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.
June weddings! On Sunday, my Aunt J hosted a bridal shower for me at Alice’s Tea Cup on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, kicking off Day Two of my bridal weekend extravaganza. The place was adorable. In case you didn’t get it from the name, it’s an Alice-In-Wonderland themed tea house that was just the cutest thing ever!
For some unknown reason, the sidewalk in front was decorated with chalk. It wasn’t for me but it made for a fun picture.
The best part about the shower was that I pretty much had zero hand in planning it, making everything a total surprise.
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.
So, remember back when I was trying to figure out what our “favor” could be? Well, the original thought was to incorporate some sort of eco-friendly element into it, but it just seemed contradictory to give away a favor and have it be “green”.
And, all of you wonderful readers shared with me your thoughts on what we could do. So, first and foremost we fully plan on purchasing carbon offsets to make up for the ecological impact our wedding will have. Severalpastbees have gone this route, helping to invest in renewable energy, reforestation and energy efficiency.
In conjunction with our carbon offset purchasing, we went on the hunt for something fun for our guests. The obvious choice? A photobooth, of course. Read more…
Mrs. Lobster, BrooklynAge and Occupation: 29, Finance GirlFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Finance BoyEngagement Date: July 25, 2009Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Stage 6 Steiner StudiosAbout Me: I'm a New York-born, Virginia-bred girl who's found her way back to the big city. Mr. Lobster and I met in grad school and have been together ever since. I'm clueless about DIY but am an avid online shopper and love all things polka dots, stripes, and ruffles! When I'm not making wedding lists, you can find me looking for snacks, watching Gilmore Girls, or hanging out with Mr. Lobster and our new puppy Buddy! We are planning a fancy-pantsy Brooklyn wedding for a hot New York summer night which is sure to be a misadventure in the making.
Oh New York. How I love thee. When I started looking at venues with Mr. Lobster, I was overwhelmed with possibilities. They were so many and they were so diverse. I could be a Central Park bride, a Meatpacking loft bride, repurposed old building bride, garden bride, a modern bride. I wanted to be all of them! One of the funnest parts of being engaged was daydreaming about the perfect venue. Here are some of my faves from the search:
Congratulations to our winners Mrs. Joey, pam2899, BostonHelen, smilez GirlWithARing, Stesse, HisButtercup, Kamydoo, and BrideDC!
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With gorgeous terrain, warm sunshine and exotic wildlife, Australia and New Zealand are popular getaways for honeymooners. Escape the ordinary and head to the other side of the world! Today we’re giving away five copies of Fodor’s guide to Australia and five copies of Fodor’s guide to New Zealand.
If you’re considering a trip to Australia or New Zealand, check out Fodor’s helpful tips here! To enter this contest, just leave a comment below! This contest ends tonight at midnight PST. Good luck!
Mrs. Pudding, Greater Toronto Area/VermontAge and Occupation: 26, High School TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Computer EngineerEngagement Date: August 2008Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Catholic Ceremony, Cultural Hall ReceptionAbout Me: Quite literally a citizen of the world, I was born in Poland, grew up in Canada, and now live in the beautiful state of Vermont. I love reading historical biographies, multi-tasking, teasing my hair, and, despite my height, wearing high heeled shoes. I am the ultimate klutz with an uncanny ability to put on a graceful front. Mr. Pudding and I have been dating for over six years, and are very excited to finally merge our (very large) families. We are planning a traditional Polish-Catholic wedding that is anything but predictable.
In between the printing, cutting, and gluing that our semi-DIY invitations require, I have been thinking about ways to spruce up the church for our ceremony. Most churches are beautiful enough on their own, and don’t need much decoration. We will have two floral arrangements in the front, and I am planning on personalizing a runner to decorate the aisle. The only thing missing is some pew decorations.
Unfortunately, much like the famous Casanova above, most of the ideas for pew decorations that I was able to find were a little too fussy and frou frou, and not at all desirable.
Mrs. Dolphin, Gainesville, FLAge and Occupation: 24, Graduate Architecture StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Interactive Interface DeveloperEngagement Date: February 14, 2008Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Plantation Bay Country ClubAbout 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!
Have I told you about my Daisy obsession? If not, then you are in for a surprise… ’cause girl… I am in love with daisies! I mentioned in my cake post that I wanted to put little white daisies on our wedding cake. Well, I’m not stopping there. I’m thinking daisy bouquets, daisy centerpieces and daisy decor. They are just so sweet and summery (and happy!).
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!
(And of course, those that are completely neurotic. Like me.)
Our invites are solid beasts of cottony goodness. I pre-weighed them on 7 different scales in the scale department of Office Depot, so I knew what I was heading into when getting our test-run invite USPS weighed. Le sigh. Eighty-one cents on each outer envelope. From months stamp-stalking the USPS on the internet, I knew that I wanted to use the King and Queen stamps, but now I needed eighty-one-cent stamps. Well, USPS, you can have the extra 7 cents—this girl’s gonna double up.
