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!
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).
If you’ve been following along, you’ll remember from this post that we are having food stations, instead of a formal, seated dinner or traditional buffet. Making signage for these tasty stations (can you say mac ’n’ cheese?!) has been on my to do list for a while now, and honestly, I figured if I didn’t get around to making them, it wouldn’t be a big deal. I would be the only person at the entire event who would even notice that they weren’t there. But Mrs. Sewing’s post about her food signs made me move this project a little higher on my to do list.
Using leftover supplies from our wedding invitations, I threw together these bad boys for the food stations:
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!
Does anyone else suffer from perfection-induced paralysis? You know, how you want something to be so beautiful, so right, so…so…perfect that you can’t actually take any action toward starting it? This happens to me in SO many areas of my life, from school to work and now to wedding planning. I actually had a professor in law school take me aside at one point and tell me that my desire to make everything perfect before declaring it finished was actually a huge hindrance, and it was holding me back in her clinic. Because I so badly wanted to make sure that whatever I was doing was perfect, half the time I couldn’t even start something because I told myself that there was no way I could make it perfect, so what was the point? This ultimately meant that many things took me much, much longer to accomplish, mainly because I just couldn’t get myself to start them.
Mrs. Panther, Atlanta GA/Westport CTAge and Occupation: 24, Web WriterFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Music Recording EngineerEngagement Date: March 13, 2010Wedding Date: July 2011Venue: The Inn at LongshoreAbout Me: I'm a total goofball who goes through life at a breakneck pace, trying not to knock anything over. I tend to fall in love with everything I encounter, but more than anything, I love my two little kitties, Bela and Josie, and my big kitty, Mr. Panther! As a wannabe crafter, I'm still waiting for my artistic talents to emerge. (Any day now, really.) In the meantime, I spend my days eating anything put in front of me, buying every pair of shoes I see and absorbing wedding inspiration from every inch of my surroundings. Mr. Panther and I are hardcore New Englanders planning Connecticut nuptials from our new home in the Dirty South, and can't wait to mix our newfound love of classic Southern charm with some modern city touches.
My last post was boring—be honest, most of you don’t care about bookcases and computer software—so today, I wanted to share something seriously amazing. And whenever I think of seriously amazing weddings, I think about those created by my dream team of vendors: Jesi Haack, JL Designs and Sweet & Saucy Shop.
Jesi Haack is a wedding designer/coordinator/dream-maker. JL Designs does floral and event styling. And Sweet & Saucy makes gorgeous desserts and designs INCREDIBLE dessert tables. These vendors are all based in Southern California, so they never would have been an option for me even if I could afford them. Sigh. But in my dreams, my wedding looks like one of these. They’re not all JL Designs and/or Sweet & Saucy, but they’re all Jesi Haack. The woman is a magician.
My very favorite is one you’ve probably already seen, due to the INSANE paper flower ceremony arch. But there’s so much more to this wedding. Jesi called it “Wedded Whimsy” on her blog, but I generally call it “I Just Died and Went to Wedding Heaven.”
Do you recognize that arch? Here’s the photo that really made the blog rounds—recognize it now? 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.
That last post was one of the hardest I’ve written so far. I am still shocked that I’ve become one of those brides that you see on TV; you know the ones—the girls who try on a million dresses, finally pick a dress, and months later decide it’s not the one and demand a new dress. I am her. That girl who I have mocked and watched with just a hair of disgust. I am that wishy-washy, drama monger of a bride that wants to have two dresses.
Mrs. Taco, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 29, writer/editorFiance's Age and Occupation: 37, editorEngagement Date: May 13, 2009Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: The Green Room at the War Memorial Veterans BuildingAbout Me: I like laughing and talking with good friends over good food and good drink, be it wine, cocktail, or brew. I write and edit things for fun and profit, but I rarely "write" these days without a keyboard and high-speed internets. Favorites include Mr. Taco, my Boston terrier, San Francisco, getting out of town, and the Roaring ’20s. I was kind-of planning a wedding since roughly 2006, when I discovered "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?" on the WE channel. I ran and didn't look back with a theme I called "urban vintage," and it culminated in the most magical day a taco could ask for.
