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.
Almost two weeks ago I started a new workout routine that I sort of believe in. That’s pretty much the best endorsement exercise can get from me.
I read Gwyneth Paltrow’s newsletter, GOOP, for the LOLs. Usually she’s talking about the $900 boots you need for fall or her new diet that consists entirely of kale juice. But the other week she had a video created by her trainer, Tracy Anderson, that really intrigued me. To view it, click here.
Why do we care about Gwyneth “goop” Paltrow’s workout? Because these are her legs:
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!
When Mom picked up the Love Flats, she also surprised me with a pair of slides. (Yes, I’ll call them slides, thongs, sandals, but not flip-flops. Leave me alone.) They’re hot pink, made of some magical plastic or rubber or something, and I never thought I’d wear them. I mean, c’mon, where was I going to wear flip-flops (err, slides) in the middle of February? The pretties sat in their box, awaiting spring and whatever life might hold for them.
Mrs. Seashell, Chicago, IL / Providence, RIAge and Occupation: 28, Marriage and Family TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical EngineerEngagement Date: September 3, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: The Glen Manor HouseAbout Me: Fonts and fashion, stationery and Sundays, photography and french toast... the beauty is in the details for this fun-loving Chicagoan who loves to plan plan plan! The soon-to-be hubs plays "Mr. Fix-It" in our new condo while I swoon over beautiful, personalized stationery and choose shades of aubergine for my bridesmaids' dresses... and thus begins my new fairy tale! Skirting to the East Coast for our September nuptials where my home state of Rhode Island awaits with fall foliage, I'm just a few dress fittings and bachelorette party away from saying "I Do" to a very happy ending!
Sometimes I wonder what our social schedule would look like without having a million weddings on our calendar!
Have Save the Dates taken over your fridge?
Mrs. Hermit Crab, New York, NYAge and Occupation: 24, Youth Director soon to be Grad StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Medical Student - soon to be Surgery ResidentEngagement Date: October 11, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: New York Botanical GardenAbout Me: I love all things food, books, our furbaby, Rashi, and adventures with my amazing fiance (oh, and saving the world!). This summer I will not only be a bride, but a bridesmaid, officiant, and attendee as well---it's all about weddings in my life right now, full of so many exciting moments and projects. We're planning a fab New York City wedding weekend full of family, love and lots of color!
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!
Have any of you been growing out your hair for the big wedding day? I got engaged 18 months ago, and I had been growing my hair ever since. It was out of control! I think my head was starting to hurt from the weight. Seriously! I couldn’t get any volume in those locks for the life of me.
So I headed to my hair stylist, the lovely Romi at Robert Jeffery’s Lakeview location. (Side note, she’s amazing! The woman gives me the most amazing tease-y layers. It’s where she teases my hair, then cuts layers). She’s my Chicago stylist. I’ve been going to her for years. It saddens me that she can’t be my wedding day stylist since we’re getting married in San Diego. Anyways, I showed her some inspiration pictures, and asked her to whack off as much hair as she could while still allowing me to achieve that look. She whacked off several inches, then finished with some curls for fun.
Mrs. Perfume, DCAge and Occupation: 36, Consultant (and Part-Time Professor)Fiance's Age and Occupation: 41, ConsultantEngagement Date: May 13, 2008Wedding Date: May, 2009Venue: The Homestead, Hot Springs, VirginiaAbout Me: I'd like to think that I'm a modern day Little Edie Beale. Only not as..."talented". More realistically, I'm a foodie who can't bake; a dancer and dilettente; an art collector with a penchant for the whimsical and subversive. I live in the city and adore the country, but not much in between. I like smart design, great craftmanship and good value. Most of all, I love the new vintage aesthetic: classic, sweet, delicate, bespoke. If I had to do it all over again, I'd go for a culinary arts degree rather than a PhD; but wouldn't trade Mr. P for the world.
I’ll just start by saying, some things you can’t control. Like, for example, your officiant, who at the rehearsal leaves you with more questions than answers and a strong feeling that things will probably go a bit awry come wedding day… JUST SAYIN’.
Also, this is another long post. Sorry! (All images by our friend, Graham, and other wedding guests.)
That’s the look of “Oh boy, this is going to be interesting.” Father Jim is in the background still telling a story.
So, it’s still the Friday, the day before the wedding. We just finished with our (half-baked) tea ceremony, and we rushed back to our rooms to change for the rehearsal in the garden. People were still arriving at that point—and by “people” I mean our bridal party. Read more…
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.
Whew! It took me longer than the anticipated week to write up the most important Polish wedding traditions. I hope that you enjoyed reading them, and that you learned something about the Polish culture! To wrap up, I just wanted to draw your attention to some of the different traditions that have been mentioned on the ’Bee before, thanks to the Avocados and the Sea Breezes!
Breezy wrote about the Poprawiny, or “the do-over”: the day after the wedding extravaganza (I told you Polish weddings were three day affairs). I love her family’s addition of a shot of vodka and a shot of water to the “Bread and Salt” tradition (like a true Polka, I like anything with a little addition of wodka). She also wrote about an interesting way to celebrate one’s 1st wedding anniversary. 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.
