Why Eloping Was the Best Decisiona I Ever Made

The day Wayne asked me to marry him, we planned our wedding in 15 minutes. No, I'm not exaggerating.
"I want whatever you want for a wedding," said Wayne as we sat on the white couch in my apartment after just taking a timed photo of ourselves to mark the occasion. "But if it were up to me, we'd just go get married. I care about the marriage, not really the ceremony. If I were deciding, which I'm not, we'd just elope."
I gave him a high-intensity, Julia-Roberts-tooth-filled smile in return and hugged him tight. What he said, which articulated my thoughts, underscored that I was the lucky grand prize winner of the fiancé lottery. And 23 years later, I can tell you that compatibility on that first major decision as a couple — which led us to privately call our newly aligned partnership "Team Dunham" — set the tone for our happily married life.
Deciding to elope wasn't just a financial consideration, though I'd be fibbing if I said that didn't play a role. Wayne was a poor graduate student and I was slaving away in a full-time job I hated and a second deadly dull job when we decided to marry. So, yeah, we didn't see the sense of spending hundreds or thousands on flowers and dresses and who knows what else.
But the underlying reason we eloped was truly because we wanted to spend our engagement discussing major issues — children, careers, lifestyle — instead of debating with our friends and relatives about china and silver and guest lists and flowers and a million other things that weren't priorities in our lives. We didn't have much time for an engagement — we wanted to be married six weeks after we decided for a whole slew of boring reasons. So yes, time was ticking.
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And that leads to the real, deep-down, I-never-admitted-this-until-now reason. We wanted the wedding to be about us and our love and our lives, not about petty bickering and jealousies among those important to us in the few short weeks we were "engaged." We wanted people to be happy for us and not feel wounded or put upon or any of the other strange emotions that seems to erupt when a couple announces they marriage plans.
Candidly, I had watched from the sidelines of enough relationships that I was convinced that nine times out of 10, the bride and groom were almost an afterthought in the whole celebration.
A lot has changed since Wayne and I married, but the families and friends of engaged couples re-enacting the Hatfields and McCoys feud is a constant. Just this morning I was reading an advice column where yet another soon-to-be-bride was lamenting that her "very nice, very reasonable" parents were strong-arming her into one type of wedding while her fiancé's parents were lobbying him for a different type.
She and her fiancé were quarreling with each other, their parents, and everyone else within shouting distance. Is that really an enjoyable way to move into married life? I think not. Divorce rates and unhappy marriage reports tend to support my view.
So, yes, we eloped. For us, that meant telling our parents at the last minute and inviting them to attend. It also meant my parents buying me a pretty dress that I still wear to our anniversary dinners. And, yes, as someone who grew up on '60s and '70s TV, I couldn't resist having my parents drive me to the officiating judge's house where my dad walked me down the aisle.
Now I won't kid you — there were still hurt feelings and some anger. All the friends we didn't tell, who were especially enraged when they realized we had told a few people including our siblings, were incensed. And relationships with a few relatives broke. But, really, Wayne and I spent those weeks in love and bliss.
Our wedding day was the happiest day of my life. Wayne will tell you it was the happiest day of his too. The reason: We were true to ourselves. And that set the tone — even considering sickness, deaths, and other rocky times — for a happier marriage than "Team Dunham" could ever have imagined.
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Stars in their eyes: Working with showbiz royalty

Behind every star and VIP, there's usually a hard-working, media-savvy mover-and-shaker. Publicists, agents and public relations advisers are essential for a successful showbusiness career in today's image-obsessed world, securing bookings, organising events, handling media coverage and offering a shoulder to cry on when the going gets tough. Here, three leading Belfast-based promoters give a glimpse of the busy life behind the scenes of the red carpet and the stage.
Cathy Wilson has been working with Aiken Promotions for 20 years. The Belfast-born fortysomething started out covering administrative duties in the well-known music agency's office, but worked her way up to management level, overseeing the organisation and promotion of high profile concerts and tours. Cathy lives in Belfast with her husband, Gavin, an engineer, and their children, Jamie (20) and Euan (17). She says:
When I was young I thought I wanted to be a teacher, but I left school after A Levels. I did English, French and Spanish, and I took typing lessons at the same time, which came in handy.
