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!
What is this? A long dress? From someone who so forcefully said, “Ick, no long dresses at all. I’m not that mean,” just a year ago, if not a month ago? Yes. You see, I’d been pining over the Vera Wang dress for months, even prior to finding my dress, but wrote it off as being “too mean”. First of all, it was long, and I figured that it would be way out of the price range that I was willing to suggest. Vera Wang? C’mon, there’s no way that this dress would be able to work, right?
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!
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!
If you’ve read Weddingbee for any amount of time, you’ve probably seen lots of posts on Day of Coordinators (DOCs), and bees debating why and why not to get one. I’ve read a lot of them (go here to read about DOCs and find links to bee posts, and here to check out some real bee DOC budgets), and, though it took me a while, I finally have a stance on the matter myself. Read more…
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!
I know, I know, I know, I originally said nay to real flowers, but… ugh… okay… I have no good excuse. Don’t get me wrong, I love our centerpieces, and I don’t plan on changing them a bit—if we even get to use them, that is (see back story here). The flowers that I’m referring to are for the bouquet.
Yes, I’ve already made my bouquet, and originally I really loved it. I actually still really like it, but there’s just something about real flowers. I really really really love flowers, and fakes just don’t look or feel the same as real ones. And just for good measure, let me reiterate—I really really really love flowers.
See, I can handle fake centerpieces, I love my fake centerpieces, they saved me a crap load of cash, and let’s be real, they’re pretty freakin’ cute. But a fake bouquet? IjustdunnoifIcandoit. I feel like if I walk down the aisle with a fake flower bouquet, it’ll feel like I’m back in Washington playing dress up and “marrying” my neighbor, like it’s just a practice run. I think what it is, is that I like the fragility of real flowers, the realness, it’s kind of like marriage, don’t you think?
Now, before I show you my real flower bouquet inspiration, I’ll show you my faux flower bouquet (I haven’t added the feathers yet):
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.
With the formalities over and the dance floor officially opened, my family and friends let their hair down under the disco lights. My photographer later told us that our dancing pictures were some of the most entertaining that she had taken. I’ll let you take a look at the mischief we got in to! (On a side note, many of these pictures were taken during a particularly passionate Grease Lightning rendition which might explain the clapping, etc.) Read more…
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!
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.
Mrs. French Fries, MilwaukeeAge and Occupation: 27, ParalegalFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Investments AdvisorEngagement Date: September 20, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Ceremony: Catholic Church, Reception: Hotel BallroomAbout Me: I'm a Midwestern girl who longs to live in a warmer climate (my feet would be happy in flip flops any day!). I love travel, impromptu napping, grilled cheese sandwiches, my iPhone, singing with reckless abandon in my car, and Mr. French Fries.
When I started planning our wedding some 16 months ago, I avoided deciding on a “theme”. I picked colors, and my dress (erm… I guess technically I picked two), and various other elements for our day, but… no theme. In retrospect, I think I was worried it would go awry. I didn’t know if I could pull it off without it looking overdone, and I didn’t want people to think, ‘Oh! Mr. & Mrs. French Fries’ wedding! That was the one where they did (insert theme here) and it was really weird.’ So, I avoided it.
Raise your hand if you can see where this is going.
Cut to: 6 months before the wedding, and me deciding on a “loosely based” theme. I still hesitate to even call it a “theme” … so, I guess we’ll call it a motif? Or a feeling? Something to tie everything together? Or… I don’t know.
Fine. It’s a theme.
What is this wonderful magical element that’s going to tie everything together? Candy.
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!
Two weekends ago Mr. Sewing and I went to our favorite fabric store in San Francisco, to search for the final dress fabric!
We came home with 20 yards of bleached white muslin for the under layers, 16 yards (the whole roll!) of poly poplin for the top layer of the skirt and underlayers of the corset, and 2 yards of lace for the top layer of the corset. The total cost? Almost a perfect $300. My wallet smiles at this.
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!
I promise, this is the final post about our Save the Dates!
I know that I already lamented about our printer problems, but there are a few things that we learned with our Save the Date process that I’d like to mention… because if I could do it all over again, I would change a few things! Perhaps you will be smarter than me, and potentially learn from my mistakes? Read more…
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.
I was reading a board post a few weeks ago about favorite love movies and realized I had totally ignored a huge part of my personality - weird movies!
I went through a phase in college where I bought Criterion Collection movies like they were a certain illicit substance and my last name was Lohan. This is how I came across The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. 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!
A sneaky peek at our invitation design! It’s just a little one. Don’t get too excited!
Mm mmm, swirls and dots and stuff…
As you can see, our entire invitation suite will be pink. I love it, and it’s cost-effective to have only one color since we opted for letterpress (squeeeee!). However, our other colors are grievously absent. I posted this inspiration board before, but just as a reminder, our complete palette includes bright yellow, pink, and orange: Read more…
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!
All true samples of questions, awkward and not, I have received since becoming engaged.
I hesitate to answer each of them, for different reasons. Number two seems pretty obvious—Idunnoyou, why do you care what I’m droppin?—but number one I don’t tell acquaintances and strangers because who knows what they can learn on the internet once they have my name and wedding date… I’m fraud security safe, yo.
The third one should not alarm a bride to be. But this question leads to others: where’d you get it (Oregon), when’d you get it (January), who was there? And that’s where I hesitate because I’ve been on the receiving end of some pretty adverse reactions when I tell them who was with me when I chose my dress.
If your fiance helped you choose your gown, please stand up (please stand up). Read more…
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’s amazing being able to plan a wedding in the age of the Internet—get stuck on wording? Hop online! I can’t even say how much text I “borrowed” from other brides out in space for our ceremony programs, but I’d probably still be thinking about what to write instead of wondering where to store them all right now if there hadn’t been so many samples online to rely on.
In that vein, here’s what we included in our programs, in case it helps anyone!
Cover page
You’ve seen this one before!
I just used this page for the Who/Where/When. I got the idea in my head that this would be a great page for a cute photograph and vellum overlay (à la Mrs. Emerald and Mrs. Eggplant), but I wasn’t willing to invest more money or time. Maybe one of you will try these programs that way? 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!
Hostess LatteLove wanted to let you all know that the San Diego/OC meet up that was scheduled for tonight is CANCELED. Unfortunately, 4 out of the 6 that RSVPed ended up not being able to make it!
Please spread the word if you know of anyone that was planning on attending! Hopefully you all can get together again soon!
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
With the formalities over and the dance floor officially opened, my family and friends let their hair down under the disco lights. My photographer later told us that our dancing pictures were some of the most entertaining that she had taken. I’ll let you take a look at the mischief we got in to! (On a side note, many of these pictures were taken during a particularly passionate Grease Lightning rendition which might explain the clapping, etc.)
