Weddingbee Blog

When it was time to find a seamstress (sorry, the ones I found were all women, although I know men sew as well), I initially had some disastrous interactions. One was much too distressing to write about here (at least, before the wedding) and the other was almost as bad.

I found this seamstress by looking up a local fabric store that professed to house dressmakers. I called them up and they were nice enough, and gave me the phone numbers of some seamstresses. Two of the three numbers they gave me were no longer in service, so I scheduled a meeting with the third: “Mary”.

I brought several pictures to show what I was looking for. As I talked about my dress, she kept trying to steer me away from what I described and toward a dress that would be easier to make. I started to worry that what I had in mind wouldn’t actually happen, and that I wasn’t describing it clearly enough.

We looked at the fabric store to see what they had. I have a fabric picked out, and the store only had a few versions of it. I also wanted to add some beaded lace, but I would have to buy it elsewhere and smuggle it in, as the store only had a few dated, unattractive examples.
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First of all, thank you all so much for your help with my groomsmen’s decision yesterday! There were a variety of opinions, but I think I’ve made my decision! I’ll keep you on the edge of your chairs for just a little bit longer, but I promise I’ll reveal what I chose soon!

Next, I’d like to fill you in on the other decision that’s currently driving me crazy: table linens! Wow, I never thought that something like choosing table linens would drive me crazy! How sad! But it’s true… Since our wedding has already come with a few unexpected splurges, I pretty much planned on keeping the linens as basic as possible. As in white polyester. I’ve seen a lot of garden weddings where I think this look totally works! Plus, when I mentioned it to Mr. Turtle’s grandpa, he gave me a thumbs up and said that white fabric tablecloths look “first class”. This boosted my confidence a little!

Photo source: Wedding Chicks

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I know everyone says this in their first post as a new bee, but seriously… I think I had a mini heart attack when I found out I was going to be the newest bee over here at Weddingbee. Sweating, heart racing, red faced, jumping up and down… the whole shebang.

And being the lovely Miss Dolphin? I am in heaven. How cute is that moniker, hibiscus flower and all? I’m in LOVE!

I bet y’all want to know who Mr. Dolphin and I are. Well, I’d like to start out with this cute picture of the both of us.

Yes… that is us in 3rd grade together. Mr. Dolphin leaning out of the frame is typical Dolphin behavior. Isn’t he a sweetie?

Mr. Dolphin and I first met 15 years ago, when we were 8 years old and in the same 3rd grade class.
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So, apparently I am a horrible blogger, and by that I mean that I don’t always remember to take pictures of items that require pictures, such as my bridesmaids opening gifts. But let me at least tell you about how I decided to buy the gifts. So, I decided to take a little bit of a different stance on the bridesmaid gift thing. I wanted to treat the gifts like they were a birthday or Christmas present that I chose specifically for the person for whom I was giving it to. I chose 6 very different girls to join me on my special day and I wanted to get them each something that made me think of them.

However, I was a little concerned that someone would see a gift that I purchased for someone else and wish they received that instead, which can still happen since not all of the girls have opened theirs yet. But, I spent about the same amount on each of the gifts, so at least it’s fair in that regard, and I really did put a lot of thought into each of them.

Now, if you’re wondering why only some of the girls have received their gifts, that’s because I wanted to give them each their gifts one on one, and so far I’ve only been able to do that with two of them, so those are the gifts you all will get to see.
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It’s easy to dismiss the whole wedding thing. It’s expensive, it’s just one day out of your life, etc. etc. It’s also easy to dismiss all feelings and fights during the process as silly, stress-induced bridezilla moments you’ll laugh about once it’s all over. Bridesmaid A, a 2008 bride, literally clapped her hands to get me moving and to her rehearsal on time. Do we still tease her about it? Absolutely! One time, I bit Mr. Taco’s head off when he suggested that a DOC (day-of-coordinator) was completely unnecessary. (What was he thinking?!) I regularly take it faux-personally when he scoffs at the wedding binder, and I’m sure “wedding binder” will become hot-button words for years to come. But not all fights and feelings can be dismissed quite so easily.

A bride I know lost one of her bridesmaids last year, and it was far beyond a weekend tiff. Suffice it to say that extremely difficult and personal circumstances led this BM, for better or worse, to end the friendship suddenly. I was a guest at a wedding where something similar happened: the MOH decided, just days before, that she and the bride were no longer friends. She didn’t even show up. I’m sure there’s more to that story, but I don’t think most of the guests were privy to that info.
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October09wedding is selling her Damask table runners and fabric. She’s asking $75 for 6 black and white Damask table runners (6 ft. long and 1 ft. wide) and $10 for a 13″x14″ Damask table square. She’s also selling the matching scrap fabric for $50.

Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with pictures in the Weddingbee classifieds and you might see it featured on the blog!

Other great items for sale:

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While planning our winery wedding, there’s one thing I’ve been set on from the very beginning: cork place card holders! How cute are these?

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…to show you some house hunting craziness.

So I mentioned that we decided to buy a house. ‘Member?