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I worked in retail and administration for a while, then I ended up with Aiken by accident. My sister Dawn was working there then - she went on to become the stage manager for Cirque du Soleil - and when they were looking for someone to cover admin in the office, she suggested me.
It was supposed to be for two weeks but here I am, 20 years later. I learned a lot about the business from Jim [the late Jim Aiken, the highly respected agent] and Peter [Jim's son and company MD]. Jim was a gentleman and the best mentor ever. He had a great rapport with people. He taught me the biggest problems could always be sorted; there was always a way round them.
The Garth Brooks gigs were an exception. I'm still in shock about that. It all started off with a simple plan for two shows; then it got to five and developed into something huge. It couldn't have fitted into anywhere else but Croke Park in Dublin. I'll never forget standing on the stage he played on, in Central Park in New York, when about a million people turned up. To see that many people was incredible.
I have a very real passion for the entertainment business and I can keep calm under pressure; I always could. It takes a lot to phase me. You have to be very organised and plan ahead, and make sure the paperwork's done. You do need patience at times but we're quite lucky to have had fantastic people to work with. There have been no real divas. The artists come as part of a well-oiled machine.
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Pertama di Jakarta Fashion & Food Festival, ISIS Bawa `The City`

here are so many things could be talked about Jakarta, The City. Bahwa sebagai sebuah kota besar, Jakarta punya banyak kisah tentang segala lapisan masyarakat, namun ialah urban scene dari kehidupan kaum metropolitannya yang menjadi rujukan atas identitasnya sebagai kota besar.
Untuk memberi contoh tentang hal itu, Anda cukup menengok sekitar dan perhatikan bagaimana warga The City tersebut menghabiskan waktunya dengan keluar masuk gedung kantor yang mencakar langit, rehat sejenak di sebuah coffee shop, berbelanja di mal-mal eksklusif, hingga permainan jemari mereka di gadget canggihnya masing-masing.
Fashion items yang mereka kenakan menjadi saksi dari segala hiruk-pikuk kerumitan berbagai urusan yang tak jarang menaikkan tensi. But we do also experience more chilling days at our City, the times when we see it at relax perspective. Nuansa yang lebiheasy-going dari The City itulah yang ditampilkan dalam 40 looks karya label ISIS pada gelaran Jakarta Fashion & Food Festival (JFFF) di Hotel Harris, Rabu 20 Mei 2015.
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Dengan iringan musik yang mengingatkan pada atmosfer sebuah lounge, para model menampilkan rancangan-rancangan dari label yang digawangi oleh Amot Syamsuri Muda dan Andrea Risjad itu. Di bawah judul `The City`, koleksi dari partisipasi pertama ISIS di JFFF ini memuat looks yang simple dan minimalis. Halter-dress putih dengan belahan dada rendah dan variasi berbentuk letter T hitam dibawakan oleh figur Dena Rachman di awal show.
Tentang sosok-sosok publik di peragaan busana ini, Amot dan Andrea pada konferensi pers sebelum acara dimulai menjelaskan bahwa tokoh-tokoh yang diajak untuk berpartisipasi adalah mereka yang dinilai inspiratif. Dena Rachman adalah mantan penyanyi cilik yang terlahir sebagai pria namun kemudian secara terbuka menyatakan identitas diri sebagai perempuan.
Potongan-potongan busana yang lebih loose di koleksi ISIS ini diwarnai dengan palet monokromatik seperti hitam atau putih yang ditempatkan dengan teknik color blocking melalui penggunaan warna-warna lain semisal kuning muda, pink, emas, biru, dan lain sebagainya. Satu hal lagi yang perlu disebut terkait warna adalah tentang pilihan ISIS untuk tak menggunakan bahan bermotif di koleksi ini.
Jelas menyuguhkan koleksi yang chill bergaya kontemporer khas masyarakat metropolitan melalui tampilan minimalis, koleksi di The City ini memiliki variasi nuansa yang cukup beragam. Keragaman itu terangkai mulai dari look androgini dengan celana dan T-shirt putih beraksen warna emas di bahu kanan, tampilan quirky chic yang begitufun dengan layer warna pastel, gaun lengan asimetris dengan model ala Yunani nan anggun, romantic seperti yang dikenakan oleh Dimas Beck, hingga hiphop yang dibawakan oleh penyayi Dira Sugandi.
