that can happen at any age, and the beauty and wisdom (or not) that accompanies it. We want to share in your joy, your questions, your hope and fears and just the fact that love is possible. As are awesome place settings.

Happy happy joy joy!

Merry Christmas from Bride at 35, Part 1

Merry Christmas to all of you!! This is Lynne, 1/2 of the Bride at 35 team. I am writing this as I watch "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on Food Network. They are talking about yummy brunch. I, myself, am about to heat up the pastry thing we bought at Panera yesterday. Yes, I am a gourmand.

But designer re-heated pastry aside, there are two big things that stand out about this year for me. One is that I am going to be sharing that pastry with my husband,  because, yes, this year, for the first time in my 39 years, I have a husband. The second HUGE thing is that I am NOT sharing that pastry with Leslie, the other 1/2 of the Bride at 35 team, and also my twin sister, who is also celebrating her first married Christmas, or with my parents.

It's not that it's our first holiday as couples. Last year, Mommy, Daddy, my then-boyfriend (now husband) and I travelled to South Florida to have Christmas with my sister and her then-fiance, who has since been upgraded to brother-in-law, awesome Scott.  That was a wonderful vacation with plenty of excitement in the air, because Leslie and Scott were engaged, and because it seemed like a taste of things to come, with all of us together, because, with the exception of that one Christmas in 1994 when Leslie had moved north and couldn't come down to Florida where my parents and I were (we have ALL moved around in the last 16 years, and the tracking of who lived where when is a whole differnt blog post), my parents and Leslie and I ALWAYS spend Christmas together.

But new years bring changes, and this year, my husband and I didn't have the time off to travel to be with my immediate family this year. After being in denial for a couple of days, we decided to look at it as a cool thing. Since this is our first married Christmas, we are doing just us this year. After the Panera, we'll watch some movies, go out to eat and just soak up the day, which for us is mostly about Jesus-ness, then a little about fried breaded things.

And below the Jesus-ness, and above the fried goodness, it's about family. And this year, this new family of 2, my husband and I, are building a foundation of us, just today, before we add dogs and kids and such. Next year, I am sure that we will do a larger family Christmas day again. While I am missing the family that I'm not with today, I am so thankful for this new person that I have been blessed with.  And I hope that whatever your traditions, or faith, or location, that you are spending this day happy.

Merry Christmas.

The year in celebrity weddings: The Good, the bad and the "What the..."?

Just discovered a magically delicious and snarky blog called Celebrity Weddings, on the The Knot's Wedding Channel (if you are planning a wedding, we strongly suggest checking out The Knot's wedding store, where Leslie bought her Thank You cards and personalized favor fans. She also has extras, so...anybody want a personalized wedding fan?)

Because culturally we seem to love celebrities and weddings, it's not surprising that somebody's actually ranking and reviewing weddings like they're TV shows or sporting events. And some of these, honestly, are so over-the-top "LOOKIT!" that the argument can be made that the couples were begging for attention (and for snark.) And of course, we're talking about Speidi, who, while not over 35, seem to have been around and on our nerves for at least 35 years.

http://weddings.weddingchannel.com/wedding-planning-ideas/celebrity-weddings.aspx?listpost=3&showpost=tag%3atypepad.com%2c2003%3apost-6a00e551ae05e388340148c6c40b11970c

Today's Bride (over) 35: Lynne Streeter Childress

Last week, Bride at 35 featured the wedding of Leslie Streeter Zervitz, one half of our sisterly blog team (Check out the post. So pretty.) Today, we thought we'd share the October 2010 wedding of Lynne, the other half.

2 years ago, Lynne was at a time in her life where she really wanted someone in her life, but decided that she wouldn't stress about it like she had been. She let go and let God, as the old people say, and God sent her an e-mail that E-Harmony was having a sale! At least that's how she likes to think of it. So, she met Arthur Childress, and they fell in love, and 2 1/2 years later (I am sure that she will elaborate more as this blog continues), he proposed. And they decided to not listen to people who told them that they couldn't plan the wedding that they wanted in 2 months (because at that point, they wanted to get the party started), and that Lynne was too old to have 9 bridesmaids, and sifted through other loving advice, some of which they took, and some of which they did not (but it was all in love, we know), and 2 months after their engagement, got married at the AWESOME Circle D Farm in Maryland. It was a beautiful October morning, and they laughed and ate and danced and cried (both of them) and had a happy day. And are so blessed. Beyond belief.

Here are some pictures, taken by UCricket Photography (and the last one by our my darling friend Nikki)...

It's been one week since you looked at us, turned your heads to the side and said, "They're Crazy!"....

