Weddingbee Blog

Hey hey hive! We’ve gotten a number of requests to streamline author archives, so that it’s easier to find posts.

Well, here it is… come and get it!  We just created this streamlined archive page, that shows the title and tags of each post - along with a 60 or so word excerpt. And because pictures are such a big part of our posts, we threw in a thumbnail to help give a sense for each post:

Pengy face! Now in 190 px wide!

As an added benefit, the archive page should load much faster now!  We have an increasing amount of traffic coming from iPhones, Blackberries, and other smartphones - so the smaller page sizes (2/3 smaller!) should make browsing much faster for mobile users, as well!
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Hi, I’m Mrs. Bunny, formerly Miss Bunny. Remember me?

Thanks for all the well-wishes, positive thoughts and prayers you sent our way for our wedding and honeymoon.

Not everything went according to plan, but everything was absolutely perfect. I mean that with all my heart. It was everything I hoped it would be, and more. (That’s not to say that there aren’t some things I would do differently if I had it to do over again, but that’s another post!)

Instead of starting right in on my recaps, I’d like to take you back in time with me. As much as I’d love to show you the gorgeous photos from our wedding (and yes, I do have them already! Our photographer works at light speed!), there are still so many plans and back stories to share in order for you to understand what kind of miracle took place in order for our wedding to go as smoothly as it did. Please be patient! I promise we’ll get there!

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with one – just one – teaser photo from our wedding.

Photo by Julian Allen

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Actually, despite the implications, this is a relatively tame post. This is a sweet and innocent Powder Puff! No shenanigans for me!

On the Thursday before the wedding, my bridesmaids and some friends met up to eat some nummy tapas and dance the night away in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Me and bridesmaid Kristyn.

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This past weekend was another hot one here in Southern California. The weather had been lovely all week. On my birthday, it was perfect - sunny with a nice breeze. Mama Frenchie bought me a coral 3/4 sweater to wear with my white skirt for my second shower on Saturday, and it seemed like the perfect outfit. That was until I woke-up and Saturday morning and it. was. summer. I don’t know why the heat surprises me every year, but it kinda sneaks up on me. Surprise! It’s summer! And it is HOT!

There was no way I could go all afternoon in a sweater, no matter how pretty. I was already sweating in the shorts and t-shirt I had slept in. I went through my closet, but nothing felt appropriate for a bride to wear to her shower. Most things looked like something I would wear as a guest, but not the guest of honor.

Sister Frenchie told me that White House/Black Market was having a big sale. Um, hello - I love White House/Black Market! And, who doesn’t love a sale? I figured I would drive over and try on every white dress in the store, if something didn’t work I would wear a skirt/shirt combo I had managed to pull together.

White House/Black Market only had 2 white dresses in my size. TWO. Those are not good odds! The first dress I tried on would have been great if I didn’t have a short torso, or I had the time to have the shoulders taken in about an inch.

Source

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About a month before the wedding, I began a mad search for the perfect hair flower to wear at the reception. I am not sure why I waited so long. Oh yeah, I procrastinated. Anyway, my wedding hairstylist had previously warned me that fresh flowers might wilt. So, I jumped on good ol’ Etsy.com and tried my hand at finding a flower hair fascinator.

I knew exactly what I was looking for: something romantic, beautiful, whimsy, and (yes) affordable. My goal was to find something under $40. I got lucky and stumbled across the gorgeous creations of Aundrea and Erin. I was instantly sold!

Aundrea and Erin are beautiful and super sweet twin sisters from Kansas City, whose Etsy shop, MeadowBelleMarket, showcases their talents in creating jewelry, flowers, and accessories.

Here is just some of their floral goodness:

Buttercream Peony

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After deciding on the content and inside design of our programs, we decided the best style for the program was something similar to the Cupcakes’ accordion fold pocket programs.

Since we only had 4 pages of content, we went with legal size paper and printed 2 programs on each sheet.

Step 1

I folded the sheet of paper in half lengthwise. It makes it easier to cut.
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So after jumping around the apartment all morning, I finally got the time to sit calmly and say “HOLA” to the hive! I still can’t believe it! I’m a BEE! Woo hoo!

So, why Miss Poodle? Well I have a son; he’s 11 years old and extremely hairy; he loves to eat oranges and apples (he can smell them when you eat them and won’t stop crying until you give him a little piece). So he’s the reason why I wanted to be Miss Poodle. And, my cute little icon has purple bows!

{ Miss Poodle and Curly, our baby poodle - Okay, he’s not such a baby }

I thought I should start with a little introduction. I’m a Chilean Industrial and web designer, and I graduated from the Universidad de Chile last year.
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Yes, the main decor element on the head table at our wedding will be a combination of cheap IKEA vases and tape… and yes, I’m quite proud of this!

My plan has always been to have the bouquets pull double duty and enhance the head table, but I didn’t want to just put them in boring, clear vases and call it a day. I thought about silver julep cups—Save On Crafts has quite the selection—but it was more of a financial investment than I wanted to make. Plus, they don’t really go with anything else we’re doing. They’re very elegant, and for any other affair I’d be head over heels for them. But there isn’t an ounce of silver anything at the wedding… excluding eating utensils, of course.

On a recent trip to IKEA, I purchased a 9-inch tall square vase for my bouquet…

Source: IKEA

and five 6-inch tall square vases for the bridesmaids’ bouquets…

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I love making lists. I make lists of lists.

I am also, unfortunately, very likely to lose said lists.

With the wedding only one month away (eep!) these lists are becoming more and more precious. Lists of things left to do, things to remember to bring, people I need to call, etc.