Lantunan lagu dari Dira menutup fashion show ini dengan menghantarkan gerak lepas para model menyusuri catwalk menggunakan rancangan-rancangan ISIS yang secara garis besar minimalis namun dengan twist garis-garis desain yang kuat. Itulah koleksi The City yang tentangnya, Amot dan Andrea menyebut `No more drama`. (bio)
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Student off to Skills Canada nationals

A local student is taking her passion for fashion design to the next level of Skills Canada.
Carissa Greer, a Grade 12 student at St. Joseph Catholic High school, recently won first place in the fashion technology category at the Provincial Skills Canada Competition on May 13 and 14 in Edmonton.
As a gold medal winner, Greer qualifies for the Skills Canada National Competition from May 27-30, as part of Team Alberta.
"I'm looking forward to just being there," said Greer. "Being able to say that I'm top 10 in the country is pretty amazing."
While this is her first year competing in nationals, Greer has been participating regional and provincial in Skills Canada competitions since Grade 9.
The competitions test students studying skilled trades and technology.
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"There's so many businesses that support it so it's really great to get the trades known in Alberta and across the country. It's just a really great way to build your trade and get experience in the field."
Karen Gorman, Greer's fashion teacher at St. Joseph Catholic High school, encouraged Greer to take part in Skills Canada.
"It helps them to work with the adrenaline rushing and pumping to see what they really do know," said Gorman.
"It pushes them to their best potential."
Greer's winning design in the provincial competition was a mid-season denim jacket with a featured cape, a welt pocket and flared sleeves.
The jacket took Greer 14 hours to make in the competition, including 11 hours of sewing.
"They send you the pattern previous, so I kind of go in with a design in mind and then I draft the jacket and everything there," said Greer.
To prepare for the all of the competitions, including nationals, Greer creates projects using new sewing techniques.
"I'm always looking for things to up the ante with difficulty and stuff, because they really love that too, how well you can execute a difficult technique," said Greer. "I love designing and being able to think of something then make it and have it in real life," said Greer.
Other local winners in the Provincial Skills Canada Competition were Darci Peterson.from Beaverlodge Regional High school, who won gold in junior hairstyling, Morgan Winter from St. Joseph Catholic High schoool, with a silver for IT-Software Solutions for Business Level 1, and Jamie Cote, from Peace Wapiti Academy, who won third place in outdoor power and recreation equipment.
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Woody Allen's 'Irrational Man' Premieres at Cannes

Woody Allen's 'Irrational Man' Premieres at Cannes: The Director Speaks About the Meaninglessness of Existence
Any film that begins with a philosophy professor, played by Joaquin Phoenix, cruising in the bright sunlight musing to himself about Kant's "unanswerable" questions is going to charm me immediately (I also teach Kant). Indeed, Woody Allen's Irrational Man, which just premiered at Cannes, is a sunny joy to watch, despite its sinister subject: a philosopher named Abe who cannot find meaning in life - -until he commits a radical act. Perhaps -- I suspect -- it is the abundance of sun in each scene and the jazzy soundtrack by the Ramsay Lewis Trio that makes the film so uplifting. Woody Allen privileges outdoor shots, each in a pleasant upper-class locale in Newport, Rhode Island, where the professor has come to teach.
Two lovely women become enamored of the professor: a college student, played by the beauteous Emma Stone with the bright calm hazel eyes, and a wiry attractive married chemistry professor, played by the quirky Parker Posey, who is herself unsatisfied with life and wants the elsewhere signified by Abe. But our charismatic existentially despondent professor cannot get it up, with either woman. In desultory fashion, he carries a flask of whiskey, philosophizes, and plays, in half-hearted fashion (a highlight in the film), at Russian Roulette.
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The film becomes amusingly strange with a typical Woody Allen moment: an overheard conversation at a local diner. It is this chance banal conversation -- this sidetrack from the main story -- that becomes the main story. Inspired by his eavesdropping, our spiritless professor makes a radical "choice", takes on a sense of responsibility and, for the first time, embraces manhood, in all its virile senses.
The film is pleasurably light in humorous conversation, and the acting of Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone enchantingly seductive, so much so that the curious choice that becomes the climax of this film takes on whimsical charm. And yet the choice the professor makes is one that crosses the limit of Good and Evil. Allen's erudition in the subject of Evil--from Dostoyevsky to Hannah Arendt--is (as per course) apparent in this film: we are to ponder about right and wrong.
