Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout 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!
Once we made the decision to get legally married before the wedding, I began searching for a civil ceremony outfit. Hoping to emulate my mom’s stylish wedding day look, I originally wanted to wear a white skirt suit.
OK, I may have been inspired by this, too. (Source)
I soon learned, however, that a nice white skirt suit is hard to come by. Over the course of a few months, I must have tried on at least a dozen white suits but none of them fit right. Here were some of the better suits I considered (please ignore the bad photo quality – they were all taken using auto-timer!): Read more…
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.
In case you’re not savvy with the online wedding lingo, OOT stands for Out Of Town (although I like to pronounce it in my head as ’ute’ because it reminds me a children’s book I used to read). OOT Bags are a lovely way to welcome your guests to your wedding when they check in at the hotel and usually contain snacks, water, directions and any other pertinent information.
I thought my idea was simple enough: Buy plain white paper bags, decorate each one with a custom stamp and add a ribbon bow to the top. Nothing too crazy, but I felt confident my limited DIY skills could handle this.
Ha. That was an incorrect assumption on my part. I could’ve just slapped a custom sticker on these babies and went on my merry way but no, I had to make things difficult for myself. The OOT bags have turned into an ongoing saga that rivals our table numbers. In short, I have spent far too much money, time and effort to produce something that only looks decent enough and that no one will notice. Excuse me while I go scream into a pillow for a minute.
Here’s the story: I ordered 100 white paper bags from Paper Mart for $31.00, along with 25 yards of yellow grosgrain ribbon for $12.00. That part I could handle. It was the ’Welcome’ stamp that through me off course.
Mrs. Veggie, Raglan, New Zealand/Scranton, PAAge and Occupation: 27, Director of Small Non-ProfitFiance's Age and Occupation: 42, PhD Student & FarmerEngagement Date: June 13, 2009Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: 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.
So, thinking about our wedding venue wish list, I began to do some intensive Googling. My keywords? “farm wedding”, “organic wedding”, “thrifty wedding”, “eco wedding”, “barn wedding”, “cheap wedding”. This was one of the first venues I stumbled upon. Organic local food? Absolutely stunning? I’m in love.
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!
Well, it looks like I won’t be needing ol’ Obi-Wan’s help this time around. I can get past security after all! My passport came in the mail! Woo hoo! 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!
If you missed the last NYC Wedding Bootcamp, now’s your chance to check it out! Join The Wedding Salon and special guest speaker Dylan Lauren for an evening of wedding planning tips and free treats for brides to be!
To score two free tickets, visit The Wedding Salon and use code WBNY3C upon checkout.
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!
I headed to House of Brides in Chicago with a fellow friend/bride. The salespeople at House of Brides were great. They had a great selection and I walked away from the day with two dresses that I liked.
This first dress was a contender for a moment. 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.
Mr. Paisley and I met, fell in love and lived together in 2007. We met during my senior year of college, where he was a lecturer in Spanish (ooo, illicit student-teacher affair! Haha, not quite––I wasn’t in his class).
Our old college gang. From L to R: Miss P., Kim, Mr. P, Bridesmaid Jackie and Pierre
But after graduation, I pursued a job that took me 500 miles away from him. Our love was strong, and we endured an entire year of long distance, both taking turns flying or driving to see each other every month. Finally, after we’d saved our pennies, we were able to reunite in SoCal together.
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. 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.
Let’s be honest. We have all spent hours scouring the web and bridal stores for the perfect bridesmaid’s dresses.
I thought I knew what I wanted, until I purchased my dress. The bridesmaid’s dresses I had in mind were WAY too formal for my dress, made of heavy satin or were tea length. So, it was back to square one.
I found a few contenders in my second wave of searching, with this one topping the list:
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.
