So, there I was with two gorgeous Monique Lhuillier dresses that I got for a steal at the mother-of-all-sample-sales. I had a REALLY hard time deciding which dress I liked better. I polled my friends and family, and although Amelie got more votes, it was by no means a consensus. I loved the ivory color of the Ava dress, while Amelie was a latte/ivory shade that looked questionable on my skin tone. But the trumpet shape of the Amelie dress really flattered my figure (and somehow created an illusion of curves on my body!), whereas the A-line silhouette of the Ava dress was… just… okay. I started having major regrets about both dresses, wishing I could combine the two, creating a curve-hugging, trumpet shaped, ivory dress.
Read more…
My first dance post only has 5 photos, a paltry amount for me.
Why?
Because writing it makes me want to cry.
The First Dance from Jenna on Vimeo.
My FI and I have had a very short engagement - only 6 months, and our wedding is 2 months away. We’re both in the middle of our final year masters courses, and are feeling the pressure of the wedding! We’re stressed all the time and are really not enjoying the engagement process, which is such a shame because I feel it should be a really happy time. We’ve decided to postpone the wedding for 6 months, until after our courses have finished, to get our relationship back. Already, the benefits are showing!
However we still have to tell our guests. Obviously the invites have already gone out, and some people are even flying in from other countries (we’re in the UK). How should we announce that we are postponing our wedding because we’re too stressed with the wedding plans, and want to enjoy our engagement more? We feel this is a really valid reason and will be really valuable to our marriage (not starting out on the wrong foot, etc.), but how do we tell people succinctly, while acknowledging their inconvenience?
Thanks!
newbeefroobee
~~~
Dear newbeefroobee,
Honestly, I think you might have some unrealistic expectations about how fun being engaged is supposed to be. Wedding planning is stressful, and the last few months are the worst. Most people have longer engagements and so they see the fun “enjoy it” time at the beginning and then the stressfulness at the end when things actually need to get done. I had a short engagement too (7 months) and also found my engagement to be more stressful than not. Let me tell you though, being married is where it’s at! My husband and I experienced a huge boost to our relationship once the wedding was over… and why wouldn’t we, when a huge stressor had suddenly disappeared?
Read more…
At the tail end of 2008, I de-virginized my feet. 
For my girlfriend’s birthday, we spoiled ourselves and made a trip to Yvonne’s salon in Alexandria for an afternoon pedicure. I had never heard of these minnow-sized, flesh eating fish that nibble away at dead skin cells. The concept was so bizarre that I had to partake in the fun. Apparently, health concerns banned the usage of razor blades in pedicures and the owners of this salon discovered the ‘garra rufa’ fish as an alternative to the blade approach. I find the foot germ pool just as concerning despite the cleaning/bleaching of the individual tubs in between each client session. Anyhow, the owners have appeared on ‘The View’ and the ‘Today’ show as the innovators of this concept, and have their appearances memorialized in frames on their wall.
First off, they examine your feet for any cuts/gashes. Afterward, they seat you on a bench with a tub filled with water and hundreds of fishies.
Read more…
Featured on Weddingbee
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
“Make an elegant invitation statement without the fuss. Stylish invitation sets with matching envelopes, reception and response cards included.”
Even though I am a lingerie junkie, I am not usually into white or ivory bridal collections. But, I saw these undies online recently at Victoria’s Secret, and fell in love! They are too cute.
Not only are they adorable, they are a steal at the 3 for $30 price tag, which means that I will also get them in black! (Great for Valentine’s Day!)
Reader agentrv007 is selling her Matthew Christopher wedding gown. The style is called “Josephine”, is size 6, and features a honeycomb bodice covered with crystals and a band of beading below the bust. It is made with silk organza and has an empire waist. There have been no alterations and the dress is professionally dry-cleaned. She is asking for $1700.
Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with pictures in the Weddingbee classifieds and you might see it featured on the blog!
Other great items for sale:
Read more…
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
I’m a words girl. These words are some of my favorites.
When I talk about “my people”, this is the context I’m referring to. I can’t think of a more concise description of what marriage is.
Ruth 1:16 -
Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you, For where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. And where you die, I will die and there I will be buried. May the Lord do with me and more if anything but death parts you from me.
This is my definition of intimacy:
George Eliot -
Oh, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.
And this one? This one is the goal, the reminder that you are to be each other’s shelter and support:
Read more…
I’ve never really been much of a “feminist”. Yes, I believe women can do anything they put their minds to, and we deserve every right and every penny men receive. However, I’m not going around burning any bras or anything crazy like that. I’ve always been an independent woman, capable of doing whatever I want or need to do. And I’ve definitely never felt like I belonged to anyone.
So, when it came time to decide who would walk me down the aisle, I kinda balked at the idea of having my Dad give me away. Um, hello? I’m not a cow. There is no dowry exchanging hands. I am not becoming Mr. CC’s responsibility. Do I really want to uphold this tradition?