...BUT you like it!  Maybe you thought, "They, like me, are over the age of 35 (or thereabouts) and they talk about weddings and stuff and I like that kind of thing but I haven't really seen myself reflected in magazines or dress shops or blogs or TV shows or such." Yes, it seems like in the week since we (Leslie and Lynne) started "A Bride at 35", we've hit on something. And that's that you never get too old to want to be loved and to celebrate it, whether:
You are planning your wedding now;
Or you just got married and are still obsessed with weddings;
Or if you aren't dating anybody but want to be married one day and want to hear that you don't have to give up on that desire just because you are closer to 45 than 25;
Or you just like reading this blog.

We just want to give you a voice. And give some hope. Or make you smile. It's all good.

Thanks for your feedback on Facebook. If you are reading us, here's what you can do....

• POST FEEDBACK HERE ON BLOGGER!! We would love to expand what we do, and part of knowing if people are with us is for them to tell us in a way that can be tracked. You can do us by commenting here on Blogger, directly to our posts. You can also be one of our inaugural followers here on Blogger!! We have 4! We love them!! Join us!!
• Write more comments on our FB page and "like us'!
• Send us your stories and pictures!
• Refer us to your friends.

We are having a freaking blast hearing your stories (both brides AND grooms) and seeing your beautiful pics, and we hope you keep it up, because, well, it's been a good week. And we forsee more.

So, as our one week gift to you, we give you "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies, because it's always a good time to hear that song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPo9ISQpzvM

You're welcome!! See ya tomorrow.

Bride at 35 Survey/Poll/Challenge Thing!!!

So, we've established that more and more people are getting married older than some might expect, so we think that we need a decent name to describe us. "Mature Bride" sounds stuffy, and "Older Bride", while accurate, doesn't sing, so....

CHALLENGE:
Suggest a name for brides over the age of 35! Post it in the comment section, on our Facebook Page, or e-mail it to us at bride35@gmail.com!! The interesting ones get mentioned, and if we find one we really like, we'll start using it!!

Sounds good?  Get to it!!

TV Bride (Over) 35: Finn's Mom on "Glee"

Neither of us have children, so perhaps we can't understand the urge to make every important thing un your life about your offspring. We get that your kids become your focus in almost every way. But should they hijack your wedding?

A huge sparkly nay, we say. Which is why, as much as we love "Glee," and admire the stratospherically perfect voice of Kurt (Chris Colfer), we cannot condone the show's recent wedding of Kurt's dad to Finn's mom, which took a beautiful older couple's special day and turned it into a very bridal "Kids From Fame" special. Whose star was Kurt. And as adorable as he is, we think the bride gets to be the star of the day. Or the groom. But mostly the bride. (Don't tell our husbands we said that.)

Yeah, yeah, we know the show's called "Glee" and not "Loving Older Couple," and that it's a big fluffy fantasy where people burst into song, with instant accompaniment, six times an hour, in major production pieces on a Midwestern public school's budget. So we're not looking for stark reality here. But was it really necessary to have the Glee kids be the attendants, when this nice-seeming 40-something couple should probably, you know, have friends of their own? And for the focus to be on Kurt and his awesomeness? This reminds us of a wedding our aunt told us about, where the (older) bride basically had a special presentation for everyone she ever met, including a song for her dead father. We're all for a production - Lynne's groom sang him and his groomal (?) party down the aisle to Jackie Wilson's "Your Love (Is Lifting Me Higher." But it was awesome. And about, you know, Lynne's love lifting him higher.

Also, we know that the "Glee" wedding was cast in the middle of a very, very important storyline about the bullying of gay students (in this case, Kurt), and that he needed to feel supported. But couldn't they have written it so the kids and the family staged some sort of separate Kurt Appreciation Day - you know they love nothing more than the staging of events on that show - on a different day? To purposely write it so that the wedding had to be all about anybody but the bride and groom made me wish they hadn't done the wedding at all.

We know, we know...Kurt's now-stepmom is awesome and lovely and willing to make this day about her new family, including her new stepson. And that's sweet and generous and blah blah blah IT'S HER DADBLAMED WEDDING. Just because you're older and getting married for the second time doesn't mean you have to surrender your spotlight completely. Maybe we're just not that nice.

Yeah. That's probably it. She did look pretty, though. And, at least, elsewhere in the episode, this got to happen.

Today's Bride (over) 35 of the Day: Leslie Streeter Zervitz!

