So to start off making these flower decorations you need to mix together 50% fondant and 50% gumpaste. The fondant helps with the smoothness and the gumpaste helps you to be able to roll out the dough very thin, and it also allows the dough to harden quicker.
Mrs. French Bulldog, Orange CountyAge and Occupation: 28, Administrative Assistant & Interior Design StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Purchasing AnalystEngagement Date: November 8, 2008Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: Bernardo WineryAbout Me: I've lived in Atlanta, Dallas and Laguna Niguel; although I've lived in Orange County, CA most my life, I'm a Southerner at heart. I work full time for a Commercial General Contractor (aka my father) and I go to school for Interior Design at night. I love modern design, music, wine, crafting, DMailing, my family, my Westies, and of course, Mr Frenchie! Mr Frenchie and I met 3 years ago on Match.com and have been best friends ever since. I love his "old soul" and how he laughs with his whole body, among many other things. We are planning our summer wedding at the winery near his hometown, just 45 minutes south of Orange County.
A week or so ago, Mr Frenchie, Mama Frenchie and I had our first appointment with our florist. I think I came over-prepared, but I had heard so many horror stories from my former bride friends. Everyone told me to be as specific as possible to avoid getting some thing we I didn’t like. Personally, I don’t like orchids, green flowers, and Easter lilies.
So I made sure there were no pictures of these flowers in the inspiration I brought with me. I’m hoping this helps me avoid seeing these flowers make their way into the arrangements. Instead, I brought with me pictures of bright, “fluffy” flowers and daisies. I knew not all of these would be available in August, but I wanted these pictures to convey the overall feel we were going for. 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.
Choosing the wedding day attire for my groom was the easiest and most painless decision made for our wedding to date. Since our wedding is pretty formal, he knew he wanted to wear a tux. Since there is only one tux shop in the city we’re getting married in, you can guess where we went!
We sat and chatted with the saleslady about the wedding details, and she plopped a large binder down that held all of his options. To ensure he got the style that he wanted, not the one I suggested, I looked over his shoulder as he went through the book and never said a word. Mr. M has pretty good taste, and actually probably owns more clothes than I do (we each have our own walk-in closets with way too many clothes) so I knew he’d pick a nice one. After looking at all of the different styles, there was a clear winner from my point of view, but I waited to see which style he liked best before I gave my opinion. I was happy (but not surprised) when he chose the very same style I was hoping he would as his favorite!
My groom will be waiting for me at the altar, looking dapper in his two button black and ivory pinstriped suit with a white shirt and an ivory vest and tie! He’ll be wearing exactly what the model is wearing in this photo, and I know he’s going to look gooooood.
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.
Mrs. Crab Cake, Columbus, GAAge and Occupation: 25, Registered NurseFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Director of Education and Living History for a museumEngagement Date: April 6, 2008Wedding Date: June, 2009Blogging Since: November 26, 2008Venue: Holy Family Catholic Church, reception: National Infantry MuseumAbout Me: I'm a perfectionist trying to balance two jobs, motherhood, my craft obsession, and wedding planning. I am obsessed with all things wedding, especially creative ideas for saving money and DIY projects. A Southern Belle at heart, I love anything southern, especially sweet tea, grits, afternoon thunder storms, crab cakes, and good old Southern hospitality. Mr. Crab Cake and I are planning a vintage inspired wedding with tons of Southern flare (can y'all say that with a thick Southern drawl?).
A few weeks ago, I trekked to New Orleans for a weekend with one of my bridesmaids. The weekend was supposed to be my bachelorette extravaganza, but no one came. We spent the weekend shopping and catching up. I also got to meet Miss Ballet Flat!
While we were there, I absolutely had to hit up my favorite store, Trashy Diva. Yes, they have a brick and mortar in the Quarter. I didn’t intend on spending any money there. I really just wanted to be able to say I’d visited the place! It was wonderful. Small, but fantastic. There were all the dresses I’ve been lusting after for more than a year. Even my friend was enamored with the place. It was really exciting just to be there and see what some of the dresses looked like in person.
In the back corner there was a sale rack. I love sale racks. And, lo and behold, there was ivory dress (a color which is severely lacking on the website) on that sale rack. I pawed through, in hopes of finding a dress my mom could wear to the wedding. There was one there, in the ’40s fashion, in my mom’s size. I decided to splurge and buy it for her, but not before I put it on to make sure it fit me if she didn’t like it. It really fit me quite well, so I knew we would have to do some altering for mom to be able to wear it. The original price on the dress is $248, which is far more than I would ever pay for a simple sheath dress (with no lining, at that). But it was marked down to $62! Sold!
