Weddingbee Blog

happiness is when I’m near you.

comfort is hearing you snore even though I can’t go to sleep because of it cause you’re so FRIGGIN loud.

caring is massaging me because my back went out even though you’re HURTING me and I’m telling you to STOP but you WON’T cause you want to KILL me before the wedding. Your plan failed sucka, I’m still alive! Muhaha!

confidence is when you hold my hand when I’m nervous about something.

laughter is when we make fun of stupid people which we do a lot.

warmth is when you hold me during a scary movie which I was probably FORCED to watch AGAINST my own will.

unity is when I do the dishes and make dinner and you take out the trash even though it’s my day to.

memories are when we flip through the scrap books I made you.

family is when you want to send my mother money to help her out and the one time we took lil hannah to Chuck E. Cheese and I was the only one small enough to go with her through the cheese factory which smelled like puke. But I took one for the team!

loyalty is when someone is mean to you and I want to claw out their eyes and kick them in the balls for upsetting you.

understanding is when we fight and make up and try to see where the other person is coming from and then I can go days reenacting your temper tantrum and you call me an ass but that won’t stop me butthead.

hugs are when we’re in the apt and you’re doing something and I’m doing something and when we walk by each other I just walk up to you and say “ah-na-joh me” (hold me) and you just hold me for a few seconds before we go back to what we were doing. The best thing about that is that you’ve never turned me down.

jealousy doesn’t exist. Except if you count that one time when you got mad at the boy at 3rd floor and you wanted to throw a shot glass at him from across the room and I kept asking you “so please explain in detail what you were feeling” and you kept telling me to shut up ’cause I had this big smile on my face ’cause I’ve never seen you get jealous but I wouldn’t shut up cause that’s just not what Ladybug does.

stubborness is something that we both need to work on. I just want to take this time out to let you know that even though I’m the one that says sorry most of the time that’s just because I want you to shut up. So that’s right, now you know I don’t mean it all the time. So there! It doesn’t mean you’ve won. Technically I win ’cause I got you to shut your trap. So that calculates up a bajillion girlfriend points for me. You’re way behind stinker. Only 25 points. How embarrasing.

and last…

love is knowing that you will be by my side till death do us part. Most likely it will be you first because i’m Ladybug. j/k. If you die I’ll die too cause I know you’re really just trying to get away from me. Haha sucka your plan would have failed again. Muhahahaha!

as you can see…we’re never serious.

(All images from Ceci unless otherwise noted)

From a reader…

I’m looking for invitations on sites such as Mygatsby, whiteaisle…etc. but I don’t understand all this lingo. What should I look for? Do I really need to order the STD cards, menu, programs, rsvp cards, etc.?

These are all the wedding stationery components:

1) Save the Date Cards - Save the dates are usually sent out 6 months to a year before the wedding if you’re having a destination wedding, a large number of out of town guests, or a wedding around a holiday. This provides guests sufficient time to make travel arrangements.

2) Invitation - The invitation indicates information for the ceremony when the ceremony and reception are held in the same location. If the ceremony and reception are held in 2 separate locations but is semi-formal, you may print all the information on the invitation but make sure it’s not too wordy. For formal events held in 2 locations, a separate reception card should be used.

3) Reception Card - The reception card is usually smaller than the invitation and includes information for the reception.

(New Leafletter Press)

4) Outer Envelope - Outer envelopes were historically used because invitations got dirty during the delivery process. This way the contents would be protected and a clean inner envelope could be presented to the lady of the house. Your return address should be printed on the back flap of the envelope and your guest’s title, full name, and addresss should be printed/calligraphered on the front.

5) Inner Envelope - The inner envelope is no longer necessary, but a lot of people choose to include the inner envelope if the wedding is a formal affair. We had inner envelopes because it’s just a little more exciting to have to open that extra envelope. Inner envelopes are addressed less formally than outer envelopes with the guest’s name printed on the front. Omitting this piece is a great way to cut costs on invitations.

6) Inner Envelope Lining - For decorative purposes, the inner envelope may be lined with tissue paper or paper.

(Paper-Source)

7) Tissue paper - Tissue paper was used to separate each invitation layer because ink used to take a long time to dry back in the day. This kept each layer clean. Today it serves a decorative or formal purpose.

RSVP Cards or RSVP Postcards - RSVP cards are filled out and returned by guests so you know who will be attending. Less formal events can use RSVP postcards which will eliminate the need for an envelope (and save you money!).