However, there is a twist. While the director's recent films end on a cynical, if not nihilistic, note, this film has a cheery resolution, and indeed, for the first time, seems to make a plea for "moral" meaning. Although, on reflection, I did come up with a second reading of the ending lines, that may very well lead back to cynicism, the more expected outcome of a Woody Allen film.
The director, at the press conference, corrected me on my cynical reading. "No," he said. "This ending is a deep moment for the character. The character has grown through this experience, with this brush with --- . It is something that will make [the character] reflect in the years to come....."
He was so earnest in his conviction in "character growth" that I wondered if the director has been pulling our legs all these years when he argues for the meaninglessness of existence: a pessimistic philosophy that he went on, with great passion, to expound on at the press conference:
"If you read the newspapers, you see that in every corner of the world, there are horrible things happening. You are living in a random universe. Everything you do is going to vanish, everything is going to be over, the sun is going to burst, everything that Beethoven and Mozart created will disappear."
In this context, any meaning we give our lives is an act of delusion.
Shedding light on the title of his film, the director added that, in fact, anything we choose to believe in is irrational: whether it is to be a good person or to do evil.
One might think that Woody Allen finds--at least--"meaning" in his phenomenal creativity and success as a filmmaker. Doesn't art put a stopper in the waste of time?
No. The director responded that even his gifts are but a distraction from the reality of annihilation.
The nearly 80 year-old director quipped: "For I will be old one day in the very distant future."
I could not help feeling that despite that "very distant future" that awaits us all, and the eventual explosion of the sun, this pleasurable moment of distraction with Woody was, in the meantime, meaningful.
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Tragedy as mother, 36, dies within TWO WEEKS of being told she has incurable liver cancer

Tragedy as mother, 36, dies within TWO WEEKS of being told she has incurable liver cancer - and within a month of burying her stillborn baby daughter
The family of a woman who died within two weeks of being diagnosed with cancer – and a month after burying her stillborn daughter - have spoken of their total devastation.
Dawn Jackson, 36, believed she was perfectly healthy until her unborn baby died in the womb in March.
In the midst of her grief, more horrific news followed - she was suffering from cancer in her liver, spleen and bowel - and her condition was terminal.
Knowing she had always wanted to get married, her fiancé Dean proposed immediately - and friends and relatives rallied around her to organise the wedding.
But the couple were only able to enjoy two days of married life before she passed away earlier this month - just 14 days after being diagnosed.
Mr Jackson, from Blackpool, said: 'The diagnosis was completely out of the blue but we thought we'd have at least a few weeks.
'But everything happened so quickly, her health deteriorated rapidly.
'I wanted to do everything I could to make her happy and comfortable so I proposed, as she'd always wanted to get married.
'A lot of photos from our wedding day show her smiling which says a lot, because she was in agony. Dawn looked stunning in her dress.
'Our wedding day was perfect in every way you could imagine - apart from the circumstances.'
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Mr Jackson, a bus driver, has now been left to bring up his son from a previous relationship, as well as the couple's children Aydia, four and Karla, one, after his whole world fell apart in less than two months.
He said: 'I've so many happy memories of our lives, holidays and days out with children.
'Dawn was a wonderful person, I loved her personality.'
'She took to my son straight away and she was so passionate about her job as carer.
'I knew straight away she was the one for me.'
Mr Jackson met Dawn, a carer, eight years ago and this year they were expecting their third child together.
But in March, and at eight months pregnant, Mrs Jackson began experiencing serious abdominal pains.
She was taken to hospital for a check-up but a routine scan found no heartbeat for her baby - forcing her to give birth to their stillborn baby girl.
The family buried baby Jaycee-May on March 20, but just weeks later Mrs Jackson collapsed.
Tests revealed she had a blood clot in her chest, restricting oxygen getting to her brain.
Mr Jackson said she had suffered a series of health problems since the stillbirth.
She had been coughing and had being unable to keep food down, losing five stone in weight.
Further examinations found a mass on Mrs Jackson's liver and on April 20, one month after the couple had buried their baby girl, she was given the devastating news she had terminal liver cancer that had spread to her bowel and spleen.
