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.
An excessive use of candlelight (is there really such a thing?) will be another way we plan to convey a cozy vintage Christmas feel to our wedding. I absolutely love candlelight. I love how it instantly conveys a really cozy and warm atmosphere. While it’s lovely any time of year, for us it’s especially wonderful during the winter when it gets dark around 5:30PM here in Toronto.
Mrs. Cheeseburger, Baltimore, MD/State College, PAAge and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentEngagement Date: June 28, 2008Wedding Date: March 2010Venue: Catholic Church Ceremony & Hotel ReceptionAbout Me: I'm a passionate girl from Pittsburgh, currently living in Baltimore for school, who loves Penn State, seeing movies, football, thunderstorms, black and white photos, Christmas, good beer, my amazing friends and family, and of course, my mister! We met, fell in love, got engaged, and will be married at our alma mater (go lions!) in a traditional Catholic ceremony followed by a hotel reception with lots of DIY details. It means so much to have our families and friends meet at our favorite place on earth to celebrate our love for one another - I truly couldn't ask for anything more!
Oh, Friday. Friday was a special day. Friday brought me some of the highest highs and lowest lows of our wedding weekend. Here goes nothing!
Warning: this is a long and whiny post, but it has a happy ending - promise!
First up: The Bad - remember how my last post ended with Burger and I blissfully drunk on love (/lots of beer)? Well if you guessed that I would be feeling that decision on Friday morning, you were most certainly correct. I had a killer headache, which made me totally crabby. Also, I was exhausted, therefore my crabbiness was compounded. I woke up Burger, who felt equally awesome, to get dressed and start moving all of the crap in the suite to the hotel ballroom. After we were done with the big move (round 2), Burger left me to go check into his suite.
At this point, my mom and I started the process of filling my beloved macarons. Can you believe that I didn’t take any pictures of them during the baking process? Forgive me - here they are in a bag, pre-filling below. I originally planned on making my own filling, but at the last minute blackberry jam seemed like a good (pre-made) substitute. Plus, it’s purple (small victories here, people)! 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!
The shower! (Side note: do NOT google “woman showering” when at work!!)
Much like this woman, I look very happy when I get a brilliant idea while I scrub down.
So my brilliant shower idea came for my Save the Dates! I had been trying to think of something cool to do that would get people excited about our location in Philly.
Before my aforementioned brilliant idea, I had come up with this:
Mrs. Guinea Pig, Baltimore, MD Age and Occupation: 26, PhD student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Operations Director at a non-profit Engagement Date: December 25, 2008 Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: The Chesapeake Bay Beach Club About Me: I'm a tomboy science nerd whose girly side has made a startling appearance thanks to wedding planning! I love to bake, knit and sew but I also ride a motorcycle (that Mr. Guinea Pig wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole). We live with our three crazy cats and love to read, travel, watch movies, and do home improvement projects together! My parents/family are Canadian but I'm definitely American, although I've lived in 5 different countries, 6 different states, and speak Russian fluently. Mr. GP and I met online (did I mention I'm a scientist?) and had a whirlwind romance - now we can't wait to get married & celebrate with all our friends and family in a blue and yellow waterfront affair!
I was surprised, flattered, and thrilled to discover that so many people like, and also want to make, the escort flowers that we made for our wedding!
I received so many questions asking for more detail on how to make them that I decided it would probably be easiest for me to just do a tutorial. I’m excited you all want to make them! So here’s how I did things, which I’m sure is by no means the only way to do them. I tried to make it fairly detailed so as to answer all the questions I’ve gotten so far, but if you have any more questions, feel free to ask in the comments or PM me.
To start, here’s the paper I used:
(origami paper: one side is blue, the other side is white)
Mrs. Taco, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 29, writer/editorFiance's Age and Occupation: 37, editorEngagement Date: May 13, 2009Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: The Green Room at the War Memorial Veterans BuildingAbout 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.
The nootrishus and tasty Tacos decided on, well, tacos for the rehearsal dinner, generously hosted by FMIL and FFIL Taco. Named for our Mission District’s Mexican roots, we’ll be chowing down on the Hotel Whitcomb’s Mission dinner menu of tacos, guacamole, flan, and all the applicable sides. Read more…
Mrs. Lace, Pasadena, CAAge and Occupation: 29, Elementary school teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, EngineerEngagement Date: September 6, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Orange County Performing Arts CenterAbout Me: Born and raised in Southern California, my fiance and I are marrying in Orange County. We're planning a vintage wedding with a modern twist. I am an elementary school teacher by day and a wedding planner by night. I love reading, blogging, scrapbooking, trying out new DIY projects, buying awesome finds at incredible deals and spending time with friends and family. Trying new restaurants, traveling and shopping also top my hobby list. I'm anxious to share my wedding ideas and planning with the hive!
No, not for your wedding, not for your first dance, or grand entrance. Find your soundtrack. Make your playlist. Find some music that calms and soothes you because you’re going to need it.
Previously, I wasn’t that stressed. I had worked so hard so that there’d be very little left to do during this last week of the wedding. I had maybe 5 things I needed to do this week - two meetings, write vows, pack for the honeymoon and get a manicure and pedicure. Since yesterday, five more things have popped up, all pressing and needing to be done NOW. So, today I worked on getting those 5 things done and now I still have my original five things to do and one less day to do them.
