Weddingbee Blog

Here are the 3 make-overs. 1) MAC (note: only eyes & lips, so the skin isn’t perfect), 2) Meredith Carre (after I took off a bit of the make-up), and 3) Laura Mercier counter at Bloomies.

I know, I know, I look the “prettiest” in the Laura Mercier trial, but honestly, I don’t look like myself. People who really *know* me don’t like it (including several close friends, Mom, Sister, Mr. Firefly). The look is pretty, flawless, but it doesn’t pick up on my “vibe.” Huh, I guess my “vibe” isn’t pretty and flawless?!?!?!?!?

Ohhhh … looking at these close-ups makes me realize that I should be using my whitestrips!

This comes from weddingbee reader Eugenia.

HP offers downloadable templates for various wedding projects to make DIY as easy as it gets. Check these out:

Blue Wedding Kit - Candle lanterns, candy wrappers and more.

Bridal Party Kit - Themed decorations, gift log, games and more.

Bridal Shower Kit - Invitation, gift/thank you checklist and more.

Elegant Wedding Kit - Menus, napkins, and votive candle wraps.

For more DIY templates, please visit the HP site under their Activity Center.

A recent email from a reader…

I was wondering if anyone has seen these cute magnets of Korean couples? I saw one at a friend’s house and thought that they would make excellent favors. But when I asked where they got it, they said Korea. I did find a website but I think it’s only for retailers. Do you think you could spread the word and ask around?

