Mrs. Shortcake, VancouverAge and Occupation: 24, Marketing Manager/Children's Lit WriterFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Master's Student/Personal TrainerEngagement Date: August 7, 2007Wedding Date: October 2008Blogging Since: Venue: Ceremony in a historic church, tented lawn reception at a golf and country clubAbout Me: 1950's housewife sent to the future, reborn as crafting-obsessed, jill of all trades. I enjoy decorating, writing, baking sweet things, singing show tunes/dancing in public, wearing pearls, and knitting sweaters for my furbaby, Harvey, to chew upon. I heart pink, and believe that sparkles are the new black.
We really, really need some prayers and well wishes for a sunny Saturday, please!
Does anybody know of some cool indoor locations for wedding photos in Fort Langley, or Langley, British Columbia?
Mrs. Coconut, TallahasseeAge and Occupation: 27, LawyerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, phD Computer ScienceEngagement Date: March 2007Wedding Date: November 2008Blogging Since: May 20, 2008Venue: 1930s Historic Building in Lakeland, FLAbout Me: I never thought about weddings until I got engaged. Now, I can't stop thinking about them! Planning the wedding has really opened the floodgates to my DIY side. If there's anything I can do to avoid hiring someone else, I will do it! Mr. Coconut is my financial advisor, he tries to keep me budget-conscious! We've tried to make wedding planning a team effort!
Do you want to know how Sister Coconut and I are spending our Friday nights? Oh yes that’s right, crafting baby! Here are the initials that you might remember we used for Sister Coconut’s wedding back in July. They are back for more wedding action!
For our wedding, I bought some really orange-ish/yellow/ivory flowers at Jo-Ann’s Fabrics and Crafts. The labor was more intensive because the petals varied in size, so Sister Coconut had to twist and turn them with her handy dandy glue gun, but it looks spectacular, don’t you think?
Here’s my sister, hard at work. I was Goccoing my friend Kate’s wedding programs. I’ll post about them later. She’s getting married this weekend in Michigan!
Mrs. Pinot Noir, New York/Napa ValleyAge and Occupation: 24, Health EducatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Market ResearcherEngagement Date: November 10, 2007Wedding Date: October, 2008Blogging Since: June 25, 2008Venue: Auberge du SoleilAbout Me: I am a Minnesota raised, NYC transplant planning a destination wedding in Napa. I'm balancing my love for the environment and my hubby-to-be's love for tradition to create our "green wedding in disguise." Our wedding will include local food and wine, antique touches and lots of love and laughter. When wedding planning isn't taking up my free time (and money) I love to read, cook, workout, watch baseball and travel! Follow along in my adventure as I attempt to plan an eco-friendly and socially responsible wedding (with eco-oblivious Mr. Pinot Noir).
Having a destination wedding isn’t exactly eco-friendly. The majority of our guests have to fly to San Francisco and will stay in a hotel for several nights. I have blogged before about using carbon credits as a way to offset your wedding travel and celebration.
Mrs. Hydrangea, DallasAge and Occupation: 26, Administrative AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Network AnalystEngagement Date: June 2007Wedding Date: September 2008Blogging Since: January 14, 2008Venue: Catholic Church and Reception at The W HotelAbout Me: Mr. H and I come from very different cultures and backgrounds so I'm excited to plan our wedding with a balance of both traditions. My mom has always been a DIY queen, and I'm just now starting to get into it with a new house and a wedding to plan!
I took it upon myself to create our programs. To create the “guts” of the program, I opted to use Adobe InDesign with the same fonts that have been consistent with all of our wedding things. I waited to complete these until the week before the wedding, after we had the coordinators and priest review it.
Mrs. Lemonade, Austin/San AntonioAge and Occupation: 28, BureaucratFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Music ManagementEngagement Date: December 21, 2007Wedding Date: April, 2009Blogging Since: August 22, 2008Venue: Country Club ceremony, ballroom receptionAbout Me: I’m a total wonkette who is lucky enough to be surrounded by her favorite things on a daily basis – awesome music, the great State of Texas and of course, Mr. Lemonade! I find any excuse I can to craft something and am completely infatuated with the 1950’s, all things Kennedy, and my furbaby Vida.