I tried my best to not be outwardly annoyed. I vented to some of my BMs and then turned on my soundtrack. Luckily, I randomly created this playlist a long time ago to play while I write and journal. It’s called “Mellow Out Miss Lace.” I turned this on as I prepared to do some packing and write vows (not at the same time, of course) and I instantly felt my shoulders un-bury themselves from my ears. Ahhhh… music. So soothing and healing to the soul!
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.
Mr P lurks around the ‘bee so it’s blasted hard to keep a secret from him. Let me know if you see him and tell him to scram ’kay? ‘Cause I really want to talk things that he-should-know-nothing-of. Things like wedding night skivvies.
All this recent discussion of honeymoons has me thinking of what I will slip on when the dress comes off. There are so many ways you could go with it… playful, sexy, sassy, innocent, elegant. Really, any of those would work. I figured that I would go shopping with Bridesmaid H and try on a wide range of under-things before finding the perfect wedding night ensemble.
Yeah, I was wrong.
I was shopping with Momma P, saw it, needed it, bought it. Can you blame me? Read more…
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!
I made an amazing discovery this week, and I’m sorry if I’m the last person to the party and you all already know this, but I’ll just go ahead and tell you anyway: there are tons and tons and tons of fitness DVDs available on Netflix Instant Watch! Aaaahhh!!!
This has been great for me, because as I’ve confessed here before, I absolutely hate to exercise, and I get bored very easily when repeating workouts. Once I get bored with what I’ve been doing, I stop, and take a good looooooong time to pick up a new activity again. However, given that our wedding countdown is now in the double digits (GASP) and my efforts to tone my arms strictly through wishful thinking have failed, I need to pull it together, stop letting myself off the hook, and work hard. Having all these DVDs easily accessible makes it easy to experiment with different routines, and change it up quickly when I feel boredom and dread at the thought of repeating a workout I’ve already done. We have the Netflix disc that lets you watch anything on your Instant Watch queue via the Nintendo Wii, but I think streaming the workouts straight off a laptop would be fine too.
I’ve tried a few different DVDs now, and I’m going to throw out a recommendation for my two favorites so far: Read more…
Mrs. Spaniel, Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 28, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, PsychologistWedding Date: March 2010Venue: Calamigos RanchAbout Me: I'm a third-year law student trying to balance graduating with starting my career, keeping up a relationship, and, oh yeah, planning an Old World, multi-cultural, "mountain lodge" wedding for 180 guests! A South Asian Jewish girl getting ready to marry my handsome Catholic Dane, I'm hoping to blend our cultures in our wedding just a bit more gently than by providing samosas as appetizers and offering æbleskiver for dessert. (Although that would also be awesome.)
(This was our recessional music, and the unofficial “anthem” of our wedding, because we married on the Persian New Year… and it’s one of the happiest love songs I know. Play it while you read!)
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.
I want to talk about getting married young, and why Mr E and I decided that it is the right thing for us to do.
Mr E and I will be 21 and almost-20 by the time our wedding date rolls around. This is by no means “too young” to get married in many cultures but it does go against the current norm from a so-called Western perspective.
When we first got engaged, or even started talking about getting married, we were unprepared for the backlash from certain relatives and even friends. We got (and still get) comments like: “Aren’t you rushing it?” “Why settle down now, what about study and travel?” “But are you sure (s)he is the right one when you have only been with one person?” “What about having fun while you’re young?”
And my all time favourite: “Men don’t grow up until they are 25, until then they are just big children and you should wait until he is 25.” (This was courtesy of my aunt who married at 19 to a man 10 years older than she was.)
The problem with these comments is that a) they show that the speakers don’t know Mr E and me as well as they think they do and b) they reveal some very misguided (in my opinion) assumptions about what marriage is about and what it means for those who make that commitment.
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.
I recently was reading the blog Weddings, Yes Please! and it got me thinking. Is the tossing of a bride’s bouquet really as hated as it portrayed these days? In theory, yes, it is not the most empowering for your female attendees.
Image from thehollywoodgossip.com.
You never want anyone at your wedding to feel they as if they should be waiting, and hoping, to one day get married. But what about astrology, numerology, the lottery… aren’t these popular for a reason? Don’t we all sort of like predicting the future? Don’t we always wonder if a random event means something more? 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.
I’m feeling twiney. All followers of invitation twine stand up!
Last week I ordered not 1, but 2! giant spools of twine. I’m making around 100 invitations so I suspect I’ll have way too much twine leftover. I can use it to decorate gifts and such for the rest of my life. Yesterday I got the delivery confirmation. I looked forward to opening that box all day to see those two giant spools of twine.
Oh, no, my friends. There’s nothing giant about this spool.
I am just realizing now that the dimensions were on the website! Read more…
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.
Food is definitely one of the main ways that we’ll be conveying a wintry feeling. I think food is such an integral part of any holiday. To me all these images convey a sense of comfort and warmth.
Soup
I think serving soup is a great way to convey a warm welcoming wintry feel to our guests. Originally we’d planned to serve soup as the first course of our meal, but now I’m toying with the idea of soup shots during the cocktail hour. I love the idea of soup shots and I think our guests would really enjoy them, but I haven’t made any decisions yet.
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.
I felt bad for teasing you guys before and not showing you my weddingdress, so I decided to be nice and share some pictures along with a recap of my journey to find “The One”.
OR DIE! (j/k, I love you but please go away now) Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