Thanks so much!
Debbie

~~~

Dear Debbie,

I actually found two ebay stores that carry these magnets - check out hanbokland and Korea-and-more. I saw these magnets everywhere when I was in Korea, and I think I’ve seen them in various places in Los Angeles, but I can’t find any other online stores that carry them. Hopefully these ebay stores have enough in stock for your entire wedding.

If you wanted to give a Korean themed favor, I thought I might suggest some alternatives. Ducks are traditional wedding gifts because they mate for life and therefore symbolize fidelity.

What I didn’t know until today was that the ducks represent the bride and the groom. (I read this on a friend’s blog.) After the wedding, the placement of the ducks (by either spouse) indicates the marital state of the couple. Nose to nose means the relationship is good, tail to tail means they are arguing.

The small wooden duck pairs pictured above are $4.50. Click on the link for a more detailed history of the Korean wedding duck.

Or you could also give these miniature traditional bride and groom dolls for $5.00 each.

Any of these would make wonderful traditional Korean favors. Best of luck Debbie!

From Unique Wedding Ideas:

6. My future husband prefers to wear shorts and baseball hats. So we have decided to alter a tux into shorts. He will also wear a custom made baseball hat that says “I DO” on one side and “JUST MARRIED” on the other. It will be the same colors as our color scheme. I am wearing a custom made dress I designed myself to compliment his ” tux”. I will be barefoot with intricate beaded “slave anklets.”

12. I got married in December and had a huge wedding. We weren’t really sure what to do for favors for the guests, but i wanted to do something unique, so we had coozies made up with our name and wedding date and two wedding bands intertwined- The coozies were black with white writing and everyone loved them. We had an open bar at the reception and so when we gave them out, everyone put there beer in them and carried them around all night. Now when we go to parties it is so neat because at least 2 people have our coozie with them and it makes our day. I liked the idea because it is so practical and I knew people would use them. It wasn’t too expensive around 350.00- we only had about 250 made for 400 guests, because not everyone comes to the reception and we didn’t give them out until about 8:30pm…so only the people that were there got one and we didn’t have any left. It was a great idea.

Clearly, I am a terrible person to mock the ideas put forth by hardworking brides; but a shorty tux? Really? And beer cozies?

Call it serendipity, call it fate, call it Spring Fever, but I had to get outside during lunch today. With no plan of action, I just started walking and suddenly found myself a block from Saks. No harm in going in and checking out some make-up counters, right?

I told Christiane from the MAC counter my dilemma… looking for a make-up artist for the wedding; want to look dramatic, but still like myself. She showed me the colors that she would use on my eyes - lots of plums, certainly not what I would have picked out, but sure, give it a shot, I have 20 minutes to kill. Well, this is the result, all she did was the eyes and I put on some lip gloss - no foundation or blush yet. I didn’t love it in person, but in pictures, I think this is it.

If I want her to do a full trial, she can do it for me at the MAC counter for free; I’ll just have to buy 5 MAC products. Of course, she will come to my apartment for the day of the wedding. What do you think?

SALES

Kleinfeld Annual April Sample Sale
What: Save up to 70% on select sample sale gowns. Designers include: Alvina Valenta, Amsale, Amy Michelson, Angel Sanchez, Anne Barge, Badgley Mischka, Carolina Herrera, Christos, Christian Lacroix, Cymbeline, Domo Adami, Edgardo Bonilla, Eva Haynal Forsyth, Jim Hjelm, Judd Waddell, Justina McCaffrey, Kenneth Pool, Lazaro, Liancarlo, Marisa, Monique Lhuillier, Peter Langner, Reem Acra, Tomasina, Wearkstatt, and more.
Where: 110 West 20th Street (bet Ave of the Americas & 7th Ave)
Phone: 646-633-4300
When: April 2nd (By appointment only)

Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier Sample Sale
What: Save up to 80% off sample and stock sizes normally ranging from $2,200-$6,000. Designers include: Angel Sanchez, Anne Barge, Monique Lhuillier, Peter Langner, Jenny Lee, Alberta Ferretti, Domo Adami and more.
Where: 127 E. 56th Street (bet Lex and Park)
Phone: 212-319-6778
When: April 7 - April 8 (By appointment only)

Hickey Freeman & Bobby Jones Sale
What: Classic American Suits Up to 75% off
Where: Metropolitan Pavilion, 123 West 18th Street (bet 6th and 7th ave)
When: April 30 - May 4 (visit topbutton for times and more information)

TRUNK SHOWS

Elizabeth Fillmore
Where: Bergdorf Goodman, 754 Fifth Avenue (bet 57th and 58th st)
Phone: 212-872-8957
When: April 6 - April 8 (by appointment only)

Anne Barge
Where: Kleinfeld, 110 West 20th Street
Phone: 646-633-4300
When: April 7 - April 9 (by appointment only)

Pronovias
Where: Wedding Atelier, 103 Fifth Avenue (bet 17th and 18th St)
Phone: 646-638-3263
When: April 7 - April 9 (by appointment only)

Every Tuesday we post listings for upcoming trunk shows and sales in the city. If you know of a trunk show, sample sale, or sale that we’re missing, please send it to us at bee@weddingbee.com. Thanks!

We all have that ONE smart ass friend…
You ain’t gettin shit boy!

(Our bestman’s reply card that arrived today in the mail)

(Double click to enlarge)

Letterpressed by Sweet Lily
All designs & map by Jane Yoon

This is the fabric for our polaroid backdrop. I lub eet.

The 2nd photo is of Nancy and Jane testing out the backdrop for me. They specifically told me not to post their photo only because Nancy looked psychotic and Jane looked like a pervert.

Anna, Jane, and Nancy all came over on Saturday evening to help me finish. The finished products. All 75 of them. I just ordered 60 more. Y’all are gonna have to haul your asses back here when they come in. Hahaha sorry. I’ll feed you again!

Aren’t they beautiful? They did a great job. I love you guys.

There aren’t many great resources out there if you’re planning to incorporate ethnic traditions into your wedding. Most of the time brides get information and referrals from relatives and past brides who are more familiar with vendors and cultural traditions.

(image via: savethedatenyc)

I came across a pretty good site recently called Ask Ginka which is organized according to nationality and provides links to some helpful resources. While the site probably won’t help you find local vendors, you might be able to find the meanings behind certain customs and traditions as well as sites for buying favors or information about honeymoons.

With a list that includes Armenian, Caribbean, Filipino, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Russian and much more, this is the most extensive database of ethnic wedding information I’ve come across so far.

Mr. Bee and I attended a wedding in Chicago this weekend (pictures to come). We flew out with some friends that were married last year and recently went on a belated honeymoon to Costa Rica.

In Spanish, honeymoons are called “luna de miel” which literally translates into “moon or month of honey.” The groom told us how in Costa Rica, everyone wished them “mucho miel” (much honey) when people found out they were on their honeymoon.

I thought that was pretty cool because we don’t have a congratulatory saying for couples on their honeymoons. Next time I encounter a couple on their honeymoon, I’m gonna wish them “much honey.”

(image via mountainmade)

Are any of you ladies planning on hitting the tanning salon before your wedding day either for a sunless tan or to use the beds? Or for those of you who are married, have you?

I read an interesting post on a wedding messageboard recently. A bride-to-be got upset when her fiance covered the keyboard as he typed in his email password. She was offended because she would never open his email even if she had the password while he thought that some things, like passwords, should be kept secret.

For our one year anniversary, I hired a photographer to take pictures of the place Mr. Bee and I first met and got engaged (since the first anniversary is paper). The photographer was supposed to drop off the photos at my apartment and we arranged the meeting through email.

Gmail (the email service I use) shows the first sentence of every email. This is the line that showed up beside the email I sent to the photographer:

Cool. You can meet me at my place (my husband gets home late).

Mr. Bee often uses my computer and I always have my email window minimized. What if Mr. Bee accidentally saw that? He might think that I were having an affair! Lol so for that day, I closed my email account because I wanted the gift to be a surprise.

Mr. Bee has passwords to all my accounts - email, blogs, etc. because I know he won’t go through them. While we don’t care about sharing our passwords, I know many couples that do and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that either.

Does your significant other know your passwords and vice versa? Do you think that passwords are one thing that should be kept private even in marriage?

The Right Hand Ring has been marketed to professional women with disposable incomes as symbols of independence and power. The designs are purposefully different from traditional engagement rings using smaller stones instead of one large single stone.

The ad campaigns suggest that women no longer have to wait for a significant other to buy them a diamond ring - whether they are married, single, or divorced they can buy one themselves.

I admit it - I’m a big fat sappy sucker for those DeBeers commercials. You know the one where the husband and wife are in a crowded piazza in Italy. The wife sees her parents in the crowd and then her husband gives her an anniversary ring. The voiceover says “Tell her, ‘I forever do.‘”

Yes I want an anniversary ring and if I weren’t already married, sure I’d buy myself a right hand ring too. Those folks at DeBeers - marketing geniuses I tell ya. They create markets for diamonds we didn’t even know we “needed.”

Celebs show off their right hand rings.

(image source: 0755zb)