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 finally ordered a pair of shoes for the wedding. FINALLY.
For whatever reason, I’ve put off this task until the very last minute. I’ve always known I wanted to wear flats, but what brand, what color, and what type has all been a complete mystery!
I really wish I would have started shopping for shoes a lot sooner, too! I feel like I’m down to the wire and grabbing for anything. I have NO IDEA what shoes to wear…and is anyone else bothered by how much a pair of flats can cost? Sheesh!
The shoes I really, really wanted are too expensive. Seriously, they are SO cute and SO perfect for our wedding, but they’re SO expensive! I’m a girlie girl, don’t get me wrong, and I love shoes (and I did say I’d spend $500 on chairs), but the truth is that it’s just not in the budget! Boo!
They’re so pretty, though. I have to indulge myself one more time. They’re such gorgeous butterfly peep toes:
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.
I mean, pants are a totally cool wedding-attire option for people of any gender. But let’s face it: I was going for the dress. So I have decided it’s time to start the story of my dress shopping.
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.
9 months ago I started creating mock-ups for the invites.
6 months ago I printed the invites.
4 months ago I embossed the invites.
3 months ago I flipped out and tried to avoid the invites.
1 month ago I got off of my ass and made the final push to finish the invites.
I worked around the clock for 3 weeks, all for the night I am about to show you. I came out on the other side with a few new TV show obsessions and a major crush on Dr. Drew. Oh Doc Drew, you always know the right things to say. Fix ME! He’s everywhere isn’t he? Helping Teens and Addicts alike.
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!
Now that you have seen the team work that put together the invites, how about seeing the invites themselves?
Here is the envelope that stood out among the normal junk mail in mailboxes of our guests (or so we hoped). Visualize the King and Queen of Hearts stamps on the envelope. On the first trip to the post office to ask the amount it would cost to mail these, I was told 88 cents. The second time around I was told it would be 81 cents. I opted to be safe with the two 44 cent stamps…plus, they were cute!
Mrs. Lace, Pasadena, CAAge and Occupation: 29, Elementary school teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, EngineerEngagement Date: September 6, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Orange County Performing Arts CenterAbout Me: Born and raised in Southern California, my fiance and I are marrying in Orange County. We're planning a vintage wedding with a modern twist. I am an elementary school teacher by day and a wedding planner by night. I love reading, blogging, scrapbooking, trying out new DIY projects, buying awesome finds at incredible deals and spending time with friends and family. Trying new restaurants, traveling and shopping also top my hobby list. I'm anxious to share my wedding ideas and planning with the hive!
In many Chinese-American weddings, brides change into a traditional Chinese dress called a qi pao (pronounced chi-pow). First off, it’s a beautiful, but unforgiving dress. Here are a few images I found on the web:
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."
Celebrity marriages have had a bad time of it in the past few months, haven’t they?
Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds, kaput after two years of marriage.
Christina Aguilera and Jordan Bratman, after five years and one baby.
Eva Longoria and Tony Parker, who I always thought seemed so solid.
And oh man—Sandra Bullock’s divorce earlier this year? I hated that her beautiful face was splashed all over magazine covers. Though I imagine it must feel nice to know that the whole country loves and supports you, I can’t imagine having my personal pain used for profit. (I mean, have you seenNotting Hill?)
I’m sure it’s really hard to be a married celebrity. 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!
Am I the only one who doesn’t think that a wedding needs a theme? I mean, isn’t the theme getting married? Now I guess our wedding has a theme in the sense that it’s a woodsy winter wedding. But I feel like that came about really organically and not via any hard soul-searching on our parts. I mean, we’re getting married in the woods in February. Done.
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!
So since booking our church way back in April of last year, I’ve pretty much done nothing in terms of our ceremony. That’s a trifle worrying when you think about it, considering that is what the wedding is all about—the actual MARRIAGE and all, but that’s just the way it’s been. We’ve been overseas, it’s been too far out to do anything, and all of the paperwork we needed to fill out was located here in Australia.
Moving right along…we actually did something today: we went and met with our priest and started the paperwork that comes along with getting married in a Commonwealth country. If you can remember way back when I showed you our church location, I mentioned that Mr. Jaguar has a first cousin who will be officiating our wedding ceremony; I’ll call him Cousin Priest from now on to make it easier. Well, we met with him after work today, and wow, I feel like a major weight has been lifted from my shoulders. It’s good to actually know things are in progress, you know?
Congratulations to our winners, MCC919, flurrsprite, Caribee, iswimibikeirun, and Panda Pez!
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With its lush scenery and endless activities for entertainment and relaxation, it’s no wonder Hawaii is one of the top honeymoon destinations among newlyweds! Today we’re giving away 5 copies of Fodor’s brand new 2011 Hawaii guide!
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.
The week leading up to the wedding there were a couple surprises. The biggest came Friday night after our rehearsal dinner.
The night was winding down. We originally planned to see our favorite band, Those Guys, at a local bar, but Mr. S and I decided to be good and go to bed early. We stopped by Starfish Mom’s suite and the bridesmaids were there, so we hung out for a bit.
Then there were two huge blue explosions outside of the window and…the room went dark.
The entire block lost power the night before the wedding.
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.
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.
This might be the first item to be added to the I have to have this list. Unfortunately for me, these earrings were found at J. Crew long ago and are not available on their website anymore. And unfortunately for reality, I still have to find them somehow.
Mrs. Pancakes, New York/Costa RicaAge and Occupation: 26, Law School StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Latin American Policy AnalystEngagement Date: March 12, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Casa Punto de VistaAbout Me: I’m a perfectionist with a big heart. I love a good laugh and firmly believe no one has ever regretted being prepared! My motto is “go big or go home.” I am incapable of doing anything in moderation, especially when it comes to shopping, TV, food and travel, and some would say wedding planning! The other half of this nearlywed team is a laid-back, adventure-loving, accident prone, sweetie from LA. He makes me laugh, is always down for an impromptu dance party, and totally indulges most of my hare-brained schemes. Now, in my final year of law school, we’ll be spending the spring abroad in Amsterdam and planning a DIY, whimsical, detail-filled destination wedding in Costa Rica!
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).
After agreeing on just about everything for the wedding to this point, King Hippo recently put the kibosh on one of my brilliant ideas. Boo!
See, we’ve been on the hunt for a recessional song for a while now. I was wanting something upbeat and fun with feel good lyrics. After much searching, I came up with (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher. That’s not what we disagreed on. In fact, the mister agreed to that selection pretty quickly so all was good. But then my creative brain starting churning and I thought, “How can we make our wedding even more memorable and unique?” This, my friends, is where we ran into trouble.
After listening to the song over and over again, I realized that it would be awesome to have it performed live by a group instead of just playing the recorded version. I imagined a group of singers hidden for the entire ceremony but emerging just for the final song, serenading the crowd as we recessed up the aisle as man and wife, followed by our bridal party. But not just any group of singers. A gospel choir! Kinda like this:
Oh, don’t fool yourself, the Hippos most certainly are not on an unlimited wedding budget.
