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.
In Chile couples don’t usually do engagement photography sessions. What a bummer, huh? Since we are working on a tight budget, we decided that an engagement session was one of those things we were going to cut out in order to stay within budget. But now we’re back in the game, and the Poodles are going to have an engagement session! *happy dance*
As usual, I searched for inspiration! And what better place to start than here, in the hive! I had to show you all (in case you haven’t seen these before in the Gallery and on the Boards) some of my favorite e-pics.
First from katiebug3017: I love the way they included their hairy babies in the shots, especially since they met while taking them to the beach.
Ms. Potato Chips, Boston/Narragansett RIAge and Occupation: 29, PhD StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Personal Trainer/Business Owner/Physical Therapy AssistantEngagement Date: January 1, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: The Narragansett TowersAbout Me: A semi-professional bookworm, if I could be a literary character I’d be a cross between Jo March and Jane Eyre, only better accessorized and much lazier. My hobbies include sleeping in, seasonal brews, running, Trader Joe’s, and watching Unwrapped and Good Eats with Mr. Potato Chips. I harbor an irrational fear of tulle, crafts, things that are fussy, and overuse of the phrase "Your Special Day". After a year or seven together, down the aisle we go, slouching toward adulthood and planning a Rhodie party with equal parts whimsy, cheer, and pizza.
I can’t stop smiling at our engagement photos! We had ridiculous fun with the photographers and it didn’t take them long to post some teasers! We rode the Pirate Ship, rocked around the creaking Ferris wheel, tried our hand at some overpriced games, enjoyed fried food, beers, and candy apples, and stayed until the park closed. Our photographers are awesome and hanging with them was like spending the evening with great friends.
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!
I have already been married; please stop sending me multiple daily emails. I do not need to know the ‘#1 Hot Floral Tip for Brides’, or that it has been ‘Two Months Since Your Wedding’. I have unsubscribed from your mailing lists—some that I never subscribed to in the first place—countless times, and still you ignore my requests. I have marked you as ‘SPAM’ and still you come back for more. I get really excited when my phone vibrates alerting me that I have a new email and am perpetually disappointed when I learn that it is only you.
Please leave me alone. That is all.
Here’s my ‘Hot Tip’: If I were to get married again I would make a ‘getting married email account’ and use it for all wedding sites. That way I could completely ignore you after the big day except for on the occasions where I am bored at work and actually want to wade through the countless mass emails.
xoxo
(And that goes for you too VistaPrint.)
Mrs. Green Tea, SacramentoAge and Occupation: 30, Tea AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Coffee CriticEngagement Date: November 17, 2006Wedding Date: August 23, 2008Blogging Since: June 10, 2008Venue: Vineyard on the DeltaAbout Me: I'm just your average obsessive compulsive, arts & crafts loving, funky-on-the-inside/boring-on-the-outside girl, who dares to say 'Hey! I can make that!' Nerdy professional by day, goofy won-ton by night. The won-ton sometimes comes out during the day when I'm fed the dollar breakfast at Ikea. Since our engagement, wedding planning has put me on high alert for bargains and I've been pushing my nimble fingers through callous building experiments!
I knew I would be making vanilla extract favors for MOH-Ho’s shower before I came up with the ’Sugar Spice Nice’ theme, decided to serve desserts, or remotely considered any other detail. It was kind of a given in my mind because of MOH-Ho’s love for baking. I also love that it’s consumable, renewable, and has that personal homemade touch.
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.
Pre-marital counseling. Hmm…should we? The state of Texas thinks we should. Maybe all states do. They offer discounts on marriage licenses for couples who have taken part in certified pre-marital counseling classes. I’m talking major discounts too, where the license is nearly free. But I don’t want to take a class just to get a discount; I want to be sure that the class we take is the right fit for us, and one that we will benefit from.
As we continue to contemplate whether or not we should go down the road of pre-marital counseling, we recently started reading The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. Now we find ourselves saying, “You’re stonewalling,” or whatever term fits the type of behavior one of us in engaged in during a fight. I think this book has been helpful for us, even though it is primarily for couples that have already dealt with marital problems. We still feel like we are learning from it.
