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.
My best friend of more than 5 years got down on one knee, and while confessing his endless love, asked me to be his wife! It was a magical moment that I will never forget; a place in time with so much meaning; a surprise with so much thought; and a story that will live on forever.
Ms. Stripes, Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 29, Costume Designer/StylistFiancee's Age and Occupation: 29, ChefEngagement Date: June 23, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heritage Square MuseumAbout Me: I’m a type A creative with a messy streak, a loud mouth, and an uncanny knack for combining clashing patterns. I can usually be found with my nose in a book, my feet (or at least my toes) on the ground, my head in the clouds, and my arm around the prettiest girl you ever saw- aka
Fiancee Stripes. Together we’re planning a FUN vintage/modern French carnival wedding extravaganza and rockin’ dance party on a dime. (Say that three times fast!) Good coffee, long lists, Uniball pens, and my iPhone keep me sane, and making art, making trouble, and making out keep me happy! I love urban adventures, bike rides that end with afternoon drinks, breakfast for dinner, beautiful light, photography, travel, my furry family, and of course, my beautiful fiancee! I’m super excited to be here and can’t wait to share all our adventures as we craft a joyful, budget-friendly, design-savvy and all-around AWESOME wedding!
I so did not intend to do a whole bunch of sewing…but in the end I made tablecloths, runners, napkins, and napkin rings. Basically, I did a whole bunch of sewing. I’m not joking when I say I had hundreds of yards of muslin lying around! And I’m not exaggerating when I say I used it all! And then some.
I do have to say that most of these projects were pretty easy & satisfying in terms of getting a look we couldn’t afford to buy/rent or even find. I loved our muslin table cloths which were really simple, not shiny (did I ever tell you I hate shiny?!), and went all the way to the ground and pooled a little. I LOVE that they completely covered up those ugly rental tables, too.
And I LOVED our Stripetastic runners, which I’m currently recycling into curtains for our kitchen and pillows for our backyard! IKEA seriously has the best fabric! Check out our stripey vibe: 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.
We went to see Bartram’s Garden exactly once, for about an hour, on a cloudy, blustery day in November. In Philly, not much grows in November, but I hear that it’s pretty lush and beautiful in the spring. I assume it will look much different when we get married next May, but I’ve kind of been nervous. Is our venue all I think it’ll be?
The thing is, their website has tiny little pictures, and it’s hard to see anything. But I did some major Googling the other day and finally found some photos of actual weddings! And I’m thrilled to see that they look fantastic.
Ms. Potato Chips, Boston/Narragansett RIAge and Occupation: 29, PhD StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Personal Trainer/Business Owner/Physical Therapy AssistantEngagement Date: January 1, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: The Narragansett TowersAbout Me: A semi-professional bookworm, if I could be a literary character I’d be a cross between Jo March and Jane Eyre, only better accessorized and much lazier. My hobbies include sleeping in, seasonal brews, running, Trader Joe’s, and watching Unwrapped and Good Eats with Mr. Potato Chips. I harbor an irrational fear of tulle, crafts, things that are fussy, and overuse of the phrase "Your Special Day". After a year or seven together, down the aisle we go, slouching toward adulthood and planning a Rhodie party with equal parts whimsy, cheer, and pizza.
We exited the church to a sea of Yay flags and happy friends/relatives. In the two minutes after the ceremony where we hid in a stairwell, the wedding party somehow got guests lined and explained what the heck these Yay flags were all about. Ahh, our friends are amazing!
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!
Get it? Up here? Because giraffes are tall, even though I’m short? Hehe.
Anyway! Can you beelieve it? Beecause I sure can’t! Oh man! I don’t even know where to start. I’m so just beexcited. (OK, I’ll admit it. That one didn’t work!)
I got the e-mail from Pengy yesterday, but due to there being only five minutes left on my lunch hour, I couldn’t even figure out what to do with myself. I sent a quick text to Mr. Giraffe and BM Marie and got back to work for one of my most unproductive afternoons ever, due to being distracted. Oh boy.
Let me tell you a little bit about the Giraffes.
Mr. Giraffe and I met a week before school started our freshman year of college at Illinois State, when we were just 18. It was love at first sight for this art major and that music major. In my dorm, a group of us from the art floor (floor 12) invited some kid playing guitar on the music floor (floor 11) to come up and play for us. He played guitar and sang for three hours, and I was captivated instantly. I sat there watching him and knew that night that I had met the guy I was going to marry.
The night we met: Mr. Giraffe being his cool self, and me being my usual ridiculous self.
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!
Mrs. Ostrich, San Francisco/HawaiiAge and Occupation: 30, Fashion Buyer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 38, CopywriterEngagement Date: October 4, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Sweet ceremony by the sea and sunset celebration on the North Shore of HawaiiAbout Me: Born in the city of angels and residing in the city by the bay, I’m a fearless fashion buyer by day, a passionate blog author by night and a dreamy bride-to-be in between. I thank my lucky stars to live in such a stunning city that gives me gifts like organic honey lavender ice cream, movie nights in the park, tucked away beaches, legendary record stores, '80s dance parties, awesome sports teams, stellar flea markets, and vintage bookshops. Oh, and I love to dance! We always find every excuse to escape to the beach, and decided a little seaside wedding in Hawaii is our idea of bliss. Full of our favorite people, music, food and sparkly lights, this is one sunset celebration we will always remember.
