chicagobride092010 DIYed her entire reception setup!
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Mrs. Cinnamon Bun, Calgary, AlbertaAge and Occupation: 26, Stage ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Theatre TechnicianEngagement Date: June 22, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Calgary Opera CentreAbout Me: I'm a life-long crafter and bookworm living in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Some of my loves include Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, knitting, opera, musicals, Etsy, baking, and of course, Mr. Cinnamon Buns. We're keeping our wedding close to home---the venue isn't very far from our house, and we live within walking distance of 6 bridal salons. I'm using the wedding as an excuse to try out every craft project I possibly can, with the endless help and support of my fiance.
Take this post with a grain of salt (or pepper—no one needs more salt in their diet!), as my wedding isn’t for another six months, but I felt like sharing some advice.
(Here’s the Cliff’s Notes version):
Complete List of Tips for a Successful DIY Wedding
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.
I bet every time I post, you think my entry titles couldn’t possibly get lamer. But I just keep surprising you, don’t I?
Back to business. So, I’ve been deep in the thick of making my save the dates for the past few weeks. First I designed ‘em, then I mocked ‘em up, then we hashed out a printing method, then we picked out colors from the corresponding Pantone guide (uncoated process, in this case), then we chose and ordered matching paper, and now, I’m just agonizing. I can’t order the actual printed portion until I get the printing samples from the company we’re using (Catprint, if all goes according to plan, and yes, I chose them because they like cats) and OUR ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS!
In the meantime, I’ve been cutting, cutting, cutting. I don’t want to reveal too much about them until they go out, but suffice it to say, my Cricut has a starring role in the production process. I took a break from Cricut-ing on Saturday to run to the post office, and I got some “deets,” as they say, about the postage for my precious beauties. As it turns out, the envelope size I chose—six-and-a-half inches, square—is the most expensive thing EVER to mail! Ready for this? 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.
I’ve discovered something interesting about myself while wedding planning: I am totally clueless about the whole damned thing. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve learned a lot about the whole shebang while browsing wedding blogs. I now am familiar with the world of out-of-town bags, manzanita branches, and handfastings—words and phrases that I’d never, ever heard before.
But there are still some things about which I remain completely clueless.
Mrs. Buttons, Clearwater, FLAge and Occupation: 24, "Working on it"Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Financial ServicesEngagement Date: June 13, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Carlouel Yacht ClubAbout Me: I'm a self proclaimed perfectionist and a professional nomad (seriously, I've lived in TX, WI, MI, FL, NC, and now VA!). I love wine, cooking, curling up with a good book (nerd alert!), spoiling the furbaby, and of course, the wonderful Mr. Buttons! We are planning a lighthearted and whimsical wedding (with a good deal of DIY projects) in Clearwater, Florida, but from a distance of 800 miles away! We are looking forward to sharing our day with our family and friends, and most importantly, starting our lives together as husband and wife!
Now that Mr. Buttons and I had spent a significant amount of time taking photos together, we thought it would be nice to add our bridal party into the mix!
Mr. Buttons and the groomsmen jumped on the elevator to take some manly photos…
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.
Bridesmaid K and Sister Meerkat decided to throw me a nontraditional bridal shower that totally suited my personality. They themed everything around Día de los Muertos, which translated, means Day of the Dead. Contrary to how the name sounds it is a VERY joyous celebration in Mexico where loved ones who have passed away are remembered with lots of great food and celebrating.
There were really only two things that Bridesmaid K and Sister Meerkat incorporated that were not part of a traditional Day of the Dead celebration: Halloween costumes and a piñata.
Here is Bridesmaids K as the cop, me as a hippie and Sister-In-Law Meerkat as one of the pink ladies from Grease.
Intrigued yet? Keep reading; you’re going to love this. Read more…
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.