The reason all of this is so important to me is because, unfortunately, I have not had the best example of marriage in my life. Read more…
Mrs. Lamb, NorfolkAge and Occupation: 25, Homeland Security ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: January 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church/Harrison Opera HouseAbout Me: I’m a Homeland Security Consultant with a tendency towards pulling office pranks, taking lunch breaks, and drinking Wawa shakes. I’m also an English major with a serious obsession with alliteration and rhymes. While I’m not keeping America safe, I’m training for half marathons and the Escape from Alcatraz swim. Or moving for the third time this year. Or baking. Or wedding crafting. Or crying about wedding planning. All the while, I’m getting myself into Lucille Ball-esque scrapes and making Jim Carey-esque faces. Our big fat Czech/Baptist/Jewish/Italian wedding is a combination of vintage eclectic, DIY, and little spoonful of sugar from our Event Coordinator. It’s going to be a Norfolk flavored wedding with the verve of an only-daughter-blow-out bash!
at Vintage Glam and then a million other places, my Lambalicious Planner convinced me that we could make this work at out more-early-20th-century vibed reception.
I wasn’t completely convinced, though. I had to do a trial run. Read more…
Mrs. Bee, New YorkAge and Occupation: 29, Weddingbee PublisherFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, InternetEngagement Date: May 7, 2004Wedding Date: March 5, 2005Venue: Westside Loft, New YorkAbout Me: Yes, my name really is Bee! I love my blogging, wikis, and tabasco sauce!
The Wedding Salon is hosting a Bridal Bootcamp for brides to bee tomorrow evening, and yours truly is the keynote speaker!
The event costs $10 to attend, but there is a code below for you to attend for freeeeee! I’m going to be talking about all the popular craft machines that are popular on Weddingbee like the gocco, cricut, cuttlebug, yudu, and xyron, and sharing tons of projects created with these machines by the Bees. It should be a lot of fun. Hope to see you there!
Mrs. Rainbow, TampaAge and Occupation: 22, Makeup ArtistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Electrical Engineer/ProgrammerEngagement Date: November 27, 2008Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: The Gamble PlantationAbout Me: I'm a quirky (and slightly Type-A) freelance makeup artist who was born in Washington State, raised in Alabama, and now living with my one and only in sunny Florida. I'm fashion and beauty obsessed, and have recently discovered my inner domestic diva extraordinaire. I'm a wannabe chef, decorating addict, and trying desperately to be as crafty as possible---albeit only with a glue gun. I'm hopelessly in love with my fiance, and all things sparkly and feathery. Despite the glittery exterior, I'm a total hippie on the inside. When I'm not making up pretty faces, I love doing what I can to help people, animals, and the environment. Someday the FI and I will change the world, but first we're tackling our modern-vintage-Marie-Antoinette-meets-Alice-in-Wonderland inspired wedding. I just can't wait to be Mrs. Rainbow!
Before I tell you about our centerpieces, let’s talk tables. The round table is, by far, the most popular table used at weddings, that much we know. What we don’t know is that, for whatever reason, multiple round tables totally throw off my chi. They disalign my chakra. They muddle my mojo.
Anyway, that option was instantly nixed, and it was on to the rectangle table. Now this is my kinda table. Clean lines, not too busy… that’s definitely a good thing. Since we’ll be having such a small wedding, we’ll have 6 8’ banquet tables. 3 end-to-end on one side of the dance floor, and 3 end-to-end on the other side, with us at a round table in the center. Like this:
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 on a plane back to California right now (yay for in-flight WiFi), and can’t wait to keep blogging highlights from Bridal Market!
Ines Di Santo’s spring 2010 line was inspired by diamonds, and there was no shortage of sparkle at the show! Nothing fell flat—every gown was 3 dimensional and interesting from every angle!
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!
If you remember, about one month before the big day I was still debating about which veil to choose. Truth be told, I liked the third least popular veil the most, but it was also the most expensive option.
While I had been given money to afford the veil, thanks to a generous Momma Sunbeam, I just could not bring myself to spend it! This would reflect my father’s traits in me! $500 for a veil, that I will wear for mere hours? No. Couldn’t do it. But I also couldn’t picture myself without it. Read more…
ClassifiedsFeature Launched: April 30, 2008About: A roundup of the best Weddingbee Classified listings.
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 mean, not my wedding. But the one we thought about having, with the original color scheme and the non-lace dress I was searching for. I was in Huntington Beach, CA for work and I saw girls in dark purple bridesmaid’s dresses, with the bouquets (cymbidium orchids, purple lisianthus, eggplant calla lilies, other structured flowers, etc.) floating through the hotel. I went to check out the ballroom while they were setting up and they even had similar centerpieces!
