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.
Our friend Vanessa sent us a few pictures of the engagement party this morning, and I’m extremely pleased with her work! Vanessa and I went to high school together, and we have the same circle of friends. She got her college degree in photography and lives in New York now, but she made a special trip to Virginia to take pictures at our party.
I’m so thrilled that she captured all of the details of our day because, as many of you know, a bride loves her details! There’s absolutely no way that Mr. B or I could have taken such amazing photos. Everyone was busy visiting with each other, and as you can see from my previous post, we didn’t get many pictures. We put a lot of thought and effort into the planning and setup of the party, and having these shots makes it all worth it.
Almost all of our details were DIY or the work of family and friends. My coworker’s mom made the cake, and it was delicious. (I mean, it was de.lic.ious!) If you live in Virginia and are looking for a fabulous and affordable aspiring baker, contact me so I can give you her info! I created the welcome sign and put together the collage of engagement photos. My grandmother helped me decorate the frame with flowers, and my mom was the genius behind our game “Checkmate!”
A very special thanks to Vanessa! Please use us as a reference in the future because we will highly recommend you! We know you gave us a huge bargain, and we’re extremely thankful. I see a bright future in photography ahead for you. You did an amazing job—whoever said professional photography is the only way to go didn’t have the talented friends we do!
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!
No, I’m not pulling a Julia Roberts a la Runaway Bride. I’m talking about decor (when am I not, really?). I’m talking about table runners.
Since we are having long, rectangular tables I’d love to complement them with table runners. I really have no strong ideas about them so I turn to the Holy Grail of weddings for inspiration: Martha Stewart Weddings.
Apparently, two shades of crepe paper are pinched and pulled at the edges to create this ruffly, layered look. So easy even I could do it! I can foresee a lot of problems with the fragility of the paper though.
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!
As with most couples planning their weddings, I’m much more into the planning of this wedding than Mr. Socks. This doesn’t really bother me most days because I do greatly enjoy the research and the work, and when I do need help, usually it only requires asking. Maybe asking a few times with an increasingly whiny pitch to my voice, but Mr. Socks has been very willing to put some time and effort into the wedding because he knows it’s for both of us.
I wanted to give Mr. Socks a few tasks that he could work on with minimal input from me—basically, I wanted to give him the jobs that I didn’t have the time/energy/sanity to do. Do you want to know how he’s done so far?? Read more…
Mrs. Buttons, Clearwater, FLAge and Occupation: 24, "Working on it"Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Financial ServicesEngagement Date: June 13, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Carlouel Yacht ClubAbout Me: I'm a self proclaimed perfectionist and a professional nomad (seriously, I've lived in TX, WI, MI, FL, NC, and now VA!). I love wine, cooking, curling up with a good book (nerd alert!), spoiling the furbaby, and of course, the wonderful Mr. Buttons! We are planning a lighthearted and whimsical wedding (with a good deal of DIY projects) in Clearwater, Florida, but from a distance of 800 miles away! We are looking forward to sharing our day with our family and friends, and most importantly, starting our lives together as husband and wife!
After a wonderful sunset bridal shower, the bridesmaids and I spent the rest of our evening catching up and cleaning up the beach house in preparation for the following afternoon. I was relaxed and having a great time. The clock ticked, and soon it was after 10PM. I logged on to my computer, and it instantly felt like a train had hit me when I pulled up my to-do list.
I hadn’t finished writing the vows!
I hadn’t made a CD with our ceremony music to play during our rehearsal!
I didn’t have a CD player or set of iPod speakers on which to PLAY the music!
AHHH! Weren’t these important details? HOW IN THE WORLD HAD I MANAGED TO FORGET ABOUT THIS!?!?
Mrs. Lioness, AtlantaAge and Occupation: 25, Physical TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, AttorneyEngagement Date: August 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Anthony’s Fine DiningAbout Me: I’m a Southern girl with New England roots. I say "wicked" and "y’all" in the same sentence and I like to drink sweet tea with my lobster. Mr. Lion and I are both former Floridians now living in Atlanta, which fortunately is still SEC country...Go Gators! We both love baseball, coffee, traveling, cooking, and playing Words with Friends with each other on our iPhones all day long. I’m very passionate about the things and the people I love, and I tend to plan things with all of my heart...our wedding, of course, is no different! Oh, and also Mr. Lion is a first generation American of Cuban descent. I may look more like Lucy than Ricky, but I’m doing my best to incorporate some Latin elements into our vintage-garden-Southern wedding!
