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.
I can’t believe I’m about to complain about Atlanta winters (it was 62 degrees today! in February!), but man, this one feels like it has just stretched on foreeeeever. This is my third one since moving from Boston, and I feel like each one has gotten progressively longer. I am so ready to get outside! I’m also desperate for a doggie to share the fresh air with, but Mr. Panther says NO, so I’ll just have to strap Josie and Bela into their harnesses and hope for the best. Anyway, that’s a topic for a different post.
Since full-on, straight-up springtime is still at least a few weeks away, the best I can do for now is daydream about our honeymoon. Mr. Panther and I actually booked it back in August! We planned to use frequent flyer miles, and our travel agent said “the sooner, the better,” so we just went ahead and did it. Our agent is going to be watching for sales until July to make sure we get the best deal possible. P.S. - Did you guys know that travel agents are FREE?! From what I hear, they can’t always get you a lower rate, but they can harass the hell out of your resort to make sure you get the exact room you want, and they’re on-call all the time in case your flight is delayed or something. Very useful services like that are generally not free. I like when they are.
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.
Backtrack! I have realized that I started my little invitejourney without talking about how the most important part of the invites came to be: the wording. It’s one thing to design something pretty and breathtaking, but it needs words!
The date, time, venue, and address were all pretty self-explanatory. We also knew that we wanted our wedding website right on the main page of the invite, too. We’re actually planning on that being on every piece of the invite suite, just to hammer it home a little.
The sticky part was the wording at the top of the invite. In my defense, back in July I hadn’t read any books yet on how stuff is generally done, and hadn’t realized that the ones funding the majority of the shindig should be given credit on the invites. At that point Cinnamon Buns and I were thinking of “Together with their parents” because that was way less sticky than trying to figure out how to list both sets of his divorced and re-married parents.
Mrs. Hot Wings, Chicago/San DiegoAge and Occupation: 28, ProfessorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, InstructorEngagement Date: December 20, 2008Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Ocean View Villas/Jasmine Seafood RestaurantAbout Me: I am a psychology grad student living in Chicago and planning my wedding to a fellow psych grad student. I am a Sunny So-Cal bred gal who trudged across the country to follow her love of psychology and ended up finding a partner in the process. I am overly passionate about anything I involve myself with. I am an activist, a foodie, a reality TV watching junkie, an over-analyzer, a photography obsesser, and am utterly cheesy to the core. This is a story of what happens when a boy and a girl meet, fall in love over academic dorkiness, and a shared love for life. We (mostly I) are planning our semi-destination wedding in my hometown of San Diego. We are excited to bring our families and friends together from across our lifespans to celebrate our future in a grand 400+ person culturally blended affair!
Our guest list grew as the day progressed. Our tea ceremony had about 50 guests, our civil ceremony about 80, and our dinner reception would be about 270 strong. We wanted to keep our speeches relatively intimate. If you’ve been to a large Vietnamese reception, you have also probably witnessed the lack of attention paid to the Best Man and Woman of Honor when they give their speeches. To avoid this situation and maintain respect for our bestie’s speeches, we had them immediately following the civil ceremony. It was an AWESOME decision.
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.
The day I turned 16, Aunt Flo grabbed me from school and took me to the RMV for my driver’s permit. I had my birth certificate, payment, forms filled properly—except I needed my social security card. So Aunt Flo rushed me home to get it. The problem then was that every important document in our house resided in an overflowing box organized by a system only my mother could understand. Shit, this system would confuse Dewey Decimal himself. Anywho, you can imagine I became a tad frustrated. My exciting rite of passage turned into crying with my mother on the phone. I eventually found the card and we zoomed back to the RMV a half hour before my Aunt needed to be at work.
Since that day I have been meticulous in the organizing of my personal documents. Of course…
Well, you can just see for yourself below. Read more…
Ms Seahorse, BostonAge and Occupation: 25, Veterinary Jane-of-all-tradesFiancee's Age and Occupation: 36, former non-profit fundraiser in search of something betterEngagement Date: October 17, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Fort Pond LodgeAbout Me: By day I'm a cat-wrangler, vet tech assistant, pet-sitter, receptionist, and pre-vet student, but the rest of the time, I'm a former-roller-derby girl turned dedicated-wedding planner. I love reading, writing, bicycles, animals, roller skating, and antique-y things of all sorts. I'm a vegetarian who likes spicy foods, while Fiancee Seahorse is a meat eater who does not like spices. We live outside Boston with our menagerie: a fifty pound dog, a one-eyed, seventeen-toed, toothless cat, and a perfectly put together cat who has a penchant for pooping near rather than in her litter box. In addition to planning our small lake-side wedding, we enjoy running around with the puppy, playing board games (Scrabble, anyone?), having little adventures, talking about how we should really clean the house more, and maintaining our little garden of vegetables and wedding flowers.
