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. Poodle, Santiago, Chile/San Bernardino, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Industrial & Web DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Firefighter & Mountain PatrolEngagement Date: February 25, 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Mr. P's Grandparents’ RanchAbout Me: I’m a Chilean girl who's crazy about nature and swimming. I enjoy carving, drawing, reading and sewing; I drool over computers, fabric, pretty paper, purple and patterns. To me, chocolate should be one of the seven wonders, right next to lemon pie. I never thought an exchange work experience program was going to change my life forever, but while working in California, I met Mr. Poodle, and ever since my days are better and brighter. We are two goofy souls that, after finding each other, couldn’t help but want to be together forever. It has being a long and sometimes hard road, since we have to deal with such a long distance between us, but we are now facing the last stage of our Fiancé Visa, and soon we will be together. You know the best part? We will be married! So I’ll be blogging from Chile until just a few months before our “green and purple” wedding.
The day before our wedding started with all the guys taking all of the wedding stuff down to the ranch. We were all so excited. While the girls went to get our nails done in the morning, the guys rehearsed their dance moves and moved everything.
That morning Betty (Mr. Poodle’s Mom) was working on the last touches to finish our wedding cake. We all decided on a 3 layer cake: a bottom layer of chocolate and peanut butter, middle layer of vanilla and taspberry and the top being carrot. She did such an awesome job, just wait and see!
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.
I ranted about this several times last week on my post-wedding blog, but now that it’s officially a PWC, I thought I’d share with the hive. Brides, don’t try anything new with your hair before your wedding. Thank god I waited until after our wedding, even though I was itching to do something before. After the hair drama of last week, my stylist even said “Isn’t it a good thing this didn’t happen before your wedding?” Um, yeah.
But let me start at the beginning.
Last Saturday I went in for a cut and a color with my stylist of over 6 years. All I wanted was for my long layers to be cut up higher. You all have seen my curled wedding hairstyle, but this is what it looks like when it’s not all curled the other half of the time, with just the bottom of the layers curled under.
(pre-butchering hair style)
I told my stylist that I wanted chunky layers cascading down my back. Read more…
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
I hopped over to Pier 94 yesterday to visit with designer Alisa Benay and check out her newest collection! Alisa’s dresses are all made in luxe fabrics with surprisingly affordable price points. My favorite thing about Alisa is that each year she designs a pink-hued dress and donates a portion of the sales of that particular dress to breast cancer research. If you or a loved one has been affected by breast cancer, this would make a huge supportive statement to wear Alisa’s Camille gown at your wedding!
The color is an understated pink. It’s so stunning in person!
Alisa Benay put a few of my favorite dresses on her model for me to snap pics of. This first one is perfect for a romantic, carefree bride:
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.
The OOT bags are a joint effort of both Mama-In-Law Meerkat’s and mine. Right now Mama-In-Law Meerkat is slaving away sewing the custom OOT bags for our guests while I have been gathering up the items to fill them with. We brainstormed for weeks trying to figure out the most useful items to give while being able to still transport all of it on the plane. The first two things we decided to tackle were mini first aid kits and customized aluminum water bottles.
The first aid kits were my first DIY project for the wedding and probably the easiest, too. I used Johnson & Johnson’s first aid to go which I got from target for $1 each in the travel sized cosmetics section.
Mrs. Cheeseburger, Baltimore, MD/State College, PAAge and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentEngagement Date: June 28, 2008Wedding Date: March 2010Venue: Catholic Church Ceremony & Hotel ReceptionAbout Me: I'm a passionate girl from Pittsburgh, currently living in Baltimore for school, who loves Penn State, seeing movies, football, thunderstorms, black and white photos, Christmas, good beer, my amazing friends and family, and of course, my mister! We met, fell in love, got engaged, and will be married at our alma mater (go lions!) in a traditional Catholic ceremony followed by a hotel reception with lots of DIY details. It means so much to have our families and friends meet at our favorite place on earth to celebrate our love for one another - I truly couldn't ask for anything more!
Last week I shared a lot of the little details of our wedding, and if you don’t mind I have a few more big ones to reveal!
You might remember that no Pittsburgh or Italian wedding is complete without a cookie table. It’s just non-negotiable. But with Candy Buffets taking over the world of weddings, I decided on a hybrid Cookie Table/Candy Buffet. The results were truly delicious!
