Mrs. Labrador Retriever, Athens/SavannahAge and Occupation: 24, Student/Sports ReporterFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Physical Therapy Assistant Student/Future Dr. of PT
Engagement Date: December 31, 2008Wedding Date: November 2009Venue: Whitfield Square/Savannah StationAbout Me: I'm working on my second degree from UGA (Go Dawgs!). I'm a self-proclaimed attention-w****. If it involves a camera, I'm in front of it! You'll never meet a girlier tomboy than me. I can go toe to toe with any guy on the subject of college football, and lift more than any girl in my gym, all without chipping a nail. I hope to someday be the only person you want delivering your sports news. My FI and I are the loving parents of three Labrador Retrievers (one of each color) and are planning a "Southern Romantic Charm" wedding in the beautiful, historic city of Savannah. I'm not extreme in anything except moderation... and wedding planning.
One of Mr. Lab’s most endearing qualities is the way he expresses how he feels about any given topic. I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of his more “darndest” quotes about wedding planning. They’re like a grown-up version of Kids Say the Darndest Things!
On noticing Mr. Lab is reading Weddingbee more and more as the big day draws nearer:
Me: “Why have you been so interested in reading Weddingbee lately?”
Mr. Lab: “Well, I heard I was involved in this wedding somehow.”
Mrs. Poodle, Santiago, Chile/San Bernardino, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Industrial & Web DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Firefighter & Mountain PatrolEngagement Date: February 25, 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Mr. P's Grandparents’ RanchAbout Me: I’m a Chilean girl who's crazy about nature and swimming. I enjoy carving, drawing, reading and sewing; I drool over computers, fabric, pretty paper, purple and patterns. To me, chocolate should be one of the seven wonders, right next to lemon pie. I never thought an exchange work experience program was going to change my life forever, but while working in California, I met Mr. Poodle, and ever since my days are better and brighter. We are two goofy souls that, after finding each other, couldn’t help but want to be together forever. It has being a long and sometimes hard road, since we have to deal with such a long distance between us, but we are now facing the last stage of our Fiancé Visa, and soon we will be together. You know the best part? We will be married! So I’ll be blogging from Chile until just a few months before our “green and purple” wedding.
Back in February, after Mr. Poodle and I started our visa petition, we couldn’t wait to share the news of our engagement with everyone!
Because not all of my girls here in Chile can buy a ticket to go to our wedding in California, I decided that my side of the wedding party would consist of my little sister and best friend from Chile, along with my other 2 ‘maids from California. I wrote everyone an email and asked them to be my ‘maids, but just like Miss Bear Cub, I did that months ago—but I needed to let them know in a more “official” way that I REALLY wanted them there with me .
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.
Before I dive into the rehearsal, I have one suggestion for you up-and-coming brides: The day before the wedding, do at least one selfish thing! Get a mani/pedi, a massage, go work out, eat french fries, etc. Just do one thing just for yourself. Or maybe follow in my footsteps and do the whole list. Put yourself first—for at least 20 minutes. Personally, it’s what got me through the weekend.
Okay, now that that is out of the way, back to the rehearsal.
Most brides are lucky and they have someone to help guide them through the rehearsal, be it a wedding coordinator or DOC, someone from the Church or Synagogue, a Pastor, Rabbi, or family friend. But some brides—in other words, this one—are left to run their own rehearsal.
I’ve only run one in my life, but here’s Mrs. Peep’s guide to running a rehearsal.
Pre-rehearsal:
1. Email all the folks that need to be at the rehearsal one week in advance with the date and time (If you are getting married outside, set the time exactly 24 hours before you get married, that way people will have a feel for the light and the weather).
Mrs. Star, New York CityAge and Occupation: 22, ActressFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Casting AssistantWedding Date: October 2009Venue: Ceremony: The Kraine Theatre, Reception: Midtown Loft & TerraceAbout Me: I’m a professional actress who’s always had New York City in her blood and I'm finally getting the chance to make a home in Manhattan with my fiancé, my dog, and my big dreams! I love polka dots, craft projects, Dunkin’ Donuts’ iced coffee, and anything sparkly. I’m having a blast planning our elegant/dramatic/New York City/acting-themed/largely-DIY wedding and am thrilled to be the youngest current Miss Blogger!