9) RSVP Envelope - Guests return their RSVP cards in these envelopes. They should have your name and address printed on the front.

10) Travel Information / Hotels Cards - If you have secured a special airline rate or blocked hotel rooms for your guests, you may choose to include a separate card with this information. This is often sent with the save the date card.

11) Parking / Transportation / Map / Direction Cards - If you have made special parking/transportation arrangements for your guests, you can include a card with that information. If you have a lot of travelling guests or a venue that is difficult to find, you may also choose to include map / direction information. These cards can be included either with the save the date or with the invitation.

12) At Home Card - This is a very formal card that indicates your new address as a married couple and when you’ll be occupying that address. I think hardly anyone uses this anymore.

(cardsupply)

13) Ceremony Programs - Programs provide guests with information about the ceremony and the wedding party. They’re not mandatory, but most people choose to do them. They’re also a nice keepsake for guests.

14) Menus - Menus are not mandatory but they’re a nice touch. One can be placed on each place setting, or there can be 3 or so per table that guests share.

15) Escort Cards or Seating Chart - Escort cards are usually organized alphabetically by guest names. They indicate which table a guest is seated at. A seating chart serves the same purpose. You can allow guests to sit anywhere at their designated table or you may choose to have assigned seating with placecards.

16) Table Cards - Once a guest picks up an escort card or looks at the seating chart and finds out what table they’re seated at, they will look for the corresponding table. Table cards are usually numbered but you can be creative and choose to name them anything you like.

17) Placecards - Placecards look like escort cards and are put at each place setting designating assigned seating.

18) Thank You Cards & Envelopes - You may choose to get your thank you cards printed at the same time you print your invitations to have a uniform theme throughout.

Barebones this is what you’d need:

1) Invitation
2) Outer Envelope
3) RSVP Card
4) RSVP Envelope (Unlese you’re doing RSVP postcards)
5) Escort cards
6) Tablecards
7) Ceremony Programs

You can order everything through one company if you’d like everything to match or follow a specific theme. I ordered the 1) save the dates, 2) invitations, 3) seating chart, and the 4) programs, placecards, table cards, and menus from 4 different companies. I also made travel/accomodation cards myself and bought thank you cards after the wedding. Everything can be ordered separately and at different times. You can also make everything on the list above if you’d like and save a lot of money in the process (although it would be quite time-consuming!)

After you’ve selected your staionary, you have to choose the type of printing - engraving, thermography, letterpress, embossing, and regular printing. Read up on that here.

Additional Tips:

1) Some companies may include extra envelopes, but if they don’t order extra envelopes because you will make mistakes addressing them. Calligraphers usually request additional envelopes as well.

2) Number the back of your rsvp cards because some people will return them without filling out their names.

3) Invitations are typically mailed 6-8 weeks before the wedding date. You may want to send them out a little sooner if you are having a destination wedding or a large number of travelling guests.

4) Take a complete invitation to the post office and have it weighed so you can affix the correct postage.

5) Have the post office hand cancel your invitations because they look so much lovelier that way.

I ordered invitations from mygatsby.com for my brother’s wedding, so I’m familiar with their ordering process. It was also a lot easier knowing what to order, having been through it all with my own wedding. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask. Hope this helps!

How did you decide where to go on your honeymoon?

Our decision was somewhat of a compromise.

I wanted an African safari - the lions, the tigers, the bears?
“Oh No!” Michael said.
“Fiji? Tahiti?”
“Travel so far for a beach? Hawaii?”
Alas, I went there for my post-bar trip!
“Paris, city of lovers?” Michael asked.
“I’m not a lover of that city. California wine country?”
“Um .. been there.”
“With whom… don’t answer that. Italy? Greece?”
“Italy or Greece or Italy and Greece” Either.

So Italy it was. Mix of sightseeing and chilling. I think we’re doing too much in too little time, but our schedule was somewhat dictated by the flight upgrades available (I’m not flying ghetto class on our honeymoon, honey).

So without further ado… We fly from NY JFK to Venice (via stop in Paris) the day after our wedding (pray for Delta to stay in Business).

Days 1 & 2: Venice. We’ll be staying in the Westin Europa & Regina. Its an old, grand hotel, which is probably more than a bit run down (shabby chic is what they call it nowadays), and more than a bit overpriced. But its right near the Piazza San Marco and I got a half way decent rate in dollars (as opposed to Euros) on hotels.com. The only negative is that we had to pre-pay.

Day 3: Take train from Venice to Florence. Its a pretty short trip, so we should be in Florence around mid-day.

