I’ve been trying to find words to tell you about the Kick Ass Cake Bash event (celebrating the launch of our Fantasy Frostings’ Broke-Ass Cake Collection), and describe the way it felt – but distilling it into words feels impossible this soon afterward. I’m deep in recovery mode after a whirlwind month of prep, and these photos speak far more eloquently than my tired ass can right now! So. I’ll be back with plenty more detail later, but for now, let’s hear what they have to say, I’mma head back to bed.
Unbelievably Luscious Floral Mural by Holly Flora
A Wonderland of Decadent Desserts
A Disco Dusted Mosaic Feast
O.N.E Drinks provided the healthy cocktails
Models rocking gorgeous Alfred Angelo Gowns
Cupcakes Nearly Too Cute To Eat
Me and our Partner Leslie Maynor of Fantasy Frostings! But where is her main man, Earl?
Oh THERE he is! Hm, do those girls look familiar? Oh snap , its DeAnna Pappas and Holly Durst!
The Flashdance, yo! We don't know how to party without him.
Weddingbee Love! Glitter, Moonbeam, Me, Sprinkle and Poodle!
A surprise rap performance by K.U. and.....
...The Fresh Hubby! Performing a broke-ass rap they wrote together! Get Broke!
Broke-Ass Headquarters has been all a flurry prepping for the Kick Ass Cake Bash, the launch party for our exclusive Broke-Ass Cake Collection. When launching a cake line with partners like Fantasy Frostings you have to party at full throttle. I mean c’mon, they made J. Lo’s cake, and Jenny from the block knows how to PAARTAY!
We’ve teamed up with some of our favorite and most inspiring colleagues, The Bride and Bloom (one of the best wedding magazines in the world), NTA Talent Agency (representing the top models and talent in L.A. and…moi.) and Beth Helmstetter Events (So you know this party is gonna rock AND look good doing it)
This Tuesday, Beth Helmstetter Events, will be taking our party mojo to the next level, as we dance all night with the hottest DJ in town (the man responsible for Dana spraining her ankle at our wedding) The Flashdance, getting our drink, our groove, and our cake on. With many many maaaany more surprises (ooooh I can’t wait to tell you about the one I’ve been working on).
Here’s how excited one of the hardest working members of our team is:
While we wish we could invite all our readers to Kick some Ass at our kicking Cake Bash, we don’t want the fire warden to shut us down (and he is sure to show up ,’cause the roof is gonna be ON FIRE!!!). You guys are our favorites, and it is important to us to pull back that velvet rope and have you walk the red carpet. So we are giving away 10 tickets! 5 Pairs of 2.
How do I enter?
Dana and I love T-shirts. So if you were making a t-shirt for either The Kick Ass Cake Bash, The Broke-Ass Bride or Fantasy Frostings what would it say?
1) Tweet your funniest, witty or matter- of-fact T-shirt phrases with the hashtag #KickAssCakeBash
2) email us your funniest, witty or matter of fact T-shirt phrases to info@brokeassbride.com
You can submit one entry a day via email, but on Twitter as long as each entry is original, you can enter as many times as you want. So bring the funny and get ready to bring the party. ‘Cause we’re gonna have FUUUUN!!!
Contest ends at 5pm Monday! Winners will be notified shortly after.
P.S. If you are already coming, we still want to see your brilliant T-shirt sayings
We’re proud to be taking our humble blog to the next level of techiness…. The Broke-Ass Bride is now available for subscription on Kindle! Even though we don’t own a Kindle of our own (yet. I’m dying for one!) we’re thrilled that the beKindled masses can keep up with us anywhere, anytime with an automatically updating subscription via Amazon!
I can haz Kindle?
I must say it makes my pants feel quite fancy to see our name on Amazon. With a book deal being one of my big new years intentions, I’m relishing in how close this feels to the real deal! With the Kindle being the most gifted item in Amazon’s history, the timing couldn’t be better.
Check it out, and leave a review if you’re so inclined! We’d certainly appreciate it deeply. What a great way to start to 2010, yo!
The article came out great, despite a tiny typo (Bride$haring alone saved us $2k, but that was just the tip of our savvy savings iceberg) – but we’re not sweating it. We ain’t got nothing but love for the kind folks at DWH, and are totally honored to have been included!
The whole fabulous magazine is absolutely chock-full of beautiful inspiration and valuable information – so what are you waiting for? Get out there and score your own copy today!
Thanks again, Destination Weddings & Honeymoons Magazine! We love you long time!
Oh my god y’all, we’re in a freaking magazine! Say WHAT!?
Wait, that ain’t me.
What’s that you say? You can’t read it? Too small? Well, let me blow that up for ya!
Holy potatoes, is it ever thrilling to see The Broke-Ass Bride in print! Lara Casey (editor of Southern Weddings) is one of my industry heroes and if you don’t already, I implore you to go check out the Southern Weddings site and Lara’s blog. Good stuff, trust.
