Weddingbee Blog

I arrived at my second fitting to find my beloved looking kind of scraggly. She was the right length now, but she had threads hanging out all over the place and was stripped of the majority of her beautiful buttons.

Unless a dress advertised to be temple ready is purchased, in most cases an LDS bride has to choose whether she wants to go with a bolero or pay to have sleeves custom built into her dress. There are specific parts of the body that must be covered, as I spoke about here, and 99% of mainstream dresses do not fit the bill.

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Whether or not Mr. Lemonade and I decided to have a bridal party, there was one thing I was certain of — that my little sister would be standing up there alongside me on W day. Sissy and I are extremely close, which is something I am incredibly thankful for.

Ahh…Who doesn’t love Disney?

We were born 10 years, 2 months, and 2 days apart (she’s the younger one).
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I’ve spent so many weeks (and months) preparing everything for the wedding that this weekend was finally some time to prep myself. I spent my Saturday getting a much needed facial and my hair done. With only 4 weeks to go, I figured that a facial would be good at this point so my skin will be nice and clear for the wedding day.

To demonstrate my reasoning, here’s a pic of what I look like now, after having a deep cleansing facial (with extractions):

(A red Miss Hydrangea)

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We’re leaving. Leaving for Montana. And, believe it or not, my goal is not to think about our wedding until September 5th, when we rehearse. It will be hard, but not as hard as the last two weeks have been.

I’ve shouldered my burden and kept pushing on through. I’ve put on a happy face, especially when talking to others or writing for Weddingbee, where things tend to be fun fun happy wedding-landia. The truth is that the last two weeks have been absolute hell, and I have wanted, very badly, not to be dealing with this wedding any more.

I’m lucky because nothing has “gone wrong.” No major vendor disaster or family drama has befallen us. I simply cannot cope with the stress of planning any more. I no longer feel like I can balance my career, appease my family, and tie together a plethora of details with businesses in another state. I am tired of unreturned phone calls and email, missing critical details, and misinformation. I am ready to break up with our wedding.

Thank God I planned for this in advance.
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Growing up, I remember my parents dragging my family to the Sears portrait studio every couple of years to ensure our most awkward stages of childhood were captured on film for the everlasting delight of all who saw them (Can you say pouffy bangs and pink glasses? Um, yeah, that was me).

So it seems funny to me now that, despite having been together for 5 years, Mr. Breezy and I have never taken professional photographs together.

That was, until a very serendipitous day when we got in touch with James Day, photographer extraordinaire (no pun intended; well ok, maybe a little intended).

And here is where I insert a very meaningful wedding lesson—nay, a life lesson. Ready for it?
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Mr. Hot Cocoa and I have very different aesthetics. He’s traditional and classic; if he were a store he’d be Brooks Brothers or Falconable. If I could be a store, I’d be Anthropologie — fun and girly, with a splash of vintage. So when it came to picking out an engagement ring, Mr. HC said he would pick out the stone, but felt very strongly that I should pick out the setting. Initially, I was a little bummed about this — I had a whole fantasy of him surprising me with the perfect ring that he’d designed. But I got over it when I realized that this meant I got to do more shopping. Schweet!

Cue the bling photos.

At first, I zoned in on an emerald cut stone on a simple pave band. I really like the emerald cut. It’s understated, refined, and modern — the Natalie Portman of cuts.

[Image source.]

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As the wedding date gets closer and closer, most couples have fun watching their countdowns tick down to the double, then single digits.

Some people use countdowns on sites like Facebook:

Me? I have a unique approach to counting down the days…
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1. My DIY Boudoir Photos by Miss Candy Corn
2. Farewell to My Weddingbee by Mrs. Tulip
3. To Cover or Not to Cover? by Miss Sweet Tea
4. Who’s the Happiest Dumpling in the West? I Am! by Miss Dumpling
5. The Story of My Ring. by Miss Martini
6. Easter Egg Hunts and Missing Chocolate… The Dumpling Engagement! by Miss Dumpling
7. Looky What I Did! by Miss Coconut
8. You Can’t Get Away From Me This Time, Badgley Mischka! by Miss Hot Cocoa, I’m Marrying Michael Phelps by Miss Coconut
9. Penguin Recap: Into the Night by Mrs. Penguin, TV Show Proposal by Miss Martini
10. Shopping for a Photographer by Miss Hot Cocoa

Almost immediately after the proposal I started purchasing and devouring wedding magazine after wedding magazine. I was (am) completely mesmerized by all the gorgeous gowns in the magazines—their layers of tulle and silk, the lace, the origami of the fabric—all of it. I couldn’t wait to go gown shopping myself. Unfortunately, I never found time to do it. Then one particularly miserable February day (I really disliked my last job) I stumbled upon a bridal store in my neighborhood and immediately went in for a little bridal therapy.