Days 3, 4 & 5: Florence. This was the hardest decision. We didn’t know if we wanted to stay in Florence or the Tuscan country side or perhaps split the 3 days between the two. Ultimately, we decided to stay in Florence in a very central location and take a day trip (or 2!) to Sienna, San Giamangia and a winery or two.

We’ll be staying the the Hotel Montebello Splendid in Florence. The hotel is probably the least fancy of all of the hotels we picked (although not the least expensive). But it’s walking distance to the train station so it will cut back some of the commuting time. We booked directly through the hotel’s website. On the website, there was a place to put in a promo code. I took a shot in plugged in “AAA” — it worked and saved us 40 Euro per night!

Day 6: Travel Day to Amalfi Coast! We’ll be taking the train from Florence to Naples (hold on to your wallets). And then will likely arrange a car to drive us from Naples to Ravello. I’ve heard that you should have the car take you via Pompeii so that you do not have to make a special trip of it. Hopefully we’ll be able to do this, but it depends on the train schedule (we haven’t figured out that part yet).

Days 7, 8, 9 & 10: Ravello on the Amalfi Coast!!! I wish we could spend weeks here. It seems absolutely incredible. We’ll take day trips to Capri, Positano, Sorrento and just soak up the sun. The Hotel Caruso is unreal. I can’t wait. It will bankrupt us. I don’t care.

This is the view …

Day 11: Travel to Rome. We’ll probably take a car to Naples and a train from Naples to Rome. I hope the total trip will take less than 4 hours and we will be in Rome by mid-afternoon.

Days 11, 12, 13: Rome!!!! I was in Rome when I was 3 1/2 but that doesn’t count. I can’t wait. Again, I wish we had more time. The hotel in Rome is really a find. We’ll be staying in the Palazzetto in the Roman Wine Academy right on the Spanish Steps.

The Palazzetto has four rooms which were recently refinished. It is run by the Hassler Hotel (one of the top hotels in Rome) but is much less expensive and the rooms look nicer! The only “negative” is that we will have to go across the street to the Hassler to have breakfast and there’s no room service. I can live with that. Our least expensive hotel in Italy. To reserve, you have to send the hotel an email and they will get back to you; no online booking.

Day 14: Back to reality … flying home.

A few notes:

- If you’re planning on going to Italy in the summer, book EARLY! One of the reasons that we are going to Venice is that Delta didn’t have any upgrades available for flights to Rome, Naples or Florence. We booked 6 months in advance. Hotels weren’t too difficult with the exception of Florence, where all of my top choice hotels were already booked (around 5 months in advance).

- Italy is expensive. Very expensive. I had a budget in mind which I thought was very generous. We blew right through it. But you only go on a honeymoon once, right? To keep costs down, with the exception of the Hotel Caruso where we booked a deluxe sea view room (what’s the point if you don’t have the view), we booked “regular” hotel rooms everywhere else.

The Palazzetto only has one class of rooms, but hopefully we’ll get upgraded in Venice (not their busy season yet) and possibly Florence (I doubt it, given how many hotels were fully booked) I have included that fact that we are on our honeymoon in communications with every hotel.

-Tripadvisor ROCKS! Especially the button that lets you compare all of the online travel services prices at once.

- I personally think we’re trying to do too much in too little time. I wish we could have skipped Venice and added the two days elsewhere but the flights dictated the itinerary.

- Our to-do list for the honeymoon: book trains, book a car from Naples to Ravello (I’ll hold off on booking a car from Ravello back to Naples, in case there is a much cheaper way to get around), possibly book half-day tours in the cities, book trip to Tuscan country-side through the Montebello Splendid, get reservations to museums in Florence (you can’t see anything without a reservation, and you need to get one at least a few days in advance), learn Italian, pray that the dollar goes up, lose weight.

I got this in my dailycandy yesterday.

There’s a place called Three Turtle Doves in New York that’ll take your profile picture and turn it into a silhouette for $35. I saw someone use a male and female silhouette back to back as their wedding motif once. It was tres cute. Check it out at 201 E. 2nd Street between Avenue A & B.

This is how I keep my sanity & this is what I’m all about babies.

I know it’s hard staying organized while planning for your wedding. Especially you brides who like to do diy projects. So here are some things that truly help me…..

I was using a binder ’til last week but a binder can only hold so much ’til you need a new binder. You also have stuff falling out all the time. Plus you gotta buy dividers and knowing my anal rententive ass I need to buy sticker labels.

