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.
When I first started the long, arduous task of trying to find a wedding dress, I was 100% anti-strapless. I wanted a sleeveless v-neck dress or maybe something with cap sleeves. Unfortunately, the dresses that looked best on my body were strapless. I finally found a dress I loved, and that was that.
But it was still strapless. And I’m just not a fan of my arms. Even when I was at my healthiest weight, my upper arms looked thick and heavy. They’re not terrible, but I’m insecure about them, and I don’t like the idea of them being exposed throughout the entire day.
There’s also that pesky tattoo that I still haven’t dealt with. Sigh.
The solution seemed obvious: I needed to find something to cover my shoulders.
Originally, after seeing some photos of fabulous brides wearing cardigans, I wanted to do the same:
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. Deviled Egg, PittsburghAge and Occupation: 27, Public RelationsFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, AccountingEngagement Date: December 24, 2007Wedding Date: May, 2009Blogging Since: October 21, 2008Venue: Historic auditorium and meeting hall in one of Pittsburgh's commuter citiesAbout Me: I am obsessed with all things crafty, especially scrapbooking, knitting, jewelry-making & cake decorating. I also love being an aunt, wrapping presents, watching football (Go Steelers!), shopping at yard sales and consignment stores, procrastinating, singing and learning to play the guitar. When it comes to wedding planning, I'm excited about working on DIY projects and finding creative ways to stay under budget. Of course, nothing is more exciting to me than knowing that the wonderful Mr. Deviled Egg will be my husband.
I love the post about making our wedding cake. It’s my favorite for two reasons. One being that I think making our cake was one of the most fun parts about planning our wedding, so sharing it with the hive was really exciting. The other reason is that I was overwhelmed by the support I received and all of the nice comments. I think the positive feedback was a huge push for my sister and I to confidently pursue a side business. (We’ve been very busy and have been doing cakes almost every weekend for the past 6 months.)
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Thanks to all of you who expressed support and encouragement when you commented on my post regarding making my own wedding cake. As a few mentioned (and I agree!), decorating fake tiers isn’t exactly the same as decorating a real cake, but I do think some skill is needed to make the real cake tier we are incorporating look the as close as possible to the fake tiers that are comprising the bulk of the cake.
With the wedding just over 2 months away, I thought it would be a good idea to try out the DIY cake decorating and see if we could produce a cake worthy of being the centerpiece of the wedding reception. 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!
Mrs. Poodle, Santiago, Chile/San Bernardino, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Industrial & Web DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Firefighter & Mountain PatrolEngagement Date: February 25, 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Mr. P's Grandparents’ RanchAbout Me: I’m a Chilean girl who's crazy about nature and swimming. I enjoy carving, drawing, reading and sewing; I drool over computers, fabric, pretty paper, purple and patterns. To me, chocolate should be one of the seven wonders, right next to lemon pie. I never thought an exchange work experience program was going to change my life forever, but while working in California, I met Mr. Poodle, and ever since my days are better and brighter. We are two goofy souls that, after finding each other, couldn’t help but want to be together forever. It has being a long and sometimes hard road, since we have to deal with such a long distance between us, but we are now facing the last stage of our Fiancé Visa, and soon we will be together. You know the best part? We will be married! So I’ll be blogging from Chile until just a few months before our “green and purple” wedding.
I know I already mentioned the fact that our wedding day was super cold and windy. Not that I want to complain—actually, I think the wind was on our side because we manage to get awesome wind shots. This post has some of my favorites!
I had such a blast with my girls taking pictures, laughing, and enjoying every second of it.
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 am going to protect the anonymity of the below-mentioned drama queen by omitting any detailed information. This was months and months ago, before I was even engaged. I will say that it was in a department store and involved bridal accessories and a random girl I was shopping near.
They did not have what she wanted. Homegirl freaked out—a red-in-the-face, berating-the-sales-associate freak-out.
I kept glancing over at her mother like, “Um, do you want to say something here? Have her breathe into a paper bag? Tranquilizer dart, maybe?” I have basically no maternal instincts, and even I wanted to grab this girl by the arm and say, “Young lady! That is quite enough!”
Nope! The mother wanted to add her own freak-out, complete with raised volume and finger pointing, to the already over-the-top freak-out. I was embarrassed for them, and after they left, the poor salesgirl ducked into the back room. When I saw her on my way out, her eyes were red, mascara long gone. Read more…
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’ve only been out of high school for six years, and I don’t think I’ve changed too much—though hopefully I’m a little less awkward.
As a teenage panther, I was already an indecisive overachiever. As in, I picked up a zillion hobbies and then dropped them immediately when I got bored. There were just a few that I stuck with.
I took private figure skating lessons for about five years. I was not good. I never had any desire to compete. I just liked skating around with my coach once a week. This picture isn’t from a lesson—obviously, I didn’t usually skate in jeans—but it’s the only one I have, since I never allowed my parents to stay and watch:
Weeeeee!
I also took guitar lessons for the majority of my high school career. I was a little better at this, but just not serious enough to ever get good.
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!
Mrs. Lovebird, New York/CancunAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentEngagement Date: September 22, 2006Wedding Date: July, 2008Venue: Dreams Cancun Resort & SpaAbout Me: Born and raised New Yorker planning a destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico. Got proposed to in Cancun, so it’s only fitting we are going back to get married. I love trivia, board games, bargain shopping, asian dramas and eating yummy food!
Our wedding invitations were truly a labor of love and a testament to the power of Weddingbee because I wouldn’t have even known about, let alone mustered up the courage to take on this project, without Weddingbee. The true credit goes out to my fellow Weddingbee bloggers who tackled the Gocco before me (too many to name, but special props to Penguin and Lemon).
