Mrs. Tartlet, Rochester, MIAge and Occupation: Age & Occupation: 27, Post-Doctoral Research FellowFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Medical StudentEngagement Date: May 2, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: The Royal Park HotelAbout Me: I'm an exuberant gal from the Midwest with a penchant for Neuroscience and anything sparkly. I'm not afraid to poke fun at myself, and I'm a believer that given the right pair of shoes, a girl can conquer the world. While an interest in the sciences threw Mr. Tartlet and me together (again, and again, until it finally stuck), we share a love for many things---food, video games, car dancing, food, bad puns, travel, did I mention food?---that ultimately led us to where we are now, less than five months from becoming Mr. and Mrs. We're planning a laid-back, romantic, garden-inspired affair with organic and quirky touches that reflect our love for the unexpected!
If it isn’t obvious already, I lurrrrrrve crafting and all the time-consuming details that come with it. I work in a field where you can spend months, even years on a research project and still not have a final, polished result. As such, the wedding-related projects we’ve tackled have given me a more immediate, gratifying sense of accomplishment. The DIY route certainly isn’t for everyone and everything, though, and it’s important to first determine whether it’s worth your while to tackle a project.
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.
Mr. Oatmeal and I decided early on in our engagement that he would be responsible for planning our honeymoon. We figured that he didn’t have much in the way of an opinion about all the wedding details I love and talk about so much with you ladies, so we gave him something he could really get excited about. Talk about win-win-win: I get to go crazy planning this wedding to be everything I ever wanted and go on a honeymoon I didn’t have to plan a single thing for, and Mr. Oatmeal gets to do the one thing he actually cares about. Well, besides marrying Miss Oatmeal.
So you’re probably wondering where we’re going! Well, so am I. I actually want to be surprised about this. There are very few things I like not knowing, and this happens to be one of them. I’m fairly certain that we’re going to an all-inclusive resort and that it will be some place tropical = my hair will be a huge, frizzy mess the entire time. I’ll deal.
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.
Well, at seven months out it finally happened. I had a wedding dream. I still remember it clearly.
I kind of thought all the talk about wedding dreams and nightmares and stuff was silly talk about something that would never happen to me. I am a level-headed, relaxed kind of bride, after all. (Now really…hush you. I’m relaxed, dammit.) Anyway, whatever. I didn’t expect to have wedding dreams, especially not bad ones. But last night I did.
Mrs. Giraffe, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 23, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Music Student TeacherEngagement Date: October 23, 2008Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Trinity Lutheran Church & Idlewild Country ClubAbout Me: Coming from the suburbs of the Windy City, you'll often find me with my foot in my mouth while laughing for no reason or telling bad knock knock jokes. I've been crafty for as long as I can remember, and will DIY something twice over before I have someone do it for me. I'm a semi-awkward, typeface obsessed, design junkie and have been know to break out my dance moves for no reason as well as try my best to be ridiculous at all times. My love of pop culture, wordplay, and graph paper almost rivals my love of Mr. Giraffe (who is just the bee's knees). After a 2.5 year engagement, we're planning a modern-in-disguise traditional wedding, and cannot wait!
Yes, it’s true, when titling this post I was thinking of that Disney Hercules song where whatshisface was singing, “Well, you want to be a hero, kid, well whoopdeedo.”
Anyway, that’s not important. What is important? That I was born to plan this wedding!
No, seriously, I was. That’s why I get so excited about wedding planning, I think. I was trying to describe to Mr. Giraffe about why I’m planning all these DIY projects and crazy things and I finally told him, “I think of this wedding as the biggest craft project of my life, and I love craft projects!” I do, I really do. I love crafts and have been a crafty kid all my life, which I think led to me going into a creative field as a semi-grown up.
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!
So the best thing about shopping online is that you can try shoes on in the comfort of your home, and if you already have your wedding dress, it means you can try them on with your dress!
I am a huge fan of shopping online because I love getting packages in the mail. I know it’s a little ridiculous, but I was always one of those kids who loved having a pen pal. I just love mail!
