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Interview with Hot Cocoa

Mrs. Hot Cocoa is one of my all time favorite wedding bloggers. She is so smart, beautiful, poised, clever and humble. I loved reading all about her wedding at the Ritz Carlton Marina Del Rey and looking at her beautiful photos. Even better, she describes herself as afflicted with “bargainphilia” – the need to find a good bargain – and was a totally budget conscious bride and snagged so many great deals – check out her $3 wedding invitations later on in the interview.  I’m sure you will all enjoy meeting her – I’ve included many photos of her wedding details throughout. Enjoy!

Who are you? What do you do, and where do you live?

I blog under the pseudonym “Mrs. Hot Cocoa.”  I’m a lawyer by day, dilettante by night.  I live in Boston, MA.

You were one of my favorite wedding bloggers and I loved following along your progress – what has been the #1 most surprising thing about married life?

Aw, thanks!  Probably the most surprising aspect of married life is that it’s really fun.  Someone asked me the other day whether we still have anything to talk about after 18 years together, and the answer is yes.  I mean, 75% of the time I’m talking by nagging, but we still kind of like hanging out with each other.

 

What did you do with your wedding dress afterwards? What was your favorite item from your wedding?

I think my dresses are still in my mom’s closet; they haven’t even been dry-cleaned yet!  I intended on selling them but never got around to it.

My favorite item from the wedding is definitely my purple silk shantung Manolos.  Even though they were ridiculously expensive (for me), I’ve worn them a number of times post-wedding, and they always make me feel fancy and sassy.

What did you spend the most time obsessing over for the wedding that totally wasn’t worth it after? What about the reverse – something you wish you had spent more time thinking about?

Generally, I was pretty happy with the way things turned out.  There were definitely a few accoutrements — the special booklets I made with our vows that never even made it up to the chuppah, for example — that ended up being a waste of time, but over all, I think we struck a nice balance between the details I loved (and probably nobody else noticed) and the truly significant aspects of the wedding, like the content of the ketubah, the various ways we involved our friends and family, and the integration of our two cultures.

I’m not sure there are things I wish I had thought more about, though if I had to do the wedding all over again (which sounds awesome, btw), I’d make sure to dance with my grandfather while the photographers were still there.  Oh, I’d also would have loved to try on more dresses!  I had a very sensible approach to wedding dress shopping: I was only going to try on dresses in my price range, which meant sample dresses only.  But if I had to do it all over again, I would have gone to Kleinfeld’s and tried on a few $10K Monique Lhuillier numbers . . . just because.  I mean, when else are you going to have the opportunity to swirl around in something that costs more than a car?

 

What are your favorite items in your closet now?

My navy “Clinton” ruffled trench coat from Anthro, a black voile shirtdress by Alice Temperley for Target, and the various pairs of Lululemon yoga pants I live in when I’m not suited up for work.

What has been the #1 unique lesson in the wedding planning process that you wish you could pass on to brides?

I think 90% of the experience you have on your wedding day is about your own attitude.  If you are determined to enjoy yourself, to cherish each moment, and to be joyous and appreciative. . . toward your partner, your family, your friends, and your vendors, then there’s very little that can prevent you from having an unbelievably awesome day.

What’s a piece of advice about fashion that you’ve learned over time?

No comprendo.  What’s a “budget”?  Just kidding.  You know I’m a total bargainista.  I like to buy pieces that are well-made and fabulous but to only buy them at the absolute lowest price I can find.

For this reason, Gilt, Ruelala, and Ebates are my go-to shopping sites.  Anthro is brilliant, provided you get good at anticipating which items are invariably going to end up on the sale rack and which ones you have to be willing to spend full price on if you don’t want your heart broken.  And my newest discovery is Rent the Runway, where I can “shop” like a socialite on a public interest lawyer’s salary.

Finally – please share something surprising about yourself!

Surprising fact?  Hmm . . . is it surprising that I’m scared of dried fruit?  Or is it more surprising that more people aren’t scared of dried fruit?  I mean, raisins are creepy.

