Weddingbee

I’m invited to 2 weddings this year. One in Tahoe in June and another one in Alaska in September I think it was. I used to hate going to weddings but after my friends started getting married off one by one I’ve really learned to enjoy them. I mean a wedding is a GREAT excuse to buy a new dress, and new shoes, and maybe some nice earrings. That’s 3 new items for ME just because I’m going to a wedding. WooHoo!

Then you go, throw the bride and groom some cash, eat food, dance till your feet hurt, and shove all the bitches who think they’re gonna catch the bouquet when it’s got my name written ALL OVER IT. (I really don’t do the last part. Really, I don’t, but I can picture doing it. MuHAHAHA!)

Ok the boyfriend was just here doing the running man. FREAK.

If you’ve read my previous entries I’m gonna go with cylinder centerpieces. To get an idea of just exactly how many I need for each table….I’m a little hesitant to show you guys this because I’m afraid that you’ll think I’m psychotic…SIKE! I don’t care what you heifers think! I already know I’m crazy. So there!…I’m sorry I always wander onto Planet Ladybug out of the blue…I just can help it demmit! So this is what I did. Laugh if must but I shall bitch slap you and your grandmother. That’s right hide your grannies! I’ll find them!

SHUT UP! I don’t want to hear it. Let me explain what you’re looking at. (double click to get a larger view) I wrote down all the different sized cylinder vases I saw on this one website (Save On Crafts), actually cut the measurements out on paper, and wrote on them how much a dozen would cost for each size. STOP LAUGHING! Ok, you can laugh but you’ll stop laughing once I take photos of the actual centerpieces when I’m done and you’re gonna wanna borrow it after my wedding. Then we’ll see who laughs last! All I can say is “It won’t be you.”

Some people are so important to me that I simply can’t imagine getting married without them there. On the other hand, there are a handful of old friends who meant a lot to me in the past… but we’ve since lost touch.

I’m not sure whether I should invite these old friends because we want to keep our wedding small and intimate. But I’m worried that if I don’t invite them, they may be offended and I might be burning bridges.

Any advice? Has anyone had any regrets over their guest list?

How cute is this first dance? She’s a dance teacher, so she must have choreographed it herself. They look like they’re having sooo much fun!

Cutest First Dance ever

I originally started weddingbee as a personal blog on xanga. That blog enabled me to learn so much about wedding planning simply by documenting the whole process and by interacting with other brides in the blogging community. I soon realized that blogs and brides go hand in hand and started this site in hopes of helping other brides out there.

Fellow weddingbee blogger Miss Ladybug (also known as OrganizedWedding) and I have transferred everything from our xanga sites to here. You can now search for posts according to author, category, and date! We will be adding more bloggers and much more content in coming weeks. Meanwhile have a look around and stay awhile!

Warning: This site will be updated daily and may be highly addictive.

I have a confession to make. I returned a lot of the gifts we received off our wedding registry. We had a very small registry (because we didn’t want to appear greedy even though I am) and ended up getting pretty much everything we registered for. But it was too much - I still have presents stacked in our living room closet (that I plan to regift one day haha just kidding).

The reality is that when you live in a small New York apartment, you just don’t have room for all the gifts you receive. So for couples living in New York, I now give gift cards to the store they’re registered at so they can buy what they need/want.

We registered at Bed Bath and Beyond because of their great return policy and because we needed a lot of basic housewares. Other popular places to register include: Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Williams and Sonoma, and Target. You might even want to consider specialty stores like the Container Store (which I love), Home Depot, Ikea, or even Amazon.

What everyone needs is going to be different, but I thought I’d share some of the products that I use myself and recommend.

2 Slice Toaster Cover from Bed Bath and Beyond - $5.99. I’m going to buy one of these and a blender cover today actually. It’ll keep your toaster clean because who knows what could fall in there.

Cabinet Shelves from the Container Store in small ($2.99), medium ($3.99), and large ($4.99). Simply indispensable for organizing your kitchen cabinets. I have more than double the space thanks to these nifty organizers. They also come in double stacking but I find the single ones are perfect for shelves.

Corner organizer rack from the Container Store for $7.99. The open front enables you to access dishes easily and maximizes cabinet space.

Lid Organizer from the Container Store for $3.99. Also good for organizing baking pans.

Undersink organizer from the Container Store for $14.99. It’s plastic and kinda ghetto, but the shelves are adjustable so you can make room for pipes. Besides you’re never going to see it and it’s great for organizing all those cleaning products under your kitchen and bathroom sinks.

Oxo Goodgrips Dustpan and Whiskbroom $9.99 everywhere. The best whiskbroom I’ve ever used.

All Clad Stainless Steel cookware. Yes it’s expensive but it’s simply the best and will last you a lifetime. This is what you’ll see all the chefs on the Food Network using. These are the basic pieces I’d recommend:

• 12″ & 10″ nonstick frying pan. Hands down the best nonstick pan I’ve ever used. For a more seasoned cook, you might want to get the regular frying pans in 12″ and 10″ instead of the nonstick.
• 3 quart covered saute pan
• 2 & 3 quart covered sauce pan
• 8 or 16 quart stockpot.

3.5 quart Rival Crockpot. Don’t get the ones with the fancy dials and switches. The old fashioned ones with only three settings - off, low, high - are still the best and will last you a lifetime. Plus it’s only around $20-$30! You’d be surprised how many delicious meals you can make with crock pots from chili (which I make all the time), pot roast, even stuffing! You turn it on when you leave for work, allow to cook for 8 hours and when you come home voila! a hot meal all cooked and waiting for you. I love my crock pot.

