Mrs. Hyena, College Station, TXAge and Occupation: 23, Marketing SpecialistFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Aerospace Engineering Grad StudentEngagement Date: January 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Downtown 202About Me: I'm a Texas girl who met my future hubby in high school, then headed up to Oklahoma for a college education (BOOMER SOONER!) before moving back to the Lone Star State to be with him. I love reading and recycling, Photoshop and reality TV, making lame jokes and then laughing at them, quoting movies, and Mr. Hyena most of all. I'm perpetually early and I like to get things accomplished. When my cat meows at me, I meow back. We're planning a laid-back, unintentionally DIY wedding with a cocktail-party vibe, and can't wait to celebrate our nuptials with our nearest and dearest!
I was walking back to my office after lunch on Tuesday, when I got an email on my phone. “Weddingbee Application,” the subject line said. I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high; in fact, I hadn’t even told the mister I had applied, just in case. You know how these things go. I cautiously opened the email…and my eyes practically bugged out of my head. I’d be a great addition to the Weddingbee team?! Sweeter words have never been typed! I calmly walked into my office, shut the door behind me, and proceeded to jump up and down Anchorman style for a good ten minutes. I am a BEE! I’m so EXCITED!
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!
Mr. Lion and I recently visited the Fulton County courthouse here in Atlanta in order to obtain our marriage license. Yep, a license. From the courthouse. It all sounded very complicated and official. Very grown-up. Ick.
I was a little concerned because the requirements to apply for a marriage license in Georgia were somewhat vague. I rely on the internet for many things in my life. I love being able to come to a site with a simple question and easily find a simple answer (have I mentioned how much I love you, Hive?). Unfortunately, important sites like county courthouses can be difficult to navigate, horribly disorganized, etc. A simple Google search revealed that Mr. Lion and I both had to show up to apply, and that we needed some form of identification. It seemed a little too easy, and I was skeptical.
We arrived at the Fulton County courthouse and Mr. Lion, who spends a great deal of time in court as an attorney, led the way to the marriage license office. We were greeted with this sign:
Really? Firearms and marriage licenses in the same office? Wow. Shotgun wedding jokes ensued. Read more…
Mrs. Magic, Chapel Hill, NCAge and Occupation: 30, Licensed Clinical Social WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, ResearcherEngagement Date: December 1, 2009Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Barn at ValhallaAbout Me: I’m a tall drink of water (5’10”!) and a Southern bride with an enormous appetite for Mexican food, good deals, anything French, and all things wedding! By day I am lucky enough to work with individuals with autism and their families. By night, I’m even luckier to be able to spend time hanging out with awesome friends, crafting, shopping, thinking about exercising, and kicking it with Mr. Magic and our two cats. I tend to have sudden, intense cravings that will not be denied (seafood enchiladas! new jeans!) and I’m prone to being a disorganized mess of anxiety and stress. After waiting (and waiting!) to get engaged, I am finally planning the colorful, fun, fabulously awesome Fall wedding of our dreams. In an effort to share the fun and craziness that is wedding planning, I’m gonna blog about it for y’all---the good, the bad, and the pretty!
I love organizational devices and strategies, and I really, truly love the idea of being organized. It’s just not for me. It’s not in the cards. The fates are against me. And so on and so forth.
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!
Last we left off, we had just been pronounced husband and wife.
“Please join me in welcoming…Mr. and Mrs. Garrett and Monica Jellyfish!” Read more…
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.
This is a trial! A hair and makeup trial! Oh yeah…you’re excited. I know I am. P.S. I’m going to be using an obscene amount of exclamation points for…oh the rest of my time here (!!!!!!!!!) I apologize.
For over 10 years I’ve been going to Sandune at Allure Salon for my hair. She’s never done me wrong. She’s like my second mother. Oh wait, she is my second mother. My hairstylist is my MOH, Britt’s, mother—and she knows me pretty well. She never does me wrong. As you are about to see…
Bleck! I’m not one of those women who can gracefully post a picture of herself without makeup. I’m going to turn my head and never think about this again. You should too.
