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!
After we cut the cake and chowed down on desserts, it was time to work off all those sweets with a little dance action. We cued up the music to Josh Abbot’s “She’s Like Texas,” and hit the ground two-steppin’!
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!
So with that photo as inspiration, I figured I would dedicate this post to all of the people who really SUPPORTED Mr. Socks and me throughout our relationship, and who were there for us on our wedding day. These are the people we look to for strength as we move forward in our marriage.
Momma Socks and Dad Socks took every kooky idea I had in stride when it came to our wedding, and instead of being hesitant to accept our nontraditional wedding, they embraced every detail with complete acceptance and excitement. Read more…
Ms. Cheetah, Los Angeles/Palm Springs
Age and Occupation: 31, Artist, EducatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, TV FinanceEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The ViceroyAbout Me: I’m a silly, sassy lady with a compulsion to create. I love to sing and dance, despite the fact that I lack any talent doing either. I somehow manage to be messy and organized at the same time. I like to spend my days road tripping, watching '80s movies, reading true crime books, buying things on sale, sending postcards, playing board games, dining at food trucks, snuggling, and drinking ginger ale. I have a weak spot for all things sweet, especially Mr. Cheetah! I’m a Chicago girl and he’s a Nor Cal boy but we love living in the City of Angels. After 10 years as a couple we are planning a fun-filled semi-destination wedding in Palm Springs. Hope you enjoy the ride!
It’s time to reveal the Cheetah save the dates! Sometimes decisions are easy, and lucky for me the design of our STDs* was one of those times. After we got engaged I knew exactly how I wanted our STDs to look—thankfully, Mr. Cheetah was totally on board. (He’s good like that.)
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!
Since we aren’t having dancing, I thought we’d need something fun to do at our backyard wedding. We absolutely did not have a budget for a photobooth but we did have money for a fauxtobooth! We’re not builders but luckily for us, Mrs. Pin Cushion is! We ordered one from her Etsy store!
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!
When BIL Cardy agreed to officiate the wedding I was, naturally, over the moon with excitement. I had already started thinking about ideas for the ceremony, and when he said yes it gave me the green light to dive in headfirst.
Well, I think I might be drowning.
Let me back up a little. When I started working on writing the ceremony, I spent a good 10 minutes just staring at a blank Word document with no idea how to start. I mean, it’s not like I’ve ever done anything like this before. Where do you even begin with writing a ceremony? What order does it go in? I felt like my head was going to implode from all of the confusion.
Then I realized that maybe I was trying to think of too much all at once. Read more…
Mrs. Giraffe, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 23, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Music Student TeacherEngagement Date: October 23, 2008Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Trinity Lutheran Church & Idlewild Country ClubAbout Me: Coming from the suburbs of the Windy City, you'll often find me with my foot in my mouth while laughing for no reason or telling bad knock knock jokes. I've been crafty for as long as I can remember, and will DIY something twice over before I have someone do it for me. I'm a semi-awkward, typeface obsessed, design junkie and have been know to break out my dance moves for no reason as well as try my best to be ridiculous at all times. My love of pop culture, wordplay, and graph paper almost rivals my love of Mr. Giraffe (who is just the bee's knees). After a 2.5 year engagement, we're planning a modern-in-disguise traditional wedding, and cannot wait!
About STDs. (Because, of course, STDs are no laughing matter, hehe—I mean, really, who came up with that acronym?) And, by STDs, I mean save the dates, of course.
My wedding books, websites, newsletters, and checklists are all telling me it’s about time to start thinking about STDs (hehehe—the novelty hasn’t worn off yet). According to the wedding police, we’re supposed to send our STDs six to eight months from W day. We’re six-and-a-half months out now, but seeing as how we’ve passed on the news about our wedding to my out-of-town relatives via word of mouth, we’re leaning toward the six-month mark. (Oh, sidebar: Its totally unbelievable/freaky that there is even a six-months moment on the horizon.)
In order to avoid our STDs getting mixed in or lost among Christmas and holiday cards, we’re planning to send ’em out in November. That really isn’t very far away, folks, so it’s time to get serious.
Confession: looking for STD inspiration is completely overwhelming. Read more…
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!
Good news, everyone! (Did you say that a la Professor Farnsworth? You were supposed to.) You may recall that we sent out a few wedding invitations a bit early in order to provide ample opportunity for our VIPs to send us some brag-worthy responses. Well, that didn’t take too long, now did it?! I opened our mailbox the other day to find this:
Figures. Disney World is the first one I get back. It’s like they know me!
I ignored the fact that it was all bent up and shoved into our tiny mailbox (despite the “DO NOT BEND” in red ink) and hastily opened it to find this! Read more…
Mrs. Starfish, Boston/NewportAge and Occupation: 25, Operations AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, SalesEngagement Date: October 8, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: The Atlantic Beach ClubAbout Me: I'm a perfectionist who is a planner at heart. I don't do well with surprises. I love planning, crafting, Newport RI, family and friends, and most importantly, Mr. Starfish---all of which will be big components in our October wedding in our favorite little city by the sea.
