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.
Usually when things become popular I tend to run in the opposite direction. I either want to be way ahead (doesn’t everyone?) or so far behind that what I’m doing is considered “vintage”, not trendy.
The photobooth became the exception to that rule. With a photographer willing to supply the manpower, and Mamacado in possession of the equipment, I just couldn’t pass it up. It was free after all.
I collected wigs, gloves, hats, feather boas, and other accessories for people to dress up in. I started to wish our wedding was on November 11 instead of on October 11, because we would have been able to get all kinds of great Halloween stuff for really cheap! Most of the supplies actually came from the dress-up box of an 8-year-old family friend.
Mrs. Quiche, Chicago/Montego BayAge and Occupation: 28, Interior DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 42, Telecom GuruEngagement Date: July 2, 2008Wedding Date: May, 2009Venue: Coyaba Resort, Montego BayAbout Me: I love Chicago and can’t imagine living anywhere else (Well, except Paris. Or anywhere in France, for that matter!). I’m a full-time worker, part-time student, soon-to-be-step-mom, indie music lovin’, architecture and design fanatic, macaroni and cheese addict, vegetarian, Francophile, Ohio State football obsessed, wedding planning girl. Mr. Quiche and I are “Partners-in-Crime” and cannot wait to celebrate our marriage surrounded by our family and closest friends. I plan on DIYing my little heart out (or as much as a suitcase to Jamaica will hold).
A recent question posed to the feisty Dear Abby (sidenote: I *heart* Dear Abby. And Margo.) got me thinking about dietary lifestyles and wedding receptions.
DEAR ABBY: My daughter and future son-in-law are being married this summer. They are both vegans, and are planning a vegan dinner for their reception. I thought it was a very cool way of showing what different types of vegan dishes could be planned, but I’m getting grief from my husband. He thinks it is “selfish” of them not to offer a meat dish. I couldn’t disagree more.
I told him I think they are right, but that I’d write to you and ask your opinion. It will have no effect on their reception, but I’d like to quiet things down on the home front. — FUTURE MOTHER-IN-LAW Read more…
Mrs. Spring Roll, TampaAge and Occupation: 23, Certified Pharmacy TechnicianFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Concert PhotographerEngagement Date: May 1, 2008Wedding Date: March 2009Blogging Since: September 16, 2008Venue: Beach Social HallAbout Me: I'm the stereotypical girl who enjoys sewing, baking, and decorating. I am blessed to share my life with Mr. Spring Roll and our two shih tzu's, Isabella and Gabriella. Hello Kitty, musicals, Target, and Chick-fil-a are a few of my favorite things. I have a fear of fish and Freddy Krueger. Planning our wedding has become a huge part of my life, and I love every minute of it!
As I gave a sigh of relief and a wave goodbye, Mr. Spring Roll placed our invitations in the outgoing mailbox at the Post Office. And with that, they’re off; hopefully making it to their destinations within the next couple of days.
Remember when I asked for help choosing our invitation’s belly band? After reading everyone’s great advice, I decided to use the monogram band. I absolutely loved the bow, but didn’t want to run into any problems with smooshed bows and increased postage. Read more…
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.
So, I have been thinking about an exceedingly important subject for the past month or so. So, SO important! What color shall my hair be on our wedding day?
I am the queen of cutting and coloring my hair. I have had red hair, bad hair, black hair, short hair, long hair, blonde hair, good hair, brown hair… you get the idea. (Case in point, below.) Right now, my hair is kind of an auburn (”kind of” being the operative phrase!) and I totally think it’s fine, but… I think my wedding hair should be supa’ fine! Please take a look at the choices below, and help me figure out what the heck I should do with my totally average hair!
Reader WedHeadRed is selling a pearl and Swarovski tiara/headband. It is brand new from David’s Bridal, and she is asking for $50. Shipping is included!
Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with pictures in the Weddingbee classifieds and you might see it featured on the blog!
Mrs. Bee, New YorkAge and Occupation: 29, Weddingbee PublisherFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, InternetEngagement Date: May 7, 2004Wedding Date: March 5, 2005Venue: Westside Loft, New YorkAbout Me: Yes, my name really is Bee! I love my blogging, wikis, and tabasco sauce!
Martha Stewart Livings featured something similar in an old issue (diy of course), but the way this is packaged immediately made me think that it’d make an easy, inexpensive, diy favor.
Mrs. Green Tea, SacramentoAge and Occupation: 30, Tea AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Coffee CriticEngagement Date: November 17, 2006Wedding Date: August 23, 2008Blogging Since: June 10, 2008Venue: Vineyard on the DeltaAbout Me: I'm just your average obsessive compulsive, arts & crafts loving, funky-on-the-inside/boring-on-the-outside girl, who dares to say 'Hey! I can make that!' Nerdy professional by day, goofy won-ton by night. The won-ton sometimes comes out during the day when I'm fed the dollar breakfast at Ikea. Since our engagement, wedding planning has put me on high alert for bargains and I've been pushing my nimble fingers through callous building experiments!
