Weddingbee Blog

Cheree Berry (yes that’s really her name and what an awesome one!) was a graphic designer for Kate Spade in a former lifetime before launching her own line of stationery.

Her designs are so original, vibrant and fun!

Of course I have a soft spot for bees.

These are some examples of her custom work. This is a monogram created with your names tied into a heart-shaped knot.

A combination of your initials to form a unique logo.

A collage of your favorite words and symbols printed on vellum that wraps around your invite.

And I just love this save the date - it looks like a water color painting of a beautiful summer wedding.

To see a real bride’s invitation set created by Cheree, check out Amalfiwedding’s bio (who we’ve featured in the past).

We just received our latest batch of weddingbee flowers. You could be the next Miss Bird of Paradise, Poppy, Hibiscus, Orchid, Plumeria!

Apply to be a weddingbee blogger here!

After a year of meticulous planning, some things did go wrong at my wedding– I spent three hours and thousands of dollars with a florist who decided to do her own thing, ignoring my three page typed document of requests she agreed on, and delivering wilted bridesmaid bouquets.

My bridal party had to drive in a limo with no a/c because the driver was too cheap to turn it on, and it was 90 degrees….

And, my HIGHLY recommended day-of coordinator was rude to some guests and just overall not that good.

Is there anything I can do now? I am not suggesting legal action, and I have posted these things on theknot, but I don’t think it’s fair that people can get away with this. I called the florist the morning after the wedding, and she said she would not refund anything because I signed a document saying that she could substitute flowers as needed.

Any advice?? Thank you!

NewMrs

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Let’s not focus on the names of the vendors, but more on general advice. What do you do after the fact, when you’ve been burned by a wedding vendor?

Thanks to Mrs. Bee’s post about free samples, I received and fell in love with the Perfect Pair salt and pepper shakers:

Unfortunately, My Wedding Favor’s prices are not fantastic:

1 - 11 Price: $3.29
12 - 23 Price: $3.09
24 - 47 Price: $2.92
48 + Price: $2.75

Blue Ribbon Design beats their prices with a stick:

1 + Price: $ 2.85
12 + Price: $ 2.35
24 + Price: $ 2.18
48 + Price: $ 1.98

This website also offer FREE personalized tags:

Diamond Heart Circle

TAG DESIGN OPTIONS :

Baroque Garden

Classical Contemporary

Browsing their website, to my delight, I also found:

for the whopping low price of:

1 + Price: $ 1.24
25 + Price: $ 1.14
49 + Price: $ 1.08
96 + Price: $ 0.98

The salt and pepper shakers are far more practical but I HEART APPLES~!!!!! what to do, what to do?

on10.net is looking for couples getting married in the Seattle area. They’ll interview the bride and groom, shoot the wedding, and it’ll appear as a segment on their webcast.

If you’re interested in participating, please contact Christine at v-cdebo@microsoft.com.

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Do you know any guy in NYC who is planning on proposing or girls having a bachelorette party, that would want to be on a cool new show?

Contact Karin at ksloan@let-me-tell-you.com for more information.

I’ve always been a proponent of wedding planners because of my personal experience with them - they really were there to save the day!

While you may not be able to afford full wedding coordination (which starts at $5000 in New York City), day of coordinators are a great alternative available for a fraction of the cost.

Day-of packages and other partial services are becoming the norm as wedding consultants try to draw in couples of all budget points. And it’s working. This year, 21 percent of those marrying will use a wedding planner, with nearly half of them requesting the day-of service, according to Shane McMurray, author of the Wedding Report, a market research website. (source)

There are so many components of a wedding - from the ceremony, to the cocktail hour, to all the activities that take place during the reception. A professional coordinator makes sure that you keep on schedule, maintain a great flow, handle any crises that may arise and make sure the day is worry and stress free for you.

Haha this is so last minute…. but here it is…

My maid of honor and I made these bath salts as party favors for my bridal shower. We ordered the bottles and scoops and wrapped it with raffia we found at a craft store. I made the labels on photoshop, printed them on a home printer… and cut them with an Xacto.

Oh, and the salts were custom made… Pink lemonade was our theme~

Ariel

ps. The background is Laguna Beach, by the way.

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Today is the last day to get your DIY project submissions in. In addition to the matches/candles, we’re going to throw in a nice surprise gift for the winner! So get your entries in by 11:59 pm tonight!

After countless hours of agonizing research, we choose The Palms in Turks and Caicos.

I was very pleased with the hotel’s own honeymoon package and American Airlines flight prices, but I posted an open call for better quotes on LIWeddings.com and got a few strange replies with prices that were higher or straight per-night prices without any package extras.

I have never used a travel agent before; frankly, I feel like if a deal exists, I’ll find it on the Internet somewhere. But my interactions with one particular agent, whom I found on pc1004rn’s blog, made me realize why travel agents still exist in this age of totally self-sufficient internet users: SERVICE.

I went to her with a price tag and asked her to beat it. When she came back only matching it, I had to decide whether I wanted to go at this on my own or take her up on her professional support. In the end, her prompt, informative and well researched emails made it pretty easy for me to decide to book through her. If anything, for the same price, I figured I am getting someone willing and able to do the dirty work for me haha.

Melinda Webb
Dreams and Destinations
http://www.dreamsdestinations.com/
melinda.webb@dreamsdestinations.com

Dear Weddingbee,

Love, love your site. It is constantly discussed on the wedding message board for Chicago brides I frequent. Yup, you’re popular in Chicago too :-). Anywho, I am a DIY nut. I have really enjoyed the entry posts by so many creative bride. So many talented women. I have a TON of project for my upcoming nuptials, so I decided to submit mine.

