Mrs. Peep Toe, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 29, Policy AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 36, Olive Oil Production ManagerEngagement Date: December 16, 2007Wedding Date: May, 2009Blogging Since: November 26, 2008Venue: Hotel VitaleAbout 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.
I am super excited for this post. First of all, this is only my second successful DIY project, and let me just say, I loved how it all turned out. Now that I have that out of my system, onwards to table numbering.
Specifically, I wanted to use our engagement pictures, so I went to Michaels and bought 8 of their cheapest frames (two of which are a different style, but I’m okay with that).
I was really looking for some large brown number stickers, but I couldn’t find any. So I did the next best thing—I bought the best number stickers I could find, a little bottle of brown paint, and a small paint brush: Read more…
Weddingbee PROFeature Launched: January 29, 2009About: A roundup of great Weddingbee PRO posts
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!
Please click on over to Weddingbee PRO and help us give a warm Bee welcome the latest pro to join the hive, NYC based makeup artist Laura Nadeau! Laura did Mrs. Firefly and Mrs. Daisy’s gorgeous wedding day makeup, so she’s always been very popular around the hive!
She’ll be sharing lots of her insider beauty secrets, so stay tuned!
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.
I was one of those brides who had the unfortunate experience of switching event coordinators at the venue. Donna did an incredible job and the transition was very smooth, except for the agreements previously made about what Hotel 1000 would allow our guests to throw at us at the end of the night. I was frustrated, to put it mildly, when I was told that all of the ecofetti I had invested in was no longer allowed. I forwarded them back the email from the previous coordinator, packed up the ecofetti, and decided that I would instruct the DOC to hand out the packets no matter what.
My rebellion against the system wasn’t even necessary because Donna ended up telling me just before dinner that we could go ahead and do the exit with the ecofetti. I don’t know that it will be so, but I hope that after seeing these photos, Hotel 1000 will allow brides to have this environmentally friendly option at their own weddings.
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…
Mrs. Stiletto, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 26, Non-Profit/FundraisingFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Engineer and PhotographerEngagement Date: March 2, 2008Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: The 19th Century ClubAbout Me: My fiance and I love living in the city of Chicago with our cats Basil and Linus, and vow to never move to the suburbs if we can possibly avoid it! We’ve poured ourselves into planning a wedding that reflects our personal style - modern and high contrast with a vintage twist. Blogging keeps me creative, baking keeps me happy, and grande nonfat no foam sugar free vanilla lattes keep me sane.
I started contacting Chicago-area bakeries for our wedding cake last September. A whole year ahead of our wedding. I know that this was definitely a faux pas, and that picking your cake need not happen earlier than 6 months before your wedding. But the anticipation of the array of cake flavors and frosting in front of me was too much for me to handle. I also like how on wedding shows, the bakers just sit and sketch the cake so easily, like creating the likeness of a bride’s dream cake was just another day at the office. What would they create for us?!
Beyond stuffing my face, there were other reasons I wanted to get in touch with these bakers.
Mrs. Cheese, KnoxvilleAge and Occupation: 29, Engineering ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, CAD DesignerEngagement Date: July 31, 2008Wedding Date: May, 2009Blogging Since: October 16, 2008Venue: Our home and the two acres it sits onAbout Me: I’m an emotional girl who loves sentimental things, parenthetical asides, and trying to do things herself. I can cook, sew, am a whiz at planning, terrible at delegating, and totally in love with my fiancé (who will be my second husband but first love of the rest of my life). For our home/ garden/ DIY wedding, we’ll be moonlighting as interior designers, home improvers, and gardeners with the help of our fabulous friends and neighbors. We can’t wait to be married, and are learning how fun getting married can be.
I promised to tell you more about the tent in the street, didn’t I? After the bridal fair, I finally got around to dealing with the “where shall we seat people” quandary. See, while we have almost two acres of land around and behind our house, much of it is wooded, and none of it is level. Okay, some of it is level, but it’s only 10 feet wide… and 60 feet long. No, thanks.