The first wedding dress I fell for was from J.Crew. It was simple, elegant, and very lovely, but what really got me excited was the awesome bridal monogramming that Crew would do. Ultimately, I chose not to order the lovely Sabine but I filed it away to make sure whatever gown I eventually purchased would be adorned with a personalized dress tag.
Mrs. Ballet Flat, New OrleansAge and Occupation: 24, Geographic Information Systems AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, IT AnalystEngagement Date: March 16, 2008Wedding Date: May, 2009Blogging Since: September 25, 2008Venue: St. Charles Borromeo Church/Jefferson-Orleans NorthAbout Me: I absolutely love wedding planning, spending time with Mr. Ballet Flat, various crafts, watching football, baking, pop music, bargain hunting and ice cream. My idea of a great date night is dinner and clearance shopping with Mr. Ballet Flat! I currently live below sea level in the suburbs near New Orleans, where I make maps all day, everyday for my job. I'm slowly becoming more and more obsessed with anything New Orleans related for our wedding, and I can't wait for the big day!
Being that our wedding colors are teal and brown, I found it very complicated to find jewelry in those colors that was formal and wedding ready. So, what’s a bride to do? DIY!
I haven’t made jewelry since the friendship bracelet days in elementary school. Remember these? Ahh… days!
However, I thought well, maybe I could try this. If it doesn’t work out, no harm done! If it works out, one less thing to shop for!
I knew I wanted simple dangle earrings for my bridesmaids that would work with my plan of combining swarovski crystals with pearls in their necklaces. So, I started my search looking through my bridal magazines for inspiration. This is what I came up with after playing around with bead patterns.
Mrs. Meatball, HollywoodAge and Occupation: 30, Actor/Writer/Office MavenFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Actor/WriterEngagement Date: October 7, 2007Wedding Date: May, 2009Blogging Since: September 16, 2008Venue: Private Garden/The Bungalow ClubAbout Me: I love melty cheese and diet coke almost as much as I love my man. I'm from Chicago, he's from NYC, and we both miss public transit and great pizza. We have an adorable muppet dog called Paco. I'm part hippie with a healthy dash of hip hop superstar, have excessive empathy for animals, and have not one, but two bionic eyes (long story). We're broke and it ain't no joke. It can't stop us from planning the bold and whimsical wedding of our dreams, but we've had to get pretty creative to make it work, yo!
I was recently contacted by a fellow Bungalow bride, whose wedding is 2 months after ours. She very sweetly explained that she had happened upon my blog, and loved our design ideas so much that she offered to share most of the decor and split the cost. I was healthily humbled and flattered to be approached this way, and saw it as a fortuitous money saving opportunity: Brideshare, the carpool of wedding planning!
The best part? We’re not only saving money with this mutually beneficial arrangement, but we’re also getting to reuse or recycle almost every extraneous purchase that we’d have no use for after the day. Eco and budget friendly? Somebody pinch me. I’ve heard about brides splitting costs of Chiavari chairs or tents over a weekend, but this is so much more! Read more…
Mrs. Jelly Beans, OttawaAge and Occupation: 28, Pediatric Registered Nurse and full time bride to beFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Investor and very supportive groom to beEngagement Date: July 7, 2005Wedding Date: August 25, 2007Blogging Since: June 20, 2007Venue: Cathedral Ceremony and Rooftop Tent ReceptionHoneymoon: ItalyAbout Me: I have been in wedding planning mode since Mr. Jelly Beans popped the question almost two years ago. I am a very dorky and sentimental person. I love laughing and living life alongside my husband-to-be. We have been in a long distance relationship for over 6 years - he is in California and I am presently in Canada, so you can imagine how excited we both are for our upcoming wedding.
In the beginning, I thought I had made up my mind that there was no way I was going to succumb to wearing a veil. No way Jose!
I put on my first veil during my first ever fitting and I was hooked. At that point there was no turning back. I knew I wanted a simple, no edging veil. I picked a short veil with tons of rhinestones. Perfect for me, I thought!