Before I found the ’Bee, I had never even heard of Etsy. These days, I don’t know how I ever lived without it! For those of you just joining us in the Etsy craze, Etsy is an online store and community where artisans sell handmade crafts and collectors sell rare vintage items. On Etsy, you can find unique items that you would not normally find in stores, which is what makes it such an excellent wedding resource. In fact, Etsy even has its own wedding category on its site! The availability of such unique items allows brides to add a little more personality to their weddings. Etsy is also a great place for budget brides to find a great deal. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Use the Alchemy function, which you can learn about here with Miss Hippo!
To show y’all the variety that Etsy provides, I decided to conduct a search for something simple. Let’s try “lion” and see what pops up, shall we?
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.
Two weeks ago, a friend of mine who got married last summer said, “Just wait until the week before your wedding. It is so full of love…that was the most amazing week ever.” Well, two weeks before our wedding, I was all, “WHAT WERE YOU TALKING ABOUT THIS IS NOT FULL OF LOVE.” Two weeks before our wedding, things were effing nuts, stressful, we were bickering all the time, and I was crying in therapy.
Then Saturday happened, and marked the change from that week into this week—if you use the right kind of calendar—and DUDE. She was right. The love, it is coming from everywhere. The love is coming from people I’ve never met, it’s coming from our bridal brigade, it’s coming from my family and Fancee’s family, and from people I’ve almost lost touch with. It’s amazing.
So here, my friends, is how it’s happening.
First, I had a bachelorette party. Amazing in and of itself, and I won’t ruin the recap for you with more teaser pictures now, but suffice it to say that walking into a room full of strangers and friends and a man named John ready to serenade me was a-maze-ing. And you would think that being violently ill for the next day might taint the experience, but no no no…it just showed me more love. While I was like this:
My sister showed up to help Fancee make beautiful escort cards, like this:
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!
Let’s just say, between you and me, I am not a girl who loves to wear makeup. In fact, the reason I hate to put it on is the fact that I have to take it off at the end of the night, normally when I’m too tired to do much of anything. After my first couple of weeks at work, I was too lazy to bother with it and haven’t really worn it on a daily basis since. Here’s a picture with my average, everyday, naked face.
Mrs. Turtle, Central CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 21, Art Student/TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, English StudentEngagement Date: August 16, 2008Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Mr. Turtle's Grandparents' backyard, Arroyo Grande, CAAbout Me: I am a California girl who loves the beach and the mountains, but is quite satisfied living right in the middle where I can enjoy the best of both worlds. I am happiest when traveling to faraway places, wandering through museums, watching old movies, or baking up a storm. Mr. Turtle and I are high school sweethearts and fellow book nerds who both drive Mini Coopers and are most likely to be found browsing in antique stores. We're having so much fun planning our European garden wedding with a vintage twist and can't wait to share more of life's adventures together!
Once we were all finished getting ready, my bridesmaids and I headed off to take some girl photos with our photographer, Chloe. Chloe had done a little scoping out of the area, and found this great little avocado/walnut farm to shoot at. (She got permission from the owners first, of course. They were standing out there waiting for us when we got there, and seemed to totally get a kick out of the whole thing! What? Wedding parties don’t usually come here??) I must admit I was a little skeptical when I first got out of the car and realized I’d be dragging my never-before-worn wedding dress through some serious dirt…but I totally trust Chloe and I totally get the girly girl meets rustic vibe.
Ms. Sloth, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 35, Account Manager and Fashion BloggerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Design AdminEngagement Date: December 25, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Bartram's GardenAbout Me: I'm an internet junkie and music snob with a good eye for a bargain. I couldn't live without thrift store shopping, cheeseburgers, sushi, Coke Zero, websites devoted to silly photos of baby animals, Photoshop, and Mr. Sloth. Speaking of which, he and I are a pair of goofball homebody nerds who love our beagle (the most ridiculously adorable dog EVER) to an embarrassing degree. We're planning a low-key and intimate yet festive and quirky outdoor wedding with DIY details and deeply personal touches, and it's all taking place in the city where we fell in love and call home: Philadelphia.
