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.
Within my rather “exciting” previous post, I promised you lovelies a look at the Snapdragon wedding invitations! Before we get to the paper porn, I want you to know that the support I have received from the Hive has been invaluable. I have never in my life felt so much love and support from every person in every single area of my life. Many, many thanks, and much love! I am doing just fine.
And now…. on to the invites! As I have said before, these invites were a labor of love, and somebody besides my garbage guy should appreciate them!!!
I refer to the Snapdragon invitations as Texture on Speed. Every piece in the suite is dimensional. I LOVE invitations that you can really FEEL - so that was in the background of my mind as the invitation design came to life. Every piece is DIY. The only way this invitation could have been more handcrafted would have been if I had milled the paper myself…. which would have been totally crazypants! Read more…
Mrs. Tiramisu, Annapolis, MD/MaineAge and Occupation: 26, HealthcareFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project Manager/Real Estate Management grad studentEngagement Date: May 15, 2007Wedding Date: July, 2008Blogging Since: March 4, 2008Venue: Oceanfront lawn and tentAbout Me: I was born and raised in Maine, now living in Annapolis, Maryland and planning a hometown wedding from afar. I’m nothing short of obsessed with wedding planning, and am loving the do-it-yourself madness that has now taken over my life! As for me, I’m a craft-loving, martini-drinking, girly-girl who loves traveling, photography, my schnauzer, and above all, spending time with Mr. Tiramisu.
Okay, okay, I know this might make me unpopular, but we did (and loved) both a garter toss and a bouquet toss. We’re among the first of our friends to get married, and have a ton of younger cousins, so we had plenty of willing participants. What can I say, we like tradition.
With all the craziness of the storm/power outage, our timeline had been thrown out the window and we almost forgot about the garter and bouquet tosses. Our band reminded us at the very end of the night, and so we just jumped up on stage and improvised.
Please excuse the disheveled bride and groom in these photos- we had been enjoying a packed dance floor for a solid two hours before these photos were taken! My updo was no match for humidity, rain, hail, and many dance floor twirls- and I was having so much fun that I couldn’t have cared less.
My wedding director keeps suggesting that I have favors at my wedding. Personally, I think they’re just kind of useless. Every wedding favor I’ve received basically ended up in a junk drawer or on the floor of my car until I just threw it away. I don’t mean this to sound ugly — but is it really a good idea to give people more useless stuff they don’t need? I think guests would much more appreciate the money being spent on upgraded seat cushions, higher quality liquor, higher quality food, or even something fun like a photo booth. Am I missing something when it comes to favors? I guess I just don’t get it.
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!
Mr. AC and I have been looking at pictures and decided to create a “groom style” inspiration board. We tried to incorporate some of the colors we are going for. Check it out below!
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 got up early, on a mission, to get to the post office to mail our invitation parcels. This required us to actually get in our car (which we rarely do) to drive out to suburban Virginia. We went to the main processing facility in Merrifield, where the service is always great and everyone is… well… merry!
Mrs. Bruschetta, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 25, Communication ProfessionalFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Physical Therapy Graduate StudentEngagement Date: November 30, 2007Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: St. Thomas of Villanova Church & the F.U.E.L. HouseAbout Me: I’m a self-proclaimed grammar geek who loves singing (like, really belting it) in the car. My mister and I are planning a vibrant summer soiree celebrating our passions – including food and Philly – and when we make it official, we’ll have been together for eight years! Being super competitive is in my nature, and talking excessively is in my genes. I’ve got a terrible sense of direction, but can always easily find my way into Mr. Bruschetta’s arms.
They come out at night to try on bridesmaid dresses when it’s 17 degrees out (but feels like 10).
They easily agree on the same Amsale bridesmaid dress, and with orders placed, we’re able to cross another item off the to-do list.
I think that deserves a little recognition, don’t you?
With an evening appointment at the salon, I knew we wouldn’t have time for dinner before or after. But, I wanted a way to show my gratitude to the girls, and give them a (hopefully!) fond memory of the evening — especially since it was the first time a few of them met!
Enter Crafty Miss Bruschetta. The resulting warm fuzzies came into being after many (many!) trips for supplies, and way too many needle pricks — because hey, I’m still new at this.
Continuing to hammer home the color theme, I made each girl a puffy heart (ornament? I guess that’s what I intended them to be). On each, I included a smaller heart of tulle; however, I made the size of tulle heart reflective of the time I’ve known each girl. Largest for Sister Bruschetta, and decreasing in size from there — but still very cute.
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!
I wanted a simple address label and decided to try to make our own silhouettes to use as motifs. Here’s how they turned out:
I am a photography & graphic arts dummy, and of course my cheap@$$ wanted to DIY this within my usual budget of zero dollars. The following are my ghetto instructions on creating the digi-silhouettes: Read more…
Mrs. Mascara, Chicago/Upper MichiganAge and Occupation: 25, Biomedical EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Process EngineerEngagement Date: July 27, 2008Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Catholic ceremony, reception at local armoryAbout Me: A lover of Mr. Mascara, crafting, baking, Gossip Girl, diet soda, and all things wedding. A Yooper girl somehow displaced in the Chicago suburbs, planning a wedding from a distance, and counting down the days until I marry my best friend.