At some point in January, I was making my bi-weekly pilgrimage to the Stephen Yearick site and noticed that my dress had been TAKEN OFF THE SITE. I freaked out. I called Kleinfeld (where I knew they carried Stephen’s designs) and they had gotten rid of their sample. *GASP!*
Luckily, one salon in the city was still carrying it. This new development put me into crunch time as far as making a decision went. So I decided to show my MOH the dress on me, since she still hadn’t seen it in person and I needed her honest opinion. She is decidedly the voice of reason within my bridal party and I knew she would be honest about what she thought. When it came time for the big reveal, she was practically speechless. She managed to eek out, “I was wrong. It’s totally worth it.” And I knew what I had to do.
Mr. Star, who has to be the most supportive man on the face of the earth (he’s the only reason I finally decided to apply to blog on Weddingbee!), gave me his blessing to start slashing money out of our budget in other places so that I could get the dress I had been dreaming about for years (years? can you believe it was long enough to be years?).
Mrs. Powder Puff, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 25, Preschool TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Career ServicesEngagement Date: May, 2008Wedding Date: July, 2009Blogging Since: November 12, 2008Venue: Outdoor ceremony, banquet hall receptionAbout Me: I am your typical Midwestern girl attempting to plan a sane, budget-friendly, fun wedding to the man of my dreams. I love shoes, laughing at “Platinum Weddings”, crafts, inspiration boards, candy, and basically anything I can DIY. While weddings can certainly be all-consuming, I honestly can’t wait until the ceremony is over and I can finally call Mr. Powder Puff my husband!
Mrs. Mary Jane, Grand Forks, NDAge and Occupation: 26, Instructional DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Lead ProgrammerEngagement Date: February 28, 2009Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: City HallAbout Me: I'm a career woman on the surface and a homemaker at heart. I love fast cars and high heels, and my favorite food is cake. Mr. Mary Jane and I are both full-time employees and students, and we just bought our first house. We love to curl up on the couch with buttery popcorn, Sour Patch Kids, and the latest Netflix arrival -- whenever we can get a break from everyday life.
This might seem like an odd thing for someone who writes for a popular public blog to say: but I am a very private person.
We Mary Janes take our privacy very seriously. If you were to Google Mr. Mary Jane’s first and last names, you’d find zero results. No Facebook, no Classmates.com, no Linked-In, nothing. Impressive, no? (He does have a unique name, so he is the only one.) When he does find something, he emails the company and firmly requests that they remove his name and info. I’m not quite that diligent, but I do try to keep my personal information’s availability to a minimum. In fact, I almost didn’t become a bee because I was uncertain about publicly posting photos of my face. (I don’t do that on my personal blog.)
I’m sure there are readers among you who have figured out my first name, possibly last. Maybe you’ve found my personal blog. Maybe you know my wedding date. Maybe you know a lot more. (Please don’t post any dirt you may have on me in the comments. This isn’t a challenge or a request to know how much you know - I’m just making a statement.)
Mrs. Flamingo, Montreal, CanadaAge and Occupation: 25, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Nursing StudentEngagement Date: December 2004Wedding Date: June 21, 2008Venue: Imperia Hotel (modern chic hotel)About Me: I am a passionate designer who loves anything pretty. I heart all paper products (eco-friendly of course). My passion revolves around anything considered glamour; vintage and modern. In my free time, I love reading Martha mags, designing jewelry and making a pit-stop at Starbucks for a chai latte. I'm also a chocoholic at heart and my family drools over my homemade truffles.
When we were planning our wedding, the favors had been the subject of quite a big debate. We knew we wanted to offer a donation to the Quebec Breast Cancer Association, but felt that our guests needed to leave with something as well. We wanted to offer something glamorous, and these beautiful imported Italian Sparkling Water bottles were just what we were looking for.
