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.)
of cabbages (or artichokes) and kings… or UNDERTHINGS!
The process of planning a wedding is akin to falling down the rabbit hole with Alice—a little world filled with twists, turns and surprises that you never knew existed until you became a planning bride. Read more…
Mrs. Hot Wings, Chicago/San DiegoAge and Occupation: 28, ProfessorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, InstructorEngagement Date: December 20, 2008Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Ocean View Villas/Jasmine Seafood RestaurantAbout Me: I am a psychology grad student living in Chicago and planning my wedding to a fellow psych grad student. I am a Sunny So-Cal bred gal who trudged across the country to follow her love of psychology and ended up finding a partner in the process. I am overly passionate about anything I involve myself with. I am an activist, a foodie, a reality TV watching junkie, an over-analyzer, a photography obsesser, and am utterly cheesy to the core. This is a story of what happens when a boy and a girl meet, fall in love over academic dorkiness, and a shared love for life. We (mostly I) are planning our semi-destination wedding in my hometown of San Diego. We are excited to bring our families and friends together from across our lifespans to celebrate our future in a grand 400+ person culturally blended affair!
Having a summer wedding outdoors? Heck, depending on what part of the world you live in, you might have to deal with this year-round. What is it that I’m talking about, you ask?
The sun! There’s the squinty eyes, the sweating, and the sunburns. This past summer, I attended my cousin’s beautiful beach wedding. Even though she had a shade hut that we all sat under during the ceremony, all the walking around afterwards left me utterly sunburned. I’m actually in Chicago sitting outside and the temperature is about 30 degrees, and I STILL have the tan lines to prove it, even though it’s February!
What could save your guests? SHADE! Let’s explore some options.
At least, there are the programs. Talk about multi-use paper products!
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.
Have you seen this video on OffBeat Bride? A woman filmed it to let her boyfriend know she was ready for the next step in their relationship. I was stunned by its loveliness and her simple statement of commitment. It made me want to wave my arms about and say,“You go girl!” But let’s face it, I can’t really pull that off.
Would you have considered something like this? How did you let your partner know you were ready?
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!
Last time I wrote about how to best hide our size differences, I mentioned the inclusion of some personal fitness goals. Where did these goals come from? Well, simply enough, they came from my Wii Fit.
After roughly five months, I reached my goal, and lost a little over 20 pounds! Sounds easy, huh? Well not really, but here’s how it happened: 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 don’t know how universal this experience is, but I once dated someone who read Pitchfork frequently. This is a site you read if you want to know about every obscure up and coming band and belittle others for their crappy musical choices. Basically.
The benefit of all of that is I have a decent music library now, filled with both standards and some indie stuff. And it’s time to start thinking about first dance songs!
My fiance and I don’t really have a song. There’s a lot of songs we both like, but the closest thing to our song is probably Bitches Ain’t Shit. Oops.
So without further ado, a bunch of songs from our collections.
Mrs. Lace, Pasadena, CAAge and Occupation: 29, Elementary school teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, EngineerEngagement Date: September 6, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Orange County Performing Arts CenterAbout Me: Born and raised in Southern California, my fiance and I are marrying in Orange County. We're planning a vintage wedding with a modern twist. I am an elementary school teacher by day and a wedding planner by night. I love reading, blogging, scrapbooking, trying out new DIY projects, buying awesome finds at incredible deals and spending time with friends and family. Trying new restaurants, traveling and shopping also top my hobby list. I'm anxious to share my wedding ideas and planning with the hive!
From a pretty young age, I loved handcrafting cards and paper crafts. It started with hamburger fold, hand-drawn construction paper cards to cardstock and calligraphy, to my scrapbook inspired cards. Please excuse my amateur photography skills.
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!
Last week, the mister and I were trapped inside the house during Snowpocalypse here in the Mid-Atlantic. What’s a girl to do but gather the yards of ribbon she has and do somethin’ with it?
Inspired by DIY Friday post from a few weeks back, I decided to make some Ribbon Pomanders following the tutorial of comrade ccranetobe. It’s amazing, and if you like the results below, follow the amazing tutorial here!
Following ccranetobe’s instructions, I gathered my Styrofoam ball, my ribbon, scissors and some pins:
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.
Now that my shoe obsession has been properly established, you can fully appreciate the story of how I found the perfect wedding shoes that weren’t.
Upon getting engaged last March, the shoe search began. Around the same time I also began looking for wedding inspiration pictures, and looked at everything tagged “purple” on TheKnot.com. This was how I first found these gorgeous purple and champagne beaded heels. The end all, be all shoes. The. Must. Have. Most perfect shoes ever!
Mrs. Frozen Yogurt, DallasAge and Occupation: 28, Special Projects CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Equity TraderEngagement Date: March 19, 2009Wedding Date: April 2010Venue: Marie Gabrielle, DallasAbout Me: I was born and raised in Texas, and have lived in several of the cities across the state, but I currently reside in Austin. I went to college in Boston and have a special place in my heart for the Northeast. I love reading, shopping, wine, reuniting with college friends that are scattered across the country, reality TV, trying out new recipes, and attempting all the DIY projects that come along with wedding planning. I'm a "bleeding heart, save the world type" and thankfully my job allows me to work on legislation and policy to help out those in need. I met Mr. Frozen Yogurt in a bar, though he doesn't even drink! And now we are planning a modern yet vintage wedding in Dallas while dealing with the trials and tribulations of first time homeownership.
