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!
(I’m sure my living room will look somewhat like this pretty soon!)
I knew that I wanted to DIY our invites when we first got engaged. It would make things more personalized without a hefty price tag. I started my search for fun paper online, and I think I’m going to be using a few of these places even post-wedding! These are the stores I’ve used so far in the DIY invitation process.
Brides to bee are always looking for a good bargain, so if you know of any great sales or Black Friday deals, please comment below and we’ll add them to this post!
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Shoes
Save $30 on purchases of $100 at Endless from November 27th - November 30th!
Get $10 of purchases of $50 or more at Shoes.com with coupon code NOV08SAVE through November 30th.
Clothing
Get up to 20% off $150 purchases, 24% off $200 purchases, and 30% off $300 purchases at J Crew through November 29th with coupon code TURKEY.
Miss Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
Congratulations to the winners: Taye, alshv2, koandpo, Beachbride08, jaybtee391! This move is a true blast!
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Calling all Dancing Queen Bees! Our musical friends at Universal Studios Home Video are giving away 5 copies of their big screen phenom, ‘Mamma Mia: The Movie!’ starring the one and only Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan! Set to an ABBA soundtrack, Mamma Mia is a comedy about a young woman who invites three men who could possibly be her father to her wedding, without telling her mother.
This 2-disc, special edition DVD set doesn’t even groove into stores until December 16!
To enter this contest, please submit your funniest wedding moment or proposal story below! You still have until 9pm PST tonight to enter, so good luck!
And as the great members of ABBA would say, The Winner Takes it All!
Miss Fondue, NashvilleAge and Occupation: 27, Technical AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Network Admin Student/Senior Game AdvisorEngagement Date: December 25, 2007Wedding Date: May 2009Blogging Since: September 14, 2008Venue: Ravenwood Golf ClubAbout Me: I’m your average computer geek marrying a gaming geek and trying to find a good balance of elegance and geek chic in our wedding. I adore The Sims, Nintendo, cosplay, (good) music, TiVo, theme parks, and our two crazy felines.
When we started planning, Mr. Fondue said he wanted two things: eight best men and a full bar. We’ve compromised a little on the bar due to budget constraints, but he definitely got his eight best men.
But he’s also had lots of input besides these two items. You may recall that he picked the flowers. He’s had lots of opinions on traditions. There was a lot of back and forth with our table names. He was involved in our music choices. He’s been in charge of contacting our venue (he’s spoken with them many times, I have only twice). And I think he’s more worried about having glassware than I am.
He gives me an honest opinion on every DIY project I come up with. He’s insanely proud of our invitations and shows them off to everyone. He thinks the coasters are silly. He completely vetoed the idea of personalized “Do Not Disturb” signs to put in our hotel welcome bags.
Some brides might find this annoying. Some might want to just be able to do whatever they want to carry out their dream wedding. Read more…
ClassifiedsFeature Launched: April 30, 2008About: A roundup of the best Weddingbee Classified listings.
Reader chau is selling her Enzoani “Barbi” wedding gown. It is a size 10, sample gown, but has never been worn. The dress is ivory, French taffeta with lace detail and a soft tulle underlay. She is asking for $1100, OBO.
Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with pictures in the Weddingbee classifieds and you might see it featured on the blog!
Mrs. Hot Cocoa, Boston/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 31, JD/PhD StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Medical StudentEngagement Date: May 30, 2008Wedding Date: March, 2009Blogging Since: April, 2008Venue: Ritz Carlton, Marina Del ReyAbout Me:
I am a professional student by day and an amateur cupcake taster, bargain shopper, and wedding planner by night. I am obsessed with NPR, the Food Network, paper, dance shows, Anthropologie, post-structuralist theory, Weddingbee!, "The Office," and celebrity gossip. When not procrastinating from my dissertation, I spend time catering to Jellyby, our overly anxious shih tzu, and getting to know Mr. Hot Cocoa. We have only been dating for fifteen years, so it's like I'm in love with a stranger! From the East Coast, we are planning a Jewish-Chinese Extravaganza in L.A., where we both grew up.
By the time we got through the debacle that was setting a date for the wedding, it was already less than 10 months until said date. That put a lot of pressure on us to reserve a wedding location, stat. Since I was planning a wedding in L.A. from Boston, our expedited schedule meant that we had to book a venue, sight unseen. Well, this week I finally got a chance to visit our venue with wedding planner extraordinaire Angel Swanson, and we were giddy to discover that it’s lovely. Check out this postcard-worthy view of Marina del Rey:
The only part of the venue that’s kind of blah is the ceremony space.
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
Join me in welcoming our latest shoe-bee to the hive! Miss Peep Toe, San Francisco Age & Occupation: 29, Policy Analyst Fiance’s Age & Occupation: 36, Olive Oil Production Manager Engagement Date: December 16, 2007 Wedding Date: May 2009 Venue: Hotel Vitale About Me: I am a West Coast lady who loves the San Francisco Bay Area. I love living with Mr. Peep and our animals: Huck the Dog and Ferris the Cat. I work to save the environment in San Francisco, while Mr. Peep makes ridiculously delicious Olive Oil. On any day you can find me reading the latest book I have gotten my hands on, eating Swedish Fish, and perusing wedding blogs! We are both champagne drinking foodies on a Bud Light budget. We are planning an eco-chic, intimate, and interfaith San Francisco city wedding.