We created little cards and DIY pink ribbons with the mention that a donation was made in memory of my grandmother and in honor of my mother, who is a proud survivor. My mother felt so touched by the gesture. Read more…
Mrs. Sunbeam, San Francisco/Grove City, PAAge and Occupation: 26, Grad Student & Office ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Motion DesignerEngagement Date: May 10, 2008Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Harbison Chapel & The Maple Lane FarmAbout Me: Mr. Sunbeam and I are high school sweethearts. We both come from a small town in PA but are growing to love the California lifestyle. He loves wine and I love cheese... the perfect combination! When I'm not drooling over wedding blogs, I'm attending grad school, out being a foodie, or attempting to "walk" our cat at the park. Two things guaranteed to excite me are wedding cakes and breaking out my suitcase to travel. Mr. Sunbeam and I are personalizing our hometown wedding to celebrate our high school sweetheart status and PA roots with a few CA touches. After ten years of dating we couldn't be more excited to call each other husband and wife!
Deciding what the men would wear had a big influence on the color scheme of our wedding. As I mentioned, we had a tough time deciding on our color scheme, largely because I had no idea Mr. Sunbeam was going to be picky about his attire. At first I pictured the guys in brown suits for fall.
But Mr. Sunbeam was not to be caught in a brown suit. He had his heart set on navy blue (which to me was not a fall color), or black. We were not seeing eye to eye here. Read more…
ClassifiedsFeature Launched: April 30, 2008About: A roundup of the best Weddingbee Classified listings.
Reader clee99 is selling her Marisa 737 wedding dress in a size 8 (street size 0-2). The dress is silk organza and is strapless with a mermaid-style skirt. She paid $2000 for the dress and is open to offers.
Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with pictures in the Weddingbee classifieds and you might see it featured on the blog!
Mrs. Lightning, Cape Town Age and Occupation: 22, Journalist and Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Computer ScientistEngagement Date: December 27, 2008
Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Hout Bay ManorAbout Me: I'm a young American living abroad in the beautiful city of Cape Town with a wonderful South African fiance and our crazy kitty Zeus. We're young, driven and madly in love. Together we're pursuing our wildest dreams including our biggest undertaking yet, a vintage retrospective wedding filled to the brim with DIY madness. I have an unnatural attraction to cake, a passion for blogging and a love of good design. While I might be an overly obsessive creative with too many ideas and nowhere to put them, Mr Lightning is my biggest fan and I can't wait to make my true love mine.
I found this metal headband at at a store called Hip Hop here in Cape Town. I’m still thinking about using the flowers and feathers I bought to make my own fascinator, but if it doesn’t work out, this will be lovely all by itself. I’m not sure whether I’ll wear a veil yet, but if I do, I think this will work well with that too.
Miss Dew Drop, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 31, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Managerial Type at an Internet CompanyEngagement Date: December 12, 2008
Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Ralston Hall MansionAbout Me: I'm a food-and-baking-obsessed, occasionally sword wielding Bay Area native who is quickly becoming overwhelmed with planning a wedding and opening a law practice at the same time. (Brilliant move, that one.) I love reading, online shopping, ice cream, my Macbook, Bollywood movies, hoodies, the UCLA Bruins, and of course, Mr. Dew Drop.
Remember my soap opera-esque cliffhanger from yesterday?
It’s true. Mr. DD and I got engaged twice.
The first time was the private proposal Mr. DD and I both wanted.
The second time was at the formal Indian engagement ceremony (called a mangni) that my parents wanted.
Scheduling the second event meant that I knew when both engagements were going to happen. The ring arrived one weekend and the mangni was two weekends after that. That just left the middle weekend open for a proposal (and I was busy Saturday—so it had to be on Friday).
