The Kari Diaries: wedding guest

Friday, August 23, 2013

Living in New York City, I don't get the chance to drive often; so I'm incredibly excited when I can just hop in my car and cruise for a bit. Although I adore my car, between four years of college in Pennsylvania and then three years of law school in the city, I barely spend anytime with him. And the saddest part of all is that I absolutely love roadtrips. The wind in your hair, sunroof open, shades on, music blasting. Even the frustration of getting lost, traffic, gas (and bathroom, ew!) stops, and pumping the brakes in a fast lane when you think you see a patrol car. And I can't forget those "road trip talks"; you know the ones you have with your fellow traveler that bring you closer and enlighten you as to the meaning of life (I'm overdoing it, aren't I?) Well, it's all part of the fun and it all makes me ridiculously happy.

This weekend, as I said in my last post, my good friend got married to quite possibly the most fun, adventurous and gorgeous woman ever and so I ventured off to Maryland for the weekend to celebrate with them. The drive was fun but delayed by traffic, the wedding was classic and glamorously modern all at the same time, and although Maryland was a nice change (and perhaps even a welcome one) from the city, boy, am I glad to be back home! Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

The open road to MD! The traffic was truly horrendous.

♥

Cocktail Hour where we drank Blushing Brides and Old Fashion Grooms.

From the ceremony.

The Second Course had the best crabcake I've ever tasted! Next time I visit MD, I've gotta get some MD famous crabs! (I am obsessed with crab meat of any kind. Yum!)

Newlyweds' reception table & Wedding cake. The pictures on the candles are of the bride & groom when they were children and there were family wedding pictures all over the cocktail hour and reception. It was like they were carrying their history and loved ones with them the entire way.

Flower arrangements and yummy candy bar.

Bride & Groom's first dance :)

Hibachi at Koto Sake - my favorite place to eat in MD ever.

In the hotel lobby.

The hotel bathroom was gigantic!

You know you live in NYC when your hotel living room is bigger than your apartment.

My traveling/roadtrip obsession: If I'm traveling outside of NYC, I MUST stop and eat at a Cracker Barrel.

I thought this was so interesting and unique. It's a piece of history that I'd want to display in my home.

xoxo,

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Rule #1: NEVER outshine the bride! Although the bride of the wedding I attended this weekend is far too beautiful to be outshined by any mere mortal woman, it shouldn't even be attempted and this still remains the most important rule of wedding etiquette. Well, except of course, the age old restriction of leaving white to the bride (but that kinda fits into the whole "never outshine" thing, right?). Notwithstanding these rules that every wedding guest should know, a wedding guest should always look fabulous in her own right and so that's the inspiration for this post.

For the wedding, I donned a black dress with lots of lace detailing at the top with black strappy Zara sandals, so I figured I'd amp up the makeup look to bring some glam into my outfit! I contemplated going for the ever-appropriate red lip and basic smokey eye, but as slicking on some red lipstick is usually my go-to makeup fix, I wanted to go with something a little different (Plus, red lips and a smokey eye can also come across a bit sexy - see Rule #1). It's a night wedding so a deep purple eye is fun yet subtle, in my opinion, and I balanced the heavy eye with a nude/neutral lip.