I may have champagne fashion tastes, but in my heart of hearts I am the definition of a bargain bee. From rummaging through vintage racks to scouring sale sections to endlessly bidding on eBay, the thrill and triumph of finding and acquiring a spectacular fashion item for a fraction of the price is unrivaled!
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.
But it was seriously way too hot to cuddle next to his suit jacket for long, so I scooted over and we talked the whole way up; wondering if the venue would be ready, or how far behind the set up was, because the U-Haul with all the decor had been stuck in traffic on the way to the venue earlier. Read more…
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!
Before we get down to the nitty gritty of recaps, I have a little something special for ya. It’s the rest of the pics from my boudoir session with Suzy Min! Hooray! I don’t think I’ve mentioned enough times that I’m giddy with how great these photos are. She did an amazing job, and Mr. SD was floored. He’s demanding that we get some printed for bedroom art, and has already shown some to his buddies. Gotta love a man who makes you feel pretty. So, let’s break ’em out, guns a-blazin!
(All photos courtesy of Suzy Min. Do not copy or redistribute.)
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.
In order for us to really see what weddings in different locations looked like we became stalkers of photographers’ blogs all over the world. During one of our routine stalking adventures I came across a company called Del Sol Photography located in the Riviera Maya. I fell in love with not only their photos but the photographers themselves. Whoa, what?? (It’s not as creepy as it sounds, I promise.)
Let me introduce you to Matt and Sol, the owners of Del Sol, the way I was introduced to them:
Yep, that’s right, I started following their blog just after they got engaged. So I got to read about their Mayan wedding and all the planning they did. How could you not love these two? *grin*
So, what drew us to Matt’s and Sol’s photos? 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.
Mrs. Sprinkle, Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 26, Preschool Teacher
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Television Production/WriterEngagement Date: December 24, 2008Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: The Marvimon HouseAbout Me: I'm a Bay Area native trying to create a life for myself (and my fiance, and our three cats!) in the vast city of Los Angeles. I love vegan red velvet cupcakes, pilates ,and mid-century furniture. Mr. Sprinkle and I met when my band toured through his city (we bonded over cake and a mutual love of Morrissey) and we are getting married on the four year anniversary of our first date. When I am not teaching preschool (or blogging!) you can find me perfecting recipes, petting kittens, hiking in Griffith Park, and overusing exclamation points. We are planning a vegan, green-as-possible, DIY wedding, and I couldn't be more excited to share all of the details!
Something lovely arrived at our home several weeks ago: 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.
You know the saying, “The harder you fall, the higher you bounce?”
Well, it’s particularly true at your wedding. Or, it was at ours, anyways.
After arriving at our venue and witnessing all the chaos caused by the rain, folks, I was majorly stressin’. But then the rain let up for a few minutes and our photographer wanted to do our first look.
And suddenly (Like magic?) I didn’t care about anything but seeing Mr Trail Mix. In fact, I realized that I was damn excited to see him! Seriously, the transformation was practically instantaneous. I let go of the worries and stress and once again, wedding day excitement reigned as I hurried out to meet my love.
*Thanks Kelly, for capturing this moment so beautifully. Be still, my heart…
Mr Trail Mix strikes a GQ pose while awaiting the onset of his beautiful (*wink) bride…
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).
I like my job. I really do. But sometimes I want to quit…and plan our wedding…full-time. Wouldn’t that be divine? If I didn’t have to have a job in order to do things like save for the wedding, or, oh, I don’t know…eat, I would love to have all day free to make calls to vendors, plan out the event timeline, make envelope liners or have an extra long workout to get in wedding day shape.
But alas, that’s not the case. I have a job. And I have to have a job. So, I continue to fit in wedding planning details late into the evening and jam pack my weekends with DIY projects. I’m using up a week’s vacation to go to Dallas next week for all my vendor appointments, and I will likely be tied to my Blackberry for much of the time since, much to my chagrin, the work doesn’t stop when I take days off. Ugh…. Read more…
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!
As promised, here’s my tutorial on making fancy dress hangers on the cheap. I found these simple wooden hangers at Jo-Ann’s in the clearance bin.
1. I started by choosing a font that I liked and printing out each name in that font. I used a font called LSLeaves. I believe I found it on www.1001freefonts.com.
2. Once the names were printed out I used a pencil to shade in the backside of each name paper.
3. Then I taped each name to a hanger and traced the name. The pencil on the back allowed me to transfer the name directly on to the hanger.
4. Using black paint and a small brush I painted the outline of each letter.
You can see my name paper above the hanger. Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
The night we met: Mr. Giraffe being his cool self, and me being my usual ridiculous self.
