Mrs. Giraffe, Chicago
Age and Occupation: 23, Graphic Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Music Student Teacher
Engagement Date: October 23, 2008
Wedding Date: May 2011
Venue: Trinity Lutheran Church & Idlewild Country Club
About 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!
So, as much as I love Mr. Giraffe (which I do!), we’re very different people. I think one of the biggest differences between us is that I’m definitely a detail person and Mr. G is a big-picture guy. Every time (almost) that we’ve talked about the wedding he just says, “Whatever you want, Miss Giraffe” or “We can do that, Miss Giraffe” or, more likely, “I’ve told you a hundred times, the wedding and stuff isn’t what matters to me; I’m just happy about the afterwards, about being married to you.”
(source)
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Classifieds
Feature Launched: April 30, 2008
About: A roundup of the best Weddingbee Classified listings.
Mrs. D’orsay is selling an Alexia Design two-piece bridesmaids dress. She’s asking $100 for both pieces. The top is a size 8 and the bottom is a size 12.
Have a wedding item for sale? Post it with a picture in the Weddingbee Classifieds, and you might see it featured on the blog!
Other great items for sale:
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Mrs. Beagle, Austin
Age and Occupation: 26, Electrical Engineer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Finance
Engagement Date: July 12, 2008
Wedding Date: October 2009
Venue: Church Ceremony/Reception at The Waterford House
About Me: I am a true, but rare, Austinite---I was born, raised, and continue to live in this great city! Although
I am an engineer by day, I feed my inner creative side through crafting, sewing, and obsessing over Martha Stewart. I love coffee, my mister, NPR, and exploring all the nooks and crannies of Austin.
I can't wait to share my adventures in DIY and wedding planning with all of you!
While I was holed up in my room getting ready, I kept wondering where the heck my father was. (Cue more nerves). And before I knew it, the time had come to line up outside.
There, I found my dad waiting for me.
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Mrs. Earrings, Fresno, CA/ Nelson, New Zealand
Age and Occupation: 20, Student, Wannabe Writer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 19, Photography Student
Engagement Date: February 14, 2010
Wedding Date: January 2011
Venue: Gardens of the World
About 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.
Sometimes it can mean “green” and “convenient.”
Let’s rewind a little: A couple months back we were trying to work out all the items we need to hire for our reception. That’s the real downside of a venue like ours—almost nothing is provided (except a few tables, a hot water contraption, and one tiny canopy) so we have to bring everything in ourselves. And dealing with hire companies is pretty much my least favourite part of wedding planning. Anyway, long story short, the hireage list was expanding, the cost of it all was ballooning out of control (um, how much for a tiny dessert fork???), we were having to go to more than one hire company to get what we wanted, and all of that combined was turning something that should be simple into too much complicated business.
So we re-thought what we actually did need and whether there were some things we could beg, borrow or steal (just kidding…not much stealing…).
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Featured on Weddingbee
“Make an elegant invitation statement without the fuss. Stylish invitation sets with matching envelopes, reception and response cards included.”
Featured Product: Laura Ashley Delicate Damask Invitation
Mrs. Lioness, Atlanta
Age and Occupation: 25, Physical Therapist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Attorney
Engagement Date: August 29, 2009
Wedding Date: April 2011
Venue: Anthony’s Fine Dining
About 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!
Hive, I’ve been really psyched about this post. Flowers used to be totally out of my comfort zone, but then I educated myself by searching through tons and tons of inspiration pictures, and by brainstorming with our florist. The more knowledgeable I became, the easier it was to choose the right flowers to convey the look I was going for. If you share my flower personality of romantic and whimsical with a hint of fluffy, I hope you will find the following somewhat educational.
