Mrs. Glasses, Tokyo/Los Angeles, CAAge and Occupation: 24, English teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, English teacherEngagement Date: September 2008Wedding Date: October 2010 Venue: Parents' backyardAbout Me: I’m an expat living in Tokyo. I’ve been in Japan for almost three years now, where I met my fantastic English fiance. It’s time to leave Japan, so we are planning a fun, intimate, backyard ceremony back home in the suburbs of L.A. in October. Our wedding will be a mix of my love for food, beer, my Japanese culture, and Mr. G’s Englishness. We are on a tiny budget and DIYing almost everything!
There’s not much to say about me in high school. I was rather unremarkable. I was in a few clubs but for the most part I blended in to the crowd. I was a little weird and awkward, but not in a I’m-different-and-proud kind of way.
For the most part, my besties and I kept to ourselves. I was all about my part-time job, shopping, going to the movies and the beach with my girlfriends. I had crushes and a few dates, but nothing ever panned out and I went my whole high school career without a boyfriend. I wasn’t too interested in having a boyfriend; I just wanted to survive school. Read more…
Mrs. Cola, Mountain View, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Product Communications and PromotionsFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Managing Partner and Senior DesignerEngagement Date: March 5, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: The Mountain Terrace, Woodside, CAAbout Me: I’m a Washington State native, enjoying life in Silicon Valley California with my fiancé, our three kitties and one leopard gecko. I like reading wedding blogs, Photoshopping wedding design mock ups, making lists, and planning, planning, planning! I’m a bit of an anomaly, on one side I’m a very girlie girl, I collect shoes, I lay out my outfits 4-6 weeks in advance, and I’d never leave the house without my hair curled and makeup on. But on the other side, I’m a total tomboy, I love to go camping and hiking, play drinking games (hey, I’m Irish!) and most of my closest friends are guys. My fiancé and I are planning a DIY-focused wedding with a balance between easygoing (what he wants) and chic and stylish (what I want), and are tying it all together with elements in lavender, sage, butter cream and chocolate.
I thought I’d do a little recap on how our wedding registries worked out, since we had two “controversial” registries (in quotes because I really don’t feel like these are very controversial these days, although I’m sure others feel differently).
**First off, I would like to note that I know registries can sometimes be a heated topic, and I’m not writing this to start a debate. I just wanted to share what happened with our registries, and what worked for us may not be what will work for you. I’m well aware that you are never supposed to ask for gifts for your wedding. However, the fact remains that some guests like to give gifts, and like to know what the couple would like to receive, so I’m in the pro-registry camp. I’ve always used registries for weddings I’ve attended, and I enjoy knowing I’m gifting something the couple will actually use.**
Our first registry was with Amazon.com. Read more…
Mrs. Starfish, Boston/NewportAge and Occupation: 25, Operations AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, SalesEngagement Date: October 8, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: The Atlantic Beach ClubAbout Me: I'm a perfectionist who is a planner at heart. I don't do well with surprises. I love planning, crafting, Newport RI, family and friends, and most importantly, Mr. Starfish---all of which will be big components in our October wedding in our favorite little city by the sea.
Mr. Starfish and I both come from families with our own holiday traditions. For the past six years, we’ve enjoyed sharing these with each other, but we never actually started our own. Now that we are officially a family, we decided it is time to create some Starfish family traditions.
Mrs. Octopus, Boston, MA/Pittsburgh, PAAge and Occupation: 25, Grad StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Graphics Operator for TV NewsEngagement Date: May 6th, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heinz Chapel Ceremony, Museum Reception
About Me: When my best friend dragged me to a toga party in our freshmen year of college, I was not expecting to meet my future husband; but seven years later, here we are. I'm a crazy-organized planner at heart, and I am a great lover of random trivia, books, chocolate, blogs, new and exciting adventures, mockumentary-style television, and anything heavily flavored with bright orange fake cheese powder. We're planning a festive and fun mini-destination wedding in the place where we met: fabulous Pittsburgh, PA! I can't wait to marry the man I love!
