A ceramic Dora Maar for a cake topper? A bust of Margaret Thatcher as a dominatrix on the altar? Matching paisley tuxedos? Think of all the aesthetic possibilities when Simon Doonan, creative director for Barneys New York, and his partner, potter and decorator extraordinaire Jonathan Adler, exchange vows next month.
Doonan elevated store window design to an art form in the 1970s at Maxfield and now works his magic for Barneys (one of his windows did cast Thatcher as a dominatrix). Adler is head judge on Bravo's "Top Design," and the man behind such whimsical household items as the ceramic Quaaludes Jar and needlepoint Disco Dandy pillow.
But the two have strikingly low-key plans. The Manhattanites have channeled their knack for fabulousness into dinner for four and an equally intimate ceremony in Big Sur.
"Big weddings make me nervous," says Doonan, 56, who writes books about style as well as the Simon Says column for the New York Observer. "Every uber-fab wedding I have ever been to ended in divorce."
"We have been together -- totally married -- for so long that it would feel weird to make it into a whole thingy," says Adler, 42, whose lifestyle brand has spawned seven Jonathan Adler boutiques, including one on Melrose Avenue in L.A.
We caught up with the couple to get a preview of the non-thingy -- and a few bons mots on gay marriage, Doonan-Adler style.
Why are you getting married now?
JA: Because we can! We would have gotten married years ago, but we didn't have the right to do so.
SD: Jonathan's mother, Cynthia, and his sister Amy are both lawyers. They have been avidly following the gay marriage debate. Cynthia called us one day and said we should get hitched in California. I have a scheduled event which I am hosting at the Barneys store in San Francisco in September. This seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Remind us of your back story. How long have you been together and where did you meet?
JA: We met 14 years ago. It was a blind date. I talked a lot, and Simon was annoyingly inscrutable, but we've been together ever since.
What tone do you want for this event?
SD: We both come from unconventional families. Something low-key and easy-breezy.
JA: With the occasional Jewish overtone.
How many guests are you having?
SD: Two: Jonny's mom, Cynthia, and his sister Amy are flying out.
JA: Any helicopters circling overhead are going to be very disappointed.
