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.
When it came to making our programmes, I had a simple scroll design in mind right from the beginning: a sheet of A4 cream paper printed on one side then rolled up and tied with a ribbon. These were my inspiration pics:
Megan is a cake genius! She took my inspiration photos and created two cakes (the wedding cake and a groom’s cake) that were beyond my highest expectations! I picked Nutmeg & Co after going to a ton of bakeries because her cake tasted the best BY FAR.
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).
Who would have thought that just four hours after posting my desperate plea yesterday, I would get a personal message that someone had not only found the tie at their local Macy’s, but had purchased it. Austin922…you are my new best friend.
I don’t know if I’ve said it enough, but I love Weddingbee! Seriously. This is the most awesome, supportive, helpful community I have ever been a part of.
That is all.
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.
That would be nervous Zebra laughter. Why would it be nervous Zebra laughter? Welp, because I’ve been hesitant to designate our wedding two colors. I just don’t get it. Why does a wedding have to be two colors …or any colors at all? Why do we assign our wedding a specific seat at the color table? I know, I know, it is so that the wedding looks cohesive. Here’s the deal though—not many people are going to notice. I can say right now with fair certainty that the heterosexual men at the wedding won’t know what color the napkins are. So…that’s 150 people I don’t have to worry about noticing the cohesiveness of the wedding. I jest.
Our wedding does have a color category which after taking a wrong turn on Google lane I realized was jewel toned. I had created a jewel toned wedding in the process of avoiding the color categorization process. I am not worrying too much about whether it is just the right shade of purple or not. I’m letting it take on its own life. I like mixing different bright colors, even if they are monochromatic bright colors.
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!
Walking back up the aisle is pretty fun! Look how much happier our wedding party looks compared to when they first walked down the aisle during the processional. This aisle is a serious adrenaline rush. Husband and wife y’all! Husband and wife!
Mrs. French Toast, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 29, Marketing & PRFiance's Age and Occupation: IT geek by day, self-proclaimed handyman by nightEngagement Date: October 2009Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Palm Event CenterAbout Me: I’m a city girl at heart who moved to the suburbs a year ago. Now I’m adjusting to life with a front lawn, nosy neighbors, cooking attempts, and making sure the garbage pail is pulled out on time every week! When I’m not traveling, Mr. FT and I enjoy marathon sessions of Law & Order: SVU, snowboarding, photography, spoiling our 3-year old yorkie-poodle Mokka and disagreeing over what music to listen to in the car. We’re planning a small winery wedding while incorporating some cultural elements into the day as a nod to our Chinese backgrounds.
Once the photo shoot was done and Mokka was tired of humping, it was time to start on the time-consuming design of the STD card. While I knew how the layout was going to look, we had to play around with colors, sizing, and fonts until the STD was to both Mr. French Toast’s and my liking.
Here is the first round, welcomed by unenthusiastic applause:
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!
There’s a possibility that not everyone has finished their shopping yet (as shown by Future Little Sister in Law Lizzy asking me what Mr. G wanted last night), and I was thinking about how after you get engaged, couples often start to get a gift that goes to both of them, rather than just getting individual gifts.
It’s actually kind of awesome because you feel all part of a unit and grown up and stuff. (Feeling grown up is optional, by the way.)
As a long engagement bride, I’m officially approaching my second Christmas as an engaged lady. If you’re looking for a good gift idea for yourself, or anyone else in the midst of wedding/planning/craziness/whatarewedoing, here are some things I got last Christmas that I’ve gotten a lot of use of out of the last year.
Picture frames! Mr. Giraffe & I received a very nice one last year from our friend Justin. It’s very fancy so I’ve put it in the wedding pile for a future wedding photo, but it was just about the sweetest gesture ever and I seriously cannot wait to use it. Read more…
Mrs. Waffle, AustinAge and Occupation: 31, Costumer/ArtistFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, AnimatorEngagement Date: July 27, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Hummingbird HouseAbout Me: My life is pretty much spent in a sea of fabric, paint, sequins and drama. When I’m not working, I play on a trivia team, take Broadway dance classes, read, buy shoes, and occasionally geek out on video games. I am an American girl who loves all things British and Mr. Waffle is a Brit who loves all things American...I guess it was meant to be!
Recently, I had mentioned how not excited, inspiration-less, and bleh I was feeling about the whole invitation shebang. Well, bees, I had a breakthrough. My “aha moment” descended upon me in the middle of The Paper Place.
It all started with a 5 × 7 Envelopments pocket-fold envelope. Here’s an example for your viewing pleasure.