Part of what we want to do here at Bride At 35 is to show, in words and in pretty pretty pictures, what being an older bride can look like. And for Leslie, who got married February 28, two months shy of of her 39th birthday, that looked like a pretty day in Palm Beach, Florida, where she was 20 pounds heavier than she wanted to be and, in some pictures, wearing Ugly Cry Face.

However, she married the man of her dreams, Scott Zervitz, who she met in high school and found again on Facebook, in front of a collection of friends and family of every type (black, white, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, agnostic,atheist, young, old, medium-old, well-moisturized and ashy.)

And it's still her favorite day. Here is what it looked like, in photos by Nathaniel Corn and Nerissa Miller, our official photographers, and other friends and family. Enjoy and see the possibilities!

Today's Bride-At-35 Beauty Blast!!

Part of being a bride is looking freaking awesome on your wedding day, and that doesn't change when you're north of 35.  We asked fabulous Charlotte-based stylist Caron (just Caron, because she has it like that), her thoughts. Caron has been in the beauty business for 22 years, working nationally as a stylist and as a national educator for a global beauty manufacturer.  She's recently opened Noir, a salon that specializes in beautiful hair color and eyebrow styling.  In January, Noir will be opening the Wedding Suite, a place exclusively for wedding parties to get beautified on the big day, either in the salon or at your wedding site (stylists will even travel to your destination wedding! We want to come too!! Okay, back to the point...).

Here's what Caron had to say about ageless beauty....

On Who's Taking the Plunge:

"I am seeing brides in 2 age groups; either very young or older than me. Lately, I am seeing more women in their  late-30s to 60's, some first timers and some getting remarried. The remarried ones are finding the courage to get married again after being bound to a bad marriage, but they are now bound by what's "appropriate", either because of what people are telling them, or because they don't see themsleves in magazines.  But I saw one bride whose grandson walked her down the aisle."

On Doing You:

"I had one client in her 40's with very fine hair, and she wanted to
grow it out so she could wear her hair up for her wedding because that's what people told her to do. This is a woman who (was choosing on her wedding day) to go barefoot, walking down the hallway of the home that she owned with her fiance', but when I asked her why she wanted to wear her hair up, she didn't know why. I told her to cut her hair and be herself, so on her wedding day she wore a short bob and a strapless gown and that is (supposed to be) a no-no at 46. She said that it was the best thing she could have done. It's because it wasn't a mask. It was her walking into the next part of her life.

Women grow their hair out for a year and cut it after their honeymoon. You can do what you want with your hair; showcase it; it is an asset; don't hide it. You don't have to work through a head of shellack on your wedding night."

On Doing It Yourself, but With Some Help....

"The biggest mistake that people make is doing their own make-up without a professional lesson; there are ways to do it without breaking your bank or your heart- you need your guidance."

On Embracing The Beauty That You Are RIGHT NOW:

"#1 advice- don't focus or be so hard on what you look like now as opposed to how you looked the first time (you got married) or what you would have looked if you got married when you were younger. Where you are now is more beautiful than where you were at 22 because in your maturity because you know who you are,  and that produces a beauty that no make-up or hairdressing is going to accomplish."

On True Radiance:
"A radiant bride is in 2 ways:  I know of a recent young bride; (when you are young) you can be happy because you are young and getting married; everything was in place. Everything went well. But the 46 year old bride I worked with was beautiful and was in her own hallway that she owned; her eyes were open. She wasn't blinded by the perfection. You can't top that day. (At that age) you see the possibilities and not the limitations. When you see a woman walk with grace and poise it's a different kind of amazing."

Today's Bride At 35 Words O' Wisdom

(Because that o' is sorta jaunty, no?)

"I was a bride at 35, which didn’t work out, and am now 45 engaged for the second time. My advice to any bride, no matter what her age, when it comes to the dress or the overall wedding planning, is to choose a style and event that fits her personality. Don’t try to be something you’re not. A wedding dress should not feel like a costume. Like any formal or cocktail dress, a bridal gown or semi-formal should be an extension of your personal style, and made of high quality material. It’s a special day and that should be reflected, even if it’s a wedding on the beach at sunset or a country setting. The absolute best advice I can give though, is to spend more time thinking about the marriage, rather than the wedding. Younger brides often overlook this important distinction in their quest for the “perfect” wedding."

 Julie Langford, vice president, French West Vaughn (Dallas, Tx) and Bride-to-Be

Ask the Brides: Should I pull off a gown to renew my vows?

Morning, Brides!
Today's question comes from Eliesa Prettelt of West Palm Beach, a gorgeous 37-year-old wife and mom. Hit it, girl!

