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!
I haven’t gone into detail about the night that Mr. Elephant proposed, but I know that’s always a fun story for me to read when it comes to other people’s engagements. So here’s our story:
About six months into our relationship, Mr. E and I started talking about marriage and our future together. It was never very deep conversations early on, just comments here and there about our wedding, a house, and later on kids. As we got closer to our two-year mark, we started talking about it more seriously. We stopped by jewelry stores while in the mall to look at different types of rings that I liked, so he would have an idea when it came to picking out mine. We noticed things at our friends’ weddings that we would want to do in our own.
I thought that he might surprise me for Christmas of 2008 with a proposal, but it didn’t come. I believed him later when he said he wouldn’t do it on a holiday because that was not him, so the thought never crossed my mind as Valentine’s Day 2009 came and went. I figured it would come when he was ready and that by not getting my hopes up, I wouldn’t be disappointed. 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!
Well, it’s about that time. After seven long months of planning, I’ve finally hit that 30-day mark. And guys, I can’t wait! I’m so excited I can barely contain myself. This weekend my girls are all coming down to my house for a wedding craftapalooza. We’ll assemble programs, utensil sets, pole buckets, and drill holes in exactly one million cans so we can paint them and be done with the centerpieces. It’s gonna be intense, y’all! These next few weeks will be stuffed full of preparation and progress. I’m going to jump on the dreamer’s bandwagon and draw up a little wish list of what I’d love to have, but can never happen.
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!
I’m sorry, you don’t speak Spanish? Yeah…me neither. I used Google Translator to write this post title. Basically…WE’RE GOING TO MEXICO FOR OUR HONEYMOON!!!
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.
When I was a little girl, I had a very specific idea of what I wanted my wedding to be like. I’m going to leave you in suspense for a bit because it is priceless. As I got older, I never thought I could afford a nice wedding. I’m a little unsure of myself whenever money and/or numbers are involved. Because of my fear, I didn’t have big adult ideas (aside from the dress) that I thought about about, except for the MUSIC. Oh man, I love music. Our DJ was our first wedding decision. In truth, hiring Brendan Lafferty of southcoastdj.com was not a decision. He was the DJ at our friend’s wedding and kept everyone on the dance floor all. night. long. He’s magic! Even Brendan admits that Trevor and Jen’s wedding was the best. Jen’s sister even hired him a year later to do her wedding. (Brendan is not paying me for my oh-so-important recommendation.)
So my thoughts about music? Well, I certainly have wanted to hear “Stand By Me” at our wedding for years. YEARS I tell ya! Don’t get me started on “The Cha Cha Slide.” I don’t want to get fired up this early in the morning. Needless to say, there will be no White People dances at the wedding. Sorry folks, you’re going to have to come up with your own dance moves without some idiot telling you what to do. The bar is to the right of the entrance, in case you are wondering!
So with the most important decision made, the music maker, where do I go from here? I started the venue hunt shortly after hiring the DJ and started to get all warm and fuzzy about a peacock theme. It was January 2009, so this theme was pretty cutting edge at the time. Are you all sick of those damn feathers by now? No? Well I am (for me anyway)! So without further ado, here is the inspiration board—the first of many… 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.
With our ceremony rehearsed, and after killing a couple hours at the hotel, we headed out to go set up for our Friday night rehearsal dinner.
I was in my car by myself, and after swinging by my mom’s house to pick up the It’s It ice cream sandwiches we would be serving for dessert, I arrived at our RD venue, the San Mateo Garden Center right at our rental start time of 5PM. Unfortunately (or luckily, at least they weren’t late), the guy who was delivering the speaker system we were using for the weekend through my work hook up was there already. And I was there, by myself.
I started to panic a bit, because for one, uh, I was there by myself for the first half hour of our rental time, and didn’t know where everyone else was. This AV tech guy was trying to tell me stuff about things I know nothing about, and my sister’s boyfriend (who would be running the AV equipment) wasn’t there yet to get the instructions. To make matters worse, I had very little of the rehearsal dinner decor in my car to be able to start setting up; I mostly had the after party stuff.
**Pause for a few minutes of a bride-to-be pulling her hair out** 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!
When I last left you regarding my BM dresses, I was leaning toward everyone having a different dress. But in the back of my mind, I knew I wanted my two cousins to wear the same dress, and this purple pretty was the first inspiration photo I sent them. Cut to eight weeks to the wedding: I found almost this exact dress at BCBG: two of them, one in each BM’s size!
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!
Okay, so this post isn’t really about marrying your dad, but the title caught your attention, right?
I’ve been told many times that little girls grow up and find someone like their dad, then marry them. This probably explains why Mr. Dolphin and Dolphin Dad get along so well; they are so much alike. They both hatch up crazy ideas (that often are really incredible), can fix any electronic/mechanical device, can whip up yummy food in the kitchen, are super smart and have an entrepreneurial spirit, and can strike up a conversation with ANYONE about ANYTHING. Both are excellent at public speaking, both are the first ones to purchase that hot new gadget on the market, and both can talk websites/media devices/gators/inventions for hours. I love them both with all my heart.
All this makes these next two pictures extra special to me. My two most anticipated moments on our wedding day were Mr. Dolphin seeing me for the first time (our first look is coming up in an entry soon!) and my dad seeing me in all my bride-ness.
