Mrs. Bee, New York
Age and Occupation: 29, Weddingbee Publisher
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Internet
Engagement Date: May 7, 2004
Wedding Date: March 5, 2005
Venue: Westside Loft, New York
About Me: Yes, my name really is Bee! I love my blogging, wikis, and tabasco sauce!
The State of the Hive
March 6th, 2008 @ 5:22 pm by Mrs. Bee
Hey guys! You may have noticed, but we’ve cut back on posting on the site lately. I’ve been feeling under the weather for some time, so I haven’t been writing as many posts myself, and the Bees tend to post less in the winter months too. We’ve added five bees in the new year (while four have gotten married), but we try to be wary about adding too many Bees all of a sudden.
In any event, we’ve been adding a lot more community features lately - Boards, Classifieds, Bee TV (especially the chat), and the Wiki. We’ve noticed that when we post less, traffic to the community features goes up. The last month has been no exception. In some ways, Weddingbee is transitioning from a blog-only site to a broader wedding community. It’s been a interesting transition! But at its heart, Weddingbee will always be a blog… so it’s been hard for me to cut back on posting.
Posts are a little low, so we’re going to stop posting a little early today. In the meantime, please help finish our budding wiki articles on bridal showers and bridal shower games… and don’t forget to enter the Wifeville contest. And if you haven’t already, please say hello in the Welcome post! 
23 Responses to “The State of the Hive”
It’s too bad because that is why I prefer Weddingbee over other sites. I think the forums and things are too hectic and tedious to read - if that’s what I wanted I would go to The Knot! Anyway, good luck with the format change. It’s great that the site has become popular enough to support an entire community, that’s for sure!
I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been under the weather, Mrs. Bee. Get better, soon!
And I don’t think you’ll ever be like The Knot.
This is a great blog, but it’s so interactive. It’s more of a mecca of information, discussion and more. I find it to be a lot more organized and allows the Bride-to-Be a relaxed and more personalized way to involve themselves in the wedding planning process and then some.
Keep up the amazing work, Bee Family!
Hope you feel better soon, Mrs. Bee! Maybe the slowdown can allow me to catch up in the archives. Or keep posting to Wiki - that is sooo much fun!
I’ve also been disapointed to see less blog posts. The wiki’s seem great - but the boards are just the same as any other wedding website. The blogs are what make weddingbee different (and better)!
Feel better Mrs. Bee! And thanks for a great site!
we’re not changing formats or cutting back on posts permanently - like we mentioned, weddingbee will always be a blog.
i just wanted to explain why there had been less posts as of late because some readers had asked. seasonal lulls are pretty normal for us, but i’m sure we’ll be back in full force soon as summer is just around the corner.
I hope you feel better too. I’m still getting over a bug myself.
I tell all my newly engaged friends and family about weddingbee. I’m surprised at how many are not familiar with blogs or boards. But maybe that’s just the people I know?
There’s enough backlog of posts from previous bugs, flowers, candy, desserts, etc…, to keep new people busy, but I will miss the more frequently updated postings too. I’m a frequent refresh-er myself. Meaning, I will check for updates multiple times a day. I also check for new vendors listed on the left. just fyi.
take care mrs. bee!! hope you feel better soon!!
While the fact that my chances of seeing new posts upon my regular 30 minute refreshes saddens me, I completely understand! Bees need their rest too!!
Mrs. Bee, I hope you feel better soon!!
Hope you feel better soon Mrs. Bee. You are missed on the blog!
Oh Mrs. Bee I’m so sorry to hear you are not feeling well, I hope you get better soon!!
Thank you for keeping up this amazing wedding community for all of us, I’ve throughly enjoyed it for the past year of my engagement and can’t hardly believe its my turn in 8 days!!!! Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Another frequent refresher here! I was wondering why there wasn’t a lot of new content like there had been in the past. I agree that the blogs are what makes weddingbee “different.” Especially since most of us summer brides are dealing with most of the same stuff right now - making invites, finishing/deciding on the details, stressing out, etc. It’s always nice to see/hear someone else is going through the same thing. That way I don’t think I’m crazy when I wake up from a nightmare where my DIY invites are attacking me.
