Cake Week Giveaway

Congratulations Downtown! 

You are the winner of the custom portrait by wedding illustrator Rosemary Fanti.

Rosemary Fanti

Please email me your address and contact information at lililutu {@} gmail {dot} com by Wednesday, October 13th and I will pass it on to Rosemary. She will take it from there and ask you to send in a photo after your July 2011 wedding.

Today's giveaway comes to us courtesy of Frostings of Ridgefield. 

Two dozen lovebites in your choice of flavour.

There is a change to the rules for this one, however.

Due to the nature of the prize, this giveaway is only open to brides who are willing to travel to Ridgefield to pick up the lovebites in person. It doesn't matter if you're out of state (Ridgefield pretty much borders New York, for example) - just be sure you are willing to drive before you enter the contest.

It's a great opportunity for those of you getting married to sample Frostings' exquisite work - and talk to the bakers in person.

To enter please leave a comment.

Good luck!

From Korea ... with love

It's that day of the week again - and today we're catching up with our Canadian bride and giving away something utterly fabulous.

Lori has been good enough to share her engagement story and a few details about her wedding with us - and rather than trying to write a post about it, I think I'll just her speak in her own voice.

We've been living in South Korea for the past year - and that is where we got engaged. 

To give you a little background, Valentines Day is celebrated in 2 parts in Korea. On February 14th, the girls buy for the guys (typically chocolate or cookies), and then a month later they celebrate White Day. White Day is for the girls, and is now officially my favourite day in the entire year.

That day started extremely early for me. 

At 6:30am Wayne flipped on the switch in our bedroom and walked out the front door. When I eventually rolled over in bed, I was faced with a brown piece of paper, a pen,  and a riddle that told me I would be travelling to the 3rd baseline. After stumbling around the apartment for a good 20 minutes, I finally made it downstairs and outside and realized that I had absolutely no idea what a baseline was. I will blame this on sleep deprivation and excitement because I have played baseball for most of my life ...but it literally took me 10 minutes of standing in the cold not moving to come to the realization that the clue was leading me to the ball diamond that we walk past at least twice every single day.

Once there I was met with another clue that took me back to our mailbox, then across the street again to some trees, and eventually back to the recycling area of our old apartment. Wayne & I had been watching season after season of Survivor for the past few months (10 seasons in less than 3 months) so we were obsessed. The challenges that he presented me with were sooo perfect - and totally Survivor. 

Then came the Bachelor part of the plan!

My next clue led me up to a path in the woods. After debating for awhile about which path to take (there were 3 and I wasn't completely certain where the clue was directing me) I chose the one on the right and started the trek. Eventually (not quickly enough) I found him. He was standing at the end, and I felt exactly how those girls must feel when they walk down that long path to get to the bachelor, except that I was fairly certain he wasn't going to be sending me home!!

A few weeks later we went to Seoul with a colleague (we teach English) who has a friend who is a professional jeweler to pick out a ring. I thought it would be a lot like Sweet Home Alabama and I would just be surrounded with sparkling jewels and have my pick.

Not completely the case.

It was a lot more back alley; with crowded stores, jam packed with jewelry of all kinds -  but we did chose a setting for the stone we had decided on.

We decided to go with an amethyst for a few reasons. 

Not on the bottom of the list is that is super, super pretty and purple. But on the more reasonable side, it's extremely expensive to buy diamonds in Korea and I would have had to walk around (and go backpacking) with it for many months.

Uninsured. 

Not practical ...and to be honest, I have never loved anything more than my ring. Wayne is set on replacing the stone with a diamond when we get home, but we will see.

It's pretty, it's unique, but most important .. it's totally me.

The next time we catch up with Lori we'll be hearing about the way she chose to ask her bridesmaids if they wanted to be in the bridal party, the reasons she chose her venue, and why she wants to be ....

But moving on ... congratulations Alison. The Aurora bracelet is yours. It will be en route as soon as I have a wrist size and address.

I have to say that today's giveaway is both special and fabulous.

Earlier in the week I wrote a feature on wedding illustrator Rosemary Fanti - and she is graciously offering one bride a portrait. 

