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’m interrupting my normal DIY broadcasting to bring you a deliciously wonderful read by UK author, Imogen Edward-Jones.
Wedding Babylon follows on from a series of really great books, many of which I have already read. I stumbled across this new edition a few days ago and have already made some headway through the chapters. In fact, I have been so engrossed in its pages that I’ve been slacking on the DIY front!
However, I have to say that with the wedding fast on my heels, I really needed to get myself out of the seriousness of it all. Read more…
Mrs. Chick, HoustonAge and Occupation: 28, Rights and Reproduction ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Computer ProgrammerEngagement Date: November 15, 2008Wedding Date: April 2010Venue: A farm outside of HoustonAbout Me: Mr. Chick and I met almost ten years ago at Baker Blues, a college jazz party. He was attracted to my intensity, and I was mesmerized by his trivia pursuit skills and his dorm furniture adorned with his initials. We've grown more sophisticated through the years, with our love of wine, owning a house together, and parenthood (of a cat), but we have not lost our silliness or childish sense of humor!
You should, if you haven’t already. It has two of my favorite actors (Amy Adams and Lee Pace) and it is my new inspiration for my wedding. The wardrobe! The decor! The music! They are simply wonderful. I’m listening to the soundtrack as I blog away… Read more…
Mrs. Frozen Yogurt, DallasAge and Occupation: 28, Special Projects CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Equity TraderEngagement Date: March 19, 2009Wedding Date: April 2010Venue: Marie Gabrielle, DallasAbout Me: I was born and raised in Texas, and have lived in several of the cities across the state, but I currently reside in Austin. I went to college in Boston and have a special place in my heart for the Northeast. I love reading, shopping, wine, reuniting with college friends that are scattered across the country, reality TV, trying out new recipes, and attempting all the DIY projects that come along with wedding planning. I'm a "bleeding heart, save the world type" and thankfully my job allows me to work on legislation and policy to help out those in need. I met Mr. Frozen Yogurt in a bar, though he doesn't even drink! And now we are planning a modern yet vintage wedding in Dallas while dealing with the trials and tribulations of first time homeownership.
I’ve toyed with the idea of having a kids’ table. And not one where all the children are forced to eat dinner at, I mean one with things for them to actually do. I’m thinking crayons, butcher paper, and candy. But I’m not sure if I should do this. I see it going one of two ways: 1. Kids will play, color, and eat candy to their heart’s desire while leaving the parents alone to mingle, drink, eat, etc. 2. Kids will drag their parents over to the kids’ table to show off all the crafts they are making and the parents won’t be able to mingle, eat, and drink. I want everyone at the wedding to have a good time, including all our little guests.
And then I found the cutest activity books from We Met in a Bar. And now I think I have to make this, or the kids at our wedding will not have fun. Read more…
ClassifiedsFeature Launched: April 30, 2008About: A roundup of the best Weddingbee Classified listings.
Evamae is selling her bridesmaids’ dresses by Lynn Lugo. The dress color is called “Pomegranate” and they are tea length, strapless, and a-line, with an off-white sash. She is asking $75 each OBO.
Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with pictures in the Weddingbee classifieds and you might see it featured on the blog!
Mrs. Lemonade, Austin/San AntonioAge and Occupation: 28, BureaucratFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Music ManagementEngagement Date: December 21, 2007Wedding Date: April, 2009Blogging Since: August 22, 2008Venue: Country Club ceremony, ballroom receptionAbout Me: I’m a total wonkette who is lucky enough to be surrounded by her favorite things on a daily basis – awesome music, the great State of Texas and of course, Mr. Lemonade! I find any excuse I can to craft something and am completely infatuated with the 1950’s, all things Kennedy, and my furbaby Vida.
Before we head over to the reception, I thought I’d take a moment to share a few of the ceremony and cocktail hour details that didn’t make it into the previous recaps (or did, but I loved them so much I felt they deserved another go ’round. Like my amazing bouquet pictured above, Lovebug-style). Read more…
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.