So, I’ve made my lists digital:

Enter the brilliance of Google.
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With what felt like a hundred dresses behind me, I found “The One”! It was a normal day. I was busy checking every wedding blog under the sun, tee hee, and I came across an absolutely adorable wedding on Style Me Pretty. What really struck me was the bride’s dress! Like a good stalker, err, detective, I found a link to the bride’s profile through the comments section. I was able to get an email and crossed my fingers for a response. Sadly she said she didn’t know the make of the dress! I thought she was blowing me off, and I was really bummed.

Then, a second email arrived! She had scoured the internet trying to find dresses like hers to help me out! How sweet is that? Here is what we found, and what I will be donning the day of our wedding:

Mr. Sunbeam, don’t you dare go any further!! Not even a peek, mister!!!

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Thanks to everyone who has uploaded pictures into our Gallery!  We’d love to keep the momentum going, so over the next two weeks we’ll be hosting a Gallery contest and giving away 10, $40 coupon codes towards a My Publisher PhotoBook!

My Publisher recently launched some upgrades to their service including a comprehensive error check to protect you from making inadvertent mistakes, a new streamlined interface, and the option to personalize default settings, making the design process easier than ever.

To enter the contest, simply upload a picture to the gallery.  If we feature it on the blog sometime over the next two weeks, you’ll win one of the 10 coupon codes!  If you don’t have wedding pictures yet, upload e-pics, ring shots, or inspiration boards!

The contest ends Tuesday, July 28th at midnight PST. Good luck!

One of our readers recently asked us to do an interview with the artist behind all the wonderful illustrations on Weddingbee and we aim to please, so here is the story behind our enigmatic illustrator!

I was perusing wedding related illustrations on istockphoto several years ago when I stumbled across Irene’s portfolio. I thought she would be a great fit with the Weddingbee style, so I reached out to her and commissioned the Mrs. Bee character I continue to use today. Irene has been working with us creating new bee generations and feature icons ever since. Other than her istock illustrations and the work she does for Weddingbee, Irene is mainly a motion graphic designer who designs and animates TV show packaging and promotions for network identities and more. Sounds pretty cool huh?

Without further ado, here is more from the gal of the hour!

How did you get started as an illustrator?

I usually draw for my design projects when there is a need for it. The turning point was when I drew icons for the various Disney consumer electronics products — that’s when I gained more confidence as an illustrator, and realized being an illustrator is a lot of fun on its own. I started to draw a lot more when I became a contributor to istockphoto.com, and that’s when Bee found me.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Everywhere - from traveling, books, movies, art, illustrations, photography, to the kwanzan flowering cherry tree in my backyard. Life is so beautiful, and it is a wonderful feeling when you can interpret and recreate it on paper with a twist from yourself.

What is your design process — do you sketch digitally, or on paper first? How long does it take to complete a generation of illustrations?

I first find as many visual and color references as I can on the internet, and place the images together in Photoshop as a mood board so I can see them all at once. I then analyze the characteristics that I like, and start sketching on paper. Then I scan, trace and refine everything in Adobe Illustrator. The initial illustrations for a generation of characters can usually be done in one day, then Bee and I work together to see how we can improve them if there’s a need for it. So I would say 1-2 days to complete a generation of illustrations.

People have asked me how I draw with a mouse - I don’t know but I just do. I cannot use a Wacom tablet for some reason.
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As I sit here writing to avoid the thing I actually should be doing (packing for my next work trip), I find myself questioning how to balance the two. Work has been a little stressful lately, as we have a very very very important deadline coming up. Wedding planning has been no less stressful, as we are now under the 2 month mark with no shortage of tasks left to complete.

I find myself a little torn between the two at the moment. On one hand, I usually enjoy traveling for work because it means we are out visiting customers; one of the parts of my job that I enjoy most. But it means sitting in an airport and working long hours and being away from my sewing machine. Have I mentioned I haven’t finished the table runners yet? I can’t help but wish that I didn’t have to go, but then I’d be coming home after a boring day of work in the office, and sitting down with my Kenmore and knocking out a runner or two. I’d feel much more accomplished on the wedding front, but not so satisfied with my other job… you know, the one I actually get paid for.

I feel like I’ve been working two full time jobs for the past eleven months.
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We have a thing for turtles.

It all started when I was 10, and our summer vacation — to the coastal New Jersey town of Sea Isle City — coincided with the Diamondback terrapin nesting season. Daddy Bruschetta and I first encountered a turtle wandering through our yard, and after shuttling her to a more private location to lay her eggs, we were hooked. For the remainder of our vacation — and during our subsequent summers in Sea Isle City — Daddy Bruschetta’s euphoria grew exponentially with each turtle we transported to safety (often stopping cars from crushing the poor things in the middle of the town’s busy streets), and he made sure I stayed involved in these endeavors.

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The task at hand was “turtle hunting”, a misnomer we coined for our pastime — seeking out and assisting turtles in distress. After studying their nesting patterns, Daddy Bruschetta and I began an annual grassroots rescue effort.

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Our RSVP deadline has come and gone. We are still waiting for people to get back to us about whether or not they’re coming to the wedding to the point where I have dubbed the past few days “Project RSVP”.

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No paper RSVPs for us, but you get the point.

I’ve tried Facebook, Gmail, Yahoo, and even sicced Mommy Swan on a few in an effort to a get straight answer. Some people have been apologetic and disappointed (at least their e-mails conveyed that). Others, not so much. Hmm….

It’s been interesting to see who RSVPs, who doesn’t, when and how. Most of the late RSVPs have come in the following categories. Some of which are surprising:
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