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.
I started Weight Watchers on September 23rd, 2010. Four months later, I am down exactly 27 pounds. Thanks to the handy tools on WeightWatchers.com, I know that that means I’ve lost an average of 1.5 pounds per week and almost 15% of my total body weight.
I wish that things were going at a quicker rate, but 1.5 pounds a week is considered a healthy weight loss rate. And I’ll be honest: I slacked a bit around the holidays and gained almost 3 pounds. I lost it again (and then some) but it definitely slowed me down. But you know what? I don’t regret it. My future mother-in-law is an amazing cook and I didn’t want to miss a bite!
I didn’t think to take a before photo, but here is an engagement photo that was shot a few weeks before I started dieting. I put the same dress on today to take a progress photo (don’t judge on the wrinkled dress or my messy updo, please!)
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!
It was finally time to do our first look! Our photographer Georgi picked out a place in our hotel where we could do it without a lot of other people around. Originally, he wanted it to just be me and Mr. Socks, but I knew Momma Socks would just DIE if she didn’t see what was going on, so she and my bridesmaids had a balcony view to what was going on:
Photo by Sister Socks
But here’s how the first look happened… Mr. Socks’ back was turned: 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!
When you read as many wedding blogs and magazines as I do (I know I’m not the only wedding p*rn addict out there), you become pretty aware of all the current wedding trends. I’m not one to blindly follow a trend just to be “in,” but I’m also not one to shy away from a trend just because it’s, well, trendy. So which trends are “in” and which ones are “out” for the Cheetah wedding?
Probably out. I love photo booths, I do. I’ve only been to one wedding that had one and it was a ton of fun. But I have no idea where we’d put it and there is the extra cost/project to consider as well. I’m also worried that there would be a line and it would take people off the dance floor. And these Cheetahs want a dance party. 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. 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!
Honestly, I have no idea. I talked earlier about how I want them all to find a knee-length black dress, and I’m going to give them pashminas as part of their gifts to keep them warm and add a little color to their outfits. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that this was going to be a slightly harder task than I envisioned. I really just want them to have dresses that they like and that they will wear again, and I love the look of non-matching bridesmaids’ dresses.
But, it turns out that my girls wanted a little bit more direction than that. So I sent them a long e-mail complete with links to lots of different dresses, including these from J.Crew:
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.
Where did we leave off? Oh yeah, I had just left the invitation store bawling and decided I was going to take a stab at Adobe Illustrator! As soon as I got home, I downloaded the 30-day free trial and got to work.
There’s really no way to describe what I went through as a I navigated the program except to say that it was rough. Thank God for Google, because I was typing questions in left and right about how to download vectors and how to work with them. I learned to download new fonts, which was cool, and overall, the process taught me a lot! Mainly, it made me wish I would have paid more attention in Graphics Design class in college (d’oh)! Funny how the semester I took that class was the semester that I met Mr. B! It figures!
Finally, I found a useful tutorial here (I highly recommend it to those of you new to this program), and after almost two weeks of fiddling, this is what I had come up with:
Not too bad, eh?
Like most brides, I wanted a few inserts that matched the invitation design.
Here’s what I created for the “Additional Information,” card:
Mrs. French Fries, MilwaukeeAge and Occupation: 27, ParalegalFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Investments AdvisorEngagement Date: September 20, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Ceremony: Catholic Church, Reception: Hotel BallroomAbout Me: I'm a Midwestern girl who longs to live in a warmer climate (my feet would be happy in flip flops any day!). I love travel, impromptu napping, grilled cheese sandwiches, my iPhone, singing with reckless abandon in my car, and Mr. French Fries.
I’M BACK! …er, well maybe I’m just back for a hot minute. But! I’m so happy to be posting here again! I’ve missed everyone! Have you done something new with your hair? Have you lost weight? It’s been SO LONG! OK…maybe not. It’s been 2 months. Whatever. Let’s get to the point of this post, mmmmmkay?
~~~
Once upon a time (or really, last summer) I channeled my inner Matt Foley – Motivational Speaker, and posted about how I was going to go out and get the (sewing) world by the tail and wrap it around and put it in my pocket by taking an online sewing class. I’m happy to report that I have not resorted to eating a steady diet of government cheese whilst living in a van down by the river.
In fact, Home Ec (and married life in general!) has gone quite well and I’ve learned a lot (let’s just not talk about how I haven’t exactly finished all of the Home Ec tutorials/classes…that’s another story for another day). I’ve learned enough to sew curtains for some of our windows, two quilted table runners for our dining room table, and a tote bag (with a lining! and handles! and an inner pocket!) to carry my extra “gear” to and from work. I’ve come a long way from being scared to even thread my sewing machine, but I admit that I still have a very long way to go.
