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’ve heard a lot of people say their wedding day was the best day of their life or that they expect it to be the best day of their life and I just can’t relate. I do not expect my wedding to be the best day of my life and, frankly, future me is going to be pretty disappointed if it is.
I love this guy, but marrying him better not be the high point of our lives:
Mrs. Glasses, Tokyo/Los Angeles, CAAge and Occupation: 24, English teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, English teacherEngagement Date: September 2008Wedding Date: October 2010 Venue: Parents' backyardAbout Me: I’m an expat living in Tokyo. I’ve been in Japan for almost three years now, where I met my fantastic English fiance. It’s time to leave Japan, so we are planning a fun, intimate, backyard ceremony back home in the suburbs of L.A. in October. Our wedding will be a mix of my love for food, beer, my Japanese culture, and Mr. G’s Englishness. We are on a tiny budget and DIYing almost everything!
I don’t think we’ll flip flop on our backyard wedding, so it is time to get some concrete ideas going. WE, yes WE, have been discussing colors, feel, and components. Of course, I’d be nothing without the lovely ladies who have come before me in the blogosphere of backyard weddings.
Mrs. Cola, Mountain View, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Product Communications and PromotionsFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Managing Partner and Senior DesignerEngagement Date: March 5, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: The Mountain Terrace, Woodside, CAAbout Me: I’m a Washington State native, enjoying life in Silicon Valley California with my fiancé, our three kitties and one leopard gecko. I like reading wedding blogs, Photoshopping wedding design mock ups, making lists, and planning, planning, planning! I’m a bit of an anomaly, on one side I’m a very girlie girl, I collect shoes, I lay out my outfits 4-6 weeks in advance, and I’d never leave the house without my hair curled and makeup on. But on the other side, I’m a total tomboy, I love to go camping and hiking, play drinking games (hey, I’m Irish!) and most of my closest friends are guys. My fiancé and I are planning a DIY-focused wedding with a balance between easygoing (what he wants) and chic and stylish (what I want), and are tying it all together with elements in lavender, sage, butter cream and chocolate.
I’ve written many times about the other things we made using the laser cutter at Mr. Cola’s office, including rubber stamps, our cupcake tower, invitations and escort cards. And with only one wedding project left, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to use it a final time!
Also, I was only able to find one “Thank You” paper punch in stores for some reason, but I wanted something a little different than the all caps text with the star/flower shape on top.
Miss Handbag, Smyrna, DE/JamaicaAge and Occupation: 25, AdministrationFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, SalesEngagement Date: Christmas Night 2008Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Rosehall Resort, Montego Bay, JamaicaAbout Me: I am a Type A, emotional Italian fireball, who on a weekly basis must be brought back to reality by my level headed, calm, cool and collected fiance. We are planning an intimate, all white with hints of black, vintage inspired wedding on the old sugar aqueducts of Jamaica, with 30 of our closest friends and family flying in to witness the occasion. We are not traditional by any means and will be doing things very differently. :)
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, that Cricut of mine? It’s been in our coat closet since the day I bought it (a year ago—no joke). And, since we scrapped the envelope liners I was at a loss of what we were going to use it for. Especially since I’m not much of a DIY-er.
The solution? Belly bands. I toyed with this idea off and on for some time and with a little nudging from Mr. A, it was a go. I was definitely not going to hand cut them—I totes don’t have the patience for that, and I wanted to forgo the hand cramping. Insert the Cricut.
I had downloaded Sure Cuts a Lot (SCAL) a while back, knowing that the Cricut Design Studio was not compatible with my Mac, plus I can import .SVG files from Illustrator if I ever needed to create a custom design. You can only do so much with a Cricut cartridge.
First I used SCAL to create an 8.5 x 11 file that would have 9 strips of paper for each piece of paper, evenly sized. 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!
When it came to tracking down a ring bearer pillow, I knew that it was going to be a struggle. I have similar feelings toward ring bearer pillows as I do to flower girl baskets, so I figured I’d have a hard time finding something.
Plus, I really wanted a super cute ring pillow, since our ring bearer is so freaking adorable.
Mr. Cardigan’s nephew—a kid that cute needs a really adorable pillow to carry!
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!
What could be in this adorable box? Let’s take a peek inside! Read more…
Mrs. Husky, DenverAge and Occupation: 26, Systems AdministratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Mechanical Engineer, recently laid offEngagement Date: August 14, 2009Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: Rancho San CarlosAbout Me: I am planning a quirky-crafty wedding with my recently out-of-work fiancé for a (fingers crossed!) warm October afternoon. We are two self-professed nerds with an affinity for all things outdoors---be it rain, snow or shine. Recently relocated from the drizzly Northwest, we're enjoying the many sun-soaked days in the mile high city. Our day will be filled with both of our large families and friends, a self-served Cajun feast, and a Zydeco-style jazz band rocking beneath the beams of a historic red barn.
I am that girl who wears heels every day. This is not a career obligation, nor is it an attempt to make up for a small stature – I am 5’9″ after all. No, I just love heels, and I always have. I’m a pro at walking in them, as I’ve been doing so ever since the sixth grade, when I would stash a pair in my backpack to swap with whatever shoes I wore out of the house. I’ve tried to reform my ways, even going shoe shopping for “practical shoes” to wear in the snow. But somehow, I always end up with more heels. So when we decided to have our wedding outside, my first thought was of my shoes.
I have become very familiar with the act of aerating a lawn – not purposefully, but the moment I step onto a patch of grass, my stiletto sinks right down into the soil. If I were to wear my shoe of choice at our wedding, my graceful walk down the aisle could easily turn into a clumsy stumble. The solution? Wedges.