Mrs. Crab Cake, Columbus, GAAge and Occupation: 25, Registered NurseFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Director of Education and Living History for a museumEngagement Date: April 6, 2008Wedding Date: June, 2009Blogging Since: November 26, 2008Venue: Holy Family Catholic Church, reception: National Infantry MuseumAbout Me: I'm a perfectionist trying to balance two jobs, motherhood, my craft obsession, and wedding planning. I am obsessed with all things wedding, especially creative ideas for saving money and DIY projects. A Southern Belle at heart, I love anything southern, especially sweet tea, grits, afternoon thunder storms, crab cakes, and good old Southern hospitality. Mr. Crab Cake and I are planning a vintage inspired wedding with tons of Southern flare (can y'all say that with a thick Southern drawl?).
Please let me preface this by saying that I totally completely suck enormous toes at cleverly naming my posts. I really need some assistance in the department!
A couple weeks ago, I asked Mr. Crab Cake to write down (or type up) his version of our engagment story. Well, he finally got it to me, but not without swindling me into writing up my version too.
Y’all already know we met in Savannah. It’s kinda our favorite city. We love downtown and want to retire in a historic home facing one of Savannah’s squares. So when Mr. Crab Cake suggested we take a long weekend trip to Savannah for our 6 month date-a-versary, I got a sneaking suspicion that something was up.
Let me back up for just one moment and tell y’all that I blatantly announced to Mr. Crab Cake after about a month of dating that I fully intended to spend the rest of my life with him. I guess when you know, you know. So obviously, we’d talked about marriage and had moved in together very early in our relationship.
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!
Our videographer rocked our socks off with his preview. The final video is coming to us tomorrow, but, being the wedding obsessed Mrs. Hydrangea that I am, I had to share this with you all (and PLEASE note, this is all thank you to Chris Watson Video who, by far, surpassed anything we could have envisioned:
I hope that you all enjoy it as much as I did. I promise that the last couple of wedding posts will be here soon, but this sums up our day as about as best as I could. We’ll see the full video tomorrow, so don’t be surprised if I bring more posts out about it.
BeehiveFeature Launched: Aug 31, 2006About: A forum for readers to post questions and get feedback from the hive, aka the weddingbee community.
My MOH just informed me (via email) that she intends to bring a married man to my wedding. He has no intentions on getting a divorce from his current wife and has been the source of drama in the past—however I’ve not met him—I only know what she’s told me. I think it’s incredibily inappropriate given the nature of the event and I can’t be sure that there won’t be any drama.
Miss Cherry Pie, Seattle/Polebridge, MontanaAge and Occupation: 25, Marketing Communications SpecialistFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Nurse PractitionerEngagement Date: August 26, 2006Wedding Date: September 2008Blogging Since: April 1, 2008Venue: A tiny town just outside of Glacier National ParkAbout Me: I think of life as a journey and I love the places it's taking me! I went to school to study Magazine Journalism, ended up with a second major in Japanese language, and now work at a company that makes software for libraries. I love writing, computers, photography, and the great outdoors. I spend most of my time playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band or geeking out online with Mr. Cherry Pie. I'm happiest when I'm on the road, especially traveling abroad, or just nesting quietly at home with my sweetie, who is a fabulous cook and bakes a delicious rendition of a certain cherry-filled dessert!
After our cocktail hour it was time to head to the tent for dinner: a Polebridge-catered buffet of baked ruby trout, buffalo tri-tip, grilled veggies, herbed potatoes, fresh-baked bread, garlic noodles, and organic salad greens. YEEEE-HAW!!
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 don’t know about other couples, but throughout this whole process there’s been a clear line between the subjects Champ cares about and those which he could care less about. I mentioned he was big into our Mountain Menu choices (specifically his obsession with buffalo), but there have been less obvious details he’ll take over.
I mention this because yesterday when we were in Crate and Barrel, Champ casually leans over and tells me that our low ball glasses are no longer available online and we should look for some to replace them on our registry. Um… say what? You check our registry??? He might be the only groom I know that actually cares about registry details. He’s even added random items to our registry like a scull print beach towel.
Miss Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
I don’t know why - but lately I have been thinking a lot about thankfulness. Maybe because there seems to have been so much upheaval everywhere lately: crazy economy, really emotional campaign season, the holidays fast approaching, and most of all there has been a lot of personal upheaval in people close to me, which is always stressful because you want your loved ones to always be happy!
I have just been SO EMOTIONAL lately. I cry at the drop of a hat; even commercials make me tear up, which makes me laugh at myself, even as I am fighting back the tears. I think I just feel this enormous sense of a big change coming, and I don’t know what to expect! I was really confused why I was so unsettled, but I think I finally figured it out…
I am never going to go on any more first dates.
There won’t be any more first kisses.
When he makes a mistake, I need to forgive.
When I make a mistake, I need to own up to it.
Etc. etc.
I am making the transition from singlehood to “old, married lady.” Even though Mr. Snapdragon and I have been dating for almost four years now, and we have been planning to get married for the last year… I am only recently realizing that there is this shift that starts when wedding planning actually HAPPENS! I have to say I was a bit surprised at my reaction. I thought I’d be happy, happy, happy, all the time, but for a little while I’ve been crankilicious, and now I know why. Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
