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!
Alternate blog title: Is 5 months enough time to learn to walk in heels?
Yep, I want to talk about shoes for a little while. I’ve avoided mentioning them the whole time I’ve been blogging, mainly because I hadn’t purchased a pair yet and had a few strict rules in mind for said purchase. Those rules included:
They had to be affordable—the cheaper the better.
They had to be a heel that wasn’t sky high.
They had to be at least marginally comfortable: enough to make it through a long Catholic ceremony and time spent standing for photographs.
They had to be grey, silver, or ivory and preferably with a peep-toe.
If you’re wondering why I had to give myself guidelines for something as simple as buying a pair of shoes for the wedding, you’re well within reason. Truth is, I’m not a big heel wearer.
Mrs. Biscuit, Morgantown, WVAge and Occupation: 24, Dental StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Chemist at a pharmaceutical companyEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: July 2011Venue: Catholic Church, Lakeview Golf Resort and SpaAbout Me: I'm an engineer who decided to trek back to my hometown three years ago to become skilled in the arts of drilling and filling. I'm engaged to a pretty awesome guy who tests your assorted benzodiazepines by day and home brews by night. Together we have two fur children, Tsali and Tobias N. Fünkat. I'm a lazy perfectionist and eternal sorority girl who enjoys running, crafting, string cheese, good beer, and bad reality TV. We are planning a Big Fat Italian/Sicilian/Polish wedding filled with DIY details and are expecting 300 +/- 50 guests. Our whimsical summer affair is themed "Alice attends the Mad Hatter Vintage Garden Tea Party in a Ballroom. She Thinks That The Venue is Odd for a Vintage Garden Party, but is Tripping on LSD, so She Doesn't Really Care." Yes, I am the Dickens of themes.
I have a confession to make. I’m not really a fan of those big, giant, generic table numbers that many venues allow you to use. I knew from the beginning of planning that I wanted something a little cooler. At first, I thought I could use the idea of the Mad Hatter’s hat and put the table numbers IN the hat…
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
Last we left off, the scene was set, we’d wrapped up our pre-wedding photos, and guests had started to trickle in for our 5 PM ceremony. I retreated back to the bridal room to get ready. I reapplied my lip gloss and perfume…
…and then Mama Jelly helped me put on my veil. My veil was my “something old,” and had a very special story behind it, which you can read about here. As luck would have it, the veil matched my dress perfectly.
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
So today we’ll cover our last two stops of the wedding-dress-shopping tour—partly because not much happened at one of the shops, and partly because I don’t want your eyes to glaze over.
Mrs. M and I grabbed a quick snack and headed to the next shop. By this time we were running consistently early. The next stop didn’t look like much from the outside but was beyond cute inside. They took us early, and the consultant was so sweet. We wandered around looking at dresses while the consultant pulled some of her own choices. After about five or so dresses, we had narrowed it down to these:
Meet Francesca by Sophia Tolli. I just love when the dresses have actual names. (Source)
Mrs. Bacon, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 26, Digital Advertising ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, IT Client ServicesEngagement Date: June 17, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Ravenswood Billboard FactoryAbout Me: I'm a Midwestern girl that can't seem to commit to staying in one place for too long and is constantly daydreaming about my next adventure. I am an aspiring foodie with a weak spot for the unusual and I love semi-reality food television. My other loves easily include laughing as a form of exercise, a book that I can't put down, summer baseball games, espresso with whipped cream, couch potato days and nights with the ridiculous Mr. Bacon, and our two kitties, Lincoln and Sawyer. We're planning a faux-destination wedding for 150 of our closest friends and family in the city we've both adopted as home that has a modern, yet whimsical twist and as many personal touches as we can manage.
I think just about every little girl thought about her wedding growing up; whether she’s a tomboy, a princess, or a brainiac, she’s probably thought of it at least once. Maybe the tomboy mused about the upset of wearing sneakers with her wedding dress, or maybe she even wanted to forgo the dress altogether to wear a pair of pants. The princess imagined the fairytale wedding that only Disney can truly capture, complete with a tiara and a horse-drawn carriage. The brainiac imaged walking down the aisle in a library on her dad’s arm to marry the smartest boy she’d ever met.
Hive, please meet the young Miss Bacon, circa 1987.
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.
