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."
Oh yes. Finally. Validation, people! I’ve been a little nervous about my gut feeling to wear my hair down for our wedding. An up-do seems safer, somehow? But no. I’m feeling great about it, and here’s why:
Mrs. Cardigan, AustinAge and Occupation: 21, Student/Soon-to-be Special Education TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 20, Student/Soon-to-be Accounting Systems AnalystEngagement Date: August 16, 2009Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Vintage VillasAbout Me: I'm a native Austinite who was raised as a die-hard Aggie. Luckily, I'm a pretty persuasive girl because I managed to convince my high school boyfriend (now fiance!), Mr. Cardigan, to ditch his hardcore Longhorn ways and join me up at A&M, where we currently reside with our adorable dogs, Cullen & Ranger. We're currently planning a bright, cheery wedding with a ridiculous amount of DIY projects that I can't wait to tackle! I love crafting in any form, reading, and margaritas (I think I love them the most!). Organization is what keeps me sane and I love helping others, which is probably why I ended up as an education major. It gets a little chaotic sometimes when you're planning a wedding among all of the papers, projects, finals, and certification exams, but we're having the time of our lives and we can't wait to get started on our journey as husband and wife - and we're so excited to share our wedding with the hive!
Favors were, for a good portion of this engagement, the bane of my existence. I cannot tell you how many times I changed my mind one what to do for favors, and it has caused so me much stress over the last 16 months.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Favors aren’t even necessary. Why are you even worrying about it? Silly Cardigan. But here’s the problem: Early on in our engagement I had succumbed to what I like to call the “OMG-it’s-on-sale-and-I-have-to-have-it-NOW” Syndrome when I saw some really cute favor boxes on clearance at Michaels. I went on some sort of crazy favor-box-stalking hunt and visited a million (or maybe like, three) different stores trying to find enough. And then I made Mr. Cardigan help me make them cuter by running the lids through my Cuttlebug to emboss them.
So, as you see…we had favor boxes. And we were going to fill them, dammit.
I have had about a million and one ideas of what to fill them with over the course of our (long) engagement, but they all ended up not working for one reason or the other.
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 love doilies! I recently went a little doily crazy at Michaels and bought 200 doilies (in four different sizes). I have now spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to do with them. However, I am happy to see that many many people share my love for these dainty little darlings.
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!
In the interest of keeping it real, I’ll tell you that the time period between our family portraits wrapping up and our bridal party portraits beginning was the only time during our wedding day in which I felt genuinely unhappy. Like I mentioned in a prior recap, our ceremony felt like A Big Deal. It was joyful, but important and serious, too. It was also short—from the officiant’s opening words to his pronouncement, the entire thing took less than twenty minutes.
What made me unhappy was feeling like I’d had no time to really process what had just gone down. As soon as the ceremony ended, we were whooshed downstairs by the Heinz Chapel staff, where our excited bridal party immediately mobbed us with hugs and shrieks of congratulations. Then, right after that, we were whisked back upstairs for our family portraits. Our formal portraits turned out beautifully, and I’m glad we have them, but the process of taking them was not quite what I’d call “fun.” I was starting to feel hot in the stuffy chapel, and my dress was feeling heavy and tight, and my bouquet was heavy, and our young nieces (who, do not get me wrong, I love very much) were really excited about me in my bridal getup and wanted to be really close to me at all times, and it’s kind of hard to beam radiantly for photo after photo after photo, you know?! Read more…
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.
Mr. S and I decided right off the bat that we wanted a fairly small, intimate wedding. Our reasons were twofold. First of all, the smaller the guest list, the smaller the budget. And secondly, we wanted to make sure that every single person on the guest list was someone that was really important to us.
We sat down and made a list of everyone who could possibly be invited, and then we had to cut it way down. I personally felt like a bouncer, standing in front of the velvet ropes at a club, deciding who could get an invite.
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. 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 wasn’t sure—I really wasn’t. The last time I remember sewing anything it was some ridiculous pillow thing that I made on my mom’s sewing machine with leftover scrap fabric she had from making quilts for my sister and me. Yeah—my mom makes quilts, I play with leftover scraps. It’s fun!
BUT—I really wanted to give it a try, specifically because I really wanted to make part of the gifts that I plan to give to my girls. (So girls, if y’all are reading any of this, well, feel free to keep reading, but just know that you’re likely to see something similar to one or both of these projects prior to the wedding!)
Now that that’s out of the way—let me show you what I made. (And we’ll just keep quiet about how long it took me to make these, m’kay? Thanks!)
The first project I took on was this clutch that Mrs. Peep Toe blogged abouthere. Now, first off, I should note that I’ve had my sewing machine since I was in college. And I graduated from college in 2004. And I had yet to ever take it out of the box. It was still sealed and everything. Oops. And yes, I have lived in multiple places and carted this thing around with me the whole time. Anyway. Finally decided it was time to break it out. I don’t have tutorials here because I’m linking to the tutorials that I used (and also because I didn’t want photographic evidence if I messed it up royally). But I’ll take pictures of the process next time, I promise! (And all of these photos are taken by moi. I’m working on getting better with my d5000—I love the camera, but need to play with it more!)
And I thought it turned out pretty well: Read more…
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. Oyster, DallasAge and Occupation: 30, Music TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 46, Art TeacherEngagement Date: January 9, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: The Tower ClubAbout Me: I'm a Texa-Californian with a penchant for sparkly things and a tendency to think a lot. I've been known to sing random songs or dance when there is no music on. My fiance and I love world culture, we love to travel, and we have an incredibly eclectic taste in music. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate our marriage with our family & closest friends. We're planning an “urban black-tie” wedding and hope to incorporate our personalities and some of our own interests. We look forward to a life of love, laughter, good music, beautiful art, and to creating our home together with our four (!) cats.
