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!
I love the colored-shoe trend. (Yes, that is one trend I’m totally on board with!) Mainly because it’s one trend that won’t cost me more money—if anything, I’ll be saving money because I can wear these again, unlike a pair of white or ivory heels which, let’s face it, would only be worn on my wedding day.
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!
I have to thank a hometown bribe for the completion of our invites. Mom, Dad, Brother E, Mr. E, and I spent a morning putting together our wedding invites and then were treated (by Mama E) to Philly cheesesteaks for lunch.
Yum!
I can’t thank my family and Mr. E enough for pulling together to knock these off in less than 2 hours. The majority of the cutting and gluing was completed by yours truly prior to this session, but being able to finish these with so much help was a load off of my shoulders.
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 I released the STDs (*snicker*) into the mail. You should know that it was a big farking deal for me. You should also know that I put an odd amount of work into the envelopes the invites were mailed in. You know, those things people tear off and then throw away? Yes, those. Here’s a story of how that happened.
A friend got totally excited when I showed her the STDs (*snort*) and said we should stamp up the envelopes. She drew pictures, and her eyes were all bright and excited. It was really hard to resist. Better yet, she offered to help! I was smitten and in an instant I totally gave in and said we should do it. I went and purchased stamps. I was all a-twitter.
Then I forgot all about it. It wasn’t time to mail them. I wasn’t ready to send them out. I was busy herding other details. I could come up with five more excuses if you give me enough time…
Right. So then it came time to send these bad boys out. And I knew the stamping situation had to be addressed and handled. I was so sure it would be easy. I mean, positive. Luckily not so positive that I didn’t do a test run. Using the STD (*giggle*) envelope as a template, I cut a fake one out of card stock. Then I stamped what I thought would look nice.
Obviously I did not smudge the mock-up. This was done to protect the innocent. Mainly the friends whose address I remembered off the top of my head.
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. Buttons, Clearwater, FLAge and Occupation: 24, "Working on it"Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Financial ServicesEngagement Date: June 13, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Carlouel Yacht ClubAbout Me: I'm a self proclaimed perfectionist and a professional nomad (seriously, I've lived in TX, WI, MI, FL, NC, and now VA!). I love wine, cooking, curling up with a good book (nerd alert!), spoiling the furbaby, and of course, the wonderful Mr. Buttons! We are planning a lighthearted and whimsical wedding (with a good deal of DIY projects) in Clearwater, Florida, but from a distance of 800 miles away! We are looking forward to sharing our day with our family and friends, and most importantly, starting our lives together as husband and wife!
Woo hoo! We were married! It was time to make our way back down the aisle. As we did so, the song Love by Matt White started playing as our recessional.
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.
I have received a few requests to see the little piece of loveliness that has made its home on my left hand, so now I’m delivering.
Mr. Oatmeal and I went ring shopping just once at the beginning of 2010. We went to three different jewelers in town and I tried on oodles and oodles of gorgeous rings. He knew I’d be pretty picky about what I wanted, so this was just what worked best for us. I had it narrowed down to two different settings, and they couldn’t have been more different! The decision was left up to him and he knew that I’d be ecstatic with either. He, of course, chose the center diamond himself and did a lovely job!
The ring he proposed with (if we’re being honest, here) was the one I really had my heart set on. And here it is.
Isn’t it lovely? Here are a few things that I adore about it:
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.
So, here’s the thing about our ceremony: as it stands right now, it’s going to be short. And I mean short.
Our good friend will be officiating for us, and Mr. S and I drafted a ceremony script that we’ve sent to him to review and revise. I read the whole thing out loud—slowly—to time it, and it took less than four minutes. We’re having a totally secular ceremony, so there isn’t even a prayer or blessing to fill the time.
When we first decided to create our ceremony, we agreed that a brief one would be best. But as it happens, our definitions of brief differ. I think that fifteen minutes is a perfect time. It’s not long, but we can have some really meaningful, special stuff going on in that short time. Mr. S, however, was totally cool with having a four minute ceremony.
I tried to talk him into having a reading or two, but he wasn’t into it. I also wanted to write our own vows, but when I first brought this up to Mr. S, he vetoed that as well. He was a writing major in college, so I was surprised that he didn’t want to write his vows, but I have the sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t the writing of the vows, but the reciting of the vows, that was freaking him out. My guy is a shy one.
Over Christmas, Mr. S’ mother tried, without any prodding from me, to convince us to write our own vows. 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.
As my 12 days of sequestration draw to a close, I’m feeling unfortunately unaccomplished. I had really hoped to finish a project while I was stuck at home, and it just didn’t happen. And you know why? It’s because I’m insanely picky and won’t settle for anything less than the exact vision in my head. You guys saw it with my last post, about my inability to find the perfect footed bowl. I just can’t bring myself to settle for anything less than what I consider perfect, and it is KILLING me!