So, it’s not Pi Day, but it was just Valentine’s Day, and that is a month away from Pi Day… thus, I bring you The Post of Pies.
You may recall that for our wedding, we opted out of cake and instead decided we wanted community-contributed pies. We didn’t solicit everyone: only people who wanted to make pies were responsible for the pies, and our awesome caterers took care of making it all look pretty. My fabulous sister/MOH made sure there were little signs available so that everyone knew what each pie was and whom it came from. This felt like another really fantastic way for the people of our community to be involved. We are absolutely not organized enough to pull off a pot-luck wedding, but potluck dessert? Sounds good. (AND! A couple of awesomebees even mailed us some pies!)
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.
Guys, I have a confession to make. I have an addiction…to hair flowers. I mean, I know we’ve talked about thisbefore. But since then, I have actually bought not one, but two more. Two! Two. More. Hair flowers. It’s a sickness.
I don’t know why I can’t seem to stop purchasing them. I am helpless in the face of them. I have no self-control. I mean, it could be worse, right? They could be dresses or something. But they’re not. They’re just hair flowers. Four of them.
Who does that? Who has four hair flowers? That would be me. Two of them are currently in my apartment. Those you have seen. This one is currently flying to me from Turkey:
Trio Light Pink and Brown Rosette Hair Comb by cheerfulrosette (source)
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!
Recently, we completed our second premarital session with our officiant. We had the chance to follow up on our homework assignments from our last session, talk about drama (there always seems to be some when there’s a wedding involved), and talk about our future marriage and finalize the order of the ceremony. Do you know what that means? It means we get to make those passport programs!
From my prior post, you can see the embossing steps for the covers of the passports. Once the ceremony was set in stone I started the daunting task of printing all of the pages out: three pages (two of those pages had back and front printing on them) multiplied by 124 programs. With 372 pages to cut I finally wised up and cut 5-6 pages at a time. We probably won’t need that many programs, but I already embossed all the covers and I didn’t want them to go to waste.
Once the back pages were printed and cut (thank you trusty paper cutter!), I used spray adhesive to glue them to the covers.
Mrs. Rainbow, TampaAge and Occupation: 22, Makeup ArtistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Electrical Engineer/ProgrammerEngagement Date: November 27, 2008Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: The Gamble PlantationAbout Me: I'm a quirky (and slightly Type-A) freelance makeup artist who was born in Washington State, raised in Alabama, and now living with my one and only in sunny Florida. I'm fashion and beauty obsessed, and have recently discovered my inner domestic diva extraordinaire. I'm a wannabe chef, decorating addict, and trying desperately to be as crafty as possible---albeit only with a glue gun. I'm hopelessly in love with my fiance, and all things sparkly and feathery. Despite the glittery exterior, I'm a total hippie on the inside. When I'm not making up pretty faces, I love doing what I can to help people, animals, and the environment. Someday the FI and I will change the world, but first we're tackling our modern-vintage-Marie-Antoinette-meets-Alice-in-Wonderland inspired wedding. I just can't wait to be Mrs. Rainbow!
I know everyone is going crazy about BHLDN, the new Anthropologie bridal line. They definitely have some undeniably gorgeous wedding gowns, but what really piqued my interest was their lingerie.
I’ve seen the dresses and accessories, but it seems the lingerie is a bit of an unsung hero.
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!
Overall, I’m pretty easy to please with formal hairstyles. I think I’m just so bad at doing my own hair that anything a stylist does looks like a masterpiece next to my everyday styling (or lack thereof). Even so, I brought in a bunch of inspiration photos for my hair trial last month. While my inspirations styles were all over the hair-style map, the one thing they had in common was that they were all up-dos. I like wearing my hair down, but after a few hours I get sick of it and soon it’s in a pony tail or weird bun-knot-thing on the top of my head. Plus, I feel fancier with my hair styled in an up-do and I want to feel like Ms. Fancy-Pants-Bride come the wedding day.
Since I’ll be wearing two veils throughout the day, my stylist and I decided that a low asymmetrical style was in order. Here’s what it looked like right after the appointment:
It’s hard trying to take photos of the back of your own head
We have a great contest for you today! If you’re considering the DIY flower route for your wedding day, Bunchesdirect.com offers beautiful bulk flowers with guaranteed best prices and can save you up to 83% over local florists’ prices. They offer comprehensive services including wholesale flowers, consultation and delivery. Consultation is totally free—a Bunchesdirect.com designer will show you how to create gorgeous arrangements for your wedding and will even help you select your wedding flowers! Today, Bunchesdirect.com is giving away a $200 gift certificate to use on their website to one lucky Weddingbee reader!
You have two chances to enter this contest!
Simply visit Bunchesdirect.com and visit their bulk flower selection, then come back here and let us know what your favorite flower is that they carry! And for a second chance to win, follow Weddingbee on Twitter and retweet this contest (if you’re already a follower, simply retweet by clicking here!). Then come back here and let us know that you followed/retweeted. You have until Wednesday, February 16th at 11:59 PM PST to enter. Good luck!
