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!
This weekend I tackled the pomander project. Mr. E’s niece, who will be three by the time the wedding rolls around, will hopefully be our flower girl (depending on her comfort level with crowds), and I thought that a pomander would be perfect for her to carry down the aisle. Pomanders made out of real flowers can be quite costly, and with a three-year-old, I highly doubt the real flowers would make it through the day. So I decided that fake flowers would be the way to go.
I collected my supplies over two days and technically four stores (gotta make use of the 50% off coupons that we had at Michaels). I picked up the following items:
Five-inch foam ball = $4.50
Three clearance stems of blue hydrangea at Michaels (Summer Sale) @ $1 each = $3
Two stems of light green flowers (only used one, so I’ll be returning the other) = $1.50
Mini glue gun (50% off coupon) = $1.50
18 mini glue sticks = $3
Three stems of blue hydrangea at Hobby Lobby (on sale for 50% off) @ $5.99 each = $9
Ribbon left over from invitation mock up = free
Total = $22.50 (plus tax)
Could have been cheaper if I’d borrowed Mama Elephant’s glue gun and sticks, but I was too lazy to drive all the way to her house. LOL Read more…
Mrs. Oyster, DallasAge and Occupation: 30, Music TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 46, Art TeacherEngagement Date: January 9, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: The Tower ClubAbout Me: I'm a Texa-Californian with a penchant for sparkly things and a tendency to think a lot. I've been known to sing random songs or dance when there is no music on. My fiance and I love world culture, we love to travel, and we have an incredibly eclectic taste in music. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate our marriage with our family & closest friends. We're planning an “urban black-tie” wedding and hope to incorporate our personalities and some of our own interests. We look forward to a life of love, laughter, good music, beautiful art, and to creating our home together with our four (!) cats.
Our other favorite day in Kaua’i was our visit to Hanapepe. It turned out to be a long day, but we loved it.
Mr. Oyster is really into coffee. It’s like his personal hobby or something! He even roasts his own coffee beans, and hand-grinds them every morning and has his own fresh-roasted cup of coffee. So of course, we went to the Kaua’i Coffee Museum. It’s a nice place; it includes a small museum inside, a coffee shop (of course!), a gift shop, and then you can take a self-guided walking tour of the grounds.
The coffee fields, with rain clouds looming overhead (there are always rain clouds looming in Kaua’i): 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!
Yeah—scary, uneven, shaved-goldendoodle weirdness. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your suggestions and feedback. Many of you thought I should work on evening out the gold, and others said to brave a coat of spray paint. My all-time favorites were those who said, “Seashell—these are BAD.” Hilarious.
So, what did I do? I ignored them for a few more weeks. Great plan, I know. 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.
Mr. Brooch and I only planned to have a one-year engagement. He proposed in October of 2009, and we thought we’d get married the following October. The problem was that right away, we were faced with a laundry list of tasks to execute to make our dream wedding come to life, and that meant we had a lot of decisions to make and a lot of money to spend.
We also had a lot of people to please. Our parents in particular needed to be pleased because we are their first children in our families to get married. Well, my dad and my stepmom in particular were both very—how shall I say?—hesitant to sign up for a one-year engagement. They kept asking, “What’s the rush?”
It was really important to me to have my parents fully on board. I didn’t want there to be any hesitation from anyone on my wedding day. It was a really tough thing, though, because Mr. Brooch and I wanted to be the ones to chose our wedding day (duh!) and do what’s best for us (he’s not a people pleaser like me). But in the end, I think it was more important for us to submit to our parents and give it a few more months.
I’m not going to lie and say I’ve never felt sad thinking about how far off our wedding day was (like last spring, for instance, it was a total downer having been engaged six months and knowing there was another 12 months to go), but it’s par for the course. I think it’s a testament to the nature of the beast of weddings, isn’t it? We have to take into account other people and especially our families—whether that be by honoring traditions or submitting to their suggestions and wishes.
