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.
Don’t get excited…I’m not posting my dress on here. I love and appreciate you all following along with my crazy ramblings, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to show y’all my dress before the wedding. No hard feelings, right?
With that said, I’m going to touch on something almost every person told me prior to dress shopping: “Oh, I ended up choosing a dress that was completely different than the one I thought I wanted.”
Sound familiar, brides?
When I started looking online, there seemed to be a theme to nearly every dress I gravitated to: soft with flowy movement, graceful, somewhat unique. This dress I found ages ago, and it was my inspiration going into dress shopping:
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!
Saturday morning rolled around, and I had decided ages ago that I was going to take Saturday for myself. Most of my family and friends are local, or relatively local, so I didn’t feel like I was missing time with out-of-towners, and I wanted to just do my own thing. Mr. Hermit Crab had some family visiting, and while normally I love to spend time with them, I had some very important brunch plans awaiting me…
Bee brunch! It was my first time meeting any of the bees, and I have to say, it was just the perfect way for me to spend the day! Drama free, delicious food, and ladies who love weddings. You can read Mrs. Penguin’s post about her visit to NYC here.
(personal photo)
Everyone seemed amazed that I made it out for brunch the day before the wedding—I did not feel particularly stressed or nervous, and I thought it was a perfect addition to the wedding weekend!
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.
Sometimes the tiniest wedding purchases make me unreasonably happy. Now, with every paycheck I’m attempting to buy something for the wedding. This way the purchases are stretched out and the pain of spending money seems less painful. There is a method to my madness. However, my next purchase was so small that I just made it willy nilly when the mood struck me. On a whim, even. I mean, it cost me under four dollars for the item and shipping (which was inexplicably from Hong Kong!).
So what is this tiny purchase full of joy? What four-dollar item has made me unreasonably happy? Let’s see if you can guess from these pictures…
Nothing to see here, right? Just a crazy lady holding up a plain old envelope… 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.
Do you all get that daily email from Etsy showing off all the amazing stuff available there? I do and love it! It’s kind of dangerous though, because I’m always finding something else I want for the wedding! My latest obsession is on all of the lovely Etsy accessories…how’s a girl to choose when there’s so much to pick from?
I LOVE these headbands. I think they’ll be a perfect with my dress, but I’m not sure what’s happening with my hair. Luckily, this isn’t that expensive so if I don’t wear it for the wedding, I can wear it another time!
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!
I adore my groomsmen. They are all amazing and have been best friends with Mr. Pancakes for-ever! They even all have matching “brotherhood” tattoos!! But what’s the deal with groomsmen’s attire? When did it get so complicated? What happened to the days of tuxedo rentals at the local Men’s Wearhouse??
This week, the more you purchase the more you save! It’s a perfect time to stock up on great coordinating items, like our gorgeous new “Sophisticated Scroll” line:
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.
There are only a few things left to do to wrap up everything from our wedding.
At some point we need to figure out how we’ll be displaying our wishing stones from our guestbook in our house. I also plan to make a shadow box display with some photos, our invitations, some dried flowers from my bouquet, Mr. Cola’s boutonniere, and our LED luminary escort cards. And sooner or later we’ll need to order an album for ourselves.
But one of the big wrap up items has already been taken care of: parent albums!
We gifted these to both sets of our parents for Christmas, and they really enjoyed them. Just like Mrs. Cheeseburger, we (I) designed them through Adorama, and while the results were very nice for a gift, I’m not sure we’ll use them for our own album.
Using the Adorama design interface was quite easy. Read more…
Mrs. Barrettes, Tumon, Guam/Napa, CAAge and Occupation: 29, DancerFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Licensed Building ContractorEngagement Date: November 16, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: V. Sattui WineryAbout Me: I'm an East Coast girl, living on a tiny little island in the Pacific, twirling, leaping, and shimmy-ing my way through life, and now, wedding planning! I'm equal parts nerdy and cool... okay, mostly nerdy. I love satin bows, red lipstick, black & white graphic anything, the shine of sequins and the sound of a champagne "pop". My favorite books are The Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James, and Tender is the Night, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I can also conjure a pretty good Patronus Charm. I started my appreciation for good red wine while traveling on the high seas, and it's only fitting that my passion for wine drinking led me to my Napa-bred honey. We bonded over bottles of Cabernet on my oceanfront porch and haven't looked back since. We're sealing the deal at a winery in the Napa Valley on a 'perfect ten' of a day!