The last time I wrote about our invitations, I wrote how I felt they were the first communication with our guests as a couple, and how important they were.
If you’ve had a long engagement, you’ve probably noticed that people don’t really care much about your wedding after you announce your engagement. That’s because there’s nothing for them to do! They’re happy for you, but their lives continue on (as they should!)…until the invitation arrives. This is when people start to get excited. The phone calls start, the hotel plans are made and plane tickets are purchased, and if you have any crazy relatives, this is when they make themselves known. The pre-wedding marathon begins. In addition to making the wedding real for you, the invitations’ arrival will make things more real for your guests, too. It’s an incredibly exciting time, and I really did love every minute of it. Being engaged was so much more fun once everyone else (at least, everyone else on our invite list) could share it with us. And it started with these invitations.
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, I think I’ve mentioned before that we’re on a budget here, right? I mean, we’re funding this shindig ourselves, and all things wedding are unaccountably expensive. So yes, the money…she is tight. Which makes the next thing I’m about to say make absolutely no sense.
I hired another vendor. A not entirely necessary vendor. A vendor who does, in fact, charge money. That’s right, I hired a day of coordinator!
Now, before you think I’ve lost my very last marble, let me explain. It was nine months before our wedding, and already I knew that there will be tons of setup to do before the ceremony. Then there will be decorations to herd from the ceremony location (errrr, side of the restaurant) to the reception location (other side of the restaurant). There will be things to force on explain to the guests. There will be details to manage. I was starting to get dizzy thinking of how to do as much as possible myself and who I was going to ask to manage those details that cannot be managed solely by me. It was stressing me out. NINE MONTHS IN ADVANCE.
Mrs. Dolphin, Gainesville, FLAge and Occupation: 24, Graduate Architecture StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Interactive Interface DeveloperEngagement Date: February 14, 2008Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Plantation Bay Country ClubAbout Me: I’m currently a Graduate Student at the University of Florida studying Architecture. I enjoy playing Scrabble with my Fiance, rooting for the Florida Gators, making any drink that involves a blender, cleaning (yes... I’m crazy), design... GOOD design that is, the new Pepsi with natural sugar, taking pictures, discovering new places in the U.S., and obsessing over doing (and designing) everything myself for our upcoming wedding!
When we last left off, I had just arrived (a little late) to the altar. We’re going to take a moment before moving on to the ceremony (and our ceremony “confession”) and recap all that’s happened so far…through VIDEO!!!
As you can see, our wedding video is IN! I’m beyond excited. 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.
When we left off, Cinnamum had suggested going the book-y route for invitations; she sent me a few links and a few ideas. One of the ideas was:
How about a photo of the two of you on the front, as though it’s a best-selling novel? A catchy title. Quotes on the back, like:
…boy-meets-girl story against the backdrop of the Rockies. Would their romance be just a summer of love, or would she go to the ends of the earth to be with her man?
…In the dark and dangerous world of backstage at the theatre, their love blossomed. Could it survive a Calgary winter?
While I love how enthusiastic Cinnamum is getting about this…I don’t want that style of invite. I found it hard explaining why I didn’t like that idea, when I still wanted a book-related invite. I think the best I could come up with on the phone was “It’s too theme-y.” This is where I turn into Goldilocks—“Too theme-y!”, “Too standard,” and the elusive “Just right!” So, thus started the search!
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!
Hi hive! Hope you had a blast ringing in the new year! We’ll be taking the site down at 8PM PST/11PM EST tonight for scheduled maintenance and should be back up and running within half an hour. If you’re jonesing for your Weddingbee fix, find us on Twitter and Facebook!
Happy New Year!
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.
“To send a postcard is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart.”
Remember waaaaay back when I shared with you our idea for a Vintage Postcard STD? Well, now that every one of our guests has received theirs, I thought it’d be fun to show you how our first wedding project turned out?
Mrs. Lamb, NorfolkAge and Occupation: 25, Homeland Security ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: January 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Trinity Presbyterian Church/Harrison Opera HouseAbout Me: I’m a Homeland Security Consultant with a tendency towards pulling office pranks, taking lunch breaks, and drinking Wawa shakes. I’m also an English major with a serious obsession with alliteration and rhymes. While I’m not keeping America safe, I’m training for half marathons and the Escape from Alcatraz swim. Or moving for the third time this year. Or baking. Or wedding crafting. Or crying about wedding planning. All the while, I’m getting myself into Lucille Ball-esque scrapes and making Jim Carey-esque faces. Our big fat Czech/Baptist/Jewish/Italian wedding is a combination of vintage eclectic, DIY, and little spoonful of sugar from our Event Coordinator. It’s going to be a Norfolk flavored wedding with the verve of an only-daughter-blow-out bash!
Getting married on a holiday weekend is pretty fun. It makes anniversaries easy to remember and celebrate as well. That is, they’re easy until you realized that you just depleted all your gift ideas at Christmas and have to rack your brains to figure out an anniversary gift, too.
We celebrated a little early by going to Revolution for a special 3 course prix fixe menu. If you’re in the triangle and celebrating something special, Revolution should be at the top of your list to try. The lamb shank I ordered was the size of my head. The waiters started calling me Pebbles. Awesome!
From the Lamma-ramma-ding-dong home to yours, Happy New Year! And to my woolly counterpart, happy anniversary!