I could stare at all of Hot Cocoa’s beautiful wedding photos all day. I hope you all enjoyed meeting her and checking out all the lovely and creative details of her wedding. Have a lovely Wednesday and for more of Hot Cocoa, check out her blog here.

18 Comments

  • Reply
    SomeKindOfStyle
    May 25, 2011 at 12:16 pm

    amazing! everyone is getting married now, it truly is the wedding month! xoxo

    http://some-kind-of-style.blogspot.com/

  • Reply
    Jenna Lee
    May 25, 2011 at 12:33 pm

    So awesome! Love the cards and the shoes are great. The photos of the bouquets made my heart happy. Thank you!

  • Reply
    Lydia
    May 25, 2011 at 1:01 pm

    Love all the photo shots, especially the one that the bride sat down in her wedding dress with her shoes exposed. Congrats to the bride and also to you on your August wedding!

  • Reply
    audrinajulia
    May 25, 2011 at 3:17 pm

    Your interview is so lovely.Oh and your getting married too on August!By now for sure it will have so much preparation huh.I'm excited for you! Weddings is the most important moment on every gurl's life.:)

  • Reply
    McQ
    May 25, 2011 at 4:13 pm

    I love love love Ms. Haute Cocoa! Her wedding was amazingly beautiful and she is one super smart sassy cookie. I assume you're familiar with Weddingbee, if not, I highly recommend you check it out….(I'm Mrs. Lemonade!! 🙂 )

  • Reply
    Tara @ Haute Lunch
    May 25, 2011 at 4:13 pm

    What beautiful photos and great information! Thanks for this fabulous interview!

  • Reply
    Anonymous
    May 25, 2011 at 4:29 pm

    What a great interview…love her "blogging handle"!

    I actually sold my dress on Ebay right after my wedding … is that strange? {my thought was…I have the picture memories and some other gal could enjoy the dress 🙂 }

    xx Cat brideblu

  • Reply
    Tangles
    May 25, 2011 at 4:42 pm

    Love the new blog design! Great interview!

  • Reply
    The Hue Smiles
    May 25, 2011 at 6:46 pm

    so lovely, I enjoy reading wedding blogs as well for really no reason at all.
    Interesting post!
    Forever Chic,
    Amber

  • Reply
    Mrs. Hot Cocoa
    May 25, 2011 at 11:47 pm

    Thanks for the lovely post, K. And the very flattering intro. I can't wait to see all you wedding details.

    @ McQ: Lemonade!!! Where have you been? I've missed you.

  • Reply
    Mrs. Hot Cocoa
    May 25, 2011 at 11:52 pm

    Oh, btw, I'm blogging over at http://doublyhappy.blogspot.com now (Doubly Happy Too is the wedding blog – no longer updated).

  • Reply
    Katherine
    May 26, 2011 at 12:50 am

    @Cocoa, so sorry! Just edited the links 🙂

  • Reply
    Belly B
    May 26, 2011 at 2:06 am

    This was such an interesting interview!!! I love the pictures of the flowers 🙂
    <3 Belly B

  • Reply
    Christine
    May 26, 2011 at 5:48 am

    Oh wow! I've never seen a wedding bloggers before, that so cool! 🙂 all the photos are beautiful! 😀

    thanks for commenting on my blog!

    http://christinebalram.blogspot.com/

  • Reply
    cryskay
    May 26, 2011 at 6:15 am

    first of all – i adore your blog! you have such a great style.

    now onto this post, i love wedding posts! i can only dream that my wedding day will pan out just as beautifully. & the fact that she did it on a budget and found great bargains… kudos to her!

    i'm your newest follower. xx

  • Reply
    Pop Champagne
    May 26, 2011 at 6:53 am

    such wonderful pictures and interview. I agree, your own attitude is worth a lot and influence others around too!

  • Reply
    Susanna-Cole King
    May 26, 2011 at 10:18 am

    Congratulations on getting engaged!

    Thanks for your comment!

    xoxo

  • Reply
    Schnappy
    May 27, 2011 at 8:22 am

    Hy! Wonderful dresses! I like weddings! 🙂
    This girl very sweet!:)

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