That was my very first experience actually seeing any wedding gowns up close (it was also my first experience with bridal salons and their employees). Since it was a Monday morning, the store was relatively empty. Bambi, my designated attendant, grabbed gown after gown for me to try on. Most of them were covered in sparkles and beading and were styles that I wouldn’t otherwise have seriously considered. Not that it was all bad. Just slipping into a wedding gown, any wedding gown, dramatically boosted my mood and sent the endorphins flowing. I actually registered my info with them (big mistake) and spent some time pondering the merits of a ridiculously embellished gown due to my hormone high. Since then I get a once weekly call from Bambi inviting me back to the store to purchase “the one”.
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On Tuesday I had my second and last fitting with Mahin at Anna Bè. Although, the alterations are perfect—nothing more to be done than press the wrinkles out—I got a little lump in my throat. The women at Anna Bè felt like my girlfriends and their service was top notch. After I pick up my dress, there will be no more wandering in to say hi, no more trunk shows, and no more perusing their amazing selection of dresses before a fitting. This makes me a little sad. For brides in the Denver metro area, I can’t recommend Anna Bè more highly!

No Mr. Cookies past this point!
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(image source)

When we first started the planning process, our first check mark on “the big list” was to find someone who could just help us out. Planning from over a thousand miles away can be difficult alone, but we knew if we had someone to ease the load it would make a huge difference. Brides usually seek the help of family friends or their dear mom, but our situation is a bit different.
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Congratulations to the winner JanieLeigh! 

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We have a fun Friday giveaway today from makeup artist and beauty blogger Nicciknows today!  One winner will receive a Bridal Kit containing the following: Alterna Sheer Hair Pomade, Tart Emphaseyes Eyeliner, Stila Lip Glaze, and Bobbi Brown highlighting shadow.  The first 10 commenters will also receive 20% off at stilacosmetics.com plus free shipping! 

To enter, simply ask a beauty question below.  Nicci will be posting the answers on her blog in the near future.  You have until 8pm PST this Sunday to enter.  Good luck!

Yesterday I mentioned that my wedding nap was over and I would soon be getting some help. Well, help has arrived!

Dad, Mom and Oliver (check out that crazy lamp and pair of rain boots!)

My mother wanted to come to Pennsylvania a week or so before my shower to help my sister and my bridesmaid. She also wanted to come a week or so before the wedding to help us finish any last minute projects.
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Finally, some pictures! Admittedly they aren’t the best quality, but a makeshift photo shoot on our kitchen counter will have to suffice. I designed the invitation suite myself and worked with a local letterpress company to have them printed. I love letterpress so much that we just had to find a cost effective way to make it work, so designing them myself and using a small printing company proved to be the best option. It took a lot of research, and I didn’t actually have the best experience with them, but I am really happy with the end result so I suppose that’s all that matters! I hate to blur out the some of the information but hopefully you can still get an overall feel for how things looked…

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For the past week, I’ve been getting the Zone diet delivered through Zone Manhattan.  I wanted to lose a couple of pounds, and frankly, eating is a chore during the week since I don’t cook at all anymore and order in for every meal.  The prospect of not having to think about food was very enticing.  Plus BIL Bee lost 30 pounds in two months on Zone last year — check out his amazing results here!

Each delivery consists of breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks that follow the 40% carbs, 40% protein, and 30% fat ratios.  I always wondered what the food tasted like, so I’ve photographed 2 days worth of food below.  This diet is tailored to my weight, activity level (I do weights 2x a week and cardio 2x a week), and desired weight loss goal.  Mr. Bee, who’s doing this with me, gets a lot more food than I do. 

Breakfast: 2 whole wheat pancakes (slightly smaller than the palm of my hand) with roasted bartlett pears, raspberries, turkey bacon and cottage cheese; Snack #1: Cubes of cheese with apples, grapes, celery and carrots
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