Mrs. Elephant, Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 27, Financial Operations AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, IT Student/Store ManagerEngagement Date: March 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: The Tribute Golf ClubAbout Me: I'm a Philly native creating roots deep in the heart of Texas. I might be a little obsessed capturing those Kodak moments of anything and everything (mainly on vacations). I've become more of a gamer thanks to Mr. Elephant, who I met online and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with. We are planning a wedding based on our favorite colors, blue and green, with a travel theme for 150 of our closest friends and family. Hopefully our long (2-year) engagement won't kill me!
Our very first trip together was a road trip to San Antonio for Mr. E’s birthday in 2007. It was a special trip for us, which is why we will be heading back there for our minimoon after the wedding. During that trip I saw how much I had touched Mr. E’s life and knew how much he made my life better.
Our first full day started with a free breakfast at the hotel, followed by a cruise down the river.
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!
This is my favorite post, because, when I re-read it, it brings me right back to how happy and grateful I was feeling when I wrote it. Mr. Octopus was a truly amazing source of support during the year I spent in grad school, and this post I wrote for him came straight from my heart. Sometimes I let the little details and stresses of life get in the way of the big picture, but this post always helps me to focus on the big stuff: how much I love my husband.
~~~
Hive, I got myself a master’s degree today, and I’m pretty pumped about it. But this post is not about me. It’s about Mr. Octopus.
This year, I had the chance to pause my career and throw myself into an education that was incredibly challenging and immensely rewarding–a fulfillment of a dream, really–and I never, ever, ever could have done it without my fiance’s unconditional and fully-enthusiastic support.
I learned or re-confirmed a lot of things about my future husband in the past nine months. Mr. Octopus is the kind of man who: Read more…
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.
When I first discovered Weddingbee, I thought: I was born to do this. It sounds silly, but I had been blogging for about a year and loving it, and I was desperate to share my wedding journey with a larger audience. I loved all of the REAL advice and wedding insight available on Weddingbee, too. I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to help other brides and be helped. Naturally, I checked the website every day (morning and night) in absolute awe of the bees’ amazing wedding work, and hopeful to be like them one day.
I have to admit that when I first submitted my application, I was pretty confident. Cocky, really. I thought, “Why wouldn’t they pick me?” The only thing that worried me was that our wedding was planned for October at the time and that was subject to change, and as you know, applicants must be only 9 months from their wedding date.
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."
This is my phrase when I am met with wedding skepticism or nay-saying. I know that people don’t mean to be critical, but when something doesn’t mesh with their idea of a wedding, they seem to need to tell me. I numbed to it quickly and chose a default response: TRUST THE VISION.
I don’t mind hearing the opinions of others. In fact, I welcome opinions and often ask for them. It’s just that some things are already decided, so hearing an opinion after the decision has been made is annoying and even a little rude, in my opinion. People have launched into full-blown explanations of why round tables are better than banquet tables, why black suits aren’t the right choice, how they did thus-and-so for their own wedding…and it obviously worked out better.
I secretly felt like a brat for being so bothered by this. After almost a few months of being engaged, Mr. PD and I got in the car after visiting with people. The second he closed his door behind him, my fiance—the most laid-back, even-keeled dude I know—said:
“Do you have any idea why people have to tell us their opinions like they’re facts?” 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.
Etsy. We all love Etsy, don’t we? I know I, for one, can spend hours browsing Etsy every day. I did that before getting engaged, and now we have a wedding to plan, browsing Etsy might as well be my second job. It’s so easy to be pulled in to looking at gorgeous things you didn’t know you needed, that it can easily paralyze an indecisive bride. And, it can make the decisive ones start to wibble about decisions.
I can definitely be indecisive, I’m the first to admit it. It doesn’t matter when I’m just browsing willy-nilly, but now that I’m actually trying to buy things for the wedding it makes things very hard. I came up with a strategy that is super-simple, but helps me stay on track and not get distracted by the pretties. It’s not just for Etsy either—it really helps with narrowing down choices, if not making the final decision.
All you have to do is grab a Post-It, a piece of paper from the recycling bin, or open up a blank Word document. Write down what you’re deciding on. Now write down things that it needs to be—things you will not budge on. Now, when you get 20,000 items found for “wedding photographer [your city],” you can start going through and eliminating ones that don’t match your list. Our photographer list was:
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.