Mr Jackson said: 'We were devastated.
'But Dawn faced it in the same way she faced losing the baby - there were tears but she said she had to be strong for the children
'She'd always wanted to get married so she was over the moon when I proposed.
'But at that point we thought she'd have months, even years. Not days. I think I'd fooled myself she had longer to live.'
Mrs Jackson died in the early hours on May 4 with her husband at her bedside.
Her funeral is set to take place this week.
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'To have and to hold'

PAGEANT consultant Epeli Tuibeqa will unveil his bridal and children's wear collection at the Fiji Fashion Week 2015 (FJFW15).
Tuibeqa said his bridal collection, "To Have and To Hold" was a phrase commonly used in wedding vows and the children's line caters for wedding clients who require outfits for flower girls, ring bearers or just outfits for kids attending a wedding.
"It challenges the mind and creativity because every bride wants a unique look, something different from every other bride that's why my pieces are unique," Tuibeqa said in a statement.
"Both collections are set to enhance the art of tapa print with its western fashion influences."
Tuibeqa, who is also a stylist and choreographer, has styled and designed for notable Hibiscus queens such as Alisi Rabukawaqa, Drue Slatter and Nanise Rainima and for the South Pacific pageant.
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Tuibeqa, who is no stranger to FJFW, said while he debuted as a designer with a resort wear collection, he failed to connect with his collection.
"My first foray into fashion was a resort wear collection and I just didn't connect with the pieces and as an artist, I think that's important because you need to put your stamp on everything."
He also said his bridal pieces at that point in time were getting more noticed because of his signature designs that made his KuiViti garments one of a kind.
"FJFW now has a bridal category and I'm beyond excited to show my collection this year.
"The line, 'To Have and To Hold' is sophisticated enough for the bride of every shape and size, a KuiViti bridal dress entitles the bride to a fashion hair accessory and a matching custom-made bouquet," Tuibeqa said.
A KuiViti bridal dress is authentic, fresh and unique and Tuibeqa ensures that every bride gets a one-of-a-kind wedding gown for her big day.
Tuibeqa is set to debut his bridal collection on May 30 at the Couture Resort, Bridal, and Evening Wear Show at the Vodafone Arena.
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Mazal tov, mazel tov: Can a twin wedding be kosher?

As the 200 guests entered the wedding hall at the Marriot hotel in Kansas City, Missouri last month, they had to wish the bride and groom mazel tov twice; first, to Brittany Choikhit and her groom, Max Margolies, and then to Brittany’s sister, Ashley, and her groom, Daniel Held.
“We always wanted a double wedding, because we’re glued at the hip,” Brittany, who is 25, told the Forverts. “We were in the same classes in preschool and elementary school, and did practically everything together.”
Although the invitation explained that this would be a double wedding, or a “twedding” as they called it, some guests weren’t sure what to expect. “I imagined that both couples would stand under one chuppah,” or canopy, said Max’s aunt, Malka Margolies, who came from New York to attend the event. “Instead, it was two parallel chuppahs. At first glance, I thought I was seeing double!”
In fact, there is a halachic reason for marrying the couples under separate canopies. “In the Talmud it says: One does not mix one happy occasion with another,” explained Rabbi Ari Goldberg, Max’s brother-in-law and the director of the Pittsburgh branch of NCSY, an Orthodox Jewish youth group. “Usually, this doesn’t come up because most people want their own wedding day anyway. In this case, since both brides specially requested to celebrate it together, there is a legal precedent. As long as the ketuba, or wedding contract, is read to each couple separately, and the sheva brachos, or seven blessings, are recited separately, there shouldn’t be a problem.”
The two canopies served as a reminder that these were, indeed, two separate ceremonies.
The bedeken — the ceremony when the groom approaches his bride to ensure that he’s marrying the right woman, and then places the veil over her face — took on added meaning here, since marrying the wrong bride is actually conceivable. “That’s why they did the bedeken next to the chuppah, right before the ceremony,” said Cheryl Choikhit, the mother-of-the-brides.
Other parts of the ceremony — like the bride’s walking around the groom seven times, and the groom’s breaking of the glass — were enacted simultaneously.
