Weddingbee

We featured last year’s Toilet Paper Dress winners from a contest sponsored by Cheap Chic Weddings, but this year’s entries are even more amazing!

First place winner

Second place winner

The creativity of brides never ceases to amaze me - these dresses really do look real! Check out more entries here.

(via budgetdreamweddings)

I am so confused.

I could have sworn that I had only invited at most 95 people, but when I just updated my guest list on The Knot, it says that I invited 108 people. Woah.

I know for a fact that several of those who are invited will not come. I thought it was better to send out invitations out of courtesy than not to send one at all, especially since they are friends of our parents. I also allowed most people to bring dates even though some have already told me that they will not be bringing anyone. However, even with the given “not attending” guests, I’m still over by a handful.

Great. This will take another hour out of my life to reconcile the two lists. And I just can’t wait to take a stab at the seating chart.

A hint to all those starting a guest list: make a complete Excel spreadsheet with several columns. Or you can just download mine here - Book1.xls. This will help keep track of everything in one sheet.

One of you lovely readers asked me where I got the cute envelopes for my bridesmaid newsletter. The answer is: Blick - it’s a paint / craft store. I think they have good prices for paints and such, but honestly their stationery is a bit overpriced. Another good place to go if you are looking for arts and crafts supplies is Pearl Paint. The one in Chinatown is ginormous and awesome. Every time I go in there I want to craft, DIY, and make art like crazy. Have fun!

by: Nanette, Knottie Nannersp

Because my husband and I already had an established home (we’d lived together more than two years), we decided to have a honeymoon (HM) registry for our wedding.

Prior to setting up the HM registry I asked my friends their opinions, knowing that it’s an untraditional option. They thought it was a great idea! They understood that we wouldn’t need much else to stock our kitchen, etc. As one friend noted, she’d rather give us money to go to China than actual china. Heh!

We used TheHoneymoon.com and they were great! The “catch” is that they charge a fee for your guests to use it, but in my opinion, it’s nominal (typically around 7%) and not unlike the tax, shipping and handling that guests have to pay when they use traditional registeries.

They sent us a check about three days before our HM and another one about a month after our wedding. You can close the account earlier, if you’d like, but they suggest keeping it open in case someone decides to give you something after the wedding.

We had this registry in addition to two traditional registries, so there were options for all of our guests. Most of the HM registry gifts came from our peers, as opposed to older family members who are more traditional.

HM registries are not for everyone, but it worked for us. I highly recommend it, if your guests seem open to it.

~~~

Do you have an idea for a guest blog? Tell us about it at bee@weddingbee.com.

There’s an interesting Wall Street Journal article about how ipods are taking the place of traditional DJ’s at weddings because they cost less, enable couples to have more control over the music, and new ipod compatible equipment is making it easier than ever.

The rising popularity of ipods as djs has its detractors, namely, djs of course.

DJs say that despite the convenience and cost efficiency of iPods, the tiny music player is no match for a DJ’s musical timing and experience with song selection. “DJs can think on the fly and make adjustments,” says Mr. Ragusa. “The whole idea of a party is that it’s fluid. It’s dynamic. It’s an art.”

Some maintain that an ipod lends an unsophisticated ambience to a wedding.

Some wedding professionals think iPods are in poor taste. Claudia Hanlin, a partner at the Wedding Library, a wedding planning firm in New York, says couples should restrict iPods to rehearsal dinners or after-parties. iPod music at receptions may be off-putting. “The whole feeling is much less professional,” she says.

However real life brides that used ipods beg to differ.

Allison Emmerson, a 24-year-old graduate student at the University of Cincinnati, got married in July 2005 to Nate Emmerson, a 23-year-old paralegal. The couple’s friends tried to talk them out of going the iPod route because they felt it would ruin the reception.

It didn’t. Ms. Emmerson says guests hit the dance floor to the tunes that emanated from the iPod — which included David Bowie and the White Stripes. “Playing music is not brain surgery,” she says. “If you have good music and you have a fun atmosphere, you’re going to have people dancing.”

KenzieKate

She made these. WHAT??!?! WOW… what else is there to say?

I’m so glad Mrs. Bee posted about how many brides have difficulties choosing their colors. I literally had a panic attack (OK, not literally…) about my own colors — or lack thereof — last night. I am soooooooo confused! Can anyone out their help me?

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

I think I am going to use teal dresses, and was leaning towards light muted blue table cloths with white or chartreuse flowers and teal accents (ribbons, etc). BUT… when I went to look at linens in Tucson, NONE of the vendors had light blue table cloths. They had bright aqua, bright teal, cornflower blue, mint green… no light blue. Hrmph. I toyed with the idea of white table cloths and finding some colored napkins, but I think the room really needs color! This is what the ballroom looks like:

Pretty bare bones, right? Does anyone have ideas? What can I do with teal (brown is out b/c a friend is using a different blue and brown, as is peach or pink because they are too southwestern)?

This is giving me a headache!

My invitations! I am thrilled to say that at around 6:00 last night my invitation guru Shana called to let me know that my invites had arrived and were at the Wedding Library. By happy coincidence, Mr. Daisy and I were en route to a meeting a mere couple of blocks from the Library, with the umpteenth another officiant in our ongoing search, so planned to go there afterward and check out the goods.

And, oh my god, I love love love them. I want so desperately to post them here but they’re not going to the calligrapher until today and aren’t getting mailed out until after Labor Day. But I love them so much I almost want to marry *them*! (just kidding, Mr. Daisy!)

I chose letterpress invites as I am quasi-obsessed with letterpress, and thought to use Julie Holcomb Printers, which is a traditional letterpress that uses its own special blend of artisanal paper (just like Folger’s coffee, I’m sure!) that is theoretically ideal for letterpress. This printer prints on ecru or white paper only, which at first seemed limiting, but then when Mr. Daisy and my family were really keen on back-to-basics, I came to love. (I still really lust after my bridesmaid Sam’s red paper/white text invite of years ago. So vivid!)

But– I could not love my invites more. Sorry to be such a tease, but I will post them as soon as they are received by the masses.* Meantime, I will share some (very blurry due to my lack of camera prowess) shots of the contenders (both by Page Stationery):

Letterpress invite on composite paper (shown in one color, though we would have done two):

Response card:

My original choice, though I eventually deemed it too casual for our evening wedding:

Detail (loved the color and the modified fleur-de-lis border):

~~~
* And I do mean masses. Each day, our list scarily multiplies like Gremlins in water. Not cool.

Jones Soda - purveyors of those funky flavored, colorful, old fashioned, bottled sodas - now offer customized labels. What a fun idea for bridal showers or weddings! You can even match the flavors to your color scheme and use them as part of your decor.

$34.95 for a 12 pack.

(via bitterweetpickle)

I love lanterns. The vibrant colors, the faint glow that they cast across the room. They set such a romantic, and festive ambiance to a space. They can turn your plain Jane white room, into a warm and lively space. Here are some lanterns I came across while looking for some to use to decorate my space. I’m having my reception at a Chinese banquet hall, so I need all the ambiance help I can get to try to make it not so restauranty.

Huinita had beautiful hanging lanterns at her reception. I really love those colors!

This last picture isn’t of lanterns, but paper pompoms that can also set a fun and flirty mood to your space.