 Q: When we got married almost ten years ago, we went to the corner (literally, the corner where we lived at the time had the courthouse in it!) and in the presence of just my 2 sisters and his mom, we tied the knot. Now, ten years later, we are considering a re-do of our vows. Wondering what you think of having a ceremony at this point? Do we throw ourselves the celebration we never had, or would that be tacky? And if we do, do I get to wear a wedding dress? (it would sure beat the t-shirt and black slacks I wore ten years ago!)


A: The short answer to your questions are: Hell, yeah, do what you want! But to elaborate, I'll introduce you to the patron saint of our site, our late grandmother Arnell Evora Evans Streeter. Grandma was a strong-willed, vocally talented, culinary skilled-blessed lady who was also fashion forward (I own a mini dress of hers from the 60s, when she was in her 50s, and I can't wear it. She was fierce, y'all).

She had all that fashion sense, but had never gotten to brave the ultimate catwalk - the bridal aisle. When they got hitched in 1939, they had both been married before, and they just, you know, got married. But as their 50th anniversary approached in 1989, and their kids and grandkids started planning a grand celebration, Grandma announced that she was having a wedding. A big one. With a long white dress (and jaunty '80s hat and cleavage), bridesmaids (my aunts and mother) and flower girls (her 18-year-old granddaughters, namely us, and our 17-year-old cousin). And a honeymoon cruise.

As you might imagine, this did not initially fly with certain members of my family, who tried to talk Grandma out of it (Not us -Lynne and I knew better than to fight with that woman. It never, ever ended well). People told her that maybe she was too...umm...mature to wear white and have attendants and a big churchy thing. Perhaps she might reconsider?

Ha ha.

"When you are married for 50 years," she said, "you can do what you want."

And that, my friends, was that. She got everything she wanted - the dress, the hat, the attendants, the whole shebang, which was turned into a huge family reunion. Could it have all been kinda tacky? Of course it could have. The point was is that Grandma felt she'd raised a family, done her job and had an obviously long marriage. Sister had earned that wedding, and she had it. And it didn't hurt that at 75, she looked like she was in her late 50s, and that she looked drop dead diva in that dress, which she left to me (I didn't get to wear it but I carried her money bag).

The purpose of this long story is to say this, Eliesa - You are probably a different person than you were ten years ago. You probably have different tastes and priorities. You don't have to try to recreate what you would have done in your 20s if you'd actually had a wedding then - what "big ceremony" means to you is probably different now, so if you decide to have one, it should reflect what that means to you now. And that doesn't have to mean "demure" or whatever. Girl, you can have bridal Mardi Gras with clowns and a French guy that paints guests pictures as they do the Electric Slide.

Do what feels right, dignified (or not, if that's what you're going for) and reflective of what your marriage has meant to you, and what you want to say about that in that ceremony. Maybe include your family, or old pictures, or old music. The important thing to keep in mind is what you want to say: Is this the wedding you never had, or a commemoration of your marriage, or both? You can do both, honestly. Just make it organic to who you are now and how fabulous and awesome you want to feel.

And while it's nice to have advice (my wedding planner/bridesmaid Kiki talked me out of the eleventy-three musical performances I wanted for my reception that were threatening to turn it into a geriatric episode of "The Kids From Fame"), never forget whose wedding this is. Yours. Do you. And keep us posted.

Real Bride At 35: Sarah Kelly

Well, all right!

We were hoping that we'd get some submissions for stories about the real BA35's out there, and we got one immediately, from Sarah Kelly, who we went to Baltimore City College High School with back in the 80s (our posted Facebook prom pictures prove this. We were cute, though.)

Anyway, here is Sarah's story:

"Before I met my current husband (and only one I hope!) I had been engaged three times... 4 if you count my engagement to my now husband! The first engagement was with a guy I dated for 6 years... just wasn't the one. The second engagement I call my "accidental" engagement. I had been planning to break up with him and he must've sensed it because he asked me to marry him over dinner with friends! I was so shocked and didn't want to embarrass him so I said yes.
"There was one more engagement before I found "The ONE". In my 20s I had always dreamed of my wedding and had everything planned right down to the flowers and the month. BUT when it actually came time to plan.. I had a completely different wedding. Things that I thought were important then.. just weren't that important any more. I did alot of the things myself, i.e. invitations, programs, favors.. and used a Tech School for my flowers! God Forbid!! BUT everything turned out absolutelly beautiful.
"The wedding date was Feb 24th, and two days prior there was a huge ice storm, but on that day, it was sunny and 45. Even got gorgeous pictures outside in my strapless dress! When we arrived the place was locked and we had to track down the manager to open the doors! I remained calm.. even after my sister (the maid of honor) sprayed perfume on her dress.... leaving a huge oil stain right in the center.. No problem... I said 'Just put your bouquet in front of it,' which she did. I was so calm that my father in law even toasted to it in his speech!
"When it's the right person and time, all that stuff doesn't matter. As far as I was concerned as long as my groom and the minister was there, that's all I needed. I feel that I have entered a marriage that will last my lifetime becuase I had the opportunity to do all the things I wanted to do."