I’m half-Filipino, meaning half of my heritage is abundantly photographed and the other half is not.
Har har. But, really, though. Filipino folks tend to love enormous portraits with, like, 40 people in them. Family, other side of family, certain groups of friends, and any other combination you can think of. This is especially true at weddings. I think it’s really nice to get photos of multiple generations, or even a single generation that doesn’t see each other regularly. Even updated photos of you and your pals are great, too.
But…
It tends to be logistically difficult at weddings, from what I’ve seen as an observer/participant in such photo sessions. Given a handful of other logistical obstacles to contend with, including parents with mobility issues and a complicated “room flip” from ceremony to reception, portraits like these were a low priority. For similar reasons, we didn’t pose with each table for group photos, either, which is also unusual compared with the Filipino-centric weddings I’ve been to.
So, this post stems off this post, which is when we actually took the photos below.
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.
It took me quite a bit of time to find the perfect wedding shoe and, I admit, I was very clueless when I began to look. As much as I like color, I was afraid that a colored shoe would clash with my dress. Don’t remember what my dress looks like? Here’s a refresher.
Now, I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m really not a shoe person. Especially heels. I have worn the same style of black pointy-toed three-inch pumps from Nine West for every classy occasion since I was 18 years old. When one pair wore out, I just bought a new pair that was exactly the same. Yup, I’m that girl. Here’s another secret: I have super ugly feet. I mean, my toes are weird. There’s one that’s not totally straight, and they’re kind of chubby. OK, now that I’ve fully disclosed my issues: on to the shoes.
As much as I would love a pair of Louboutins to cherish forever, I can’t justify the cost. I recently bought a pair of gold Nina Culvers for a wedding and, at a tenth of the cost of a designer shoe, the price was right.
Mrs. French Toast, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 29, Marketing & PRFiance's Age and Occupation: IT geek by day, self-proclaimed handyman by nightEngagement Date: October 2009Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Palm Event CenterAbout Me: I’m a city girl at heart who moved to the suburbs a year ago. Now I’m adjusting to life with a front lawn, nosy neighbors, cooking attempts, and making sure the garbage pail is pulled out on time every week! When I’m not traveling, Mr. FT and I enjoy marathon sessions of Law & Order: SVU, snowboarding, photography, spoiling our 3-year old yorkie-poodle Mokka and disagreeing over what music to listen to in the car. We’re planning a small winery wedding while incorporating some cultural elements into the day as a nod to our Chinese backgrounds.
Take a look at this photo and then bury it far, far into your mind.
Let’s pretend the 17 cent Ram stamp wasn’t even next to the pair of kumquats, because it’ll make me feel much better. I’ll never understand why USPS doesn’t have nice, neutral looking stamps. I just know that if you plan on getting the wedding rings (44 cents) or wedding cake (61 cents) stamps, you should order it in advance from usps.com. Don’t make the same mistake as I did thinking that you can casually walk in and buy pretty stamps to your heart’s content.
I brought 25 of these babies to the post office yesterday. When I asked the clerk if the invites could be hand-canceled, she gave me an exasperated look and said it would cost an additional $1.00 each.
Mrs. Knitting, TorontoAge and Occupation: 24, Student Recruitment Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Neuroscience PhD CandidateEngagement Date: October 2009Wedding Date: December 2010Venue: University of Toronto Faculty Club
About Me: I'm a pearl wearing, etiquette book reading Toronto girl who loves cooking and baking, museums, charm bracelets, and collecting books on Jackie Kennedy (a lot). I've been known to spend Sunday mornings at the antique market, Wednesday evenings at sister sushi dinners, and any bit of spare time reading. After six and a half years of many late night walks, watching DVDs together in bed, travelling to places like New York, and Tobermory, doing Sudokus together on the couch, lots of Indian food, the occasional yoga class, moving in together and so much more, Mr. Knitting and I are planning a cozy Christmasy (it's a word!), vintage wedding in Toronto complete with many DIY projects (eek!) and lots of help from our amazing group of family and friends.
