Mrs. Seashell, Chicago, IL / Providence, RI
Age and Occupation: 28, Marriage and Family Therapist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineer
Engagement Date: September 3, 2009
Wedding Date: September 2010
Venue: The Glen Manor House
About 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!
They’re official! Our Save the Dates have been sent!
After toying with mounting them on cardstock, then scrapping the idea entirely, simplicity won out! Funny enough, they are what I initially didn’t want: a “boring” magnet in an envelope. Fortunately, they fit perfectly snugly in the envelope, and the wrap-around label and matching stamp looks polished without going over the top.
For the design of our wrap-around labels, we were torn between the chandelier and soft lace designs. Ready to see which we chose?
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Wedding Bios
Feature Launched: September 12, 2008
About: Wedding bios of real brides.
Mrs. Jacob
Start your own Weddingbee Bio and you could be featured on the blog!
Mrs. Penguin, Northern California
Age and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in Chief
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical Therapy
Engagement Date: January 29, 2007
Wedding Date: June 7, 2008
Blogging Since: September 14, 2007
Venue: Winery in the Gold Country
About 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!
Good morning hive! Say hello to our newest Bahston bee and animal lover extraordinaire! (Did I get the accent right?) 
Join me in welcoming Miss Seahorse to the hive!
Miss Seahorse, Boston, MA
Age & Occupation: 25, Veterinary Jane-of-all-trades
Fiancee’s Age & Occupation: 36, former non-profit fundraiser in search of something better
Engagement Date: October 17, 2009
Wedding Date: September 2010
Venue: Fort Pond Lodge
About 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.
Mrs. Lamb, Norfolk
Age and Occupation: 25, Homeland Security Consultant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate Student
Engagement Date: January 2009
Wedding Date: January 2010
Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church/Harrison Opera House
About Me: I’m a Homeland Security Consultant with a tendency towards pulling office pranks, taking lunch breaks, and drinking Wawa shakes. I’m also an English major with a serious obsession with alliteration and rhymes. While I’m not keeping America safe, I’m training for half marathons and the Escape from Alcatraz swim. Or moving for the third time this year. Or baking. Or wedding crafting. Or crying about wedding planning. All the while, I’m getting myself into Lucille Ball-esque scrapes and making Jim Carey-esque faces. Our big fat Czech/Baptist/Jewish/Italian wedding is a combination of vintage eclectic, DIY, and little spoonful of sugar from our Event Coordinator. It’s going to be a Norfolk flavored wedding with the verve of an only-daughter-blow-out bash!
We had, what I considered to be, a very traditional wedding. We married in a church, hosted a sit down reception on a Saturday, and partook of many other traditions (bird seed toss, first dance, cake cutting, etc.). Our families and the Lambster thought our wedding was quite different (online RSVPs, red bridal shoes, individual cakes, pictures before the ceremony). Even though I could have broken the mold more, I think that our details were the expressive icing on our cookie cutter base.
I’ll take you on a little tour of some of the details that made our day.
Our semi-DIY invitations were ordered from eInvite.com (invitations, response cards, inner envelopes and outer envelopes). I cut belly bands, sealed them with a wax seal, lined the outer envelopes, and hand wrote calligraphy on the envelopes.
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Featured Product: Laura Ashley Delicate Damask Invitation
Mrs. Dolphin, Gainesville, FL
Age and Occupation: 24, Graduate Architecture Student
Fiance's Age and 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!
Over the past few weeks, Mr. Dolphin and I have received a few wedding cards in the mail (of which I have a fun and easy DIY keepsake project for after the wedding—stay tuned!). They range from the funny, to the sweet, to the heartfelt, and then there is this little gem… the wedding pop-up card!
photo by Miss Dolphin
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Contests
Feature Launched: Oct 5, 2006
About: Weddingbee contests and giveaways.
Congratulations to our winner, bexyk1010! And if you didn’t win, never fear! Picaboo is graciously offering 30% off of a variety of their products to everyone that entered the contest. Simply enter the code 30WDGPLN at checkout! This offer expires on October 31, 2010. Please see this page for qualifying products and for more details!