When we arrived, V. Sattui was still open for tasting and it was nice to see smiles on all the patrons’ faces as our bridal party made a beeline for my bridal nook. I stayed put and tried to relax until I got the okay that Luke was ready for our first look.
The anticipation of seeing my groom, mixed with all of the wedding energy in the air, was such a fun feeling—I wanted to bottle it up and sprinkle it in my normal days! Read more…
Ms. Cheetah, Los Angeles/Palm Springs
Age and Occupation: 31, Artist, EducatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, TV FinanceEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The ViceroyAbout Me: I’m a silly, sassy lady with a compulsion to create. I love to sing and dance, despite the fact that I lack any talent doing either. I somehow manage to be messy and organized at the same time. I like to spend my days road tripping, watching '80s movies, reading true crime books, buying things on sale, sending postcards, playing board games, dining at food trucks, snuggling, and drinking ginger ale. I have a weak spot for all things sweet, especially Mr. Cheetah! I’m a Chicago girl and he’s a Nor Cal boy but we love living in the City of Angels. After 10 years as a couple we are planning a fun-filled semi-destination wedding in Palm Springs. Hope you enjoy the ride!
My first dress fitting is just a couple days away and I was told to make sure to have my wedding shoes with me. So I turned to one of my favorite places to shop: my closet.
I raided my closet looking for shoes that were 1) adorable 2) bridal 3) would work with my dress and 4) somewhat comfy. I came up with four solid options:
Clockwise from top left: Blush pink t-strap wedges, pink & black hearts, ivory t-straps, shimmery sling-backs.
I love them all but I think I’m leaning towards these two: 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!
I’ve been trying to think of more ways to bring the community feeling that Mr. EB and I want for our wedding to all of our guests. I thought about creating some sort of guest-list tree or timeline to show guests how they know or are related to Mr. EB or me, or what random connections people might have to each other that could make for good conversation starters. I was thinking about making something similar to these:
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.
Oh yes, this post is about delectable dessert goodness! Specifically, it’s about my newfound love of sweets tables. If you’ve been flipping through wedding magazines and blogs with the same fervor as I have, then you could not have missed this fabulous addition to modern weddings. Here’s the concept: Take your standard wedding cake, switch out that small round table with a robust rectangle, add tasty pastries and candy within a color scheme, and voila! Instant sweets table.
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).
I never thought this day would come. OK…no…it’s not quite wedding day, but it’s mailing the invitations day! And after printing and cutting and gluing and stuffing for the last four months, getting these bad boys out in the mail is cause for some serious celebration. Aren’t they purdy?!???
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."
…I’m just going to ask them where they’re going and catch up with them later.
(the inimitable Mitch Hedberg)
Sometimes I envy couples who meet post-college, after they are settled in the jobs and city of their choice.
I know, I know. It doesn’t mean that they won’t have job/location changes in the future, but at least they start there—where they have both decided where to make a life for themselves.
In our case, Mr. PD is a year older than me. And it’s hard to know, when one person graduates before the other, who goes where? How much do you factor in the other person’s job prospects? Who decides first? What if the other can’t find a job there?
When he graduated from college, Pdog couldn’t just…not decide until I graduated. Read more…
Weddingbee GalleryFeature Launched: April 10, 2009About: A collection of inspirational wedding pictures from readers and bees.
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. 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.
I was super excited about the rehearsal dinner. We chose our favorite college date spot, Sardella’s, a cute Italian Restaurant with delicious food. It was fun to share one of our favorite places with our closest family and friends. Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
