Miss Candy Corn, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 27, Freelance Writer, Photographer and IllustratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Front End Web DeveloperBlogging Since: May 6, 2008Engagement Date: November 10, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Our backyard!About Me: I’m a 27-year-old photographer, writer and illustrator who enjoys shooting weddings, catching typos in magazines, geeking out with Google Reader, watching Wonder Years marathons with my fiancé, and hanging out with our menagerie of pets. I’m an encore bride planning an intimate, offbeat backyard wedding with my fiancé (known around these parts as “The Ginger”), as we explore our adventures of homeownership.
A lot of times I get asked the same question from my fellow twenty-something peers. “Why bother getting married when it’s so expensive and nothing really changes?” My answer is simple. When else am I going to have an opportunity to gather together with everyone we love and celebrate life? These are the people who helped shape our lives (well, most of them anyway). I wanted them to know not only how much they mean to us, but also how much we love each other and appreciate them for supporting us through our crazy journey. Without further ado, here are some of the brave souls who call us their friends or family. Read more…
Cynthia Converse, Syracuse, NYVendor: InvitationsWebsite: Bella FiguraAbout Me: Bella Figura is a wind-powered, eco-friendly letterpress shop committed to the fine artisanship of letterpress printing and the environment. Along with our sister company, Smock, we print our wedding invitations and stationery on only the finest luxury cotton and bamboo papers to ensure the most beautiful of prints in sight and to the touch, while working tirelessly to do our little piece for the good of the earth. We are hopelessly in love with our abundant collection of cast iron presses, farmer's markets, fall in Upstate NY, creating beautiful heirlooms for our brides, businesses that do good for the world, calligraphy, spending time in nature, contributing to the greater letterpress community, our rambling studios in a converted warehouse turned artist's haven, and our two year old in residence. Turning invitations into art on paper while dedicating ourselves to the environment is not what we do, it's who we are.
In the last few months, we’ve printed letterpress wedding invitations for several couples with a somewhat unusual request - letterpress printing RSVP information on the outer envelope flap in lieu of a return address. It’s always interesting (and fun!) to see trends in wedding invitations develop and this is one I have to admit that I love! Not only is it more eco-friendly, but it’s also a great idea for any couple looking to shave a few bucks off their invitation costs. Eco-friendly and wallet-friendly? Sign me up! It’s such an easy and simple way to make an impact on the amount of paper you’re using, but it also saves money on the cost of the reply card/postcard and postage. Not convinced? Check out these that we’ve recently printed, they are just as chic as a traditional reply card -
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.
Mr. Poodle’s mom “B” has been so helpful and supportive in this “sometimes kind of weird” planning process. I think I would still be Googling every wedding-related term if it weren’t for the fact that the day after Mr. Poodle told his family we were getting married, she sent me:
The Wedding Book by Mindy Weiss and Lisbeth Levine
Tons of bridal magazines (yay!). Those are actually the only ones I have.
Anyway, on my last trip to California, long before Mr. Poodle and I thought about getting married, I saw that B had a really cute photo album with tons of wedding cake pictures in it. I was very surprised that she actually baked them and was REALLY impressed with every cake she has in her album portfolio (I think I should make her a webpage portfolio soon, because she’s amazing! What do you think B?).
So the first image that popped in my head when I first thought about cakes was, of course, HER album!! And Mr. Poodle had wanted to ask her to bake the cake, so it was perfect!!! Read more…
Bee TV Bee TV is a new feature which allows Bees to broadcast live video to the Weddingbee community, and for readers and Bees to chat with other over live chat.
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.
Have you done this? Have you searched for pictures of weddings that were held at your venue? For some reason, I never have. Until today.
Coming across images of weddings before ours at Devil’s Thumb Ranch is making me excited. Really, super, duper excited. It’s also making me nervous (there are quite a few of brides and grooms holding umbrellas and of foreboding skies). That said, I’m also nervous because looking at these pictures is somewhat of a reality check. Soon, we will have these same pictures with our faces and our details and our friends and family. The only thing that gives me comfort (amidst the stress of wedding planning right now) is knowing that Mr. CB will be there with me.
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.
Planning and mocking up DIY ideas is both fun and frustrating, but there comes a time when you actually have to get serious and get ’er done. For me, that time was Monday night.
I’d already done much of the design work on Sunday morning, and since I haven’t shown you that yet, I’ll do that now! Like the Save-the-Dates, I made these in Adobe Photoshop CS3. I said it then and I’ll repeat it now: Photoshop is complicated and is not something I recommend you buy just to make stuff for your wedding. I can’t explain to you step-by-step how I made these, and there is no template. But nevertheless, here they are! My fonts are Isadora (capitalized portions), CAC Pinafore (cursive portions), both from dafont.com. They’re the same fonts I used for the Save-The-Dates. (I changed info where I could so I’d be able to show you as much as possible without blurring.)
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!
With a little prompting from the State of Massachusetts, we picked up our wedding rings last week. How did they prompt us, you wonder? They decided it would be a good idea to raise taxes by 25% on August 1st. We had already met with our jeweler and he worked his magic, making us beautiful rings, but we decided to leave them there as long as possible since:
I knew I would wear it around the house, and
We figured it would be safer than to have them hanging out in our apartment.