~~~
Picaboo has an incredible giveaway for us today! Picaboo allows brides to create their own one-of-a-kind, customized photo books using their easy-to-use bookmaking application. They have great selection of book styles, and today they’re giving away one Large Flush Mount wedding album to one lucky Weddingbee reader (a $349.99 value)!
To enter, head on over to check out Picaboo’s Flush Mount book and let us know what color leather you’d choose for the cover if you were to win.
And for an additional chance to win, follow @weddingbee on Twitter and retweet the contest by simply clicking here. From there, comment again here and let us know you retweeted! You have until Wednesday, May 5 at midnight PST to enter. Good luck!
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
Mrs. Piglet, Virginia/Oahu
Age and Occupation: 28, Consultant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Entrepreneur/Fashion Apparel Wholesale Importer
Engagement Date: June 22, 2008
Wedding Date: August 2009
Venue: Ceremony at the Lanikuhonua Phase II private estate, reception at a historic hotel in Waikiki
About Me: I'm an East Coast gal with intense road rage and an addiction to romantic comedies, fast food, gadgets, Korean BBQ, and my wiener dog George aka Georgia May. I carry mustard packets in my purse and I love perusing the aisles at discount stores. A self proclaimed shopaholic, I impulsively buy electronics, software, and craft tools; none of which I know how to use. I'm excited to dust
these babies off and immerse myself in DIY projects galore in
preparation for our DW in paradise!
During Mr Piglet’s Love Actually reenactment, my bridesmaid did a quick scan of the room and noticed that (in her words)-
Among the women, there wasn’t a single dry eye, and among the married or dating men, there was a sense of panic – “how will we ever top that!?” ?Yes, even dear hubby hung his head in defeat.
Heehee. Way to set that bar sky high, Mr Piglet! His finale marked the end of our reception program. At that point, we were ready to break open the bubbly (kidding! already done hours before) and let loose on the dance floor!
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Mrs. Taco, San Francisco
Age and Occupation: 29, writer/editor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 37, editor
Engagement Date: May 13, 2009
Wedding Date: August 2010
Venue: The Green Room at the War Memorial Veterans Building
About Me: I like laughing and talking with good friends over good food and good drink, be it wine, cocktail, or brew. I write and edit things for fun and profit, but I rarely "write" these days without a keyboard and high-speed internets. Favorites include Mr. Taco, my Boston terrier, San Francisco, getting out of town, and the Roaring ’20s. I was kind-of planning a wedding since roughly 2006, when I discovered "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?" on the WE channel. I ran and didn't look back with a theme I called "urban vintage," and it culminated in the most magical day a taco could ask for.
I don’t like most birds, except for those purty ones found on Cute Overload or in the Amazon rainforest.
But I get really jazzed when I see feathers (ironic?). They’ll be in about half our centerpieces, the bridesmaids’ bouquets, my fascinator, and the guestbook pens. The pens are one of my (hopefully) manageable DIY projects that I’ve yet to start, and they involve a whole lot of me, pens, craft-store feathers, and floral tape. Mr. Taco, too, if I can trick him into helping. Progress (and initial failure) on that front to come in a later post, I’m sure.
To me, there’s just something perfectly vintage and sleek about them. Feathers are also inexpensive and easy to find; they’d definitely be my first pick for DIY decor, for anyone out there scrambling for idears.
Source: Radokri’s Etsy shop
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Mrs. Frog, Phoenix, AZ/Chelan, WA
Age and Occupation: 29, Public Relations
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Online Sales
Engagement Date: February 8, 2009
Wedding Date: July 2010
Venue: Amy's Manor
About Me: I'm an opinionated Midwestern girl now living in the Valley of the Sun marrying a laid back Northwestern guy. I'm equal parts sass, silly and sweet. I'm fiercely loyal with a strong devotion to my family and friends. I have a not-so-secret obsession with apple juice, a new obsession with DIY projects and I love a really good cheese plate...with lots of wine. After 7 blissful years of dating, I'm having the time of my life planning the destination wedding of my dreams to my Mr. Frog-turned-Prince Charming.