The pre-processional began with Groomsman/Brother Adam escorting Grandma Octopus up the aisle. This is another of my very, very favorite photos, because of how lovingly my brother is looking at our grandmother.
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!
Ah, the wedding-dress search. I was so sure in my heart that I wanted to buy a Pattis dress from a store in town called Unbridaled. I had never tried it on, but I was a smitten kitten with Gaelan.
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.
The Jam story began in early 2006, when my college friend’s boyfriend was supposed to come visit her. Unfortunately, her roommate also planned on having an obscene number of visitors that same weekend, so my friend’s boyfriend decided to spend his weekend visiting his best friend (enter Mr. Jam into this insane mix) at a different college two hours away.
Are you confuzzled? I know, it’s so weird. But it gets better.
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.
After I started getting frustrated with my search for wedding flowers, I put the feelers out on Facebook and asked if anyone could recommend a good, reliable, creative, and affordable florist. I know so many people who have been married in or near Philly recently that I figured at least one of my friends would be able to recommend someone.
Well, I did get several suggestions from local friends, but the suggestion that ended up being the best was one from a friend of mine who lives in Oklahoma! T was one of my best friends in high school but we haven’t seen each other in about ten years. We reconnected through Facebook a few years back.
Well, T sent me a private message to let me know that not only is her aunt a wedding florist, but her mother is now a wedding planner! I was really excited to hear this, because the more I thought about it, the more I longed for a Day-Of Coordinator. It wasn’t in the cards or in the budget, but I figured I could speak to T’s mom to see if she could put together a simple a la carte package that we would afford. And when I spoke to her, she said she’d figure out a way to fit into the budget. After all, I spent practically every day at her house after school in the early ’90s!
When I finally met with T’s aunt and mother, I could feel everything falling into place. Read more…
Mrs. Locket, Ithaca, NYAge and Occupation: 25, Research TechnicianFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, former Banker hoping to become an Officer of the LawEngagement Date: June 15, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heron Hill WineryAbout Me: I am a little bit of everything all rolled into one: A girly gal with rough edges---I love to get dolled up just as much as I enjoy throwing on some sneaks to toss a ball with Mr. Locket. My love for crafting and creating is quite apparent and I've been referred to as a Wonder Woman/Martha Stewart/Stepford Wife hybrid (yup, I'll take that as a compliment). I adore sewing, photography, sculpture, good eats (mmm tapas), baking, snugging and oh, pretty much everything in between (there's not much I dislike). I am super excited to be planning our vineyard wedding and couldn't be happier to be marrying Mr. Locket. We are a quirky, fun-loving couple residing in our college town with our two pups Maple and Molly. We love to go on hikes, visit our local dog park and to bask in the beauty of many of the local falls and gorges. We are an indecisive pair, but together we somehow manage to make up our minds (it's the easy stuff that's tricky).
Before I start back in on my wedding recaps, I thought it might be fun to join in on this bee series…
How did I find Weddingbee?
Like many other brides before me (or like many of you ladies in the waiting boards), I found the ‘Bee pre-proposal. No, I wasn’t already planning my future wedding, or looking for ideas and inspiration, I was looking for answers. Answers to why my then boyfriend, Mr. Locket, had openly purchased an engagement ring for me, but was taking forever to pop the question. It was quite the frustrating time in my life because I couldn’t share my frustrations with anyone. Mr. L made a point to tell everyone and their mother that he had bought the ring and that a proposal was in the works. The downside to him telling everyone was that I had to keep mum. I couldn’t inform my sister, my mom, or even my best friend about what he had done (even though they already knew) because he wanted everyone to believe I would be surprised when it happened. Well, to make a long story short he found a way to propose on his own time with a completely different ring. From that point on I couldn’t get enough of the ‘Bee. I began searching all the lovely DIY projects and became inspired by the bees that shared their planning process and their weddings.
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!
