Weddingbee Blog

I like to multi-task. Even when it comes to centerpieces. Every table at the wedding will have three centerpieces; the outer two being purple vases filled with green and white hydrangea, and one centerpiece in the center (umm redundant much?) comprised of a green wine bottle with a single purple dahlia. So every table needs a green wine bottle. What else does every table need? A table number, of course. So rather than creating more work for myself, I decided to multi-task, and combine the two!

I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m rather thrifty (or “cheap” if you’d prefer) especially when it comes to things I’ll never use again. Centerpieces fall into that category. For the middle centerpiece we wanted a certain type of green wine bottle that has a unique shape… and also happens to house one of our favorite wines! So instead of buying a bunch of wine just to get the bottles (although that may have been more fun), we asked a local restaurant that sells this type of wine if they would keep the empty bottles! We’re picking up the final bottles this week. They’ve saved over 40 of them for us. And it cost us ZERO dollars. How’s that for thrifty?

Now that we have our wine bottle centerpieces, I’ve been working on how to make the bottles function as table numbers, as well. I looked to Miss Joey’s post for inspiration, and decided to use the same flourish pattern we’ve been using throughout the paper goods to liven them up a little. I put together a quick prototype to see what they would look like:
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I know you’re expecting them:

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Instead, I’ll give you a picture of me and Mr. Swan.
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I posted a little while back on our favor change from a candy/dessert buffet to making a donation to a local non-profit bakery and giving out samples of their tasty maple cashew granola to our guests.

To ensure we wouldn’t change our minds to something else, I quickly ordered 125 3″x5″ muslin bags from Etsy and we picked up a stamp from Jo-Ann Fabric that read “all you need is love”. I gave Mr. S the stamp and a green ink pad and he stamped away. Cute, right?

Using my handy dandy 2-inch scallop cutter (one of my favorite wedding/crafty purchases thus far!), I laid out a message to attach to the muslin favor bags.
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I have a confession to make. Our wedding was almost featured in Martha Stewart Weddings. When I say, “almost,” I actually have no clue how near or far we were from gracing their glossy pages. All I know is that I decided I didn’t want to move forward with the process. Let me explain.

First, yes, there is an application process for being featured as a Real Wedding in MSW. I wish I could tell you how to get the application, but I can’t. I simply don’t know. I happened to be connected to an editor there through work (publishing is a small world) and decided to email her after seeing one particular wedding featured in their magazine. It was Lily and John’s wedding in Santa Barbara, California—I’ve sprinkled pictures of it throughout the post so you can see what sparked my interest (as if wanting to be in MSW really requires explanation).

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When I saw their wedding, I craved the richness of the photography, the clean and thoughtful details, the gorgeous styling of everyone in the wedding, the bride’s designer gown, and the way the magazine’s pages framed it all so beautifully. Seeing it in print made me think the wedding was somehow more meaningful than a wedding without inked documentation. If mine couldn’t be styled by professionals with a name like Martha Stewart behind them, I’d never be able to have the wedding I dreamed of.
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Hi Hive! I’m Elana, a very lucky intern at Weddingbee! Last Wednesday, I was lucky enough to attend the fashion show for “Operation Dream Dress”, hosted by Brides Magazine . Out of hundreds of entries, just five budding designers were selected to have their dresses walked down a runway in front of a fantastic panel of judges with the hopes of having their dress selected for the front cover of Bride’s Magazine! The theme for the designs was “visionary romance”. The host was Millie Martini Bratten, the Editor in Chief of Brides Magazine. I tried to contain my excitement when the panel entered the room. The panel included:

• Dan Rentillo, the Fashion Director of David’s Bridal
• Austin Scarlett from Season 1 of Project Runway
• Supermodel Hilary Rhoda, also the face of Estée Lauder
• Rachel Leonard, Fashion Director of Brides Magazine
• Britt Aboutaleb, Associate Editor of Fashionista.com

Rachel Leonard, Dan Rentillo, Britt Aboutaleb, Millie Martini Bratten, Hilary Rhoda, and Austin Scarlett
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Mr. HC wasn’t the only one who walked off with a prize after the door games, I got a BRAND NEW CAR.

Okay, I didn’t. Actually I got a brand new groom, complete with the giant red bow. (What did you think this was, “My Super Sweet Sixteen”?!)
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Catering always eats up a huge portion of any wedding’s budget! See how the bees fed their guests within their budgets. Be sure to check out the rest of the posts in this Real Bee Budgets series!

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Mrs. Avocado’s Caterer

Caterer: Hotel 1000, Seattle WA, 2008
Cost: $86.70/person, 76 guests and 4 vendor meals, for a total of $6936 (including taxes and gratuities).

Included: Tray passed appetizers (average of $44.75/dozen), onion soup (a custom item made with my dad’s organic onions at no extra cost!), an absolutely amazing cucumber melon sorbet intermezzo, pasta/beef/halibut entrees (average of $39/plate), sparkling cider ($12/bottle), strawberry lemonade ($45/gallon), coffee and tea service at the end of the meal (no charge), and vendor meals ($27/average).

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Ever wonder how… to keep fully wrapped bouquet stems hydrated?

*Disclaimer: Sorry if this post seems a little risque! I’m trying to be technical. Thank you to my assistant Shana for sharing this amazing little trick with me!

I’m about to share with you all a little florist secret- shh! Don’t tell anyone I told you this!

Take for example this stunning bouquet by Karen Tran via Away Soiree:

Notice that the satin ribbon wrap fully covers the stems, even at the bottom of the bouquet, allowing for a luxe, tailored look.