We all know the story of Goldilocks… this one is too small, this one is too big, this one is too hot, this one is too cold… and this one is juuuuust right. Well, so goes the venue hunt for the Frogs.
After deciding on Chelan for our location, we began discussing options for venues. The area is home to a fast-growing wine valley so my first choice (being the wino I am) was to have our wedding at a winery. Let the hunt begin!
First up…KarMa Vineyards.
(source)
KarMa was one of the wineries that I hadn’t visited in person when we began exploring options but after reviewing their site, stalking them on Flickr and searching Google images, I felt as though I had a pretty clear idea of what it looked like. The real perk was that they are the only winery in the area with a wine cave:
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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!
*personal photo*
This is a different kind of name change post.
This past weekend, the Hot Wings went through an official name change. I’d like to publicly announce for the first time, Dr. and Dr. Hot Wings!
Aside from the fact that it’s literally taken me a lifetime to accomplish this Ph.D. business to attain the Dr title, I like the title because it’s gender neutral. When I say, “Dr. Hot Wings is totally awesome.” You’re likely left wondering, is she totally conceited and talking about herself, or is she proclaiming yet again how awesome she thinks Mr. Hot Wings is?
So while I think it’s important for women to make conscious decisions about how they want to be addressed after marriage, isn’t it a bit strange to make it to the gender neutral Dr level and go back to the gender specific Mrs title?
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Mrs. Nachos, Chicago/St. Thomas
Age and Occupation: 33, Commercial Real Estate & Hairstylist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 36, Radio Producer
Engagement Date: May 22, 2009
Wedding Date: April 2010
Venue: Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort, St. Thomas
About 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 getting beautified, I was getting very excited! Ah, butterflies. Dress time…
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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.
When I was still in Chile I finished 2 (my MOH’s and sister’s) of the 4 dresses for the bridesmaids, so with half the work done I didn’t feel so pressured with this particular task, but with only 2 weeks until the wedding, I realized I should have started way earlier!!
By this time I wasn’t even done with my wedding dress transformation and I was starting to worry. 
So, I called my bridesmaids so we could do a super fast dressmaking session.
I started drawing patterns for the 2 different tops, and the girls tried them on. After they approved I cut the fabric and started assembling them.
Poodle-maid Candy’s dress
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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.
Ok, OK, it’s only the Seattle Parks Department reservation lottery, but hey, it’s pretty important to making Mr Pretzel’s rehearsal dinner dreams come true!
Mad Microsoft clip art skills, I tell you!
With a recommendation from Mrs Joey we settled the first part of Mr Pretzel’s vision—a Pacific Northwest menu—but the second part, a location outdoors on Puget Sound was yet to be determined. So, we started to look at different Seattle Parks located on the Sound. We found the perfect location, which I will tell you more about in a second, but we also learned that Seattle Parks have an annual lottery to reserve shelters at their parks. Since Seattle only enjoys on average 71 sunny days a year, you can imagine that there is a lot of competition to reserve park facilities during the summer (the sunny season).
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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!
How work really gets done in the Sewing house:
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Mrs. Seashell, Chicago, IL / Providence, RI
Age and Occupation: 28, Marriage and Family Therapist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineer
Engagement Date: September 3, 2009
Wedding Date: September 2010
Venue: The Glen Manor House
About 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!
One of the things that continues to amaze me about Weddingbee is the collective phenomenal talent and diversity of interests of the bees. How fun were photography lover Miss Hot Wings’ Modeling Tips? And if I ever want to train for a marathon, Trail Mix is my girl. Amazing updo? I’m calling Mrs. Nachos. Rustic perfection? Mrs. Cowboy Boot. The sewing talent of Miss Sewing and Mrs. Poodle is ridiculous, and Mrs. Cupcake can be my graphic designer any day. Don’t even get me started on the DIY genius that abounds around the ’bee. It’s uh-mazing.
So, what do I bring to the table? Well, I am a Marriage and Family Therapist, after all!
(source)
So where to start? Let’s see… well, one thing that each of us have in common is that we have selected a partner.
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