As a long engagement girl, I’ve been reading weddingbee since 2006 and I remember when there weren’t posts all day every hour. There were a handful a day and it was great. I think people have become really accustomed to the constant posting and maybe kind of take it for granted. I feel like constant posting is something we should be appreciative of and not demand.
Personally it’s been odd making the transition from fewer posts to more like we have now…half of me loves all the new info and ideas and I want even more! But I also find it harder to keep track of who the different Bees are and which details belong to which girl (though the pictures totally help!). I felt a bit of a more personal connection to the old bees and I knew their weddings like my own.
It’s a mixed bag but I love how much this site has grown and how it offers a little bit for everyone…boards, blogs, t.v.,…that’s awesome.
BaghdadBride - you’re right… weddingbee has changed so much. You used to really get to know each bee and their story because we didn’t have as many bees.
Now we have more bees and more posts, but you don’t really get to know every bee like you did before. At the same time, a lot of people prefer all the additional content and constant updates.
It’s a fine line that we continue to walk! # of posts vs. # of bees.
Hey Mrs. Bee, I was scrolling down to read the comments and noticed your bio on the left and saw that your anniversary was the 5th! Congrats!
What do you mean when you say “We’re going to stop posting a little early today”? It seems like that would make the content even less than it already is…? But I’m not sure how the techie background of it all works, so maybe you have to select something in order to post each new blog?
Anyways, I just adore weddingbee and think it is the absolute BEST. I definitely love the blog and love all of the bees. Thanks for all you guys do, Mrs. Bee!
like what Katy said, there’s totally enough backlog of posts to keep anyone busy! i don’t think this seasonal lull is negative at all — it gives me a chance to browse previous posts and read them more carefully.
plus, when there are a super amount of posts in any given day i tend to just skim them instead of really reading the contents.
all the bees are doing a stupendous job! keep up the good work, and thanks for what you do.
Hey, just chiming in because I thought some of the comments were interesting.
To a certain extent, I think the lull can be attributed to some of us late spring/early summer brides.
I know with my own wedding, we’re getting down to brass tacks, clearing away all the pretty little wedding ideas and starting to work on actually doing stuff and getting things ready for our big day. While this means that my posts tend to be more specific and focused now, it also means a lot of our time is eaten up doing actual wedding stuff, leaving less time for writing (talk about situational irony).
Anyway, I’ve really been enjoying the expansion so far, especially Bee TV when people are broadcasting. Any time I’ve been on I’ve had an absolute blast, getting to have a back and forth discussion with the readers. So much fun!
I defiantly prefer reading the blogs, and I wish there were more. The boards were okay at first but now I find people just asking the same questions over and over again. So I tend to not go to them. The video chat was neat at first as well, but that lost my interest quickly. Its the blogs that get me, reading different womens wedding planning experiences and great ideas. I would love to have more bees and more posts and more ideas than more features.
While I, too, like many of the posters love Weddingbee mainly for its blogs, I do agree that I enjoy them even more when I feel a connection to the posting Bee and I think you’re right Mrs. Bee when you say you shouldn’t introduce too many new Bees at once. Thanks for all your hard work!
Perhaps you could request for more reader submissions, like “Real Weddings” and “Guest DIY blogs” and “Real Budgets”. It’s been a while since the last round. It’ll make for interesting material without having to add new bees.
@ant - Those reader features are a lot of work! We’ll resurrect them when Mrs. Bee is feeling better…
i love the boards and I would like to see one or two new faces around the hive. A couple new bees would be nice and i don’t think would overwhelm. Especially from canada. It’s a different process up north and I’d love to hear from someone who isn’t planning from the states or a big city like toronto or vancouver.