For your viewing pleasure:

STDs magnets- I designed and I attached to a card printed from my printer at home.

Wedding Invitations - I couldn’t find the invite I liked online, so I created these from scratch. They are a compilation of all the invite details I liked. I even got the idea about the envelope insert from your site, thanks!

Flower girl basket, Ring bearer pillow, and one of the 100 votive candles holders I decorated for my reception tables.

Card Box

Unity Candle

Pew Decoration

Guest book- I designed and sent to mypublisher.

Aisle runner - my personal favorite - took me 5 days to paint!!!

Steph aka Alphababe

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Today is the last day to get your DIY project submissions in. In addition to the matches/candles, we’re also going to throw in a nice surprise gift for the winner! So get your entries in by 11:59 pm tonight!

glass is looking for inexpensive ceremony musicians, Britty wants to know how soon is too soon to marry after getting engaged, I is looking for the save the date airline tickets template, Emmy is looking for a place to buy wedding undergarments, Becky-O is looking for NYC restaurant recommendations, and arbela99 wants tipping tips.

See the most recent beehive here. To add your question to the beehive, leave a comment below and we’ll update this post to include your question above.

• Janet Jackson doesn’t know if she’s engaged.
• Jean Reno aka The Professional weds.
• North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il weds.
• Nascar driver Kurt Busch weds.
• Providence star Paula Cale weds.
• Bridezillas - behind the scenes with one real bride.
• Kate Moss’ chic wedding style.
• Princess Diana - A Wedding Dress to Remember.
• Princess Diana and Prince Charles - 25 Years Later.
• Big Brother housemate announces he wants to marry his partner.
• Generator saves Queens wedding during blackout.
• Mexicans change antiquated macho vows.
• How to select a good wedding photographer.
• Five things to consider before the wedding.
• Wild Wedding Proposals.
• Man proposes onstage during performance of The Wedding Singer.
• Wedding anniversary gifts.
• Wedding favor tips.
• I’ve never been to a sad or ugly wedding.

Weddingbee News

• The best DIY Project Contest ends today!
• Enter the Miss Spider drawing contest.
• We’re looking for new bloggers!
• Join our Frappr! map.

Update: Check out pictures of the complete nuptials here.

(image via sky showbiz)

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Kid Rock wed Pamela Anderson, who was clad in a white string bikini, at a rock and roll St. Tropez wedding today. This is the first marriage for Kid Rock, 35, and the second for Pamela Anderson, 39, who was previously married to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee.

(source: people)

Dear Weddingbee,

I love the coffee table book albums and I’m proficient with photoshop enough to design my own pages, however, I’m looking for a vendor that would allow us to just upload the designs. I’ve heard of mypublisher and other sites similar to that, but I’m looking for similar type albums that you can only get through professional photographers. Unfortunately some of the websites I found only sell to pro photographers. Any websites we should be looking at?

Thanks,
Christina (Dallas, TX)

The most popular posts this week:

1. Favorite Favors by Miss Grasshopper
2. Hows Wedding Planning by Miss Butterfly
3. Invitation Proofs by Miss Butterfly
4. Bar + Wedding=Mental Breakdown, But Invites Are Done by Miss Caterpillar
5. I Now Present Mr. and Mrs. Bee by Mrs. Bee
6. Rogue RSVPs by Miss Daisy
7. Miss Spider by Mrs. Bee
8. Confessions of a Groom by Mr. Bee
9. Sensitively Speaking by Mrs. Rose
10. Bloggers Block by Mrs. Bee

First of all… I love your site! It is fantastic!

I am a young bride with a very limited budget (think under 10,000). I want a dress that I can afford and keep at the same time. I really loved Miss Butterfly’s post about sites like cocomyle.com where you can design your wedding gown for a very low price. I was wondering if you could refer me to any other sites or locations like cocomyle that can help me design a dress or get a dress of my dreams at a low (very low to be exact) price? Anything you could refer me to would be so helpful and appreciated!

Thanks!,
Mechelle

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Hi Mechelle,

There are many options out there for budget brides looking for a good deal on a dress…you just have to do a bit of digging.

I know several brides who have actually worn bridesmaid dresses (in white) as wedding gowns with much success. Bridesmaid dress options are getting more and more plentiful each year and there are really a number of designers now who do some great dresses that work as bridal gowns.

J Crew also has a wonderful, chic line of both bridesmaid dresses and Bridal Gowns that are very reasonably priced ($295 and up).

It might seem somewhat scary at first, but I know Ebay has also been a fantastic resource for a number of brides. If you can find yourself a good seamstress, you can purchase a gown on ebay and then have it fitted perfectly for your body. They usually have a good selection of current styles as well as some interesting vintage pieces. If you decide to go the ebay route, I would definitely recommend you give yourself as much time as possible to allow for all of the alterations needed.

Of course there are also always bridal gown trunk shows, sample sales and deep discount days at places such as David’s Bridal (I recently saw them advertise a $99 sale). Call your local shops to see what sorts of sales might be coming up in the next few months.

Stick to your guns! You can definitely find a gorgeous, cheap but still chic wedding dress if you put forth a bit of effort and do some research.

“dress you up in my love,”
Erica
www.paperbride.com
www.papermama.com