Mrs. Pain au Chocolat, Wilmington, DEAge and Occupation: 29, RealtorFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, RealtorEngagement Date: November 21, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Greenville Country ClubAbout Me: An ENFJ with an artistic streak who loves backgammon, sailing, graphic design, and sleeping in. Travel (near or far), good wine, and tasty food makes my heart sing. I'm a compulsive list-maker who lives to plan and organize. Mr. P and I have lived together for 4 years, all the while renovating our city townhome bit by bit. We're planning a whimsical, Anthropologie-inspired garden wedding in June 2011.
Registering over a three-day holiday weekend is a productive use of time…except when everyone else has the day off and is hiding from the 100-degree June heat. You can escape the heat, but not the crowds. We had a whole day with nothing planned and just two store registries to tackle.
Source (If you’re into consumer behavior, the linked article is interesting.)
Catch up on the entire After “I Do” series here! And if you have a burning question you’d like to see discussed, submit it here!
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How did your relationship change in the first year of your marriage? When comparing day 1 of your marriage to day 365, did you sense any specific/notable changes? If the changes were negative, what were some things you and your SO did to get back on track?
Marriage for me has been like running a three-legged race. You’d better be in this thing TOGETHER and in sync, otherwise you’re going to fall flat on your face.
Before Mr. Powder Puff and I got married, we’d make joint decisions. Joint decisions like where were we going to go for dinner. Once we signed our marriage license, we realized that we are now a unit, a family. And we make decisions based on what’s best for the family, not just us as individuals. From little things, like what kind of curtains to get, to big things like where we’ll live and how we’ll spend our money, everything needs to be run past and agreed upon by the other person. This has really taken a lot of trust and compromise that wasn’t as necessary before we tied the knot.
Sometimes Mr. Powder Puff and I get out of sync and have a stumble. But the best part about marriage is you always have a partner to help you get back up. Hopefully with time we’ll become even more adept at working together. Heck, we have an entire lifetime to perfect it! Until then, we’ll keep picking each other up, and working toward our goals…together. Read more…
Mrs. Locket, Ithaca, NYAge and Occupation: 25, Research TechnicianFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, former Banker hoping to become an Officer of the LawEngagement Date: June 15, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heron Hill WineryAbout Me: I am a little bit of everything all rolled into one: A girly gal with rough edges---I love to get dolled up just as much as I enjoy throwing on some sneaks to toss a ball with Mr. Locket. My love for crafting and creating is quite apparent and I've been referred to as a Wonder Woman/Martha Stewart/Stepford Wife hybrid (yup, I'll take that as a compliment). I adore sewing, photography, sculpture, good eats (mmm tapas), baking, snugging and oh, pretty much everything in between (there's not much I dislike). I am super excited to be planning our vineyard wedding and couldn't be happier to be marrying Mr. Locket. We are a quirky, fun-loving couple residing in our college town with our two pups Maple and Molly. We love to go on hikes, visit our local dog park and to bask in the beauty of many of the local falls and gorges. We are an indecisive pair, but together we somehow manage to make up our minds (it's the easy stuff that's tricky).
February 14 marked our first Valentine’s Day (and nearly 5 months) as husband and wife. And, though I don’t believe in all the hype around the holiday (I think your loved ones should let you know how they feel every day) I still get excited every time it comes.
In our years together the day has been filled with so many wonderful memories. We’ve spent the love-filled day crafting each other homemade Valentines, getting snowed in, preparing fancy feasts, dining out, and running a 5K. This year, my gift to him was a bountiful homemade breakfast and heart-tarts with homemade blueberry filling.
Personal photo
His gift to me? Absolute and utter perfection! But, before I give it away, let me preface with the back story (here comes the wedding stuff).
Mrs. Crepe, Queens, NY/Nashville, TNAge and Occupation: 28, Jewelry DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Animation DirectorEngagement Date: September 28, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: A church in downtown NashvilleAbout Me: I'm a native New Yorker who has always been a DIY kind of girl and loves tackling creative projects while getting the most out of a dollar. I'm marrying my college sweetheart and we love frequenting antique stores, exploring together, and playing with kittens. We're planning a fun, "us" wedding in his hometown---with as many handmade touches as we can pack into a day!
Since we’re planning this wedding long distance, Mr. Crepester and I schedule meetings over the phone to discuss details. Something that has been so helpful in this process is Dropbox. Whenever I have photos or links to share, I can compile them in folders and, in a few minutes, the mister can access them.
Last night we had one of those phone/web meetings. Mr. Crepe had taken photos of the space, and here is basically what we are working with:
Marriage for me has been like running a three-legged race. You’d better be in this thing TOGETHER and in sync, otherwise you’re going to fall flat on your face.