Have I mentioned how stoked I am that we’re bringing back all of these series? Here are some not-so-secret, but semi-embarrassing, random tidbits about moi.
I am fully prepared for a zombie apocalypse.
I’m not a huge horror fan, but for some reason, I loooooooove zombies movies. If a zombie apocalypse happened, I think I could totally survive it. As a matter of fact, I think I’d enjoy myself.
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.
I had big dreams of designing a wedding website from scratch, hopeful it’d turn out as unique and fabulous as Mrs. Pin Cushion’s site, but alas, my techy skills fled me yet again, and I was left searching the ho-hum templates found on The Knot, Wedding Wire, and Wedding Window. (No offense to brides using these sites—they’re fab for those who want a template to fill in!).
I started a trial over at Wedding Window, but as soon as I began uploading pictures, I got discouraged. Each picture I tried to add had to be a certain size to fit into the pre-set picture templates, and nothing was looking the way I imagined. Ugh.
Finally, around the one-year mark, I figured I better settle on something. For the life of me, I cannot remember how I stumbled upon it, but I found a wedding-website host that I had never heard of, and I loved it immediately: www.wedmedo.com.
Mrs. Cowboy Boot, Santa FeAge and Occupation: 25, Magazine EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Artist and Whitewater Rafting GuideEngagement Date: April 28th, 2008Wedding Date: October 2009Venue: Devil's Thumb Ranch, ColoradoAbout Me: I grew up in Los Angeles and have since lived in San Diego, Boston, Italy, Hawaii, New York City, and Santa Fe. I speak Italian and love pasta. My real passion is the outdoors, though. When I'm not at work, I'm snowboarding, hiking with my two dogs, mountain biking, surfing, cross-country-skiing, or boating New Mexico's rivers. Despite my boyish love for adventure, I'm a girly-girl at heart and am overly-excited to pull off the romantic, vintage-inspired, country wedding of my dreams.
I have two favorite posts that go hand-in-hand. My absolute favorite, number one post is from the morning of my wedding. It’s my “I’m getting married today!” post to the hive.
When I think back on that day, on being cuddled up in that big down blanket in the still of the morning, typing that post on the little silver keys of my BlackBerry, it brings me right back. I’ve never felt so much joy, so much happiness, so much fulfillment, and so much peace. It embodies what the day was about: our love, and not all of the lil’, stressful logistics or even the fun, but superficial, design details. I’ve never been so in-the-moment and that post is a great reminder of that tiny piece of time I had to myself so that I could reflect on the reason why we were there.
~~~
Dear Hive: Today’s the day! I am writing from my BlackBerry because my little, rustic (yet luxurious) cabin doesn’t have wireless. It’s a brisk 25 degrees out now, up here at 8300 feet in the mountains of Colorado, but the sun just crept over the peaks and is starting to defrost this little patch of earth and warm it to a comfortable 60 degrees.
I am sitting on the deck of my cabin, snuggled in a huge down comforter. Before me, the light stripes through the pines and makes the wheat-colored grass appear to be standing at attention. Beyond the stand of trees, there is a very still pond in a meadow, a forested hill beyond that, and a snow-capped 14,000 foot peak peering into the meadow. Birds are calling to each other in sweet chirps. 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!
I plonked down in front of my computer with coffee and bed-head to discover a message from our engagement photographer Nadine. The same tingle of electricity and excitement that you get on Christmas morning began to course through my body. She posted some teasers on her Facebook photography page and tease me they did. As you have probably guessed by now, much squealing ensued. Then, another message popped up saying she had them all uploaded to her proof site. Ahh, they were all ready! MORE squealing!
“Mr Waaaaaaaffllllllllle, come looooooook!”
“Can I get my cereal first?”
“Oh, OK.” I wanted to wait for him and look at them together, but I was beginning to get antsy pants like a 5 year old. They were just a click away and getting cereal seemed to take foreeeeeeeveeeeeer. What was he doing in there? Moving in slow-mo?
Finally, he sat down and I was able to breathe and sit still again. Nadine had pared them down to 45 shots and they were so great!
Some really spoke of our personalities… Read more…
Wedding BiosFeature Launched: September 12, 2008About: Wedding bios of real brides.