In our case, finalizing the flowers didn’t just bring together our style. It also helped to establish a palette for our wedding. We had already decided on shamrock green and pool blue, but those two colors are hard to find in flowers. Sister Lioness also pointed out that those were two “cool” colors. She thought it would be a good idea to add in an accent color just to brighten things up. Our florist suggested yellow, and my excitement towards our flowers grew even more. I love yellow, but with Irish skin and hair, it’s not always something I feel I can pull off. But as an accent to two colors that I know I can pull of? Sure! Why the heck not?
Our final palette, courtesy of Color Combos
With that style and palette in mind, we decided on the following:
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Mrs. Zebra, Providence, RI
Age and Occupation: 24 Marketing/Costume Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26 Management/Firefighter
Engagement Date: December 12, 2008
Wedding Date: March 2011
Venue: The Providence Biltmore
About 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.
Zeb and I waited a good eight or so months before asking our bridal party to stand by us on our special day. Well, that’s not entirely true. Brittany was the first call I made after we got engaged seeing as how my mother had already witnessed it, his mother was at the play, and my father already knew what was going on. (We celebrated with shots and Zeb’s father later on in the evening.)
“Get your MOH speech ready Britt, Zeb and I are getting hitched!”
Anywho, my bridesmaids are special to me and they deserved to be asked in a special way.
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Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
Mrs. Sand Dollar, Houston
Age and Occupation: 24, Graphic Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Electrical Technician
Engagement Date: January 8, 2010
Wedding Date: September 2010
Venue: MacLean Park
About 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 swear I’m not a narcissist. I just had too many cute photos to tack on to the end of the bridesmaid post, I promise! Once we took all the girl pictures together, it was time to take a few of just the bride. We started with a little focus on my butterfly bouquet. I’m thrilled with how it all looked, and the pictures really make all the colors pop!
(photo by Scott V)
Oh, you need to see it a little closer? Well, ok!
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Ms. Cheetah, Los Angeles/Palm Springs
Age and Occupation: 31, Artist, Educator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, TV Finance
Engagement Date: April 2010
Wedding Date: March 2011
Venue: The Viceroy
About 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’m an artist; I deal with colors all the time.
Which one did you have a crush on?
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Weddingbee Gallery
Feature Launched: April 10, 2009
About: A collection of inspirational wedding pictures from readers and bees.
Smashley’s groom’s cake featured her groom’s favorite things: a cup of coffee with a Hungarian Proverb on it.
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.
If your photo is featured as the Gallery of the Day, you’re eligible for a special Weddingbee badge for your blog or website! Check out instructions on how to grab the badge here!
Ms. Sloth, Philadelphia
Age and Occupation: 35, Account Manager and Fashion Blogger
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Design Admin
Engagement Date: December 25, 2009
Wedding Date: May 2011
Venue: Bartram's Garden
About 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.
For the most part, Mr. S and I are on the same page when it comes to our wedding. There are a few things we’ve disagreed on, and we’re learning the art of compromise.
One of the things we’re trying to compromise on is whether or not we’re going to have any readings at the ceremony. Mr. S is against it. He wants the ceremony to be as quick as possible so that we can go on to the party. I agree that I want a quick ceremony—10–15 minutes, tops—but I think that we can devote a minute or two of that time to a beautiful, touching secular reading.
We’ve tabled the debate for now, but if we decide to go for a reading, here are some of my faves:
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Mrs. Barrettes, Tumon, Guam/Napa, CA
Age and Occupation: 29, Dancer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Licensed Building Contractor
Engagement Date: November 16, 2008
Wedding Date: October 2010
Venue: V. Sattui Winery
About 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!
Remember when I posted this a million years ago?
Guess what? I’m LOVING the photos our guests are sharing on Facebook. Everyone’s perspective of the weekend is different than mine and I’m so happy to see that they captured moments so beautifully. Silly Barrettes—of course you’d love seeing everyone’s photos. Guests posting their photos on Facebook=good idea. Trust me, 2 days after it’s over you’re going to love seeing photos go up.