I immediately called mom and told her I bought her a dress. She wasn’t quiet as excited as I was, which is par for the course, since I get overly-excited. But nevertheless, excited. I carried it home proudly and took it straight to Mom to try it on.
It really didn’t look very good on her. Read more…
Mrs. Latte, Boston/NYCAge and Occupation: 29, College Admissions CounselorFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Elementary School TeacherEngagement Date: August 23, 2008Wedding Date: July 2009Venue: Stage 6 at Steiner StudiosAbout Me: I am an East Coast girl marrying a West Coast boy. After 2 years of over 3,000 miles between us, Mr. Latte and I are looking forward to finally living in the same time zone/coast/city/home and living “normal couple” lives. I am a crafter at heart and enjoy dragging my friends into new craft projects. I love my Mac, baking cupcakes, wrapping presents, my BlackBerry, naps, good NY style pizza, Jack Bauer and of course, Mr. Latte. I love him a latte. :)
See this boring ol’ box? Looks pretty unassuming sitting there all alone, doesn’t it? The brownness of it is nondescript and the brown (tape) on brown (box) is pretty uninteresting.
One quick sniff and a hearty shake reveal nothing about its contents. It’s too big to be a shoebox, and too oddly shaped to be my beloved KitchenAid mixer. My birthday is months away. My veil is yet to ship…
Mrs. Yorkie, Miami Age and Occupation: 30, Graduate Admissions CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 41, Asst. Professor Engagement Date: July 3, 2008Wedding Date: June 2009Venue: Red Fish GrillAbout Me: I’m an East Coast girl with a crafty streak who loves traveling, photography and being outdoors (barefoot, if possible). When I do have to wear shoes, I prefer Mizunos, and have worn out a few pairs running marathons. I have a thing for chai, crossword puzzles, Apples to Apples, The Office and my real-life Yorkie, Bella. My West Coast transplant, Mr. Yorkie, roots for the Buckeyes, loves baseball, and climbs mountains for fun. We’re planning a fun little seaside wedding filled with handmade details and vintage charm. I can hardly wait!
Look at what I found on Style Me Pretty. Just when I thought that I was set with a cake design, K. Rose Cakes tempts me with this lovely creation! Ribbons and silhouettes? (I’m even loving the flower-shaped tier for the base. I’ve never liked the look of mixed tiers!) For an indecisive girl like me, this is bad… very bad. Ha! Good thing we haven’t settled on a baker yet!
Today’s photo of the day was uploaded by beesknees. She wanted her flower girl to have her own special flowers at the wedding, so they gave her a fun, whimsical floral wreath to wear!
Upload your wedding pictures to the Weddingbee gallery for your chance to win a DVD copy of Bride Wars! And don’t forget to upload and share your own pictures from your wedding as well. Remember, your images must be under 5MB in size, or they won’t load.
Mrs. Gloss, Boston/MaineAge and Occupation: 24, Designer/soon-to-be ArchitectFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Systems EngineerEngagement Date: May 23, 2008Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: SS Katahdin/Lakeside TentAbout Me: I don't like nickels or the skin that forms on pudding when it's in the fridge for too long. I couldn't live without Pantone markers, fountain soda (3/4 diet, ¼ regular Coke), run-on sentences, or ridiculously oversized sunglasses. I will try to DIY almost anything and am just OCD enough to make most of it work. I am truly excited about having all my family and friends together, becoming Mrs. Gloss, and having amazing photos to prove it!
What do you get when you combine a graphic design-loving bride with ultra luxurious Crane Letterpress paper, a bottle of yellow paint, and a Gocco?
If you were thinking, ‘Miss Gloss’ invitations,’ you are absolutely right!
If you were thinking, ‘a huge mess that took over multiple rooms, 2 rolls of paper towels, a ruined carpet and lots of stained clothing,’ you are also absolutely right!
But they are D O N E, and I love them. Loooove them.
And it seriously pained me to have to blur things! So sorry!!
Mrs. Swan, New York CityAge and Occupation: 31, Legislative RepresentativeFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Finance GuyEngagement Date: August 9, 2008Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: Battery GardensAbout Me: I am an un-crafty but resourceful, Caribbean-born but New York-raised woman who's been known to analyze "Dancing with the Stars" and “So You Think You Can Dance”, buy stinky cheese, and use way too many parentheses. I keep lists for fun, am constantly daydreaming of my next international travel adventure (four continents down, three to go), debating sports (let’s Got Mets/Giants!) and dancing around my apartment to stay sane. I am excited to share our wedding planning journey as I hope to plan a streamlined, personal, and fun wedding with the greatest life partner I could ever imagine, Mr. Swan.