Although it was important to me to make a mutual decision to get married, I was quite happy leaving the details of the proposal to Mr. DD. And, although I didn’t give him much time to work with, he was determined to surprise me a little bit. Read more…
Mrs. D'orsay, Baltimore/Lancaster UKAge and Occupation: 24, nonprofit communications Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Web site developer and designer; co-owner of men's skincare shopEngagement Date: August 10, 2008Wedding Date: August, 2009Venue: Oakland ManorAbout Me: I'm a Maryland raised environmental policy wonk/activist/organizer and communications aficionado. In the past year I've lived in Baltimore, MD, Tucson, AZ, Miami, FL and Lancaster, England. In my not so spare time I enjoy planning trips with Mr. D' Orsay, visiting friends and family and crafting like a mo-fo. I also enjoy modern dance classes, rugby and soccer but have been banned by my mother, MOHs, and Mr. D' Orsay from playing till after the wedding. I have an unnatural addiction to cheese and shoes, but love Mr. D' Orsay more than either and can't wait to become Mrs. D' Orsay!
I’m finding with the wedding drawing closer and closer each day, my fitness goals seem harder to reach. I had been constantly trying to figure out how to add more cardio to my workouts to supplement my personal training sessions. Go to a class you might say? I don’t belong to a gym, and sadly, I’ve worked my JM Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism DVD into the ground.
Check out this striking red and black peacock-themed invitation by Wiley Valentine.
Don’t forget to check out all the professional inspiration from the top wedding vendors in the industry in the PRO Folio!
Mrs. Poodle, Santiago, Chile/San Bernardino, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Industrial & Web DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Firefighter & Mountain PatrolEngagement Date: February 25, 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Mr. P's Grandparents’ RanchAbout Me: I’m a Chilean girl who's crazy about nature and swimming. I enjoy carving, drawing, reading and sewing; I drool over computers, fabric, pretty paper, purple and patterns. To me, chocolate should be one of the seven wonders, right next to lemon pie. I never thought an exchange work experience program was going to change my life forever, but while working in California, I met Mr. Poodle, and ever since my days are better and brighter. We are two goofy souls that, after finding each other, couldn’t help but want to be together forever. It has being a long and sometimes hard road, since we have to deal with such a long distance between us, but we are now facing the last stage of our Fiancé Visa, and soon we will be together. You know the best part? We will be married! So I’ll be blogging from Chile until just a few months before our “green and purple” wedding.
Yesterday my MOH came to help me with some folding. We had some drinks and folded like crazy! After a few hours, and with the help of my little sister, we folded 200 petals! There could have been more, but we needed to cut the paper, as well (we are not gluing the flowers because they have to travel all the way from
Chile to California).
Here are the pictures of the trial and some of the petals. Do you want to try this? Here’s the tutorial.
Mrs. Quiche, Chicago/Montego BayAge and Occupation: 28, Interior DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 42, Telecom GuruEngagement Date: July 2, 2008Wedding Date: May, 2009Venue: Coyaba Resort, Montego BayAbout Me: I love Chicago and can’t imagine living anywhere else (Well, except Paris. Or anywhere in France, for that matter!). I’m a full-time worker, part-time student, soon-to-be-step-mom, indie music lovin’, architecture and design fanatic, macaroni and cheese addict, vegetarian, Francophile, Ohio State football obsessed, wedding planning girl. Mr. Quiche and I are “Partners-in-Crime” and cannot wait to celebrate our marriage surrounded by our family and closest friends. I plan on DIYing my little heart out (or as much as a suitcase to Jamaica will hold).
This week in the Quiche recaps - portraits! Sorry for the boring-to-everyone-else-but-me posts, but I have to say that I LOVE portraits. In the age of photojournalism style wedding photography (which I absolutely love as well!), the fact we were able to get the best of both worlds with Ashley made me happy.
First up, our awesome wedding party. We are so lucky to have such amazing friends that traveled all the way to Jamaica to stand by us on our wedding day. I couldn’t imagine saying “I do” without these people by our sides. They love and support our marriage 110% and will always be there for us. Can you feel the love?
.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
I found this metal headband at at a store called Hip Hop here in Cape Town. I’m still thinking about using the flowers and feathers I bought to make my own fascinator, but if it doesn’t work out, this will be lovely all by itself. I’m not sure whether I’ll wear a veil yet, but if I do, I think this will work well with that too.
In the age of photojournalism style wedding photography (which I absolutely love as well!), the fact we were able to get the best of both worlds with Ashley made me happy.