Mrs. Hot Wings, Chicago/San DiegoAge and Occupation: 28, ProfessorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, InstructorEngagement Date: December 20, 2008Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Ocean View Villas/Jasmine Seafood RestaurantAbout Me: I am a psychology grad student living in Chicago and planning my wedding to a fellow psych grad student. I am a Sunny So-Cal bred gal who trudged across the country to follow her love of psychology and ended up finding a partner in the process. I am overly passionate about anything I involve myself with. I am an activist, a foodie, a reality TV watching junkie, an over-analyzer, a photography obsesser, and am utterly cheesy to the core. This is a story of what happens when a boy and a girl meet, fall in love over academic dorkiness, and a shared love for life. We (mostly I) are planning our semi-destination wedding in my hometown of San Diego. We are excited to bring our families and friends together from across our lifespans to celebrate our future in a grand 400+ person culturally blended affair!
He proposed. We planned for 22 months. Friends and family from Vietnam, Alaska, Illinois, Kansas, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Texas, D.C., Arizona, Colorado, and beyond ventured to San Diego, CA for a weekend of wedding craziness and fun. It happened so incredibly quickly. One moment I was sitting on my parents’ living room floor working on Deal or No Deal paddles and the next moment I was surrounded by friends and family ready to celebrate our union. We were in a whirlwind of wedding planning and executing craziness. And now it’s come and gone and I’m left with some memories of our day but even more blurriness.
What happened? Where are the photos? The video? This waiting is killing me. What did people think of the decor? Heck, what did the reception room even look like when guests got there? Did it match my vision? I simply have no clue.
Each person you talk to is sure to have their own perspective on the wedding day. 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).
Mrs. Nachos, Chicago/St. ThomasAge and Occupation: 33, Commercial Real Estate & HairstylistFiance's Age and Occupation: 36, Radio ProducerEngagement Date: May 22, 2009Wedding Date: April 2010Venue: Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort, St. ThomasAbout Me: I'm a happy, laid back city girl that can find the silver lining in any situation. An optimist at heart, my motto is to turn your "what ifs?" into "so whats!". My fiance is a radio producer and the biggest Cubs fan you'll meet - our apartment decor definitely shows it. He and I grew up next door to each other and because of it, we have the best home videos and easiest holiday dinners. We are planning an intimate wedding in the Virgin Islands and a cocktail party in June for 150 of our closest friends.
Hi everyone! I’ve had lots of inquiries about my bustle so I decided to include as much info as I have about it here for you.
Here’s what I know:
My seamstress at David’s Bridal called it a ‘ballroom bustle’ but I now know that’s not the proper term for the style. One site I found refers to mine as the ‘train flip’, found here (it’s the last one on the page), although I did a Google search on ‘train flip bustle’ and nothing came up…I’m guessing that’s just her term. Anywho, whatever you want to call it, I made a Photoshop mock-up of how David’s did it…
(picture the dress as see-through, and everything shown here is on the underside of the skirt)
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.
So, in case you’re not up to date with all my whining about the weather on our wedding day, here’s the back story: The weather forecast went from 80 degrees, sunny, and a zero percent chance of rain at eight days out to showers and a 70% chance of rain the day before. Oh, crap.
Because of this, we realized that the chances of us hosting our after-party bonfire were pretty much slim-to-none. So, “F%*k it,” we said, “We’ll have the damn bonfire the night before and if by some miracle the rain holds out, we’ll do it all over again the next night.”
For the record, it did rain (hard) the following night so I’m mighty thankful we got to do our campfire the night before the wedding (although the thought of having four boxes of leftover Hershey’s chocolate bars did make me briefly consider canning the whole event. But only for a second).
So at the rehearsal dinner, we spread the word that there would be a bonfire at our bed and breakfast afterwards and everyone should come hang out, drink beers, make s’mores and get a little dirty.
Honestly, this was one of my favorite parts of the entire wedding weekend. Read more…
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!
When it came to picking wedding colors, I knew that I would stay away from colors such as pink or purple simply because Mr. E is not a fan of them. We talked about it shortly after we were engaged and decided that the best way to make the wedding about us would be to use our favorite colors: blue & green.
My ring on sample fabrics of the shades of blue and green that we aim to use for the wedding
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!
We’ve had a lot of e-mail contact with prospective wedding vendors, but now it’s time to lock down a contract. That means we’ve got to reject a few vendors that we haven’t decided to go with. I hate tasks like these—I am bad with words and don’t like letting people down. I did what I always do when I am avoiding something…delegate the task to Mr. Glasses!
Some basic guidelines I gave him after I did my research:
Thank the vendor for corresponding.
Compliment the vendor.
Give a reason why we went another direction.
Thank the vendor for their time.
And here is the Glasses’ generic “No, thank you” e-mail: Read more…
Mrs. French Fries, MilwaukeeAge and Occupation: 27, ParalegalFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Investments AdvisorEngagement Date: September 20, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Ceremony: Catholic Church, Reception: Hotel BallroomAbout Me: I'm a Midwestern girl who longs to live in a warmer climate (my feet would be happy in flip flops any day!). I love travel, impromptu napping, grilled cheese sandwiches, my iPhone, singing with reckless abandon in my car, and Mr. French Fries.
Soon, our church wedding coordinators came into the bride’s room and told us that it was time for the bridesmaids to line up for the processional. I was ushered into the hallway and out of view behind the church sanctuary. Everything at this moment felt like someone pushed “fast forward”. Things were moving so quickly and before I knew it,—and luckily, before I had much time to get nervous—the wedding party had gotten into order and was ready to process down the aisle.
The strains of “Canon in D” began to filter out into the sanctuary, and I knew that it was time. My bridesmaids walked in one by one to the groomsmen lined up at the front of the church. Read more…
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).
I know, it’s been a while since I posted anything to this series, but I’ve been busy with many a project and haven’t gotten around to anything other than garden roses.
When we last left off, I showed you how to make your own fabric version of garden roses, but I failed to show you how to attach those pretties to a wire “stem” for use in a bouquet. Can you guess where this tutorial is going? Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
