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.
Oh, my poor bridesmaids.You’ve read before that I have indeed had some less-than-stellar experiences in local bridal shops.I certainly am not willing to bring my business to a store that isn’t willing to appreciate the customer. At first, I wanted the girls to be in short dresses.My wedding gown is quite formal and gilded, as you’ve seen.Unfortunately it looked odd next to a short dress. Matching the fancy of my gown to the fancy of the ladies’ gowns never entered my thoughts but it is something to consider when purchasing the dresses. Read more…
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’ve spent my days off around the holidays working on our wedding invitations. They will be mailing out in mid-January, so I’ve been printing and cutting and gluing (oh my!) a little at a time for weeks now. I’m finally at the point of assembling everything together, and like many a bee before me, I am sadly disappointed with my stamp options…not for the actual invitation (I haven’t gotten that far yet), but for our RSVPs.
See, we’ve decided to go with RSVP postcards instead of traditional RSVP cards and envelopes. The 16-cent postage savings wasn’t what helped me decide. It wasn’t the savings by not having to purchase RSVP envelopes, either. Those extra few bucks were just a bonus. I really just liked the idea of an RSVP postcard. I’ve been to many weddings, and I’ve never RSVPed on a postcard. I figured most of our guests hadn’t either, and I’m willing to bet that very few, if any, of our guests have researched wedding trends, so they will be fooled into thinking I’m completely innovative and creative by inventing the concept of an RSVP postcard. Sweet.
Just like Mrs. Jellyfish, I quickly discovered that the United States Post Office makes only one 28-cent postcard stamp. One. This lovely looker:
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."
So there is this girl I know. Kind of a friend-of-a-friend type who I see once in a while—a perfectly nice girl who is getting married a month before I am. But realistically, in her mind, she is getting married tomorrow. And, at the rate I’m going, I’m probably getting married never.
This weekend, she was all…”So, where are you guys registered?”
“Um,” I said, glancing sidelong at PDog. “Nowhere. We hadn’t even thought about it yet.”
Guys. She laughed like I was joking. When she realized *I* wasn’t laughing, she slowed her roll.
“Oh,” she said, recovering. “I guess I’m just type-A about planning.”
And then she proceeded to list about 100 things that I have not done yet. I swear, I broke into a cold sweat as she spoke. It was like the Knot’s evil list of a bajillion tasks that scolds you every time you log in took on HUMAN FORM.
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.
Over the summer, Mr. S and I met up with his brothers and sisters-in-law for a long weekend in Chicago. While we were away, Mr. S’ older brother’s wife told us that they planned to start trying to conceive in early spring 2011.
When I mentioned this in passing to a friend of mine, she gasped, “You better hope that they don’t announce that she’s pregnant at your wedding.” I asked her why, and she said, “Because it’s your day—you don’t want anyone to steal your thunder!”
Mrs. Sewing, San Mateo, CA/Honolulu, HIAge and Occupation: 24, Electrical EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Electrical EngineerEngagement Date: June 27, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Anela Garden Chapel & Japanese Cultural Center, HonoluluAbout Me: I'm an easily entertained, compulsive idea-scheming machine who loves good art, good food, and a good engineering challenge. I'm planning a half-destination wedding on the beautiful island of Oahu - imagine a plethora of movies, art and games; savory Hawaiian food; blended Chinese and Japanese cultural details; lush, fragrant tropical flowers and all the air conditioning a NorCal native could want! And once I marry the love of my life, we'll come back to the 'mainland' to party it up all over again in my hometown of Salinas, the salad-bowl capital of the world!
I never found a real guideline for how to plan a second reception (though Mrs. Pretzel helped me figure it out, retrospectively). I guess it’s more a regular party than an expected set of traditions like its more formal cousin, the wedding reception. And I think that’s what our at-home reception was: a chaotic party (revolving mostly around food).
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 one Friday night, Mr. Lox and I went to our venue for dinner. This is entirely possible since our venue is one of our favorite restaurants, by the way. Anyway, the more I thought about wedding things, the more questions I had. And I was torn between looking like a crazy bride and wanting answers so I could calm down a bit. Mr. Lox took it into his own hands and sent the owner some questions, which we all discussed over dessert.
Some of the answers were very calming; some surprised me. More on that later. But one of the questions we asked was if there are any restrictions on what we can do to decorate. And the answer was…no. The owner immediately started talking about hanging things from the ceiling. The ceiling! I mean, the ceiling? Dear hive, I had never thought of this before. The ceiling of the restaurant is all exposed pipes, ducts, and beams, but painted a uniform eggplant color. Suddenly I was thinking of fabric, and paper-ball garland, and paper lanterns! This was a whole realm of things I had never considered!
So now I am obsessed with decorating the ceiling in our venue. I’ve been scouring the Internet for pictures of things like these:
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. 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!
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. 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!
Did anyone else have a long, hard search to find that perfect venue, only to discover that it was right in front of you the whole time? Or was that just me?
See—we’ve known from the get-go that we wanted to get married in Seattle. Or at least I’ve known that. (Luckily Mr. Eggs was perfectly happy with that plan and said sure!)
So, we decided to start looking in Seattle.
