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.
Hive member Christen said stop but Lillindy said GO
Accorn said, “buy them!” and MrsSl82be advised no.
The Stuarts, so bright, had stolen her heart
She moved them into—then out of—the virtual cart.
Beautiful, yes, but were they worth the thrill,
worth the scrimping and saving of the dollah dollah billz?
Was three hundred dollars spent on a sandal
Worth writing a check her student self couldn’t handle?
One last perusal through Zappos and a shot in the dark
She found heels, size 5, bought them on a lark.
One fourth the price—could they alter her mood? Read more…
Mrs. Cola, Mountain View, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Product Communications and PromotionsFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Managing Partner and Senior DesignerEngagement Date: March 5, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: The Mountain Terrace, Woodside, CAAbout Me: I’m a Washington State native, enjoying life in Silicon Valley California with my fiancé, our three kitties and one leopard gecko. I like reading wedding blogs, Photoshopping wedding design mock ups, making lists, and planning, planning, planning! I’m a bit of an anomaly, on one side I’m a very girlie girl, I collect shoes, I lay out my outfits 4-6 weeks in advance, and I’d never leave the house without my hair curled and makeup on. But on the other side, I’m a total tomboy, I love to go camping and hiking, play drinking games (hey, I’m Irish!) and most of my closest friends are guys. My fiancé and I are planning a DIY-focused wedding with a balance between easygoing (what he wants) and chic and stylish (what I want), and are tying it all together with elements in lavender, sage, butter cream and chocolate.
Our rehearsal dinner location will be the San Mateo Garden Center. I’m so excited about it; it’s going to be so much better than just a picnic in the park! Now, I’ll show you how we plan to enhance the look of the location for the dinner.
And to do that I, of course, had to break out the Photoshop! Here are some before and after pictures, with my decoration ideas Photoshopped onto the pictures I took.
We’ll have drinks and mingling on the deck near the gazebo and koi fish pond:
Mrs. Swan, New York CityAge and Occupation: 31, Legislative RepresentativeFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Finance GuyEngagement Date: August 9, 2008Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: Battery GardensAbout Me: I am an un-crafty but resourceful, Caribbean-born but New York-raised woman who's been known to analyze "Dancing with the Stars" and “So You Think You Can Dance”, buy stinky cheese, and use way too many parentheses. I keep lists for fun, am constantly daydreaming of my next international travel adventure (four continents down, three to go), debating sports (let’s Got Mets/Giants!) and dancing around my apartment to stay sane. I am excited to share our wedding planning journey as I hope to plan a streamlined, personal, and fun wedding with the greatest life partner I could ever imagine, Mr. Swan.
My first stop in Brazil was to the beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro, a place known for its caipirinhas, skimpy bathing suits, pulsing samba, and breathtaking landscape. I am sure you want me to tell you how cool it was to sip some great tropical juice while getting a massage on the beach, but that didn’t really happen. Rio was having probably one of its dreariest Octobers on record, and the beach was totally off the menu for the first few days. October in Rio has the same type of weather as April in the Northeast U.S., so the first few days I was there I experienced quite a bit of rain and overcast skies. Rio is a city that needs to be appreciated for its natural beauty, especially on a sunny day, but there’s quite a bit to see if you need some shelter and don’t mind leaving the Copacabana/Ipanema beach area that’s so popular with tourists.
Before I begin my story, let me make a confession: My name is Mrs. Swan, and I am a guidebook junkie. Not only do I collect them, but they serve as my little travel companions that don’t talk back and give you great information (when they’re up to date, that is). I do definitely veer off the beaten path when I can, but my guidebooks are my little security blankets.
Anyways, what’s there to see in Rio on a rainy day when Copacabana Beach looks like this?
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.
After dinner (which was a scrumptious barbecue feast), the toasts began. We hadn’t made a timeline for all of this, but our day-of-coordinator was on top of her game and made sure things flowed smoothly. Everyone faced the front as my dad took the microphone.
I was really nervous for my dad because he has faced serious shyness his entire life, but he did beautifully.
Mrs. Nachos, Chicago/St. ThomasAge and Occupation: 33, Commercial Real Estate & HairstylistFiance's Age and Occupation: 36, Radio ProducerEngagement Date: May 22, 2009Wedding Date: April 2010Venue: Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort, St. ThomasAbout Me: I'm a happy, laid back city girl that can find the silver lining in any situation. An optimist at heart, my motto is to turn your "what ifs?" into "so whats!". My fiance is a radio producer and the biggest Cubs fan you'll meet - our apartment decor definitely shows it. He and I grew up next door to each other and because of it, we have the best home videos and easiest holiday dinners. We are planning an intimate wedding in the Virgin Islands and a cocktail party in June for 150 of our closest friends.
Now that the invitations have gone out, I can actually write about them here. Considering it’s been my biggest DIY project so far, I’ve been antsy to share! With not many invitations to send out, we had a lot of freedom in how elaborate we could be. In keeping with the beach theme, I thought it would be really cute to send the invites as a message in a bottle. A while back, Mr. Nachos and I played around on the computer and made a mock of what we might want the paper part of the invitations to look like (this was even before we had a date picked) and we ended up sticking with our original idea.
