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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’m still loving the idea of having all of my girls in black dresses and the guys in charcoal suits. We’re working on the details (like ties and pocket squares for the guys, and the pops of color that will accent the girls’ black dresses), but I realized I needed to give them some visual representations of what I had envisioned. (Other than just, hey guys, go buy a black dress! Which, let’s face it, is pretty much all I had told them before sending them some suggestions.)
I found all of these dresses at Nordstrom, but I also really like a lot of the J. Crew options, as well as some at White House Black Market and Macy’s.
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.
This weekend, Mr. Lox and I went to the B&B where we’ll be getting married for a mini weekend getaway. We drove up Friday after work, went to a beer dinner Friday night, then stayed over and went to a wine dinner Saturday night. Now that we’re at home, I want to show you all of our awesome pictures and tell you all about it!
WARNING: Very long and picture-heavy post ahead!
First, we checked in and saw our room. I no longer have any doubts about referring our guests to stay here!
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 night of our rehearsal, I was a ball of nerves. All I could think about was the upcoming day. Especially the fact that people were going to stare at me. It made me a nervous wreck.
Before we started to rehearse, we had to go in and meet with the site’s (St. Lucy’s) coordinator, Barbara. We went over names and readings. Then it was time to call in our Maid of Honor and Best Man. They were our witnesses and it was time to sign the marriage license. Once the legalities were finished it was time to rehearse.
One of the things I really loved about our church was the short length of the aisle. Read more…
Mrs. Jam, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 25, Writer/Associate Wedding CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Structural EngineerEngagement Date: December 23, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Hunter’s Ridge, Princeton, ILAbout Me: I’m a penny-pinching cat lady getting ready to marry the frugal dog lover of my dreams. Our ideal Saturday morning includes rummaging around people’s junk at garage and estate sales followed by an afternoon date to our favorite café, where we only eat sandwiches that include the word “salad.” We actually love it so much, it’s sort of our unofficial wedding theme: Look at our delicious finds, eat homemade ham salad, and celebrate our love…barndance style. When we’re not obsessing over our love-fest shindig, we’re planning themed parties for our best friends and jamming to '90s music.
Now that our save the dates are out and we’re officially, officially in wedding gear, we decided to grab the scanner gun and start the registry with a bang!
Yeah…it was Sunday morning. Enough said.
You may be surprised that we decided to not register for this: Read more…
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 was supposed to go to Bikram yoga this morning. I, like Miss Jam, have become obsessed with this extremely challenging and fabulously sweaty exercise, but I digress…
Anyway, I didn’t make it to yoga this morning. Why? Well, I need to wake up at 5:14 AM to make it to yoga and I simply couldn’t fall asleep last night! And I only have Pengy to blame. Last night, 15 minutes before my bed time, I stopped to read my email and there it was. The email that I was certain would say “I’m so sorry to inform you that you will not be a bee,” so I opened it really quickly to rip it off like a Band-Aid and just get it over with. Instead, I started to squeal and flail and bounce on the bed so hectically that both kitties scattered and the mister hurried in from the kitchen.
Once the squealing subsided and big hugs were given all around, we got down to business, picking a name. For a minute I toyed with some of the other breakfast goodies, but there was no getting away from it: We simply are bacon people. 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!
After we were dressed, it was time to wrap it up and get going! I gave the ol’ pearly whites one last scrub, my fellas finished tying their ties, the girls touched-up their faces and we headed to the lobby for a quick debut and an impromptu photo sesh.
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.
Why do I feel like so many bees have posted about cake toppers lately? Miss Hippo, I feel ya. Miss Panther, just adorable. And let’s not forget Miss Lox, whose post had me giddy with excitement to click the “Read more…” link.
When looking at the big picture of a wedding, it seems so silly to spend more than a few minutes giving this a thought. But, alas, I’ve joined the club. The Cake Toppers Are Consuming My Life Club. I’m such an exaggerator.
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!
The same thing goes for the web pages I visit; I occasionally bookmark a page here or there…unless it comes to wedding inspiration, then nothing can stop me. I bookmark pages like nobody’s business. Anything that can remotely relate to our upcoming wedding or the future upcoming wedding of a friend of mine that’s bound to get engaged or married sometime within the next five years gets instantly thrown into a giant pile of bookmarks in Firefox. 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. 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!
On Friday morning, I woke up early and ran down the street for my wedding waxing. Soon after that, I met Mr. Hermit Crab’s mom and sister for manis and pedis, and my mom joined us shortly after. Mr. Hermit Crab had to finish up some work so he could rest easy through the weekend and then on our honeymoon, so he was out for most of the day. We had lunch with some of my friends, and then everyone got ready for the evening.
Friday night was incredibly special to us. Mr. Hermit Crab and I had both attended NYU, and we had gotten very close through our involvement with the NYU Hillel, housed at the Bronfman Center. We spent nearly every Friday night there for several years, for Shabbat (Sabbath, in Hebrew—the day of rest beginning at sundown on Friday evening and ending an hour after sundown on Saturday evening) evening services followed by dinner. We wanted to share this favorite memory and experience with our close families and we decided this would be the perfect way to kick off our wedding weekend. I apologize in advance for not having too many pictures of this night, especially of the service or the details but hopefully my words will be descriptive!
We began the evening on the second floor of the Bronfman Center where I led the first part of services (Kabbalat Shabbat), and Mr. HC led the second (Maariv). Read more…
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."
…whoaaaaaaa, that was a stretch, wasn’t it people? I was going to go with “To Bang or Not to Bang,” but that sounded like a wedding night poll. Sorry, sisters. No such luck.
We’re talkin’ about bangs, my friends. Fringe. And for me, that looks something like this:
(I took this picture to send to a hair expert friend, after I tried trimming them myself for the first time. It did not go well.)
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!
February in the NW means that it gets dark pretty early. According to this site, sunset on our wedding day will occur at 5:39 PM. But, with clouds and our venue situated in the middle of a forest, it’s likely to be darker much earlier than that. In any event, the darkness outdoors will provide a great backdrop to all of the candles that I want to have lit during the ceremony and on the tables for the reception.
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it yet, but instead of doing fresh-flower centerpieces, we’re going with candles. Lots and lots of candles if I have my way!
Mrs. Husky, DenverAge and Occupation: 26, Systems AdministratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Mechanical Engineer, recently laid offEngagement Date: August 14, 2009Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: Rancho San CarlosAbout Me: I am planning a quirky-crafty wedding with my recently out-of-work fiancé for a (fingers crossed!) warm October afternoon. We are two self-professed nerds with an affinity for all things outdoors---be it rain, snow or shine. Recently relocated from the drizzly Northwest, we're enjoying the many sun-soaked days in the mile high city. Our day will be filled with both of our large families and friends, a self-served Cajun feast, and a Zydeco-style jazz band rocking beneath the beams of a historic red barn.
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.