Love and Lobster Coastal New England Weddings

It’s been a few months since our last menswear post (remember pocket square 101?), so today we’re all about duds for the dudes.

Check out three of our most recent sartorial finds. Separately, these items could work well in a number of ensembles, but together, they’ve got us picturing one sharp-dressed man.

Here they are, from head to toe:

Grip and Word bowties

Hand-made in New England, these ties go beyond the standard stripes and solids. From seersucker to stately houndstooth to a bright red comic book pattern, there’s something in this Etsy shop for every guy. As tie creator Andy Chase of Massachusetts says in his profile, “It seems that the art of gentlemanliness is making a comeback.” Indeed, sir.

Indochino

Custom suits at a reasonable price. First, visit the Indochino site for video tutorials on how to take your measurements. Then send your stats to their tailors, pick out your fabric, pattern and cut, and voila, three weeks later you’ve got a spiffy suit for $300 to $600. We’re loving the Voyager silk suit in blue for a seaside ceremony.

Cole Haan wingtip

Since the groom saved so much money on his suit, why not splurge on Cole Haan’s new LunarGrand shoes? A marriage between a traditional suede wingtip and the cushioned sole of a Nike, these kicks are worth the $248 price tag. The grey suede with a neon yellow sole is a real eye-popper.

All the warm weather lately has given us a serious case of spring fever. Flowers are just getting ready to bloom, and we can’t wait to see them arranged in beautiful bouquets and centerpieces.

Buying your wedding flowers in season can seriously stretch your flower budget. Consider these spring beauties:

Lily of the Valley

One of the most popular and expensive wedding flowers thanks to its delicate blooms and fresh scent, Lily of the Valley has a short season lasting from about April to May.

Tulip

Tulips, with their numerous vibrant shades, can accommodate just about any color palette. But this distinctive perennial is fragile, so treat them with care.

Peony

In season in late spring, the peony can be pricey but it has charmed many a bride with its large, fragrant bloom and light scent.

Daffodil

Daffodils are an inexpensive garden staple and a happy sign that spring has officially sprung. You may also see them called narcissus.

Freesia

Affordable with an intense citrusy scent, its bell-shaped blooms are a bouquet favorite. Pink and red varieties have the strongest fragrance, while white freesia is milder.

Mad Men is back! After almost two years off the air, fans are reveling again in cocktails at noon and chain smoking in the office. Vicariously, that is…

Much of the buzz ahead of the season 5 premiere centered around a possible wedding – would Don Draper tie the knot, or stick to his womanizing ways (or both)?  We won’t spoil the surprise, but all the talk about Madison Avenue nuptials got us dreaming about 1960s-inspired wedding style.

Here are some of our favorite finds:

The dress: Jenny Packham’s Nymph gown, with its demure illusion neckline and full skirt, is oh-so “Mrs. Draper.” And what 60s-era bride would be seen without her gloves?

The suit: Banana Republic teamed up with Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant on a crisply tailored collection designed for the modern man. The line’s chino suit, paired with a black tie, would fit right in at Sterling Cooper.

The invites: Check out these “Madly in Love” save-the-dates featuring the series’ iconic opening sequence. The best part: a template allows you to personalize your own.

The entertainment: Lucky Strikes? Check. Dirty martini? Check. These Mad Men-themed photo booth props will have your guests mugging for the camera all night.

The cake: Nothing says “I love you” like canned fruit. Whip up this pineapple upside-down cake for a decadent treat.

It seems like every few months a new bridal registry comes along that whips the tradition into modern new shape. Registering for everything all at one store is out, flexibility and customization are in.

Merci Registry caught our eye with its downright pretty design and endless possibilities. Founded by couple Cheri Messerli and David Rager, the site allows couples to register for just about anything – products from any website, dinner at the restaurant where they first met, donations toward their first home, the list could go on and on.

Here’s how it works. First, choose a theme for your registry from a selection of designs. Then create gift sets (kitchen stuff, trip to Fiji, local art, etc.) to organize your items. Add a custom message, share with loved ones and relax.

Plus, the site keeps track of who gave what, making writing thank-you notes a snap.

Cheri and David came up with the idea as they prepared for their own wedding in 2009. The couple was moving to Paris soon after walking down the aisle, and wanted to avoid shipping fragile dishware and appliances to France. So they designed a registry that reflected the items they really wanted.

Check out their delightful registry here. Among the items: brunch at a bakery, a new mattress fund, fancy groceries, a trip to Japan and driftwood bird sculptures.

Tres magnifique!

We’ve all heard about the dozens of dating websites out there. Maybe one even brought you together with your bride or groom-to-be. Well, now there’s a site that helps you keep the love alive long after those first-date jitters.

Until recently, dating site HowAboutWe targeted singles looking for love by inviting them to pitch fun date ideas. For example, “How about we get a beer and play pinball” or “How about we go see Ferris Bueller’s Day Off at a drive-in.” Users find the dates that intrigue them, make a connection and off to the date they go.

The process worked so well, it dawned on the site’s founders that their newly coupled-up customers were leaving the site and taking their money with them, as The New York Times reports.

Now, HowAboutWe is rolling out a new service for committed couples that will help you “date” your other half. The founders saw that married couples needed to bust out of their routines to keep their relationships fresh. Arranging for babysitters, budget concerns and the simple demands of daily life sapped couples’ motivation to plan a night on the town (sound familiar?)

The new service will zap romantic ruts by offering full date packages. With a mouse click, couples can book transportation, entertainment and a restaurant meal all at once. The hope is that reconnecting with that new-relationship rush will keep long-committed couples on their toes. A little novelty never hurt anyone.

Would you use a service like this? What fun and creative dates have you and your partner been on lately? Tell us in the comments.

Listen up Instagram fans! Your favorite photo-sharing site just got married to a Polaroid camera. Meet their baby, Instaprint.

Founded on the nostalgia of those Polaroid photos we all knew and loved, Instaprint is a “location based photo booth for Instagram.”

Here’s how it works: You’re hosting an event, let’s say, ohhhh, a wedding.  Your pals are taking Instagrams with their phones left and right, tagging other guests and “Josh and Laurie’s” wedding as the location.

Meanwhile, an Instaprint box hung on a nearby wall wirelessly scouts out photos tagged with your wedding. As everyone busts a move on the dance floor, Instaprint pops out those photos, along with comments, using an inkless printing method just like old Polaroids.

The Instaprint website collects all of the digital photos in one handy spot, making for easy browsing after the festivities wind down.

(A cute video on the Instaprint homepage illustrates how the process works.)

Pretty great, right? Here’s the thing. Instaprint isn’t exactly coming to a wedding near you just yet. It’s still under development, but if you dig the idea, check out their Kickstarter page, where Instaprint is available for pre-order.

If you’re in the NYC area, you can rent Instaprint for your event.

Sure, Instaprint falls under the “We’ll be together someday” category. Still, maybe we’ll see it unseat the old timey photo booth as the next big wedding trend.