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!
So today I discovered Wedzu via Jenn McMann at Destination Inspiration!! It’s basically Etsy, but JUST for weddings! For all you brides-to-be who’ve know about this and haven’t shared…shame on you! For all you brides-to-be who haven’t been lucky enough to stumble across this site…enjoy!
Miss Oatmeal, Fresno, CAAge and Occupation: 25, Medical Device Sales RepresentativeFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Police Officer/Captain in the US ArmyEngagement Date: February 16, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Private Residence, FresnoAbout Me: I am a toast-loving, list-making, occasionally crazy California girl getting dangerously close to marrying her crime-fighting, patient, man's man fiancé. I’ve never left our hometown of Clovis, CA, I love Anthropologie so much it almost hurts, appreciate promptness, love that our 4lb. Chihuahua, Murphy, smells like Fritos, am irritated by windshield wipers that move too fast for the amount of rain, love me some cold weather, have an unhealthy obsession with boots, and wholeheartedly think that my family is everything. Mr. Oatmeal is, oddly enough, my brother's best friend. He's also the best thing that's ever happened to me, and together we are planning a vintage chic, backyard, spring wedding with a few nontraditional touches while trying to keep up with our crazy lives.
Oh, this is so exciting. As you may recall, I recently posted a few inspiration photos for my wedding-day-hair look. Well, then I took those photos to my lovely and talented stylist for a hair trial. I also brought along my veil so I could get a good idea of how I might look on the big day.
This was, of course, just a trial. So it’s not perfect, but I’m completely in love! My stylist made notes on my pictures to remind her come May.
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.
Disclaimer: Choo choo! Here comes the depressing-post train! I didn’t mean for it to be such a downer, but after rereading it, it’s a little sad.
Right now I’m knee deep in addressing and finishing our STDs, which I can’t wait to reveal! First, though, I want to talk a bit about something I think many of us detail-oriented brides forget: life. It happens regardless of how obsessed we all get during wedding planning.
A few days ago, my great uncle passed away. He was a wonderful man who accomplished some great things in his life as a doctor, husband, and father. The death was fairly sudden, and it broke me out of my “must finish STDs” wedding-planning sunshine-and-rainbows trance.
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.
I’m not totally type A. I’m not as impressive as Miss Lox with a wedding-dress-shopping spreadsheet, but I am definitely an overachiever. It’s not because I’m “Miss Punctual” (hahaha, anyone that’s ever made an appointment with me is laughing their booty off right now) or “Miss Organized” (Mama Bacon is laughing because she remembers my room growing up), but it’s all because I’m “Miss Most-Popular-Date-of-2011.” That’s right. We have a super popular date: September 10, 2011, AKA 9.10.11. (Please don’t stalk me and crash my wedding, kthx.)
You see, we picked the date because it’s our four-year anniversary and the day before Mr. Bacon’s birthday; the fact that it’s oh so easy to remember was just a bonus. So we picked it, I started telling peeps that we wanted that date, and then we went venue shopping. As I mentioned in my venue-search post, eight of the venues we called were already booked for 15 months away, so once we had a place to have this shindig, I went into hyper mode for the rest of the vendors. We picked a DJ, DOC, photographer, filmographer (is that even a word??), baker, and a dress within three months, or almost a year from the wedding. Wedding to-do lists had nothing on me…erm, us.
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!
Like most brides and grooms I knew to set up a couple hotel room blocks at discount, but I was happy to discover that you can set up group discounts for air travel, as well. Since we’re having a semi-destination wedding and a large portion of our guests will be traveling to Palm Springs by plane, we’re quick to jump on board anything that makes getting to the Cheetah wedding easier on our guests.
Until Saturday, the more you spend, the more you save!
10% off $99+
15% off $149+
20% off $199+
We’ve got great wedding essentials in shop, including personalized napkins! The napkins are available in every color under the sun, and you can customize them with your own names and wording! Check out some of our faves:
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.
I’m officially on the hunt for the last of our RSVP cards.
All in all, Mr. O and I are super impressed with the response rate of our fam and friends. Look at how they did! 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.
The Screen Actor’s Guild awards were this weekend, and that means that there is a whole new slew of pretty pale dresses that could easily double as a fabulous bridal gown. And since I’m a sucker for dress porn, I couldn’t wait to share them with the hive.