I wanted to take photos of it all, the bouquets, the bouts, the dresses! But I didn’t because I was a little too embarrassed to be taking photos of a couple details. So I tried to slyly snap a photo as I walked by…but it didn’t turn out too well. But, you can still sorta see the gorgeous bride with her bridesmaids and their lovely flowers!
Mrs. Ramen, PhoenixAge and Occupation: 26, Optometry StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Industrial DesignerEngagement Date: January 3, 2009Wedding Date: December 19, 2009Venue: Phoenix Art MuseumAbout Me: I'm an SF-born, Seattle-raised girl, transplanted to Phoenix where I'll be getting married, and planning all the way from Orange County where I go to school (yes, it feels as crazy as it sounds). I loooooove Yogurtland, am slightly very obsessed with all things paper, am heavily addicted to wedding blogs, deeply desire a puppy, thoroughly enjoy cooking, cry when I watch (almost all) movies, thrive on solo car-karaoke, can't stop being sarcastic, am neurotic about taking pictures of almost everything I eat before I eat it, and aspire to travel the world. My super-talented fiance and I are attempting to DIY a majority of our massive (~350 guests) "clean & modern, yet romantic, but completely unexpected, with a teeny dash of vintage" wedding, stay within our not-so-massive budget, and somehow get a really luxe (but still fun!) look/feel at the same time. In music terms (since we're both really into music) think Coldplay meets Motown meets Kanye meets Sinatra.
Recently I’ve been overwhelmed by an outpouring of love and kindness from different people: family, friends, and even strangers! In the midst of a lot of stress and anxiety, these little bits of encouragement and kindness have meant the world to me and have been an overwhelming reminder that God is soooo good to me.
My littlest bridesmaid is still in HS, and lives far away in Colorado, so she and her mom picked me up a little gift to encourage me - a Starbucks gift card, a cute VS tank, and a note telling me to “take a deep breath” and relax from all of the stress of school and wedding planning… it was the sweetest and most unexpected gift, and so perfectly timed.
Be sure to check out all the posts in our Relationship Series here!
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I always thought I’d date someone for ____ months/years before we’d get engaged. In reality, we dated ____ months/years.
Mrs. Bear Cub - My relationship before Mr BC lasted almost 4 years. My parents got married 4 months after meeting each other, so I’d always thought that a long courtship was more practical. I had expected to date Mr. BC for 3.5 to 5 years before marriage became an option, but after 1.5 years we had to decide about moving to another country together! We realized then - after 1.5 years - that, duh, we were going to get married, and why not do it right now? We’d been “courting” for a little over 3 years by the time we got married. Read more…
Ms. Potato Chips, Boston/Narragansett RIAge and Occupation: 29, PhD StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Personal Trainer/Business Owner/Physical Therapy AssistantEngagement Date: January 1, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: The Narragansett TowersAbout Me: A semi-professional bookworm, if I could be a literary character I’d be a cross between Jo March and Jane Eyre, only better accessorized and much lazier. My hobbies include sleeping in, seasonal brews, running, Trader Joe’s, and watching Unwrapped and Good Eats with Mr. Potato Chips. I harbor an irrational fear of tulle, crafts, things that are fussy, and overuse of the phrase "Your Special Day". After a year or seven together, down the aisle we go, slouching toward adulthood and planning a Rhodie party with equal parts whimsy, cheer, and pizza.
No doubt about it, today is raining-pouring-old-man-snoring.
It’s a good day to stay inside with a pot of hot coffee and a book.
And a fiance, when he gets home from work.
I wonder if it will rain tomorrow, when we get our engagement shots done. And I don’t much mind, because then I can wear my pink plaid galoshes with my navy blue silk dress. And then I wonder if it will rain on our wedding day. And if it does, if it’ll be raining like it is now: loud and with a purpose, this tree-rustling, come-up-from-all-sides-at’cha rain.
And I think, if it does, I won’t much mind, because then I can wear my pink plaid galoshes with my flowy ivory gown. I love the beach when it is rainy and cloudy and near-empty, with its muted tones of gray and dusty browns and yellows. Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
But, you can still sorta see the gorgeous bride with her bridesmaids and their lovely flowers!
Mrs. Bear Cub - My relationship before Mr BC lasted almost 4 years. My parents got married 4 months after meeting each other, so I’d always thought that a long courtship was more practical. I had expected to date Mr. BC for 3.5 to 5 years before marriage became an option, but after 1.5 years we had to decide about moving to another country together! We realized then - after 1.5 years - that, duh, we were going to get married, and why not do it right now? We’d been “courting” for a little over 3 years by the time we got married.