This, however, is friggin great! I just got this last week from staples for $14.48. It closes up with velcro clasps and also expands and holds it in place with another velcro clasp located at the bottom of the folder. It comes with labels in multiple colors. I highly recommend this. Plus it’s easy to carry with you if you go visit venues and it has pockets in the front where you can keep business cards and small photos. I give this 30 thumbs up! You won’t regret this purchase.

This is also fantastic. For Christmas I made a deal with Mr. Ladybug that we could each pick a Christmas gift that we wanted for under $100 so this is what I picked and I just got it today. I know it’s a lil late but whats-his-face is a procrastinator.

This is from Crate & Barrel and it’s on sale for $74.95 each. I got the 10 drawer. It’s great for holding supplies and paper. The only catch is that they charged us $30 bucks for shipping and handling. So far it’s pretty nice. It comes assembled so the only thing you have to put on are the wheels and then you’re good to go.

I have one of these as a make up box but i bought another one just for my supplies. This you can get at K-mart and it’s part of the Martha Stewart line (bonus points).

I tried to look for this on their site but it’s not on there any more. Not to worry. You can probably still get it at your local K-mart. When I bought it the first time it was by Martha’s kitchen and laundry section but when I got the last one it was in the storage supply area where they have the plastic storage drawers. Try under both. They have a large and a small. I’m not sure how much the small one is but the large is around $10 if i remember correctly and I only got it like a month ago so it doesn’t hurt to go check it out even though it’s not listed on their site.

If you’re a frugal chica trying to save a buck or two, which I totally support. And if you’re Korean, remember those kimchi jars your momma used to save? Well here are mine. I actually ran out and had friends ask their mom if they could take one of theirs if they were planning on visiting us. I now actually have 3 extras and I have 2 for coins. One as a penny jar and one as my nickel & dime jar. *le sigh* my pretty coins *hugging my jars*..oops! Ok sorry, got sidetracked.

I labeled each of the jars with masking tape. You can go a step up and use a label maker as well. I think you can double click on the photo to enlarge it and see it in full anal detail. Yummy. My best friend came over and saw my jars and started laughing at me. She so jealous and don’t even know it. Hater. Laugh at me. I laugh at you! How you like dem apples? Anyways I have a tape jar, bead jar, pen jar, marker jar, ribbon jar, gumbo shrimp, fried shrimp, lemon shrimp, Bubba got steamed shrimp….

So if you have no Korean friends, go out and make some on 32nd street. That should be the only reason you become friends with a Korean - to steal their kimchi jars. And once you get to know their momma ask if you can take a kimchi jar or 2 because Korean moms are usually sweet. Or to make it easier go buy some kimchi!

Haha now that I think about it that would be funny if I were to walk down 32nd this week and some random girl comes up to me and goes “Are you Korean? Wanna be friends?” I’d be like “Bitch don’t be fake. You want a kimchi jar just come clean ok!?”

Ok that’s 3 entries for today. I swear, I spoil you bitches. Who’s yo momma?! Dat’s right, the woman that gave birth to you.

Note: when i call you “bitches” it’s a term of endearment. It means my chicas. When i mean it in a mean way you’ll know it. So to those who are overly sensitive. Relax, and get a kimchi jar. Start storing!

I was just thinking about how I might be feeling on my wedding day and other than the anticipation of being pronounced as husband and wife, I’m really looking foward to seeing each other for the first time. Me in my dress and him lookin’ like all sorts of cuteness in his tux. I’m gonna feel like a lil school girl getting dressed for the prom and being all nervous when my date comes picks me up at the front door. I can’t wait.

I remember asking my gf’s when they got married if they were nervous and they always said no. I know I’ll be nervous and a lil shy. I know he will be too. We’re not used to all eyes on us. I think we’re labeled as the funny couple but we usually have a smaller audience - like 10 not 140. Nervous, nervous, nervous…

I really can’t wait to see each other for the first time. I think I might cry. He better cry when he sees me. Not like oh-no-my-life-is-over crying but more like she-looks-so-beautiful-in-her-dress-and-I-feel-like-the-luckiest-guy crying. I got teary writing this sappy shit.

I love you hun with all your weirdness and how you remix every song on the radio using your own lyrics (even though your lyrics don’t make sense).

Example of the singing: driving back from Philly singing I Just Called to Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder

“I just called to say I love you, I just called to say how much I care. I just called to say I love you. and i’ll kneel you from the bottom of my heart.”

Kneel you?