In a not-so-mature moment, I lost my sh*t and cried all over my loving fiance, who flexed his problem-solving muscles (you know, the ones that get bigger when girls cry) and suggested that we put a tent in the street. Um, what? Hey, that just might work! Because of the odd configuration of our street, the fact that we live just at the apex of the hilly street, and the fabulousness of our neighbors, it actually seemed like a viable option.
After a quick call to the city’s Special Events Department — a quick laugh at our plan and some delighted voices made me feel better about it — we were just about set.
The fabulous Jeff at All Occasions Party Rentals was kind enough to come out to our house to take a look, and after gamely holding back his shock at our plan, helped me figure out how to put an 80 ft by 20 ft tent in the street.
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.
This is the true story of six bridesmaids picked to ride in a limo, watch Beyoncé shake her booty, and have their lives photographed. To find out what happens when bridesmaids stop being polite, and start getting sassy, click the “read more” link! Read more…
Mrs. Apple Cider, New York/CharlotteAge and Occupation: 27, Corporate Communications ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Grad Student – Clinical Mental Health Engagement Date: September 13, 2008Wedding Date: October 2009Venue: Banner Elk Winery & Blueberry VillaAbout Me: I am a North Carolina girl with a New York City spirit. I love crafting, blogging, laughing and dreaming. I know every word to the Anne of Green Gables and Little Women movies. I own every single Martha Stewart Wedding Magazine and have been dreaming of weddings since I was little. I believe life is about doing what makes you happy. If you aren't happy re-evaluate what you are doing. You should never look back on your life and not be proud of what you are doing. If you want to travel - travel. If you want to sing - sing. If you want to start a company - start a company. If you want to blog – blog!
I love love love the idea of a wedding photobooth, but not necessarily the traditional type of booth. I have seen some great photos from my favorite photogs of the bride and groom and their guests in front of a gorgeous sheet.
Capturing your guests in a unique way is a must for our wedding. While I know I will love looking back at all of the pictures of Mr. AC and me, I also know seeing our guests having fun will be a real treasure.
Mrs. Duckling, San DiegoAge and Occupation: 23, Psychology Grad Student, Youth Diversion Specialist/Marriage and Family Therapy Trainee and an Executive AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Marketing and PR CoordinatorEngagement Date: May 17, 2008Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Rancho Bernardo InnAbout Me: I'm currently living in Orange County, but planning our wedding in my hometown of San Diego. We are a DIY wedding "2fer", as I'm the crafty one and Mr. Ducky is in charge of all of our graphic design and technical aspects. When not wedding planning or reading wedding blogs, I'm attending grad school and rotating between two different jobs to keep things exciting. My favorite things include shoes, Post-Its, Labrador Retrievers, traveling, psychology, delicious food, photography, reading, craft gadgets/supplies, and of course, my wonderful Mr. Ducky!
Lately I have been seeing the sweetest wedding pictures and details using a bike. The effect is so whimsical, romantic and fun. The couple always looks like they are having so much fun and it brings you back to your childhood days. Don’t you just wish you could be carefree and ride your bike around for the day, stopping wherever you please?
Mrs. Penguin here again! Today’s wiki is all about bustles. There are so many interesting ways to bustle your dress… more than I ever possibly imagined! Bustles were intimidating to me. You spend hours and hours looking for that perfect dress with the perfect train, and right after you find it, a seamstress goes and scrunches it all up in the back! If you don’t have an idea of what you’d like your bustle to look like before you go in for your alterations, you might be sorely disappointed at the results, so it’s best to have a bustle game plan, or at least pictures of what your ideal bustle looks like to show to your seamstress.
Do you have any tips for bustles? What type of bustle did you have? Are any of you out there DIY bustle brides willing to share your tips and tricks with the hive? What are some good ways to ensure that your bustle will stay functional throughout the night? Share your bustly ideas, along with great external links if you have ’em, in the bustle wiki:
If you’re unsure how you can contribute to the wiki, take a peek at this wiki article on how to edit a wiki. Check it out and share your expertise! Or, if you’re shy, just leave your tips in the comments, and we can add them to the wiki for you!
