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!
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!
Yes, that’s right. Flower fear. I’m such a big wimp that I was terrified of picking out flowers.
Let me remind you that I am a complete flower idiot. I know nothing (NOTHING) about flowers. And I’m perfectly content to keep things that way… except there’s this whole wedding thing, and it usually involves flowers and me having to actually pick them out.
To be honest, the original plan was to only have flowers for our bouquets. I didn’t want to have to worry about picking flowers out for the centerpieces because I was terrified it would turn out looking ridiculous. Plus, flowers are expensive, right? So I figured the best plan was to just skip them except for where absolutely necessary, and call it a day. I even had a great plan for centerpieces - the cute little balls! But, we all know how that turned out. Major fail. Read more…
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!
After monthsof searching, a stumble, and a pretty big near-miss, it is finally time to present to you our wedding invitations! Ready for the big reveal?
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.
Lucky for me, Mr. Knitting moved to Canada from Poland when he was four. While he now identifies more with being Canadian than Polish, it was important to us to include some details of his heritage even if we’re not having a full blown big fat Polish wedding (did I mention that I think my Big Fat Greek wedding is the best wedding movie ever?).
Here’s a few of the ways we’re doing this:
Music
We’re going to have lots of (okay, maybe more like some) Polish polka music. I think my mom and myself are way more excited about this than Mr. K. My mom grew up practicing polka in her backyard for Ukrainian weddings so she’s excited to put her skills to use. My mom and I often will bust out some polka at non-eastern European weddings. Here’s a picture of us polka-ing at a friend’s (not Eastern European) wedding. No, we’re not all that shy!
Mrs. Hermit Crab, New York, NYAge and Occupation: 24, Youth Director soon to be Grad StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Medical Student - soon to be Surgery ResidentEngagement Date: October 11, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: New York Botanical GardenAbout Me: I love all things food, books, our furbaby, Rashi, and adventures with my amazing fiance (oh, and saving the world!). This summer I will not only be a bride, but a bridesmaid, officiant, and attendee as well---it's all about weddings in my life right now, full of so many exciting moments and projects. We're planning a fab New York City wedding weekend full of family, love and lots of color!
One of the difficult parts of planning a wedding in NYC from Syracuse was scheduling. We had at first suggested doing wintery e-pics, but our photographer was worried that we wouldn’t get great shots in the cold, and the weather being iffy. Next, we scheduled for April. Wouldn’t you know, Mr. HC went to Italy and got stuck there due to the volcanos (!!) and we had to reschedule. I really wanted to work with our photographer before the wedding so we scheduled them for the Wednesday a week and a half before the wedding.
Tuesday night, we met some friends at the Mets game. About halfway through the game, I started feeling really achy, and had trouble standing. The subway ride home was miserable for me. Read more…
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!
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!
Our save the dates have been printed! We got off our butts and went to Kinko’s today. We figured they’d be the most English-friendly printing solution. We were wrong. We had a terrible experience gettin’ ’em done.
Here it goes. We wanted simple save the dates. No fuss, no muss postcards to save on paper and postage. We used an image from our e-pics and tried to do something fancy with it and gave up. We saved the image that we wanted to use onto Mr. G’s awesome Optimus Prime memory stick and quickly typed up the back of the postcards. I had seen Mrs. Yorkie’s save the dates and really liked them, so we, uhhhhhhh, pretty much copied them.
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!
YAY! The rough draft sketches of my wedding band have arrived! If you recall, my parents gave me a gift certificate to a jeweler in my hometown as a graduation present when I got my master’s degree in May, intending to offset the costs of a custom-designed wedding ring.
After seeing my inspiration photos, here are the mock-ups the jeweler provided:
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).
Once the pockets were finished it was time to put together the innards. As you saw in my last post, our invitation suite included a formal invite, RSVP card, and ceremony/reception info card. To save on paper and printing trickery, I decided it would be best to print them off on one page and trim them post-print (and as you may notice, I abandoned my YUDU ).
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!
Since I talked about our (potentially) gorgeous cake in the last post, I figured I should talk about what I plan on doing for Mr. Plaid’s special cake.
And let me just say that until I moved to Texas four years ago, I had never even heard of a groom’s cake. I thought the bride and groom just shared the wedding cake. I was so naive. Haha.
So once I embraced the whole groom’s cake idea (and honestly why wouldn’t I take the opportunity to make another cake), I started to brainstorm. I almost immediately thought: ZOMBIES!!!
He is super into zombies. Zombie movies, zombie video games (I have to confess I’m quite the shot when it comes to killing some zombies), zombie anything. But how do I make an awesome zombie-themed groom’s cake? Simple! What do zombies love most?
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.
My goal has not been to lose weight for the wedding; generally, I’m happy with my size. Add to that our marathon-training regimen, and I’m not too worried about gaining. But I still want to look good in my dress.
Right now, I’m what you might call skinny-soft. I’m thin, but with little muscular definition anywhere except my legs—which will be hidden beneath the dress. My arms will be exposed, and the dress is very fitted, so arms and abs are really where I want the definition. In short? I want Jennifer Aniston arms:
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 have very fair skin. In fact, when I was ten I was mistaken for a ghost one night on a school camp. The girl went into hysterics. I used to absolutely HATE my paleness. Unfortunately for me I can’t do anything about it because it seems impossible for me to get any sort of a tan (except on the tops of my feet. Go figure). So the only alternative over the years has been to slowly start “loving the skin I’m in” and get over it.
Because pale can be beautiful too (well Mr E tells me so, and I like to try to believe him ). Multiple people have asked if I’m going to get a spray tan for the wedding and the answer is, no. Mr E loves me, pale skin and all, so I don’t see why I should try to change that aspect of me just for our wedding.
I want a natural and “fresh” look on our wedding day. Read more…
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.
After a fun Wednesday night, I woke up early Thursday morning, and spent some time making sure everyone at our house was alive and awake before heading to mom’s to start arranging the flowers we had bought the previous morning. As it turned out, I was the only person not in any pain from partying the night before, and had actually gotten more sleep Wednesday night than any other night the previous week! My bridesmaid stayed behind at our house to recover, and the guys’ plan for the day was to go pick up another groomsman at the airport, give him a tour of San Francisco, get the U-Haul truck to the hotel, and check us in.
Once I grabbed coffee, I joined the flower arranging party. I was trusted with the very challenging 21 cocktail table/inside table arrangements, but even I, with my black thumb, could handle rocks, an orchid, two leaves and water in a small vase!
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. :)
About eight months before we became engaged, I came home one day and started looking through a magazine. I was picking out rings and showing them to him. A disgusted look came over his face, and he just stared at me. I asked what was wrong, and he explained that he hadn’t envisioned me in any of the rings that I picked out. Worried, I tried to I explain to him what I was looking for. He offered to take me ring shopping just to get an idea. So that’s exactly what we did. We went over to Robbins Diamonds to see Randy. He explained the 3 Cs of diamond shopping: cut, clarity and color. I giggled and said I wanted a one-carat, flawless princess cut rock. Yeah, I wish!
Well that’s exactly what I got. Of course, Mr. Handy having to go above and beyond, he added some diamonds on the band. Gotta love him!
Wanna see my precioussssssss? (Sorry, ring needs to be cleaned; it’s just not sparkly enough in these photos.)
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
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). Multiple people have asked if I’m going to get a spray tan for the wedding and the answer is, no. Mr E loves me, pale skin and all, so I don’t see why I should try to change that aspect of me just for our wedding.