Then I looked around online for pictures and inspiration and stumbled across this awesome website a woman published with step-by-step instructions on how she made hers, where she bought everything, how much it cost, and what worked and what didn’t:
Mrs. Hamster, New York CityAge and Occupation: 28, Finance GalFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Finance GuyEngagement Date: March 9, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: The Pierre HotelAbout Me: I'm an original Jersey girl living it up in the big NYC! I love baking for others, hosting brunches, and exploring NYC with my mans. Besides Mr. Hamster (of course), I'm attracted to shiny things, bold colors, snacks, matching and coordination, pork and duck fats, miniature versions of things, corny jokes and puns. We are planning a swanky Spring wedding in the heart of NYC, followed by a second reception in Singapore. From one city that never sleeps to another - I can't imagine a more exciting ride!
There’s nothing quite as jaw-dropping as an ugly bridesmaid dress. While there are some super cute styles out there these days, there are a TON of not-so-cute styles. While wading through the sea of organza, taffeta and satin, there were three things I was looking for in particular:
Not outrageously expensive. Like Miss Spaniel, I set a $200 limit - anything over and I would pay the difference.
Long and formal-ish. Our wedding is going to be somewhat fancy-pants, so I was looking for dresses that matched that.
Could possibly be worn again.
Unfortunately, these stipulations ruled out the gold lamé. Darn.
My MOH/sister and I visited three stores that specialized in bridesmaid attire for “your special day” (shudder). There were quite a few doozies, but a few passed muster. The first that was “okay enough” was this champagne number by Amsale: Read more…
Mrs. Parfait, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 26, TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Senior Online ConsultantEngagement Date: February 14, 2009Wedding Date: April 2010Venue: Signature EventsAbout Me: I have a soft spot for all things sweet and romantic. Desserts, love songs, sappy movies? Yes, yes, and ohh yes. My fiance and I enjoy singing to our dogs, creating crazy ice cream sundaes, and generally being lovey dovey cuddle bunnies. We also do socially acceptable things like dancing, throwing Frisbees, playing high stakes board games, and taking unreasonably fun road-trips. We're planning a Korean/Serbian wedding with plenty of playful, personal touches!
I know that I’m a stuck-in-a-happy-bubble, head-in-the-clouds kind of bride, but I’ll take a moment to get real with all of you. There is one thing that plagues and worries me about our wedding, and it’s something I can’t entirely control.
My sensitive skin.
Okay, you can laugh. It’s pretty common and usually not too traumatizing. Unless, of course, you’re like me, and your skin freaks out over every little thing it touches. Like forks. Or couches. Or pants. Yeeeah… all thanks to:
Mrs. Crab Cake, Columbus, GAAge and Occupation: 25, Registered NurseFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Director of Education and Living History for a museumEngagement Date: April 6, 2008Wedding Date: June, 2009Blogging Since: November 26, 2008Venue: Holy Family Catholic Church, reception: National Infantry MuseumAbout Me: I'm a perfectionist trying to balance two jobs, motherhood, my craft obsession, and wedding planning. I am obsessed with all things wedding, especially creative ideas for saving money and DIY projects. A Southern Belle at heart, I love anything southern, especially sweet tea, grits, afternoon thunder storms, crab cakes, and good old Southern hospitality. Mr. Crab Cake and I are planning a vintage inspired wedding with tons of Southern flare (can y'all say that with a thick Southern drawl?).
Twcabinet is selling 7 manzanita trees that have been potted in custom-painted 8″x8″ wooden boxes. Each tree has approximated 10 hand-blown votives and hanging crystals. She’s selling them for $125 apiece if you buy all (plus shipping) or $150 each.
Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with pictures in the Weddingbee classifieds and you might see it featured on the blog!
Mrs. Pug, New York City/Half Moon Bay, CAAge and Occupation: 33, LawyerFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, dittoEngagement Date: July 2008Wedding Date: March 2010Venue: Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon BayAbout Me: The Mr. and I are two 30-somethings who enjoy tasty sweets of all kinds, our neighborhood wine store, and cuddling with our pug. NYC is where we live and the city we love, but we’re doing the deed out in Northern California. We are trying to keep the affair small, intimate, and manageable. Our motto is: the less people, the better! (I’m kidding.)
I already posted a bit about choosing the paper for our save the dates. For the design, I wanted something simple and elegant. So, what did I end up with? Ducks. I mean, what else says elegance more so than ducks?
I wanted some kind of simple drawing/motif/symbol that would speak personally to us. Or at least to me, since Mr. Pug doesn’t really care. After some brain-racking, I came up with Korean wedding ducks.*
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!
Yup, I bought it this weekend! We picked out his ring a few months back, but we hadn’t thought much about it because you don’t generally have to “jump” on a man’s ring like you have to jump on some women’s rings. Mine, for example, was a limited production so once we found it, we had to scoop it up quick, and good thing we did ’cause now I can’t find a ring like it anywhere. His ring, on the other hand, allowed us to take our sweet time, so that’s just what we did.