Well, let me back up. First, I need to explain that I’ve made a lot of minor wedding-related decisions without Mr. S’ input. It’s not that I don’t want his input—but he honestly just doesn’t care or doesn’t have an opinion about most of the little things. He cares a lot about the big stuff (venue, food, music), but details? Newp. In the beginning, we had a lot of conversations like this:
Me: “Which fabric do you like better for the table overlays?”
Him: “Either one is fine. Whatever you like.”
Me: “Should I refinish this antique box for our card box, or should I just buy a cheap birdcage?”
Him: “I don’t care. Whatever you want.” Read more…
Mrs. Eggs Benedict, SeattleAge and Occupation: 29, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, AttorneyEngagement Date: December 5, 2009Wedding Date: February 2011Venue: IslandWoodAbout Me: I'm a Northwest girl who spends my time goofing around with Mr. Eggs Benedict and our dog, hiking, traveling, drinking wine and planning a wedding that will showcase the best of what the Pacific Northwest has to offer. I also love photography, beating Mr. Eggs Bene at Mario Kart, and watching the most ridiculous natural disaster flicks you can think of (seriously, how can you deny the awesomeness that is The Core or 2012?? That's right, you can't). We are planning our weekend wedding adventure at an environmental educational center, and I can't wait for the fun to begin!
One of the best parts about the wine shower was getting to hear the stories behind the wines that each of my friends gifted me.
See, Marie included tags (in our wedding colors—love that girl!) with the shower invitations and asked everyone to attach them to a bottle or two of wine. She requested that people use the tags to write what the story was behind the wine—why the wine was meaningful. It was so much fun to read through the stories and see why people chose the wines they picked. The gifts included one wine that a friend overindulged with on her birthday (it also happens to be one of my favorite whites) and a great sparkling wine that we were instructed to open on a random Tuesday.
The label reads “Don’t wait for a special occasion to pop open the bubbles—drink up on a random Tuesday and make any week better!”
Mrs. Hot Cocoa, Boston/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 31, JD/PhD StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Medical StudentEngagement Date: May 30, 2008Wedding Date: March, 2009Blogging Since: April, 2008Venue: Ritz Carlton, Marina Del ReyAbout Me:
I am a professional student by day and an amateur cupcake taster, bargain shopper, and wedding planner by night. I am obsessed with NPR, the Food Network, paper, dance shows, Anthropologie, post-structuralist theory, Weddingbee!, "The Office," and celebrity gossip. When not procrastinating from my dissertation, I spend time catering to Jellyby, our overly anxious shih tzu, and getting to know Mr. Hot Cocoa. We have only been dating for fifteen years, so it's like I'm in love with a stranger! From the East Coast, we are planning a Jewish-Chinese Extravaganza in L.A., where we both grew up.
I’ve often thought I’d make a good cartoon: I have a cartoonish face (big eyes, smushy nose, buck teeth) and a cartoonish life (I swear an anvil* nearly dropped on my head the other day), and I’ve got all types of silly schemes I am looking forward to implementing against an evil nemesis.
* Ok, it was a hammer, but close enough.
But since Tom already has Jerry, and Jem the Misfits, I have to satisfy my desire for an illustrated life elsewhere. Our friend’s sister, Dina Kantor, made me this sweet illustration based on our favorite wedding photo after I fell in love with the whimsical illustration and photography work on her blog and website.
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.
We decided early on we weren’t doing favors. Most of our guests planned to spend the night or weekend in Newport and I went a little crazy on the O.O.T. bags. A few things happened during our planning, like unemployment and the purchase of our first home. We needed to save somewhere, so favors and unnecessary details were cut.
As time got closer, I felt like we might have cut too much. Read more…
Mrs. Lioness, AtlantaAge and Occupation: 25, Physical TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, AttorneyEngagement Date: August 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Anthony’s Fine DiningAbout Me: I’m a Southern girl with New England roots. I say "wicked" and "y’all" in the same sentence and I like to drink sweet tea with my lobster. Mr. Lion and I are both former Floridians now living in Atlanta, which fortunately is still SEC country...Go Gators! We both love baseball, coffee, traveling, cooking, and playing Words with Friends with each other on our iPhones all day long. I’m very passionate about the things and the people I love, and I tend to plan things with all of my heart...our wedding, of course, is no different! Oh, and also Mr. Lion is a first generation American of Cuban descent. I may look more like Lucy than Ricky, but I’m doing my best to incorporate some Latin elements into our vintage-garden-Southern wedding!
