Mrs. Cardigan, AustinAge and Occupation: 21, Student/Soon-to-be Special Education TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 20, Student/Soon-to-be Accounting Systems AnalystEngagement Date: August 16, 2009Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Vintage VillasAbout Me: I'm a native Austinite who was raised as a die-hard Aggie. Luckily, I'm a pretty persuasive girl because I managed to convince my high school boyfriend (now fiance!), Mr. Cardigan, to ditch his hardcore Longhorn ways and join me up at A&M, where we currently reside with our adorable dogs, Cullen & Ranger. We're currently planning a bright, cheery wedding with a ridiculous amount of DIY projects that I can't wait to tackle! I love crafting in any form, reading, and margaritas (I think I love them the most!). Organization is what keeps me sane and I love helping others, which is probably why I ended up as an education major. It gets a little chaotic sometimes when you're planning a wedding among all of the papers, projects, finals, and certification exams, but we're having the time of our lives and we can't wait to get started on our journey as husband and wife - and we're so excited to share our wedding with the hive!
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!
Relationships often change us. They challenge us, and encourage us to grow. We learn more about ourselves; we learn more about how we react in relation to someone else that we have welcomed into our world.
Similarly, wedding planning changes us. It brings out some good, some bad and can expose some unknown strengths and weaknesses. It reinforces self-awareness. Statements like, “I am a girly girl.” “I work well under deadlines.” “I have no artistic talent.” or “I have a hard time delegating” become ever more true.
Sometimes, though, we also manage to surprise ourselves. We expand our horizons. We discover that we are capable of things we didn’t expect. Or we are open to things we didn’t anticipate.
What does this mean for me? It means that I not only entered a big box crafting store, but I now own this: Read more…
Mrs. Socks, Southern NJ/Philadelphia, PAAge and Occupation: 23, Web Developer/Marketing SpecialistFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Systems EngineerEngagement Date: September 7, 2009
Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: Ladder 15 RestaurantAbout Me: I am originally from the Midwest, but I love being an East Coast transplant! Mr. Socks and I are foodies and winos to the core---give us a hunk of cheese, some charcuterie and a glass of wine and we could die happy. We have two mischievous Wire Fox Terriers with completely opposite personalities but with a shared love of uprooting anything in our garden. Our backyard garden includes everything from tomatoes and peppers to a fig tree, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries! I love cooking, indie music, and spending time in our wedding city of choice---Philly!
Here is a pretty big confession. I kinda didn’t want a wedding dress. I mean, sure, I wanted a pretty dress to get married in, but the big ball gown dresses just aren’t my style. Before getting engaged, I had never even pictured myself in a wedding dress! So early on in my planning, I decided that I didn’t want to spend a lot of money it if it just wasn’t my “thing”.
I set my dress budget at $500. Most women scoffed at that when I told them, but honestly, our #1 priority is food and wine, not clothes. Don’t get me wrong, I want to look GOOD, but I also just want to focus on having a good time. So how does one look good on the cheap and have a rockin’ good time? I figured that since tea- and knee-length dresses have less fabric, they’d be less $$!
Of course, that wasn’t always the case, but I did find some great deals via the internets.
Here is a dress that is $73.99. $73.99!! I might just buy this because it’d be a cute dress to wear to our welcoming dinner for our out of town guests. Read more…
Mrs. Earrings, Fresno, CA/ Nelson, New ZealandAge and Occupation: 20, Student, Wannabe Writer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 19, Photography StudentEngagement Date: February 14, 2010Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Gardens of the WorldAbout Me: I'm a girl from down under who grew up in Indonesia and I'm marrying a California boy. I'm addicted to all things sweet, have never met a chocolate silk pie than can get the better of me, and have dreams of one day being a fulltime novelist. I go weak in the knees for lace, tea cups, and a beautifully crafted sentence. When I get excited about something (whether it is historical linguistics or the Beatles) I tend to go overboard in research, and planning this wedding is no different. Mr. Earrings is my high school sweetheart, my best friend, and somehow we combine all our quirks into one big happy mess.
Get your minds out of the gutter. I’m talking about a few of my latest sewing projects for the wedding that I thought I might share.
Currently in the works are lace doily runners, and lavender hearts (that is—fabric hearts with stuffing and lavender inside and decorated with a cute button and a loop of ribbon). I find it helps me sleep to work on them for half an hour or so before I turn out the light, plus it means I’m actually getting something done rather than just talking/thinking about it which is a bonus.