Then, on Friday morning, I woke up with a strong urge to “make it official”. Luckily for the both of us, our ring fingers are case-sized (he’s a 10, I’m a 7), so we don’t have to wait to get them sized or anything, we just go to the store, pay for the ring, and it’s ours; easy as pie.
I tell you though, once I officially had Mr. Rainbow’s ring in my possession I was like, “woah, this is really happening.” Of course, I was fully aware that it was already “really happening”, but there was just something about actually having his ring finally. It was exciting, and romantic, and a little bit scary. I think Mr. R even secretly felt that way when he found out that I bought the ring, although he’s not admitting it.
Mrs. Cheeseburger, Baltimore, MD/State College, PAAge and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentEngagement Date: June 28, 2008Wedding Date: March 2010Venue: Catholic Church Ceremony & Hotel ReceptionAbout Me: I'm a passionate girl from Pittsburgh, currently living in Baltimore for school, who loves Penn State, seeing movies, football, thunderstorms, black and white photos, Christmas, good beer, my amazing friends and family, and of course, my mister! We met, fell in love, got engaged, and will be married at our alma mater (go lions!) in a traditional Catholic ceremony followed by a hotel reception with lots of DIY details. It means so much to have our families and friends meet at our favorite place on earth to celebrate our love for one another - I truly couldn't ask for anything more!
I already talked about the candy buffet briefly, but the details are all starting to fall into place. Here are all of the containers together:
And here are the different types of candy we’re going to fill them with! 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!
So, now we all were sporting fabulous ‘dos and we headed back to our apartment. It was time for everyone to throw on their accessories, touch up their makeup, and take a few last pre-dress pictures!
My wonderful bridesmaids (have I said that enough?) took a minute and arranged all of their different polka dot accessories together for a photo op, my “something blue” polka dotted garter included:
Mrs. Guinea Pig, Baltimore, MD Age and Occupation: 26, PhD student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Operations Director at a non-profit Engagement Date: December 25, 2008 Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: The Chesapeake Bay Beach Club About Me: I'm a tomboy science nerd whose girly side has made a startling appearance thanks to wedding planning! I love to bake, knit and sew but I also ride a motorcycle (that Mr. Guinea Pig wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole). We live with our three crazy cats and love to read, travel, watch movies, and do home improvement projects together! My parents/family are Canadian but I'm definitely American, although I've lived in 5 different countries, 6 different states, and speak Russian fluently. Mr. GP and I met online (did I mention I'm a scientist?) and had a whirlwind romance - now we can't wait to get married & celebrate with all our friends and family in a blue and yellow waterfront affair!
I love our venue (which I will tell you about soon!). One of the things that sold us on it was its proximity to the water (something Mr. Guinea Pig really wanted). Another added bonus is that we will have a fantastic view of the sunset over the Chesapeake Bay! Our ceremony starts at 6 PM, and thanks to the Navy’s handy ’Complete Sun and Moon data’, I know that sunset on our wedding day will be at 8:05 PM.
The sun will be fairly low on the horizon by the time our ceremony gets underway, and our guests will be facing the water (and sun). So while I’m super excited for the sunset, I’m a little worried about our guests’ eyes during the ceremony! Read more…
Mrs. Cola, Mountain View, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Product Communications and PromotionsFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Managing Partner and Senior DesignerEngagement Date: March 5, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: The Mountain Terrace, Woodside, CAAbout Me: I’m a Washington State native, enjoying life in Silicon Valley California with my fiancé, our three kitties and one leopard gecko. I like reading wedding blogs, Photoshopping wedding design mock ups, making lists, and planning, planning, planning! I’m a bit of an anomaly, on one side I’m a very girlie girl, I collect shoes, I lay out my outfits 4-6 weeks in advance, and I’d never leave the house without my hair curled and makeup on. But on the other side, I’m a total tomboy, I love to go camping and hiking, play drinking games (hey, I’m Irish!) and most of my closest friends are guys. My fiancé and I are planning a DIY-focused wedding with a balance between easygoing (what he wants) and chic and stylish (what I want), and are tying it all together with elements in lavender, sage, butter cream and chocolate.
For some reason every time I hear the term “First Look” I always hear Adam Sandler saying “Stop looking at me, Swan!” in Billy Madison.
Anywho….
After much internal debate (and I say internal, because Mr. Cola didn’t care), I/we decided that we would do the “first look”, where we’d see each other all dressed up before the wedding ceremony, but stage it so it’s still special. I had always really wanted to wait until I walked down the aisle for Mr. Cola to see me for the first time, but the benefits of doing it before the ceremony outweighed tradition. And also, Mr. Cola’s teasing with, “Oh no, I looked at you!” and “Gee, I don’t know if I want to look at you there…” kinda ruined the specialness and tradition of not seeing each other until the ceremony for me. It’s apparently all silliness to him.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
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