Mrs. Lamb, NorfolkAge and Occupation: 25, Homeland Security ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: January 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church/Harrison Opera HouseAbout Me: I’m a Homeland Security Consultant with a tendency towards pulling office pranks, taking lunch breaks, and drinking Wawa shakes. I’m also an English major with a serious obsession with alliteration and rhymes. While I’m not keeping America safe, I’m training for half marathons and the Escape from Alcatraz swim. Or moving for the third time this year. Or baking. Or wedding crafting. Or crying about wedding planning. All the while, I’m getting myself into Lucille Ball-esque scrapes and making Jim Carey-esque faces. Our big fat Czech/Baptist/Jewish/Italian wedding is a combination of vintage eclectic, DIY, and little spoonful of sugar from our Event Coordinator. It’s going to be a Norfolk flavored wedding with the verve of an only-daughter-blow-out bash!
You may have taken summer vacation to Williamsburg and been forced to appreciate colonial history, but the area has a ton to offer in the way of romance and activity for a honeymoon close to home. Here are my personal suggestions if you’re headed to the area for your honeymoon (or anniversary trip, or even babymoon trip?).
Stay downtown and enjoy the water views! Hop on the water taxi to explore downtown Portsmouth, or hop on the highway to enjoy any of the 7 cities in the area. We stayed there on our wedding night and received excellent service. Read more…
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!
So, Mr. Cardigan and I have less than 50 days until our wedding. No big deal. I’m totally calm.
Um…YEAH RIGHT.
I’m freaking out, convinced we don’t have enough time to complete everything. As a result, I’ve kicked it into wedding overdrive, and I’m knocking projects out left and right!
Here’s a quick peek at what I’ve been up to.
Our table numbers are officially 100% finished. I picked them up from Daddy Cardigan a few weeks ago (he had to finish sanding them and cutting the lines I couldn’t quite get), and I spent a few afternoons spray painting them. I think they turned out beautifully!
Mrs. Turtle, Central CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 21, Art Student/TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, English StudentEngagement Date: August 16, 2008Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Mr. Turtle's Grandparents' backyard, Arroyo Grande, CAAbout Me: I am a California girl who loves the beach and the mountains, but is quite satisfied living right in the middle where I can enjoy the best of both worlds. I am happiest when traveling to faraway places, wandering through museums, watching old movies, or baking up a storm. Mr. Turtle and I are high school sweethearts and fellow book nerds who both drive Mini Coopers and are most likely to be found browsing in antique stores. We're having so much fun planning our European garden wedding with a vintage twist and can't wait to share more of life's adventures together!
When I looked back through my many posts as a bee, I realized that a lot of them were pretty light-hearted, even borderline shallow. I was very tempted to choose either my Facebook awkwardness post or my macaron post as my favorite, because I had the most fun writing them, but instead, I choose this one! As shallow as being a bride can appear from the outside, planning your wedding is such a thought-provoking, personally challenging, profound experience. After our wedding, I found myself to be a changed person in so many ways. This stage of my life definitely forced me to establish a stronger sense of self. This post, “Struggles with Wedding Planning and a Search for Authenticity,” really captures the inner struggle I experienced during the journey of our engagement. Looking back, nearly a year later, I am thankful that rather than becoming weaker, marrying young has made me so much stronger! I feel proud that our wedding turned out to be such an authentic representation of who Mr. Turtle and I are and what we stand for as a couple.
~~~
Around the time we hit the six-months-before-the-wedding mark, I hit a total stumbling block with wedding planning. Wedding related tasks turned from a joy to a burden, from a happy distraction to a tiresome chore. All of the items on my to-do list suddenly seemed totally trivial, unnecessary, and even selfish. Whenever I started working on wedding stuff, I found myself thinking about all of the people in the world who don’t have food to eat or a roof over their heads, all of the people in my own town who have recently lost their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet. And then I would look at my to-do list and see things like: “Choose chairs and linen colors. Find cute shoes. Look for veil/hairpiece. Book bakery. etc., etc., etc.” These things just seemed so frivolous to me all of a sudden. Read more…
BeehiveFeature Launched: Aug 31, 2006About: A forum for readers to post questions and get feedback from the hive, aka the weddingbee community.
Candle favors! It seems that any theme, trend or type of candle favor you can dream up are available these days. We are loving the variety of them in our very own little favor shop, and the hive is very happy to announce that we are extending 10% off all favors through December 5.