Woo hoo!! I have been excited to write this post for some time. Let’s start from the beginning…
I searched and searched for invitations that spoke to me and I just couldn’t find any. I knew I really wanted letterpress but I didn’t know how I could make that work. I automatically assumed that letterpress meant that I would be spending thousands of dollars, and as I searched and realized that I wasn’t all that far off. I temporarily got the idea of letterpress out of my mind and started scouring Etsy and Wedding Paper Divas for cute invites. Although I found a few, nothing really made me excited. I felt like I would be settling.
Then, as I was about to give up, I remembered that I am surrounded by talented, awesome women that can create beautiful paper products and I decided that I should ask one of them to do just that. I hinted about this in this post, but I didn’t tell you whom I asked. Some of you guessed right even though I didn’t give any clues! It was our very own Mrs. Cupcake through her design studio Curious and Company. The suite she made for us will be part of the Claremont Collection!
Let me tell you, she was AMAZING to work with. She helped me save some money by doing letterpress invites, but flat printed RSVP cards. I would have never thought to ask about that! So, are you ready to see it?
Mrs. Argyle, St. LouisAge and Occupation: 24, Project CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, PilotEngagement Date: February 15, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Jewel Box in Forest Park and Windows on WashingtonAbout Me: I'm a true Midwestern girl (born and raised), lover of red wine, reality TV and the entire J.Crew catalog. I love to dance regardless of who is watching, and enjoy a good laugh with my girls. I have a soft spot in my heart for planet Earth, my two dogs and my fiance. Fall is my favorite season (which is why we are marrying in September), but I love a warm summer day and the Colorado mountains in the winter. We are planning a modern soiree downtown, with lots of bold colors, and fun, eco-friendly elements.
Mr. Argyle and I are trying to incorporate several green and eco-friendly ideas into the wedding. This is one thing that was really important to us while planning our soiree. A few of the ideas we have come up with so far:
Printing our invitations front and back (saves paper!)
Using postcards for the RSVPs (no need to waste envelopes!)
Attempting to use recycled paper whenever possible (invitation suite, escort cards, menus, programs, envelopes, etc.)
Our ceremony venue (is a greenhouse, essentially, so there is no need to purchase additional floral arrangements)
Purchasing carbon offsets (To make up for all of the traveling our guests will do to spend our special day with us)
Our biggest dilemma lately is that we have been wavering back and forth about the use of programs. Our ceremony will be fairly short with really no readings and no songs, so it does not seem necessary to have programs. Read more…
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!
Well, I too wanted to do this after I saw it over on Ruffled. Now, you may be thinking, ‘Ms. Cheeseburger, you’ve already got a guestbook,’ and my friends, you would be absolutely correct! Not to mention the fact that we invited over 300 people to our wedding, and if even half of that number gives us their prints, we’d need a very, very big tree!
So how will we incorporate this lovely idea but make it work for us? 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.
Yes my friends, makeup is not just for your face anymore! I’m gonna show you all with smaller breast-es-es my little secret that is so easy, it’s sick. But first I’ll give you a moment to grab your bronzer and/or darkish eyeshadow, a blush brush and your boobies. OK, don’t actually grab your boobies.
Don’t worry, I’ll wait.
OK, all set?
No makeup
Use your brush with some bronzer or dark eyeshadow and make a ‘V’ down your cleavage and over the top of the ladies, and viola! Read more…
ClassifiedsFeature Launched: April 30, 2008About: A roundup of the best Weddingbee Classified listings.
Fraggle0312 is selling her Melissa Sweet “Mila” gown. The dress is a street size 6 and has had a bustle added. Included is a waterfall veil edged with skinny ribbon. She’s asking $2000 or best offer plus shipping.
Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with pictures in the Weddingbee classifieds and you might see it featured on the blog!
Mrs. Gloss, Boston/MaineAge and Occupation: 24, Designer/soon-to-be ArchitectFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Systems EngineerEngagement Date: May 23, 2008Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: SS Katahdin/Lakeside TentAbout Me: I don't like nickels or the skin that forms on pudding when it's in the fridge for too long. I couldn't live without Pantone markers, fountain soda (3/4 diet, ¼ regular Coke), run-on sentences, or ridiculously oversized sunglasses. I will try to DIY almost anything and am just OCD enough to make most of it work. I am truly excited about having all my family and friends together, becoming Mrs. Gloss, and having amazing photos to prove it!
When we left off, I had just made my way down the aisle.
Mr. Gloss’ father was our officiant. He welcomed our guests with a greeting… Read more…
Mrs. Paisley, Orange County, CAAge and Occupation: 25, JournalistFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Spanish ProfessorEngagement Date: September 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Family Lake HouseAbout Me: From my earliest days I attracted attention, as much for my intelligence as for beauty. I display an originality, a perspicacity, a certain je ne sais quoi that sets me apart. I posses a mysterious authority which compels people to do my bidding. I am a regal blonde with classic features and the daintiness of Dresden porcelain. I am poised, soft-spoken, and well educated... Okay, now that enough eyebrows have sufficiently shot through the roof, everybody can relax---I kid! I'm just a sarcastic NorCal-turned-SoCal girl who loves outdoor activities, books, letterpress printing and of course, Professor Paisley.
So call me frugal, but I made favor boxes that came out costing a grand total of 3 cents each! I took a favor box I got from a wedding and took it apart to use as a template. Then I drew out the design on a bunch of Michaels’ discounted sheets of 18″X18″ paper in one of our wedding colors. It took a while, but Mr. Paisley helped.
My favor boxes in progress. A pattern drawn in pencil on a slightly-worse-for-wear sheet of paper
You see from the above that one of my sheets got a little munched. That’s bound to happen when your work station looks like this: Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
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