One of the projects that I deemed tackle-able for this week was table numbers. My original plan was to collect vintage bird and flower illustrations and name the tables after the featured image. But then I thought about the escort cards and how I would assign each couple or guest a table. I need to be able to fill in the table selections at the last minute, and realistically, the only easy way to do that would be to give the tables numbers and then use a number stamp on the escort cards. Is it exciting or original? No. But it’ll preserve my sanity, so it’ll just have to do.
When I thought about table numbers with actual numerals, this was the first thing that popped into my head:
Mrs. Lobster, BrooklynAge and Occupation: 29, Finance GirlFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Finance BoyEngagement Date: July 25, 2009Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Stage 6 Steiner StudiosAbout Me: I'm a New York-born, Virginia-bred girl who's found her way back to the big city. Mr. Lobster and I met in grad school and have been together ever since. I'm clueless about DIY but am an avid online shopper and love all things polka dots, stripes, and ruffles! When I'm not making wedding lists, you can find me looking for snacks, watching Gilmore Girls, or hanging out with Mr. Lobster and our new puppy Buddy! We are planning a fancy-pantsy Brooklyn wedding for a hot New York summer night which is sure to be a misadventure in the making.
While the guests were distracted by cocktail hour, Mr. Lobster and I sneaked away for a few moments alone in the bridal suite, something I’d highly recommend if you can. Up until now, we didn’t really have any true moments alone alone. In the suite, we found this deliciousness waiting for us.
That would be a sampling of the cocktail hour fare. I quickly scarfed it down since I barely had a bite since breakfast. Nom, nom.
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!
Maybe I’ve just been lucky so far. I’m 17 months into wedding planning and it’s been nothing but smooth sailing with our vendors. I’ve LOVED everyone I’ve worked with, and I’ve certainly never had a problem with any of them. Well, never say never.
I went for my first dress fitting the other day, and I was really REALLY not happy with my seamstress. I went to the boutique where I bought my dress and used their alterations department. The sales ladies had been nothing but fabulous, so I expected the same from their seamstress. That was probably a little naive.
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).
In addition to mailing out our wedding invitations (yay!), we checked another big task off of our to do list this weekend: ordering our wedding bands. Well, I take that back. We ordered two wedding bands, but they’re both for me!
After a brunch date with friends on Saturday, we headed to the jewelry store where King Hippo bought my engagement ring to order my wedding band. We knew exactly what we wanted, a thin micro pave band in the exact same width as my engagement ring. Easy peasy. The jeweler measured the thickness of my engagement ring to make sure that the band he would make was the exact same thickness, and then I tried on a couple of samples that he had on site, just to get a feel for how the band would look with my engagement ring. So fun! Here’s what I tried first:
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 have to come right out and say it: I have really awesome bridesmaids. It’s pretty self explanatory, but after losing a bridesmaid after a fall-out, I’ve found myself really aware of my current friends and just how great they are.
They’re three completely different personalities, from different backgrounds, of different shapes and sizes. And even in spite of this, all of them have been nothing but positive and excited about the prospect of planning this wedding with me—again, each in their own different way.
If you’d asked me what sort of a dress I envisioned the girls wearing, it would’ve been something like this: a cocktail length gown, probably a v-neck, cross-over strap that was comfy and stylish but didn’t scream “bridesmaid”! In fact, I had this little number from Jim Hjelm as an inspiration:
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!
Being announced into the reception was another one of those “wow, is this really happening?” moments on our wedding day. Kind of like, “AAAHH! It is time for our reception! The thing I’ve been looking forward to more than anything in the world for months and months is HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!”
Next up were Bridesmaid Clara and Groomsman John. I always tease Clara for being the least whimsical person I’ve ever met in my entire life. She continued her unbroken streak of stone-faced straightforwardness with this completely uninspired reception entrance (aka just walking straight in). Hahaha! Read more…
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
Spend an evening with The Wedding Bootcamp at Bridal Reflections in NYC on Monday, February 7! Check out dream wedding gowns, and hear from industry experts including representatives from The Mexico Tourism Board, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Best Cellars, who will be sampling some of their delicious wines! Admission to the Wedding Bootcamp is $25, but you can get in FREE via Weddingbee!
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."
As per my stripe/floral plan, and our color scheme/feel, I needed a way to incorporate the color black, without it coming off as heavy or too dark or uber-modern.
After a few months of collecting, I had to clean up my under-staircase storage (which I affectionately call “Harry Potter’s bedroom”) to accommodate this amalgam of wrought iron:
AKA the start of our centerpieces. Since they are each different, we’ll also be getting about a dozen of these IKEA lanterns to create a little more continuity: Read more…
