Mrs. Buttons, Clearwater, FL
Age and Occupation: 24, "Working on it"
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Financial Services
Engagement Date: June 13, 2009
Wedding Date: May 2010
Venue: Carlouel Yacht Club
About 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!
Last time we checked in on my bridesmaid shoe hunt, I was back to the drawing board after eliminating the dyeable shoe option.
So, what did I do? I visited shoe websites daily, waiting and hoping that one of them would release a new style that would be perfect. Sadly, one was not forthcoming. However, I started to lean towards a nude/beige colored shoe, as I noticed quite the selection available online!
“Yes! This could work!” I said to myself… and promptly put together a new inspiration collage to test my newfound shoe lovelies.
Dresses: J Crew
Shoes (L to R): Nina - Elijah, Nina - Galvey, Nina- Kora, Jones New York Plumsky Peep Toe
And then, Mommy Buttons and I went to Nordstrom. I should have known that the perfect shoe would be waiting there for me.
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Mrs. Pug, New York City/Half Moon Bay, CA
Age and Occupation: 33, Lawyer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, ditto
Engagement Date: July 2008
Wedding Date: March 2010
Venue: Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay
About 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.)
As you may remember (okay, you don’t) from my previous post about shopping for wedding dresses, my original vision and most of the dresses that captured my heart were non-strapless. There were v-necks, cowl necks, bateau necklines, and so on (actually that’s about it), like this:
Source
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Classifieds
Feature Launched: April 30, 2008
About: A roundup of the best Weddingbee Classified listings.
JessersLA is selling a Mikaella Style #1232 gown. She’s asking $600 for the natural-colored size 12 dress.
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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Mrs. Sewing, San Mateo, CA/Honolulu, HI
Age and Occupation: 24, Electrical Engineer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Electrical Engineer
Engagement Date: June 27, 2009
Wedding Date: July 2010
Venue: Anela Garden Chapel & Japanese Cultural Center, Honolulu
About 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!
Dear Miss Sewing-of-the-Alternate-Universe, who has not yet made any invitations:Do not attempt to do them yourself. Get them sent out, buy them pre-made - anything but DIY. It’s just not worth it. The time, the self-doubt, the months of agonizing creative limbo - don’t torture yourself.
But, if you’re as stubborn as I am, and insist on the DIY route - at least plan out everything beforehand. Do a full, honest mock-up of everything before you begin production. Don’t turn to Mr. Sew while he is in the middle of YUDUing addresses to tell him you want to start over.
Love, Present-Day-Sewing
I should probably begin by informing you that these are not really wedding invitations. No. These are manvitations. Manvites, because they were made almost completely by a man named Mr. Sew. In all my shame, I did only the design and the cutting of a few envelope liners.
You see, I made the mistake of planning-while-doing.
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Featured on Weddingbee
“Make an elegant invitation statement without the fuss. Stylish invitation sets with matching envelopes, reception and response cards included.”
Featured Product: Laura Ashley Delicate Damask Invitation
Mrs. Pretzel, Seattle
Age and Occupation: 32 Learning, Training, and Development Specialist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28 Manufacturing Engineer
Engagement Date: September 2, 2009
Wedding Date: July 2010
Venue: Catholic Church & The Engine Room at Georgetown Studios
About Me: I’m just a thirty-something girl who never dreamed of weddings, poofy dresses, or ritzy receptions. I am a rabid knitter, except recently, wedding projects have replaced my yarn and needles. I’ve been fiercely independent since the age of 2 and 30 years later I think my family and friends had given up on me settling down and getting married.
Ironically, I had to go all the way to Seattle to find a boy from Purdue. We fell in love over Seattle Beers and cooking together. I love NASCAR, he loves Legos. I can talk like a Muppet and he can fit a whole McDonald’s cheeseburger in his mouth. We are a two reception couple, currently planning a brewery inspired bash.
Yeah, I have it. When I first started planning our wedding I was fascinated with the Cricut (which I mispronounced for almost 4 months) although I wasn’t really sure exactly what it did or how it worked. I was disappointed to learn that the machine operated off cartridges that were pricey and that you needed to purchase special software to design your own cuts. I decided it was more trouble (read money) than it was worth and tucked away any hopes of fancy shaped signs and programs.
My second crafting love was the Gocco—and well, we know that I didn’t deny myself this great little machine. We’ve been so pleased with our purchase and I know we will continue to use it in the future. Check out the beer themed Christmas cards that we made this year.
The desire to cut cute shapes and letters out of paper and cardstock hasn’t escaped me—I just didn’t want a Cricut—so I had pretty much let it go… until I met the Silhouette.