Then I started looking through wedding videos from the Philippines, and that’s where my obsession with the drop veil was born.
I searched locally but the closest they had here in Ottawa was the mantilla. Gorgeous but just not quite what I had envisioned. I finally found an online store called veilshop. They had an awesome tutorial describing types of veils, different lengths, edging, colors and accents.
I knew for sure I wanted a drop veil, so that made my decision making process easier. I ordered free swatches to make sure that the veil color matched my dress. I spent more than the budget alloted for a veil because mine ended up as a special order with the added crystals. But oh did they sparkle!!! To this day I absolutely, positively still have a love affair with my veil!
Mrs. Martini, New JerseyAge and Occupation: 30, Telecom by day, Superhero by nightFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Investments & Finance by day, Hip hop dancer by nightEngagement Date: May 24, 2008Wedding Date: March, 2009Blogging Since: August 18, 2008Venue: The VenetianAbout Me: Things that make me happy: Haribo Happy Cola gummies, TV shows on DVD, buying books although I never read them, 80’s rock ballads, ramen, and of course Mr. Martini! He is the calm, logical and number crunching finance guy. I can’t even multiply double digit numbers in my head and I am so indecisive that trying to choose between light green or slightly lighter green paper stresses me out (Wedding planning is going to be soooo much fun). We both find great joy in nabbing great seats at the movie theater for a blockbuster movie on opening weekend, and we are both absolutely crazy about snowboarding. And he loves to cook, I love to eat!
Forgive me. I’ve strayed from wedding planning for a bit because I made the mistake of reading the first chapter of the book Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer. This book isn’t for your average rocket scientist, but talk about a guilty pleasure! For the next few days, I was so engrossed in the book and anything Vampire related, that I forgot I was getting married. Planning halted to an erupt stop and even my conversations with Mr. Martini changed.
Mr. Martini: I love you!
Me: I guess you’re okay, for a human.
There are three more books after Twilight, and although a friend (who has also read the books) suggested that I postpone wedding planning for another week to finish off the series, I realize how dangerous it would be to do that, and decided I’m better off not going anywhere near the rest of those books until after the wedding. Luckily, Mr. Martini humored my Vampire obsession and patiently waited for me to snap back into reality. In fact, he welcomed it because I was no longer stressing about wedding things that needed to be done. Read more…
Mrs. Taffy, Ann ArborAge and Occupation: 28, Color and Materials DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Automotive DesignerEngagement Date: May 9, 2008Wedding Date: May 2009Blogging Since: September 14, 2008Venue: University of Michigan UnionAbout Me: I’m a girl who is crazy about Mr. Taffy, sewing, dancing, almost all types of sweets, and our cute pet canaries. I dislike touching fuzzy fabric of any kind, eating somewhat squishy food, and Michigan winters. Mr. Taffy and I are having a blast planning our Ann Arbor wedding, and cannot wait to share our day with friends and family.
I would love to share some of my favorite blue themed bouquet ideas from the knot. But first, look at this fun alternative to a bouquet!
I love this idea - it would be such a fun DIY project, and a great cost effective alternative to a bouquet! Also, if you are planning a day after or week after photo shoot, why not make something like this instead of ordering or making an extra bouquet for later?
Mrs. Champagne, DC/Vail/ColoradoAge and Occupation: 26, Eye DoctorFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, AttorneyEngagement Date: March 13, 2006Wedding Date: February 2009Blogging Since: July 30, 2008Venue: Small church ceremony with mountain-view log cabin receptionAbout Me: I'm a small town mountain girl with a city heart. Found my way to the east coast, and Mr. Champagne kept me here so we're planning a wedding from afar in my hometown Vail, Colorado. I'm secretly obsessed with reality TV, Wii games where I can shoot a gun, country music, and Caesar: Dog Whisperer. I also spend time pretending to golf, backseat driving, having one way conversations with our MinPin Maxwell, loving champagne, and wedding perfecting… I mean, planning. I use way too many repeated symbols and letters when I write, and I'll love Mr. Champagne endlessly…
I must have been so excited about our save the dates that I forgot one of the most important parts - the envelope!!