YAY! That is just what we were looking for! (See more of her beautiful photos at http://www.jasonknauer.com/gallery/4417293_3ZRAe/1/259535017_eZ2WC#259663593.

And we like how Sarah touched on what Lynne and I found when we planned our weddings, that they were completely different than the ones that were in our heads in our 20s. We didn't have to please anyone, including any earlier versions of ourselves. And Sarah, apparently, felt that too.

OK...who's next?

Mature isn't always a compliment, or another reason why we wanted to do this blog

As we prepared to write this blog and googled "Bride over 35" or "older bride", a phrase that we kept coming across to describe us was "mature". Now, as brides at 38 and 39, we knew that we couldn't wear everything we wore at 25, and that a Cinderella wedding complete with glass slipper and coach might seem best left in the past. But in this context, "mature" sounds like a buzzkill.  I may not have chosen to wear a 20 foot train, but we didn't want to be relegated to long-sleeved beige dresses with turtlenecks either.

Yes, dear people of the internet, we argue that we shouldn't have to settle for the wedding that someone else has decided that we should have just because we're older. Now, neither of us danced on bars at our weddings, but we danced up a storm on the dance floor. And Leslie's strappy gown and my strapless dress with the crazy train were perfect for us, because, well, they were US. See, we believe that you should be able to have the wedding that you want, regardless of your age, and that actually, our age gives us the right to do whatever the heck we choose. So rock that long-sleeved dress if you want, or show off those shoulders, or have your elegant sit-down dinner with violins playing, or have that all-you-can eat taco bar and pass out from too much Electric Sliding.  The point, is to know who you are, and work that. Because being YOU and being happy with that is the most mature thing we can think of.

Over-35 Bride of the Day

The only part of this that isn't just crazypants is how awesome Liza looks. At least she still has that. When that-era Michael Jackson is one of the most normal-looking people in your wedding party, well, that must have been a party.

Why you should read this blog

So you're over 35 and you're getting married! Maybe this is your second time (or third - we don't judge). Or maybe, like us, this is your initial trip down the aisle fantastic, because you didn't find anybody awesome enough to marry before now. Anyway, congrats (or in the words of Leslie's husband's people, Mazel Tov!)

Like any bride, you might be hitting the wedding salons, grabbing every magazine with the word "bride" in it, or Googling ideas for dresses and hairstyles and funky trendy places to get your photos taken (is EVERY  hipster wedding at a carnival now?).

And if you've done that already, you may have noticed that you're apparently supposed to be the mother of the bride.

Because what else could explain the lack of women over the age of, we don't know, 25, in bridal gowns in the ads at your national chain bridal emporiums? Or their absence in bridal magazine ads or most features that aren't obviously meant to be a token inclusion so you won't get disgusted and not pay $6 for their rag. Or just the weird looks you get when you walk into a bridal store and ask to try something on and the clerk tries not to look surprised when you say, yeah, the appointment's for you.

Yeah, yeah, we know. Youth and beauty sells. And we get it. We fully expect beautiful, thin, young girls to populate those amazing, slinky, expensive gowns and to look awesome doing it. Here's the thing - if you NEVER see yourself reflected in a store, or an ad, or in cool awesome blogs, you start to think that maybe you're not supposed to be there. It's like "Take your old wrinkly butt over to Chico's bridal department...wait, they don't have one? Whoops."

Remember that awful Newsweek story from 1986 that said that women over 30 had only a 20 percent chance of getting married, and that for women over 40 that went down to 2 percent? First of all, screw that story. Apparently, it wasn't even true then, and it certainly isn't now. In 2006, Newsweek revealed that 40 year old women now have a 40 percent chance of getting married.  Now, that's better, but we have a feeling that in this day and age of people waiting later and later to walk down the aisle that number will continue to grow. Shoot, among a random sampling of people whose last name is Streeter (our maiden name) and were born in April of 1971, that stat goes up to 100%!

Bottom line, we're not the unicorn.  That's why we wanted to provide a place for brides over 35 (or even those under 35, if you feel like it) to post their photos, look for advice, encouragement and signs that say: You're not weird. You're just in love!