Lodge Logic Preseaoned Square Grill Pan - $25.00. Cast iron gets super hot so it really sears the flavors into your food and is great for indoor grilling. Clean-up is kinda hard, but it’s worth it for those delicious burgers, chicken, steaks and veggies with perfect grill marks. I also take it camping because it’s so sturdy and put it right on top of the campfire grill.

Riedel red and white wine tumblers. I can’t count how many wine glasses I’ve broken. These great tumblers are in the shape of wine glasses without that easily breakable stem.

Vacu Vin Wine Saver. I use this ALL the time. It sucks the air out of open wine bottles so the wine retains its taste longer. This is simply indispensable.

Oxo medium silicone spatula. I use the silicone spatula almost every single day. I love this tool! So much so I bought the medium spoon spatula, but the silicone spatula is still my favorite. Silicone can withstand extremely high heats so even if you leave it in your pan, it won’t burn and it won’t scratch your nonstick pans.

Oxo Stainless steel locking tongs. You’d be surprised just how much you use tongs in the kitchen! They’re an absolute kitchen essential especially when it comes to grilling. These lock to close for easy storage.

Oxo Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener. This can opener takes lids off under the lid so there are no sharp edges. It also has little tongs for you to lift the lid off so you never even have to touch it at all.

Oxo Good Grips 2 cup angled measuring cup. You can see the measurement looking down into the cup instead of the side.

Silpat Baking Sheets. A must if you bake!

Braun Handheld Blender and Chopper. I use this more often than a blender. Works fabulously!

Corelle Dishes. Just like the ones mom had. I’ve had cute dishes from Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel made of glass, stoneware, earthenware…. they all chip and they’re heavy. This is a practical set to start out with - super durable, light, and affordable.

Global knives. The Japanese makes the best knives and no kitchen is complete without a set of good knives. The Global line is much lighter than Wusthof or Henckels so it’s great for women to use. I’d recommend the chef’s knife, santoku knife, paring knife, and a set of steak knives to start.

Sonicare Elite 7500. It has a timer so it automatically shuts off after 2 minutes. It also beeps every 30 seconds so you know when to switch to a different section. My teeth have never felt cleaner!

I’ll add more as I think of them…

My wedding favors came in about a month ago. They’re so cute and they’re green! I must kick into my opera voice~ Laaaaaaaaaa! La,La,La, Laaaaaaaaaaaa!

I got the Tea Forte sachets. You can order a box of 48 tea infusers for $45 (not bad). They come in assorted flavors. I ordered a box of the Forte (black tea), Oasis (green tea), and a box of the Chamomile Tisane (herbal tea).

The expensive side of this favor kicks in when you want to order the ceramic tray (displayed in the 1st photo above). They come 2 in a box and the average going price at the time of my research was $6 a box. I found mine for $5. Yes it is pricey but they’re sooo cute plus I don’t want a favor that my guests will throw out. I want one they can use. Also the majority of them are coming from out of town so hell yeah I want something nice for my guests. There are many sites that carry the Tea Forte collection so really do your research on this.

I also really want to do a cookie favor to go with the tea. I want to put it all in a box and when they open it it’ll be like: Ta Da! You are special, no matter what yo momma said to you. This is not a crappy guest favor my piggies!!

I mean what’s tea without cookies? It is nothing. Who drinks tea without cookies? What crazy person would do that? That’s just sick!………. I’m sorry what?………… Oh. Everyone? hmm.

So I’m the only freak. Sue me. I need a munchie with my tea. Is that such a crime? That’s just how it is. Not to mention 2 packets of sugar with the tea! Oh yeah! That’s right baby! Sweet & yummy! Just like yo suga momma!!! I’m sorry. I got lost on planet Ladybug again.

So anyways, where was I? Yes, cookies! Who doesn’t like cookies? I really like the monogram cookies. They’re looking really cute to me with the pastel icing. Kinda like a hot boy in daisy dukes. Hahaha…. I’m getting a visual. Haha… I chuckle and I’m 100% kidding so relax! If not the monogram then I wouldn’t mind the “Love” cookies but only if they got rid of the red and made it more color coded to my color theme.

More of those funny Natan ads…

Yesterday was my birthday. Guess how old I am… um, maybe you shouldn’t.

My parents came by in the morning and gave me my present- the Vera Wang Love Knot cake knife and trowel set. I need to find a place to get it engraved with our wedding date.

Michael bought my present a few weeks ago and I’ve been “borrowing” it ever since. It takes fabulous pictures - the Canon SD 550.

The day: We went for a walk in Central Park (I also ran for around 2 1/2 miles… it was so nice out!). And then Michael had a fabulous night planned:

We started at Gramercy Tavern for dinner. Yummy!

Then had a drink at Flatiron Lounge (ketol and cranberry, as always).

Before heading over to Jazz Standard (right downstairs from Blue Smoke) for the 9:30 set.

Could you look for the double happiness cake top I posted for less than $12? Pink_Seashell_Wedding

Here you go girl!

Bridal People - $15.00
Bridal Everything - $15.00
Ebay - $11.98
Canadian Bride Wedding Shop - $13.98
Chic Wedding Favors - $11.99
Gift Creek Bridal - $11.95
Wedding Star - $11.98

Beautiful garters from Angel Threads. Nice ring pillows too, but a bit pricey …

Cute flats for the not-so-traditional bride. Below in silver. They also come in gold, brown, and orient wine (your very own ruby slippers!). From Rocket Dog.