I heart shoes. I am going to have a really difficult time finding the perfect wedding shoes, but these are my favorite websites:
Romantic Soles Arleigh - $47.97; Betsy Johnson Ardin - $98.00; Nina Effie - $62.97; Bouquets Colette - $23.81
Ms Seahorse, BostonAge and Occupation: 25, Veterinary Jane-of-all-tradesFiancee's Age and Occupation: 36, former non-profit fundraiser in search of something betterEngagement Date: October 17, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Fort Pond LodgeAbout Me: By day I'm a cat-wrangler, vet tech assistant, pet-sitter, receptionist, and pre-vet student, but the rest of the time, I'm a former-roller-derby girl turned dedicated-wedding planner. I love reading, writing, bicycles, animals, roller skating, and antique-y things of all sorts. I'm a vegetarian who likes spicy foods, while Fiancee Seahorse is a meat eater who does not like spices. We live outside Boston with our menagerie: a fifty pound dog, a one-eyed, seventeen-toed, toothless cat, and a perfectly put together cat who has a penchant for pooping near rather than in her litter box. In addition to planning our small lake-side wedding, we enjoy running around with the puppy, playing board games (Scrabble, anyone?), having little adventures, talking about how we should really clean the house more, and maintaining our little garden of vegetables and wedding flowers.
Hi hive! Sorry for the absence—life has been a little bit nutty, but I am returning on the other side of it all, and with pretty pictures to share!
One thing that was really important in planning our wedding was to make our guests feel involved. We didn’t want them to just be people who were there to watch, and we didn’t invite anyone who would want to just come and watch. We wanted people there because they have been important in our lives individually, and we hope they continue to be important in our lives as a family. We wanted these people to be present, intentional witnesses to our union, and to actively acknowledge and support us. A huge part of this was the ring ceremony.
Mrs. Ostrich, San Francisco/HawaiiAge and Occupation: 30, Fashion Buyer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 38, CopywriterEngagement Date: October 4, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Sweet ceremony by the sea and sunset celebration on the North Shore of HawaiiAbout Me: Born in the city of angels and residing in the city by the bay, I’m a fearless fashion buyer by day, a passionate blog author by night and a dreamy bride-to-be in between. I thank my lucky stars to live in such a stunning city that gives me gifts like organic honey lavender ice cream, movie nights in the park, tucked away beaches, legendary record stores, '80s dance parties, awesome sports teams, stellar flea markets, and vintage bookshops. Oh, and I love to dance! We always find every excuse to escape to the beach, and decided a little seaside wedding in Hawaii is our idea of bliss. Full of our favorite people, music, food and sparkly lights, this is one sunset celebration we will always remember.
You know, the ones where everything feels vividly real but everything is going horribly wrong. No one ever warned me about these….and now, about once a week, they appear and make me feel like I’m losing my mind!
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!
But not for the reason you may think. I hate when things become trendy because then it means they become expensive! Case in point—cupcakes. I love cupcakes. A few years ago, as I was watching my friends get married and wondering what I might do someday for my own wedding, I thought cupcakes would be awesome. Cute, easy, no cutting fee: what could go wrong? Oh, right. Everyone else thought they’d be great, too! And now they’re all over the place, which means that bakeries can charge out the wazoo for these little guys. So, no cupcakes. I’ll just keep making them myself when I need a fix.
So. What does that leave for us in the cake department? Well, there’s always, you know—cake. Which I would happily devour. I love cake. Love. It. However, know something else I don’t like? Yeah, how much fondant and fancy decorations on said cake cost. (I’m really not that cheap despite all evidence to the contrary. I know that there are some fabulous bakers out there and I love what they do, I just have a really hard time with some of those prices for something that is supposed to end up in my belly. I mean, yeah, I’ll pay for a fantastic dinner out now and then, but somehow that’s different. No, I can’t explain how, but I’ll work on it.) Ahem. Anyway. Moving on. These are some examples of cakes that I like. (And if you can’t already tell with me, they’re all more on the simple and classic end—that’s just how I roll.)
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.
Since I was first having wedding thoughts months ago, I fell in love with two phenomenal and iconic Chicago locations: Cafe Brauer in Lincoln Park and the Chicago Room at the Chicago History Museum. Our wedding is pretty much a destination wedding…well, for everyone other than us. So finding a place that was uniquely Chicago was at the top of our list. Unfortunately, Cafe Brauer and the Chicago History Museum were both at the top of our budget, but check them out—they’re kinda worth it.
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!
A few nights ago, he brought me flowers. Beautiful, blue hydrangeas wrapped in brown paper popped their heads around my bathroom door while I was getting ready for his send-off dinner. I was floored and could barely speak.
“These are my…the…you know, the ones that…”
“Yes, I know. The ones that you eyeball every time we go to the store. The Jane Austen flowers.”
Rhinestones and roses adorn mauibrideMD’s wedding cake.