I actually don’t really remember. Shortly after we got engaged I became a little obsessed with wedding blogs and I think I found Weddingbee from a link from another blog (maybe Martha?). I read it for a bit, but I lost interest around the holidays (what’s wrong with me?). However, in January 2010 I became a WB fanatic and pretty much read every single post every day.
My Application
I didn’t know anything about blogging when I decided I wanted to apply, but I figured that was no reason to stop me! I’m definitely one of the bees who only started a wedding blog so that I could be a bee. I also didn’t tell anyone I was applying for Weddingbee, except for Mr. Knitting.
I’m really glad that I didn’t know that some bees put together really fancy high tech applications because mine was definitely a very straightforward 7 page Word document without a single colour, illustration, or picture to be found. My blog had lots of pictures, but my application was very boring looking. I sent my application in a week before I technically should of (after reading that Mrs. Cupcake sent hers in way before!). About 4 weeks later, while I was in Amsterdam on an amazing trip with a friend, I got an email from Mrs. Penguin offering me a place as a bee. I was so excited, but also a bit sad that I would have to wait a whole month until I got back to Canada before actually starting to blog!
Frolicking in Siena as a brand new bee: 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.
I literally just sat and stared at my screen for five minutes trying to come up with a witty title for this. Obviously, I failed. Moving on.
So awhile ago, Mr. Lox and I drove up to the wedding venue and made what I think were the last of our initial vendor meetings. One was a brand new vendor selection for us. It was time for something I really wanted but had been intimidated to approach…the florist. I had a vision of a beautiful bouquet, and since we’re not having floral centerpieces and we have no bridal party, my bouquet is like our one flower splurge. So we wanted a bouquet for me, a boutonniere for Mr. Lox, and a petal aisle and petals for the centerpieces. (OK, OK, that will make them not entirely non-floral. I see that now.) Because I didn’t know what I was doing, I worked hard on this inspiration board.
All images from Projectwedding, except the following: Center picture from this thread on the Weddingbee Boards, and top row center image is mine
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!
Let’s set the scene, shall we? We’ve come up with the awesome idea to create boarding passes for our escort cards.
The only problem is that they lay flat. There’s nothing wrong with flat escort cards, but I thought that it would be nice to stand them up. Enter the ever popular wine corks.
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!
I brought three pairs of shoes to my first fitting and a clear winner emerged:
The Ivory T-Straps!
I love the way they look with my dress as is, but that didn’t stop me from hitting Google in a shoe-clip search-frenzy as soon as I got home. Here are some of my top finds: Read more…
Mrs. Buttons, Clearwater, FLAge and Occupation: 24, "Working on it"Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Financial ServicesEngagement Date: June 13, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Carlouel Yacht ClubAbout Me: I'm a self proclaimed perfectionist and a professional nomad (seriously, I've lived in TX, WI, MI, FL, NC, and now VA!). I love wine, cooking, curling up with a good book (nerd alert!), spoiling the furbaby, and of course, the wonderful Mr. Buttons! We are planning a lighthearted and whimsical wedding (with a good deal of DIY projects) in Clearwater, Florida, but from a distance of 800 miles away! We are looking forward to sharing our day with our family and friends, and most importantly, starting our lives together as husband and wife!
Once my bustle was properly fastened, it was time to join our guests for cocktail hour! However, as most brides will find: there are always some distractions in the way. As soon as I exited the powder room, I was met by friends and family who wanted to give their congratulations once again.
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."
For me, there is no such thing. At least, not in the way you normally hear it talked about on TLC.
I mean sure, when I was younger I dreamed up wedding ideas, but they all involved Lisa Frank invitations, Prince Charmont as the groom and Book-It Personal Pan Pizzas at the reception. All great ideas that I grew out of. (Except Char. Sorry Mr. PD.)
There are a hundred weddings that could be a dream wedding for me. Destination wedding on the sandy beaches of Cape Cod? Dream wedding. A simple, romantic courthouse wedding? Dream wedding. Full-scale, luxury production? I could make it into a dream wedding. If any of these made the most sense for our guests, our budget, our life, then that’s probably what we’d be doing.
I don’t have One Set Dream Way of doing any specific element of my wedding. I could have dreamed up plenty of color schemes. Plenty of invitation suites, venues, food. Winter, summer, fall. Details.
