All gay everything
Sunday is the biggest of big days for New York’s gay couples: same-sex marriage finally comes out of the closet and gets all GGG and DTF for the state’s plentiful eager partners. To handle the flood, the city opened a lottery to pick the 764 marriages to be performed on Sunday, only 112 of which will be in BK. The lottery runs from noon today through noon Thursday; winners will be notified Friday. Enter the lottery and start filling out the license application. So how much does this groundbreaking civil rights event/decimation of American values cost? Just $35, and the ceremony takes only a minute! Read the rest of this entry »
Consider a festive tower of cupcakes, about half the cost of the usual wedding cake.
As a caterer who specializes in weddings, I am often called by couples trying to save money. I feel sometimes like a used-car salesman with a really great Pad Thai recipe. “My dears, if you book today, not only can you have that sixth hors d’oeuvre for free, but I’ll throw in a complimentary lower-back massage!”
I wind up advising couples what not to do as much as what to do. Before I dive into my official list for Brokelyn, I need to give you an extra amuse bouche! Folks in my industry, (especially out, loud and proud ones like moi) are beyond thrilled about marriage equality passing in New York. Woo hoo! So if you are having a same-sex wedding do let your vendors know right off as lots of us are celebrating with some very nice discounts. Now then… Read the rest of this entry »
BAM's Lepercq Hall
We’ve been keeping track of the gay marriage deals rolling in as New York prepares for the celebratory boom of weddings later this month, but here’s the biggest we’ve heard so far especially if you’re eager to get hitched: Patch reports that BAM, they of beautiful buildings and bountiful culture, will give $500 discounts to couples who want to get married in July, August and September. That shaves off a bit of the $6,500-$9,000 price tag to rent the standard event package that includes its lobby and second-floor banquet hall (aka the BAM Cafe) for your ceremony and reception. Hell, if BAM’s good enough for the VH1 Hip Hop Honors, it’s probably good enough for your last-minute same-sex wedding too. Read the rest of this entry »
If the rainbow-colored jubilation we saw across the city this weekend is any indication, this is first of many celebratory deals we expect to be seeing this summer: Not to be outdone by Boing Boing’s lesbian moms deal, our friends at Rose Red & Lavender in Williamsburg tell us they’re now offering a 10 percent discount on flower arrangements for their first 10 LGBT weddings. Weddings, flowers, pomp, circumstance — it’s like the gays are just like everyone else after all!
We want to hear about more of these deals, since there’s going to be a lot of new wedding business to compete for after gay marriage goes into effect July 24. Send us all your LGBT deals to tim [at] Brokelyn [dot] com, or add them to the comments, and we’ll post them here. All gay everything!
Rose Red & Lavender is located at 653 Metropolitan Ave. in Williamsburg. Read the rest of this entry »
The (loose) inpiration.
There are certain phrases that strike fear into every living soul. Some – like “EARTHQUAKE!” “DUCK!” or “ZOMBIES!” – require an exclamation point to really hit their mark, but others are just as horrifying at a whisper: “Bedbugs,” to give one example, and, to give another, “black tie.” Bedbugs will stalk you, eat you, and spread dirty rumors about you, but – have you seen The Tuxedo? – the wrong piece of formalwear, in the wrong hands, can threaten the entire world. Thus, when I heard that a close friend’s wedding was going to be black tie, I was left with a serious problem: how to obtain a thoroughly unembarrassing tuxedo with the $300 that was left on my credit card. This is my story… Read the rest of this entry »
Congratulations! Your sister, a close friend or that distant cousin you rarely talk to is engaged and you’ve been asked to put on a dress of her choice, arrange brunches, walk down the aisle with a guy you hardly know, and raise a glass on the big day. In other words, you’re a bridesmaid! No matter how excited you are for the happy couple it’s no secret that being in a wedding requires a lot of time and cash. Even if your best bud is no “bridezilla” (and we have our fingers crossed that she’s not), some costs are unavoidable. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve covered engagement rings, wedding gifts… now it’s time for tips on the food. Mary, a soon-to-be-wed friend of Brokelyn, needs some crowd-sourced help finding the catering for her big day. Mary’s got the venue covered. “It’s 450union.com. It’s really cool,” she writes. Now she’s looking for:
“A caterer who will cater a low-key but elegant (not fussy, that means) wedding for $50-$75 pp. We need to get tables, chairs, linens, silverwear, the whole shebang.”
Also on Mary’s to-do list: finding a dessert truck and renting a sound system for the band. We can tell she’s already taken a few pointers from here, but now Mary needs your two cents: Where can she find a classy caterer for under $75 a head?
Summer-time means sunshine, heat, cleavage and, if you’re anywhere in a certain age-range, weddings upon weddings. And once that gleaming, perfectly crafted, calligraphy-graced invitation arrives, the financial obligation begins. Because etiquette says that even if you don’t go to the wedding (or even if the couple elopes), you’ll be heading to swankyregistry.com with that $300 stand-mixer staring you in the face. But there are some creative, memorable ways to stay within your budget. Read the rest of this entry »
Anders and Regan's Powerhouse Arena wedding, photo courtesy of Brooklyn Bride.
