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When I first started researching destination weddings, there was one thing in particular about them that made me gasp and say, YES, I want to do THAT: the beachfront Trash The Dress photo sessions (a.k.a. TTD).
What can I say? There’s something so beautiful, so fun and so… well, hot… about all those pictures of brides rolling around on the sand in their wedding finery that heck, I couldn’t resist.
So two days after our wedding day, Mr Breezy and I set our alarms for sunrise and, after hitting snooze a couple times and finally yelling “Oh fudge we’re late!!“, we threw on our clothes and sprinted down to the beach to meet our photographer Photophil.
Some brides get a second dress specifically for their TTD session so they can go crazy and not worry about ruining it but I always knew I’d wear the same one I got married in. It doesn’t have any delicate beading or lacework so I thought it would probably be OK, but mostly, I just loved it and couldn’t imagine wearing another dress. I figured that if I ruined it beyond repair, at least I’d have a lot of photos of it and the knowledge that I really did get every single ounce of fun out of it that I could.
Warning: We got so many incredible shots from our photog that honestly, I had a heck of a time picking just a few to share with you so please forgive me if this is a super photo-heavy post…
As the sun started to peek over the horizon, our trash the dress–er, make that ‘trash the DWess’–session started off innocently enough with some fooling around with one of the parasols I had brought with us to Punta Cana.
Let me just start of by saying that I am so lucky to be marrying such an understanding, compassionate, and laid back man.
I say this because I initially had absolutely no desire to change my name, ever. Even as a little girl, I couldn’t imagine having anyone else’s last name but my own. I quite like my last name, it meshes well with my identity. It’s a strong—yet pretty and proper sounding—British name. It’s one of those names that goes well with everything, but isn’t super common, like Smith or Jones.
To be honest, I was a bit nervous about telling Mr. Rainbow that I was planning on keeping my last name. Most men (like my dad, for example) are so against the idea of their wife not having the same last name. When I broke the news to Mr. Rainbow, his response was something to the tune of: “Really? Okay, if that’s what you want sweetie, whatever makes you happy.” Gosh, I love that man. What potentially could have caused a huge fight between many other couples, was not even a ripple on our radar.
Fast-forward a few weeks later and the gears in my brain started spinning: “What if we decide to have kids? Whose name will they have? I don’t want to be the only one in the family with a different last name!” I came to the conclusion that I just wouldn’t feel like we’re a family if we didn’t have the same last name. I knew I didn’t want to toss out my last name and just assume his, as if I had acquired someone else’s identity. I still wanted to be me.
As the girls were getting their hair and makeup did at the Ranch Creek cabin, the boys were in the cabin next door known as the Red Quill. Albeit, they started a couple of hours after we did. In both cabins, groomsmen and bridesmaids were opening up our gifts and our homemade cards featuring the horse that Mr. CB drew. I had it turned into a stamp somewhere along the way.
Lights and lanterns, you brighten (ha!) my wedding world and I can’t stop looking pictures of magical outdoor weddings with incredible lighting. So much so that while I was once certain of my lighting concepts, I am now a doubting Thomas. (Side note: Is there a female version of the phrase doubting Thomas? Doubting Thomasina?)
Let’s start with lanterns. I love this shot with the setting sun pouring light into the room. Gorgeous.
Featured on Weddingbee
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
“Make an elegant invitation statement without the fuss. Stylish invitation sets with matching envelopes, reception and response cards included.”
When I talk about budgets I like to be specific, so I’m going to share with you our wedding budget.
Mr. Spaniel and I have a budget of around $30,000, most of which is generally being paid for by our parents. I would have loved for us to be able to pay for our own wedding, but—alas!—I am a starving student and he is a starving recent graduate. The only wedding we could afford would have been in city hall, followed by ramen for two. Rather than let us elope, our parents have stepped up and are helping us out substantially.
| Ceremony (location fee, officiant) | $400 |
| Reception (venue rental, food and service, beverages and bartenders, cake and cutting fee) | $17,000 |
| Bride’s attire and accessories | $2,000 |
| Groom’s tux and accessories | $250 |
| Flowers and decor (bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, ceremony decorations, reception decorations and centerpieces) | $2,000 |
| Music (ceremony and reception musicians) | $2,000 |
| Photography | $3,000 |
| Stationery | $750 |
| Wedding rings | $2,000 |
| Gifts (bridesmaids, groomsmen, parents) | $600 |
| Total | $30,000 |
So many lovely hostesses helped make my shower special and I wanted to give them small tokens of my appreciation. I decided to make them some magnets that they could use on their fridges or in the office. I loved crafting them by hand and hoped that they seemed extra special to the ladies!
I was really excited that I already had most items that I needed to make these magnets. As a compulsive crafter, I have a ton of crafting supplies that I keep telling myself will come in handy some day. That day came!
