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.
As I shared in my last post, everything was very last minute for our engagement shoot, but everything seemed to work out so perfectly. I could not have been any happier about our photographer Cat’s idea of shooting at Union Station, in downtown LA. It was a pretty rainy (actually, stormy) day, but due to Mr. Poodle’s schedule, we just had to do them that day.
On our way there Mr. Poodle asked me if I remembered the umbrellas. I ran to the truck, taking advantage of a moment when it wasn’t raining to go get it. Note to self: Duh! Rain and curls do not mix!
Once we got there we took our raincoats off and proceeded with the FUN part! Want a sneak peek?
Mrs. Spaniel, Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 28, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, PsychologistWedding Date: March 2010Venue: Calamigos RanchAbout Me: I'm a third-year law student trying to balance graduating with starting my career, keeping up a relationship, and, oh yeah, planning an Old World, multi-cultural, "mountain lodge" wedding for 180 guests! A South Asian Jewish girl getting ready to marry my handsome Catholic Dane, I'm hoping to blend our cultures in our wedding just a bit more gently than by providing samosas as appetizers and offering æbleskiver for dessert. (Although that would also be awesome.)
It was an exciting day in the Spaniel household when we finally got our wedding invitations in the mail! I didn’t take any pictures—our focus was on staying dry during the latest torrential downpour—but oh, the relief! I carried them all in a plastic bag inside a plastic tub to keep them dry on the way to the post office, and only managed to drop one into a big dirty puddle on the sidewalk. Luckily, that invite was headed to New Zealand, so I can blame the vagaries of international mail delivery for that one, and no one will be the wiser!
In addition to excitement, though, I feel a little bit of… alarm? Like this is a wake up call of sorts. We’ve been engaged for so long that the wedding has never stopped feeling far off in the future. But, it’s not so far away anymore! Catering headcounts are due soon! Fire permits for the candle centerpieces need to be obtained! I no longer have forever to figure out what we’re going to do about our guestbook! We actually need to start planning our honeymoon itinerary! And on top of that, I still have work to do, classes to study for and jobs to find!
But it’s not just the time crunch we’re facing that has me feeling a bit overwhelmed. Read more…
Mrs. Buttons, Clearwater, FLAge and Occupation: 24, "Working on it"Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Financial ServicesEngagement Date: June 13, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Carlouel Yacht ClubAbout Me: I'm a self proclaimed perfectionist and a professional nomad (seriously, I've lived in TX, WI, MI, FL, NC, and now VA!). I love wine, cooking, curling up with a good book (nerd alert!), spoiling the furbaby, and of course, the wonderful Mr. Buttons! We are planning a lighthearted and whimsical wedding (with a good deal of DIY projects) in Clearwater, Florida, but from a distance of 800 miles away! We are looking forward to sharing our day with our family and friends, and most importantly, starting our lives together as husband and wife!
Our venue includes white, floor length table linens. At first, I thought that these were sufficient as a part of our wedding day decor. Hey, free is nice, right???
But then, I discovered pintuck… and it has gone all downhill from that point.
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.)
In my last post, I wrote about my aversion to having children (which stemmed from the fear of being a big ol’ loser at parenting). Anyway, strangely enough, as my relationship with Mr. Pug progressed, I found myself more and more open the idea of raising kids. It’s now to the point that I have baby fever—I really want a kid and I will steal one if I have to (also keep in mind that I’ll be close to 34 when we get married, so I better get crackin’… I am kidding about the stealing part).
The fever has led me to do things like this (not advised):
So, how did this happen? I’m not entirely sure. Let me throw out a few things that I’m thinking. Read more…
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!
Here is the fourth installment of our reader ring shots! If you’d like to contribute a picture of your ring to this series (you don’t have to be newly engaged!), take a look at Anne Ruthmann’s tutorial on taking great ring shots, and submit your favorite pictures to this thread. We can’t wait to see everyone’s beautiful bling!
