Mrs. Barrettes, Tumon, Guam/Napa, CAAge and Occupation: 29, DancerFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Licensed Building ContractorEngagement Date: November 16, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: V. Sattui WineryAbout Me: I'm an East Coast girl, living on a tiny little island in the Pacific, twirling, leaping, and shimmy-ing my way through life, and now, wedding planning! I'm equal parts nerdy and cool... okay, mostly nerdy. I love satin bows, red lipstick, black & white graphic anything, the shine of sequins and the sound of a champagne "pop". My favorite books are The Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James, and Tender is the Night, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I can also conjure a pretty good Patronus Charm. I started my appreciation for good red wine while traveling on the high seas, and it's only fitting that my passion for wine drinking led me to my Napa-bred honey. We bonded over bottles of Cabernet on my oceanfront porch and haven't looked back since. We're sealing the deal at a winery in the Napa Valley on a 'perfect ten' of a day!
Be warned: Minimal swearing. May not be suitable to view at work.
It started out with shots. It ended with shots. Mr. B came home and found me on the bathroom floor. Yes, it was one of those nights. But Bridesmaid Amy did a fab job—we played games, wore silly masks; I had a super fun violet feather boa and two(!) princess veils. I started on my “Bachelorette Checklist” at our second stop, and it was all downhill from there…
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!
Ladies and gentlemen, a momentous occasion! I was in a bikini recently; I haven’t been in a bikini since high school. No more hiding behind big t-shirts, muumuus, and one pieces at the beach anymore.
Mrs. Plaid, AustinAge and Occupation: 26, Pastry ChefFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, Cabinetry CarpenterEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: Kindred Oaks, GeorgetownAbout Me: I am a Jersey girl born and raised but have since migrated to Texas and embraced its twang and Tex-Mex. I could probably eat chips and queso every day but instead I eat popcorn. I use the word “awesome” way too much but I just can’t seem to stop myself. I am addicted to all things DIY and am planning what I call a Texas-Chic wedding. I love snuggling with my two adorable dogs and of course, my adorable fiance. I can’t wait 'til I can call him my husband some day! October 2010, here we come!
Wouldn’t you agree? No? Well too bad ’cause I’m sending a map your way anyways.
For those of you ladies who live in wedding blog land like me, I’m sure you’ve seen many of the awesome hand-drawn maps brides and grooms are sending out to their wedding guests. Check these out:
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout 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!
Our newest bee is back from a whirlwind trip to Europe and ready to share her wedding day deets with us! Please join me in welcoming Miss Zebra to the hive!
Miss Zebra, Providence, RI Age & Occupation: 24 Marketing/Costume Designer Fiance’s Age & Occupation: 26 Management/Firefighter Engagement Date: December 12, 2008 Wedding Date: March 2011 Venue: The Providence Biltmore About Me: I’m a small town New England girl with an affinity for procrastination, crossing the proverbial line, and putting her foot in her mouth. I’m a lover of history, all seasons, sewing and Incubus. I design costumes on the side for my old high school’s theatre department, which is where I met my sexy man. Our motto for our Big Fat Lebanese/Portuguese/Irish near-300 person wedding is “the more the merrier”! We are marrying in a Catholic ceremony and are hammering out the details of our Victorian-inspired reception.
Mrs. Pin Cushion, Oakland, CAAge and Occupation: 25, Nurse Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, PhD StudentEngagement Date: November 23, 2008Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Radonich Ranch, Los GatosAbout Me: I'm the 3 Cs: crafty, creative and quirky (oh, that's not a C? Close enough!). I'm also a recycling fanatic, fluent in bad accents and I have the loudest laughter this side of the Mississippi. I have not just one sweet tooth, but a whole mouth full of sweet teeth. I cry at 97.4% of all movies I see, but my fiance's always there to hand me a tissue. My geek-chic fiance and I are planning a wedding full of color, cookies and handmade goodness and I can't wait to spill the beans on all of our crazy ideas!
I wanted one like Aladdin wants Jasmine, like a marathoner wants a gallon of Gatorade and like Hugh Grant wants to make another romantic comedy.
Pre-wedding, I knew, in my heart of hearts, that I wanted a photobooth. But my heart of hearts was also telling me we couldn’t spend a grand on a photo-strip spitting, old fashioned booth. And my heart of hearts wasn’t crazy enough to spend $464 from an online store ($97 for the backdrop, $367 for the support system [yikes!]) to build my own.
So, my (cheap, rational) heart of hearts led me to Home Depot to create a stand for our DIY faux-to booth backdrop. I had searched online for tutorials, but could only find extremely complicated versions involving power tools (and I preferred to keep all of my phalanges attached). Thus, we developed our own method which 1) ended up working out quite well 2) was cheap and 3) was easy to build.
For those wishing to build there own cheap, easy, fun photobooth, here is what we used: 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!
We will have a meet up this Saturday, August 28th @ 1:00PM at Max Brenner at 1500 Walnut St. (15th St. between Walnut and Locust). Check their website out at www.maxbrenner.com.
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.
It was my 21st birthday over the weekend! I didn’t want to get a car for it, and I didn’t want a huge party. I wanted this: A Bernina Bernette 66. I call her Bernadette.
Pretty cool, eh? I have been using various sewing machines since I was 13, but never had my own until now. For the last three years I have had to stick to hand-sewing everything because I didn’t have access to anyone’s machine, but now I’m spoiled to be able to use this whenever I want! She isn’t too fancy but she is just perfect for all the projects I want to get started on, especially wedding projects!
