Mrs. Labrador Retriever, Athens/SavannahAge and Occupation: 24, Student/Sports ReporterFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Physical Therapy Assistant Student/Future Dr. of PT
Engagement Date: December 31, 2008Wedding Date: November 2009Venue: Whitfield Square/Savannah StationAbout Me: I'm working on my second degree from UGA (Go Dawgs!). I'm a self-proclaimed attention-w****. If it involves a camera, I'm in front of it! You'll never meet a girlier tomboy than me. I can go toe to toe with any guy on the subject of college football, and lift more than any girl in my gym, all without chipping a nail. I hope to someday be the only person you want delivering your sports news. My FI and I are the loving parents of three Labrador Retrievers (one of each color) and are planning a "Southern Romantic Charm" wedding in the beautiful, historic city of Savannah. I'm not extreme in anything except moderation... and wedding planning.
The carriage came to a stop at Whitfield Square and my younger brother hopped out.
He came around to my side to help his big sister make as much of a graceful exit from the buggy as possible in a very tight dress… Read more…
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!
Our wedding party, Mr. Turtle, and I lined up on the side of the house, ready to enter our reception! Even though we had so much fun taking pictures with Chloe, we were all ready to eat dinner and join in on the reception fun! Since we didn’t have a deejay and our “emcee” for the night was Mr. Turtle’s best man, Mr. Turtle’s Uncle Jeff announced us. I remember hearing his voice from the side of the house and thinking, “Weird, why is he announcing us?” Then I realized it was a detail I’d neglected to plan. I was so thankful to have our trusty wedding coordinator there to take care of all the little issues that came up that night! (And by the way, Uncle Jeff nailed it with the announcing!)
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!
…the bridal party, that is!Having been a bridesmaid a few times before, I know what a commitment it can be, so I wanted to do something special to ask my lovely ladies.As a long-time lover of weddings, I was always thinking up ideas, even before we had decided to get married.My first thought was sending each future bridesmaid flowers—but with seven bridesmaids (and a junior maid), that quickly adds up.My second idea was getting them all a wedding-themed DVD (27 Dresses or The Wedding Singer, perhaps) with a cute little card…but I was worried that many of my ladies already had (or wouldn’t want) those movies.I also thought about sending them a cute bridesmaid book, like this.But then I found the perfect item while shopping at Miette in San Francisco. (If you live nearby, please visit and have a macaron for me…yummmm.)
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).
After some back and forth with our reception venue, we have officially decided on the menu for the evening. I am so excited about what we’ll be serving! This Hippo loves to eat, so just talking about these tasty offerings makes me happy. Want to hear what our guests will be noshing on? Just for full disclosure, these pictures aren’t from our venue, but I figured it would be a crime to not show pictures while talking food. Let’s just pretend that our food will look like this or even tastier, shall we?
First, the cocktail hour. Guests will be served two varieties of passed hors d’oeuvres and there will be two stationary hors d’oeuvres.
Passed Hors D’oeuvres
Petite Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes. Served resting in an ancho lemon aioli in individual bowls.
Mrs. Beagle, AustinAge and Occupation: 26, Electrical EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, FinanceEngagement Date: July 12, 2008Wedding Date: October 2009Venue: Church Ceremony/Reception at The Waterford HouseAbout 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 spent my morning tying up loose ends and getting myself pretty, Mr. Beagle’s morning was far more slow paced. He enjoyed a late breakfast with his brother, hung out with his groomsmen, and finally put his suit on and headed over to the church.
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!
Have you ever been to CostofWedding.com? It’s worth a look. You just put in your zip code, and it calculates how much your wedding “should” cost based on you area. Also nice—it breaks down the budget into what should cost what if you choose to look at each item. All costs are on the left hand side if you click on the different items.
The website sets itself up like this:
On average, US couples spend $20,398 for their wedding. However, the majority of couples spend between $15,299 and $25,498 while their wedding budget is typically 50% less than the amount spent. This does not include cost for a honeymoon or engagement ring. Understanding average wedding cost now can help you with your wedding budget later.
I agree with the last line, for serious.
It also has another line, similar to a disclaimer, that actually seems a little helpful: 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!
I can’t believe that MOH Navy’s wedding has already come and gone! Back in August, BM Cali, MOH Navy’s mom, and I put on one awesome bridal shower (if I do say so myself, although this is the first shower I have been a part of planning, so I may be a little biased). We all took charge of different aspects of the shower, and it all came together beautifully!
The food was amazing! We had chicken salad croissants, meat and cheese trays, an edible bouquet, bacon & cheese quiche, cheesecakes from the Cheesecake factory, lemon tarts & chocolate filled swans.
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!
Remember how I said I wanted to talk about people being disappointed in our decisions? Yeah, let’s talk about that now. Then, I promise I’ll shut up about this topic. At least for a little while.
When we asked BIL Cardy to officiate our wedding, he was a bit reluctant. Partially because of nerves and partially because he wasn’t sure how my parents would feel about it. Honestly, this hadn’t even crossed our minds yet, and Mr. Cardy and I were a bit perplexed as to why my parents might have a problem with it. Maybe we were just being naïve, but we honestly figured they would just be happy that we had found a solution we were so excited about, and that would be that. But these things aren’t usually that simple, are they?
It turns out that my parents were very disappointed and upset when they found out that we weren’t planning on having a pastor officiate our wedding. They expressed that they had already been extremely upset that we weren’t getting married in a church (which I had no idea of until about a week ago), and now that we didn’t want to have a pastor, it was an even more difficult situation for them. BIL Cardy told Mr. Cardigan and myself that he didn’t feel comfortable saying yes to marrying us until he had my parents’ blessing.