I originally loved the idea of having mismatched but coordinating printed dresses like the ones I saw on an inspirational blog post. But that seemed like it would be really hard. Fortunately, I had another amazing idea.
I thought, wouldn’t it be pretty if I wore ivory and the bridesmaids did too? But flirty, lacy, short, ruffly ivory?
I put together this mock-up of how it would look (although there would only be three bridesmaids, not five):
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).
In my last post, I showed you all the great ways everyday items can be repurposed for use in a wedding. We decided a few months ago that we needed a cheap alternative to our centerpieces and went to the web for inspiration, where we found lovely ideas like these below:
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!
I haven’t thought of this idea in AGES, since I followed Mrs. Apple Cider in the first place. And then you go and post it willy-nilly and throw me into a tizzy. All I had to do was flip my computer over to Mr. SD and simply say, “Look at this.” We had the whole sneaky smile thing going on. It’s awesome! And we already have the bench built—the one my bridesmaids helped me with during my Bachelorette Craftapallooza:
Mrs. Meerkat, Kalamazoo, MI/Riviera MayaAge and Occupation: 30, Application EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: July 26, 2008Wedding Date: December 2010Venue: Al Cielo / La LagunaAbout Me: I’m a tech-savvy tomboy with an affinity for hot tea and good sushi. Us Meerkats are just a couple fun lovin’ geeks from Michigan. We love anything having to do with movies, books, video games or technology and we hold a special place in our hearts for our two very spoiled shih-tzus, Wicket and Bravo. We also LOVE to travel. We love it so much it only took us 12 hours after we got engaged to decide to have a destination wedding. We are working our little Meerkat tails off planning a rustic-chic, travel themed destination wedding in the Riviera Maya with a semi-formal, vintage-turned-modern, outdoor at home reception back here in Michigan.
Well, ladies, I am hooked. I went down to our local beauty school’s salon and had my very first manicure and pedicure. I thought it was going to be boring and unpleasant, but I could have sat there all day with my feet in the little spa thing. I don’t think I have ever been so relaxed. If you have never had a pedicure, let me show you what you’re missing:
Mrs. Lobster, BrooklynAge and Occupation: 29, Finance GirlFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Finance BoyEngagement Date: July 25, 2009Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Stage 6 Steiner StudiosAbout Me: I'm a New York-born, Virginia-bred girl who's found her way back to the big city. Mr. Lobster and I met in grad school and have been together ever since. I'm clueless about DIY but am an avid online shopper and love all things polka dots, stripes, and ruffles! When I'm not making wedding lists, you can find me looking for snacks, watching Gilmore Girls, or hanging out with Mr. Lobster and our new puppy Buddy! We are planning a fancy-pantsy Brooklyn wedding for a hot New York summer night which is sure to be a misadventure in the making.
We had gorgeous weather on the wedding day. I must have used up my good wedding karma because on the day we left for the honeymoon (2 days after the wedding), it rained. a lot.
And all over the airport.
Our flight to Los Angeles was delayed. It was delayed from 5:00 pm to 5:30. Delayed from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. Delayed until 8:00 pm. We boarded the plane. But we didn’t actually take off until 10:00 PM to go to Los Angeles.
“Are you the honeymoon couple? You’re not going to make your connection to Tahiti.” No sh*t, Sherlock. Thanks for the update, unnamed airline. And thanks for jacking up your a/c and then charging for a blanket.
We spent our first night of our honeymoon at an LAX airport hotel and the next day waiting for the next flight to Tahiti which wasn’t until late in the day. Unfortunately, this meant losing one night at our first destination—the Hilton Moorea Lagoon & Spa. Sad face! Read more…
Weddingbee GalleryFeature Launched: April 10, 2009About: A collection of inspirational wedding pictures from readers and bees.
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.
On the plane to New Orleans