Here are some pics (all personal photos which should be clear by the crappyness of their quality. I wanted to steal Mr E’s good camera for the day but he had with him at class and I’m too impatient).
Love in silhouette. Miss Brown Bear and her future husband at Union Station.
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. 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!
After the first dances were over, we asked our DJ to welcome everyone to the dance floor (quite literally, ask everyone to get up and join us!) as he played Black Eyed Peas’ “I’ve Gotta Feeling”. It was awesome because so many of our guests DID join us!
I hope it’s clear that I’m “singing” “TONIGHT’S GOING TO BE A GOOD, GOOD NIGHT!” Read more…
Mrs. Sunrise, MinneapolisAge and Occupation: 27, Client Relations LiaisonFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Senior Technical Support AnalystEngagement Date: December 26, 2008Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: The Oaks banquet room at Eagan Community CenterAbout Me: I am a crafty and optimistic, laid back girly-girl who fell in love with a video game-playin', hip hop-lovin', Lego-buildin', computer-techie nerd. I get easily distracted by shiny objects (oohhh pretty..) and I have more shoes than I can count (but I still need more). I love to shake my booty to Lady Gaga’s music but she frightens the hell outta me. Mr. Sunrise and I could not be any more different, but you know what they say… opposites attract! We met over 9 years ago while working for a local grocery store. It was love at first “Clean-up in Aisle 5!” We are both Chicago-born and raised, but recently relocated to Minnesota for his career. I will always remain a Windy City gal through and through, but I cannot deny my love for the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
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.
Okay, I know am not talking enough about our wedding.
Ugh, wedding planning. Can’t someone else be in charge of that?
By which I mean, I am not talking about napkins. I am not talking about which chairs we picked and how we picked them (but yes, we did pick chairs), and I am certainly not talking about what our invitations look like (Ha! you think we have invitations! That’s funny).
I have two important reasons for the fact that you have been reading a lot of about our relationship, and not much about our wedding: Read more…
Mrs. Pashmina, NYC/Catalina Island, CAAge and Occupation: 28, Arts EducationFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, IT AdministratorEngagement Date: April 26th, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Catalina Country Club, Catalina Island, CaliforniaAbout Me: I'm a laid-back Cali girl who moved to NYC for school, and ended up staying for love. My fiance is a quick-witted Jersey boy, a self-proclaimed Foodie and the funniest man I've ever met. Together we love exploring the city streets embarking on our next misadventure---and yes, this often involves eating off food carts and trying "the next big thing". I'm the girl in the sundress, snapping photos and collecting trinkets of memorabilia along the way. As a girly girl at heart, I am excited about our romantic natural island wedding incorporating our American & Filipino traditions.
Our wedding save the dates do not contain any of these words: “save the date”, “mark your calendar”, “join us”, “hold the day”—not even “wedding” or “celebration”. As my glorious designer/printer/bridesmaid, Alana Bailey of Alana Bailey Brand, noted, “I’m so glad you’re not the type of bride that has to write ‘Save the Date’.”
But should I have been?
The only text on the card is the date of our wedding, the name of the island we are getting married on, and the url of our wedding website. But, will people get it???
Initially I had no hesitation. We are distributing the cards to less than a hundred people, mostly very close friends and family. “Of course they will get it!” They will see our names, which is also are website url, and go to the site for more information. It is there that they will find loads and loads of “save the dates,” “please join us for our weddings,” etc. 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.
Mr. Starfish and I recently went to our first wedding shower, hosted by FMIL Starfish on the Jersey Shore. When we first arrived, my first thoughts were, ‘why haven’t we been here before?’ The place was gorgeous. The shower was hosted at a restaurant called Antoinetta’s, which is right on the water. When we arrived a few guests were already there. It was fun catching up, since it has been a year since we last saw everyone.
Sister Starfish, Me, Mr. Starfish, and FMIL Starfish
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!
I know I have been a little MIA on my recaps. Life after the Wedding has been BUSY. That’s all I can say about that. With starting a new job, figuring out what to do with all my leftover wedding goodies, along with hanging with my husband, I have had little time to do anything! While I am waiting on our professional pictures (they should be here early next week, eek!), and trying to access pictures off a random hard drive some where (man, we are overflowing with pictures… there is just no way to get to them), I thought I’d share with you a little exciting thing that happened to me today.