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. Tartlet, Rochester, MIAge and Occupation: Age & Occupation: 27, Post-Doctoral Research FellowFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Medical StudentEngagement Date: May 2, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: The Royal Park HotelAbout Me: I'm an exuberant gal from the Midwest with a penchant for Neuroscience and anything sparkly. I'm not afraid to poke fun at myself, and I'm a believer that given the right pair of shoes, a girl can conquer the world. While an interest in the sciences threw Mr. Tartlet and me together (again, and again, until it finally stuck), we share a love for many things---food, video games, car dancing, food, bad puns, travel, did I mention food?---that ultimately led us to where we are now, less than five months from becoming Mr. and Mrs. We're planning a laid-back, romantic, garden-inspired affair with organic and quirky touches that reflect our love for the unexpected!
It’s a common question amongst the engaged: “My wedding is in [insert month here]! When do we send our save the dates?” The sheer number of guidelines made my head spin. Ultimately, I loosely interpreted a snippet from Emily Post that states: “Save the date cards are usually mailed from three to four months prior to the wedding [...] but may be sent earlier for a destination wedding at a distant location.” The Tartlet translation? There is no set timing. Do what works best for you, your wedding, and your guests.
Since the majority of our guests are coming from out-of-town, Mr. Tartlet and I initially planned on mailing our STDs 6 months from the wedding. We were caught COMPLETELY off-guard when people started contacting us early in 2010 because they had to put in for their vacation days! The Tartlets found themselves in a bit of a pickle: we had grand plans to incorporate our engagement photos, but were running against the clock with a handful of people already notified via phone of our wedding date. We certainly didn’t want these to be an afterthought, so we adapted to the change and rapidly produced these bitty bundles to drop in the mail a full year before the wedding:
Because all of our guests will carefully open the envelope at the point (wishful thinking, I know), they’ll be greeted with this yummy looking liner and ribbon peeking out: Read more…
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.
Today I’m going to talk about something that gets me pretty excited, and I can’t be the only one out there: gift registries! Mr. Oatmeal and I have decided to do this in a pretty traditional way by registering for the things needed to start our home and lives together. Have I mentioned that we just bought a house? More details on that later!
Anyhow, we’ve narrowed down our registries to two places: Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn. I understand that these are fairly common choices, so I want to talk more about Mr. Oatmeal. He says these registries are for me, and me only. I’m the only one who will be happy to receive products from these stores, and he doesn’t think that’s very fair. And guess what? I agree. I know Mr. Oatmeal. I know him so well. And he won’t have the same warm fuzzy feeling inside when opening up, let’s say, this little gem:
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.
Yes, I know. I have talked and talked about this cake topper ad nauseum. However, the darn thing is in our apartment, and I am unreasonably excited. Every few days I re-remember that it’s in our home, and I run over to touch it. I have the coolest fiance ever for putting up with me, my odd monkey obsession, and my scary cake-topper love.
I was so excited the day it arrived that I demanded Mr. Lox allow me to document the unboxing. See photographic evidence below of my dearest being a trooper!
How adoarable is the packaging on this? And are you seeing what’s on the little card on top?
Mrs. Giraffe, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 23, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Music Student TeacherEngagement Date: October 23, 2008Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Trinity Lutheran Church & Idlewild Country ClubAbout Me: Coming from the suburbs of the Windy City, you'll often find me with my foot in my mouth while laughing for no reason or telling bad knock knock jokes. I've been crafty for as long as I can remember, and will DIY something twice over before I have someone do it for me. I'm a semi-awkward, typeface obsessed, design junkie and have been know to break out my dance moves for no reason as well as try my best to be ridiculous at all times. My love of pop culture, wordplay, and graph paper almost rivals my love of Mr. Giraffe (who is just the bee's knees). After a 2.5 year engagement, we're planning a modern-in-disguise traditional wedding, and cannot wait!
I remember reading the Becoming a Bee Series way back when, and crossing my fingers that maybe in like, oh, eight years or so I would get to write one too*. Now, I’m like dance-party excited because I get to share my story with you! I encourage you guys to read the archived posts because they’re so interesting and fun. They’re a great way to get to know the bees better.
*This wasn’t an accurate timeline at all, I was just impatient.
How did I find Weddingbee?
About a month before Mr. Giraffe and I got engaged, my head was all ready dreaming up our wedding. I knew he asked my parents, he and I had talked about getting married, and well, I suspected he had gone ring shopping.
See, I needed to know more about weddings because I was starting to obsess about them. It was a closet obsession though, because I surely wasn’t going to buy a wedding magazine if I wasn’t engaged! What did I do? Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