One of the first major decisions we made that really changed the course of planning our wedding was our decision to have a daytime wedding. Back in the day, I guess it was pretty common to have a morning wedding and proceed to a simple lunch or other type of reception. Of course, everything about weddings seemed simpler then, didn’t they?
The daytime option became pretty clear after Mr. Swan and I ran some numbers on one of his very nifty spreadsheets. At the same time, I thought, ‘A DAYTIME WEDDING!’ It’s not the lovely (and common) Saturday night chic event that I originally envisioned. Yet it seemed to be a really economical way to keep our wedding reception costs in check. Mr. Swan and I made the decision, but I am still sweating it a bit.
My fears for having a daytime wedding were/are:
How the heck am I going to get ready in the morning, particularly when dealing with my hair? I am still working this one out in my head. At least with an evening wedding, you have the luxury of having a full day to lounge and leisurely get ready. I think I see a 5AM wake-up call in my future.
It will be boring. I know me and many of my friends will find a way to have fun on the dance floor, but I have to admit that apparently some people don’t like to dance when it’s light out. I’m just going to put this out of my mind and make sure that at least Mr. Swan and I have fun. I used to dance when I was younger, so even if it is just me on the dance floor, at least I’ll give everyone a good show. I’ve heard some people have daytime weddings simply to avoid dancing. I love dancing too much to do that.
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 wanted to register for months and months and months. I couldn’t wait to get that scanner in hand and just go crazy. Last year, Mr. S and I started making an Excel list of everything we wanted to register for, researching toaster ovens and Crock-Pots. And then… time just went by. We hadn’t really talked about registering, or when we were going to do it. Just some time when it was “nice out”. Finally, someone asked us where we were registered, and 2 days later, we were headed downtown to the Crate & Barrel on Michigan Avenue. It was time to get down to business.
We chose to register on such a whim that I felt wildly unprepared. I was a bit overwhelmed. Read more…
Mrs. Glitter, Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 27, Research Consultant/WriterFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, AccountingEngagement Date: May 6, 2007Wedding Date: June, 2009Venue: Millenium Biltmore HotelAbout Me: I was born and raised in West Los Angeles, California. I spent eight years in the Northeast working and completing my education. Having split time between two sides of the country has given me a true appreciation for both coasts. It has also provided an overabundance of cross country drives, flights and long distance relationship fun/misery! I love my family, my doggy Emma, fabulous wine, Anthropologie, politics, reading, being outdoors, exploring new cities, and good movies! My fiance and I are complete opposites, but somehow we have managed to fall completely and hopelessly in love.
A while back, I wrote a post about how Mr. G selected my little brothers to be his best men. I was, and still am so touched by their close relationship to each other. Mr. G really wanted to get them gifts of appreciation and love for taking part in our wedding, but he kept coming up short. Leave it up to my mom (of all people!) to come up with the perfect idea.
Mrs. French Bulldog, Orange CountyAge and Occupation: 28, Administrative Assistant & Interior Design StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Purchasing AnalystEngagement Date: November 8, 2008Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: Bernardo WineryAbout Me: I've lived in Atlanta, Dallas and Laguna Niguel; although I've lived in Orange County, CA most my life, I'm a Southerner at heart. I work full time for a Commercial General Contractor (aka my father) and I go to school for Interior Design at night. I love modern design, music, wine, crafting, DMailing, my family, my Westies, and of course, Mr Frenchie! Mr Frenchie and I met 3 years ago on Match.com and have been best friends ever since. I love his "old soul" and how he laughs with his whole body, among many other things. We are planning our summer wedding at the winery near his hometown, just 45 minutes south of Orange County.
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.
So after a wonderful reader educated me about the Amnesia rose, I emailed the name to my florist, who hadn’t a clue.
She spoke with her wholesaler who said they looked really awful, almost grayish purple in person. So I went back to searching, having armed myself with a few key terms like, “vintage rose” and “bicolor”. I sent her the names of three different varieties:
La Belle Bicolor Novelty Rose
Peppermint Bicolor Cream with Pink Rose
New Geraldine
She said they can source the La Belle. I think they’re a bit better since they’re more pink than purple (I don’t have anything purple in my color scheme–oy, color scheme?). Anyhoo, my fingers are crossed that they are not too pink or plain/uninteresting/ugly!!! At this point, I don’t really care…although I wonder if I should just go back to the calla lilies. No, Miss P. Shut down your browser and walk away. (I’m talking to myself–a bad sign.)
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
We chose to register on such a whim that I felt wildly unprepared. I was a bit overwhelmed.