Would it have been easy for me to get upset that I wasn’t getting my way? 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!
Ever since I saw the idea of paneled program fans online, I’ve wanted to have them for our wedding. Due to the difficulty of this project, however, I was almost sure that the fans would make it to the “cut list.” However, Mr. Jelly loved them almost as much as I did and was instrumental in making sure we got these done, after all!
To make the programs, I used the Aylee Bits template which can be found here. My super helpful friend Nancy actually designed the panels for me in Word, using my favorite font (Beautiful ES and Beautiful ES Caps, available for free here). We did 5 panels: Title page, Wedding Party 1, Wedding Party 2, Ceremony and In Loving Memory/Special Thanks page.
After the design process was complete, I had to find suitable paper. The Aylee Bits page recommends using 110 lb Cover cardstock, which is incredibly difficult to find in person. Since the wedding was about a week away when we started this, we didn’t have time to order paper online. 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.
You might have noticed I disappeared for a few days. This can be chalked up to the facts that 1. we went away for the weekend (and had a wonderful, wonderful time, thanks to my amazing extended family) and 2. things kind of suck, and rather than writing, I am trying not to lose my sh*t.
Sad, but notable, note: I’m sure this is not the first time I’ve written that.
So, my friends, do not expect a wedding update right now, but rather some classy complaining. Maybe just plain old normal complaining. Here’s what’s been happening:
Plans we had made around our wedding are, for various reasons we are still trying to parse out, not working out. These are conversations we’re trying to have right now, so I’m not going to say much about them here.
Me: tell me what to do about everything that’s happening! Fancee: *this picture*
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!
This weekend I was blessed with the presence of six lovely ladies for good food, great conversation, and a huge amount of wedding crafts! We tackled pretty much everything on my to-do list, from programs to buckets. Here’s a quick rundown of what I was able to snap a few pictures of:
Over 100 cans were painted. I finally decided just to nix the whole “hole” concept, and paint the cans so we can just plop in a tea light. 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 “honeymoon recap” area, I’ve been quite lazy. It’s not like we didn’t have the most amazing time of our lives in Maui; it is just the MASSIVE amount of photos Mr. Dolphin took on our honeymoon are making this task quite daunting. (Massive amount = 1,500+ photos = out of control husband.)
The view from our condo in Maui…just breathtaking
photo by Mr Dolphin
It was the best view on the island, and we’re not just saying that—we checked! Waking up to THIS every morning was heaven! Read more…
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).
I’ve been planning events as a career (corporate and non-profit events…this whole wedding thing is new!) for quite some time, and there are definitely skills that I have learned in the events business that have helped me a ton in my initial wedding planning. Decent contract negotiation skills and not being afraid to ask for a deal are the only reasons I haven’t felt like I’m getting completely and utterly screwed over by the American wedding machine that we all know and love have to put up with.
I think the bottom line is this: If it’s a reasonable request and won’t insult the vendor…ask. If the asking is done in a respectable way, the worst thing that can happen is that the vendor will say no. I am still early in the wedding planning process, but I’ve already had this pay off a couple of times. Read more…
ClassifiedsFeature Launched: April 30, 2008About: A roundup of the best Weddingbee Classified listings.
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.
You would not believe how my luck has changed since becoming an engaged woman. No, seriously! Since August ’09, I’ve won toasting glasses, a beauty day for me and my five closest girlfriends, a free engagement session…
Do you want to be lucky too? Simply visit a Bridal Expo, and fill out the form that identifies you as a bride. Then just sit back and wait for the emails and phone calls to come pouring in. Constantly. And all you have to do is dedicate every ounce of free time you possess to attending two-to-three hour seminars! Does that sound fun to you? Yeah, it doesn’t sound fun to me either.
When the first call came, I was genuinely excited. But as the calls continued to come in, I soon realized that the majority of these “prizes” were a lot like the timeshare sales events: Read more…
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.
