We’ve got a great giveaway in store for you guys today. Online custom t-shirt company Fibers.com is giving away a $200 credit voucher to its online shop! With your voucher, you can create custom t-shirts for your bridal party (and yourself!).
Fibers.com is an innovative website that gives brides and grooms the opportunity to design and order custom t-shirts, tank tops, undergarments, and a variety of other clothing items for the wedding party. Using their revolutionary design tool, you can create bachelor or bachelorette t-shirts, wedding party t-shirts, “Just Married” t-shirts, and more! From editing text and changing the image design colors to resizing images and switching around elements, the capabilities for creating a truly unique and beautiful design to commemorate your wedding day are endless. Check out all of their wedding t-shirts here!
You have two chances to win this contest. To enter, visit the Fibers.com wedding shop and return to this post to tell us what your favorite product in the shop is! 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!). Then come back here and let us know that you followed/retweeted. You have until November 5, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST to enter. Good luck!
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.
I’ve been really nervous about writing recaps of our wedding because I don’t want to break it. The whole thing was so magical and important and special that part of me has been afraid some of that will be lost if I let it out in to the world. But then two things happened: first, we had some friends over and played a slide show of our wedding, and it was so moving for everyone that I just felt better afterward. Nothing was lost. And second, I started really following some of the other bees’ recaps, and I am just loving following their weddings. Really, it is kind of amazing (/weird?) how warm and fuzzy reading some of those recaps makes me. So, with the hope that putting all of this out into the world increases the general warm fuzziness, I’m going for it.
We had lots of big plans a month or two before our wedding about how things would go. You guys, things did not go remotely the way Seahorse-in-May thought they would. We were going to have a nice rehearsal the day before, a big group dinner with all of our out of town guests, and then go home to our apartment and get ready there in the morning. Did I already mention that’s not what happened? 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.
Holy crap. Half of our super long-ass engagement is over. Time to get the lead out and finally design our save the dates!
A few months back, I commissioned a custom portrait from Etsy seller NanLawson. I wasn’t sure how we’d use the portrait in our wedding, but I assumed that I’d figure it out somehow. And I realized that it was absolutely perfect for our STDs.
So I futzed around in Photoshop a bit, and here’s what I came up with. (Please don’t mind the quality; when I resized the high-res image to fit into the blog, it went a bit fuzzy.)
Mrs. Earrings, Fresno, CA/ Nelson, New ZealandAge and Occupation: 20, Student, Wannabe Writer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 19, Photography StudentEngagement Date: February 14, 2010Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Gardens of the WorldAbout 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.
Preferably all of the above. I’m a sap at heart and I have always loved photos of the groom reading a note from his bride before he goes to meet her, especially when they catch an expression like this:
Who is that reading a card from his lovely almost-wife? Why, Mr. Scissors!
Mr E and I have a long tradition of leaving each other notes, so it stands to reason that we continue that tradition on our wedding day.
I haven’t decided yet if I will buy him a special card for me to write in, or if I will keep to our usual style of scribbling on a torn-out piece of notepaper, but in keeping with yesterday’s post and my recent obsession with pretty paper bits on Etsy, I found some sweet (and some funny) cards that are possible contenders for Mr E’s wedding day note.
This one, because it is oh-so-adorable: Read more…
Mrs. Prairie Dog, Cincinnati
Age and Occupation: 24, Program CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, PhD/Biomedical EngineerEngagement Date: December 18, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Glendale LyceumAbout Me: I'm a pilgrim soul of a girl with a house full of books and a coffee addiction that could slay Juan Valdez. My life is a whirl of grammar correction, good music, glue-gunning, and two pets named Hazel and Winston Churchill. I'm marrying my high school boyfriend in a formal-ish spring affair, roughly themed: "Elizabeth Bennet crashes a party co-hosted by Jay Gatsby and Cath Kidston, and loves it."
I was a little surprised to find that Mr. PD had designed a ring himself. I always knew he would take great care in picking out a ring—he devotes a lot of thought to all major decisions. But he’s not exactly the “design” type, nor is he “artsy.” Turns out—you don’t need to be.
Like many women, the first ring that ever really stunned me was Lady Legacy:
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!
As I mentioned a few days ago, now that our wedding is over, I’m not so interested in weddings anymore. I am, however, significantly more interested in them than I was before we planned our wedding…if that makes any sense at all. And I’m strangely compelled to continue blabbing about them. So I probably will.
But I must admit, I am interested in very different aspects of weddings than I was when I started planning 15 months ago.