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).
With the Hippo wedding in sight, King Hippo and I spent much of last weekend running errands and finishing up last minute wedding projects so that we could pack them up and send them to Dallas. Note to self: Two day shipping of semi-heavy stuff is expensive! For those of you planning out of town weddings, I highly recommend planning far enough ahead so that you can ship at a slower rate of service. Lesson learned.
Our first order of business was finishing up the gifts for the groomsmen. In addition to the wedding ties we are gifting them, King Hippo wanted the guys to have some fun socks. Luckily, we found the perfect pair in our wedding colors.
Even though the price tag said the socks were $16, somehow when the salesperson rang up the five pairs, they came out at $2.98 each. Read more…
Mrs. Cotton Candy, Riverside, CAAge and Occupation: 29, Field CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, Process ServerEngagement Date: July 5, 2007Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Riverside Art MuseumAbout Me: I’m a girl in love with her best friend planning a small mid-century modern inspired wedding that’s been a long time coming. I love all things design, sewing, flea markets, and a good book. I’ve been known to swoon over a well-designed chair and often find myself craving a new addition to my chair collection regardless of the lack square footage in our home. I’m Mexican American girl who hates all things spicy but loves her rowdy Mexican family and her Latin roots. My wedding muses may not be your typical wedding superstars, but with a lot of DIY, a dash of offbeat style, and lots of love and laughs, Mr. Cotton and I plan to create a day that is unmistakably us.
…and help us fancy up our favor boxes! The boxes for our favors arrived on our doorstep this week and, although I’m not quite ready to share what will go inside them, I need the hive’s help with the outside.
Mrs. Meerkat, Kalamazoo, MI/Riviera MayaAge and Occupation: 30, Application EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: July 26, 2008Wedding Date: December 2010Venue: Al Cielo / La LagunaAbout Me: I’m a tech-savvy tomboy with an affinity for hot tea and good sushi. Us Meerkats are just a couple fun lovin’ geeks from Michigan. We love anything having to do with movies, books, video games or technology and we hold a special place in our hearts for our two very spoiled shih-tzus, Wicket and Bravo. We also LOVE to travel. We love it so much it only took us 12 hours after we got engaged to decide to have a destination wedding. We are working our little Meerkat tails off planning a rustic-chic, travel themed destination wedding in the Riviera Maya with a semi-formal, vintage-turned-modern, outdoor at home reception back here in Michigan.
The morning of the wedding started off just like so many of my mornings in Mexico. I left Mr. Meerkat sleeping in our room and headed down to the Royal lobby so I could sit out on the deck over the water and drink a cup of tea in the cool morning sun.
Mrs. Jam, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 25, Writer/Associate Wedding CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Structural EngineerEngagement Date: December 23, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Hunter’s Ridge, Princeton, ILAbout Me: I’m a penny-pinching cat lady getting ready to marry the frugal dog lover of my dreams. Our ideal Saturday morning includes rummaging around people’s junk at garage and estate sales followed by an afternoon date to our favorite café, where we only eat sandwiches that include the word “salad.” We actually love it so much, it’s sort of our unofficial wedding theme: Look at our delicious finds, eat homemade ham salad, and celebrate our love…barndance style. When we’re not obsessing over our love-fest shindig, we’re planning themed parties for our best friends and jamming to '90s music.
So here we are on the second part of the sale series…ESTATE SALES. The true joy of my Saturday mornings (and if I’m lucky and can swing it with my work schedule, Friday mornings, too). Estate sales are a serious treasure hunt for the nosy people who like to dig through other people’s stuff…which is still set up in their houses.
That’s right, estate sales are a lot different than garage sales (in a much better way, trust me). So here’s the know-how to score some totally amazing—and totally valuable—finds.
Photo: I realize this is a poor-quality picture of our $15 trunk (which still included all leather strappage and inside partitions), but just look at our sweet Millie! Cutie!
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!