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The wish of the sisters to celebrate their wedding day together reflected their unique lifestyle, in which the sisters were practically inseparable, especially during their childhood. “My parents had us in our own bedrooms, but we always snuck into each other’s room and squeezed into bed together,” Ashley said. “We’d whisper about what we want to dream about.” They had to keep their voices down, though; otherwise their mother would separate them once again.
After graduating from high school the girls went to spend a year in Israel, at the program Netiv. There, too, they were placed in separate dorm rooms. “They wouldn’t let us room together because they thought we would intimidate people,” Ashley said. “So we were assigned to separate rooms. But we always had sleepovers in each other’s rooms anyway. Our roommates didn’t seem to mind because we included them in the fun.”
Today, the girls are almost 25 and are still best friends. Despite this, there wouldn’t have been a double wedding if their fiances hadn’t consented. As luck would have it, Max and Daniel get along very well, too and often play tennis and video games together. “Daniel is one of my best friends,” Max said.
Today the two couples rent apartments in the same building and have dinner together once or twice a week.
Everyone still remembers the day that Max proposed to Brittany because unexpectedly, it was a day fraught with tension. Max had already planned all the details for popping the question on Sunday, April 13, but on that very morning, a gunman killed three people at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City and at Village Shalom, a Jewish retirement home.
“After hearing about terrorist attack, I definitely thought of canceling,” Max said, but his friends insisted he do it anyway. “Don’t let this horrible thing affect you,” their good friend Jessica said. “Let’s show this guy that he can’t ruin the happiness of the Jewish community.”
Ultimately, Max decided to carry it out. Brittany’s mother, Cheryl, a real estate agent who was in on the surprise, told Brittany that she wanted to show her a condo on sale in Brittany’s building. The plan was that Brittany would go back to her own apartment to tell Max about the condo and bring him over to see it with her. But just as Cheryl was about to get the keys from her office, she fell and sprained her foot, so as a result, Brittany ended up coming to Max 45 minutes late.
“I knocked on the door and when he opened it, I saw candles and flowers everywhere,” Brittany said. “It must have been 100 degrees in there because the candles had been burning for so long. He was sweating and shaking, but he got down on his knees, and asked me to marry him.”
Five months later, Daniel proposed to Ashley, and soon after the sisters decided to celebrate the two weddings together.
Although the wedding has come and gone, the honeymoon has been postponed to the winter because Brittany and Ashley are about to open a preschool for the arts, and are very busy with all aspects of signing the lease and registration.
“We’re not sure yet where we’re going, but preferably a spot with lots of sunshine, where they bring you drinks,” Daniel said. Responding to the inevitable question, whether the four newlyweds would be spending their honeymoon together, too, Daniel laughed.
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Getting Lost in Kim Jones’ Massive Walk-In Closet

I loathe the North with a passion. It comes with living in the southern part of the metro. You see, everything past Makati is completely foreign, and more often than not, feels hostile. But if you’re headed to the extreme ends of the North to visit Kim Jones-Rosales, getting lost (despite a GPS navigation system) and passing through four gates (the village is practically a fortress!), it’s all worth the trip.
We arrive at her massive home, half an hour late, and Kim welcomes us into her modern-minimalist abode, dressed in a light grey pair of trousers and a flouncy, off-shouldered top. “I’m really obsessed with this at the moment,” she says, pointing to the flurry of white fabric in her full-fledged Aussie accent. Devoid of any makeup and with the warmest of smiles, it hardly takes a second for one to conclude that she is one of the prettiest faces you will ever encounter.
You could imagine my difficulty believing that this Australia-bred Filipina-Brit was once upon a time, a banker. “The nine to five? Not my cup of tea,” she intimates. She continues to hop around the house barefoot, like the carefree, pretty thing she is, and finally shows us into the walk-in closet she shares with her husband Jericho—a sacred space that not many have been to before. In fact, you can count us as one of the lucky few from the industry who have stepped foot into the private couple’s home.