I’m waiting on my pro pictures, but I have a few photos I can share from the festivities that took place the day before, so I figured I could get started.
On Friday, most of my bridal party and friends started arriving, and we got started early. I picked up one of my college friends from the airport and we headed straight for the nail salon.
(family friend, SIL Fro Yo, and me)
This was the first time I had my entire bridal party together, including my flower girls, and we had such a great time! We popped some bubbly (What? Doesn’t everyone do that at noon?) and we all got our nails done.
Mrs. Pretzel, SeattleAge and Occupation: 32 Learning, Training, and Development SpecialistFiance's Age and Occupation: 28 Manufacturing EngineerEngagement Date: September 2, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Catholic Church & The Engine Room at Georgetown StudiosAbout 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.
Greetings from 10,000 feet! Mr Pretzel and I are on a red-eye to the Midwest and I was pleasantly surprised that our plane has wi-fi. The first thing out of my mouth was, “Ohh! I can catch up on blogging!”
We’re headed to Fort Wayne Indiana for Mr Pretzel’s brother/best man’s wedding to Bridesmaid S and I realized that just a month ago we were on a similar flight headed to what I affectionately call “Pretzel’s Big Day O’ Showers”. Two separate showers thrown in one day became a whirlwind of matching faces and names, bridal games, and all around exhausting fun. 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!
Well, its official. Our wedding is going to be an eating extravaganza. Yep. An all night marathon of food. I hope our guests are preparing for this in advance…
Mommy Buttons and I had a final (hopefully) meeting with Carlouel last week. I swear, each time we leave from one of our venue meetings, my mom and I couldn’t be in a better mood. Everything about our experience with Carlouel has been a dream. And the menu is no exception.
After ruminating about our first tasting’s selections, Mommy and Daddy Buttons brainstormed with me on what we would love to have at the reception. We were searching for variety, fresh foods, and a lot of different flavor profiles. After collaborating with Chuck, we were able to come up with what I consider to be a pretty amazing menu.
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!
I was just sitting there, ho hum, at my desk, hobbling through my second day back at work after the most glorious, amazing honeymoon when I stumbled across…
Oh yes. Wedding teaser shots from the amazing second shooter Susan O’Connor of Pretty Petal Studio.
It has made my day a million times better… because now it’s so real that I am MARRIED and a WIFE and I CANNOT WAIT to share all the fun adventures leading up to the wedding, on the wedding day, and after the wedding with YOU ALL!
In the meantime (meaning, as I write these sure-to-be-amazing posts) please enjoy some more sneak peeks: Read more…
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.
After I walked back up the aisle with my shiny new hubby, we had a nice short receiving line. The steel pan player had moved into the little alcove where my dad and I had made our grand entrance 15 minutes earlier. Everyone gathered around for some hugs and kisses, and we stood and listened to Bob Marley being played right next to us. And then, the unexpected happened. The player looked at me and said, “first lesson is free!” Hey, I’m always up for a challenge!
It went on a little longer, but it’s just too painful, I can’t put you through all 5 minutes. I do think our faces say it all though…
Jisikah and her future husband found a sun-kissed field in L.A. for their engagement shoot.
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.
Ms Seahorse, BostonAge and Occupation: 25, Veterinary Jane-of-all-tradesFiancee's Age and Occupation: 36, former non-profit fundraiser in search of something betterEngagement Date: October 17, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Fort Pond LodgeAbout Me: By day I'm a cat-wrangler, vet tech assistant, pet-sitter, receptionist, and pre-vet student, but the rest of the time, I'm a former-roller-derby girl turned dedicated-wedding planner. I love reading, writing, bicycles, animals, roller skating, and antique-y things of all sorts. I'm a vegetarian who likes spicy foods, while Fiancee Seahorse is a meat eater who does not like spices. We live outside Boston with our menagerie: a fifty pound dog, a one-eyed, seventeen-toed, toothless cat, and a perfectly put together cat who has a penchant for pooping near rather than in her litter box. In addition to planning our small lake-side wedding, we enjoy running around with the puppy, playing board games (Scrabble, anyone?), having little adventures, talking about how we should really clean the house more, and maintaining our little garden of vegetables and wedding flowers.
As you probably saw in my little floating profile, my affianced is currently jobless, and thus health-insurance-less; my job provides health care coverage for spouses and domestic partners. Obviously, we want to, and plan to, get married (yay Massachusetts!), but we want to have the whole big party for the actual wedding rather than just going to town hall, and if domestic partnership will suffice for these purposes, then it is good enough for us.
One Thursday in February, Fancee and I took the dog for a walk, had some breakfast, and then drove in to Cambridge town hall. There are only three places where you can register a domestic partnership in Massachusetts: Cambridge, Provincetown, and somewhere else that I can’t seem to find online (does anyone know the answer to this?). Here we are at City Hall in Cambridge:
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