Mufasa, Mufasa, Mufasssssaaaaa! Oh…sorry. I always feel the need to say that every time I see the hyena icon! I’m so excited that someone finally scooped up one of my faves from the Safari generation! Please join me in welcoming Miss Hyena to the hive!
Miss Hyena, College Station, TX Age & Occupation: 23, Marketing Specialist Fiancé’s Age & Occupation: 24, Aerospace Engineering Grad Student Engagement Date: January 8, 2010 Wedding Date: May 2011 Venue: Downtown 202 About Me: I’m a Texas girl who met my future hubby in high school, then headed up to Oklahoma for a college education (BOOMER SOONER!) before moving back to the Lone Star State to be with him. I love reading and recycling, Photoshop and reality TV, making lame jokes and then laughing at them, quoting movies, and Mr. Hyena most of all. I’m perpetually early and I like to get things accomplished. When my cat meows at me, I meow back. We’re planning a laid-back, unintentionally DIY wedding with a cocktail-party vibe, and can’t wait to celebrate our nuptials with our nearest and dearest!
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!
I used to play softball as a kid, and whenever I’d get hit by the ball (usually in the face or something), Dad Socks would tell me to “shake it off.” Such wise advice, Dad Socks. At our wedding, after things fell apart, Dad Socks gave me the same advice and told me not to let the villains ruin our day.
So, that’s what Mr. Socks and I tried to do as we watched almost every family member of his leave the wedding.
We dug into the ice cream bar to try to drown our sorrows.
Hot Fudge makes everything better, right? Read more…
Mrs. Pretzel, SeattleAge and Occupation: 32 Learning, Training, and Development SpecialistFiance's Age and Occupation: 28 Manufacturing EngineerEngagement Date: September 2, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Catholic Church & The Engine Room at Georgetown StudiosAbout Me: I’m just a thirty-something girl who never dreamed of weddings, poofy dresses, or ritzy receptions. I am a rabid knitter, except recently, wedding projects have replaced my yarn and needles. I’ve been fiercely independent since the age of 2 and 30 years later I think my family and friends had given up on me settling down and getting married.
Ironically, I had to go all the way to Seattle to find a boy from Purdue. We fell in love over Seattle Beers and cooking together. I love NASCAR, he loves Legos. I can talk like a Muppet and he can fit a whole McDonald’s cheeseburger in his mouth. We are a two reception couple, currently planning a brewery inspired bash.
Before our wedding day the only people who had seen my dress were Mr Pretzel, Mamma Pretzel, and Sue the seamstress. I didn’t even share photos with you, dear hive. I’m stingy, I know. My knee-length dress was made of white dupioni silk with a Chantilly lace over a turquoise satin midriff. The dress design was selected by Mr Pretzel. It had arrived months before the wedding and required multiple “repairs” by my dress angel Sue. On the day of our wedding the dress was in a word, heavenly.
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 am SO excited to get our pro pictures back soon (just a couple more weeks!!!), but part of me feels like our wedding is wrapped in this shimmery, beautifully delicate bubble of memories that will pop if I poke at it too much or too often. (I don’t remember from whom I stole that line, but I do recall reading something similar on someone else’s blog and that is such an accurate description for how I’m feeling that I had to appropriate it!)
And so other than writing down memories of the weekend on the first morning of our minimoon, I’ve kept myself from looking at the whole thing too closely. Sure I’ve enjoyed looking at pictures on Facebook. And yes, I LOVED spending the first few days after the wedding reliving every moment with Mr. EB, and talking about what an amazingly fun time we had. Yet even though we’ve only been married for a month (though seriously? We’ve been married for nearly a month already??), I can already see how hazy some of the memories have become.
So the time is coming when I need to start poking the bubble. Read more…
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.
Four months before the wedding, I wrote about the “post-planning, pre-wedding inspiration board” I created below. After a lot of the plans were set, we were in for some thumb-twiddling before seeing the real deal. So, I used my not-so-mad skills in Photoshop to mock it up.
Details on those board images are in the original post.
After it was over, I revisited the board to see how well it matched up. Pretty close! Take a gander at some little things from a big day.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