Hive! Last night, I logged into Facebook and saw quite possibly the best Facebook status of all time. Don’t believe me? Well, see for yourself! (all screenshots taken at various times from Facebook.com)
A FB status referring to me and Mr. Giraffe?! (Naturally I had to comment and mention how excited I am.) What could it be? And the fridge… could we be talking about a magnet here? It looks like it… Read more…
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.
I have a treat for you guys today—pics from my parents’ wedding almost 23 years ago! Over the last few weeks my family and I cleared out some of the stuff that has been in storage while we lived overseas. One of the most fun things we found was my parents’ wedding album. I have heard a lot about their wedding, but this was the first time I actually got to see all the photos from 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."
After hours of hunting the Internet, I had exactly zero light-bulb moments. No—a-ha!—that’s what I want. Since my taste in dresses is fairly…old fashioned, nothing that sells as a bridesmaids dress these days really sang to me. Except this one:
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!
After all that picture taking, we finally had a free moment to rest before the civil ceremony. Mama Hot Wings needed more camera time, so I smiled and posed for the camera. Doesn’t she look happy?
Guests started arriving and taking their seats. We had no seating arrangement. Aside from a few reserved seats, it was a free-for-all, first come first serve seating arrangement. We didn’t care if people sat on the groom’s or the bride’s side. Read more…
Mrs. Cinnamon Bun, Calgary, AlbertaAge and Occupation: 26, Stage ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Theatre TechnicianEngagement Date: June 22, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Calgary Opera CentreAbout Me: I'm a life-long crafter and bookworm living in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Some of my loves include Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, knitting, opera, musicals, Etsy, baking, and of course, Mr. Cinnamon Buns. We're keeping our wedding close to home---the venue isn't very far from our house, and we live within walking distance of 6 bridal salons. I'm using the wedding as an excuse to try out every craft project I possibly can, with the endless help and support of my fiance.
We decided that we wanted to send out save the dates, as a lot of people we are inviting are not from around here. We met with a little opposition from Cinnamum, who said that all the relatives and family friends on my side of the family already know about the wedding and that a card that wasn’t an invitation would confuse some of my older relatives. I can’t remember Cinnamon Buns’s mum saying anything directly against the idea, but she also said that most people on that side of the family knew already. Cinnamum has suggested a few times that if we did want to go along with this crazy idea, wouldn’t e-mail work? Her suggestions were to design something on the computer and e-mail it, or make one physical card, take a photo of it, and then send that attached to an e-mail.
We might not be the most traditional people, and we are definitely computer and gadget people, but we both still want to send out something tangible in the mail. Something people can stick to their fridge or bulletin board (or in the recycling bin, I suppose). To show our love of books, and to continue with what is rapidly becoming a book-themed wedding, there is this one:
Mrs. Husky, DenverAge and Occupation: 26, Systems AdministratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Mechanical Engineer, recently laid offEngagement Date: August 14, 2009Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: Rancho San CarlosAbout Me: I am planning a quirky-crafty wedding with my recently out-of-work fiancé for a (fingers crossed!) warm October afternoon. We are two self-professed nerds with an affinity for all things outdoors---be it rain, snow or shine. Recently relocated from the drizzly Northwest, we're enjoying the many sun-soaked days in the mile high city. Our day will be filled with both of our large families and friends, a self-served Cajun feast, and a Zydeco-style jazz band rocking beneath the beams of a historic red barn.
My alarm went off at 7AM Saturday morning. The girls would be arriving for beautification around 8, and though I had written my letter to Mr. Husky, I still needed to pen the final copy on some nice paper. Even as I finished up the letter, my eyes brimmed with emotion. This was it! Today was the day I would marry the man even my dreams had never dreamed of.
As I’m sure you’ll soon realize, Mr. H and I decided not to have a photographer with us as we got ready, for a couple of reasons. For one, I felt the morning of the wedding would be a very special time with my closest friends and family. It felt like a very intimate event, and the thought of having the photographer there didn’t quite feel comfortable to me. Read more…
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All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
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