Ms. Stripes, Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 29, Costume Designer/StylistFiancee's Age and Occupation: 29, ChefEngagement Date: June 23, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heritage Square MuseumAbout Me: I’m a type A creative with a messy streak, a loud mouth, and an uncanny knack for combining clashing patterns. I can usually be found with my nose in a book, my feet (or at least my toes) on the ground, my head in the clouds, and my arm around the prettiest girl you ever saw- aka
Fiancee Stripes. Together we’re planning a FUN vintage/modern French carnival wedding extravaganza and rockin’ dance party on a dime. (Say that three times fast!) Good coffee, long lists, Uniball pens, and my iPhone keep me sane, and making art, making trouble, and making out keep me happy! I love urban adventures, bike rides that end with afternoon drinks, breakfast for dinner, beautiful light, photography, travel, my furry family, and of course, my beautiful fiancee! I’m super excited to be here and can’t wait to share all our adventures as we craft a joyful, budget-friendly, design-savvy and all-around AWESOME wedding!
Okay people—in case you haven’t heard, we’re drowning here in Los Angeles! I’ve been wearing Wellies for days, running around in the rain (loading & unloading wardrobe racks is so glamorous), and excitedly awaiting the weekend. Do I have big plans? Nope! I’ve just been working non-stop for weeks and am super excited to hang out with Fiancee Stripes and DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
So I’m gonna get busy doing zip and I’ll see you all Monday!
RANDOM. RAMBLING. ADVISORY: Proceed at your own risk. Read more…
Keep on loading your inspirational wedding pics to the gallery to see them featured here on the blog! Remember, your images must be under 1MB in size, or they won’t load.
ContestsFeature Launched: Oct 5, 2006About: Weddingbee contests and giveaways.
Congratulations to the winner of this contest, soonerpsych!
~~~
Blush Paperie is a wedding stationer offering a beautiful selection of wedding stationery. Recently they introduced a digital printing option for their customizable invitation line. To celebrate the launch of their digital printing option, they’re giving away 50 free invitation & RSVP sets to one lucky Weddingbee reader, digitally printed in the design of your choice!
To enter this contest, check out Blush Paperie’s line of wedding invitations and tell us which set you’d choose! You have until midnight PST tomorrow, Sunday, January 24th to enter. Good luck!
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!
It’s tutorial time, yet again! We’ve talked lashes, we’ve talked brows, and now it’s all about the face. I’m not going to go on and on about how important a smooth canvas is, but suffice it to say—it is, so take care of your skin. Now, back to the makeup! I’m going to teach you a few insider tips and tricks so you’ll have the most fabulous face in all the land. Enough chit chat; let’s get started.
First and foremost, start with a clean face (please excuse my no makeup face). After I wash my face, I always use toner. Biore Triple Action something or other. It’s inexpensive and works amazingly. It always gets off whatever make-up/dirt/oil that washing may have left behind.
Mrs. Ribbons, Washington D.C./Bloomington, INAge and Occupation: 23, Research Associate for an international development firmFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Proposal Coordinator for contractor
Engagement Date: May 2, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Indiana Memorial UnionAbout Me: I'm an Indiana transplant living in DC with my fiance and our pretty kitty. I enjoy the color pink, I'm obsessed with the Dior New Look and tulle, and I heart my level 80 paladin. I'm a sucker for bad TV, literary theory, and cakes of all persuasion. I also happen to be marrying the cutest closet nerd around! It's all about Bloomington for us because it's where we met -- on the college paper. If there's a theme for our small summertime wedding, it's Dior meets Dorothy Draper on a lark in Bloomington; think poofy, plus graphic prints, bold colors, and a whole lot of prettiness.
All bazillion yards of it (or about 80). During a trip to Chicago I stopped at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston and found these in a clearance bin, $3/spool. A SPOOL! I grabbed what I could find in pink and it was delightful. I also bought 2.5 yards of black grosgrain, which, incidentally, also cost $3. Read more…
Mrs. Sewing, San Mateo, CA/Honolulu, HIAge and Occupation: 24, Electrical EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Electrical EngineerEngagement Date: June 27, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Anela Garden Chapel & Japanese Cultural Center, HonoluluAbout Me: I'm an easily entertained, compulsive idea-scheming machine who loves good art, good food, and a good engineering challenge. I'm planning a half-destination wedding on the beautiful island of Oahu - imagine a plethora of movies, art and games; savory Hawaiian food; blended Chinese and Japanese cultural details; lush, fragrant tropical flowers and all the air conditioning a NorCal native could want! And once I marry the love of my life, we'll come back to the 'mainland' to party it up all over again in my hometown of Salinas, the salad-bowl capital of the world!
