Ellie Konig and Quang Dinh Know How To Do A Wedding Video. Take Note, Soon-To-Be-Marrieds.

above: Quang and Ellie captured in their on-site reception photo booth, one of over 800 pictures by which they now have to remember the special occasion (courtesy of Quang Dinh's facebook page)

Like most newlyweds, the lovely Ellie Koning and handsome Quang Dinh wanted to capture the afterparty of their Aug. 11th nuptials on video. Unlike most couples, they used small Seattle-based production company Super Frog Saves Tokyo to do the job. (On the company's official facebook page, the folks at SFST they say they made this video for their "boss.")



The video was shot at the reception site Sodo Park in Seattle Washington in a photo booth, a now popular trend at weddings. The result is a recorded total of 4 minutes and 27 seconds of sweet jubilation unlike most painfully tacky wedding videos.


above: one of the photobooth still images from their wedding

It's been featured on MSN, Glamour.com, Jezebel and more and is rapidly turning Ellie and Quang into social media stars.


above: a still from the video

Shot at super high speed on the RED Epic camera, this 160 frame per second video unfolds in slow motion to Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” and captures the guests with simple wedding favor props like confetti, bubbles, poppers and silly string in a photo booth.



The joyful and ebullient energy conveyed is so much better and more touching than drunken statements made to camera or master shots of a dark room full of spastic dancers.

Congratulation to the happy couple, shown below in a more subdued and romantic photo from their wedding (photo courtesy of Ellie's facebook page):


Contact Super Frog Saves Tokyo to do your wedding video, or any other cool storytelling video you may need at video@sfst.com


http://www.sfst.com/

Hannibal Lecter and Princess Bride Wines For The Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas

The Drafthouse Cinemas, a chain of movie theaters that serve food and wine, have occasionally commissioned special movie-related wines which they pair up with the appropriate meals and serve at their unique cinemas. The special movie-themed wines are beautifully designed and packaged with labels and branding by the Austin based creative firm Helms Workshop.



SILENCE OF THE LAMB WINES


Their latest offering is a Chianti and Pinot Grigio inspired by the movie Silence Of The Lambs.







“The Cannibal Chianti” is a DOCG-wine from a vineyard situated between Florence and Sienna. It is a blend of 85% Sangiovese, balanced with smaller contributions of Canaiolo and Malvasia del Chianti. The nose is loaded with dark berry fruit with bass notes of allspice and baked quince. Its mouth feel is medium-bodied and well balanced, with savory plum and tobacco leaf notes leading to a slight sandalwood finish.



“Suit Yourself Pinot Grigio” is a 2012 vintage with a mixture of fruit from California’s Central Coast and inland vineyards. It offers a lush bouquet of tangerine and orange blossom. The palate starts with a crisp entry and a velvety mouth feel that bursts into flavors of tropical peach and Mexican limes with just a hint of honey, leading to a zesty, citrus-laced finish.



A limited number of packaged wine sets will be available for purchase online only. “The Cannibal Chianti” set comes with a leather red dragon bag of fava beans with a recipe for their preparation by Alamo Chef Trish Eichelberger. The “Suit Yourself Pinot Grigio” set features a burlap bag containing a bottle of Buffalo Bill lotion.


above: The four-course menu, created by Alamo Drafthouse Austin Market Chef Trish Eichelberger served at their various locations, along with the wines and movie.

To develop the bottle and package design of these wines, Alamo Drafthouse again turned to local Austin creative firm Helms Workshop. The subtle yet intricate designs unfold like a puzzle for fans of the movie, with tiny details referencing the film and its central characters of Buffalo Bill, Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling.



“Suit Yourself Pinot Grigio” and “The Cannibal Chianti” will only be available for one year. Both of these covetable wines will be available at all Alamo Drafthouse locations for $8 a glass and $32 a bottle (prices may vary).

Retail bottles are available for purchase here and at select Alamo Drafthouse locations where local laws permit.

PRINCESS BRIDE WINES
Hello. My Name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

UPDATE: The Princess Bride Wines ARE still available for purchase, only without the box or extra goodies. You can buy them here.

Their previous offering, launched last year on Valentine's Day, was also beautifully designed by Helms Workshop. The movie-themed wines featured a Cabernet and a White inspired by the cult classic The Princess Bride.



As fans will recognize, “The Bottle Of Wits,” is derived from the iconic “battle of wits” scene when Westley first rescues Princess Buttercup from Vizzini and his henchmen.



The custom wine line includes two varietals: “Inconceivable Cab” and “As You Wish White”.

The As You Wish White:


The Inconceivable Cab:


Wine charms: A six-fingered man. A Sicilian. The Dread Pirate Roberts. Princess Buttercup:


The menu that accompanied the Princess bride Wines and movie showing :


The folks over at Helms Workshop in Austin had this to say about the project:
"When you leave design school and look for work with your portfolio of fictitious student projects, half of your interviewers pause to tell you that, in the “real world,” you’ll never have the opportunity to design wine packaging. Much less, packaging themed after one of your favorite movies. Those folks never had the chance to work with Tim League and the team at Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas.