Mrs. Sea Breeze, Vancouver/Dominican RepublicAge in 2008 and Occupation: 30, Communications ManagerFiance's Age in 2008 and Occupation: 29, Experiential Marketing DirectorEngagement Date: October 6, 2007Wedding Date: November, 2008Blogging Since: July 17, 2008Venue: Majestic Colonial Resort, Punta CanaAbout Me: Planning a destination wedding by the sea should be (oh no she di-in't…) a breeze (…*sigh* yep, she did) but when you've never been to the Caribbean, your powers of imagination are really put to the test. Luckily, I'm 90% resourceful, creative optimist (and kooky, neurotic practicalist-if-that's-a-word for the other ten). Other than writing about our week-long celebration of family, friends, laughter and love, I adore books, shoes and… you guessed it… long walks on the beach.
Being a total wedding-porn addict (yes, I am in a 12 step program), I was hell bent on having gorgeous photography of our wedding day. It was, however, also the one thing on my earliest to-do list that caused me the most stress.
You see, I absolutely fell in love with the engagement shots we had done by James Day, photog extraordinaire, and lovely person to boot. Naturally we looked into having him do our wedding too, but sadly, he was in Australia at the time. That’s a long ways away from the Dominican Republic and flying him in was not within the realm of our photography budget (though if it were an option, I think I’d have seriously considered stuffing him into one of OUR suitcases). I seriously envy the couples that get to work with him though. Really. You should check him out.
So anyways, where was I? Ah yes. The hunt for a photographer was on.
Like most resorts that do weddings, the Majestic Colonial resort has its own photographer. And of course like most brides, this was the first option I considered. But truth be told, I wasn’t crazy about some of the work I’d seen and I wasn’t a fan of the packages; 50 prints (not originals—prints!!) just wouldn’t cut it for me.
I then thought, well maybe we could find a photographer in Punta Cana that does destination weddings. Read more…
Mrs. Kitten, Austin/Grand CaymanAge and Occupation: 25, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Dental StudentEngagement Date: October 19, 2006Wedding Date: April, 2009Venue: The Grand Old House, Grand CaymanAbout Me: In 2009 I will get married (after a two and a half year engagement!), become an Army wife, graduate from law school, take the bar, move from Austin to Washington, D.C., and start my career as a lawyer! With all this going on, Mr. Kitten and I decided to have a tropical, "stress-free" destination wedding. Nevertheless, my micromanaging, detail-oriented, perfectionist side has prevailed---I am currently obsessed with every last detail of my "stress-free" destination wedding! But most of all, I'm beyond excited to become Mrs. Kitten on a fabulous Caribbean vacation surrounded by my friends and family!
I am so ELATED to be the newest bee! I’ve been a huge Weddingbee fan since I discovered it last year. I was so excited to find a place where other detail-oriented brides share ideas and help each other navigate through the wedding planning process! The wedding industry doesn’t exactly encourage brides to save money and “DIY”, so the amount of information sharing, cooperation, and support on Weddingbee blew me away! I’ve been hooked ever since, so it is pretty surreal to see myself on the site!
The inspiration behind my cuddly icon, my adorable kitty Toby!
If you’ve seen my bio you may have noticed that I’ve been engaged for over two years! Read more…
Mrs. Milkshake, Seattle/Vancouver, BCAge and Occupation: 23, PharmacistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, PharmacistEngagement Date: May 2007Wedding Date: August 2008Blogging Since: December 6, 2007Venue: Victorian MansionAbout Me: Despite the fact that I’ve invested many long years of my life studying the sciences in college, I’m glad to be out of there and I would never do it again! I’m super artsy at heart - I run an indie craft site, I grew up shooting and developing my own film, doing jazz and ballet, and the whole gamut of art classes. I’ve been called a Jane of all Trades… but I was also told many years ago not to make my passion my career because it’d suck the fun out of it. Hence my choice of day job. We live in Seattle but are having our wedding in Canada to be fair to all our family and friends.
When I posted photos of the MyPublisher album I made for my cousin, someone asked me to post pictures of our MyPublisher wedding guestbook, so here it is. I have a little more insight on the process and the end result at the end of this post. It involved a lot of scanning by me, Mr. Milkshake, and my dad.