This kind of makes me feel like I’m on that “Diary” show that was on MTV. Did anyone else watch that? C’mon, you can admit it. I’m not judging! Lindsay Lohan would be like, “You think you know…but you have no idea!” and I’d be awake at 2 AM screaming at the television, “Oh mah GAH! What do I have no idea about!? Tell me more, Lilo!!” (Although, I believe this was before she was actually referred to as “Lilo”, but oh well.) Anyway, I hope I can be at least half as entertaining as that fine television program!
Bee-coming a blogging fool (see what I did there?):
I’ve been blogging since 2002 on LiveJournal—in fact, that is where Mr. Candy Corn and I developed quite a bit of communication early on in our dating relationship and I think it really helped push us into coupledom, because lord knows we were too shy to flirt with each other in person… or at least I was!
Applying to Weddingbee
I stumbled upon Weddingbee while Googling for inspiration for our bird-themed wedding. I remember scrolling through pages of bees while on my lunch break and wondering if I could ever have a wedding that was even a teensy tiny bit as amazing as Mrs. Strawberry’s or Lovebug’s. I was obsessed with Indiebride and Offbeat Bride, but other than that I couldn’t find too many wedding resources that I could relate to—apart from Weddingbee.
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!
I’m excited to introduce our newest bee to the hive! I just love the Moonbeam icon, and I work best late at night, so it’s an icon near to my heart. Say hello to our newest bee!
Miss Moonbeam, Los Angeles/San Antonio Age and Occupation: 26, Intern Architect Fiance’s Age and Occupation: 26, Studio Analyst, aspiring Screenwriter Engagement Date: May 20th, 2009 Wedding Date: November 2009 Venue: Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church (LaCoste, TX) and Mary Gray Events Center (Castroville, TX) About Me: I was born and raised in Texas, but after college I moved to Seattle for a couple of years and loved it. Then I followed my beau out here to LA and we’re getting settled in. I’ve been making things since I can remember. I was raised by crafters. I love to sew, draw, paint, build, cook, bake (anything with a tangible end result is fair game). In that same spirit, I’ve been hosting since I was old enough to cook and set a fancy table. I kind of take after my grandmother, who believes that your morning OJ always tastes better out of the good crystal.
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!
Papa Powder Puff is not really a dancer. He tries, bless his heart, but dancing is not really his thing. So when I was looking for a song for us to dance to, I wanted something short, cute and upbeat. After choosing “Sweet Pea” by Amos Lee, I felt confident that Dad would be able to pull the father/daughter dance off without too much trouble.
But when my dad whirled me on the dance floor, I was totally surprised! He had practiced dancing to our song with my mom a couple of nights before the wedding, and had some fabulous moves to show for it.
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.
Um, that was not a typo. And, again, for those who missed it: we are not having a rehearsal. It made my muscles tense just to type that. But, I am forced to let it go. And here’s why.
Mr. CB is anti-wedding rehearsal. The one thing he’s been pulling for this entire time is not a playlist, a particular band, suit, or tie. It’s not an item on our menu or even a particular beer.
It’s that our wedding feel as organic as possible.
The last thing he wants is for the ceremony to feel like a production or a staged show. While I’ve never been to a wedding rehearsal, he’s been to many and, as someone who’s older and (okay, I’ll give it to him) wiser, he’s taking the final say on this one.
Yes, I see the merit in a rehearsal. It’s a chance for people to shake their nerves off, to run through everything just to have a general gist of how it’s going to play out. It’s not like everyone has blocking tape and scripted lines. But, no matter how much I try to gently cajole Mr. CB into feeling the same way, he doesn’t. He views them as a waste of time during which the bride stresses out and everyone stands around listening to her berate everyone. Man, he must’ve come across some bridezillas.
Laura Nadeau, New York CityVendor: Makep ArtistWebsite: Lo and Co.About Me: Laura (Lo) loves all brides all of the time, and nothing makes her happier than making another woman feel great! Laura was born and raised in rural Alaska among huskies, grizzly bears and way too much flannel! With stars in her eyes, Lo moved to New York to pursue acting and realized how makeup could help to create a character and transform an actor. Laura began to see how she could use this skill to transform women in their everyday life and thus her new passion was born - helping women feel confident and beautiful through makeup.
