She Comes, She Goes

My silence this weekend was in part due to the hectic goings-on of our closing weekend of The Irish Curse, a remarkable little play that touched my heart (and the hearts of many others) and marked my Off-Broadway debut here in New York. And it may have had something to do with the fact that my 2E's was in town after a two-month separation with 3,000 miles between us. We were occupied.

Our plan was to fly back to LA together on Wednesday morning ... but as it turns out, 2E's was summoned two days early for a pretty hefty commercial audition callback (cause she's, like, uber-talented), so she's on a plane at this very moment ... leaving me stranded in New York ... and leaving me, yet again, with a fair amount of homework.

(Being a groom is not unlike that chem class you take in your senior year of high school. The course in which you had to complete entire notebooks of lab work, tasks that were so daunting that you'd just stare at the empty pages for hours rather than just jumping in and getting it done. Only I'm answering to a bride and not to a disheveled, graying man in his early fifties. The latter now seems totally manageable.)

2E's and I have shifted our focus back to our Loft reception space -- and we are blessed in that, in our meanderings around the neighborhood, we stopped into Dewey's Candy shoppe on Front Street (thank you, sweet tooth), and in that shoppe found an updated brochure with all of the new neighborhood perks and resident artist lofts, and in that brochure found a few spaces that might serve as ceremony venues ... all within walking distance of our reception space ...

... so guess what I'm doing tomorrow.

Luckily my handy-dandy Best Man is in town to keep me company, sane and inebriated all at once. It's no easy task. He'll be joining me this evening as I scope out our second rehearsal dinner venue option, the Union Smith Cafe in BKLYN (our first option is a hip joint on 3rd Avenue with fantastic, upscale bar food and a sweet private room downstairs).

And so off I go. Because I can't afford to sit here in my cozy Upper West Side Starbucks any longer. I've got hundreds of empty, college-ruled papers to stare at.

Her Version of the Story

I'm saving my version of the story for September 2nd -- a month before the wedding -- when we begin the all-too-real countdown to the big day.

But for now, I'd like to introduce you to her side of the story, which is currently featured on the Community page on TheKnot.com, and which Annie Jones from The Knot calls "Top 5!"

Our Proposal Story

cheers,
madman

Videography vs Filmography

We coined the first round of eliminations the IMDB Round -- because if you don't have your filmography on IMDB with at least 10 directorial or camera credits, then you shall not be considered. You will be eliminated. Simple as that. And 2E's better have heard of at least one of them.

(There's only one round at this point.)

We're really only now jumping into this conversation. Videography wasn't something we were originally planning on. For some reason -- probably because our lives are centered around photography -- we didn't really view it as a necessity. We know we're going to have some amazing images from our amazing photojournalist, Noah Devereaux. Won't that be sufficient? Do we need video, too?

When I reminded her of these important details during our most recent wedding phone date, 2E's explained what had happened. We'd actually never spoken about it. Instead, I had formed the above opinions on my own and then substituted the word "I" for "we" and passed it off as true. This is what actually happened.

And so our hunt for the best videographer at the cheapest price begins. For years, 2E's has viewed the Keira Knightley-centered, quick-cut, extreme close-up compilation in Love Actually as the epitome of all wedding videos -- so we need to find someone who can do that for much less than its worth.

The trouble is that she's already begun to gush. She's found some gush-worthy reels and sample videos from videographers who are out of our price range ... which doesn't mean (so I've learned) that we'll be choosing a cheaper videographer. No, it means that we'll be (a) cutting corners elsewhere or (b) upping our budget.

Here's 2E's shortlist as of this morning:

Michael Mann
Ridley Scott
Michael Coulter (Director of Photography, Love Actually)


Moral support. Moral support. Moral support.

if only we owned this city

Faithful reader, bridesmaid and longtime friend Julie has inspired me this morning. After reading this weekend's post, Julie decided to join the enthusiastic masses and send in her own #venuegate suggestions ... which included, most notably, a ceremony on "the sketchiest stretch of 16th street" (between 9th and 10th avenues) and catering by the legendary Hale & Hearty Soups, which may or may not have New England Clam Chower on the day of the wedding (based on availability).