There is a lot to learn about wedding bouquets. There are so many different types of flowers, it’s overwhelming! White bouquets are classic, but I find myself always drawn to the more colorful bouquets. I love the look of a bouquet that has varying types of flowers all in shades of the same color. For our wedding, I think I’d like to carry a purple bouquet. I think it will go nicely with my ivory dress. Although I am not a florist, I have looked at some options that I think I’d like to have in my bouquet. Of course I wouldn’t have to have all of them!
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.
While I might be slightly obsessed with the finding the perfect pair of peep toe shoes to wear for the wedding, Mr. Peep has known since day one what he wanted to wear: Chucks.
I don’t know if I was sold on him wearing Connies for the wedding, but as soon as I found out that he could design his own Connies, I knew he needed a pair.
So for Valentine’s Day, he spent about half an hour picking and choosing colors and stitching. The shoes came on Friday. He loves them, and I actually think they are pretty fantastic too!! In fact, he’s persuaded me to let him wear them for both the wedding and the reception.
He got to choose all the colors (of course he’s the best fiance- they match the wedding colors!).
Mrs. Joey, SeattleAge and Occupation: 28, Project Administrator for Public Health NGOFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, High School History TeacherEngagement Date: June 24, 2008Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: Eastside Catholic Chapel and Lake Union CafeAbout Me: I'm a Seattle girl through and through except for the fact that I don't drink coffee. I love my job most of the time because I get to travel and work with brilliant people who are trying to prevent Malaria. I love DIY projects of all sorts, cooking, and watching sports. I'd wear anything at Anthropologie and could spend all day on Etsy. I love to travel but shouldn't because I always get myself into unbelievable situations!
It all happened so fast. The proposal, that is. Mr. Joey and I had been dating for almost 4 years. It’s all a blur, but here’s what I remember.
I came home one day from work, June 24th to be exact, and noticed a bottle of bubbly on the kitchen counter. I didn’t really think anything of it, and after I put down my stuff and said hi to Mr. Joey, I went to work on dinner. Later, as we were finishing up our meal, Mr. Joey asked me if I’d like to open a birthday present early. Of course, I said yes. He brought out one of those cute gift boxes shaped like a Chinese takeout box. I thought I knew what it was, but of course I was wrong. A few months back, I was eyeing this cute top at J.Crew that I thought I saw him buy as I was headed towards the dressing room.
It wasn’t the top. I opened the gift box and all I saw was tissue paper. I pulled all of it out and at the bottom was a little square, just big enough to fit a small pair of hoop earrings or a ring. Of course, I thought I was getting earrings. Nope. I unwrapped the square and there in my little hand was this gorgeous vintage diamond ring. Read more…
Mrs. Pineapple, PittsburghAge and Occupation: 24, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Student Affairs AdministrationEngagement Date: August 4, 2007Wedding Date: October, 2008Blogging Since: April 14, 2008Venue: The Rivers ClubAbout Me: Being a transplant from sunny south Florida I am learning to live with all four seasons while playing with our cat collective, line dancing, and doing a ton of DIY projects for our wedding (seriously, like a thousand)!
Great news, hive! Last week Mr. Pineapple and I received the DVD containing our full resolution files from Mary Mervis. Mingwei Tay, the student and aspiring wedding photographer, provided us with our images months ago, but I wanted to share everything with you at once. So, it begins with getting ready.
Mr. P and I spent the night before our wedding in the Omni William Penn with some of our guests. Although it is traditional for the couple to spend the night apart, I knew sleeping was going to be a challenge for me, especially without Mr. P by my side. I woke up at about 4AM, and that was it; I was awake for the day. 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!
It’s finally time to show off our invitations! I was SO happy with the work Laura Hooper did for us on both our STDs and invitations! Here are a few shots of the final product! If you see any smudgy-looking spots it is due to my POOR photo editing skills (I took out some personal information). Read more…
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…
Hi Hive!! Oh how I’ve missed you! We’re back from Mexico and happily married! The adjustment from the snowy mountains of Colorado to the hot beaches in the Riviera Maya was intense, but we’re loving EVERY MINUTE of the married life. We actually decided early on that when we returned from our honeymoon we would take a few days off before going back to work, and I can’t tell you how special these days have been. There’s something about watching movies on the couch in your pajamas with your husband that’s so much better than watching them with your fiance!
Mrs. Tiramisu, Annapolis, MD/MaineAge and Occupation: 26, HealthcareFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project Manager/Real Estate Management grad studentEngagement Date: May 15, 2007Wedding Date: July, 2008Blogging Since: March 4, 2008Venue: Oceanfront lawn and tentAbout Me: I was born and raised in Maine, now living in Annapolis, Maryland and planning a hometown wedding from afar. I’m nothing short of obsessed with wedding planning, and am loving the do-it-yourself madness that has now taken over my life! As for me, I’m a craft-loving, martini-drinking, girly-girl who loves traveling, photography, my schnauzer, and above all, spending time with Mr. Tiramisu.
Hello hive! Anybody remember me!? I’ve been loving all of the recaps lately, and thinking it’s about time I finished mine!
We left off with the power back on, the band keeping the dance floor packed, and the sun setting on our wedding day. With the night quickly drawing to a close, there were a few things we had to take care of.
