Weddingbee Blog

The bane of my existence

Forget the shoes, we have MUCH bigger fish to fry. Much. Turns out lovely Island bridesmaid, C, did not order her dress from el Crew like she was supposed to. It also turns out that my good friends in the oh-so-helpful and knowledgeable Weddings and Parties division were somewhat misinformed on the continuation of the Sophia navy into spring as clearly this is not the case.

When I was first informed of this malady I didn’t get angry.
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While my wedding isn’t maybe the most ecologically friendly event ever (and certainly not here!), I can definitely appreciate, and sometimes participate, in the green movement. Especially when it’s cute! For those of you who still aren’t a Daily Candy follower, well, you should be.

Here’s the cute freebie that showed up in my inbox this am.

(source)

The designers wanted to come up with a font that saved ink, removed as much of the letter as they could, and still maintain readability.
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I love perfume. Something about wearing it makes me feel so… dressed. Like a lady.

My collection isn’t large, but I definitely love all the scents I have, and I use them frequently.

#1: Ralph Lauren, Romance

This one is by far my favorite. It’s sweet, feminine, and definitely romantic. I wear this on dates with Mr. Powder Puffy.

#2:
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Thanks to our superawesome photographers, Ray & Erwin of Apertura, Mrs. Eggplant’s right arm has now been published in a national wedding mag! Apertura printed their very first full-spread ad in this month’s issue of Inside Weddings, smack in the middle of the magazine too. Watch out, Hollywood… here I come.

The image on the right side of the page spread was taken just before I walked down the church aisle. My cousin, Monica, was fixing my lipstick as little Jillian watched in wonder. Jillian was the cutest little flower girl ever and she definitely stole the show. I’m so glad this moment was caught on camera! I’m also so very glad we picked Apertura to document our wedding day. Best wedding decision ever.
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This post is somewhat personal, but I figure if I am sharing not only my wedding planning experiences with you, but also some details of our relationship, I should talk a little bit about our pasts.

I mentioned briefly in a previous post that Mr. Quiche has been married before. I don’t want to delve into the details of his previous relationship, and feel I wouldn’t give a very unbiased view of things. They were married for a few years, and suffice it to say, it didn’t work out. They also have 2 children. He has been divorced for over 6 years.

When we first started dating, it didn’t really bother me.We were friends for a while before we started dating, so there really was nothing to “hide”. I guess you could say, on the surface, I knew what I was getting myself into, but it really is so much more that just that. Relationships are hard enough as it is, let alone throwing in two kids and an ex-wife. Priorities are different. Dynamics change. Sometimes, I was a pretty selfish girlfriend, and that just does not work when there are little ones to consider. There were times when I would get upset because I felt like the kids were taking time away from Mr. Quiche and I being together (I know, it’s horrible, but I am just being honest). I would get annoyed and resentful. Especially when it came to his ex-wife.
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This awesome detail relates to bridal wear. I love how creative brides are these days with what they wear! Some gals are even wearing not one, but two or three different outfits throughout the day. While I’d like to say I could pull that off, I’d probably find some way to foil any complex fashion strategies I attempt. That’s just me.

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On my road to the altar… I have never bought so many dresses in my life! I must confess, I am a bit of a Scrooge. Ok, a huge Scrooge. I put a significant percentage of my income in savings (although right now my monthly savings has been diverted to the Wedding Fund!) This is purely because I just don’t. spend. my money. If I have any money leftover at the end of the month, that goes into savings, too. I tend to save, rather than spend (even when I really ought to.) Ya dig? It drives Mr. Dragon nuts, as I can always find a reason to hang on to money, instead of making any sort of purchase. He has been trying to get me to go in on Rock Band with him for about a year now.

I am NOT saying this is a good thing, necessarily, as I could definitely stand to spend a bit more money on my closet, etc.! I bargain shop EVERYTHING. In the present economy, I have become Super Scrooge, fo’ sho’.

As far as the wedding goes, this Scrooginess has manifested itself in that I have zero clothing suitable for the myriad wedding events leading up to the actual Big Day. I need dresses for engagement photos, showers, and the rehearsal dinner. So far, I think I am doing pretty well. What I find ironic is that so far, the wedding projects I most dreaded have been the easiest so far (namely, bridesmaid dress shopping). Apparently, the dress gods love me right now!!
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So you already know about my shopaholic ways, and how much I love a good deal. But let me tell you ladies, Mr. Peep also loves a good sale.

When I said a while back that he has champagne taste on a Bud Light budget, I was not kidding.

A few months ago, Mr. Peep and I made a second trip to Bloomingdales to finish off our registry (we just didn’t have the stamina to finish it in one day, and really, it gave us (me) another reason to go to Bloomies). After we finished up downstairs, I politely mentioned that we go up to the men’s department to just check out the suits. Since we were registered at Bloomies, we’d receive 15% off Mr. Peep’s attire, so Mr. PT reluctantly obliged to go see what they had.

Then we found out that it was the last day of a suit sale. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and finally Mr. Peep agreed to actually try on one suit.

And when I say one suit, I mean it. He tried on one suit and fell in love with it.
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What do baby animals have to do with weddings?  Probably nothing.  But they’re cute and isn’t that reason enough?

Please say hello to the latest batch of Weddingbee characters, piglet, mouse, duckling, joey, kitten, hamster, bunny, chick, and lamb!