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
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!
Our RSVP deadline was over about three weeks ago. I set it a bit early knowing I needed to know guest numbers to finish some remaining projects earlier than the week before the wedding. Apparently many of our invited guests had a different idea.
I’m not sure what our RSVP return rate actually was, but it was not good. We had to track down many people for an answer. It surprised me to find out that many people think they don’t have to respond to an RSVP if they’re not coming. It also surprised me to find out that a lot of people don’t feel the need to respond if they told you a year ago in passing that they’d be at your wedding. Honestly though, a week out from our wedding, this is the only thing that has caused us stress.
After all the tracking down was complete, I thought it was finally time I start working on my table assignment project. I told y’all I was planning on making Texas shaped lollipops for each guest with their name and table number on the back. Check ’em out! 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!
As a gemstone e-ring wearer, I have a soft spot for those lovely gems, and I think more people should appreciate colored stones! They’re a little more work to take care of than diamond rings, but the goon news is I found a really helpful chart on macys.com that lays out care for them all in one place. It’s nice to finally see all the info laid out for all those precious (and semi-precious) stones!
Personally, my ring has a blue sapphire, so for cleaning it says, ”Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Avoid strong detergents, heat, pressure and ultrasonic. Avoid re-polishing or re-cutting of the stone. Color may fade in light or with heat.”
Also, I know people love colored diamonds, and for cleaning those, the site says, ”Clean with warm soapy water and a soft brush or cloth. Do not expose to intense heat.”
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
Mrs. Lobster and I attended The Douglas Hannant show together at The Plaza on Sunday and had an amazing time checking out the new collection! It was bridal glam at its finest.
The runway was a winter wonderland, and the models all had snowflakes in their hair. The show kicked off with a bridal suit. Loved it!
I sent Mrs. Lobster the dress pics this morning and asked her to pick a fave, and I made sure not to look at what she picked before I picked my own fave. Surprisingly, we both picked the same favorite, this next dress below! 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.
I may not have worn a Vera Wang, but I ended up using the no alterations approach (other than the bustle hooks done by a family friend). You see, I was determined to get toned before the wedding. When my dress first came in, it was about 3 sizes smaller than I had ordered. So after some tears and convincing the sales associate that I had in fact not gained 100 pounds (an awful experience for another day), it was sent back, and luckily it was enough time to get the correct size ordered. Then when I went to pick up the new one, it was still smaller than the size I had ordered. But, this time it at least zipped up. That being said…it didn’t look pretty. There were buttons up the back and we couldn’t button any.
That same exact morning, I had my first appointment with my trainer. It was June 1st, almost exactly four months until the wedding. I had a decision to make…when to alter? I wanted to use the dress as my motivation to get toned, so I didn’t want to have it taken out, hoping that I’d eventually have to take it back in. I decided to hold off on alterations.
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!
One of the best parts of planning an at-home reception is being able to use all the cool ideas you found but never got to use the first time.
Starting with the DIY photobooth. It’s been done by many a Bee in the past, but I happened to use Mrs. Pin Cushion’s version for a starting point.
And yes, it’s possible to fit 10-foot poles in a little Prius. Barely.
I won’t bother with our measurements since they were ad-libbed - adjusted to fit our tallest guest and the width of the Ikea fabric we bought. It’s pretty cool fabric, actually. 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!
I was afraid to register. It felt weird—like I was demanding presents from our wedding guests. But when I am a wedding guest I always appreciate a registry, so I finally sucked it up and we created a wedding registry last week. Well, three registries to be exact. And it was kind of fun—except for all the hard sells. (“Just scan it; you can return it later!” “Make sure you register for that $10,000 couch—your wedding party might pool together!”)
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 have a love hate relationship with my face. Most of the time I love it, but there are several moments when I hate it, and those moments always stem from a break out.
I’ve tried different products to prevent breakouts including the ever so popular Proactive system, and they all seem to work for a little bit and then it’s breakout city.
Now, I must take some of the blame (or all of it, but I like to go easy on myself) because I start off great with the daily regimen and then slowly start forgetting at night and sometimes skipping over a couple steps when getting ready in the morning.
(pre-butchering hair style)
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