I coerced our best man into making write-ups for the bridal party for the first page of our guestbook, so on top of his best-man-speech stress, he was able to come up with these:
The groom:
He is a man of few words and determined will. He can also memorize a textbook in less time than it takes you to eat lunch. Be wary when he begins to use gibberish, it probably means he’s experiencing extreme emotions, or he’s hungry, or he missed a rare item in the latest RPG. Read more…
BeehiveFeature Launched: Aug 31, 2006About: A forum for readers to post questions and get feedback from the hive, aka the weddingbee community.
I hate “how much was yours” kinds of questions, but… how much was your wedding dress? My fiance and I had the first (of likely many!) talks about how much our wedding budget should be. I would like to budget $3000 for a dress, and he says he wants me to cap it at $1000.
If I do try to go with a less expensive dress, what kinds of places should I look? What brands/designers are in the $1000-$2000 range?
Mrs. D'orsay, Baltimore/Lancaster UKAge and Occupation: 24, nonprofit communications Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Web site developer and designer; co-owner of men's skincare shopEngagement Date: August 10, 2008Wedding Date: August, 2009Venue: Oakland ManorAbout Me: I'm a Maryland raised environmental policy wonk/activist/organizer and communications aficionado. In the past year I've lived in Baltimore, MD, Tucson, AZ, Miami, FL and Lancaster, England. In my not so spare time I enjoy planning trips with Mr. D' Orsay, visiting friends and family and crafting like a mo-fo. I also enjoy modern dance classes, rugby and soccer but have been banned by my mother, MOHs, and Mr. D' Orsay from playing till after the wedding. I have an unnatural addiction to cheese and shoes, but love Mr. D' Orsay more than either and can't wait to become Mrs. D' Orsay!
Not surprisingly (hello, Miss D’orsay!), shoes are important to me.
But, surprisingly, I’m having a hard time finding affordable purple D’orsays. I’m willing to go peep toe even, but feel compelled, especially now to have D’orsays for sure.
I’ve searched Zappos and Endless with little luck. Since Google now directs me to UK sites, I found these: (NOT D’Orsays)
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.
Seriously, this is the last time you will ever see this image again, I swear.
Just one last reminder that Mrs. Hydrangea and I will be meeting up this Saturday the 24th, at 12:00 PM at the Starbucks in Northpark mall, and then heading to the 12:30 PM showing of Bride Wars.
Please won’t you come join us? I’ll bring treats and stuff them in my purse, I promise! Maybe even something extra special and homemade ’cause I love you ladies. XOXO See you soon!
Mrs. Perfume, DCAge and Occupation: 36, Consultant (and Part-Time Professor)Fiance's Age and Occupation: 41, ConsultantEngagement Date: May 13, 2008Wedding Date: May, 2009Venue: The Homestead, Hot Springs, VirginiaAbout Me: I'd like to think that I'm a modern day Little Edie Beale. Only not as..."talented". More realistically, I'm a foodie who can't bake; a dancer and dilettente; an art collector with a penchant for the whimsical and subversive. I live in the city and adore the country, but not much in between. I like smart design, great craftmanship and good value. Most of all, I love the new vintage aesthetic: classic, sweet, delicate, bespoke. If I had to do it all over again, I'd go for a culinary arts degree rather than a PhD; but wouldn't trade Mr. P for the world.
I love the feel of the photographs below. It’s a vintage look that appeals to me because it reminds me of old Polaroids (that were so popular when I was growing up)!! And, by the way, if you haven’t heard, Polaroid is discontinuing its instant film. So these facts make the look all the more rare, nostalgic and attractive (to me, anyway!).
Polaroid (”instamatic”) cameras created a different look by the very nature of their use: for snapshots. Easy, fun, and spur of the moment. And that style, recreated with a digital or regular film camera with a little Photoshop is magic to me.
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 got a job yesterday! Meet the new official errand runner for a local accounting firm. Yep, I’ll be driving all around, getting groceries and lunch, picking up dry cleaning and computer monitors… anything they need. I think it’s a terrific use of my masters degree.
In all seriousness, I’m just so happy to have something. These days, more and more of us are forced to take positions that are below our normal skill set and standards, just to pay the bills. There ain’t no shame in that game! Gots ta stay afloat somehow, right? This sounds like a pretty painless way to do it.
Tiger, my personal trainer (and apparent fairy godmother) helped me get this job. So, thanks to her, not only am I getting a body makeover, but also out of the unemployment nightmare. And not a minute too soon, either!
This Saturday marks our 4-month wedding pre-versary (if it wasn’t already a phrase, it should be). We’re starting to really feel the pressure to spend, make payments, and generally start draining our meager savings toward making it happen. As an unemployed couple, it sure can be guilt-inducing to spend money you might later need for rent, etc. So, recently we’ve been walking on eggshells about it, putting it off, fearing for the future. Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
Image credit: Jessica Johnson