Since the bridal bouquet is the star of all wedding flowers, it’s crucial that the flowers have a supply of water until the last possible second to keep blooms fresh. I usually don’t do full bouquet wraps for this reason. I feel more secure when I deliver the bouquets in a vase with water so I know the thirsty stems are drinking and are ready for a full day of wedding action. But there is a way to keep fully covered stems hydrated. Don’t giggle please. Condoms.

Here’s how:
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Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crap. I’ve given up originality, because somehow whenever I think I’m being original or different, suddenly everyone else is too. Back (back) in the day I used to be a girl wearing Dickies, ties, and had an awesome graduated bob in the front, sweeping back to spiky hairdo. I thought I was soooooo cool. Then Avril Lavigne came out and I had to seriously re-adjust my wardrobe.

This wedding is starting to feel that way. The bridesmaid dresses I coveted? So does everyone else. Palettes involving gray? Everyone is there too. Wedding suit over wedding tux? Well, that’s an older one. I jumped on someone else’s bandwagon for that one.

It’s frustrating in the sense that people say that your wedding day should be “a unique expression of your union”. Which I understand, I really do—no one wants a cookie cutter wedding. But with inspirations overlapping, it’s difficult not to flip a crazy switch and say, “OH MA GAH! This wedding across the country that no one I know went to is going to look so similar to ours. Crap!” Not that any of our guests are probably looking at nearly as many wedding blogs as I am. But you never know. What if they know my bridesmaids’ dresses have been featured in other people’s weddings on the internet!?!?

Like I said… crazy switch.
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I can not believe I am really sitting here writing my first blog for Weddingbee! When I got the email saying I was really selected to be a bee I screamed and my coworkers now think I am officially a crazy person. I have been dreaming about this since I stumbled on the hive shortly after Mr. Cloud and I got engaged (almost 17 months ago!) and I just can’t believe it’s really happening!

Okay, deep breaths. I should probably start by introducing myself. I’m Miss Cloud and I live in Virginia’s beautiful cap. city, Richmond, with Mr. Cloud and our fur baby Bella. I grew up in northern VA, but my family is from the Boston area, and my parents live there now as well. Mr. Cloud is also a Yankee from a tiny town in western New York, but we really love Richmond, we fell in love here, and we want to really showcase it for all of our friends and family coming in from out of town to see. So began our big fat Southern wedding of 200+ guests in a stunning cathedral and historic hotel.

So, why Miss Cloud? Well the decision wasn’t easy at all, but I think my thoughts were clouded (hardy har har) by all the cute icons. Growing up I had clouds painted on my bedroom walls courtesy of a talented cousin, and have loved them ever since. As I sit here and type I am also wearing my absolute favorite Nick and Nora PJ’s that I have owned (and worn through) three pairs of, and the print is their classic clouds! Being Miss Cloud seemed to be the perfect fit; if only I had time to sit outside and stare at the clouds these days!

I should also say that things have gotten a bit out of control.
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Yesterday afternoon, I finally got to attend my first bee meet up. I left Mr. Peep on the couch with the fan on (it was a record high of 100 degrees at our house yesterday!!), and made my way over to Triple Rock in Berkeley. After reading Weddingbee for over a year and writing for it since November, I couldn’t believe I was going to meet up with others who love Weddingbee just as much as I do.

We talked for over three hours non-stop, and I have to say, Bay Area bees are pretty fantastic. It was so fun meeting a bunch of super smart, fun ladies. Plus, there was pink beer to boot, check it out:

Pictured: msprettyinpink, Bean, Pengy, fizicsGirl, ktrain, and tea.

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I know I’ve posted about wedding jewelry options before, but they don’t seem… right. Although, I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking for, so maybe my search is just a lost cause. I’m also trying to find a piece of jewelry I can wear out after the wedding (I think it would be a sweet, sentimental reminder of our wedding day) and although this is practical, finding something that fits this criteria is proving to be difficult. I love the way these chunky necklaces look, but I’m not sure if they would be too much with my lacy dress.

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After seeing these pictures though, I expanded my search to include necklaces similar. The idea of wearing a colorful necklace also crossed my mind because it would have the same effect as my bouquet.
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We owe our music selections to our DJ pretty soon (like yesterday) and we cannot decide on a first dance song (Among other things )! I feel like there is SO much pressure for this song to be perfect.

Right now our front runner is ’You are the Best Thing’ by Ray LaMontagne.

We both like ’Into the Mystic’ by Van Morrison, but I’m concerned it’s overdone.

Also in the running:
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Reader ss09282008 is selling her Watters wedding gown.  This white silk shantung dress has a sweetheart neckline and lace applique, trumpet/mermaid shape, and sweep train. It was altered to include an elastic strap at the back under the bust to help the dress stay up, and a 3 point French bustle. The sale of the dress will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and all proceeds less cleaning and shipping will go towards fundraising for Team in Training. She is asking $850 or best offer.

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:
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Warning: The following post might cause serious cocktail cravings. Feel free to preempt this side effect by grabbing your favorite summer sipper—go ahead, I’ll wait right here!

::Humming to self patiently::

Are you back? Okay, so let’s talk about summer cocktails. When I was still a fairly newbee, I shared our plan to feature a Bruschetta favorite, Philly’s own Bluecoat, in signature gin and tonics. Soon, the mister and I had added mojitos to the list to keep the g & ts company. After some brainstorming, one more quintessential summer potable popped into my head—sangria!

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We agreed that glasses of the red stuff, while delicious, might be hazardous in close proximity to one notable white dress, and promptly set out to find a suitable white wine sangria recipe.
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