Miss Handbag, Smyrna, DE/JamaicaAge and Occupation: 25, AdministrationFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, SalesEngagement Date: Christmas Night 2008Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Rosehall Resort, Montego Bay, JamaicaAbout Me: I am a Type A, emotional Italian fireball, who on a weekly basis must be brought back to reality by my level headed, calm, cool and collected fiance. We are planning an intimate, all white with hints of black, vintage inspired wedding on the old sugar aqueducts of Jamaica, with 30 of our closest friends and family flying in to witness the occasion. We are not traditional by any means and will be doing things very differently. :)
Our wedding coordinator in Jamaica, that is… when she gets a peek at all the questions I have for her! Since I am an overly-organized and a type A personality, and the fact that our wedding is taking place in another country, I need to know what’s going on! I like to be prepared with no surprises. When we met in April, I brought my handy dandy list of questions! If I am going to be sending 30 of my closest family and friends, and spending thousands of dollars, I want to know what to expect. Wouldn’t you?
SO without further ado… these were my questions… Read more…
BeehiveFeature Launched: Aug 31, 2006About: A forum for readers to post questions and get feedback from the hive, aka the weddingbee community.
To be eligible to win a Avery/Zazzle Wedding Organizer, review your favorite wedding vendors in the Weddingbee Vendors section and submit them to us here to be featured on the blog! Check out this post for more info on our great weekly prizes!
We bought our bridesmaids’ dresses and rented our tuxedos through Jenni’s Bridal. It was a welcomed relief to find Jenni’s Bridal after having a bad experience at a different bridal shop in my town. The consultants at Jenni’s were friendly and made me excited about being a bride. They were very helpful and accommodating - they pulled out all of the swatch books for the dresses and tuxedos I was interested in.
Mrs. Sand Dollar, HoustonAge and Occupation: 24, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Electrical TechnicianEngagement Date: January 8, 2010Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: MacLean ParkAbout Me: I'm a domestic diva down to the core. I heart cooking, sewing, baking, decorating and making sure we have a hand-crafted home. The best part about the wedding is I get to incorporate it all! I make sure I put my art degree to good use by screen printing, craft knife cutting, and a whole lotta graphic design. We're having a big-time party on a small-time budget, and I promise to show you a boot-scootin', barbecue-eatin', finger-lickin' good time! Mr. Sand Dollar and I spend most of our time on DIY projects or traipsing around the outdoors with our two pooches Rory and Juno. I'm looking forward to sharing our journey with all of you!
Mr. SD and I love the outdoors. The first joint purchase we made was a canoe, and we’ve trekked it around to lakes and rivers all over central Texas. After seeing images like this, I’m dreaming up ways of incorporating our canoe into the wedding reception.
Mrs. Glasses, Tokyo/Los Angeles, CAAge and Occupation: 24, English teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, English teacherEngagement Date: September 2008Wedding Date: October 2010 Venue: Parents' backyardAbout Me: I’m an expat living in Tokyo. I’ve been in Japan for almost three years now, where I met my fantastic English fiance. It’s time to leave Japan, so we are planning a fun, intimate, backyard ceremony back home in the suburbs of L.A. in October. Our wedding will be a mix of my love for food, beer, my Japanese culture, and Mr. G’s Englishness. We are on a tiny budget and DIYing almost everything!
Before we started planning a wedding, Mr. G and I needed to have a serious discussion about where we’d like to move to after we’re done with Japan in September. We wrote out a pros (”jobbertunities”) and cons list for each country and talked about all the points. I thought once we’d done this a decision would become clear, but I was just as undecided as ever! I knew I could be happy in either country, but we had to think of things in the long run, which is usually my favorite thing to do. But so many things depend on other things: the economy, health care plans, etc. How can we determine how the economy will be for the rest of the year?
It was a very difficult decision, but Mr. G said he was leaning towards the United States. I asked him to please think about it because it’s a very big decision on his part. We left it at that and maybe and said we’d discuss it more later.
Since we had a better grasp on things, we could start thinking about wedding plans a little more seriously. So exciting!
I really liked the idea of having a Vegas wedding because people get married in Vegas all the time, so the venues out there really know how to make things as easy and stress-free as possible. Planning from all the way over here would be major stress, so the best thing to do is basically pay and show up. And where better to do that than in Vegas! The only real decision was where to hold it, and since we wouldn’t be putting a lot into the decor, we should pick somewhere that we already liked the look of. Read more…
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!
I kept a secret from you all. Shortly after my post waxing poetic over wedding videos, we booked who I now regard as the best and most amazing videographer ever, Matt Odom, to cut our wedding day to one of our favorite songs, Sleepyhead by Passion Pit. Earlier today, the video arrived in my inbox, and, well, Mr. Scissors and I have been flipping out ever since.
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.
Following up on my last post about our invitations, I thought I would write a tutorial for those of you who want to learn more about heat-embossing your stamped images, which is a fun and affordable way to glam up your wedding stationery. Now, please note that I’m an amateur crafter and stamper, most of what I have learned is by trial and error, and I’m sure there are many people out there who can do this much better than I can.
With that in mind, here we go.
First, you will need to gather some basic supplies—cardstock or paper, your stamp of choice, ink, embossing powder, and some sort of heat tool.
You can either use coloured ink and clear embossing powder, or clear ink and coloured embossing powder, or both coloured ink and embossing powder (too many options!). We tried out all three ways, and found that when both were coloured (we used silver ink and silver embossing powder) the result was a more defined image.
For your heat source: we were lucky enough to have a heat tool specifically for embossing stamps, but you can also use a hairdryer on a low setting. Read more…
{Source}
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
When we met in April, I brought my handy dandy list of questions! 
If I am going to be sending 30 of my closest family and friends, and spending thousands of dollars, I want to know what to expect. Wouldn’t you?
