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!
Thinking back to just a couple of months ago, I really have to have called myself lazy. I ate fast food almost every day/night, never worked out, and just didn’t care about myself much in general. I can say during the holiday season, I was really hard on myself. I thought I was super ugly and could never see myself as a gorgeous bride.
I joined the YMCA a month ago, telling myself it was time to change. I had to change… I hated my looks, hated walking up and down the stairs feeling winded. This is all too familiar, wanting to change.
I told myself that I would change back in 7th grade when I was the fat girl on the cheerleading squad. I told myself that I that I wouldn’t be the fat girl at prom in my junior year. I told myself that I would change when I was in one of the largest band uniform sizes at LSU.
As I sat in on that new member meeting, where I was to schedule my first fitness assessment, I looked around and noticed I was the largest person in the room. Read more…
ContestsFeature Launched: Oct 5, 2006About: Weddingbee contests and giveaways.
Congratulations to the winners chaikac, cab07, mdc1284, Shannon, and Jenn!
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Today we’re giving away 5 copies of this great guidebook from Fodor’s! If you’re headed to Bermuda for your honeymoon, or just plain need a vacation, this guidebook contains everything you need to know about your Bermuda getaway!
Check out Fodor’s travel tips on Bermuda here, and enter this contest! To enter, please comment below by 9PM PST tonight. Good luck!
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’ve noticed a lot of talk about names on the boards, and rather than just comment, I thought it was about time I addressed the name issue in a post.
My last name is one of those super complicated Polish names. It’s long, hard to pronounce, even harder to spell, and begins with the letter W. It’s dreadful. I can honestly say that the only reason I ever thought I wanted to get married was to trade up and get a better last name. Women’s lib aside, I want a new last name.
I even have a favorite list:
3. Kennedy.
2. O’Neil, O’Patrick, well anything that starts with the letter O and then an apostrophe or anything Irish.
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.
Oh alright, so maybe ‘gone wild’ is a bit of an exaggeration. But it definitely wasn’t conventional. Once we girls were ready, we headed out with Photophil to the main lobby of the resort where the big reveal would take place and Mr Breezy and I would see each other for the first time in all our wedding finery. En route, however, we just had to make a couple pit stops to ruffle our plumage a bit and strut our… you know… stuff.
Hmmm… what’s this I see? That’s one big palm thing. Must. Get. Photo.
Reader kjmitch is selling her Amy Kuschel wedding gown. It is style “Lauryn” and a size 10. The gown features French Chantilly lace and a romantic scallop edging. A ribbon sash is included. She is asking for $1500 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. 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.
We went to Beijing for Thanksgiving for a few weeks. Why Beijing? Because we had a swank free place to stay with some expat friends, but primarily for the purpose of COLLECTING AIR MILES. Mr. P travels quite a bit for work, so he has tons. I have a United Mileage credit card, on which I try to put EVERYTHING. So… we’ve collected enough to go to Italy and back in FIRST CLASS, dahlings! Mr. P (surprised me and) booked the tix this morning! (He’s planning the honeymoon—doing his traditional duty, apparently.)
Alice White is a fun line of delicious and affordable wines (they’ve won many Best Value awards from top wine magazines), named after its founder — an intrepid adventurer founder who made her way through the Australian Outback. To celebrate life and love’s many colorful adventures, they’re giving away a 9 piece silicon cookware set and a $100 American Express gift card!
To enter for a chance to win this please comment below and tell us your favorite dating memory that added a splash of color to your life. You have until 9pm tonight to enter. Good luck!
PS - You can share that same memory on the Alice White website for a chance to win an all expenses paid Royal Caribbean cruise for two!
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…
While Champ was away at a Super Bowl party, I was doing our programs and… um… wearing my wedding ring.
Champ has been so serious about the wedding rings, he insisted that I not pick them up any sooner than they really needed to be, so they’ve been sitting at the jeweler for a few months. Well the time has come, and I picked them up just in time for a little trial run.
Mine is an eternity band with diamonds similar to the side stones on my engagement ring. His has a little bling too—it’s a platinum band with a “satin finish” (whatever that means) and princess cut diamonds. Champ says it makes him feel like a diva—he pranced around the house saying, “I’m Whitney Houston, bi@%ch.” He’d kill me if he knew I told you that—good thing he doesn’t read Weddingbee.
Mrs. Lollipop, PittsburghAge and Occupation: 26, Computational LinguistFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project ManagerEngagement Date: August 2, 2006Wedding Date: September 2, 2007Blogging Since: July 17, 2007Venue: The PPG Aquarium at the Pittsburgh ZooAbout Me: I'm a Pittsburgh transplant who grew up in the deep south. I have a weakness for exotic alphabets, DIY projects, mobster movies and international travel. My fiance and I are both non-native Japanese speakers and we have a bullfrog named Skinny.