You could say we were pretty ambitious to make our first Gocco project the actual invitations…but what can I say, I’m a crazy kinda gal. Luckily, I had amazing help, my super creative bridesmaid, Michelle and my friend, Mona. After months of Michelle emailing me invitation designs she made on Adobe Illustrator, we finally decided on one and met at her apartment one night in November to get down to business.
At first, we were totally intimidated. The instructions were simple, yet confusing. I don’t know how to explain it. I think we were all just scared. Read more…
Mrs. Jaguar, SydneyAge and Occupation: 27, Primary School TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Curzon HallAbout Me: I'm an Australian girl who is a self-proclaimed nerd, loves all things stationery and would be lost without books, music and the internet. Mr. Jaguar and I have been together for the past eight years and he finally popped the question last August. Hurrah! We currently live in Sydney, Australia with our adorable cat who thinks he's a person. We're a couple who likes to multi-task: we've been planning a wedding abroad, a permanent move from London to Sydney, and preparing to build our own home all at the same time. Travelling makes me giddy...as does Mr. Jaguar, of course!
I really want to find Mr. Jaguar novelty cuff links of some kind—I have ever since I walked into a tiny store off Portobello Road in London, where I saw hundreds of personalised cuff links sitting in a display window. I wish I wasn’t so responsible and that I’d just bought a pair then and there…but I restrained, thinking it was WAY too early to start buying wedding stuff then. HA!
Instead, like with most aspects of the wedding, I turned to the internet for more inspiration, and found so! many! options! These ones are fairly straight to the point:
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.
Mr. Jam and I have been living together (in sin, depending on who you talk to) for two-and-a-half years already. And in that time, we’ve created a real life together: we got a cat, a dog, and some mutual hobbies, and we bought a house, and filled it with a ton of really cool furniture…which also happens to be one of our mutual hobbies. Birds of a feather, baby.
Anyhoodle, all of this boils down to a few keywords: Responsibility. Finances. Growing up. Commitments.
Whether you have piles of monthly bills or are living under your parents’ roof, the first step in your life as newly engaged folks is to determine a reasonable budget and never, ever lose sight of it. The obvious rules apply: Only spend what you can afford to spend, and don’t go into debt for a wedding. 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 always said that I’d never plan an outdoor wedding because I didn’t want to be at the mercy of Mother Nature.
And then, when we started researching venues online, none of the indoor ones felt right for our wedding. We didn’t want to get married in a hotel, or a country club, or a banquet hall. We wanted to get married on the grass, under the sky.
Mrs. Pashmina, NYC/Catalina Island, CAAge and Occupation: 28, Arts EducationFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, IT AdministratorEngagement Date: April 26th, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Catalina Country Club, Catalina Island, CaliforniaAbout Me: I'm a laid-back Cali girl who moved to NYC for school, and ended up staying for love. My fiance is a quick-witted Jersey boy, a self-proclaimed Foodie and the funniest man I've ever met. Together we love exploring the city streets embarking on our next misadventure---and yes, this often involves eating off food carts and trying "the next big thing". I'm the girl in the sundress, snapping photos and collecting trinkets of memorabilia along the way. As a girly girl at heart, I am excited about our romantic natural island wedding incorporating our American & Filipino traditions.
I had a terrible, crazy time addressing our invitations. I tried to address all of them in one sitting, handwritten calligraphy and all. Please DO NOT do what I did. There was really no reason for the crunch. I ordered the envelopes separately, so even though I was waiting on our invitations, I had the envelopes to address for at least a two days ahead of time. But I didn’t think. Learn from me: When you rush, mistakes happen. But this is what happened…
I went over the invite list again and again in my head, on paper, and with Mr. P. All of the people were included. I went over the invites with Mr. Pash’s parents and my own parents to make sure everyone was on the list. I tried my best to ensure that everyone’s names were spelled correctly, and I stalked people on Facebook to make sure. I was pretty sure everyone was on our list and I even had the significant others’ names down.
But we left someone’s name off the list. No one caught it! No one…although, as the bride, I do take responsibility for it. Read more…
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.
Heheh. “Peony” kind of rhymes with “genie,” plus I really do dream of peonies, so it’s, uh, a double entendre, kind of. Anyway.
At the beginning of November, Mr. Panther and I spent a weekend in CT. I was dying to meet with our florist again, so we set up an appointment.
We knew who we’d use as a florist (De Vars-Phillips Florists & Antiques) pretty early on. My mom knows Bill through a mutual friend, and he told her he’d be “creative” with the price. That was enough to seal the deal. At the time, I didn’t know too much about floral design, and I kind of figured, “flowers are flowers, right?” I often joke that it’s easy to tell who picked what vendors because all the vendors chosen by my mom or Mr. Panther’s parents are friends (our reception band, ceremony musicians and potential cake baker are all friends of my FILs) and all the vendors chosen by Mr. Panther and me are Internet superstars. After a lot of research, I’m not going to lie—I started worrying that I’d never seen our florist mentioned on any wedding blogs.
After our first meeting last spring, I wasn’t totally convinced.
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!
And then the music began. If you can, play this Love Story meets Viva la Vida song by Jon Schmidt.
We chose Mr Hot Wings’ uncle D to be our Deputy Commissioner of Civil Marriage. A simple form to the County Registrar’s office and a $50 check meant he could officiate and sign our marriage certificate. Super easy. Almost too easy if you ask me, but it worked out great for us. He led the processional, and the Wingmen followed.
