Weddingbee Blog

I think I read every single Bee’s Life post before I applied to write for Weddingbee. I’m so excited to write my own! Here goes:

How did I find Weddingbee?

Shortly after getting engaged, a recently married co-worker suggesting I check out Weddingbee. She said of all the wedding websites, Weddingbee was her favorite as it followed real brides on real budgets. I had never heard of the website, but checked it out and was immediately hooked. I browsed the boards a bit, but mostly followed along as the bee bloggers chronicled their wedding planning. I was definitely more of the lurker, reading along regularly but rarely commenting.

My Application Story

I started a blog a couple of years ago when I first moved to New York City, mostly to keep my friends back in Dallas in the loop on my adventures. At some point, my life got less adventurous (and busier) so my blogging stopped. Reading Weddingbee made me think that I might enjoy blogging again, and with an event planning background, I figured I might be able to help other brides along the way. There weren’t any 30-something bees blogging at the time I applied, and I really felt like that was a voice that was missing in the hive.

My biggest concern before applying was privacy. When I first mentioned the idea to King Hippo and told him about my paranoia with the whole privacy thing he said, “I think it’s fine, just so long as you don’t mention anything about the wedding, like when you’re getting married or where, like what city or anything like that. Oh, and don’t post any pictures of us.” Ummmm…clearly he didn’t follow Weddingbee! I sent a PM to a couple of bees that I had followed closely (shout out Mrs. Frozen Yogurt and Mrs. Swan!) to get their thoughts on privacy, who both assured me that they hadn’t had any issues and were just careful to not show their full names on their posts. With that reassurance, King Hippo was on board and I started a blog specifically to apply for Weddingbee.

I sent off my application a couple of weeks later, assuming that I would get rejected. I know! So negative, right?! I knew that there were a lot of applications for just a few slots and that many bees had applied multiple times before getting accepted, so I wasn’t optimistic. I kept blogging during the waiting process just like the application said, and 12 days later (not that I was counting!), I got the welcome e-mail from Pengy while I was sitting in the dentist’s chair. Take that, filling!

What it’s like blogging for Weddingbee

Blogging for Weddingbee is definitely a time commitment, but I have loved every minute of it. It’s awesome to have a community to share ideas with and get feedback from without having to talk wedding all day long to everyone I know! I love getting comments on my posts, and it really does feel good when I hear that something I’ve written has helped out another bride. Weddingbee is a huge, amazing support system, and I am so thankful that I am a part of it!

Blogging on the ’bee has definitely helped me stay on track with my wedding plans, which is an outcome I never expected when I applied. When I need something to blog about, all I have to do is cross something off my to do list! I work a ton of hours, so it’s been challenging enough to just plan a wedding. Planning a wedding and blogging about it along the way is another whole level of commitment, so if you are considering applying to be a bee, really consider if you have the time to devote to blogging 3 to 4 times a week. I try to blog even more frequently when I can, but it can really be hard to balance it all.

For me, blogging about our wedding planning has been a really special way to document this time in my life that I won’t be able to repeat again. Even if you don’t apply to blog for the ’bee, I would highly recommend blogging about the process for yourself.

This whole experience has been amazing and has really inspired me to think about what I will do once my time as a bee is over—what will I blog about? How will I get my wedding fix? I’m definitely open to suggestions!