While home on my lunch break, I checked Facebook on my iPhone (as I typically do on any sort of break from anything) and discovered I had won a giveaway from the lovely Jessica of JMG Jewelry Designs (if you don’t remember, I purchased custom hair flowers for all my sweet bridesmaids from her). Want to see what I won???
Isn’t it just GORGEOUS!!! It’s in my new married name. photo via JMG Jewelry Design
Hi hive! Thank you for your continued suggestions for Weddingbee Spring Cleaning categories. To find out more about Spring Cleaning, click here!
Today’s featured item of the day is blue wedding items!
Sellers: if you have blue wedding items for sale, please post your item to the Weddingbee Classifieds by adding your item, and then return to this post and add the link to the item you’re selling in the comments, along with a quick description. Also pay attention to the comments in this ad to see if any buyers are searching for the item you’re selling by subscribing to the comments.
Buyers: if you’re looking for blue wedding items for sale, you can do a couple things:
Identify yourself in the comments as LOOKING FOR (type of item you’re looking for, and quantity).
Subscribe to this thread, so you’re informed of blue wedding items that are being listed for sale in the Weddingbee Classifieds. ***
Mrs. Knitting, TorontoAge and Occupation: 24, Student Recruitment Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Neuroscience PhD CandidateEngagement Date: October 2009Wedding Date: December 2010Venue: University of Toronto Faculty Club
About Me: I'm a pearl wearing, etiquette book reading Toronto girl who loves cooking and baking, museums, charm bracelets, and collecting books on Jackie Kennedy (a lot). I've been known to spend Sunday mornings at the antique market, Wednesday evenings at sister sushi dinners, and any bit of spare time reading. After six and a half years of many late night walks, watching DVDs together in bed, travelling to places like New York, and Tobermory, doing Sudokus together on the couch, lots of Indian food, the occasional yoga class, moving in together and so much more, Mr. Knitting and I are planning a cozy Christmasy (it's a word!), vintage wedding in Toronto complete with many DIY projects (eek!) and lots of help from our amazing group of family and friends.
I love polka dots. Basically if something has polka dots on it, it’s a good bet that I’m going to love it. It might be entirely forgettable without polka dots, but with them it’s suddenly the most exciting thing ever.
Me prancing (that’s right, prancing) around Europe in Polka dots:
Personal photo
For me, polka dots just seem so sweet and elegant. They can be really mod looking as well, but I prefer them to look a bit more delicate. Anyway, in case there are a few more polka dot fans out there, here’s a few images I love. Read more…
Mrs. Cardigan, AustinAge and Occupation: 21, Student/Soon-to-be Special Education TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 20, Student/Soon-to-be Accounting Systems AnalystEngagement Date: August 16, 2009Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Vintage VillasAbout Me: I'm a native Austinite who was raised as a die-hard Aggie. Luckily, I'm a pretty persuasive girl because I managed to convince my high school boyfriend (now fiance!), Mr. Cardigan, to ditch his hardcore Longhorn ways and join me up at A&M, where we currently reside with our adorable dogs, Cullen & Ranger. We're currently planning a bright, cheery wedding with a ridiculous amount of DIY projects that I can't wait to tackle! I love crafting in any form, reading, and margaritas (I think I love them the most!). Organization is what keeps me sane and I love helping others, which is probably why I ended up as an education major. It gets a little chaotic sometimes when you're planning a wedding among all of the papers, projects, finals, and certification exams, but we're having the time of our lives and we can't wait to get started on our journey as husband and wife - and we're so excited to share our wedding with the hive!
Mrs. Lamb, NorfolkAge and Occupation: 25, Homeland Security ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: January 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church/Harrison Opera HouseAbout 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!
Only one thing stood between me and marriage… formal pictures. I knew they wouldn’t be fun and that my cheeks would hurt by the end. Worse than that, the pictures would forever document me looking like it was no fun and my cheeks hurt. I think it was Mary Poppins who said, “If you must.” The silver lining is that we ended up with the most complete family pictures in recent memory and everyone who needed to be on time for the ceremony was now on the premises.
(Note the brilliant blue sky and the deceivingly bright sun outside of our church.)
My cheeks recovered in a back hallway by laughing and smiling until they were numb.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
