Our Eccentric Wedding

Friday, January 23, 2015


Tin-type plate by Jason Snyder
Mr. Franzos and I are a tad eccentric. We're a little out there. But if it were a who's weirder contest between the two of us, I'd win. But we're married now and my eccentricities are his, and his are mine, and so on and so forth. We are so fortunate to have found the kindred spirits in each other in this big, old world. We were married on Friday, May 23, 2014 and had a pretty fantastic party. Here are some of the fun details.

photo credit: Joshua Franzos

photo credit: Mitch Franzos

photo credit: Joshua Franzos
 
photo credit: Mitch Franzos


We wanted our wedding to be beautiful and memorable. So I started the wedding planning off with the question, Who's going to photograph it? I didn't want Mr. Franzos to miss his wedding day by being the photographer of his own wedding. So what to do? Mr. Franzos has been a photographer for 15+ years. He's done it all. We both knew he would turn his  critical eye on pretty much any other photographer but himself. So what does a photographer do when it's their turn to get married? We commissioned a photographer that did something he couldn't do (and therefore couldn't be critical of): a tin-type photographer. In my former life as an auction house manager, I sold a lot of tin-type photographs and daguerreotypes. I was very familiar with this stuff and of course, loved the historical aspect as much as Mr. Franzos. Our wedding tin-typer and mad chemist, Jason Snyder, works with this photographic process that was most widely used in the 1860's and 1870's, but was largely abandoned for more modern photographic technology. The exposure can be 1 second (or longer). It is important to stay still and not blink. There was some blinking and moving in our photos, and that was fine with us. It adds character. I simply I cannot do it justice, so please read more in depth about this fascinating process here. Our 39 guests, sat for portraits and were given the actual tin plate photographs as wedding favors. So, while we did have a wedding photographer, Mr. Franzos, still couldn't resist bringing his camera to our wedding. I gave him my blessing, it was all so photogenic. He took some pictures, then his canon 5D mark iii, became a pass around patty. His father, his brothers, his friends, some kids, they all took turns using the camera with great success (we are working on completing or wedding album). Mr. Franzos also brought a Nikon F100 camera with slide film in it. I think by the time we were done, we had about 4-5 different photo formats included in our wedding album. I love it. It's a walk through photographic history.

invitations by minted. I-phone photo by Meryl Franzos
Mansions on Fifth. photo credit: Joshua Franzos
Slide film. photo credit: Joshua Franzos
Accordionist Henry Doktorski, tin-type by Jason Snyder


Ok. I'll get to the dirty, wedding details and you can have a pinterest/etsygasm. I told my florist, the talented Rachel Check of Hepatica, "I want my bouquet to look like a decaying, British estate." She loved that and took my warped wedding design sense and made the most beautiful bouquets for myself and my sister. She also made some adorable fiddle head boutonnieres for the gents. The venue, Mansions on Fifth, which we chose not only for its gorgeous setting, but also because the food won us over during the tasting. (Food and Drink is a big part of our lives, and was a big part our day). There were lamb lollies and raw oysters, champagne and bourbon, Scottish salmon and Grass-fed Beef. Our cake was a local treasure: Prantl's burnt almond torte with edible butterflies. I wanted the decorations to look like a Vanitas painting, because I'm broody and cerebral like that. I stalked etsy and ebay for quirky antique beakers, apothecary jars and old medicine bottles to put flowers in (Mr. Franzos and I bought flowers from Whole Foods, the morning of our wedding and had a great time decorating the tables). We rented our Piece de Resistance table centerpieces, terrariums, from Green Sinner and I added random stuff to them: a deer skull, a large skeleton key, an old watch, a 1/2 inch tall white rabbit, a severed mannequin ear... This was seriously the most fun I've ever had decorating for a party. Accordionist, Henry Doktorski, played some old-fashioned french tunes before, during and after the ceremony. Talk about and unforgettable evening!  

photo credit: Joshua Franzos

photo credit: Joshua Franzos

photo credit: Joshua Franzos

photo credit: Joshua Franzos

photo credit: Joshua Franzos

photo credit: Joshua Franzos

photo credit: Joshua Franzos
 
 Guest Tin-type Portait. tin-type credit: Jason Snyder


Guest Tin-type portrait. tin-type credit: Jason Snyder

Photo credit: Joshua Franzos

photo credit: Joshua Franzos



What we wore: My silk dress was designed by Caroline Devillo, but I had it altered into a tight little pencil dress. It took three women to zip me up! My fascinator veil, I found on etsy. My make-up was done by the talented, Jae Lee Paredes. My 30's movie star hair by Briana Rasicci. I splurged and got lash extensions by Allison Roth Studio, which I LOVED--I wish I could have lashes like that all the time. I had my nails done by my favorite manicurist at Pearl Nail Salon. My shoes were nude leather Prada platforms to make my legs look their longest. Mr. Franzos wore a 3-piece pinstripe suit, inspired by the 1930's menswear in the HBO show, Boardwalk Empire, complete with pocket squares. I just love a man in a 3-piece, especially my man.


tin-type credit: Jason Snyder

photo credit: unknown

 
We had so much fun, we want to get married all over again!

(As I was about to post this, I just realized, today, January 23, 2015 
is our 8 month anniversary...do I have good timing or what?)
These past 8 months have been the happiest of my life, here's to so many happy more, sweetheart.





Your bosom friend in Pittsburgh,

4 comments :

  1. I love everything about this! Oh my goodness, such gorgeous photography and trinkets.

    Raissa | The Leather Fanny Pack

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is a beautiful wedding.
    All the pics are lovely.

    http://roomsofinspiration.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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