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Mrs. Veggie, Raglan, New Zealand/Scranton, PA
Age and Occupation: 27, Director of Small Non-Profit
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 42, PhD Student & Farmer
Engagement Date: June 13, 2009
Wedding Date: August 2010
Venue: Indian Head Camp, Honesdale Pennsylvania
About Me: I am a tree-huggin' farmer turned enthusiastic wedding-planner. I live in a house truck and wear flip-flops more often than shoes. In my old life I was a high school Spanish teacher in love with a crazy guy who lived off-the grid on a farm in New Hampshire. But, we decided to mix things up a bit, quit our jobs and move to New Zealand. My southern hemisphere lifestyle involves growing veggies, teaching, running our small non-profit, and surfing. I love laughing, singing, playing, and the inspirational Mr. Veggie (of course!). For our wedding, I am committed to throwing a killer party that celebrates our values without breaking the bank. Look forward to an eco-thrifty summer-campy weekend-long extravaganza.
Me: “Look at me and think about how you’re going to feel the day we get married.”
The camera comes out and suddenly Mr. Veggie’s smile looks like the Joker. Me: “Relax your cheeks.” Him: “They are relaxed.”
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Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
Mrs. Starfish, Boston/Newport
Age and Occupation: 25, Operations Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Sales
Engagement Date: October 8, 2008
Wedding Date: October 2010
Venue: The Atlantic Beach Club
About Me: I'm a perfectionist who is a planner at heart. I don't do well with surprises. I love planning, crafting, Newport RI, family and friends, and most importantly, Mr. Starfish---all of which will be big components in our October wedding in our favorite little city by the sea.
One of the DIY projects I am most looking forward to is our centerpieces! We are going for a reception room that exydes romantic beach elegance. The room will be all white with hints of gold. Candles will give a soft glow. To illuminate the room, the centerpieces will contain candles.
I have found so many inspiring photos on the web. I originally wanted one large hurricane vase, filled with a little sand, an off white candle, and a starfish. Something similar to the picture below.
Image from: Shore Chic
Then I saw the image below and thought I must add lots of votives around the main hurricane centerpiece.
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Mrs. Paisley, Orange County, CA
Age and Occupation: 25, Journalist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Spanish Professor
Engagement Date: September 2008
Wedding Date: June 2010
Venue: Family Lake House
About 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.
As I work on wedding projects, I sometimes change the lyrics to My Favorite Things from The Sound of Music and belt it out for a little self-made background music to all my crafting:
“…lace-covered candles and pink-colored parasols, signature cocktails and birch-bark flower vases, these are a few of my favorite things!”
My lyrics can get a little wordy.
“Blue-colored mason jars and crisply-ironed table runners, pale aqua favor boxes and milk glass cake pedestals, cream-colored macaroons stacked up in tiers, these are a few of my favorite things!”
OK, a lot wordy. And it usually doesn’t rhyme. But it helps me slog through my seemingly endless to-do list of DIY projects.
Lately I’ve been focusing on the lace-covered candles, inspired by these lovely things made by wedding planner extraordinaire Beth Helmstetter:
Photo by Jose Villa
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Mrs. Stiletto, Chicago
Age and Occupation: 26, Non-Profit/Fundraising
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Engineer and Photographer
Engagement Date: March 2, 2008
Wedding Date: September 2009
Venue: The 19th Century Club
About Me: My fiance and I love living in the city of Chicago with our cats Basil and Linus, and vow to never move to the suburbs if we can possibly avoid it! We’ve poured ourselves into planning a wedding that reflects our personal style - modern and high contrast with a vintage twist. Blogging keeps me creative, baking keeps me happy, and grande nonfat no foam sugar free vanilla lattes keep me sane.
If your mind has wandered from the Stiletto festivities because there’s so much fabulous wedding eye candy out there, let me quickly refresh your memory.
I primped and preened all morning long…
Source: Laurie Peacock
… while Mr. S donned his finest and got ready with the guys over at the church.
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Mrs. Hot Wings, Chicago/San Diego
Age and Occupation: 28, Professor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Instructor
Engagement Date: December 20, 2008
Wedding Date: August 2010
Venue: Ocean View Villas/Jasmine Seafood Restaurant
About 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!
Weddingbee Hostess LatteLove is in town!
Join her, along with Miss Nachos, Mrs Powder Puff, Mrs Quiche, and Miss Hot Wings for wedding talk and more.
Check out the board thread for other attendees here.
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Ms. Stripes, Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 29, Costume Designer/Stylist
Fiancee's Age and Occupation: 29, Chef
Engagement Date: June 23, 2009
Wedding Date: September 2010
Venue: Heritage Square Museum
About 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!
source
And it has nothing to do with Beyonce & Lady Gaga. I just liked this picture.