In looking at developing an identity for Alamo’s in-house branded wines, we quickly decided that it would be impossible to sum up everything that makes the Alamo unique in a single packaging system. Why not redesign the wine each year, based on a film that aligns with the brand? Alamo’s 2012 offering became two wines inspired by The Princess Bride, in honor of the 25th anniversary of the film."

“The “Battle of Wits” sequence between Cary Elwes and Wallace Shawn easily stands toe-to-toe with “the Sideways Spit Bucket” and “The Silence of the Lambs Chianti slurp” as wine’s shining moment in film,” said Alamo CEO and Founder Tim League. Workshop worked to pack the full scope and wonder of the film experience into the packaging.

Buy the Princess Bride wines (bottles only) here.

All photos of Silence of the Lambs Wines courtesy of Alamo Drafthouse
All Princess bride Wine photos with streamer backgrounds by Annie Ray
other photos courtesy of Helms Workshop

Studs, Spikes and Safety Pins. 20 Celebs That Rocked The Punk Look At The 2013 Met Gala.

Now, that I've shared with you a post about the Metropolitan Museum's exhibit "Punk: Chaos to Couture", I thought it would be fun to see which celebrities and models rocked the punk look for the opening night gala at the Met.

While many celebrities were beautifully dressed for the event such as Katie Holmes, Heidi Klum, Uma Thurman and Emma Watson, they opted for the elegant look rather than punk. However, the following celebrities brought out the chains, spikes, studs, plaids, safety pins, fishnets, maltese crosses, fingerless gloves, colored hair and make-up reminiscent of the classic late 70s  to early 80's Punk movement.

Some went all out, bringing back Punk as we remember it such as Madonna in Valentino couture:



Never underdressed, Sarah Jessica Parker was a sight in a wild Giles gown, Alexander McQueen thigh-high boots and a Philip Treacy hat:



Tommy and Dee Hilfiger were completely punked out in their plaid and silver spikes:


Christina Ricci donned a plaid punk Vivienne Westwood gown but kept the elegant hair make-up and jewelry.


Giovanna Battaglia in Gabbana Alta Moda accented her updo with several gold toned safety pins:


Nicole Ritchie dyed her hair white and loaded her ear with spikes while wearing a gown by Dana Rebecca Designs. 


Miley Cyrus killed it in this skin hugging gown with her fab Punk hair:


Cara Delevingne wore Burberry Prorsum, combining an elegant silhouette with Punk studs and spikes:


Wearing a wild, but not really punk, Martin Margiela black and white outfit, Gwen Stefani was accompanied by hubby Gavin Rossdale in a decidedly punk tartan plaid suit.


Hallee Steinfeld wore a terrific dress by Donna Karan with a contemporary silhouette but whose print is actually made with gold safety pins:


Designer Donatella did not disappoint in her own unusual Versace gown with spikey studded shoulder and cuff:


Others took a more subtle approach wearing gowns with the occasional Punk accent, such as Carey Mulligan in this black Balenciaga number with a gold safety pin accent:



Or Cameron Diaz in this body hugging blue gown by Stella Mccartney with a spiked belt:


Anne Hathaway showed up as a blonde in a very sexy skin-baring Valentino gown and cited Debbie Harry as her inspiration:


Sienna Miller's spiked headband and studded jacket added a punk edge to her look:


Jessica Alba's Tory Burch gown wasn't very punk per se, but her spiked Louboutin clutch was:


Diane Kruger complimented her Chanel gown with a punk pink-tinged ponytail:


Even Ivaka Trump colored her hair to match her gown:


Ginnifer Goodwin and January Jones both went for shimmery elegant gowns from Tory Burch and Chanel respectively,  but let their eye makeup scream "punk":

Images courtesy of Getty.
To see more red carpet images from The 2013 Met Gala, visit Vogue España.

Sophie Harris-Greenslade Nails it For Dior At Harrods And Offers Manicures To Match The Fashions.

DIOR's month-long takeover of Harrods has as much to offer beauty fans as it does fashion, with the department store's hallowed beauty hall playing host to exciting events, treatments and limited-edition products.




A series of nail art designs inspired by the fashions created by Raf Simons for the Christian Dior spring/summer 2013 collection is now available as part of Dior's Harrods takeover.







Until April 16, nail artist Sophie Harris-Greenslade, also known as The Illustrated Nail, will be treating customers to exclusive nail designs based on Raf Simons' spring/summer 2013 creations for Dior.


above: Nail artist Sophie Harris-Greenslade of The Illustrated Nail (photo courtesy of Look At Me)

Two limited-edition Dior Vernis nail colours have also been created especially for the event - the pale pink Diorling and the metallic grey Windsor.



The designs take their cue from Simons' dreamy florals, clashing hues and clean lines. Impressively, appointment fees are redeemable against the purchase of two Dior products - so you can save your funds for something decadent from the pop-up Dior at Harrods café (or indeed from the fashion section) instead.

Appointments with Sophie herself are available every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Dior at Harrods until April 14. Call 0207 754 0444 to book.



You can shop for Dior beauty exclusives online at Harrods here

A look at the Dior takeover of Harrod's: