Mrs. Sewing, San Mateo, CA/Honolulu, HIAge and Occupation: 24, Electrical EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Electrical EngineerEngagement Date: June 27, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Anela Garden Chapel & Japanese Cultural Center, HonoluluAbout 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!
We found that if there’s one absolutely-must-have item for any honeymoon, minimoon, or whatevermoon, it would be this:
The travel tripod.
If my mother hadn’t bought us this handy little device, all of our pictures would have looked like this: Read more…
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.
Tonight we were driving and all I could talk about was stupid stuff we have to do. We have to call the car insurance guy, we have to find songs for the wedding, we have to pay bills, we have to figure out how the hell we’re going to actually combine all our money, we have to practice signing our new last name…so many things, none of which can be accomplished in the car. And Fancee was like, “Why are we talking about this now instead of when we can do something about it?!”
And here’s the answer: because all of these ideas are like funny little creatures just pinging around, leaping and flying and somersaulting around in my brain, and I can never wrangle them still enough to deal with them when there’s actual time to do it. Stupid little Animal-Thoughts. Calm the F down!
So, the Pinging-Animal-Thoughts are the reason I haven’t been here; somehow it seems luxurious to write about whatever I feel like writing about when I have ten million PATs to deal with, not to mention the actual animals in my life who are always desperately needing something like a lap or someone with whom to run in circles. The beasts, they ask a lot of me.
clearly high-maintenance
In the meantime, here is what I have been thinking about: how marriage changes things. 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.
Y’know, it’s funny how a wedding can make you covet things that wouldn’t get a second look in your daily life. For me, these things are accessories. I have 3 purses—an everyday black purse, an everyday brown purse, and an evening clutch. This is mostly due to laziness; I hate migrating everything from purse #1 to purse #3, and I inevitably leave something behind in the former bag. But one of my very first wedding-related purchases was a clutch:
I. Love. This clutch. Seriously. The fringe has such fun movement, and the color matches the slightly ivory-champagne shade of my dress.
I also fell deeply in lust with this one: Read more…
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!
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!
Jen and jakes wedding adds a splash of purple to her wedding day look!
Keep on loading your inspirational wedding pics to the Weddingbee Gallery to see them featured here on the blog! Remember, your images must be under 1MB in size, or they won’t load.
Mrs. Elephant, Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 27, Financial Operations AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, IT Student/Store ManagerEngagement Date: March 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: The Tribute Golf ClubAbout Me: I'm a Philly native creating roots deep in the heart of Texas. I might be a little obsessed capturing those Kodak moments of anything and everything (mainly on vacations). I've become more of a gamer thanks to Mr. Elephant, who I met online and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with. We are planning a wedding based on our favorite colors, blue and green, with a travel theme for 150 of our closest friends and family. Hopefully our long (2-year) engagement won't kill me!
Before Mr. E and I even got engaged, I had been following the blog (or stalking the blog) of a wedding photographer. I loved her pictures, especially the detail pictures, so as soon as Mr. E popped the question, I set up a meeting with her. She met with us as well as with Mama Elephant to go over her packages, show us some of her albums, and tell us about herself. She was on the higher end of our budget, but I knew that pictures would be the most important thing to me, so I was willing to shell out some serious change. We left the meeting thinking she was the one…
Fast forward a couple of months, after we had moved the date of the wedding back a year, and I didn’t see any reason to book her until later on (mainly so we could spend the money on more important deposits like the venue and wedding planner).
As a daily reader of the DFW Knot boards (which have a wealth of information when it comes to wedding planning in my area, as well as being a source of real-life-bride reviews of vendors), I started to notice certain names mentioned when people asked for photographer recommendations. Lynn Michelle was a photographer that brides either used and loved, or wished that they could have had the budget to book her. You may remember the name if you followed Mrs. Hydrangea—Lynn took her boudoir photos.
Mrs. Locket, Ithaca, NYAge and Occupation: 25, Research TechnicianFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, former Banker hoping to become an Officer of the LawEngagement Date: June 15, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heron Hill WineryAbout Me: I am a little bit of everything all rolled into one: A girly gal with rough edges---I love to get dolled up just as much as I enjoy throwing on some sneaks to toss a ball with Mr. Locket. My love for crafting and creating is quite apparent and I've been referred to as a Wonder Woman/Martha Stewart/Stepford Wife hybrid (yup, I'll take that as a compliment). I adore sewing, photography, sculpture, good eats (mmm tapas), baking, snugging and oh, pretty much everything in between (there's not much I dislike). I am super excited to be planning our vineyard wedding and couldn't be happier to be marrying Mr. Locket. We are a quirky, fun-loving couple residing in our college town with our two pups Maple and Molly. We love to go on hikes, visit our local dog park and to bask in the beauty of many of the local falls and gorges. We are an indecisive pair, but together we somehow manage to make up our minds (it's the easy stuff that's tricky).
Soon after her offer, I received it in the mail (along with the most adorable card) and I couldn’t wait to try it on. After unwrapping it I proceeded to prance around the apartment in the veil and asked Mr. L’s opinion. His response was, “It looks a little bit dark…don’t you think?” Read more…
Mrs. Brooch, Arlington, VAAge and Occupation: 25, Writer/EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Front Desk ManagerEngagement Date: October 3, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Oxon Hill ManorAbout Me: I’m an indecisive girlie-girl with a motor mouth, can-do attitude, and knack for making others laugh. I dream of becoming a best selling novelist like Elizabeth Gilbert or Julie Powell (a girl can dream, right?), and love long road trips, a beautiful countryside, music, blogs, books, and all things vintage/thrift/antique/or homemade. I’m a Virgo, i.e. overly sensitive, emotional, and critical, and there’s no such thing as short and sweet in my world. I want to say and do it all. Mr. Brooch grounds me. I point where to go and he figures out the way. He’s a pragmatic fancy-pants who enjoys video games and movies. We both adore our mutt, Rocky, and spending time with our amazingly supportive family and friends. We’re planning a garden wedding with a formal reception with lots of whimsy and unique, Southern-inspired details.
Once we decided on our bridal party, the next step was picking a theme.
*Please note that there are several religious references in this post. These are our ideas, and we are in no way trying to push our beliefs onto you or your wedding.
At first, Mr. Brooch insisted we didn’t need a theme, but I argued that we needed something that tied together all the elements of our wedding.
We knew we wanted…
1. Good music (particularly R&B and soul music)
2. Good food (Southern comfort food and delicious desserts)
3. An intimate setting
4. Elements of nature (and earth tones)
5. To honor our mutual love for God
Well, even with those priorities in mind, we had a very tough time coming up with feasible themes. Our initial ideas were pretty lame—chess theme, movies theme, or Tuscan/plantation theme. Nothing seemed to express our common interests. Nothing seemed to fit.
It was actually kind of scary for a minute. We had to stop and asked each other, “We have stuff in common, right?” Read more…
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!
In the beginning, Mr. Dolphin wasn’t completely on board with the first look idea. The first look seems to be a relatively new wedding trend. My parents had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned it, and many of my friends who were married only a few years ago hadn’t heard of it when they were planning their weddings. I searched the Internet for some great examples to show to Mr. Dolphin and even made a little pros-and-cons list for him to look at. In the end, Mr. Dolphin was on board (anything to keep his stressed-out bride happy). After it was all said and done, Mr. Dolphin says that this set of pictures are some of his favorites from our wedding. Bride: 1, groom: 0.
I believe that the first look is such an important moment on your wedding day. Many brides and grooms are hell-bent on not seeing each other until the ceremony (which is tradition), but, having a first look and seeing each other alone is so much more intimate (in our eyes). We both were so excited to see each other and get a moment to take in everything that was happening that day…we were getting married!
Enough of my jibber-jabbering—the pictures truly say it all.
I’m trying to contain my excitement, but failing at it. I had never been so excited to see him in my life!
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!
This past week was insane. There’s really no other way to say it. Absolutely, 100% insane.
This was my first week of student teaching, and it totally kicked my ass. Now, I’m not saying that I’m not loving it—because I am. It’s wonderful and I’m getting some amazing opportunities. But, it. Is. Exhausting.
I had big plans to finish our napkins before the next time we visit Austin in September, so I could take them to my mom’s house and reclaim my dining room table (I don’t even remember the last time we got to eat dinner at the table!). But now? I’m not so sure that’s going to happen. By the time I get home every day all I can do is collapse on the couch and try to rest up for doing it all over again the next day! Hopefully, I will adjust to the new schedule soon and be able to recover a little quicker, but for now I’m having a hard time just keeping myself awake throughout the day.
This week was hard because I was incredibly exhausted from student teaching all day and Mr. Cardigan had to work a lot. We really didn’t get to see each other all that much, and when we did see each other all I could manage was a mumbled conversation that I was only halfway paying attention to, because I was just that tired.
So, this weekend we decided to do what we always do when our crazy lives get in the way of our relationship: Read more…
Mrs. Jelly Beans, OttawaAge and Occupation: 28, Pediatric Registered Nurse and full time bride to beFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Investor and very supportive groom to beEngagement Date: July 7, 2005Wedding Date: August 25, 2007Blogging Since: June 20, 2007Venue: Cathedral Ceremony and Rooftop Tent ReceptionHoneymoon: ItalyAbout Me: I have been in wedding planning mode since Mr. Jelly Beans popped the question almost two years ago. I am a very dorky and sentimental person. I love laughing and living life alongside my husband-to-be. We have been in a long distance relationship for over 6 years - he is in California and I am presently in Canada, so you can imagine how excited we both are for our upcoming wedding.
Hi hive! Yes it’s me, Mrs Jelly Beans, alive and well!
It’s been 2 years since my last post. I know, because I checked. I have a few valid excuses for being MIA for such a long time.
First, despite my absence I still continue to get my daily dose of Weddingbee. But, it just got harder and harder to write. I attribute it to post-wedding writer’s block. Don’t get me wrong—I still have a love affair for all things wedding, vintage, and sparkly.
Then we were blessed with exciting news! On New Year’s Eve 2008, Mr Jelly Beans and I found out that we had a mini Jelly on the way!
Fast forward to the present—after laboring for 15 hours with the love and support of my husband, on 09-09-09 we welcomed baby girl Jelly Beans into our lives. Our lives have been filled with more happiness, cuddles, and giggles than we could have ever imagined!
Recently I began to think about writing again. Read more…
Mrs. Zebra, Providence, RIAge and Occupation: 24 Marketing/Costume DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26 Management/Firefighter Engagement Date: December 12, 2008Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The Providence BiltmoreAbout 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.
I had a super wedding-chore day today!! Wanna hear about it? Well, I’m going to make the bouquets with FAKE FLOWERS!! (Gasp!) That shit is expensive…but not as expensive as real flowers. So I made my way over to Michaels to buy the rest of the flowers because I’ve got to get something done. What did I find there, you ask? A giant bin of flip flops, two for $3. BWAH!? AND I didn’t have to fight the crowd at Old Navy? I’m Ron Burgundy?
Mrs. Lightning, Cape Town Age and Occupation: 22, Journalist and Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Computer ScientistEngagement Date: December 27, 2008
Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Hout Bay ManorAbout Me: I'm a young American living abroad in the beautiful city of Cape Town with a wonderful South African fiance and our crazy kitty Zeus. We're young, driven and madly in love. Together we're pursuing our wildest dreams including our biggest undertaking yet, a vintage retrospective wedding filled to the brim with DIY madness. I have an unnatural attraction to cake, a passion for blogging and a love of good design. While I might be an overly obsessive creative with too many ideas and nowhere to put them, Mr Lightning is my biggest fan and I can't wait to make my true love mine.
As I mentioned last time, Mr Lightning and I are celebrating our first year of marriage this weekend. Times have been a bit tough of late and it resulted in us having to forgo any fancy anniversary celebrations. But it is this exact predicament that formed the basis of my sentimental first anniversary gift.
We all know the first anniversary is paper, but I wanted to think outside the box for Mr Lightning. Read more…
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!
My brother is getting married next week and my wedding is 5 weeks later. Whenever I mention this to someone, they usually give me a look that says, “Is your family crazy?” Older Asian women simply cringe and say, “BAD LUCK!”
In Filipino culture, like many other Asian cultures, it is considered bad luck for siblings to marry in the same year. Read more…
The travel tripod.
Spring Wedding Favors
As I mentioned last time, Mr Lightning and I are celebrating our first year of marriage this weekend. Times have been a bit tough of late and it resulted in us having to forgo any fancy anniversary celebrations. But it is this exact predicament that formed the basis of my sentimental first anniversary gift.
