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Classic Bridal Looks Never Go Out Of Style: The Claudette Colbert Edition

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I went to a screening last night of the fabulous, 1934 Academy Award winning film “It Happened One Night”.  It’s always been one of my favorite “wedding movies,” with one of Hollywood’s most stunning bridal gowns, on the equally stunning Claudette Colbert. This bias cut satin gown, designed by Robert Kalloch, may as well be in the encyclopedia under “1930s wedding dress.”  But here’s the thing: the dress holds up.  A bride, this weekend in 2013, (provided she had the exact measurements as Claudette Colbert) could wear it straight down the aisle.

Claudette Colbert in her bridal gown from the film "It Happened One Night" circa 1934.
Claudette Colbert in her bridal gown from the film “It Happened One Night” circa 1934.

As you or a bride in your life shops for a wedding gown, think about 90 years from now.  Will that dress you’re trying on still be a classic, or will it go the way of Princess Diana’s 1980’s explosion? (oh the flowers…don’t talk to me about the flowers…bless her heart).

Live well, and love well.  (and dress thoughtfully).

-Dinah

Hyelp! Hyelp! Why Yelp Is Frustrating Small Businesses.

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HYelp! HYelp! My Little Flower Shop is the latest in a long line of wedding businesses to find that Yelp! seems to have a really unfair, arbitrary non-algorithm that pulls down positive reviews left by real customers, leaving subjective, often unfair reviews to sink your online reputation.

Do you use Yelp, the crowd-sourced review website? Unfortunately, some vocal (and prolific) customers have taken the tool that’s meant to share information on local businesses with the community, and begun to wield it as a weapon against companies that have displeased them in any way whatsoever.  Say, by telling them we are closed on a holiday weekend, and can’t take their flower order.

The My Little Flower Shop team shows off bouquets & centerpieces at a Bridal Show
The My Little Flower Shop team shows off bouquets & centerpieces at a Bridal Show

So the kicker is, Yelp! knows that some businesses try to game the system with fake reviews, and pull “suspicious reviews” – often 100% true, from happy customers.  To top it off there are “rumors” of  Yelp! sales people who offer to wipe out bad reviews or restore good ones with the purchase of advertising.  It’s gone as far as groups of small businesses suing the company for extortion. Patt Morrison, Southern California KPCC radio journalist, covered it on her call-in show, with this chat with Yelp! spokesman Vince Sollito. (Patt also has her own hot dog on the menu at Pink’s Hot Dogs.  Now that’s an accomplishment).

My Little Flower Shop needs your help on Yelp!  When you’re happy with our work, like we do your wedding or someone sends you flowers, please leave a genuine review for us.  We’ll hope that some of them stick!

Be well, and love well.

-Dinah

*we posted a version of this in 2011 – history repeats itsyelp.

What’s In a Name? When you’re Getting Married, It Feels Like A Lot!

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Marriage License Signing 2
Marriage License Signing 2 (Photo credit: Scott SM)

When planning your wedding, as a woman in our society, you get to contemplate whether or not you will take your partner’s name.  Some women have known all their lives that they’d be transitioning along the way, others have watched friends’ adventures as they hyphenated, kept their own, or invented new names. Some guys are very giving on this issue.  My stepsister and her husband BOTH hyphenate.  We have another set of friends where the gentleman (he’s the real deal, you’ll see) took his wife’s name so that her family’s line would not die out. Oh, that’s nutty, crunchy California, you must be thinking. But no – they are in that bastion of old-fashioned traditional behavior, Mississippi.  A gentleman indeed.

 

So what to do? I spend a lot of time in this space talking about not following the crowd, and respecting your instincts as you make decisions about your wedding.  I’d like to think that if you replace the word “wedding” with the word “life,” most of the advice can be extrapolated, since it’s mainly about being who you are, and trusting your choices.  This decision requires you to flex those emotional muscles in the most literal way possible, and to think hard about what you need to “be yourself.” One thing I know: it’s not all in a name. Not by a long shot.

 

Be well, and love well.

 

Dinah