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.
Rewind: Several months prior, a friend got me a spa treatment at a fancyschmancy hotel in SF. Old-me thankfully saved it for wedding weekend, because I needed it. I headed straight there after a short day at work on Thursday for some mega-exfoliating and moisturizing. As texts and calls started erasing my post-spa relaxation, I took a minute to chill on the balcony at the hotel. Glorious alone time! The antenna tower is one of our landmarks. So’s the fog.
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.
Like many bees before me (Pengy, Mrs. Dachshund, Mrs. Duckling, Mrs. Argyle, etc.), I am officially Cricut crazy. I cannot wait another MINUTE to get my hands on one! For those who are not familiar, a Cricut is an electronic die-cutting machine. It’s like a printer, except instead of printing things with ink, it cuts them out with a bunch of digitally controlled blades. It’s meant to be a cartridge-based system—you buy cartridges (like old school video games!) that contain a bunch of shapes, letters, and/or designs, and then use the machine’s controls to choose a size and such.
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. Hot Wings, Chicago/San DiegoAge and Occupation: 28, ProfessorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, InstructorEngagement Date: December 20, 2008Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Ocean View Villas/Jasmine Seafood RestaurantAbout Me: I am a psychology grad student living in Chicago and planning my wedding to a fellow psych grad student. I am a Sunny So-Cal bred gal who trudged across the country to follow her love of psychology and ended up finding a partner in the process. I am overly passionate about anything I involve myself with. I am an activist, a foodie, a reality TV watching junkie, an over-analyzer, a photography obsesser, and am utterly cheesy to the core. This is a story of what happens when a boy and a girl meet, fall in love over academic dorkiness, and a shared love for life. We (mostly I) are planning our semi-destination wedding in my hometown of San Diego. We are excited to bring our families and friends together from across our lifespans to celebrate our future in a grand 400+ person culturally blended affair!
Those red boxes that Mr Hot Wings’ cousins brought into our tea ceremony contained gifts for my family. Traditionally, the groom’s family brings over gifts such as wine, tea, cakes, fruit, betel, roast pig, and/or areca nuts. Recall that I did not want to feel as if I was being bought with these gifts. Instead, I thought it more appropriate that these gifts represented Mr Hot Wings’ family sharing their culture and family traditions with my family. 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 I started perusing wedding forums and blogs on a daily basis, one thing that’s surprised me is how fancy rehearsal dinners have become.
I’ve only been in two wedding parties, and both of them were over 10 years ago. But one rehearsal dinner was a crab-boil party at the groom’s parents’ house, and the other was in a private room of a bar where we had things like chicken fingers and domestic draft beer. Both of them were a lot of fun.
Now, though, I’m seeing things that I can’t believe. Brides are wearing $400 cocktail dresses to their rehearsal dinners! Creating Gocco invitations to send out! Reserving four-star restaurants!
I’m not judging. I think a fancy rehearsal dinner sounds like a lot of fun, and I would enjoy attending one.
But you bet your ass I’m not throwing one!
I want the night before the wedding to be as stress free as possible. I want everyone to meet and mingle—our parents have met several times, but nobody else in our families has. I want everyone to eat and drink and relax because the next day is going to be a doozy. And I want it to be as cheap as possible.
So, here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re going to go back to our house after the rehearsal at Bartram’s. We’re going to order the Naked Burrito Bar from Qdoba, which is only ten bucks per person or so.
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."
Well hey, hive! Delighted to (internet) meet you. Weddingbee and I had our meet cute during my stint as an MOH, and I’m happy to share my humble documentation of stumbling toward the altar. Thanks for having me during the caffeine-addled frenzy that is my life in wedding planning.
I’m supposed to start out by telling everyone why I chose Prairie Dog, right? How I am like a prairie dog or something? Well, here is my lofty, metaphorical reason: I’m smitten with the icon. She’s got mad curves and her heart in her hand—that’s my kind of gal.
When I told my fiance he’d be referred to as Mr. Prairie Dog, he was like…that’s awkward. So I said maybe I’d call him Almanzo “Manly” Wilder instead and then proceeded to cackle like a banshee at my own hilarious joke. He shook his head at me while I recovered from my solo giggle fit, and then said, “I have no idea who that is.” Luckily, he loves me for my lame book jokes and how heartily I laugh at myself.
I met my future mister on a roof at volunteer camp the summer before my junior year of high school. Sometimes I still think to myself, “great job, sixteen year-old me. Your hair was regrettable, but you knew what you were doing.” Read more…
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).
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 stole this idea right off of the Weddingbee DIY secion! The photo had been in my inspiration folder long before I became a bee, but didn’t become reality until 2 weeks before the wedding.
A family friend of Mr. B’s owns a winery in Mendocino County and was kind enough to donate the corks for this project.
I hot glued 2 corks together and tied a 10″ purple satin ribbon around the pair. 250 corks later, those babies looked like this:
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!
Bridesmaid GF came to visit this week, and in addition to drinking extra-strong mojitos and watching three straight hours of Say Yes to the Dress, we also visited Bella Bridesmaid to check out the top bridesmaids dress contenders.
Due to the great styles, colors, fabric, and price point, it looks like the Cheetah Girls will be dressed in Priscilla of Boston dresses in crinkle chiffon.The very lovely Bridesmaid GF models some of the options below:
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!
Well, it’s that time. Time to wrap up my recaps with our big exit. I polled the hive to help me decide between my scooter and Mr. SD’s mud-hoggin’ Suzuki Samuri. Well, the hive has spoken!
My mom made the adorable little sign on her Cricut, and laminated it just in case of rain. That icky rope is a remnant from our earlier preparations, where we literally had to rope off between each huge support beam to keep annoying soccer families out. When I say these people were rude, I mean, they were RUDE!
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, so we’ve covered dotted lines and glyphs. What’s next? Well, today’s tip is an easy one (hooray), but I thought some beginners might not be so sure how to do it. Get ready to make some zig-zag and wavy lines!
Again, all screenshots come from Illustrator CS4. I seriously plan on updating to CS5 soon! Also, the screenshots all come from a Mac, but things should be comparable to a PC. (Just substitute “control” for “command” on a Mac.)
1) Open a new document (Key command: command + n).
2) Create whatever shape you want to use a zig-zag or wavy line with. You could use the pen tool (key command: p) to make a line, the pencil (key command:n) to make a more organic line; you could make a rectangle (key command: m), or a circle (key command: l). Basically, just make whatever you want, but it has to have a stroke around it.
For this, I just made a circle, but I gave it a stroke weight of 5 pt so it’d be easy for you guys to see.
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.
Hooray, I finally came up with a concept for naming the tables! Sort of. I mean, kind of. Anyway. I’ve been trying to come up with something cool but not cutesy for naming the tables. I wouldn’t die if I had to just use numbers like a normal person, but I thought it’d be cool to add in a little something extra.
So, as I’ve mentioned, I’m totally cliché and love the idea of incorporating birds into the decor in some way. I don’t want an entirely bird-themed wedding or anything, but I’d like to throw some in where possible. And since there are lots of kinds of birds, I thought naming each table after a different kind of bird would be fun.
But how to execute it? Just writing out the name of the bird would be boring. I thought about using rubber stamps, but how the hell was I going to find stamps of 22 different birds? Black and white printed illustrations like this might be an option:
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.
Who would have thought that a girl who’s tried on more than 50 dresses at more than 10 bridal salons in Northern Virginia—the girl who cried dress 1,000 times—would find “the one” after trying less than 5 gowns at Kleinfeld? I’m still shocked I didn’t try on more, but there was just no need to! Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