I’ve had multiple conversations with almost every member of my family in the past couple of weeks, and I feel like I’ve had to justify my decisions and desires more in this week than I have in a very long time. Read more…
Mrs. Scissors, LaGrange, GAAge and Occupation: 25, Photography & Graphic DesignFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Engineering Grad StudentEngagement Date: January 1, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Ceremony - First United Methodist Church; Reception - My parents' house!About Me: I’m a six-foot-three bride with a fifty-foot personality! I love great art, fabulous design, intense color, tons of music, indie photography, watching movies on repeat, and being really awesome. This super-tall, Southern, loud, quirky, neurotic artist is marrying a German, quiet, silly, super-amazing roboticist in an eclectic, funky, fun, snazzy, technicolored June wedding. Anything is game for this shindig, for it is all about us! We’re bringing giant paper cranes, six-foot-tall portraits, fortune cookies, a photo booth, a club-circuit DJ, handcuffs, and possibly a kidnapping to this small Southern town. Watch out, y’all, and try to keep up!
OK, so, it’s confession time. We had some not-totally-legit action during the first look. Our first look was supposed to take place outside of the art building and in the surrounding areas. I never planned to venture into the museum. I also never planned for it to be about eleventy-billion degrees outside, nor did I have any contingency plans for rain. When we arrived, before all of the running and jumping took place, my father asked me if we were going to get into the building via the front entrance or the loading dock. I looked at him blankly. “We’re going in?”
“Scissors, you’re kidding me. It’s insanely hot outside, there are chances of thunderstorms starting at any moment, and you’re taking pictures outside of a building? That you cannot enter?” Read more…
Mrs. Green Tea, SacramentoAge and Occupation: 30, Tea AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Coffee CriticEngagement Date: November 17, 2006Wedding Date: August 23, 2008Blogging Since: June 10, 2008Venue: Vineyard on the DeltaAbout Me: I'm just your average obsessive compulsive, arts & crafts loving, funky-on-the-inside/boring-on-the-outside girl, who dares to say 'Hey! I can make that!' Nerdy professional by day, goofy won-ton by night. The won-ton sometimes comes out during the day when I'm fed the dollar breakfast at Ikea. Since our engagement, wedding planning has put me on high alert for bargains and I've been pushing my nimble fingers through callous building experiments!
I’ve received quite a few requests for an updated template of this little calendar (see original post HERE):
So I woke from my blog-hibernation briefly, updated the template and posted it for you to download. Read more…
Mrs. Octopus, Boston, MA/Pittsburgh, PAAge and Occupation: 25, Grad StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Graphics Operator for TV NewsEngagement Date: May 6th, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heinz Chapel Ceremony, Museum Reception
About Me: When my best friend dragged me to a toga party in our freshmen year of college, I was not expecting to meet my future husband; but seven years later, here we are. I'm a crazy-organized planner at heart, and I am a great lover of random trivia, books, chocolate, blogs, new and exciting adventures, mockumentary-style television, and anything heavily flavored with bright orange fake cheese powder. We're planning a festive and fun mini-destination wedding in the place where we met: fabulous Pittsburgh, PA! I can't wait to marry the man I love!
I mentioned before that our wedding day was, overall, easy and low-stress. A lot of the things that contributed to the day proceeding so well were entirely out of my control. The perfect, delicious, dreamy weather was a stroke of pure luck (ESPECIALLY in Pittsburgh). I researched our vendors very carefully, but I knew it was pretty much out of my hands if they ultimately executed things correctly or not. There were a lot of things that just kind of ended up going our way, you know?
However, Mr. Octo and I talked about one of the things that WAS within our grasp that made our wedding day so great, and here is what we both recommend: think really carefully about who you choose to be in your bridal party. If it’s at all possible, don’t choose people just because you feel obligated to, or for old time’s sake, or because you got excited and asked before you really thought about it, or whatever. You spend a LOT of time with the bridal party during the wedding weekend, and if they’re bringing drama, or stress, or negativity, or apathy to the table, I am pretty sure you’ll feel it, and it will impact your experience.
But on the other hand, if your bridal party is so unbelievably supportive, responsible, helpful, and easy-going that you’re totally blown away by their sheer awesomeness, you’ll feel that too. Read more…
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.
Hi hive! Sorry I’ve been MIA… I’ve been, uh, busy, as maybe the title of this post suggests (tee hee). Many of you might read it and think, She’s married! She’s pregnant! The Seahorses are getting a baby! Yay babies! Others of you might read the title and think, Whaaaaa? I thought she said she and Fancee weren’t having babies.
And you’d both be (sort of) right. You see, the Seahorses are married, we are (in a sense, to be explained soon) getting a baby, and we definitely are not having biological human babies. Instead we’re having this: Read more…
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.
In the hour leading up to the ceremony, we managed to complete the bulk of the formal portraits, as scheduled. In spite of their traditional nature and the ever-present rain, the formal portraits came out beautifully, thanks to the Tannery’s natural setting. I’ll try to be as brief as possible with these since unless the loved ones surrounding the bride and groom are your own, formal portraits hold a limited interest for the viewer (but man, oh man, do I love them!).
Looking at these photos, it’s hard to believe how crappy the weather was. I don’t know how she did it but Kelly of Closed Circle Photo managed to make our mess of a wedding look absolutely gorgeous. Read more…
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.
Since Mr. S and I are trying our best to keep the guest list small and manageable, we’ve had to address the plus-one issue. Specifically, who gets to bring a guest and who doesn’t?
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!
I can’t find words yet, so I’ll just leave you with these teasers our photographer posted. It was my fairytale wedding—a real dream come true! I’ms o excited to share our story with you once I unwind!!!
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