Guess what else? *blink* Our wedding is over. That’s it. It’s crazy! Suddenly I’m sitting on my couch in Guam, typing away while my husband and canine are back to their respective routines. And I just finished washing dishes—I’m not even wearing my ring!
So as before, I will write. I don’t think the hard recaps will come until I’m done with the professional photo process, but I will try to share as much of the other details as I can!
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Mrs. Jaguar, Sydney
Age and Occupation: 27, Primary School Teacher
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, IT Consultant
Engagement Date: August 8, 2009
Wedding Date: June 2011
Venue: Curzon Hall
About Me: I'm an Australian girl who is a self-proclaimed nerd, loves all things stationery and would be lost without books, music and the internet. Mr. Jaguar and I have been together for the past eight years and he finally popped the question last August. Hurrah! We currently live in Sydney, Australia with our adorable cat who thinks he's a person. We're a couple who likes to multi-task: we've been planning a wedding abroad, a permanent move from London to Sydney, and preparing to build our own home all at the same time. Travelling makes me giddy...as does Mr. Jaguar, of course!
This past week, Mr. Jaguar and I attended something that I never thought we would be lucky enough to experience: not one, but two concert gigs put on by our favourite band. Now this isn’t just any old band that we like: this is the band that brought us together. What? You haven’t read our “How It All Began“ story? Run over there, read it, and then come back to me.
WE GOT TO SEE LIFEHOUSE TOGETHER!
I am totally about to bust out of my chair with excitement.
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Mrs. Locket, Ithaca, NY
Age and Occupation: 25, Research Technician
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, former Banker hoping to become an Officer of the Law
Engagement Date: June 15, 2009
Wedding Date: September 2010
Venue: Heron Hill Winery
About 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).
When we last left off I shared with you a few of my wedding week woes and how we managed to get through them. Unfortunately, they weren’t the last of issues we ran into. Some were easy enough to take care of while others took a lot more patience and were more of a struggle.
Source
The Easy Ones:
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Mrs. Meerkat, Kalamazoo, MI/Riviera Maya
Age and Occupation: 30, Application Engineer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, IT Consultant
Engagement Date: July 26, 2008
Wedding Date: December 2010
Venue: Al Cielo / La Laguna
About 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.
Originally I wanted to get our photos done in Chicago, but 12 hours in a car with two spoiled shih-tzus (which would probably cause a grumpy Mr. Meerkat) didn’t seem like that great of an idea. Mr. Meerkat wanted to have our photos done at an orchard that he spent a lot of his time at during his childhood. So, as usual, we came to a compromise. I would ask Sister-In-Law Meerkat to shoot an e-pics session at the orchard as long Mr. Meerkat agreed to do a second photo shoot in downtown Kalamazoo and at Easley Mill. We didn’t want to inconvenience Sister-In-Law Meerkat for two sessions (even though she is a sweetheart and would have done it) so we hired Stephanie Karen Photography to do the ones in Kalamazoo.
I LOVE our pictures. This tomboy is far from supermodel pretty so Stephanie really had her work cut out for her but she did a great job. I am so glad that we did these. It really helped us to get some practice being comfortable in front of the camera.
Stephanie Karen Photography
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Mrs. Brooch, Arlington, VA
Age and Occupation: 25, Writer/Editor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Front Desk Manager
Engagement Date: October 3, 2009
Wedding Date: April 2011
Venue: Oxon Hill Manor
About 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.
I’ve always had a thing for rustic charm or what some might call shabby chic. There’s so many ways to describe it, but you know what I mean, right? The fun, pretty, yet kind of random stuff that’s popular at weddings today. Stuff like vintage furniture and mason jars, stuff like…let’s say, chalkboards!
Source
Chalkboards are one of the things on my to do list I’ve been most excited about. It’s a project I wanted to undertake long before the wedding—who doesn’t want a chalkboard in their kitchen (hello, for recipes, grocery list, or just general commentary!), and all along, I never knew the wide variety of uses for chalkboards at weddings. Such uses as:
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All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