Way before all of that Home Ec stuff, though…all the way back when I was a blushing bride to be, I posted about a grand idea I had to make all of the napkins for our wedding reception. You’ll also recall that my mom had to step in and finish that project for me because I was full of ideas but low on time (and confidence!) to finish them myself. And now, just because I love remembering how they looked on our wedding day…a little bit napkin action:
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.
Last month was one of the craziest I’ve had so far since we first got engaged: I finally accepted the fact that my dress might not actually be “the one.” That one was right at the top of the list of “Things that will not happen to me during wedding planning.” In my last post, I mentioned that I would be shopping alone to try on my purchased dress. Since then, Mama Bacon and I have put together a plan that doesn’t involve nearly as much lonely suburban shopping. She and FMIL Bacon are both going to come to Chicago, and we are going to do it together.
Having a plan is soooooo helpful!
Even at the beginning, dress shopping was something more or less thrown together at the spur of the moment without much of a plan. Here’s how it went: Read more…
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.
While we were up by our venue, we got to do possibly the most fun thing ever in wedding planning. We got to go pick a cake. Sure, sure, it sounds boring—until you realize that in order to pick a cake? You have to eat cake. Even Mr. Lox couldn’t pretend not to be excited about a cake tasting. What could be wrong with tasting cake?
This was made even more fun by the fact that the cake is included in our contract with the venue. So not only did we get to eat cake, but after the sickening number the florist had just given us, we didn’t have to look at another quote. Yay cake tasting!
First we sat down in the bakery and looked through their giant book of cake pictures. I felt this exercise was pointless, as I already had a picture of our perfect cake.
I totally gave this to our baker, just as I threatened to. (source)
Mrs. Lobster, BrooklynAge and Occupation: 29, Finance GirlFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Finance BoyEngagement Date: July 25, 2009Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Stage 6 Steiner StudiosAbout Me: I'm a New York-born, Virginia-bred girl who's found her way back to the big city. Mr. Lobster and I met in grad school and have been together ever since. I'm clueless about DIY but am an avid online shopper and love all things polka dots, stripes, and ruffles! When I'm not making wedding lists, you can find me looking for snacks, watching Gilmore Girls, or hanging out with Mr. Lobster and our new puppy Buddy! We are planning a fancy-pantsy Brooklyn wedding for a hot New York summer night which is sure to be a misadventure in the making.
We interrupt these Lobster recaps for a few photos of the reception to set the mood. Our reception hall during set-up. You can see the tealight candles on the window ledges.
Centerpieces by the amazing Jeannie at Atlas Floral Decorators. We chose a garden arrangement with light colors similar from my bouquet—pinks, purples, blush, with green—in a silver pedestal vase, surrounded by three goblets with floating candles. At the last minute, we added amber uplighting which you can sort of see on the far columns. This really made the room feel romantical and warm. Read more…
Mrs. Biscuit, Morgantown, WVAge and Occupation: 24, Dental StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Chemist at a pharmaceutical companyEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: July 2011Venue: Catholic Church, Lakeview Golf Resort and SpaAbout Me: I'm an engineer who decided to trek back to my hometown three years ago to become skilled in the arts of drilling and filling. I'm engaged to a pretty awesome guy who tests your assorted benzodiazepines by day and home brews by night. Together we have two fur children, Tsali and Tobias N. Fünkat. I'm a lazy perfectionist and eternal sorority girl who enjoys running, crafting, string cheese, good beer, and bad reality TV. We are planning a Big Fat Italian/Sicilian/Polish wedding filled with DIY details and are expecting 300 +/- 50 guests. Our whimsical summer affair is themed "Alice attends the Mad Hatter Vintage Garden Tea Party in a Ballroom. She Thinks That The Venue is Odd for a Vintage Garden Party, but is Tripping on LSD, so She Doesn't Really Care." Yes, I am the Dickens of themes.
I have a confession to make. My name is Miss Biscuit, and I am a wedding-holic. No, I don’t feel the need to crash unsuspecting victims’ weddings, and my addiction hasn’t ruined my home or professional life (yet), but I’ve definitely got an obsession.
The wedding has tapped into one of the major flaws in my personality. You see, as a youngster, my parents rarely told me no (except to getting a race-car bed…sigh). Sometimes they probably should have said no, like when I tipped my hair red and ended up looking like Ronald McDonald with brown roots and subsequently had to bleach out my hair. In a way, I suppose they were smart because I never felt the need to alter my hair unnaturally again. Also, they never had to worry about guys asking me out after that day. Sneaky, sneaky parents.