Mrs. Cardigan, AustinAge and Occupation: 21, Student/Soon-to-be Special Education TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 20, Student/Soon-to-be Accounting Systems AnalystEngagement Date: August 16, 2009Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Vintage VillasAbout Me: I'm a native Austinite who was raised as a die-hard Aggie. Luckily, I'm a pretty persuasive girl because I managed to convince my high school boyfriend (now fiance!), Mr. Cardigan, to ditch his hardcore Longhorn ways and join me up at A&M, where we currently reside with our adorable dogs, Cullen & Ranger. We're currently planning a bright, cheery wedding with a ridiculous amount of DIY projects that I can't wait to tackle! I love crafting in any form, reading, and margaritas (I think I love them the most!). Organization is what keeps me sane and I love helping others, which is probably why I ended up as an education major. It gets a little chaotic sometimes when you're planning a wedding among all of the papers, projects, finals, and certification exams, but we're having the time of our lives and we can't wait to get started on our journey as husband and wife - and we're so excited to share our wedding with the hive!
Y’all, I don’t have much time to chat right now, because I’m in the middle of packing like a crazy person. We leave tomorrow for Austin and won’t be back until AFTER the honeymoon, which means I’m not only packing for the next two weeks in Austin, but also for our entire honeymoon! Eep!
But, I just had to pop in really quick and share this amaaaaaazing find that I stumbled on the other day in Hobby Lobby for, get this, $3!
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. Jam, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 25, Writer/Associate Wedding CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Structural EngineerEngagement Date: December 23, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Hunter’s Ridge, Princeton, ILAbout Me: I’m a penny-pinching cat lady getting ready to marry the frugal dog lover of my dreams. Our ideal Saturday morning includes rummaging around people’s junk at garage and estate sales followed by an afternoon date to our favorite café, where we only eat sandwiches that include the word “salad.” We actually love it so much, it’s sort of our unofficial wedding theme: Look at our delicious finds, eat homemade ham salad, and celebrate our love…barndance style. When we’re not obsessing over our love-fest shindig, we’re planning themed parties for our best friends and jamming to '90s music.
Yesterday I was sort of damning the fact that Mr. Jam and I didn’t plan too much in the year we’ve been engaged, and now with just months to go, we’ll likely be busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.
However, however, however. I woke up singing a different tune today. Because in that year since we’ve been engaged, our lives have changed, our ideas have changed, and our taste in weddings has (so drastically) changed.
Mrs. Tartlet, Rochester, MIAge and Occupation: Age & Occupation: 27, Post-Doctoral Research FellowFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Medical StudentEngagement Date: May 2, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: The Royal Park HotelAbout Me: I'm an exuberant gal from the Midwest with a penchant for Neuroscience and anything sparkly. I'm not afraid to poke fun at myself, and I'm a believer that given the right pair of shoes, a girl can conquer the world. While an interest in the sciences threw Mr. Tartlet and me together (again, and again, until it finally stuck), we share a love for many things---food, video games, car dancing, food, bad puns, travel, did I mention food?---that ultimately led us to where we are now, less than five months from becoming Mr. and Mrs. We're planning a laid-back, romantic, garden-inspired affair with organic and quirky touches that reflect our love for the unexpected!
“Often while traveling with a camera we arrive just as the sun slips over the horizon of a moment, too late to expose film, only time enough to expose our hearts.”
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!
We woke up before the sun. I’m positive I wouldn’t have even been able to sleep without the previous night’s Cabernet nightcap. Once again, the weather was shaping up to be amazing and the news stations began their segments on the 10-10-10 wedding rush—it was so fun to be in on it!
Mr. Barrettes prepared for his gentlemen’s golf day and I scurried around packing our overstuffed suitcases in order to check out of that hotel and into our room at Avia. We had an early breakfast date at Marie Callender’s.* I love going out for breakfast when its still dark outside—you just know the day ahead of you is going to be long and fun. At 7:30 we headed to the golf course and pulled onto the road to this familiar Napa sighting:
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."
We are not good at taking pictures. Really not good. Like ultimate Chandler Bing syndrome—a camera comes out, and we’re wincing, squinty, dorky messes. I look at most pictures of myself, and I’m like EW TELL ME I DON’T REALLY LOOK LIKE THAT. We don’t even have pictures of any of the cool scenic places we’ve been because we’re too awkward to ask a stranger for the favor.
Predictably, 99% of the pictures of us are completely unacceptable by any standard. Awkward self-portraits? THAT we can handle.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
