Black Tie Territory

My fiancé & I looked at venues for months! I began by casting a wide net online, and eliminating venues that were simply too expensive or had shoddy customer service. I initially loved the outdoor garden idea, but we decided against it -- mostly because I remembered that I positively melt in the summer Texas heat. With that, we toured six venues and fell in love with two of them!

I'm going to withhold the name of our first choice, but it was a relatively undiscovered ballroom near downtown, and it's beautiful! No garden, for sure, but it was even better: plenty of windows for beautiful light, formal décor, and oh yeah - AIR CONDITIONING. Eventually, negotiations with this venue didn't work out, but the venue we eventually chose could be described identically.

With the selection of this venue, I've suddenly realized we are heading into Black Tie territory--suddenly, it looks like the "black tie" wedding I'd really wanted could become a reality! Most importantly, my fiancé is on board with the idea. I couldn't be happier.

Not too long after our venue selection, I eagerly read my latest copy of Martha Stewart Weddings, and featured prominently was the formal Rainbow Room wedding of Priya & Ralph. What a beautiful example of a formal wedding, and how timely! Most of these images were photographed by Dan Loh. Find more pictures from Priya & Ralph's wedding on his blog.












Another wedding that immediately comes to mind is the wedding of Darcy Miller, wedding editor for Martha Stewart Weddings. I was in college when Darcy was married nearly 10 years ago, and I still remember the awe I felt looking at these wedding photos in the magazine. Amazing! I love *all types* of weddings, but if you're looking for "timelessness," a black tie wedding is unparalleled. Not ONE element of Darcy's wedding can be considered "out of style" now. Amazing! (So is her photographer, Holger Thoss).

A google search for Darcy & Andy's wedding reveals a 2001 article from indiebride.com, ripping apart Darcy's über-traditional affair as well as her choice to share the details of her courtship & wedding in the pages of the magazine. I wonder what that author would say now, 10 years later, with the advent of blogs, social networks, virtually instant digital photo uploading, and the massive explosion of the bridal industry! In 2010, Darcy's publishing her own wedding seems like a natural choice.