Normally, there wouldn’t be a question of geography with that statement other than “where in Seattle do we want to look.” All the while I was assuming we were all talking about the large city located in King County, Washington. Except that normal isn’t me, my life, or wedding planning. The hitch in all of this comes from the fact that I grew up, and my parents still live, on an island in the Puget Sound, west of Seattle. So therefore, when I talk about “Seattle,” that generally encompasses Seattle and the Island. And again, that’s normally not a bad thing, until my mom and I figured out that when I said “Seattle” I actually meant the city, while when my mom heard “Seattle,” she was picturing the Island or perhaps somewhere on the peninsula. Whoops. Lesson number one in communication learned.
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!
Yes, I totally yoinked the title of this post from David Bromstad’s show on HGTV. I’m so geeked, though, that the wedding industry is deviating away from the traditional white wedding dress and allowing girls to rock some color. The shade could be subtle, like this blush pink ballgown that Portia de Rossi wore for her wedding to Ellen. (Aren’t they adorable?)
Mrs. Veggie, Raglan, New Zealand/Scranton, PAAge and Occupation: 27, Director of Small Non-ProfitFiance's Age and Occupation: 42, PhD Student & FarmerEngagement Date: June 13, 2009Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Indian Head Camp, Honesdale Pennsylvania
About Me: I am a tree-huggin' farmer turned enthusiastic wedding-planner. I live in a house truck and wear flip-flops more often than shoes. In my old life I was a high school Spanish teacher in love with a crazy guy who lived off-the grid on a farm in New Hampshire. But, we decided to mix things up a bit, quit our jobs and move to New Zealand. My southern hemisphere lifestyle involves growing veggies, teaching, running our small non-profit, and surfing. I love laughing, singing, playing, and the inspirational Mr. Veggie (of course!). For our wedding, I am committed to throwing a killer party that celebrates our values without breaking the bank. Look forward to an eco-thrifty summer-campy weekend-long extravaganza.
When I first started planning our wedding, I was torn between a camp wedding and farm wedding. We nixed the farm idea when we couldn’t find a farm that would actually grow our food on-site without costing us an arm and a leg. After some turmoil and a lot of research, we ended up at Indian Head Camp. Are you ready for some knock down gorgeousness?
All photos family photos unless otherwise noted.
And here comes a huge bridal blogging fail. Read more…
Mrs. Cinnamon Bun, Calgary, AlbertaAge and Occupation: 26, Stage ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Theatre TechnicianEngagement Date: June 22, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Calgary Opera CentreAbout Me: I'm a life-long crafter and bookworm living in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Some of my loves include Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, knitting, opera, musicals, Etsy, baking, and of course, Mr. Cinnamon Buns. We're keeping our wedding close to home---the venue isn't very far from our house, and we live within walking distance of 6 bridal salons. I'm using the wedding as an excuse to try out every craft project I possibly can, with the endless help and support of my fiance.
I’m just going to take a quick detour into Crafty Land to talk about a rubber-stamp company whose products I drool over. It’s still wedding related because I’ve already used two differentstamp sets in wedding crafts and plan on using more! (all photos in this post are from Papertrey Ink, unless otherwise noted)
The company in question: Papertrey Ink. They put so much thought into everything they design! For starters, there’s their Perfect Match system. They sell card stock, ribbon, ink, buttons, and more in these colours. Any colour-conscious bride’s dream, correct?
(There are a few more colours not shown in this graphic from their website.)
Mrs. Socks, Southern NJ/Philadelphia, PAAge and Occupation: 23, Web Developer/Marketing SpecialistFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Systems EngineerEngagement Date: September 7, 2009
Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: Ladder 15 RestaurantAbout Me: I am originally from the Midwest, but I love being an East Coast transplant! Mr. Socks and I are foodies and winos to the core---give us a hunk of cheese, some charcuterie and a glass of wine and we could die happy. We have two mischievous Wire Fox Terriers with completely opposite personalities but with a shared love of uprooting anything in our garden. Our backyard garden includes everything from tomatoes and peppers to a fig tree, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries! I love cooking, indie music, and spending time in our wedding city of choice---Philly!
After tirelessly working on our bouquets for most of Saturday (sorry, I was a horrible blogger and was too stressed out to take pictures), it was time to load up the car and head into the city. We had our rehearsal at Ladder 15, and then dinner at Tavern 17, the restaurant at the Radisson where we were staying. Apparently, we only eat at places that have numbers in their names.
So we got to Ladder 15 and kind of took over the whole restaurant—the patrons that were there were polite and watched us with interest as we worked it all out.
Since we didn’t have a DOC or a planner, I kind of had to wing the rehearsal. I had only been to my sister’s wedding rehearsal before, so our plans were the “fly by the seat of our pants” kind.
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!
There are so many pieces to the wedding day puzzle and I love seeing those captured along with the emotions and people who are there to celebrate with the bride and groom.
We won’t have a full picture wish list to give, because I have complete trust in our amazing photographer, but there are a couple of shots that we have mentioned that we would love to get. Most of those shots are of the DIY projects we have been working on (like our passport programs, postcard guestbook, and boarding pass escort cards). A handful of particular shots with our friends and family (I can’t wait to have a picture of Mama E putting on my veil just like her mom did on my parents’ wedding day 33 years ago), and a couple of popular shots seen on wedding blogs. Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
All photos family photos unless otherwise noted.