My parents split when I was 16. My dad left abruptly. I had a very “Leave it to Beaver” childhood before then. My mom stayed home and my dad worked. They never fought, at least not in front of us. So, my dad’s unprecedented departure from our home was a shock to everyone. It hit my mom the hardest.
She had spent 12 years as a stay-at-home mom. She packed our lunches every morning, was president of the PTA, the Popcorn Lady, the Penny Power Lady, the Snow Cone Lady, and she taught Sunday School at our Church for 10 years. We had a home cooked meal every single night. Our Halloween costumes were always homemade (I still cringe at the idea of store bought Halloween costumes). She went on our field trips with us. She chaperoned our dances. She was our Girl Scout troop leader. I won’t lie and say that we appreciated it then (in fact, sometimes we were downright embarrassed by her involvement in our activities), but as I look back on it now, I wish I had the time and money to do the same thing for my daughter.
When my dad left, my mom was lost. She was propelled into a workforce she was unfamiliar with, and had no marketable job skills, to boot. Her bachelor’s degree in microbiology was all but null and void.
Read more…
When Mr. D’orsay saw how stressed I was getting about wedding planning, he offered to help share the workload.
He asked what was stressing me out the most, and thus I gave him the task of finding a caterer. I often take for granted that I’ve had a bunch of event planning experience, and that for people who haven’t done it before, it can be more overwhelming than it seems. We had an awkward balance of me becoming a nag about catering and Mr. D’orsay trying to squeeze info emails and appointment set-ups in between a pretty hectic work schedule (further complicated by the US/UK time difference).
So, we learned an important lesson: If I wanted other people’s help I should have properly delegated the task. I had two choices: I could either adopt the mentality of, “it’s just easier if I do it myself,” or I could dig out my organizer manual and remember how to “set people up for success”. Because one of the guiding principles that I often followed in my old job was that if you can do it all yourself, you’re doing it wrong.
Our wedding really has become much more of a communal project.
Read more…
Source
Originally, I didn’t think I wanted to wear a veil. At one point, I was opting for a simple birdcage veil or a flower fascinator. But looking at some of the vintage photos and ideas from the swank and stylish modern vintage brides out there, I might be convinced otherwise.
{Source}
Life is starting to get back to normal at the Pinot Noir house. This weekend Mr. PN and I were out and about when we started reminiscing about our wedding planning. Throughout our engagement we both received quite a bit of unsolicited wedding and marriage advice. Some of it was good, some of it was funny, and some of it was simply inappropriate.
The week before the wedding I was shopping for a bottle of wine for a night in with SIL Pinot. I mentioned to the salesman that I was getting married in Napa the following weekend. His response was, “Congratulations. I’ve been married 9 years. The secret to a happy marriage is to treat him like your boyfriend, and he should treat you like his girlfriend. Go out to dinner and a movie. Watch porn together. You know, the stuff that you do when you are dating.”
Read more…
Save the dates, that is! I’m still not totally accustomed to this new use for the acronym STD. I think high school heath class has drilled the less-desirable version into our heads! But writing STD is so much easier than spelling out three whole words!
Anyway, about those STDs—I had always intended on being thrifty and making our own. I thought it would be a great way to save some money and do something creative at the same time. I scoured the internet for ideas, and these were my three favorite choices:
I love photo booths, so I had planned on using this photo strip design ever since we were first engaged (way back in 2006!). It’s cute and unexpected (or at least it was in 2006… everyone has probably seen one of these by now), and would be really easy to make!
Read more…
We’ve been working hard to push out avatars tonight, and they’re finally live on both the blog and the boards!
To upload your avatar:
Voila! Your avatar should appear! Please comment below or on this board thread to make sure your avatar is working!
With the passing of the holidays and the arrival of 2009, we’ve begun to focus our efforts on our wedding stationery (another one of my favorites). I first saw the boarding pass idea on Aylee designs and fell in love immediately. What a fun idea! After scouring the internet for design ideas, I came across the amazing work of East Six designs on Style Me Pretty. Each design in their portfolio truly has the ‘wow’ factor. The ones I particularly became fond of were the corner flourish/image combinations, which served as the inspiration for our Save the Dates.
Draft 1 deets:
Read more…
We’re super excited to announce our first batch of Hive Hostesses!
Hive Hostesses comment on board threads, give advice, and welcome new and existing members. We hope this will make the Weddingbee community an even friendlier place to hang out!
MrsLeopard is our new Community Coordinator, and she’s going to be helping our hostesses with anything they need. Be sure to check out her stunning wedding which was recently featured on Weddingbee PRO!
Our fabulous reader hostesses and the boards they’re hosting are:
Hostesses can easily be recognized by the beehive icon, and their “Hostess” title under it. The little question mark sends you to this page where you can apply to be a Hive Hostess!
Please help me in welcoming this fabulous group of ladies who have already given so much to the Weddingbee community! We’ll also be adding more hostesses in the coming weeks, and we’re still accepting applications if you’re interested in applying!
PS - We’re working hard to get avatars out asap!
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