Anyhoo… I’m baaaaaack! And after a crazy moving weekend, followed by a week living among boxes and grinding coffee beans with our mortar/pestle because we still can’t find the damn coffee grinder, I’m finally ready to rejoin the blogosphere. Now, a whole week without the internet means I’ve had A LOT of time to think so you’ll have to bear with me. I promise I’ll even try and be coherent!
So…
I had this friend in high school who was super punk rock. She was in a band and she was an awesome artist and she was basically my idol for a minute there. Anyway, one day in typically divisive high school fashion I made a comment about “some rap song” and she totally surprised me by saying how she really liked that artist. Waaaaa?
If you’re scratching your head and wondering why the hell I’m telling you this little story, I’ll just get right to the point:
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Mrs. Pug, New York City/Half Moon Bay, CA
Age and Occupation: 33, Lawyer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, ditto
Engagement Date: July 2008
Wedding Date: March 2010
Venue: Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay
About 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.)
So, weather.com has finally started to post the forecast for our wedding day (I say “finally” as if I wasn’t sure when it would be posted, but I guess I knew it was pretty much going to be 10 days out).
Half Moon Bay is not your stereotypical California weather—it’s coastal, can be a bit blustery, and is no stranger to rain and clouds (go me for picking a great location!). However, last year when I visited in March, it was mid 60s and gorgeous. Naturally I was crossing my fingers for the same this year.
Source
(not our forecast, I’d die and go to heaven if it were going to be above 70)
I checked late last night. High 60 degrees, sunny, with 0% chance of rain. Yippee!
I checked this morning. High 59 degrees, partly cloudy, with 0% chance of rain. Still yippee!
I checked right now.
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Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CA
Age and Occupation: 27, Law Student
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force Pilot
Engagement Date: February 21, 2009
Wedding Date: September 2010
Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery
About Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
One of my good law school friends sent me a link to this article the other day:
Engagement rings took off in the U.S. when the courts refused to hear “breach of promise” lawsuits. These suits were brought by women who had slept with their fiancés and then been abandoned. These women were then less attractive marriage prospects for anyone else.
Naturally, such lawsuits were sensational fun for the newspapers, and eventually the courts put a stop to the whole thing. The problem then became: how could a young affianced couple have sex with each other when she had no recourse to the law if he changed his mind? Both of them might well want to, but for the lady the risks were pretty high. And so the institution of the engagement ring came about. Such rings are non-returnable, meaning that if the man breaks off the engagement he doesn’t get the ring back. The system discourages him from running off and provides automatic compensation if he does. Very clever.
Source
Who knew?
Do you know of any other wedding traditions that have not-so-romantic stories behind them? I’d love to hear them!
Weddingbee Gallery
Feature Launched: April 10, 2009
About: A collection of inspirational wedding pictures from readers and bees.
Nightravyn’s charming save-the-dates are vintage postcards of Oxford, MS, and its university.
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. Poodle, Santiago, Chile/San Bernardino, CA
Age and Occupation: 27, Industrial & Web Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Firefighter & Mountain Patrol
Engagement Date: February 25, 2009
Wedding Date: January 2010
Venue: Mr. P's Grandparents’ Ranch
About Me: I’m a Chilean girl who's crazy about nature and swimming. I enjoy carving, drawing, reading and sewing; I drool over computers, fabric, pretty paper, purple and patterns. To me, chocolate should be one of the seven wonders, right next to lemon pie. I never thought an exchange work experience program was going to change my life forever, but while working in California, I met Mr. Poodle, and ever since my days are better and brighter. We are two goofy souls that, after finding each other, couldn’t help but want to be together forever. It has being a long and sometimes hard road, since we have to deal with such a long distance between us, but we are now facing the last stage of our Fiancé Visa, and soon we will be together. You know the best part? We will be married! So I’ll be blogging from Chile until just a few months before our “green and purple” wedding.
After the earthquake in Chile, my MOH told me that she was not going to be able to make it back to California for our wedding and that made me very sad. I would have loved it if my very best friend was by my side on my wedding day, especially because she was as excited as I was to be here, but she ran into some problems that will not allow her to travel, so I got over it. I planned to have my sister by my side, even though my MOH would always be my MOH in my heart.
I was very proud of myself because I was handling it well. Things were not going to be the way I envisioned them, but it was going to be OK anyway.
That was, until today.
Today I woke up and headed to the computer, because today was my mom and sister’s interview at the USA Embassy in Chile for their Tourist Visa. They were seeking a Visa for one week in order to visit us and attend our wedding.
I waited patiently until my sister finally logged on to Skype. I asked her how it all went, and let her know that we’d been praying for them and collecting all the papers they needed for their visa.
My sisters answer’s put me in tears right away.
They were denied.
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All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
Source: Laurie Peacock