When I first saw Mrs. Coconut’sjoint bridal portraits with her sister, I instantly fell in love with the idea. Sister Starfish and I have spent so much time together over the past two and a half years helping to plan each others’ weddings. It would be really cool to have something fun to commemorate the experience.
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.
Several months back, I thought that I’d found my ideal wedding band. I ordered it from Etsy, and while it was perfect and stunning, it just didn’t work with my engagement ring. I wear it sometimes on my right hand, but it’s not the most comfortable thing in the world (it’s very wide, and I have freakishly tiny hands), so I wouldn’t want to keep it as a right-hand wedding band. Sigh.
After months and months of research, I think I figured out what to do: I am going to get two wedding bands! Two small, delicate, mismatched bands that I will wear on either side of my engagement ring.
As a reminder, this is my vintage engagement ring:
Mrs. Panther, Atlanta GA/Westport CTAge and Occupation: 24, Web WriterFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Music Recording EngineerEngagement Date: March 13, 2010Wedding Date: July 2011Venue: The Inn at LongshoreAbout Me: I'm a total goofball who goes through life at a breakneck pace, trying not to knock anything over. I tend to fall in love with everything I encounter, but more than anything, I love my two little kitties, Bela and Josie, and my big kitty, Mr. Panther! As a wannabe crafter, I'm still waiting for my artistic talents to emerge. (Any day now, really.) In the meantime, I spend my days eating anything put in front of me, buying every pair of shoes I see and absorbing wedding inspiration from every inch of my surroundings. Mr. Panther and I are hardcore New Englanders planning Connecticut nuptials from our new home in the Dirty South, and can't wait to mix our newfound love of classic Southern charm with some modern city touches.
Normally, I procrastinate like a pro. But for some reason, I’ve completely turned that around when it comes to wedding stuff. I have this obsessive need to finish things as soon as humanly possible. It’s probably anxiety—the thought of hitting the wedding day without everything done is terrifying to me—and also lots and lots of excitement. So what this all means is that I’ve already done a lot. And we have lots of catching up to do!
The first priority for Mr. Panther and me was our venue. We really, really wanted to get married on Cape Cod. We both spent our childhood summers there, and my family still has a cottage in Wellfleet, where my aunt had her wedding a couple years ago. Unfortunately, when we looked into the logistics, it became very clear that it just wasn’t a good idea. The Cape is packed in the summer, and most of the hotels jack up their rates and insist on two- or three-night miminum stays. The traffic is nuts. The venues are pricey. It just wasn’t going to happen. I shed a few tears, and we forced ourselves to move on.
To be eligible to win a Avery/Zazzle Wedding Organizer, review your favorite wedding vendors in the Weddingbee Vendors section and submit them to us here to be featured on the blog! Check out this post for more info on our great weekly prizes!
Alex was recommended to us, and as soon as we saw her website we knew which photographer we wanted to go with. Alex has a wonderful eye for detail, and for capturing the entire scene and mood of the day.
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.
It’s been debated on the boards if having disposable table cameras is worth it anymore, especially since so many guests have digital cameras these days. I even wondered if this was a dated trend when I first considered including them.
(Photo by Bridesmaid H)
Well, I can’t answer if it will be worth it for everyone to do them, but I can say that for us it was! We spent about $40 on the cameras themselves, I made a template and covered them in leftover invitations paper, and we spent about $56 developing them on CDs. But the fact that we got to see these pictures much sooner than our pro pics (and some details that the pros didn’t catch) made the cost totally worth it. Read more…
Real WeddingsAbout: The real weddings of weddingbee readers.
Jeannie is one of the lovely ladies behind Project Wedding’s One Lovely Day blog, and recently got married to her beau at the venue where they first laid eyes on each other (merely three feet from where they actually met!) 10 years earlier.
Ms. Cheetah, Los Angeles/Palm Springs
Age and Occupation: 31, Artist, EducatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, TV FinanceEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The ViceroyAbout Me: I’m a silly, sassy lady with a compulsion to create. I love to sing and dance, despite the fact that I lack any talent doing either. I somehow manage to be messy and organized at the same time. I like to spend my days road tripping, watching '80s movies, reading true crime books, buying things on sale, sending postcards, playing board games, dining at food trucks, snuggling, and drinking ginger ale. I have a weak spot for all things sweet, especially Mr. Cheetah! I’m a Chicago girl and he’s a Nor Cal boy but we love living in the City of Angels. After 10 years as a couple we are planning a fun-filled semi-destination wedding in Palm Springs. Hope you enjoy the ride!
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.
It was a lovely spring day, and we were bored and avoiding studying for exams. We found some chalkboards. We doodled pretty patterns and words on them with chalk. Then we painted over the doodles with acrylic paint. We ended up with these:
We used P.C.’s post as a guide…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
(Photo by Bridesmaid H)