1. Go ahead and freak out over the schedule beforehand as quietly as you can (but try not to drive people nuts while you do this). Don’t let people tell you that schedule is meaningless, because that is absolutely untrue. Plus, Breezy Day-Of you will definitely thank Stressy Old-You for padding that schedule when you’re, say, an hour behind getting ready.
2. Drink red wine in your wedding dress, but you might want to wait until dancing hour starts. That’s what Photoshop is for, right? My dress is completely thrashed, complete with a red-wine stain on the ass, because I partied as hard as I could in it and then dragged the train through one of the grittiest ‘hoods in town to get back to our hotel. That’s one of my favorite memories from the night, in fact, and our walking buddies made it all the better.
3. Pace yourself enough to drink during the after party back at your hotel! Though, our reception ended at about 10 or 10:30, so we had plenty of time for a post-gathering. Read more…
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!
While I still have absolutely no idea how I’m going to summarize our trip to Japan in just a few posts, I do have a very clear understanding of what was and was not necessary on the honeymoon. Jackets, for instance, were definitely a waste of precious luggage space, given temperatures were practically always in the humid 90s–100s. I feel sticky just thinking about it.
For honeymoons involving walking, hiking, or any other sort of strenuous pedestrian activity—you’re going to want good, reliable shoes.
My impression from Japan is that everyone has cute shoes. Cute sandals, cute heels, cute boots—you name it. Well, except for the rampant Croc fascination. I don’t know much about fashion, but the rubbery fashion statement really confuses me.
Anyway, I brought a pair of cute sandals with me, hoping to blend in with the locals. Did I wear them? Zen Zen! (Not at all.) Instead, I spent the entire duration of our trip in these “beauties”:
Yes, old brown Rainbows so worn in there’s a permanent shadow where my foot belongs. 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 have been saying for.ev.er. that I would buy myself a beautiful pair of designer shoes for my wedding. Honestly, when else will I be able to buy a pair of designer shoes? This was around the time of Carrie Bradshaw FALSELY stating that Manolos are around $500. Dear Carrie, riddle me this: why’d you make me (and every other girl in the world) fall in love with these $1000 suckers? Huh? HUH!?
Ms. Stripes, Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 29, Costume Designer/StylistFiancee's Age and Occupation: 29, ChefEngagement Date: June 23, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heritage Square MuseumAbout Me: I’m a type A creative with a messy streak, a loud mouth, and an uncanny knack for combining clashing patterns. I can usually be found with my nose in a book, my feet (or at least my toes) on the ground, my head in the clouds, and my arm around the prettiest girl you ever saw- aka
Fiancee Stripes. Together we’re planning a FUN vintage/modern French carnival wedding extravaganza and rockin’ dance party on a dime. (Say that three times fast!) Good coffee, long lists, Uniball pens, and my iPhone keep me sane, and making art, making trouble, and making out keep me happy! I love urban adventures, bike rides that end with afternoon drinks, breakfast for dinner, beautiful light, photography, travel, my furry family, and of course, my beautiful fiancee! I’m super excited to be here and can’t wait to share all our adventures as we craft a joyful, budget-friendly, design-savvy and all-around AWESOME wedding!
Last weekend was our bridal shower, and it rained big buckets of lurrrve here in Los Angeles! It was torrential, actually.
And totally amazing.
Remember when I wrote about my dress and how I’ve been overcome with gratitude while planning this wedding shindig of ours and blah blah blah? Well folks, during our shower the gratitude reached critical mass, and now my heart has swelled so big it just might burst right out of my chest! I’m not sure how I’m gonna make it through the next three (three!) weeks, and I certainly hope it doesn’t affect the fit of my dress. I’m just saying…
You need a few examples? No worries. I got examples.
My mom sat in the airport for almost 12 hours just to get a flight to Los Angeles. My mom was here, you guys! I don’t even have words for this, but it made me SO happy. And I think she had fun, too: Read more…
Unique Wedding Favors