I have my reservations about the old tradition, since I’ve never really wanted to participate whenever I’ve been to a wedding. I inevitably end up standing awkwardly on the edge of the dance floor, with no intention of biting and scratching others for the prize. I don’t want our guests to be like me. And in addition to the possibility that no one will try to catch my bouquet, or that too many people will try (and result in some sort of injury), I probably won’t even be able to throw it. Not properly or gracefully, anyway. It’ll bounce off of the ceiling, or I’ll fall over backwards or get it caught in my hair - anything’s possible. So, I think we’re going to switch it up a bit, and try something a little different.
Mrs. French Bulldog, Orange CountyAge and Occupation: 28, Administrative Assistant & Interior Design StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Purchasing AnalystEngagement Date: November 8, 2008Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: Bernardo WineryAbout Me: I've lived in Atlanta, Dallas and Laguna Niguel; although I've lived in Orange County, CA most my life, I'm a Southerner at heart. I work full time for a Commercial General Contractor (aka my father) and I go to school for Interior Design at night. I love modern design, music, wine, crafting, DMailing, my family, my Westies, and of course, Mr Frenchie! Mr Frenchie and I met 3 years ago on Match.com and have been best friends ever since. I love his "old soul" and how he laughs with his whole body, among many other things. We are planning our summer wedding at the winery near his hometown, just 45 minutes south of Orange County.
Hive Hostess LatteLove and I have been Tweeting about turning the canceled San Diego meet up into an SD & OC bee meet up! This time the OC (or at least I) will come to San Diego!
Mrs. Pencils, Washington DC/Frederick, MDAge and Occupation: 24, Program Director, Education Non ProfitFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Administrative Assistant, Ocean Conservation Non ProfitEngagement Date: July 26, 2008Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Morningside InnAbout Me: I'm a nerdy Northwestern girl who always knew she was meant to live in the East, harboring a deep love of ice cream, underwear, Diet Coke with a splash of Coca-Cola, pashminas, scrapbooking, stationery, wall calendars and books written for preteens. I think every day should include good thin crust pizza, chocolate, an obscure historical monument, lots of laughter, a dash of wedding planning and, of course, amazing Mr. Pencils! I'm loving the adventure of planning a Maryland wedding and Rocky Mountain reception, and most of all, I just love love!
Brief caveat: below are beautiful dresses. Simply put, they did not suit my body type or image of myself as a “bride” and are only “bad and ugly” on said person below: ME.
So, I have no shame, and will gleefully show you the “bad and the ugly” from my five dress shopping trips. Compare them to yours and enjoy. Read more…
WatercoolerFeature Launched: July 1, 2007About: The most discussed posts of the week.
Mrs. Scissors, LaGrange, GAAge and Occupation: 25, Photography & Graphic DesignFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Engineering Grad StudentEngagement Date: January 1, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Ceremony - First United Methodist Church; Reception - My parents' house!About Me: I’m a six-foot-three bride with a fifty-foot personality! I love great art, fabulous design, intense color, tons of music, indie photography, watching movies on repeat, and being really awesome. This super-tall, Southern, loud, quirky, neurotic artist is marrying a German, quiet, silly, super-amazing roboticist in an eclectic, funky, fun, snazzy, technicolored June wedding. Anything is game for this shindig, for it is all about us! We’re bringing giant paper cranes, six-foot-tall portraits, fortune cookies, a photo booth, a club-circuit DJ, handcuffs, and possibly a kidnapping to this small Southern town. Watch out, y’all, and try to keep up!
A detail that I left out when writing about my experiences shopping for the bridesmaids’ dresses is one that, well, totally and most definitely deserves its own spotlight. After visiting Bella Bridesmaid, we decided to swing by Bridals by Lori to A: look at their selection of dresses, and B: check to see if my dress was in. I didn’t have very high hopes with respect to my dress being in, and actually debated even going to Bridals by Lori.
We walked in, I did my “I’m just here to look at bridesmaids’ dresses, plus I was wondering if I could go upstairs to visit my dress” spiel, but also asked if I could find out the status of my dress. The front desk lady started plunking away on her computer.
“Let me cheeeck to seee if… wait, what’s your name?”
“Miss Scissors, S-C-I-S-S-O-R-S. I don’t suspect that it’s in, since I haven’t gotten a phone ca-”
“It’s here. Downstairs, hasn’t been unboxed yet! It actually came in yesterday, but we were closed yest-” Read more…
Luckily, that invite was headed to New Zealand, so I can blame the vagaries of international mail delivery for that one, and no one will be the wiser!
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