After the last dance, our DOC quickly organized our guests outside for the grand exit. I knew I wanted a sparkler exit, but didn’t plan on actually having a “getaway” car. I figured we’d already spent money on two forms of special transportation (our trolley and horse carriage) and didn’t need anything else. We’d just take photos walking through the sparklers and that’s that.
But our groomsmen other plans.
We walked out of Savannah Station and immediately realized that something was up.
Mrs. Ribbons, Washington D.C./Bloomington, INAge and Occupation: 23, Research Associate for an international development firmFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Proposal Coordinator for contractor
Engagement Date: May 2, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Indiana Memorial UnionAbout Me: I'm an Indiana transplant living in DC with my fiance and our pretty kitty. I enjoy the color pink, I'm obsessed with the Dior New Look and tulle, and I heart my level 80 paladin. I'm a sucker for bad TV, literary theory, and cakes of all persuasion. I also happen to be marrying the cutest closet nerd around! It's all about Bloomington for us because it's where we met -- on the college paper. If there's a theme for our small summertime wedding, it's Dior meets Dorothy Draper on a lark in Bloomington; think poofy, plus graphic prints, bold colors, and a whole lot of prettiness.
I only have one pro picture recap left, but before that, I would like to get just a little pissypants.
Our photography contract was only for 5 hours. It was the smallest package and the most we could afford when we started planning. When I started going over the timeline of photos and the overall wedding, I realized, with the photographer’s suggestion of starting photos 2 hours prior to ceremony, that we would get no pictures of dancing at the reception. That wasn’t agreeable to us because we hired a really, really awesome DJ and I knew there would be a lot of dancing (and there was).
So I emailed our photographer the timeline, noting that the photography would end before dancing started and I’d probably want to add an hour. She replied that they weren’t super strict with time. I thought everything would be okay.
Well, at the reception, a mere 10 minutes before the DJ really started to play dance music, out photographer stopped at my table to let me know she was leaving. I had bride brain. I was in that haze, where everything was okay, so I said.. okay. Read more…
Mrs. Taco, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 29, writer/editorFiance's Age and Occupation: 37, editorEngagement Date: May 13, 2009Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: The Green Room at the War Memorial Veterans BuildingAbout Me: I like laughing and talking with good friends over good food and good drink, be it wine, cocktail, or brew. I write and edit things for fun and profit, but I rarely "write" these days without a keyboard and high-speed internets. Favorites include Mr. Taco, my Boston terrier, San Francisco, getting out of town, and the Roaring ’20s. I was kind-of planning a wedding since roughly 2006, when I discovered "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?" on the WE channel. I ran and didn't look back with a theme I called "urban vintage," and it culminated in the most magical day a taco could ask for.
We didn’t get many car honks on the girls’ half-mile walk from the hotel to the venue, heels in hand. Thanks a lot, driving public. (Mostly kidding.)
The tide turned once we got to the Green Room, which sits in a busy area on a major artery in town. Plenty of attention came our way from an open-air tourist bus and a bunch of camera-wielding pedestrians and car passengers. The bus line I use to get home, from which I’d stare out the window at our venue almost every day, honked at us, too, and the handful of people inside all waved. Our city bus system is notoriously wacky (to put it mildly), so this bizarro, friendly version of it made me laugh. Part of my vision included unrehearsed elements, but I hadn’t seriously considered footing it. Still, there was something very normal and obvious about me walking to my wedding, just like I walk to work every day in the same city.
It never rains in August, but our weather trends toward dull and foggy in summertime; some describe it like someone stuffed some cotton into a snow globe. And yet, we got sunshine. Weather win.
Here’s us, still separate at this point, on the way to meet up with each other. BIL/groomsman is in the background of the groom pic. All pics by Ashley Forrette and Gem Photo.
Congratulations to our winners, iswimibikeirun and Mrs. Buttons!
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It’s part two of three amazing giveaways from Picaboo! Today they’re giving away two Madison wedding albums to two lucky Weddingbee readers!
