Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
On Friday you guys saw our whimsical, English garden, Mrs. Perfume-inspired invitation suite, created by Lindsey Ryan Designs. Now, as promised, I’d like to show you the outsides of the envelopes that showed up in our guests’ mailboxes.
We decided to go with custom address labels instead of calligraphy because we didn’t have room in our invitation budget to hire a calligrapher. Lindsey printed our address labels for us and sent them along with our invites. She also printed return address labels for us.
You can’t really tell, but the backgrounds of the labels were clear so that the envelopes showed through the backs. Lindsey did a great job on these labels, but I was disappointed that we didn’t spring for calligraphy. Read more…
ClassifiedsFeature Launched: April 30, 2008About: A roundup of the best Weddingbee Classified listings.
June bride is selling her Maggie Sottero satin “Jolie” wedding dress. The dress is a size 6 and the color is diamond white. She will include a veil, tiara, and hoop skirt with the dress. She is asking $900.
Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with pictures in the Weddingbee classifieds and you might see it featured on the blog!
Mrs. Cowboy Boot, Santa FeAge and Occupation: 25, Magazine EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Artist and Whitewater Rafting GuideEngagement Date: April 28th, 2008Wedding Date: October 2009Venue: Devil's Thumb Ranch, ColoradoAbout Me: I grew up in Los Angeles and have since lived in San Diego, Boston, Italy, Hawaii, New York City, and Santa Fe. I speak Italian and love pasta. My real passion is the outdoors, though. When I'm not at work, I'm snowboarding, hiking with my two dogs, mountain biking, surfing, cross-country-skiing, or boating New Mexico's rivers. Despite my boyish love for adventure, I'm a girly-girl at heart and am overly-excited to pull off the romantic, vintage-inspired, country wedding of my dreams.
This weekend, I jumped on the bandwagon. I hired a DOC. For many, many months, I thought I could enlist friends to decorate, instruct, delegate, and deliver, but then I got worried. I’d already sent emails to the appropriate friends who gladly accepted their duties: “Just tell me what to do and I will help!” one said. “Whatever floats the bridal boat!” was another’s response. I had ready and willing workers but it didn’t ease my nerves. I thought of Pengy’s post, “DOC-less and Regretful.” I thought of the big day and how I’d have to remember to create all of the detailed instructions and remember to tell them to do things and all of a sudden, I wasn’t off the hook for that day. As I would be if I had a DOC.
The wedding sales girl at Devil’s Thumb Ranch had mentioned a fairly new DOC (actually, she’s been in business for four years) who might be less expensive than some of the more established, local coordinators. I emailed her right away. Danielle Odil at Something Classic Events had a few packages but even the most basic seemed like more than we needed.
Here’s an outline of their most basic package, titled Something Borrowed: 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!
Last time I left you hang’n on who we ended up hiring as our photographer. We did in fact decide to go with someone from the team of RAD Photography, namely, Mark Davidson. We took a look at his personal site and thought he had done some great work, so for our big day he and an assistant photographer will be capturing us for up to 12 hours! Two photographers, for 12 hours, at a great price - SOLD! Here is a smattering of his work. *All images were taken from his personal site.*
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!
Until I created my Weddingbee application, I hadn’t really ever blogged before. I had only dipped a toe into the “blogosphere” at a previous job and couldn’t fathom that anyone would be interested in what I had to say. I’m certainly not an expert in anything (unless we’re talking PB frosting) and what useful insight could I offer to the faceless internet?
Then, Mr. D and I started going through the K1 visa process. It was rough; we didn’t really know what to expect, and didn’t know a soul who had gone through the entire process. What makes the application worse is that unlike in the movie The Proposal (heck yes we saw it!) you never actually speak to an actual immigration official till the very end. Even then it’s only the immigrant (him) and not the sponsor (me). All you can hope for is a letter followed by other letters.
I had been Googling to find personal stories of the process, for someone other than a forum of conspiracy theorists saying, ”He had a speeding ticket 7 years ago?!?! He’ll be denied!!!” to tell me their story, what happened in their process. But I kept striking out.
Of course, I was also looking (I think for centerpieces) and stumbled across one of Mrs. Avocado’s posts.
I didn’t really “get” Weddingbee at first. Read more…
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!
I’ve been promising to write about my dress… oh, since around the time I became a bee! It’s been a tough story for me to tell because it’s one that began over two years ago! And, because my dress is now one of my absolute favorite wedding details.
You see, I was one of those girls who started scoping out wedding things before I had a ring or an official proposal. Yes, I am guilty as charged. My only excuses were that I was terribly excited and that Mr. Star was a serious enabler — he brought me home wedding magazines as consolation for very long days spent apart when he was working his internship in the city and I was running around between too many classes and shows! So yeah, my feeling is that it’s totally okay to get inspiration and look for beautiful wedding things before you’re technically engaged. Especially if you know he’s already bought the ring!
