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.)
After the *overwhelming* number of requests (all 3 of ’em) to see more pictures of my ring, I’ve decided to post a little more about it.
Considering how I usually am, I thought I would spend eons researching what kind of engagement ring would suit me best. I imagined becoming lost in a vast new lexicon of settings, shapes, cuts, what have you. However, without considering any ring very seriously, I ended up with this:
The ring getting a piggyback (or duckyback) ride from the infamous duck
Mr. Pug and I picked out the ring together, in a little jewel of a shop in Soho that we found by accident. They had cufflinks made of silver in this shape but without the stone, and a silver ring in this shape with a small sapphire in the center. Read more…
Mrs. Lamb, NorfolkAge and Occupation: 25, Homeland Security ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: January 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church/Harrison Opera HouseAbout Me: I’m a Homeland Security Consultant with a tendency towards pulling office pranks, taking lunch breaks, and drinking Wawa shakes. I’m also an English major with a serious obsession with alliteration and rhymes. While I’m not keeping America safe, I’m training for half marathons and the Escape from Alcatraz swim. Or moving for the third time this year. Or baking. Or wedding crafting. Or crying about wedding planning. All the while, I’m getting myself into Lucille Ball-esque scrapes and making Jim Carey-esque faces. Our big fat Czech/Baptist/Jewish/Italian wedding is a combination of vintage eclectic, DIY, and little spoonful of sugar from our Event Coordinator. It’s going to be a Norfolk flavored wedding with the verve of an only-daughter-blow-out bash!
We’re a team and I was so touched by the many ways that my parents were involved in my marriage preparation. From wise counsel to financial support, they gave of themselves in every way. I certainly don’t want to make anyone feel badly if they don’t have this relationship with their parents, but I do want to appreciate our special relationship and give them a small nod. As I’ve become more cognizant of the wide spectrum of parental relationships, I’ve become more and more grateful for my parents.
I particularly loved dancing with my Dad at the reception. It was a small tribute to the deepness of our relationship.
My Dad researched Father/Daughter dances for the better part of a month. He wanted to hit just the right tone and feature just the right lyrics.
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!
Ever have a hankering to make professional and fully custom motifs, designs, monograms, etc., all on your own? You too can create pretty, crispy lines like the ones floating around on our save-the-dates. Yes, I know you want to. Let’s walk through it together!
Tools: I’ll be using Adobe Photoshop CS (but you could always use a free software, like GIMP, though the process will be slightly different). You’ll need a starting picture to vector over, some good music to jam to and your mouse-clicking hand. (Note: The following method is only one of many to create decent line-art. For me, this is one of the simpler and faster methods for PS. If you have Illustrator, you can ignore this whole post and just draw directly over your picture with their auto-smoothing function!)
1) Open up the graphic you want to trace in Photoshop. It can be a picture of a flower you like, someone’s head, a drawing, whatever! I’ll use a photo of a peony I found on wikipedia, and a sketch of one of my custom mons for our example. It doesn’t matter what the image quality looks like at this point, just pull something up.
The combination of shot glasses of milk and mini donuts and brownies was irresistible at peachapple48’s rehearsal dinner.
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. 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 just emailed my mom some PDFs of our invitation drafts, which included the ceremony card and reception card. She commented that our names were awfully large and she didn’t know what “twirling and swirling to follow” meant.
Well… I take it quite personally whenever this lady criticizes me (huge character flaw, I get it). But when she dislikes my print design, holy moly.
If someone doesn’t get twirling and swirling, they can look at the next card and realize there’s a reception following the ceremony! And if someone is offended by 20 pt names, well, why would anyone be offended by 20 pt names?
Sure, I could just give in and print “reception to follow” and make our names teensy because they’re too obnoxious or whatever. BUT I DON’T WANT TO.
Mrs. Trail Mix, New YorkAge and Occupation: 26, PE TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, MBA StudentEngagement Date: March 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Tannery Pond at the Darrow SchoolAbout Me: I'm a country girl who somehow found herself living in the Big Apple and loving every minute of it. I'm planning a rustic, country-chic wedding in my hometown in upstate New York and it's going to be a Party with a capital P. White wine, flea markets and running keep me happy and my friends, family and fiance are my world. I'm a little bit crafty, a little bit crazy but mostly just crazy in love.
This is not a mushy gushy post about how much I love Mr Trail Mix (I would never inflict that upon you all). Instead, I’m here with a public service announcement for anyone who will be wearing high heels in an outdoor setting.
I am a girl who loves her high heels. At only 5’3″ on a good day, heels are a necessity for me when I go out in order to feel confident. Plus, it’s hard to strut in flats and I must confess, I have been known to strut my stuff on a night out with my girlfriends. Therefore, high heels for our wedding are a must!
However, my wedding is going to be outdoors. In a big field. That’s not exactly a surface conducive to confident strutting when wearing heels, right?