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She settles on a chair by the sink as we set up our cameras to shoot, and classical music plays faintly from her laptop. I ask the obvious, “What’s on loop on your playlist these days?” Kim bursts into a hearty laughter and responds “Roberto Cacciapaglia!” then proceeds to admit being a fan of classical music. And like the good hostess that she is, she lets us make a mess of her closet, moving furniture and rearranging objects. She obliges us with anecdotes of her husband’s obsession with cars, which he equates to her obsession with shoes, (“Boys and their toys,” I mutter, as we roll our eyes in unison), offers us grilled cheese sandwiches (an offer which Artu, our photographer, could not refuse), and shares her trade secrets: ASOS, Net-A-Porter, Avenue 32, and Moda Operandi are Kim’s four go-to online destinations for shopping. “I spend most of my time shopping online, actually!”
She’s big on socially-conscious fashion too, citing Stella Jean and Suno as two of her current favorite brands. “They’re doing great things, I think, with the whole eco-ethical side of fashion at the moment. They’re really good at incorporating patterns and textiles and fabrics from all over the world,” she states matter-of-factly.
A well-dressed, pretty girl with a good heart? You can see the appeal.
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The Catskills wedding boom

Half the weddings she plans are on private property, and the rest are at venues such as the Roxbury Barn in Roxbury and the Farm at Pond Lily, in Gallatin, across the Hudson River.
“Last year we did six to seven weddings,” she said. “This year, I already have 16. My business has more than doubled in one season.”
Hair stylist Candace Rudd of Twisted Sister Salon in Roxbury can attest to the uptick of nuptials in nature.
“I started doing hair out of my home eight years ago and did two or three weddings a year,” Rudd said. “Now I do more than twenty.”
Business is so good, Rudd doesn't need to advertise. She most of her business through referrals.
Most of Rudd’s brides are getting married in barns. But those barns are getting fancier, Rudd has noticed.
“The first weddings I did were barn, rustic style,” she said. “Now there’s a definite shift to getting married in a barn with china, crystal and candles.”
Throughout the Catskills, established resorts like The Emerson in Mount Tremper and Diamond Mills Hotel & Tavern in Saugerties are booked over a year in advance. So are barns, farms, restaurants and smaller private venues like Onteora Mountain House, in Boiceville.
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Onteora Mountain House owner Bob McBroom said that his business really took off in 2014. “We set a record with 37 weddings, squeezing them in between May and Halloween,” he said.
Ninety-five percent of his business comes from Brooklyn, Manhattan and Hoboken, McBroom said.
“We stumbled into the rustic wedding business,” he said. “Our clients are part of the farm-to-table movement.”
New business for old barns
Barn owners across the Catskills are getting into the wedding business.
After Bill Duke and Madonna Badger celebrated their own wedding with a big party in 2014 at their Willow Drey Farm in Andes, they decided to rent it out to other couples. Their 1800-square foot barn had bookings before it was finished in the spring of 2015.
“We heard there’s a market for places like ours up here,” Duke said. “Places like The Roxbury Barn are booked through 2017. So why not do it ourselves?”
In Sullivan County, Kate Murphy and her husband have a 100-acre property they used as their summer house for 15 years. When they began renting it out on Airbnb, customers asked if they could host weddings.
“We had one wedding here in August 2014,” Murphy said. “We’re completely booked this year and the barn isn’t even finished yet. We already have six weddings booked for 2016.”
Their venue, Handsome Hollow in Long Eddy, features an enormous 300-year-old barn. When the renovations are finished, it will have two bathrooms, a catering area, a mezzanine lounge and “a second floor hayloft where you can see the sky.”
Caves, waterfalls and hunting preserves
Some couples are drawn to quirkier venues.
Howe Caverns, a cave in Schoharie County, has hosted over 600 weddings since Elgiva Howe married Hiram Dewey there in 1854. The cave has a designated bridal altar.
“We like using the tagline, ‘How deep is your love’,” said Pam O’Brien, Howe Caverns' marketing director.
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Tumblin’ Falls House in Purling will stage magical waterfall experience at the edge of Shinglekill Falls.
Even Catskill Pheasantry, a 300-acre game farm with private cabins in Long Eddy, has hosted a few wedding receptions.
“They’ve been mostly for our bird dog clients,” said General Manager Jeremy Gulley. “We can handle everything from food to a DJ. You can be as loud as you want. We’re the only ones on the road and you don’t have to worry about driving anywhere.”