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’m not too worried about most of our wedding. I think it’s because no matter what, at the end of the day, Mr. EB and I will get married in front of our friends and families, and we’ll throw a kickass party with some amazing food and wine. And if anything happens with any of the details? It’s OK—this is the beginning of our lives together, and new beginnings always have some kinks that need to get worked out.
But the one thing I am worried about? The weather. Specifically I’m really worried about snow. We can deal with any other weather, but snow jacks up everything in the Northwest. And if the weather goes in two-year cycles, then this winter we just might be screwed.
Last winter it only snowed once in Portland, and I think all Seattle got was a few flurries. Of course, that one day came out of nowhere the week after Christmas and turned my normally 25-minute commute into more than six hours (including my having to put on chains in nice work slacks and heels—it was awesome, let me tell you). But the year before that both cities got snowed in for over a week, and everything shut down. Oh, and did I mention it was the week before Christmas? Mr. EB was snowed in for three days before he could get out of the city and drive to his parents’ house, and I didn’t even chance driving to my parents’ house in my car. My dad made the drive from Seattle to come get me so I wouldn’t be stranded by myself for Christmas.
Growing up on the East Coast I saw how things are supposed to work in snowy areas. People know how to drive in snow. And cities plow the roads regularly. The problem in the Northwest is that snow for us is still a pretty rare occurrence. Couple that with inexperienced drivers, cities with practically no snowplows, and an effing ton of hills, and you get scenes like this:
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. 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.
…ummm, hair flowers. And by that I mean I picked a new one! The order has been placed, and my fingers are crossed that this will be the hair flower to steal my heart. Or something like that.
Which one? This one:
The winning hair flower, I think. From Etsy seller AmieNoelDesigns.
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).
Unlike Miss Oatmeal, I’m not really much of a crier. The occasional movie will get me, and if I’m really upset or frustrated I will cry, but in general it takes a lot to bring me to tears. Surprisingly, this is not the case when it comes to the wedding. When I think about our wedding day, there are many parts of it that get me a little teary eyed—imagining seeing King Hippo for the first time as I walk down the aisle, thinking about saying our vows in front of all our family and friends, thinking about how much of our hard earned cash we’re putting into this shindig (kidding…OK…I’m not kidding). I have a feeling I will be emotional, and I know as a wedding guest, seeing the bride or groom cry makes me a little emotional too.
Since there is definitely some potential for tears all around I figured we should be prepared, so I armed myself with Mrs. Sunrise’s tutorial and got to work making these Tears of Joy tissue packets for our guests:
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!
Right after our first look, we made our way two blocks from the hotel to Rittenhouse Square for our formal portraits. I was a little nervous about having our pictures taken at Rittenhouse since it’s a fairly bustling area, full of people, dogs, and sometimes unpredictable homeless people. We pressed on anyway, and though we did see a few pretty funny sites around the park (a cat being walked on a leash, a homeless guy dressed like a clown), our pictures turned out really well!
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 loved our honeymoon. A lot. More than I expected to actually. Normally, my ideal vacation is to go somewhere in Europe that I have meticulously read about in advance and spend my days wandering the streets…blah blah blah. However, for our honeymoon Mr. Knitting and I decided we should go a much more relaxed route and I have to say I’m so happy we did.
Our honeymoon began with a very luxurious chauffeured drive to Montreal. Here’s a look at us luxuriating:
Mrs. Jaguar, SydneyAge and Occupation: 27, Primary School TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Curzon HallAbout Me: I'm an Australian girl who is a self-proclaimed nerd, loves all things stationery and would be lost without books, music and the internet. Mr. Jaguar and I have been together for the past eight years and he finally popped the question last August. Hurrah! We currently live in Sydney, Australia with our adorable cat who thinks he's a person. We're a couple who likes to multi-task: we've been planning a wedding abroad, a permanent move from London to Sydney, and preparing to build our own home all at the same time. Travelling makes me giddy...as does Mr. Jaguar, of course!
So I’ve shown you my makeup trial and my inspiration pictures—now let’s skip the rambling and jump straight to the good stuff. I do rather like getting my hair did, and I was looking forward to seeing what stylist Jenny of Le Fabulous created for me. First up, she curled my hair using a GHD straightener—and I’ve never, ever had such gorgeous ringlets in my life. (Wish I could do those on myself every single day, really.)
All personal photographs
Look 1 was an up-do, slightly off to one side & with a mid-side part:
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