Now that I’ve been released from my (self-imposed) crafting prison, I am mostly interested in weddings because they tell a story of two people, two families, two communities coming together. And I LOVE a good story. Read more…
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.
Mrs. Zebra, Providence, RIAge and Occupation: 24 Marketing/Costume DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26 Management/Firefighter Engagement Date: December 12, 2008Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The Providence BiltmoreAbout 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.
Sing to the tune of Britney Spears’ Womanizer (that video is probably NSFW)
Skin don’t try to front I I know just how dry you are are are
Skin don’t try to front I I know just how dry you are are are
You, you need some moisture
You, I got your moisture
You just need a bit of
Winterizer
Just like Brit and her boy toy, my skin and I live in two different worlds—summer and winter. Last winter I noticed a change in my skin. My face particularly became really dry and I spent the season with a flaky face. Read more…
Mrs. French Bulldog, Orange CountyAge and Occupation: 28, Administrative Assistant & Interior Design StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Purchasing AnalystEngagement Date: November 8, 2008Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: Bernardo WineryAbout Me: I've lived in Atlanta, Dallas and Laguna Niguel; although I've lived in Orange County, CA most my life, I'm a Southerner at heart. I work full time for a Commercial General Contractor (aka my father) and I go to school for Interior Design at night. I love modern design, music, wine, crafting, DMailing, my family, my Westies, and of course, Mr Frenchie! Mr Frenchie and I met 3 years ago on Match.com and have been best friends ever since. I love his "old soul" and how he laughs with his whole body, among many other things. We are planning our summer wedding at the winery near his hometown, just 45 minutes south of Orange County.
With everyone gathered in the same location happily eating cake we decided it was time to toss some stuff. For the garter toss, Mr Frenchie chose the Pink Panther theme song by Henry Mancini.
Mr Frenchie is a big Henry Mancini fan and the Pink Panther album was one of the first CDs he gave to me. We thought it was a great garter toss song without being too trashy. 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 get so excited when I head to the mailbox and see a package! I shouldn’t be that surprised because I have been ordering things left and right for this wedding, but it’s so exciting to see something other than bills and junk mail.
The latest package came all the way from Hong Kong!
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. 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.
Mr. Panther and I still aren’t sure if we’ll have flower girls. And if we do, they probably will be too old to wear something like this, but MAN. If I could give birth to a three-year-old girl just so someone could wear this in my wedding, I would do it. Is that weird?
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!
OK team, I know we’ve already talked about Illustrator a bit, but it seems like a whole bunch of people around the hive have Photoshop as well, so we’re going to dive a little bit into that as well.
Today’s tip is perfect for beginners since it’s super super easy. We’re going to learn how to make those black and white, but not all the way, wedding photos. Umm, yeah, that’s totally the technical term. Like this:
Mrs. Lioness, AtlantaAge and Occupation: 25, Physical TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, AttorneyEngagement Date: August 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Anthony’s Fine DiningAbout 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!
One thing I’ve noticed about choosing vendors is that I’m very consistent with my priorities. Obviously, quality is important. I’m also really big on value for our dollar, since these newly-employed Lions have lots of student loans to pay off. But customer service trumps all. I would give up the highest quality if it meant I could deal with a competent and empathic human being. I would even sacrifice other parts of the budget to pay a little more for good service.
I can’t help it…it’s just the way I grew up. You see, Papa Lioness works for a large hotel chain and “teaches customer service for a living.” Just imagine the horror on a 14-year-old Lioness’ face as Papa Lioness scolded the Abercrombie employee, “When you say ’have a nice day,’ you should at least TRY to sound like you mean it!” It has been ingrained in my mind to avoid poor customer service as much as possible, no matter how enticing the quality or value may be. In the long run, what’s a little sacrifice for a little less stress? So far, we’ve chosen all of our vendors based on this motto. Everyone has been easy to communicate with and easy to get along with. Our cake tasting was no different.
In true Southern tradition, we decided on a groom’s cake. Read more…
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.
Since finding my dress, accessories are all I can think about. I’m a little gun shy, though. It’s hard not having my dress to try on with the accessories. Usually—I don’t know about you—I look at myself in the mirror in whatever I have on before I actually walk out the door. With the cost of hairpins and pearls being so high, I can’t afford to shop ’til I drop and later decide the set doesn’t go with my dress.
Now, I realize you STILL haven’t seen my gown. I suck. Sorry, I know. I’ve made you wait forever. But I still would like your help finding accessories.
See, I don’t know if I want something subtle and more traditional, like one of these sets:
I’m a sap at heart and I have always loved photos of the groom reading a note from his bride before he goes to meet her, especially when they catch an expression like this:
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