When she invited us to be a part of this issue and share our advice, I looked pretty much the same way I look in that photo on the bottom right corner there. For serious, Hunter ran around the room clapping, and Paco was rapping “Go Broke-Ass its yer berfday” (cuz he’s gangsta), and I did a straight up booty dance of happiness in our living room.
So, go commemorate this momentous occasion by treating yourself to the gorgeous new Southern Weddings Magazine, it hits the stands today! (or, you can order it online, here!)
We’ve been out and about, spreading the good word of living Broke-Ass like a Bad-Ass, and we have some fun updates to report, en masse!
On Saturday, The Fresh Hubby and I were at the BlogWorld Conference in Vegas and got our nerd on, full force. I learned a lot about how new media is taking over the world, as well as met some techiepeeps who might help trick out our site! We have some very exciting plans in store for the future of The Broke-Ass Bride (beyond world domination) and we’re thrilled to be making connections with techsavvy folks to help us grow up to be the bad-ass blog pimps possible. Check out my two liveblogentries to see what I was up to! And, if you thought tech conferences were boring, be sure not to miss Mashable’s fabulous Ben Parr absolutely killing Love Shack at #techkaraoke!
I met one person at BlogWorld that deserves a special nod of broke-ass approval (a polite way of expressing my ultra-hyper fangirl crush) is Jenny the Bloggess. If you like a sassy, funny, sexy and gasp out loud oh-no-she-didn’t hilarity, you best hightail it over there and get indoctrinated. She’s the queen, yo. When I met her, I literally tripped over my words, blushed, and made a huge redfaced fool of myself. Soooo, maybe she thinks I’m a nerd… maybe she thinks I’m a stalker… hopefully she thinks I’m sweet. All three would be pretty correct assertions, notgonnalie. But she did compliment my dress and my purse, and gave some sage advice on dealing with haterz. (insert fangirl squee here). I do have pictorial evidence, stay tuned.
Sunday’s launch party for the Southern California Dream Wedding Giveaway was hella fun! Hunter and I were blown away by the gorgeous venue, Rancho de las Palmas – you have to see it to believe it! Check out the dream crew below, along with a few shots of Hunter and me hamming it up in and around the photo booth (as usual)!
Heads up that the SoCal Dream Wedding contest is now open for entries, so get on it! Free Wedding, people. FREE!
I can’t believe I haven’t shared this yet, but the ultrafab LA Style Unveileddid a gorgeous spread of our wedding photos alongside commentary from Hunter and me – check it out! Style Unveiled is an ahhhmazing resource all around, but this swag bag full of discounts and special offers cannot be beat!
If you’re among the ranks of brides seeking free wedding photography, I’ve got two contests for you! My gal Kat at Rock n Roll Bride is making it happen anywhere in the world (what what!), and San Diego-based Flutter Glass Photography is holding a Winter Wedding contest for free coverage, as well! Break legs, darlings!
Hey LA brides! Come on down to the Soi-Meme eco-bridal salon event tomorrow, featuring loads of ideas on how to walk down a greener aisle. I’ll be speaking on the Green Media Maven panel at noon – hope to see you there!
From their site: “Soi-Meme” – a French word meaning “oneself” – characterizes the spirit of the modern couple searching for affordable, do-it-yourself solutions to planning a wedding with unique style. Following the success of last year’s “Love is in the Air” eco-luxe bridal salon, Pink Cloud Events is once again hosting a fabulous day-long salon for eco-conscious DIY brides and grooms to connect directly with the most inspiring eco-friendly wedding products and service providers.
The event will bring everything needed to plan a sustainable wedding on Saturday, August 29th from 11am – 4pm at the newly renovated James Irvine Garden at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, located in the heart of downtown LA’s Little Tokyo. From the wedding ring to the honeymoon, our experts will be available for one-on-one sessions and workshops to help you find all that you need for your wedding day, in just a few hours!
For only $25, complimentary organic beverages, hors d’oeuvres, great DJs, a resource guide and loads of giveaways will make this a fun-filled day for you and your wedding planning party. Register online now for a chance to win a free 4 night stay at a private eco-villa resort in Tulum, Mexico by Azulik!
This is my healthcare story. Please read it and consider it when forming your decisions about the future of our healthcare system. I am not telling you what to think, or inviting a grand debate about politics, nor am I seeking pity. I was hesitant to post this here, because I try to keep politics out of my blog as much as possible. But, given the state of our system and the opportunities for change that are in the air, my story is important and I want to make sure that I share it now, more than ever.
At age 19, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that affects my eyes. Basically, my immune system decided that my eyes are foreign objects and attacks them as if they were a tumor, bacteria or a similarly undesirable interloper. The result is chronic inflammation inside my eyes – which, when untreated, causes damage and/or blindness. The most common treatment for inflammation is steroids, so for many years I used steroid drops and took steroid pills. Not “pump it up” steroids, silly. The other kind.