There are all sorts of shopping experiences that are one of a kind in New York, especially for those who are always on the lookout for unique crafting items. One of my favorites is Metalliferous, a purveyor of all things that are both metal and crafty. It’s a favorite of jewelry makers.
The store is located on the second floor of a building just off Times Square. Inside is a wonderland of metal items, all arranged from floor to ceiling in plastic bins. There is a dizzying array of metal chains and cords, jump-rings and doodads. I’m mostly in it for the doo-dads. I grabbed a bunch of metal leaves and I’m kicking myself for not emptying out the whole section. I also renewed my supply of metal alligator barrettes. Read more…
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!
If I were to blog in perfect chronological order, this post would have gone first. That’s because we decided on our photographer before we made any other wedding related decisions. After the initial engagement excitement, I realized that from that point on we had about 3 months to plan a wedding from the United States, and that the rest of the planning would have to be done from England. I *may* have had a minor freak out. The kind in which I swore that we would plan the entire wedding before we left for England, and that I would have contracts for all our vendors and every single detail picked out.
As you’ve seen, that didn’t exactly happen. My first stop was the WPJA. I searched by state and paid close attention to the costs listed to see if we were in the same ballpark. Then I used my stalker skills and stalked several photogs’ websites and blogs.
I was going about my day, searching through blog after blog and flash-heavy sites crashing my browser, until I found it! Drool worthy, and in our budget aaaaagagagagah! A huge wave of bridal indecisiveness washed off my shoulders! I had figured out our first vendor, huzzah! Read more…
WikiFeature Launched: March 3, 2008About: A wedding wiki created and edited by the weddingbee community.
We’ve featured the reception music wiki before, but Melissa has worked hard to spiff up this popular wiki, so we’d love it if you could pitch in with your expertise on the subject, too! Music is crucial to your wedding day, and no doubt a part of the day that you’ll remember for years to come! Many key moments of your day require a song, from the processional, to the grand exit, and many moments in between!
What key moments require a song? Are there certain “go to” songs for these moments? If you have music tips and suggestions, share them with the hive! You can even suggest great external links for great playlists you’ve found out there on the web.
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!
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 the girls that will be in my wedding. They each fit a different role in my life, and to be cheesy, “complete me”.
I wanted to do something special for them. They all live in North Carolina and I am the far away bride in New York City. I wanted to ask them in a unique way.
I decided I would “propose to them”. I created a card (based on a design by Amy Smyth) - asking “will you be my bridesmaid?”. I used cards from Kate’s Paperie as the background, and printed the images on a regular printer.
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!
When we left off I was standing at the top of the stairs on the grounds of the Four Seasons in Austin, peering down at Mr. K.
The words “surprise”, “shock”, and “awe” come to mind when I reflect on my feelings at the time, yet none of them can adequately explain my mental state. Prior to being startled by Mr. K calling my name, I was already brimming with nervous energy due to the fact that I thought I was going to my first law firm recruiting event. So not only did Mr. K’s surprise TOTALLY blindside me, but it multiplied my nervousness by about a million!
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).
I love giving gifts that are uniquely personalized, but not outwardly so. Hints to a name in architecture, lovers initials “carved” into a tree… these have been my favorite gifts to give lately. They are perfect for a bridal shower or wedding gift.
As a lover of architecture, these photo wall art pieces make my heart go pitter-patter. I had all intentions of making one myself, camera slung around my neck… then decided to just leave it to the pros. Uncommon Goods has them in black & white or Pop Art-ish color. There are more sites yet that let you pick through their library of letters so that you get the perfect “K” for your friends.
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.
Well, hive, it’s happened. Last summer, Mr. Snaps and I decided to get married AND we decided I would wear a diamond engagement ring. We could purchase a ring; we could pay for a wedding. But… we’d have to do it all at the same time. We have been dating for over four years - we are both 30, and we just didn’t want to delay getting married by an additional year. We were ready to tie the knot, and we didn’t think material things like rings should delay our wedding. The timing was right to get hitched, SO we started planning a wedding before the proposal. Unconventional? Yes. Right for us? Definitely. I am a big fan of everyone doing what’s right for them, and only them.
Mr. Dragon picked up my engagement ring from a local jeweler WAY BACK IN DECEMBER. That’s right - that lil’ stinker made me wait for six weeks!
Totally worth the wait.
My friend Snappy-T and I have a standing appointment on Saturdays to run together. We are both training for the Shamrock Shuffle, an 8K here in Chicago, so it makes sense for us to do our longer runs together on the weekends. Anyhoo, this time, after our run, Snappy-T told me that we were going out to lunch, and that it was a “great day to wear a dress”. Snappy-T is not generally this bossy, and I suspected that Mr. Dragon had something to do with it, so I just smiled and nodded. Read more…