So yeah. A king and a queen on each envelope. Lovely. BUT… I knew I was so crazy-controlling that I might drive myself nuts trying to individually line up the matching parts on the stamps. This was going to take FOREVER.
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.)
As I’m waiting to start my recaps, I just wanted to share a few things…
Chances are at some point you will create a day-of timeline for the wedding, which may expand into a larger timeline for the overall weekend, and include important information like important cellphone numbers that will be distributed to key people.
But I’m talking about something more hardcore than the above, with minute timing and tons of details, like that of Mrs. Daffodil. Read more…
Mrs. Oyster, DallasAge and Occupation: 30, Music TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 46, Art TeacherEngagement Date: January 9, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: The Tower ClubAbout Me: I'm a Texa-Californian with a penchant for sparkly things and a tendency to think a lot. I've been known to sing random songs or dance when there is no music on. My fiance and I love world culture, we love to travel, and we have an incredibly eclectic taste in music. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate our marriage with our family & closest friends. We're planning an “urban black-tie” wedding and hope to incorporate our personalities and some of our own interests. We look forward to a life of love, laughter, good music, beautiful art, and to creating our home together with our four (!) cats.
Today I was visiting with my future in-laws, and my FMIL (whom I love, by the way; she is always telling funny stories) was recounting the days of planning my FSIL’s wedding, which was about 20 years ago now. It was a huge super-formal wedding, with all the requisite drama, and is the stuff of family legend.
While telling yet another story from this epic wedding, my FMIL says, “Don’t worry. On your wedding day, something will go wrong. It will be some dreadful disaster; just know that it will happen, but don’t worry, everything will be okay. Just focus on what matters most.”
I know people say this, but really? Don’t some brides, somewhere, have perfect wedding days? Or at least, days that seem perfect?
And of course, this gives me the chance to think about my wedding fears. Read more…
ClassifiedsFeature Launched: April 30, 2008About: A roundup of the best Weddingbee Classified listings.
Mrs. Octopus, Boston, MA/Pittsburgh, PAAge and Occupation: 25, Grad StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Graphics Operator for TV NewsEngagement Date: May 6th, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heinz Chapel Ceremony, Museum Reception
About Me: When my best friend dragged me to a toga party in our freshmen year of college, I was not expecting to meet my future husband; but seven years later, here we are. I'm a crazy-organized planner at heart, and I am a great lover of random trivia, books, chocolate, blogs, new and exciting adventures, mockumentary-style television, and anything heavily flavored with bright orange fake cheese powder. We're planning a festive and fun mini-destination wedding in the place where we met: fabulous Pittsburgh, PA! I can't wait to marry the man I love!
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!
While trolling Etsy looking for a ring bearer pillow, I realized all the pillows I liked had one thing in common: they had a big flower as the main focus of the pillow. Observe:
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!
Unlike most couples, who either maintain their individual last names after the wedding or have their common surname bestowed upon them nearly instantly by their marriage license, our shared last name was six months in the making. And our new last name was bestowed upon us by a surly county clerk in a dingy office. But that’s beside the point.
I wrote about our unique name change decision before, so I won’t bore you with how incredibly awesome my husband is again, but I just wanted to thank you all for your support and well-wishes and announce that we have completed the many steps to officially change our names together!
Mrs. Hamster, New York CityAge and Occupation: 28, Finance GalFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Finance GuyEngagement Date: March 9, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: The Pierre HotelAbout Me: I'm an original Jersey girl living it up in the big NYC! I love baking for others, hosting brunches, and exploring NYC with my mans. Besides Mr. Hamster (of course), I'm attracted to shiny things, bold colors, snacks, matching and coordination, pork and duck fats, miniature versions of things, corny jokes and puns. We are planning a swanky Spring wedding in the heart of NYC, followed by a second reception in Singapore. From one city that never sleeps to another - I can't imagine a more exciting ride!
The countdown is winding down, and the big day is quickly approaching. One of my after-work pick-me-ups these days is opening our mailbox and seeing these little blue envelopes peeking out through bills and takeout menus.
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!
In my recent admission that I’m none too creative with ideas three weeks before the wedding, I had a moment of reality check: I’m going to be a wife. Like, a living breathing wife with a husband, and another human being upon whom my decisions will need to be discussed, shared, and decided together.
Gone are the days of “I’ll just move to Denver now” (so, this never happened, but you get the idea). No more large life decisions alone, because I’ll be one part of a whole. I want to move back to Rome. We want to do the Peace Corps—does one mean that the other can’t happen? Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