For the past month I've been assembling a list of both practical and impractical venue options. Here, like it or not, are three of our favorite impracticals:

1. Gothic Revival Biscuits

2E's and I are both graduates of the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School, one of the private "studios" linked to NYU's drama department. ATC's primary theater (The Linda Gross) is located at 336 West 20th Street between 8th and 9th avenues, a gothic revival church that was renovated, remodeled and converted into an Off-Broadway house over 20 years ago but still bears the elegance and (naturally) the theatricality of a century-old chapel. To be married at the ATC theater -- with its brick facades and red plush seats -- would be otherworldly.

The reception would have to be at the now overly trendy Chelsea Market, 19th century home of the National Biscuit Company, and now home to tourist-friendly shops, bakeries, restaurants and a wildly out-of-place Anthropologie outlet.

Why is it unrealistic? Well, despite our dual connection to ATC, as actors we know too well that a theater company cannot book out their space months in advance, especially when our nuptials might interfere with their matinee and/or evening performance. Too, we would have no control over the look of the space. For all we know, come October, the Atlantic could be producing Duncan Sheik's new Guantanamo: The Musical, with blood-stained orange jumpsuits adorning the walls and ceiling. As for Chelsea Market, well, I'm sure it's "do-able," but I would need to begin hunting down wedding investors. 

2. Apple Crawl

Most of us are familiar with the concept of the "pub crawl," but for the sake of those who aren't up-to-date on British slang, let's consult UrbanDictionary.com:

A pub crawl is where a group of people will try to visit as many pubs as possible in one night, having a set number of alcoholic beverages in each.

In this exceptional but impossible scenario (financed by Steve Jobs himself), 2E's and our guests and I would "crawl" from one Manhattan Apple Store to another.

Working our way uptown, we would hit each of the Peter Bohlin-designed structures throughout the evening: a SoHo store wedding, 14th Street cocktails, 5th Avenue/Central Park South reception, and the brand-spanking new Upper West Side after party/Sunday morning brunch.

I originally thought we'd walk from one location to the next, but in that scenario, I see most of our guests collapsing on or around 23rd street.

REVISED: Apple Cab Crawl

Why impossible? Well, I don't know Steve Jobs, and I doubt I ever will. But if I did know him, and I approached him with this idea, I can picture him, sitting across from me in his simple black turtleneck, smiling, saying, Hey, Madman, you know I love you, but this is the stupidest idea I've ever heard. Let's go get some coffee and try to forget you ever said anything.

3. A Water Wedding, Per Se

I've never been impressed with the big historic event venues -- The Plaza, The Metropolitan Club, NYPL, the St. Regis, the Mandarin. It's the Manhattan you'll probably see in Sex and the City 2: Unnecessary Opulence in a Time of Recession, but it's not the one that we call home. I tend to lean more toward the unique, unexpected venues as opposed to the traditional ballrooms that are booked three years in advance.

In this scenario, I would treat our guests (90% out-of-towners) to both Manhattans. Our rehearsal dinner would take place in the West Room at the elite Per Se -- part of the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle -- with a customized chef's tasting menu. After dinner we would move on to Dizzy's Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center (in the same glass complex) for an intimate evening of jazz planned just for us.

Our Water Wedding the following evening would take place above and below the two rivers that bound the island of Manhattan: the ceremony on the Brooklyn Bridge walkway (seen our website intro page?) and the reception on the other side of the island at the midpoint of the Holland Tunnel. Sure, it's a concrete block surrounded by water, but add some up-lighting and a few strategically placed yellow cabs, headlights giving a whitish glow to the dance floor, and it's an event space.

Why not, Madman?

Uplighting. Couldn't afford the damn uplighting.

Hot for SnapKnot

2E's and I were just recently introduced to SnapKnot, a new online resource for brides & grooms that answers that age-old question, 

Crap, now we have to find a photographer?! When is this friggin' process over already??

SnapKnot simplifies the search with a super-easy site that lets you choose your location, limit your price range and view all of the photographers that meet your criteria. And the catchy title doesn't hurt. I thought momentarily stealing the concept -- maybe the GroomKnot, or SnapGroom, or The Groom Says Snap ...

... but no.

Just last week, the guys at the Snap were kind enough to do a feature on The Groom Says -- so check it out here.

much love,
madman