Mrs. Dachshund, Fresno, CAAge and Occupation: 24, Legal Office AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Computer TechnicianEngagement Date: April 18, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Victorian Gardens of Two SistersAbout Me: I’m a 24-year-old Californian bride-to-be who found love in the most unlikely of places - an online video game! I’m a farmer’s daughter living in rural Central California, but will always have a special place in my heart for the city. My future husband is a 27-year-old extraordinarily tall, exceptionally cute, and undoubtedly Canadian boy who was able to sweep me off my feet and take me for his bride. I love color, folksy songs that make me smile, interior design, kettle corn, my one-year-old puppy, Juno, and my fiance, of course! We’re planning a DIY garden wedding with a laundry-list of projects, all while dealing with the bureaucracy that is American Immigration!
Hokay. So. When I last left you, Mr. Dachshund and I had already decided to go with a three-layer cake, and we had a super-awesome design drawn up by Liz at Creme de la Cake. As soon as we left the bakery, however, I started to have second thoughts. This had nothing to do with anything other than the fact that I second guess everything. I am guilty of doubting every decision I’ve made thus far concerning this wedding. With the exception of Mr. Dachshund; I know I’m doing the right thing there.
This is the design that Liz and I came up with during our consultation:
Liz did a fantastic job of pulling details from all of my inspiration cakes and putting them together to make one, cohesive cake design.
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.
Mr. Potato Head and I have dabbled in home brew a few times, but we’re really home brew dilettantes: the real star of the brewsky is Mr. PH’s brother, who makes his own recipes, toasts his own wheat, and can tell you the different between Cascade hops and… other types of hops.
Last weekend we (and I use “we” loosely) decided to try out a test batch for the wedding. Potato Bro said he could make whatever we liked. Whatever we liked! In beer! I was immediately paralyzed by indecision so he suggested a light wheat beer with bitter orange. Yum!
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!
On Thursday, the Baltimore bees got together at Brewer’s Art for some beer, french fries, and burgers! Mrs. D’orsay, Miss Pencils, Miss Cheeseburger, twocities, okiram, BucknellBride and I all came out for a really fun night of chatting about everything from Baltimore, to science (someone asked, I swear!), to education and babies. And of course, weddings.
Mrs. D’orsay had some excellent advice for those of us about to get married,
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!
So while Mr. Sewing and I were working on our venue selections, Sewing-Mom was out doing some planning of her own:
They’re 6×9″ glass tealight candle holders bought from Ross, with the Chinese double-happiness character on the front (commonly used for weddings).
She thought they’d be perfect accents to our tablescapes, and I agree. We stalked every Ross from San Francisco down to San Luis Obispo in order to get about 20 of them, so you can blame me if you can’t find any! (Though they also have a chandelier and a zebra version, if that’s more your theme.) 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!
As you know, I found an amazing deal on drink dispensers a couple months ago at TJMaxx (my TJCrack). Well, they’ve been sitting in our loft all boxed up and collecting dust while I thought about ways to fancy them up a bit. I have to admit, I didn’t really come up with anything except that I knew I wanted them to say “Drink Me” as nod to Alice in Wonderland. To be honest, I just kind of started off with a mish-mosh of crafty doo-dads and let it all come together organically (”organically” is code for “I have no clue where this is going, oh well!”).
First, I printed off labels for our dispensers on white cardstock. Lucky for me, it was one of the few few times that our P.O.S. printer decided to work correctly. I cut them down to size with my handy-dandy notebook paper cutter that I bought because of this project. I then proceeded to chop some aqua card stock that I had left over from that same project (mish-mosh, told ya) and use it as backing for the labels. After looking at it with my head cocked to the side (you do it too, don’t lie) I decided it was still too plain. Enter: rubber stamp, stage right.
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 am so excited that we are able to have a flower girl and a ring bearer at our wedding! Our adorable flower girl and ring bearer are Mr. Buttons’ niece and nephew. I couldn’t be more excited about planning their part in our day!
Although I think it is very cute to have a flower walk down the aisle, scattering flower petals… I’m not sure if it is in the cards. 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!
Love is in the air! Congratulations to our newest engaged readers! The holidays are notorious for proposals, so hostess Lillindy suggested we revive our reader ring shots series!
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!
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!
Engagement shoot makeup after running around for 4 hours and sweating like a pig.