Oh stampsstampsstamps. In the voice of Steve Carell, I love stamp. Once I used my first stamp on the card box tag, I had an itch. I needed to stamp more. I wanted to stamp everything. And I figured with the burning desire to lightly dip a stamp onto an ink pad and press a neat little design onto paper, now was as good a time as any to tackle our invitations. I broke out the envelopes and became a stamping fool!
Mrs. Chick, HoustonAge and Occupation: 28, Rights and Reproduction ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Computer ProgrammerEngagement Date: November 15, 2008Wedding Date: April 2010Venue: A farm outside of HoustonAbout Me: Mr. Chick and I met almost ten years ago at Baker Blues, a college jazz party. He was attracted to my intensity, and I was mesmerized by his trivia pursuit skills and his dorm furniture adorned with his initials. We've grown more sophisticated through the years, with our love of wine, owning a house together, and parenthood (of a cat), but we have not lost our silliness or childish sense of humor!
Since we only had to snail mail a couple of save the dates (the rest of them having been sent electronically), I wasn’t too worried about which stamps to use. I ended up going with the standard wedding band stamp. Truthfully there were very few choices for wedding stamps:
That got me to thinking about which stamp I need to buy for our invitations and RSVP cards (albeit, we have yet to design/purchase them!). Here are a couple ideas: Read more…
Mrs. Starfish, Boston/NewportAge and Occupation: 25, Operations AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, SalesEngagement Date: October 8, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: The Atlantic Beach ClubAbout 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.
I love the idea of having a welcome basket or bag in each guest’s room upon arrival. I have only been to one wedding with a welcome bag, but it made me feel like the bride and groom really cared and appreciated that I traveled to their wedding and wanted me to feel comfortable and welcomed.
I plan to go the DIY route on this, but needed some inspiration, so I turned to the web.
Kate Parker Weddings has a ready to buy Newport option. I like this one a lot. It comes with a welcome note, a custom map with points of interest related to the wedding, two bottles of water, coffee beans, cookies for a snack, a medicine kit, and a Newport Visitors Bureau Travel Guide. It’s super cute, but most definitely out of our price range, but there are elements I’d like to include that are inspired from this. I like the little Advil packets and the Welcome to Newport note.
Mrs. Star, New York CityAge and Occupation: 22, ActressFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Casting AssistantWedding Date: October 2009Venue: Ceremony: The Kraine Theatre, Reception: Midtown Loft & TerraceAbout Me: I’m a professional actress who’s always had New York City in her blood and I'm finally getting the chance to make a home in Manhattan with my fiancé, my dog, and my big dreams! I love polka dots, craft projects, Dunkin’ Donuts’ iced coffee, and anything sparkly. I’m having a blast planning our elegant/dramatic/New York City/acting-themed/largely-DIY wedding and am thrilled to be the youngest current Miss Blogger!
I hate to say it, folks, but we’re nearing the end of the Star recaps. I know, I’m sad about it, too. I have a couple more picture-heavy posts to share with you and then a few posts about our name change decision (it’s cool!), what I would do differently, and some other wrap-ups, but I’m just about out of things to say as far as our wedding goes, hence why the recaps are slowing down. I’m dragging my feet finished them because I don’t want to be done ’round these parts!
I would like to share a little round-up of some of our wedding details, though, because I worked terribly hard on them and so I think they deserve their own little moment in the spotlight. Because we didn’t want to spring for a second-shooter and we kept our photographer pretty busy throughout the day, I’ve included some non-pro pictures in here, but I hope you won’t mind.
That said, one piece of advice that my DOC gave me was to arrange a little pile of things that I wanted photographed by a professional and have them laid out that morning for him. It was great advice, as he was able to just grab some pretty shots of a few things that would’ve been otherwise undocumented.
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!
After solving the printer mystery, our envelopes came out like stars. I designed them in InDesign, which has proven to be invaluable in wedding-paper-goods-land. Because I like to make things more difficult, and don’t know what the hell mail merge is, I typed each one by hand. Whatever, I am a total fan of how they came out.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