I tried on just about every ring he had… at least twice :), ya know – just to make sure. He would be creating my ring using the platinum bar my grandmother had given me and when he was writing down the specs, he noted there were 13 diamonds… Read more…
ClassifiedsFeature Launched: April 30, 2008About: A roundup of the best Weddingbee Classified listings.
Reader baugust is selling Jasmine Bridal Couture dress in a size 8. The dress is made with satin and chiffon, and has an a-line skirt. She is asking $250.
Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with pictures in the Weddingbee classifieds and you might see it featured on the blog!
Mrs. Apple Cider, New York/CharlotteAge and Occupation: 27, Corporate Communications ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Grad Student – Clinical Mental Health Engagement Date: September 13, 2008Wedding Date: October 2009Venue: Banner Elk Winery & Blueberry VillaAbout Me: I am a North Carolina girl with a New York City spirit. I love crafting, blogging, laughing and dreaming. I know every word to the Anne of Green Gables and Little Women movies. I own every single Martha Stewart Wedding Magazine and have been dreaming of weddings since I was little. I believe life is about doing what makes you happy. If you aren't happy re-evaluate what you are doing. You should never look back on your life and not be proud of what you are doing. If you want to travel - travel. If you want to sing - sing. If you want to start a company - start a company. If you want to blog – blog!
I haven’t tried these shoes on, but I saw them and fell in love. I just ordered them! They seem to match the trim on my wedding dress perfectly and the heel isn’t too high, which is great!
I found them at Urban Outfitters and they are a bit pricey at $88. I feel OK about spending that much but didn’t really expect to. I didn’t think too much about the shoes, but after seeing soooooo many great wedding shoe pictures, I knew that I needed to find a good pair.
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!
… or Mary Jane… Spiderman’s girlfriend. Read more…
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.
In the spirit of going against tradition, my lovely bridesmaids will be choosing their own dresses. They are all beautiful and unique, and as my friends, deserve to shine independently by my side.
With this concept in mind, I spent a great deal of time looking for dresses in possible accent colours to inspire them on their quest, but soon realised that there were just two many hues and fabrics for this to all go wrong.
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!
I guess I am not Martha Stewart after all. If you’ve experienced DIY-fail, never fear; you are not alone. The internet is overflowing with DIY projects for brides-to-be, and sometimes I am just amazed at what people pull off. I’ve certainly had a few hiccups along the way with some of my DIY projects, and I can’t say there won’t be more! Here are a few trip-ups so far…
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).
Fresh from our first look, it was time for the ceremony to begin (we took some bridal party pictures before the ceremony, but I’ll share all of those later).
I’ve been dying to show you how some of my DIY details made their way to the ceremony. As I’ve said before, the wedding lawn is incredible on its own, but I wanted to do a little “something” to dress it up a bit. It’s hard to pick my favorite thing, but I love the way the “floating” flower petals look! I haven’t even mentioned my pomanders yet, but the way they POP makes me sooo happy!
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.
I’ve seen some projects that have really caught my attention because, to me, mixing paper, fabric, stamps and sewn details = simply AWESOME!!
I wasn’t searching for anything in particular when I came across all these pictures. Just as always, I saved them in my “wedding folder” just in case. Now after organizing and seeing them all together, it all made sense.
I wanted something original that didn’t involve a lot of paper (because of the nature of our wedding, and the fact we don’t want to use a lot of “new paper”), and I love sewing because there are so many possibilities when it comes to fabric, so what better than to have both involved in our invitations?
I’m not going to show you the invitations right away. (I have to be mysterious in some way!) I’m just joking . It’s just that there are still a lot of details to work on to produce samples. I’d rather show you all the finished product, but for now, I can give you a clue about our invites by sharing all the cool DIY projects that inspired me. So, here they are:
This is one of my favorites, and no, it’s not just because it’s PURPLE . I love all of Kathleen’s projects (that’s why I’m listing most of them here). You can find the full post that features this cool DIY project here. Read more…
Mrs. Beagle, AustinAge and Occupation: 26, Electrical EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, FinanceEngagement Date: July 12, 2008Wedding Date: October 2009Venue: Church Ceremony/Reception at The Waterford HouseAbout Me: I am a true, but rare, Austinite---I was born, raised, and continue to live in this great city! Although
I am an engineer by day, I feed my inner creative side through crafting, sewing, and obsessing over Martha Stewart. I love coffee, my mister, NPR, and exploring all the nooks and crannies of Austin.
I can't wait to share my adventures in DIY and wedding planning with all of you!
Oh, napkin quilt, you will be my downfall! You see, I’m the type of person who, once I get it in my stubborn head that I will do something, does it… at whatever cost. In this case, ‘it’ would be making napkins for our guests to use during the cocktail hour (so that I can later sew them into a quilt).
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
. It’s just that there are still a lot of details to work on to produce samples. I’d rather show you all the finished product, but for now, I can give you a clue about our invites by sharing all the cool DIY projects that inspired me. So, here they are:
. I love all of Kathleen’s projects (that’s why I’m listing most of them here). You can find the full post that features this cool DIY project here.