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!
September 6th, in the remote, Northwest reaches of Montana, our wedding was about to start.
While I waited in the wings for the ceremony to begin, dramatic clouds boiled and broke overhead, throwing the mountains into sun and shadows, sprinkling us with the lightest of showers…
Our guests arrived, finding among friends and family a few long-lost connections or rarely seen relatives, talking and laughing on the lawn: Read more…
Mrs. Peep Toe, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 29, Policy AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 36, Olive Oil Production ManagerEngagement Date: December 16, 2007Wedding Date: May, 2009Blogging Since: November 26, 2008Venue: Hotel VitaleAbout 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.
Remember when I posted about having to take my ring to the jeweler’s to get one of the prongs fixed?
Well, our initial plan was to get our wedding rings at the same place that he got my engagement ring in LA, mainly so we could use the friends and family discount. We even tried on rings about a year ago, and I just figured we’d be back to LA before the wedding. But, we have no plans to go down there between now and the wedding.
So, since we were in a jewelry store and we needed jewelry, I took it as an opportunity to coerce Mr. Peep to check out rings.
Now I don’t know about your mister, but Mr. PT has never worn jewelry, so watching him try to pick out his very first piece of jewelry was very amusing. He kept trying to yank the rings off his finger and claimed they were stuck. I kept having to tell him to calm down and to slowly wiggle the rings off. Once he calmed down, the process was much smoother. After trying on six or so rings, he picked out a perfectly modern ring in white gold. Of course, it was the heaviest ring EVER. Even the jeweler commented that he couldn’t have picked out a heavier ring.
When looking for my ring, I knew I wanted something that matched the pave setting on the sides of my ring. The problem was that the pave diamonds only go to about 3/4 of the way around the band. Fortunately, the jeweler suggested a custom ring with pave diamonds that would line up with my engagement ring perfectly. Since they had to keep my ring to fix it, it felt like the custom ring was meant to be.
While we loved the rings, we spent a few days thinking about it. Read more…
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!
As you can probably tell by my lack of DIY posts, I’m starting to feel a little lax in my planning lately. I remember starting my binder with all of these great DIY ideas last March. I was looking forward to my plethora of craft projects, strategically spread out throughout the upcoming 14 months of planning.
Well, I’ve kind of turned to my procrastinating side, and now to my second guessing side. Do we really need these pretty embossed envelopes, only for guests to rip them open? Do we really need to offer to make more invitations for the rehearsal dinner? Hmm…well, my cutting corners side emerged thanks to Gartner Studios.
I originally was going to buy these clear favor boxes with personalized labels and put homemade favors inside. Then I thought, how many people will look at my homemade treats and truly appreciate them? I remember attending a wedding last year, and noticing all the neglected favors. I appreciated how cute they were, and yep, I took 3 home! However, there were whole bunches leftover as we left. I felt bad for the bride and groom. I know they spent a good bit of time making them perfect for their big day.
So, here emerges my second guessing side. Read more…
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!
I was having a conversation with my brother the other day about weddings, and he commented on how expensive it is to get married. I completely agreed - and also noticed that although it seemed as though everything else has been affected by the economy these days, the wedding industry seems barely affected, if at all.
My brother then joked, “Well, it’s because of brides that allow the wedding industry to remain untouchable! You are making it untouchable!”
I thought about that for a second, and realized it was probably true. Yes, we’ve cut down on as much as we could, but we’ve (okay fine - I’ve) also tried to justify a lot of our spending because it was “wedding spending”. Would I ever spend a few hundred dollars on a cake? Never! Would I spend a few hundred dollars on specially made groom’s cake because it’s for the wedding and I will never ever again have the chance to have a cake like that for this occasion in my life? After just 15 minutes of mental struggle, I forked up my checkbook.
Wedding spending is a pretty big topic of conversation between Mr. Martini and I. Both of our jobs are largely based on commissions and bonuses, so I would be lying if I said it hasn’t been tough. Read more…
Source: theknot.com