Jen came to see me and my hair diva, Jennie B for a trial and the three of us had so much fun it hardly seemed like work. Jen is a cutie patootie and I think she looks like the love child of Isla Fisher and Lindsay Lohan. We rocked out her look with a stained red lip, false eyelashes, and a catted out black eyeliner. I will have a follow up post this week with her photos and a break down of all of the products that I used to “get the look”. Jennie B did an amazing job on the hair for Jen and her sister and videographer, Michael DiChiaro put together this cool highlights reel. Also, check out this hilarious save-the-date. I looove Jen and Brian’s sense of humor!
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!
***A Post from Mr. Apple Cider on his wedding ring choice!***
I wanted my wedding band to be unique. I wanted the ring to be noticed.
Miss AC and I had been looking at all the typical jewelry stores, combing through all the online galleries, and I was never really sold on anything. Then a while ago, I read a post on Weddingbee (yes, I am the first to admit that I do follow Weddingbee) about shopping for rings on Etsy. Of course… why not? Why didn’t I think of that?
So, the search was on. I still had no idea what I was looking for, but I knew that I would “know it when I saw it”. And, I certainly did. I found the ring in the Etsy shop of Artisan Look. Their website is here.
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.
I saw it on a website. I ordered a sample. It seemed to take a while, but one day it arrived in the mail. I liked the look of it in person, the feel of the raised lettering. I showed it to Mr. DD. He held it in his hands and looked at me. Read more…
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!
OK, I have to ‘fess up. From the moment that I got engaged, I thought I wanted no part of the wedding shower tradition. It just seemed so… traditional. A close friend of ours (who is doing a reading in our ceremony) made an offer to throw me one right after she found out we were engaged, and I refused. “We’re not registering,” I said, “so I don’t need a shower.”
So, what happened? I changed my mind, of course. Over the months, as I watched several friends wed (including virtual friends) I started to get jealous of all the love they were experiencing at their showers. I wanted one now, too! So, I dropped a few (not-so-subtle) hints to some of my friends, and they gracefully obliged with the awesomest, most Miss Mouseiest shower of all time.
Mrs. Chick, HoustonAge and Occupation: 28, Rights and Reproduction ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Computer ProgrammerEngagement Date: November 15, 2008Wedding Date: April 2010Venue: A farm outside of HoustonAbout Me: Mr. Chick and I met almost ten years ago at Baker Blues, a college jazz party. He was attracted to my intensity, and I was mesmerized by his trivia pursuit skills and his dorm furniture adorned with his initials. We've grown more sophisticated through the years, with our love of wine, owning a house together, and parenthood (of a cat), but we have not lost our silliness or childish sense of humor!
I was telling - okay, complaining to - her about how much people charge for engagement shoots, and she kindly offered to photograph our engagement shoot! She is an excellent photographer, as you may remember from this picture:
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.
A few months ago, Mr. Poodle an I decided we were going to marry “on paper” months before we say “I do” next January at his grandparents’ ranch.
Even though neither of us wanted to be legally married before our wedding celebration, we had to go this route after finding out that I wont be able to work until 3 to 4 months after we file for my AOS (Adjustment of Status - that’s the step that follows the legal marriage). It takes that long to get a Green Card (job permit) in the mail.
So basically, we had two options:
I could move there and work on the wedding planning for about two months, forget the idea of trying to get a job, and we would get married in January and apply for AOS after that. This would give me an extra 3 to 4 months to sit on my butt and try to find something to do after the wedding.
OR, I could move to California and we could just sign the papers to “make it legal”, and apply for the AOS as soon as possible. I could use the time waiting for the AOS to process to craft and go crazy over our wedding related tasks! This way, the timing would work out almost perfectly, giving me just a couple of weeks after the wedding to start the search for a job.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
Source 