Photo by Matt Miller
One thing that I started researching pretty early on was camera-friendly makeup and skincare. I don’t think it’s any secret that I love photography, and I wanted us to have bananas shots of ourselves. Some of my favorite inspiration photos were super-close-up shots of couples, and if those shots were going to happen for us, I needed to shape my skin up first, as well as figure out what worked the best for me makeup-wise.
Mrs. Pudding, Greater Toronto Area/VermontAge and Occupation: 26, High School TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Computer EngineerEngagement Date: August 2008Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Catholic Ceremony, Cultural Hall ReceptionAbout Me: Quite literally a citizen of the world, I was born in Poland, grew up in Canada, and now live in the beautiful state of Vermont. I love reading historical biographies, multi-tasking, teasing my hair, and, despite my height, wearing high heeled shoes. I am the ultimate klutz with an uncanny ability to put on a graceful front. Mr. Pudding and I have been dating for over six years, and are very excited to finally merge our (very large) families. We are planning a traditional Polish-Catholic wedding that is anything but predictable.
One of my very good friends got married last year. Her relationship with her husband started around the same time that Mr. Pudding and I began dating, and we’ve been through some similar ups and downs with our men.
When I visited her a couple of months after her (beautiful) wedding, she told me something that I didn’t quite understand at the time. She told me that the months before the wedding were some of the hardest months that she had ever been through with her boy, and that she thought about walking out of the relationship many times before opting to walk down the aisle instead.
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!
So, we had a long conversation, went on our first ring adventure, and found it. The ring of my dreams. It was utterly and completely me, and as much as the jeweler showed us other rings, I just kept putting this one back on.
It was a yellow/fancy yellow/canary diamond—call it what you want—it was perfect and totally ME! Yellow is my favorite color, so naturally, that made sense. Beyond that, it was a radiant cut—the perfect mesh between princess and brilliant, in my opinion. It was also pretty unique and complete unexpected, just like ME!
I fell in love. Mr. Pencils could tell. Read more…
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.
Me: “I have an addiction to buying bathing suits on eBay.”
All: “We can help you!”
Me: “Um, no. No you can’t.”
Every year I buy a new bathing suit and a new winter coat. I almost never go clothes shopping unless I’m looking for something specific like a pair of jeans or a going-out top, so these are my biannual splurges. In the past few years, I’ve actually gotten to the point where I think about what kind of bathing suit or winter coat I want for so long that by the time I find one that I like online, the season has passed. So it’s actually been a while and I thought I was happy with my swimwear collection until something snapped in my noggin. Let’s call it withdrawal. When I started planning our trip to St. Thomas, an eBay bathing suit bidding monster was born. It’s ridiculous, really. In the span of a month, I bought this…
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.
When I got the acceptance email from the delightful Penguin, I was at work. Work is no place to hear amazing news. I was at my desk, I knew Mr. Ribbons had just gone out to lunch, and I had no one to tell. I scrolled through my IM friend list to find anyone and everyone to tell, frantically typing “I’M GOING TO BE A BEEEEE.” That is a direct quote. Someone thought I was sending a cryptic message about Animorphs, but no matter, because I’m here!
I grew up in northwest Indiana, an area the rest of the state inexplicably likes to call “the region.” I went to a little college called Indiana University—you may have heard of it—where I met a slightly lanky newspaper editor. He was from Maryland, one of those exotic coasties. I fell for his gTalk quips, but he’ll say it was his rakish good looks. After a one year, mostly long-distance relationship, we got engaged!
I chose Ribbons because they fit quite nicely with our theme for the wedding: Read more…
Mrs. Peep Toe, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 29, Policy AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 36, Olive Oil Production ManagerEngagement Date: December 16, 2007Wedding Date: May, 2009Blogging Since: November 26, 2008Venue: Hotel VitaleAbout Me: I am a west coast lady who loves the San Francisco Bay Area. I love living with Mr. Peep and our animals: Huck the Dog and Ferris the Cat. I work to save the environment in San Francisco, while Mr. Peep makes ridiculously delicious Olive Oil. On any day you can find me reading the latest book I have gotten my hands on, eating Swedish Fish, and perusing wedding blogs! We are both champagne drinking foodies on a Bud Light budget. We are planning an eco-chic, intimate, and interfaith San Francisco City wedding.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