Since all of our guests should have received their invitations by now, I figured this would be a good time to share them with you! But first, let’s backtrack a little. Our invitations journey began months ago when Sister Lioness designed them for us after scouring the internet for inspiration. Then, we bought a lot of paper at Paper Source, the same way we did for our Save the Dates. It took a while to assemble everything, but we were pretty psyched with how they turned out!
The front of the envelope included a wrap-around label in our wedding colors: Read more…
Mrs. Hermit Crab, New York, NYAge and Occupation: 24, Youth Director soon to be Grad StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Medical Student - soon to be Surgery ResidentEngagement Date: October 11, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: New York Botanical GardenAbout Me: I love all things food, books, our furbaby, Rashi, and adventures with my amazing fiance (oh, and saving the world!). This summer I will not only be a bride, but a bridesmaid, officiant, and attendee as well---it's all about weddings in my life right now, full of so many exciting moments and projects. We're planning a fab New York City wedding weekend full of family, love and lots of color!
Mrs. Biscuit, Morgantown, WVAge and Occupation: 24, Dental StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Chemist at a pharmaceutical companyEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: July 2011Venue: Catholic Church, Lakeview Golf Resort and SpaAbout Me: I'm an engineer who decided to trek back to my hometown three years ago to become skilled in the arts of drilling and filling. I'm engaged to a pretty awesome guy who tests your assorted benzodiazepines by day and home brews by night. Together we have two fur children, Tsali and Tobias N. Fünkat. I'm a lazy perfectionist and eternal sorority girl who enjoys running, crafting, string cheese, good beer, and bad reality TV. We are planning a Big Fat Italian/Sicilian/Polish wedding filled with DIY details and are expecting 300 +/- 50 guests. Our whimsical summer affair is themed "Alice attends the Mad Hatter Vintage Garden Tea Party in a Ballroom. She Thinks That The Venue is Odd for a Vintage Garden Party, but is Tripping on LSD, so She Doesn't Really Care." Yes, I am the Dickens of themes.
Today, I wanted to talk a little bit about finding a venue. This was pretty difficult for me. Before I was officially engaged, I had my heart set on getting married at Fallingwater, a home designed by the awesome architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.
Miss Oatmeal, Fresno, CAAge and Occupation: 25, Medical Device Sales RepresentativeFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Police Officer/Captain in the US ArmyEngagement Date: February 16, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Private Residence, FresnoAbout Me: I am a toast-loving, list-making, occasionally crazy California girl getting dangerously close to marrying her crime-fighting, patient, man's man fiancé. I’ve never left our hometown of Clovis, CA, I love Anthropologie so much it almost hurts, appreciate promptness, love that our 4lb. Chihuahua, Murphy, smells like Fritos, am irritated by windshield wipers that move too fast for the amount of rain, love me some cold weather, have an unhealthy obsession with boots, and wholeheartedly think that my family is everything. Mr. Oatmeal is, oddly enough, my brother's best friend. He's also the best thing that's ever happened to me, and together we are planning a vintage chic, backyard, spring wedding with a few nontraditional touches while trying to keep up with our crazy lives.
Have I mentioned that my better half is a police officer? As if that weren’t enough, he’s also a captain in the US Army. And I’d like to clarify something here: when I say “my better half,” I truly mean that. Mr. Oatmeal is a kind, patient, decent, even-tempered man. I, on the other hand, am impatient about nearly everything; my emotions are more like a ping pong ball than I’d like to admit, I am the worst version of myself when I’m driving, and I am known to be quite direct, blunt, and some may say inconsiderate in situations. But Mr. Oatmeal brings out the better qualities in me and makes me want to be more like him. Seriously.
By saying yes to Mr. Oatmeal when he proposed, I also said yes to a life as a police officer’s wife. Even though we have lived through a year-long deployment to Iraq in 2007 and 2008, I didn’t quite understand what came along with my new role as a police spouse. And then I got it, I truly understood, on February 25, 2010…nine days after I said yes to Mr. Oatmeal’s big question. Two good, decent officers worked their final shift, and we all experienced tragedy that day. I now live with a fear that a lot of spouses don’t understand.
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