I was drawn to dresses like these lovelies (all images from The Knot):
Mrs. Peony, New YorkAge and Occupation: 27, Marketing CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, QA EngineerEngagement Date: June 28, 2007Wedding Date: April 18, 2008Venue: The FountainheadBlogging Since: August 7, 2007About Me: Both Mr. Peony and I are huge computer nerds, and our conversations usually consist of the latest gadgets, programming languages, and video games. At the same time, I can also be very girly with an obsession with handbags, makeup, and high heels. And art! I've studied studio art extensively, almost majored in art history, and freelance as a web and graphics designer. Mr. Peony and I are having a ball of a time planning a wedding for 250(!) guests, doing our best to infuse our personalities (geeky chic) with the wishes of our very traditional Asian parents.
Hi, remember me? The girl who promised a full round of recaps - only to disappear after a paltry three, never to be seen again?
Life got in the way. There have been many ups and downs in the Peony household this year and I am ashamed to say that I didn’t take the downs too gracefully. It was difficult to look at pictures of the happiest day of my life when life was dragging me down… does that make sense? Nonetheless, I am a strong woman (hear me roar) and I am getting things back on track.
On with the recaps!
After the Chinese Tea Ceremony, the bridal party separated once again so that I could change from my qipao to my wedding gown. (All photos are courtesy of my super-talented photographer Danny Weiss.)
I’m not sure what my bridesmaids were discussing here. I think it was something along the lines of, “What comes first? Shoes, crinoline, or bustier?”
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
It’s Monday morning again, and time for another new-bee! Join me in welcoming Miss Dew Drop to the hive… I’m always excited to welcome a fellow Bruin to Weddingbee!
Miss Dew Drop, San Francisco Age & Occupation: 31, Attorney Fiance’s Age & Occupation: 35, Managerial Type at an Internet Company Engagement Date: December 12, 2008 Wedding Date: September 2009 Venue: Ralston Hall Mansion About 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.
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 started working on making my dress special and more appropriate for my black tie affair, but it isn’t going very well. In fact, it is a mess. I don’t know whether it serves me right for buying something cheap and expecting it to hold up next to my beloved’s tuxedo on the night.
I have tried it on a gazillion times, pinning it here and there and nothing works. And the more I fiddle, the more it unravels and I freak out and put it back in the cupboard. It seems my bargain purchase is coming back to haunt me. Read more…
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.
There’s a lot of different ways weddings are celebrated here (just like in any other country), but there’s several ways Chileans incorporate some tradition into their special days. Some use traditional music, clothes, dance, food, drinks, or the basic horse ride in “Victoria”. I’m not planning on adding all of those to our wedding, but I thought I should share them .
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.
‘Perfect’ and ’simple’ are the two words I would use to describe my wedding band.
I had a hard time finding the perfect wedding band to match the gorgeous ring Mr Frenchie gave me when he proposed. James Allen has a band that matches the ring perfectly, but it just wasn’t my style. I found it to be too blingy and I thought all the little diamonds overshadowed the beautiful center stone Mr Frenchie looked so hard to find.
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!
That’s right – it’s looking like rain, although with the summer we’ve been having here in the North East, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. Read more…
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.
I just found out that my FMIL is giving me a special wedding gift: a room at the absolutely stunning Mansion on Forsyth Park the night before the wedding!
She caught wind of the fact that I was scouting out a pretty place for my “getting ready” shots from FSIL. The two then began scheming behind my back and after some research, chose the iconic Savannah hotel. When they told me of their plan, I was beyond ecstatic! There would be no way I could afford a night at the hotel, so I was extremely grateful. Just look at how gorgeous this place is! Read more…
Mrs. Duckling, San DiegoAge and Occupation: 23, Psychology Grad Student, Youth Diversion Specialist/Marriage and Family Therapy Trainee and an Executive AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Marketing and PR CoordinatorEngagement Date: May 17, 2008Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Rancho Bernardo InnAbout Me: I'm currently living in Orange County, but planning our wedding in my hometown of San Diego. We are a DIY wedding "2fer", as I'm the crafty one and Mr. Ducky is in charge of all of our graphic design and technical aspects. When not wedding planning or reading wedding blogs, I'm attending grad school and rotating between two different jobs to keep things exciting. My favorite things include shoes, Post-Its, Labrador Retrievers, traveling, psychology, delicious food, photography, reading, craft gadgets/supplies, and of course, my wonderful Mr. Ducky!
Alright hive, start buzzing, because I need some help. Mr. Ducky and I have been discussing what we want to do for readings during the ceremony. We will be meeting with our officiant (and close friend) tomorrow to talk about the ceremony. I wanted to find some readings in advance that we could think about.
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!
Hive, it’s high time that I ’fess up about something. Mr. Yorkie and I have been married for close to two months now. While I’ve been making decent progress (for a procrastinator) with migrating my belongings from Mama Y’s home to Mr. Y’sour place, there’s an important little something — er, someone — that I’ve not yet brought with me. I’m embarrassed to say that Bella, my six-year-old Yorkie, is still living at my mom’s house.
Bella, my 10 lb. little monster
There are two large, rather furry reasons for my hesitation to move her in. Read more…
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