Oh COME ON! It’s like he’s inviting me to make fun of him. I cannot resist temptation! Vive la Ladybug!

Oh and while we’re on the topic, you know the song, The Scientist by Coldplay? He said “Hun, play that song on your cd.” I’m like “Which one?”

“The dentist.”

Congratulations to Chris who has one of the best stories I’ve ever heard. Sometimes you just know when you’ve met the one.

More wedding rings! Because can you ever really get enough? From Martha Stewart Weddings. The cushion cut diamond below is so hot!

Check out her site for more information on carat, cut, prongs, settings, bands, and colored stones.

Since I posted my save-the-dates I’ve gotten a few comments on what I was planning to do for invitations. My best friend’s lil sister volunteered to make the invites and programs as a wedding gift to Mr. Ladybug and I. This is the one that we picked. Isn’t it beautiful? I love eet. I can’t wait to see the finished results!

It was a hard decision only because she made so many for me to pick from. The ones below are the ones I passed up even though I loved them all. Loved them all demmit!

My father is out of town this weekend, so my mother and I finally had a chance to go shopping for her dress yesterday.

First stop was RK Bridal … the HUGE bridal store on 39th and 8th. We found two dresses that she loved.

The first is from Montage, which is made by Mon Cheri. It was the fist dress she tried on and looked stunning. The dress was gold with a purplish tint so it would pick up color from both my dress and the BM dresses.

We also found another dress from Jovani that wasn’t quite as pretty, but actually looked better on her.

She didn’t buy either dress, in part because the sizing on the dresses was crazy. My mother wears a street size 12 and RK wanted her to order a size 20 dress. I know that some of these dresses run small, but the sample she had on was an 18 and I thought that it was a tad big on her. I think they wanted her to order a bigger size just so that they could charge more for alterations! It left a bad taste in our mouths, so we left saying that we’d think about it.

Since we were in the area, we thought we’d head over to Lord & Taylor. It’s not really a store that I usually shop in; I always imagine it being a bit old and dowdy, but they’ve been trying to upgrade their image, and now carry much of the same clothes as Bloomies.

We didn’t find much that we liked, but she agreed to try on one dress… and it was perfect! Carmen Marc Valvo… black and gold lace overlay… tight through the bodice… fishtailing on the bottom! Best of all, the only alterations she’ll need is in the length! (Of course, she’ll have to find the proper undergarments.)

Doesn’t she look hot!

I also found a great purple Laundry by Shelli Segal dress that I’m going to get for the BMs. My best friend is going to try it on this week, so that I know what size to get for her. I’m going to buy two sizes for my sister; she just had a baby so she can’t really try dresses on right now. Since I’ll be buying from a department store, in a few months, I can return the size that she doesn’t keep. All-in-all, a productive day!

Cookie sleeves - either wrapped with a decorative paper brand or monogrammed with your name. Starting at $5.50 from One Girl Cookies in Brooklyn.

Yes, I can do it myself for much less… but do I want to be wrapping cookie favors the week before the wedding??

I’m helping a friend research photographers in the New York area. Her budget is around $4000 - $5000 including albums. I’m going to be posting portfolios from some photographers, so please let me know if you’ve ever worked with them and what you thought. We both liked Zia Photography - with prices starting at $4500, this is at the way top of the budget.

This is Erik Eroth. Prices start at $3500. I kinda like his work too.

The search has only just begun, but what do you think?

My good friend Jennifer recently started doing wedding make-up in the New York/New Jersey. She does amazing work! Here are some pictures from a modeling shoot she worked on recently..

Photographer: Tony Yang
Model: Liz Wong
Make-up Artist: booly

For make-up tips and make-over pictures visit booly’s site! She’s especially awesome with Asian makeup.

My mom just called and asked when we’re going to have a baby. She said that Mr. Bee and I would have such beautiful babies… and that it would be great if we had a daughter. She hinted at wanting to become a grandmother in a recent Christmas card, but the official baby pressuring has now begun.

Our plan was to wait 2-2 1/2 years after getting married to start trying. I think having some time to enjoy married life before having kids is very important. We’ve been married 10 1/2 months now and I’m definitely not ready at this point. There’s still so much I want/need to do before I’ll feel like we’re in a comfortable enough place to think about having kids.

What’s your timeline for having kids?

1) I don’t know yet…
2) I want a honeymoon baby!
3) Within the first year.
4) 1 - 2 years
5) 2 - 3 years
6) 3+ years
7) No children for me!