So what is Bernadette’s virgin project? 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!
Mrs. Hippo, New York City/Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 34, Event Planner for a Non-Profit Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Finance ITEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Samuel Lynne Galleries and Marc EventsAbout Me: I’m a thirty-something bride living in New York City and planning a modern-ish wedding in Dallas, Texas. I love trashy reality television (Jersey Shore, anyone?), online shopping, Sunday brunch, Central Park, and random celebrity spottings on the streets of Manhattan. While I love NYC, I miss good Tex-Mex, my college friends, central A/C, and being in close proximity to a Target. I’m thrilled to finally be planning an event that’s not work-related and to be marrying my best friend in what I hope will be a unique and personal ceremony followed by a reception with plenty of good food, good drinks, and dancing (regardless if it’s good or not).
Like many modern brides, I am in love with the idea of colored shoes under a wedding dress. Although the more conservative women in my life have looked at me like I was insane when I mentioned it, I think colored shoes make for some amazing photographs, and I am determined to have at least one in my album like this:
Mrs. Trail Mix, New YorkAge and Occupation: 26, PE TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, MBA StudentEngagement Date: March 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Tannery Pond at the Darrow SchoolAbout Me: I'm a country girl who somehow found herself living in the Big Apple and loving every minute of it. I'm planning a rustic, country-chic wedding in my hometown in upstate New York and it's going to be a Party with a capital P. White wine, flea markets and running keep me happy and my friends, family and fiance are my world. I'm a little bit crafty, a little bit crazy but mostly just crazy in love.
Ugggggh, you guys. I just left a message for a friend who shared some exciting news (she’s moving in with her boyfriend) via email while I was on my honeymoon. You know, the honeymoon that I took back in June. And it’s now the middle of August and I just called her.
I know for some of you this may not be a huge deal (hey, at least I did finally call, right?) but for me, it’s a Biggie, Biggie, Biggie. (Can’t you see? Sometimes your words just hypnotize me. An I just love yo’ flashy ways, I guess that’s why they broke and yo’ so paid… Sorry, sometimes early ’90s rap just speaks to me. Anyone? Anyone?)
Anyways, my girlfriends are my life support, my allies, my therapists, my sounding boards and I pride myself on being a very, very good friend.
With my high school friends at our wedding… We couldn’t quite get it together to smile for the photographer but I love this picture even more the way it is…
For the past five years that Mr Trail Mix and I have been together, spending time with my friends has been a major priority. Read more…
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
What’s a bride with a ridiculously long to do list and only a couple weeks until the wedding to do? Call on her family and friends for help, that’s what!
This weekend, we headed down to my parents’ house for a weekend of wedding crafting. While Mr. Jelly studied for an MBA class final, we got down to work.
Papa Jelly cut slits in corks for our cork place cards. For those of you following along, we decided on the traditional horizontal design.
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.
I’ve been married for almost a week, and it’s the best thing ever. Things will go wrong, surely, but things will also go well. I’m never getting off this ride!
Anyway, we’ve been thinking about all the ideas we had over our 15-month engagement. Some of them made it, some of them were altered, and some of them ended up on the cutting-room floor.
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!
…is what I said when I got the original quote from the only prospective caterer that will e-mail me back.
Since they are the only caterer with fingers for typing (apparently), I guess we are going with $45 a head total for appetizers, salads, a buffet, and a small dessert. Uuuuugly. Here I was thinking we could keep everything under $30 a head.
One caterer also included a quote for rentals through him. Tables, chairs, linens, silverware, glassware, and all that. Here’s the lovely quote we got for just glassware:
Champagne flutes, beer glasses, wine glasses, and soda/fruit juice glasses:
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. :)
Well, I am a scrapbooker. Yup. I love to spend hours cutting, pasting and putting together all the beautiful people and events in my life into a book. I have made scrapbooks for everything: from Mr Handy’s and my relationship, to one for my brothers and their careers, to one to momma for Mother’s Day, and even one for my cat.
So, when we got engaged, I knew that I would be asking my bridesmaids to be a part of our wedding in some sort of creative way.
Mrs. Barrettes, Tumon, Guam/Napa, CAAge and Occupation: 29, DancerFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Licensed Building ContractorEngagement Date: November 16, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: V. Sattui WineryAbout Me: I'm an East Coast girl, living on a tiny little island in the Pacific, twirling, leaping, and shimmy-ing my way through life, and now, wedding planning! I'm equal parts nerdy and cool... okay, mostly nerdy. I love satin bows, red lipstick, black & white graphic anything, the shine of sequins and the sound of a champagne "pop". My favorite books are The Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James, and Tender is the Night, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I can also conjure a pretty good Patronus Charm. I started my appreciation for good red wine while traveling on the high seas, and it's only fitting that my passion for wine drinking led me to my Napa-bred honey. We bonded over bottles of Cabernet on my oceanfront porch and haven't looked back since. We're sealing the deal at a winery in the Napa Valley on a 'perfect ten' of a day!
I have been preparing myself to change my last name. Sometimes I think it’s no big deal, and other times I struggle with becoming “my new name.” It’s a lot of n’s—five to be exact. I have practiced writing my new name (much like I did when I was in sixth grade with my crush’s name) and haven’t gotten it down to a science just yet. I miss making the capital “H”of my current name.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