Well, we just put in an offer on one today! I have to say, I don’t know if this would have been possible had we not planned the wedding we did. Leaving all the little details in the hands of the hotel’s wedding coordinator has bought us a ton of free-time to see things like this…

Yes, my friends, that is me looking through a window. Hmmmm… or… is it?

In the basement of another, we found this…
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When acting as MOH in Sister Starfish’s wedding, there were so many duties delegated to me as the Maid of Honor and I have to say, I was completely up for every task. Especially the cake tasting. I made sure to taste every piece brought to us at Sister Starfish’s tasting… at least three times. It was a big responsibility and I thought I should take it seriously. No cake went untasted.

We went to Konditor Meister in Braintree, MA. They have a great selection of cakes and fillings. Sister Starfish ended up choosing four different flavors, one for each tier. She likes variety!
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Does anyone still wear pantyhose? Stockings? Tights?

I’ll wear knee-highs with particularly ill-fitting shoes, but that’s about it. I find hose to be a little too itchy and full-of-hassle to wear all the time. According to Wikipedia, the purpose of pantyhose is to “be fashionable, ease chafing between the foot and footwear, keep the legs and feet warm, [and] hide physical imperfections such as blemishes, bruises, scars, hair, or varicose veins”.

Those are good reasons, but here’s an even better one:

Tattoo stockings!
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So, after seeing all these dresses, and having a reality check about the size that I am, and another humiliating bridal salon experience, I’ve decided to go custom with my dress. Why? Well, I just can’t find exactly what I want in my size at a reasonable price.

Shopping for my wedding dress really reminded me of my interest in fabric, garment construction, fashion, etc. Finding a wedding dress with these elements, that I like, in my size, just didn’t seem possible. Many (not all!) mass-market plus sized dresses are cheaply made variations on the same three silhouettes. The beautiful silk dresses I love, are not available to me, nor are they particularly affordable. There are very few high-end plus size lines I can think of, and the only one off the top of my head, Kirstie Kelly Red Label (for Disney), cost about $4K, and the nearest boutique is five hours away.

So, guess what I chose? Here’s a clue:

(Photo via Flickr)

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Our newest bee bleeds orange and blue with her love for the Florida Gators! Join me in welcoming Miss Dolphin to the hive!

Miss Dolphin, Gainesville, FL
Age & Occupation: 24, Graduate Architecture Student
Fiance’s Age & Occupation: 24, Interactive Interface Developer
Engagement Date: February 14, 2008
Wedding Date: May 2010
Venue: Plantation Bay Country Club
About Me: I’m currently a Graduate Student at the University of Florida studying Architecture. I enjoy playing Scrabble with my Fiance, rooting for the Florida Gators, making any drink that involves a blender, cleaning (yes… I’m crazy), design… GOOD design that is, the new Pepsi with natural sugar, taking pictures, discovering new places in the U.S., and obsessing over doing (and designing) everything myself for our upcoming wedding!

After 3 days in Dublin, We rented a car (an experience going 1km from the rental shop to the hotel that Mr. Q will never want to recall again) & after a quick detour for M&S takeaway :), headed west towards Galway. We made a pit stop on the way to visit the oldest licensed distillery in the world, Killbeggan/Locke’s Distillery. When in Ireland.

I was lucky that Mr Q decided to blog while we were in Ireland & I need to give some credit to him for jogging my memory. I was so braindead from the wedding & jet-lag that I had no desire to write while abroad. So, thanks Mr. Quiche!

Here is his excerpt from Killbeggan:
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It is no secret that I think Mr. Buttons did the most amazing job at selecting my engagement ring. It is actually hard to imagine that adding anything to it would make it any more beautiful; it is so perfect the way it is!

But… who doesn’t love a little extra bling???

If you recall, my engagement ring is a Michael M design. So, Mr. Buttons and I thought it would be fitting to shop their collection of wedding bands to see if something matched my engagement ring perfectly. And guess what… they did (not that I was surprised)! Our shopping experience for my wedding band was incredibly brief… once we saw this ring, we knew it was the one!

Michael M

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Hi All! You may have noticed that Weddingbee was down for about an hour. We’re back up and running and some amazing posts went up in the downtime that we don’t want to have go unnoticed. It’s no secret that comments are what fuel many bloggers to keep doin’ what they’re doin’, so be sure to check out the latest posts today that went up during the blackout! Thank you hive!

Check out the incredible video Mrs. Piglet posted of her bridal party’s entrance. She’s not kidding about their infectious enthusiasm… fast forward to 1:44 in the video to check out some entrance awesomeness!

The Hamster invitations are revealed in all their Gocco glory! Check out her gorgeous gilded handiwork!

Miss Taco wears makeup that she hasn’t worn since 5th grade! Read up on how that turned out!

Miss Chick has the daunting task of picking not one, but two hairstyles: one for her nuptials in France, and another for her party at home in Houston! Help her choose her two styles!

Miss Snow explains how she and Mr. Snow wade through the Wedding Tedium and manage to come out on the other end a sane couple.