Valued at $300.

You still need to be a bride to enter this contest, but this week there are additional rules.

* You must be getting married on or before November 30th 2011. 
   Please write your wedding date in your first comment.

* You can only enter if you are a follower of this blog. I will  
   check entries against the list of followers. If you are not yet a 
   follower, you have a whole week to become one - so this 

   is not an exclusory condition by any means. Blogspot is 
  google-based so there are lots of ways to become a follower.

* You must like lili's wedding corner on Facebook.

* You must like Rosemary's Facebook page - and leave a 
   comment saying you came from here.

Now the reward for all the liking and following and commenting.

Say that you did all of the above in separate comments, and each one will count as an entry. If you have already done the things required in previous weeks simply say so. Those will be considered valid entries too.

Ways to earn additional entries:

* Blog about this giveaway - and post the link in a comment.

* Post about it on Facebook - and post the link in a comment.

All told you could have 6 chances at winning this portrait from Rosemary.

The contest ends on Thursday, October 7th at 1900 EST - and the winner will be announced here and on Facebook on Friday, October 8th.

Good luck!

Effortless Grace

Two things were clear to me after I talked to Rosemary Fanti.

(a) I want to hire her when I renew my wedding vows.

(b) I want to be her when I grow up.

Now for those of you who know me, (b) is a really big statement .. because I'm very happy with who I am.

But Rosemary is just that kind of person.

Beautiful inside and out from what I've gleaned over the past couple of months of following her work. And she would have to be in order to pull off what she does. Which is capture the fluidity and emotion of life's special moments in a few strokes.

I had the greatest time listening to the story of her life. Hearing how her talent was discovered as she painted on any wall she could find as a small girl; about her studies at the American Academy of Art; and her experiences as an Art Director in New York City.

And make no mistake - she brings all of this into play as she celebrates her love of drawing people.

As we talked about how she came to wedding illustration, she laughed and told me she'd been the 'designated artist' at friends' parties for years. It just needed to be taken to the next level.

The chance to go freelance didn't come her way until she answered an ad on Craig's List for a wedding illustrator, however.

That was in 2005.

After that she placed a quarter page ad in Chicago Social Brides magazine, did a few bridal shows, and worked steadily on building momentum.

She still retains her day job as Creative Director for a firm in Chicago, but looks forward to the day when she can give herself over totally to her art.

So what does having an illustrator at your wedding translate into?

"Your average wedding is at least three hours long," Rosemary explains. "In that period of time I usually manage 10-15 illustrations on archival-quality paper. In either charcoal or pastels. Couple's choice."

"There are so many moments worth capturing," she said. "The bride being made up, the groom waiting for the bride, key moments in the ceremony, the reception, speeches, cutting the cake, the bride and groom in the car. It's complementary to photography in so many ways - and really helps capture the essence of the day."

A really nice element to this kind of art is that the couple in question get instant gratification. The drawings are photographed for Rosemary's records ... but the artwork doesn't doesn't go home with her to be mailed out at a later date.

It stays with the couple.

They can take their memories home instantly - and derive pleasure from them forever.

The incredible (and fun) aspect is that none of it is a literal impression.

Rosemary's background in fashion means she fuses all sorts of elements into her drawings. There's a certain amount of stylization that makes the figures look like fashion sketches, but at the same time everything is totally fluid. "I sit somewhere discreet and watch people as they move around a room. It's all about capturing their true spirit."

"People love that," she explained to me. "You hone in on something unique about that person and maximize on it. And everyone looks incredible. It's as far from a caricature or a cartoon as you can get."

While perusing photos for this feature, these drawings caught my eye.

A wedding with a masquerade theme - where guests were masked and the ceremony began at midnight.

Rosemary told me that she has loved every single event that she has covered - because of her passion for learning about people - but this one was an illustrator's dream.

Although Rosemary will travel wherever she is needed to immortalize your special day, she also offers her couples another wonderful service.

Send in a treasured photo after the wedding and she will make a portrait for you.

Ready to find out more?

You know you are.

Contact Rosemary through her website, her Facebook page, or call her up on 815.341.3340

Tell her I said hi!