We’re thinking about doing a generation of dog breeds, so we omitted puppy this time around.  And wouldn’t joey be adorable for someone marrying a guy named Joe?  Which one is your favorite?

We’re accepting applications for August 2009 brides, so apply to be a bee today!

PS - We’ve updated our Happy New Year post with some more Bee news, the biggest of which is that Mrs. Butterscotch gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on New Year’s Eve!  Congratulations Butterscotches — we couldn’t be more excited and happy for you!

Yes, I know the ring shot train has left the station, but I’m standing here with my camera in my hand crying out “But wait! Let me on! I think I have some good ideas to share.” So if the conductor (in this case Mrs. Bee) wouldn’t mind hitting the brakes for just a second so I can catch up, I’ll hopefully be able to share a few secrets that might help you in your quest to capture the perfect ring shot.

I’m guessing that many of you received fancy new cameras for Christmas (I’m jealous of you lucky girls who were blessed with a dSLR this year), and unless you have previous photography experience you are probably shooting all your pictures on the automatic setting. This ring shot tutorial of mine should help you attempt to turn your camera off of the automatic setting and start exploring things like aperture, shutter speed and ISO (I promise I’ll explain those terms soon). Even though it can be kind of scary, shooting on manual not only makes you a better photographer, but with enough practice you will find that you can take better pictures than the camera can!
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Part 1: Sharing Tissues

{ Sidenote: sorry I’ve been so late following up with this video series! We had some technical difficulties over here at Cupcake headquarters, but we’re back in business now… so, as we are still patiently awaiting our pro wedding pics, I’ll get back to sharing a few moments of our day in film! }

If you’re not from the Philadelphia area, chances are you’ve never heard of the Mummers. Basically, the Mummer’s Parade is a New Year’s Day tradition here in Philadelphia, one that I attended every year as a kid. The Mummers consist of elaborately costumed Philadelphians who perform up Broad Street; there are different “clubs” in four different categories, the best of which (in my humble opinion) is the String Bands category. There is just nothing like hearing the music of banjos, saxophones, accordians, and strings and seeing men in gaudy, sequined costumes dancing their hearts out amidst thousands of drunk Philadelphian spectators on a freezing January day. My mom’s second-cousin is the captain of Fralinger, the string band that has taken home the first place prize for their performance for a record SEVEN years in a row, so we take our Mummers pretty seriously in my family. There was no way I couldn’t include the Mummers somehow in our wedding day.
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I try not to break my promises, so here is our venue!

You already saw how we began to be quietly edged out of the city by venue costs and our dreams of a chic city wedding with lovely views began to fade. Mom D’orsay convinced me to take a peek at Oakland, so I scheduled visits to Elkridge Furnace Inn, O’Callaghan’s Hotel and Oakland all in the same day.

Armed with my new camera, I was determined to photograph every inch of the home to show to Mr. D’orsay for his long-distance approval. I’d been to the home before (at the age of 11) and knew what to expect, but I had never looked at in the critical “Could I get married here?” sort of way.

The front of the house:

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I mentioned the other day that I have a few New Year’s resolutions that I feel compelled to tackle before the wedding. I call these my wed-solutions! My biggest wed-solution this year is one I’d still put on my list even if I weren’t getting married in less than 5 months, but I doubt I’d approach it with such determination and focus without the specter of my wedding dress hovering constantly in my mind.

That’s right, it’s the fitness, y’all! My goal is to become a triple-S: Slim, Straight, and Strong, in time for the wedding and in a way that will be maintainable as a lifestyle for years to come. I want to be super-fine in 2009! Welcome to my journey from Flab to FAB! Won’t you join me?

I know I am not alone in this quest. I see your bloggy resolutions echo mine, I hear your need for healthful change, and I am ready to share my experience as I climb the hill of transformation. It may not always be pretty, and it definitely won’t be easy… but I’m taking this opportunity to not only get in shape before the wedding, but to also address (and put to rest) some long-lived life issues that I do not wish to carry forward into married life.
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Outside of the design process (which went surprisingly extremely smoothly) the biggest decision we’ve had to make in regards to our wedding invitations has been what paper to have them printed on. If you will recall, our lovely Save the Dates were printed on the super yummy Luxe Cream cardstock from Paper Source. I am a big BIG fan of this paper and Paper Source in general. Unforch the supremely talented artists, Judy and Arnold, who are creating our little masterpieces aren’t the biggest fans of the Luxe paper.

When we met for the first time they brought LOADS of samples printed on various papers. It was such fun pouring over the various weights and textures. However, after the third or fourth they all started to look and feel the same… I mean, it is just paper (albeit very special and fancy paper). That said, I was able to narrow the field of contenders down pretty early on.

Judy and Arnold’s “house” paper is Crane’s Lettra. The Lettra is a beautiful 100% cotton paper that comes in a variety of colors. Supposedly it was created specifically for letterpress, although rumor has it that it works equally well under other printing techniques. This is beautiful paper and I’ve seen some amazing invitations printed on it.
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While browsing a few random wedding sites, I came across the idea of using luggage tags for OOT bags. I LOVED this idea, and as we are putting “goody bags” in each hotel room, it seemed perfect. Then I had an even better idea and decided to use them as our Save the Dates. I had been working with a designer from Etsy.com for a monogram design and decided to have her make a couple of them - one that is more whimsical/tropical (STD) and one that is more preppy (invitation). We put the monogram on one side and the wedding information on the other side, set up to look like a luggage tag:

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