Weddingbee Blog

I’m so glad that Weddingbee decided to do a series about what it takes to be a bee, because lately, I have definitely been feelin’ it.

But let’s not talk about that quite yet.

First, Let Me Tell You How I Found Weddingbee.
I went to college at the University of Oregon and graduated in 2005. While there, I met a fabulous group of friends. One of them was the couple you know as Mr. & Mrs. Cherry Pie. I don’t live on the West Coast any more but thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I’ve managed to stay in touch with my friends. And in 2008, when Cherry Pie announced that she’d joined the ranks at Weddingbee, I found the site. And became addicted. And decided that when I became a bride-to-be, I was going to blog there too.

In the meantime though, I was absorbing everything the site had to offer. I loved reading posts from Mrs. Lovebug, Mrs. Onion, Mrs. Candy Corn, Mrs. Penguin, and all of the other then-current bees. I went there every day, and read every post. And I wasn’t even engaged!

Why Would Weddingbee Want Me?

Finally, I had a ring on my finger and it was time to start planning. I joined the hive and started contributing to the boards, still reading every word that was published on the blog. Is it bad that one of the many reasons I was considering having a big wedding (to be held in 2010) was so that I’d be able to blog for Weddingbee? Is that a valid reason to make such an important choice? Maybe not. But it was on my mind. But instead, Mr. Mary Jane and I came to the decision that the courthouse was right for us. And I was thrilled about that, but also sad that my wedding was in no way going to be Weddingbee-league-awesomeness. Oh well. Weddingbee wouldn’t want me anyway. I’m from North Dakota, after all. Weddingbee bloggers are from glamorous places like Illinois and Florida and Colorado. Those amazing Weddingbee girls would probably receive my application and laugh at me. I never was one of the cool kids, anyway.

But then I started thinking. Weddingbee would be a pretty boring site if all of the bloggers were planning the same exact kind of wedding. Instead, the Bees may be having huge weddings, smaller weddings, big city weddings, destination weddings, Indian weddings, Jewish weddings, vintage weddings, Asian weddings, vegan weddings, same-sex weddings… is there a reason they wouldn’t want a courthouse wedding?

And I bet — no, I know — they’ve never had a blogger from North Dakota before. They want diversity? I could give them diversity.

What Would It Take To Make Me A Bee?
I’ve been blogging on and off since 2002. I love blogging: it lets me release my thoughts and helps me refine my writing skills. I definitely would have been blogging about various aspects of wedding planning anyway. Once I decided to try my luck at Bee-dom, however, I very deliberately started writing a pile of wedding-related posts. I started with the obvious beginning: the engagement. I then moved on to rings and dresses. I write educational materials as part of my job, so I have a pretty good idea of how to write clearly for an audience. I must have cranked out 10 or 12 wedding-related posts in about a week’s time. I also asked for Mr. Mary Jane’s approval (since it’d be both of our lives being showcased online). He was more than encouraging, so I applied and a week or two later, I was accepted. Woohoo!

It was April and my wedding was in September. That was five months to blog about a trip to the justice of the peace. Yikes. I was terrified of how I’d fill that time. Lucky for me, I’m a rambler and I can talk forever about nothing.

My Life As a Bee
So yes, I’ve been a bee since April! I’m also a full time Ph.D. student. And I work a full-time, 8-5 job. And I bought a house back in May (which always needs work or cleaning or something). Oh yeah, and I’m planning a wedding. My point is: I’m a busy woman. We bees are all volunteers, sharing our weddings with all of you because we want to; we’re not paid to do it. To keep the site interesting, however, Mrs. Bee and Mrs. Penguin do like to see us publish 3-4 posts a week. Some of my posts take just a few minutes to write, but most take at least two hours. I rarely ever just sit down and write a post in one sitting, either. I don’t have time! So how do I do it? Well, I try to keep at least two drafts in my queue. Sometimes they’re just a rough outline or topic, other times they’re a half-written post (or simply one I haven’t edited). When I think of an idea for a post, I log in to my blog and type a few words in to a new draft. Then when I get some time, I elaborate. (Right now, for example, I have a post about Mr. MJ’s ring, one about rural wedding planning, and one about my budget in my queue. They’re not by any means ready for the ’bee; they’re works in progress!) After I write them, Mr. Mary Jane reads them. He checks for typos and suggests changes, and then I publish away!

Sharing my progress through photos and words is really important to me. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be doing some of the many things on my massive to-do list instead. I procrastinate on doing actual projects so that I can blog about them here. I put off mowing the lawn, and my garden is a mess of weeds and mud. I stay up late catching up on homework. I skip trips to the movies, and forget to do the laundry. I don’t watch TV and I haven’t been to the gym since May. All so I can push out a new post for Weddingbee in a timely fashion. (In my 130 days as a Bee, I’ve churned out 103 posts. That’s pretty intense!) But when I get just one comment from a reader, and she tells me I’ve touched her life, given her inspiration, or helped her make a decision? The sacrifices and time-crunches are 100% worth it.

If it wasn’t for your great attitudes and support, I wouldn’t feel so comfortable posting here. Thanks, everyone, for making this such a wonderful, positive, constructive, non-judgy community. Y’all rock!