Planning and budgeting a wedding can be a joyous, exciting, financially eviscerating event. That’s why Brokelyn Labs contacted local wedding planners, caterers, florists, photographers, bloggers, stationers and even Brokelyn readers to pull together this list of the most creative, “why didn’t I think of that” ideas to save money for your big day. From DIY catering schemes, to off-the-rack dresses, don’t get married without them. Read the rest of this entry »
All gay everything
Sunday is the biggest of big days for New York’s gay couples: same-sex marriage finally comes out of the closet and gets all GGG and DTF for the state’s plentiful eager partners. To handle the flood, the city opened a lottery to pick the 764 marriages to be performed on Sunday, only 112 of which will be in BK. The lottery runs from noon today through noon Thursday; winners will be notified Friday. Enter the lottery and start filling out the license application. So how much does this groundbreaking civil rights event/decimation of American values cost? Just $35, and the ceremony takes only a minute! Read the rest of this entry »
Consider a festive tower of cupcakes, about half the cost of the usual wedding cake.
As a caterer who specializes in weddings, I am often called by couples trying to save money. I feel sometimes like a used-car salesman with a really great Pad Thai recipe. “My dears, if you book today, not only can you have that sixth hors d’oeuvre for free, but I’ll throw in a complimentary lower-back massage!”
I wind up advising couples what not to do as much as what to do. Before I dive into my official list for Brokelyn, I need to give you an extra amuse bouche! Folks in my industry, (especially out, loud and proud ones like moi) are beyond thrilled about marriage equality passing in New York. Woo hoo! So if you are having a same-sex wedding do let your vendors know right off as lots of us are celebrating with some very nice discounts. Now then… Read the rest of this entry »
BAM's Lepercq Hall
We’ve been keeping track of the gay marriage deals rolling in as New York prepares for the celebratory boom of weddings later this month, but here’s the biggest we’ve heard so far especially if you’re eager to get hitched: Patch reports that BAM, they of beautiful buildings and bountiful culture, will give $500 discounts to couples who want to get married in July, August and September. That shaves off a bit of the $6,500-$9,000 price tag to rent the standard event package that includes its lobby and second-floor banquet hall (aka the BAM Cafe) for your ceremony and reception. Hell, if BAM’s good enough for the VH1 Hip Hop Honors, it’s probably good enough for your last-minute same-sex wedding too. Read the rest of this entry »
If the rainbow-colored jubilation we saw across the city this weekend is any indication, this is first of many celebratory deals we expect to be seeing this summer: Not to be outdone by Boing Boing’s lesbian moms deal, our friends at Rose Red & Lavender in Williamsburg tell us they’re now offering a 10 percent discount on flower arrangements for their first 10 LGBT weddings. Weddings, flowers, pomp, circumstance — it’s like the gays are just like everyone else after all!
We want to hear about more of these deals, since there’s going to be a lot of new wedding business to compete for after gay marriage goes into effect July 24. Send us all your LGBT deals to tim [at] Brokelyn [dot] com, or add them to the comments, and we’ll post them here. All gay everything!
Rose Red & Lavender is located at 653 Metropolitan Ave. in Williamsburg. Read the rest of this entry »
The (loose) inpiration.
There are certain phrases that strike fear into every living soul. Some – like “EARTHQUAKE!” “DUCK!” or “ZOMBIES!” – require an exclamation point to really hit their mark, but others are just as horrifying at a whisper: “Bedbugs,” to give one example, and, to give another, “black tie.” Bedbugs will stalk you, eat you, and spread dirty rumors about you, but – have you seen The Tuxedo? – the wrong piece of formalwear, in the wrong hands, can threaten the entire world. Thus, when I heard that a close friend’s wedding was going to be black tie, I was left with a serious problem: how to obtain a thoroughly unembarrassing tuxedo with the $300 that was left on my credit card. This is my story… Read the rest of this entry »
Congratulations! Your sister, a close friend or that distant cousin you rarely talk to is engaged and you’ve been asked to put on a dress of her choice, arrange brunches, walk down the aisle with a guy you hardly know, and raise a glass on the big day. In other words, you’re a bridesmaid! No matter how excited you are for the happy couple it’s no secret that being in a wedding requires a lot of time and cash. Even if your best bud is no “bridezilla” (and we have our fingers crossed that she’s not), some costs are unavoidable. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ve covered engagement rings, wedding gifts… now it’s time for tips on the food. Mary, a soon-to-be-wed friend of Brokelyn, needs some crowd-sourced help finding the catering for her big day. Mary’s got the venue covered. “It’s 450union.com. It’s really cool,” she writes. Now she’s looking for:
“A caterer who will cater a low-key but elegant (not fussy, that means) wedding for $50-$75 pp. We need to get tables, chairs, linens, silverwear, the whole shebang.”
Also on Mary’s to-do list: finding a dessert truck and renting a sound system for the band. We can tell she’s already taken a few pointers from here, but now Mary needs your two cents: Where can she find a classy caterer for under $75 a head?
Summer-time means sunshine, heat, cleavage and, if you’re anywhere in a certain age-range, weddings upon weddings. And once that gleaming, perfectly crafted, calligraphy-graced invitation arrives, the financial obligation begins. Because etiquette says that even if you don’t go to the wedding (or even if the couple elopes), you’ll be heading to swankyregistry.com with that $300 stand-mixer staring you in the face. But there are some creative, memorable ways to stay within your budget. Read the rest of this entry »
Anders and Regan's Powerhouse Arena wedding, photo courtesy of Brooklyn Bride.
Planning and budgeting a wedding can be a joyous, exciting, financially eviscerating event. That’s why Brokelyn Labs contacted local wedding planners, caterers, florists, photographers, bloggers, stationers and even Brokelyn readers to pull together this list of the most creative, “why didn’t I think of that” ideas to save money for your big day. From DIY catering schemes, to off-the-rack dresses, don’t get married without them. Read the rest of this entry »