However, they missed the boat when teaching me about temperance. Not temperance with food or drink; I learned about that the hard way all by myself. I’m talking about temperance when shopping. If I find a pair of jeans I like, I buy four of the same pair. Oh, that’s a nice coat…perhaps I will buy every color! Anthropologie just got a cardigan shipment? Why, I shall buy MANY designs. And then I’m stuck with a billion cardigans, jeans I can’t even wear during the school week, and three coats that I realize don’t fit properly when I get home. I know, I sound like a toddler, but I think that my emotional age is around two or three when it comes to things like this.
Mrs. Jellyfish, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Air Force PilotEngagement Date: February 21, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Casa Real at Ruby Hill WineryAbout Me: In a nutshell, I’m the most optimistic worrywart you’ll ever meet. My family emigrated from Romania to San Jose, CA when I was 8, and I've been a Nor Cal girl ever since! My fiancé is also a Bay Area native, so it’s funny that we met at UCLA, as college freshmen living on the same floor (go Bruins!). Between his career as an Air Force pilot and my path to becoming a lawyer, our relationship has been anything but typical. We currently live together in Berkeley with our puppy Stinson. In addition to spending time with the loves of my life, I enjoy crafting, attempting complicated recipes, environmental law and non-law school reading (Us Weekly, anyone?). Follow along as I plan an elegant 200-person winery wedding, graduate law school, take the Bar exam, get married and get used to the always unpredictable but never boring life of a military spouse!
In the moments before our walk down the aisle, Papa Jelly and I waited patiently inside the front entry hall of Casa Real while the bridal party processed through the venue’s large wooden doors into the outdoor courtyard where our ceremony would take place. Papa Jelly and I both giggled nervously and made small talk while we waited for our turn to walk. Like father, like daughter.
After the bridal party finished walking out, the Casa Real staff closed the large wooden doors while the processional music faded out and the song I would be walking down the aisle to came on:
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.
Now that you know who our caterers are, it’s time to talk about the style of food we want at the wedding. First off, it is an evening wedding, around dinner time, so we know that people will expect to be fed. Don’t get me wrong, we are happy to feed them!
It’s funny, but both Cinnamon Buns and I had similar thoughts about the food quite early on in our engagement. We both decided that we weren’t to hot on the ‘chicken or fish’ type of sit-down meal that a lot of weddings have. We said to each other, “Could we just have appetizers? So many appetizers that people could eat until they’re full?”
Grazing is one of my favourite ways to eat—cheese and a couple crackers here, a banana there, grapes now, rice pudding in a bit. It also means that there would be a lot more choices for everybody. I always think,” what if you’re a vegetarian, and the veggie choice of meal is roasted eggplant, but you hate eggplant. What do you eat then?” There would be no problems like that at a ‘heavy appetizer’ wedding. We decided to go for it.
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!
Y’know how there are a few (dozen) completely unnecessary wedding-related things that you just have to have? Like someone to make balloon animals at the reception or 13 pairs of wedding shoes? For me (this time), it was cake flags.
I’m not sure where I first got the idea, but I’m thinking it may have been from the fabulous Mrs. Cupcake.
Mrs. Lioness, AtlantaAge and Occupation: 25, Physical TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, AttorneyEngagement Date: August 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Anthony’s Fine DiningAbout Me: I’m a Southern girl with New England roots. I say "wicked" and "y’all" in the same sentence and I like to drink sweet tea with my lobster. Mr. Lion and I are both former Floridians now living in Atlanta, which fortunately is still SEC country...Go Gators! We both love baseball, coffee, traveling, cooking, and playing Words with Friends with each other on our iPhones all day long. I’m very passionate about the things and the people I love, and I tend to plan things with all of my heart...our wedding, of course, is no different! Oh, and also Mr. Lion is a first generation American of Cuban descent. I may look more like Lucy than Ricky, but I’m doing my best to incorporate some Latin elements into our vintage-garden-Southern wedding!
We booked our venue over a year ago. We knew early on that it was exactly what we wanted, and we eagerly signed up to have both our ceremony and our reception there. The venue was then crossed off the to-do list and promptly placed on the back burner. Our Day-Of Coordinator over there checked in with us from time to time, but other than that, it was out of sight and out of mind. Now that our wedding is about two months away, I decided to schedule a meeting with our DOC to start ironing out the details. What time does this vendor arrive? What does the pattern of traffic flow look like from ceremony to cocktail hour? Where is our candy buffet going to be?
What followed were a series of epiphanies. Not the good kind, either. The kind where innocence is lost and you’re left thinking, “Crap! What do I do now?” I believe there’s a Disney princess out there somewhere whose face can convey this emotion…