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Twelve-Year-Old Entrepreneur Breaks Into Fashion Industry For An Important Cause

Twelve-Year-Old Entrepreneur Breaks Into Fashion Industry For An Important Cause
Sometimes, we might not be happy with the cards we are dealt, but life is really about how we play the game, isn’t it? Some might believe that we are given what we can handle, and others might blame the dealer for giving them a bad hand. The best one can do is play those poor cards well and turn lemons into lemonade, or, as a wise person once told me, turn them into grape juice.
Grace Rose Bauer’s hand was not ideal. At two weeks old, Bauer was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that attacks the respiratory and digestive systems. Now at 12 years old, the aspirational sixth grader is an entrepreneur and fashion designer, using her fashion line, Rosie G, as a way to raise money and awareness for cystic fibrosis. Proceeds from every sale go back to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation .
Her confidence matches that of a 30 year old, and not a girl turning 13 later this year. However, the ambitious pre-teen is still very much a kid, and has launched an entire collection of clothing that are stylish, comfortable and appropriate for school. All her pieces also send very important messages of meditation, spirituality, and appreciation through her textile designs, while still reflecting her youthful and vibrant brand.
The name Rosie G was inspired by Grace Rose’s alter ego, who stares back at her in the mirror’s reflection wearing lipstick and dancing with a hairbrush microphone – as most young girls (and adult girls) like to do. While Grace Rose’s life might be a little different than other kids her age, Rosie G would say otherwise.
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“We don’t want to think of CF as a positive thing, but we also don’t want to look at it as a negative thing,” said Grace Rose, adding that she wants her brand and messaging to empower other kids who feel like they are different. “You never know what someone is dealing with at home, and that’s something all kids can really relate to.”
Grace Rose embraces two coasts – the west coast and south coast – and it’s evident in her appearance. She has the natural, golden tan of a girl who loves spending her (often-rare) days off at the beach, and the enthusiasm of a sweet, southern young lady. The New Orleans native and her mother relocated to Los Angeles after Hurricane Katrina and have now made L.A. their residence, where Grace Rose has partnered with a local factory to start her business while attending a performing arts middle school. However, she still refers to New Orleans as “home,” traveling back often to spend time with family and to host her annual fundraiser, GR4CF.
A few years ago, Bauer added a fashion component to her event, partnering with local clothing stores for a runway show. She even designed the logos and t-shirts for each event. In the event’s 10th installment, Grace Rose’s own designs were featured on the runway, and then auctioned to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. After witnessing for herself how much fashion could ultimately help her cause, the young designer decided to launched a full collection that will be sold starting this summer through several of the country’s most prominent children’s stores, including ModAngel.com and Pippen Lane in New Orleans. Buyers from Fred Segal and other notable stores have already displayed interest, as well.
Grace Rose handles everything in the business from textile and apparel design to the branding and intern interviews. Her mother Leah – also the designer of her own line, Leah Milana – helps her with the endeavor and has even turned it into her full time job.
“The fashion fundraisers started as a ‘more fun’ way for Grace Rose to talk about cystic fibrosis,” said Leah, who decided to commit to Rosie G full time after her daughter exhibited interest in the design aspect. “It gives me an opportunity to combine all the things I’m passionate about – Grace Rose, design and raising money for CF – but it also creates a career for her since we discovered that, as CFers become young adults, they have a hard time matriculating into the work force for medical reasons.”
It’s apparent that the clothing line will grow as Grace Rose continues to mature into a young adult. She already has big plans for product extensions, storefronts and partnerships in the future. Her flair for branding and attention to detail come as naturally to her as the waves in her light brown hair. Every detail of her line has been carefully thought out; including the designs of her fabrics, which represent different aspects of the brand. Her factory partnership in L.A. has helped her turn her dreams into a reality, but the mother-daughter duo will be seeking growth investments in order to continue to grow.
“We only want to talk about cystic fibrosis if we have something positive to say about it,” added the younger Bauer beauty. “It’s ok to do something positive with something that’s negative.”
By being vocal, Grace Rose and Leah are hoping to bring money and awareness to a disease that hasn’t been given attention. Leah said that it’s something that much of the CF community keeps to themselves. In addition, they hope to send messages of hope to other children who are bullied and have their own battles to fight, whatever they may be.
“When life gives you lemons, make grape juice,” said Grace Rose, whose positive messaging helps her deal with her own medical battles. It’s a message that she sends to all her customers with their shipments.
Leah adds that it’s because grape juice is sweeter
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