I’m what doctors affectionately call a “steroid responder” – meaning I’m hypersensitive to the drug and, consequently, its myriad nightmare side effects. Some of those include anxiety, mood swings, puffy face, weight gain, insomnia, depression and even forced menopause (which I experienced at 21 – yeah. hot flashes in undergrad are awesome). It came to a head when I was overprescribed drugs to counteract the side effects of a particularly long course of the steroids, and I ended up unconscious after a numb few weeks of my life of which I now have no memory, whatsoever. My doctors starting injecting the steroids directly into my eyes instead, which kept the medicine localized, so the only side effects I incurred were cataracts and glaucoma. For 4 years, I also had to also take a low-dose chemotherapy pill to suppress my immune system. Staying on the chemo any longer would be too hard on my body, and I couldn’t take the steroids anymore, so we needed a new plan. Serendipitously, a study on a new, implantable steroid drug for my disease was just beginning. Bausch & Lomb funded 3 years of my eye care, the drug passed FDA approval, and the implants have been the most effective treatment yet. They last 3 years, and when they run out, I simply get them replaced. To date, I’ve had 7 eye surgeries and 3 laser procedures. My eyes are really, really tired.
I’ve been in group insurance plans since graduating college in 2000. This means I obtain insurance coverage through employment or other qualifying group insurers. The insurance companies have a clause which states that switching from group to individual plans requires any pre-existing conditions to remain uncovered for 365 days after becoming insured. Due to the unpredictable nature of my disease, and the frequency of my doctor visits and medication refills, that would mean I’d either go into even more debt by paying out of pocket for all those appointments and/or surgeries, or I’d damage my vision permanently and possibly go blind. Because of this, I must always have a job that provides good insurance, whether I like it or not. It prevents me from having the freedoms of choice in employment that many other people enjoy. I’ve been fortunate to have good jobs most of the time, but I’ve also had to endure some horrible work environments to protect my health. Even though I’ve been covered by insurance 99% of my adult life, and had 3 years of free medical care donated to me, I still have several thousands of dollars in medical debt from my treatment.
The steroid implants alone (not counting hospital fees, doctors fees, anesthesia, etc.) cost $18,000 each. When my free care from Bausch & Lomb expired, and my first implant ran out of medication, I had to go through 2 months of back and forth with the insurance company to get approved for a replacement surgery. Waiting for approval, wading through paperwork and pushing back when they questioned it, my surgery was rescheduled twice before we finally cut through the red tape.
Soon after moving to LA, I required emergency surgery for my glaucoma. I was working two part time jobs and couldn’t afford my $400+ COBRA payments from my last full-time job, so I was briefly uninsured. I scrambled for a solution and was blessed to have some good friends offer to help by hiring me for enough hours so I could qualify for their group insurance plan. During the waiting period for the insurance to kick-in (30 days), I had to take a special medication to control my glaucoma enough to get me through until the surgery, the side effects of which included tingling in my extremities and face, distorted sense of taste, as well as breaking out in a horrific and painful rash that was, at times, cripplingly painful, scarred my skin, and lasted several weeks.
The future of my illness is a mystery. Some people outgrow this condition during their 40s. Some never do. I’ll likely be managing this illness, and/or the residual lifetime side effects, for the rest of my life.
I’m very lucky to have good doctors, and a strong home-support system in my family and friends. I’m blessed to have my eyesight. Honestly, I don’t know if I would trade my illness for health, since it has been a key formative influence on my adulthood and I am proud of the person it has helped me become. But I can’t help but imagine how different my life might be, if our healthcare situation wasn’t so exclusive, elusive and at times, prohibitive when one needs care. I think about the future of my children and how I might feel if they are met with similar struggles. Quite honestly, it makes me scared as hell. I don’t pray anymore for good health. I pray for good care. I pray to never again have to suffer through a horrible condition as I wait for coverage. I pray for change.
As someone who has suffered physically, emotionally and financially due to the way our healthcare system is organized, I can say with certainty that healthcare is a human rights issue. The United States are the only industrial country in the West without universal healthcare. If you’ve never had to worry about it – don’t rest on your laurels. I sure never thought my life would change the way it did 11 years ago… Life is unpredictable, yo.
Around the ‘net - Ever wished there was a priceline for wedding dresses? Your wish is granted. Name your price on all designer and sample wedding gowns in stock at Bridal Warehouse. Free shipping and free veil or tiara included!
Bored with your current playlist? Get Love and Logic’s awesome new album for free here. If the girl in the band looks familiar, its because she’s Mrs. Poppy from Weddingbee!
Does your inner model need feeding? Chris Austin (of Trash the Dress amazingness) is seeking a married couple in the Las Vegas area to do a wedding gown shoot at Red Rock or a dry lake bed, on August 18 or 19th for free! Email Chris if its your cup of tea.