Picaboo allows brides to create their own one-of-a-kind, customized photo books using their easy-to-use bookmaking application. The Madison album is a truly special book for your wedding photos. Heavyweight, archival quality lay-flat pages are ideal for highlighting panoramic, two-page spreads, and the paper’s pearlescent sheen coating adds a luminous glow to your photos. The elegant custom cover features a photo of your choice under a protective laminate and a full-grain glove leather wrap around the spine and back cover is available in five colors.
To enter this contest, simply visit Picaboo’s wedding albums and let us know here in the comments which album style of theirs is your favorite. For a second chance to win, follow Weddingbee on Twitter and retweet this contest (if you’re already a follower, simply retweet by clicking here!). You have until Wednesday, November 10 at 11:59 PM PST to enter. Good luck!
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.
From the time dinner ended, there wasn’t a moment all night long that our fauxtobooth wasn’t packed. So I’ll give my tip early in this post: if you’re considering renting a photobooth, or making a quick and easy fauxtobooth, just do it!
Ours was the quick and easy fauxtobooth version, which I detailed constructing here. Basically I just wanted to use stuff I already had, so I used three garment racks from my closet, and sewed a few snaps on sheets that were draped over the top for the sides and background. We used my sister’s Mac, which has a photobooth program on it, and webcam, and just instructed our guests to download their photos from our wedding website the next day (we also printed out one of their photos and included them in our thank you cards).
And I must say, the fact that our booth wasn’t fancy at all (in fact, the garment racks got bumped all night, messing up the sheet background repeatedly, and the lights I provided weren’t quite set up right, giving a weird glare to the photos), or that we didn’t have the photos printed out on site, didn’t matter one bit to our guests. Read more…
Mrs. Lamb, NorfolkAge and Occupation: 25, Homeland Security ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: January 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church/Harrison Opera HouseAbout Me: I’m a Homeland Security Consultant with a tendency towards pulling office pranks, taking lunch breaks, and drinking Wawa shakes. I’m also an English major with a serious obsession with alliteration and rhymes. While I’m not keeping America safe, I’m training for half marathons and the Escape from Alcatraz swim. Or moving for the third time this year. Or baking. Or wedding crafting. Or crying about wedding planning. All the while, I’m getting myself into Lucille Ball-esque scrapes and making Jim Carey-esque faces. Our big fat Czech/Baptist/Jewish/Italian wedding is a combination of vintage eclectic, DIY, and little spoonful of sugar from our Event Coordinator. It’s going to be a Norfolk flavored wedding with the verve of an only-daughter-blow-out bash!
Cola and I both got the corn dog platter. This platter supposedly had 4 mini corn dogs on it. When the platters came out with 4 full-sized corn dogs EACH, we just about died. After reviving ourselves we talked shop about weddings with readers, hubbies, and relatives. Then us North Carolina gals tried to talk the Colas into moving to the East Coast! The mountains, the beaches, the history, the long summers, the baseball, the jobs, the affordable housing! Seriously, the state government should put us on their payroll because I think we were pretty convincing. After lunch we grabbed a quick picture overlooking the stadium. We couldn’t have coordinated our lovely autumnal sweaters even if we had tried!
Lovely reader, mcnetn3, Cola and Lamb - Photograph by Mr. Cola
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!
When we got back to Momma and Dad Socks’ house, we found THIS waiting for us:
Ahhh! BM Jess’ sister is a professional cake baker and she and Jess put this together for us! Jess saw my crush on this cake from this post months before, and filed it away in her “how to be an awesome bridesmaid” file. We were blown. away. by this cake.
We also saw lots of other little goodies waiting for us: 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!
Since we’re having a sit-down dinner as part of wedding, we’re going to need some tables for our guests/all the glorious food/a place to put our pretty flowers.Our venue, like many other venues, uses standard tables that will be covered with tablecloths.Even standard tables come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
1.Round
Classic and versatile, round tables come in many sizes and can seat different numbers of people.