Our colors are ivory, black and gold, and it seemed fitting to add the gold into the envelopes. Instead of paying someone else money to line them, I purchased some pretty paper from the Paper Store to line the envelopes. Another great and probably cheaper option is to use wrapping paper. I couldn’t find the right gold, so that didn’t work for me.
Mrs. Coconut, TallahasseeAge and Occupation: 27, LawyerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, phD Computer ScienceEngagement Date: March 2007Wedding Date: November 2008Blogging Since: May 20, 2008Venue: 1930s Historic Building in Lakeland, FLAbout Me: I never thought about weddings until I got engaged. Now, I can't stop thinking about them! Planning the wedding has really opened the floodgates to my DIY side. If there's anything I can do to avoid hiring someone else, I will do it! Mr. Coconut is my financial advisor, he tries to keep me budget-conscious! We've tried to make wedding planning a team effort!
Last week, I had my final fitting! It was very exciting to put my lovely Vera Wang on again. I heart my dress so much! I don’t really have any tips for y’all on this one. I’m not wearing any kind of bra, but there were some cups sewn in. I also sported some Spanx for the tummy and bottom area, ’cause… ya know. Let’s just get right to the pictures, shall we?
I look sort of nervous in this picture, don’t I? I think it was all soaking in at that moment.
Mrs. Pineapple, PittsburghAge and Occupation: 24, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Student Affairs AdministrationEngagement Date: August 4, 2007Wedding Date: October, 2008Blogging Since: April 14, 2008Venue: The Rivers ClubAbout Me: Being a transplant from sunny south Florida I am learning to live with all four seasons while playing with our cat collective, line dancing, and doing a ton of DIY projects for our wedding (seriously, like a thousand)!
Requisite before shot, I think I like this look even better.
When it came to having my hair and make-up done for the wedding, I had a plan, a good one, but no back-up. So, when it came to the hair trial, I was really hoping things would go well. Read more…
Mrs. Avocado, SeattleAge and Occupation: 23, StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, ConsultantEngagement Date: July 27, 2008Wedding Date: October, 2008Blogging Since: June 30, 2008Venue: LDS Seattle Temple & Hotel 1000About Me: Somehow this little farm girl found herself a genuine Pole to fall in love and eventually move away to Poland with. I am an LDS bride attempting to plan a private religious ceremony, ring ceremony, seated reception for 100, and an open house while coordinating for guests flying in from across the United States and as far away as Poland. I try to avoid fads, excess waste, and saturated fat. I strongly endorse photography, DDR, calorie counting, rss feeds, cooking, and utilizing your resources.
Ask and ye shall receive, my friends. It’s DIY week for me, and I couldn’t be more excited to share the following projects with you. I wish I had five, because that would a be a complete workweek of projects, and it’s just a nice number, but I only have four. I am busy, so I might not even get them all posted this week. But they are going to be good ones. Well obviously I think they are, or I wouldn’t be posting them.
Let’s begin with my tutorial on how to cut your own first dance. Mr. Avocado and I will be dancing to “Meet Me By The Water” by Rachel Yamagata, but it has this 50 second intro we would have to wait through. Plus we don’t really feel like fox trotting around for four whole minutes.
Before you begin, you will need to download the program Goldwave. Read more…
Miss Candy Corn, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 27, Freelance Writer, Photographer and IllustratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Front End Web DeveloperBlogging Since: May 6, 2008Engagement Date: November 10, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Our backyard!About Me: I’m a 27-year-old photographer, writer and illustrator who enjoys shooting weddings, catching typos in magazines, geeking out with Google Reader, watching Wonder Years marathons with my fiancé, and hanging out with our menagerie of pets. I’m an encore bride planning an intimate, offbeat backyard wedding with my fiancé (known around these parts as “The Ginger”), as we explore our adventures of homeownership.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
image courtesy of J to the Crew
Requisite before shot, I think I like this look even better.