Supplies:
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
Have you ever done one of those quizzes in teen girl mags that claim to educate you on how to “Dress for your Shape”? Usually, your answers result in one of these four possibilities:
Once you know your “basic shape”, the magazine goes on to educate you on the perfect date outfit for your body type, or a prom dress that will highlight your “positive attributes”. Equipped with this knowledge, you can go on to be your most fabulous self!
But what about those of us who don’t quite fit into these four standard types? Are we doomed to never find out which outfit will look best on us?
Read more…
Alright my lovelies, I need your assistance.
Which design should we use for our holiday cards this year? I made a few options using our wedding pictures a) because I love them, and b) I want everyone to see them!
Option 1 : Ornaments
Whenever I go to a foreign country, I try to go in without any expectations at all. Inevitably, I end up failing at that because we all have these visions of faraway places in our heads that we can’t force out or forget — they are safely tucked away after being absorbed from dramatic scenes in classic movies or vividly descriptive passages in our favorite books.
Greece is no different. While I tried to be as open-minded as possible about the experience that Mr. Star and I were about to embark upon together, there were many sights we saw that were entirely expected on my part.
Brightly-colored buildings, for one
Tamika371 is selling an Audrey Hepburn-inspired custom-made reception dress. The size 8-10 dress is made of ivory satin. She’s asking $70.
Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with pictures in the Weddingbee classifieds and you might see it featured on the blog!
Other great items for sale:
I think I’m ready to talk about Mr. HD’s and my relationship. I have a lot of skeletons in my closet relationship-wise (who doesn’t?). We were both really young when we met. We have so much history that I’ll just hit the high (and really low) points. Ready? Me, too (I think).
(personal photo)
The first time we met was in high school. He was a year ahead of me. The first time I saw him I thought he was a total hunk, though he looked WAAY older than his 17 years. He later admitted that he was attracted to me too, but I looked WAAY younger than MY 16 years. So, nothing happened. But I REALLY wanted to pursue something.
Read more…
One last stop before the wedding day! I thought this would be a good time to show you all the “papery” details from our wedding. I say it in quotations because we didn’t get many real life photos of our menu, ceremony card, etc., so I have a few screen captures from Illustrator instead.
Our Wayne Theibaud inspired evite
Photography is extremely important to Mr. Hammy and me, and we started researching different photographers soon after we got engaged. I scoured New York Magazine, WeddingWire and reviews on the Intrawebs, and asked for input from friends. After emailing and meeting with a number of photographers, we made our pick - the lovely Erica Lyn!
All photos in this post shot by Erica Lyn
I first learned of Erica on this very site - she recently photographed Mrs. Gloss’ wedding! There were several things about her that caught my immediate attention - the first was her style. Having started in fashion photography, her work has an edgier feel that we really liked.
Read more…
Presents have already started arriving on our doorstep (which, BTW, is an AWESOME perk of getting married—every day is like Christmas!). A few have been off of our registry, one or two have been a little, um, special? And some, like the ones I’m about to show you, are simply gorgeous.
Enter Michael Aram. He’s an American artist who works primarily in metals and whose pieces are clearly inspired by nature. I would never have known about him if we hadn’t received 2 separate presents from his collection. Both were from different stores (Macy’s and Bloomies), so he is clearly a well-known home goods designer. Who knew?
Then, a recently married friend of mine told me she and her fiance actually registered for their wedding at his online store! An amazing idea and clearly, worth taking another look-see.
Here’s what we’ve received:
Hydrangea Picture Frame
One of (many) difficulties in planning such a long engagement (18 months when all is said and done) is committing to getting in shape for the wedding. Now I didn’t just want to lose weight because I want to look amazing in my wedding dress (although that is also a motivating factor)—I wanted to drop a few pounds because I met Mr. Spaniel in the best shape of my life (unemployment will do that to you), and gained ten pounds since I’ve been with him. Harrumph. I don’t like feeling like a sausage in my favorite clothes.
I purchased Buff Brides a long time ago (years before I met Mr. Spaniel) for a friend who broke her engagement. When she gave me back the book, I kept it instead of returning it (is that bad luck?). I have restarted Week 1 of the 24-week program about twenty-five time since then—I’ve never gotten past Week 11, because that’s when it changes from a 3-day per week workout to a 4-day per week workout, and I don’t adjust well to changes in my routine! Not only that, but the stronger I got, the more reps I needed to do to get my workout in, and it started to be too time-consuming.
But the results I’ve had from the workout have been so incredible in the past that I decided to start the program again—the short program, that is, starting 12 weeks from the Big Day. Until recently, I had definitely fallen for the myth that heavy weights make women “big”, but I’ve been weight training for a few months with weights 2-3 times what I used to use when I do the Buff Brides workout, and I haven’t popped out of my clothing yet. Because really: when you are fully capable of benching at least half your body weight, why should you be doing 50 reps of chest presses with 8-pound dumbbells?? That’s just a waste of time.
Read more…
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