Enter the Solemate.
FMIL Trail Mix clued me into these bad boys when I had mentioned to her that I might have to wear wedges since I didn’t want my heels to get stuck in the ground for the wedding. Now I love me a pretty pair of wedges as much as the next shoe-obsessed lass does but I wasn’t completely sold on the look for our wedding. 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!
So, pretty much any and all weddings I’ve seen/heard of featured a rehearsal, followed by a meal. Seriously, with my penchant for perfectionism, a rehearsal for the ceremony is absolutely essential. Practice makes perfect!
However, there is one little snafu with the plan. 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.
As a rather picky eater, with some food allergies, I tend to steer clear of buffets, or when I do eat at one (mainly in Vegas!), I stick to only recognizable foods. I’m just not adventurous enough to try new things, unless I know what they are, and it seems many buffets don’t think it’s necessary to label their food items.
So as a courtesy to our guests, I’ve made 4″ x 6″ framed signs for our buffet, so they will know what they’re eating. And I found the frames on sale at Jo-Ann’s for only $2.99 each! This will be a good alternative to a menu, since it really isn’t practical to have a menu at the place setting when people will be serving themselves, plus it’s an excuse for yet anotherprojectwithmybelovedpaper!
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!
Or Menage-a-Trois for you Frenchie wannabes. But get your beautiful minds outta the gutter! While what our ‘maids do post-ceremony is their business, what they’re wearing for the ceremony, well that’s all our business… (rubs hand together and smirks with absolute glee). Finally, a wedding related decision that’s right up my alley, yo!
I have to admit that although a few purchases have been made, there are quite a few directions our ‘maids/ fill-in-more-awesome-title-here ensembles could go. Three directions, to be exact. The way I see it, they can go light, bright, or B&W. Sorry for the rhyming, but sometimes it just works out that way.
So I present for your consideration three different versions of our lovely ladies. I think in an ideal world we’ll have a combo of either light or bright w/B&W for a nice little French twist. Sounds like a plan, right?
So, hold onto your hats and prepare for the pretty! Here’s what I’m talking about:
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!
Eight-dollars-a-slice cakes. Three hundred dollars for a small hair comb with netting attached. Five thousand dollars for five yards of lace and satin. An average of twenty eight thousand dollars for eight hours of joy.
I love planning our wedding. I loved trying on lots of dresses and walking around venues and scouring photographers’ websites for sugar-lush-amazing eye candy.
I don’t love when you have to “click here for pricing guide”, when you glimpse at that small white tag with a few too many digits, or when the people paying for your wedding give each other that “can-we-make-it-work-for-our-little-girl?” look. 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!
Many couples simply choose to wed in the city in which they currently live. The decision is a bit more complicated for us. Even though we grew up in different cities and currently live together in a city where neither of our families live, the choice was always pretty clear. The story goes a little something like this…
Mr. Hot Wings and I had to pick which city to be wed in upon getting engaged. I was born and raised in San Diego, California. I went to college in Los Angeles, then moved to Chicago for grad school. Chicago is my current home. But he and I are actually on the job market now that we’re both nearing the end of grad school. So Chicago may not be our home come this summer. Read more…
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.
It was a mad crafting weekend at the Fro Yo house. I gathered dowels, ribbons, scissors and glue guns and I was off and running. Mr. Fro Yo even got in on the fun and helped me cut some ribbon, though he refused to attach them to the dowels.
I’m a little worried that my ribbon wands look like a kindergartner’s craft project, but to be honest I don’t even care that much. I’m proud of how they turned out and I think they’ll look super cute as our guests are waving them for the send off. And best of all, this project cost me a whopping $5. OK, so I’ve only made about 1/3 of what I need to make, so the price will increase to about $15 for the entire project, but that’s not bad at all, and much less than I would have spent had I outsourced this little project of mine.
So, are you ready to see them?
Would you wave them for the send off?
For those of you interested in how I did this, it was super simple. Read more…
Weddingbee GalleryFeature Launched: April 10, 2009About: A collection of inspirational wedding pictures from readers and bees.
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. 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!
While perusing Daiso one day, I happened upon a guestbook epiphany. What if we had mini easels with canvas you could paint and sign the back of?
One per table?
Well, Mr. Sewing and I found our 20 easels, courtesy of every Bay Area Daiso there is. The only problem? They were white easels, not black like I had in mind. 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.
It seems I have committed an etiquette faux pas. I called my mom today and she said, “Aunt So and So got your save the date today. She didn’t really know what it was. But she told me you didn’t include their last name on the envelope.”
That was true. I didn’t. Somewhere on the fine internet I saw a save the date envelope with first names only and thought, ‘oh cute, what a nice and informal way to do these.’ Well, my mom is now appalled that I don’t know how to address envelopes and that I will surely offend all of our guests. Um? Seriously? Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
