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.
Oddly enough, one of my favorite shows on TV, Top Chef, inspired me to start typing this. In this past week’s episode, the chefs travel to Ellis Island to learn about their heritage and create a dish that embraces it. One chef broke down during judges’ table when talking about growing up with his grandmother and how when he cooks Italian food, it makes him remember all over again how hard it was to lose her when she passed away. Remember that time when I mentioned I was a crier? Well, I was BAWLING.
When I was a little girl, I actually lived with my maternal grandmother in Singapore while my mom was getting her work visa in Thailand. Read more…
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.
At first I wanted to stay at the Gaylord. I’ve worked there and stayed in their atrium-view room dozens of times. It’s gorgeous and the all-glass exterior is breathtaking. The problem is that I don’t work there anymore and we couldn’t get an atrium-view room for less than $330 (insert sad face here).
I think it was all meant to be though, because I found something better! I checked out the Westin and they didn’t have any “suites.” They only had rooms with a view and I knew a regular size room wasn’t going to hold me and the posse! The Hampton Inn is a really nice hotel (and probably where Mr. B will stay), but it’s pretty far from the water and there aren’t any views (not going to cut it).
Then I read about Aloft—the European, clean, spacious rooms; the modern-day bar, breakfast pup, pool, and amenities. It definitely looked like a place I should check out so that’s what I did, and lookie what I found…
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.
After deciding on the British Virgin Islands as our honeymoon locale, we had a bit of a budget freak-out. That’s what happens when you fall in love with a destination before fully pricing it out. Our travel agent sent over six possible BVI resorts ranging from “ehhh, OK” to “spectacular.” There’s a big price gap between ehhh and spectacular!
Little Dix Bay - Our hands-down favorite! Gorgeous accommodations and views from the cheapest rooms, lots of included amenities, near the top end of our price range.
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.
One of my biggest goals for our wedding decor and paper products is for it to all coordinate and create a consistent feel throughout the day. One way to do this is by limiting the amount of fonts we use and repeating the same design motif throughout our paper products and decor.
For our fonts, Mr. Cotton Candy and I wanted something that would echo the mid-century modern aesthetic that we are hoping to infuse into our day, with a dash of playfulness a la Jonathan Adler and Todd Oldham. After poring over hundreds of fonts on Veer and Dafont, we finally settled on the following.
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!
Pale skin. Freckles. Green eyes. Red hair. It’s a tougher palette than it looks, I must say. It’s very easy to find clashing colors, sometimes too late. Additionally, fair skin takes to color much more drastically than other skin tones. This can be a good thing, but it can also lead to something overly dramatic. I wanted to use a picture of a clown with a red wig to illustrate this point, but when I Google image searched for “clown,” a lot of scary stuff popped up. I don’t want to subject y’all to that!
Instead, I’ll use this photo of Nancy from “30 Rock,” whose dream was to “open a store for red headed girls to buy cosmetics…from someone who understands.”
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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Leave and Cleave - Some people have trouble “leaving and cleaving”—that is, they have difficulty adjusting to making their NEW family with their spouse as the primary family. What was that transition like for you? And how did your family of origin handle it?
Thank you to Miss Snapdragon for the question!
This is a great question because it is something that we talk about all the time! For the Hermit Crabs, we started this process during our engagement. Once we realized the tensions that an engagement could bring up with various family members, Mr. HC and I agreed that we would always present a united front outward. We may have many discussions about it between us, but when we talked to family members, we would always be unit first. This was one of the first steps for us. Second, living far from both of our families for three years, we started making our own traditions around the holidays, another step that started this process long before the wedding. And finally, now that we are married, we are working with our families to show that though unfortunately we cannot always be everywhere for all the holidays or our free time (wouldn’t that be nice!), we are going to have to make choices, and our priority is now for us to be together, and split up for these occasions. Honestly, sometimes this has been very tough for us, and sometimes our families have been very supportive of us. Although we are in our first year of marriage, we have been on this road for many years now, and it is definitely a process for everyone! We always try to remind ourselves of what our families are experiencing as well, so that we can have more sensitivity for their perspective in addition to our own. Read more…
Mrs. Husky, DenverAge and Occupation: 26, Systems AdministratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Mechanical Engineer, recently laid offEngagement Date: August 14, 2009Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: Rancho San CarlosAbout Me: I am planning a quirky-crafty wedding with my recently out-of-work fiancé for a (fingers crossed!) warm October afternoon. We are two self-professed nerds with an affinity for all things outdoors---be it rain, snow or shine. Recently relocated from the drizzly Northwest, we're enjoying the many sun-soaked days in the mile high city. Our day will be filled with both of our large families and friends, a self-served Cajun feast, and a Zydeco-style jazz band rocking beneath the beams of a historic red barn.
I feel obligated to explain my prolonged absence, lest you fear I’ve abandoned my regular recaps. Without going into too much detail, 2011 has not been off to a great start for the Huskies. We have endured family, financial and career hardships that I never would have expected to be compounded into just two short months. Mr. Husky has been everything to me and for me since the year began, and I am so very fortunate to have unending love and support from him. Thank you for being patient as I come back around to blogging.
My oh my, where did we leave off? Oh yes, the dancing! The band prepared for their next set break, and I prepared to toss my bouquet. All the ladies, regardless of marital or relationship status, were invited up to the dance floor.
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!
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.
With the latest announcement of the iPad 2 coming out in March, everyone (at least the people that I know) is claiming that March is the month of the iPad 2. (Hey, isn’t it supposed to be the month of the French Toasts’ wedding? I kid, I kid…)
Mrs. Hermit Crab, New York, NYAge and Occupation: 24, Youth Director soon to be Grad StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Medical Student - soon to be Surgery ResidentEngagement Date: October 11, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: New York Botanical GardenAbout Me: I love all things food, books, our furbaby, Rashi, and adventures with my amazing fiance (oh, and saving the world!). This summer I will not only be a bride, but a bridesmaid, officiant, and attendee as well---it's all about weddings in my life right now, full of so many exciting moments and projects. We're planning a fab New York City wedding weekend full of family, love and lots of color!
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.
Yep, the Ostrich wedding crew will find these fringed horns and blowouts sprinkled along their table for them to “toot” all night long…New Year’s Style! And to prompt them a little, we’ll tie a little ribbon around each one with a cute message like this: 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. 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.
Mr. Knitting and I both believe that our choice to have a group yoga class the night before our wedding in place of a rehearsal dinner was definitely one of our very best wedding decisions. It was an absolutely incredible experience and I honestly can not say enough good things about it.
The class was held at 889 Yonge, our favourite yoga studio. I’ve written about yoga in the past, but in the last few months yoga has become even more important and special to Mr. Knitting and myself. We go at least four times a week and I really can’t say enough positive things about the studio. The space is fantastic, the yoga teachers are incredible, the selection of classes is outstanding, the staff could not be kinder, and they even provide all kinds of awesome extras like delicious herbal teas! We both absolutely love this place and it really made sense to include it in our wedding festivities.
We had spent the day doing a whole bunch of errands, but we had a bit of time together before our class began, and decided to go get some food. After much deliberation we settled on Veda, which serves delicious, healthy, and quick Indian food.
Mr. Knitting went for the butter chicken and I got some palak paneer:
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!
I am so blessed to have an amazing family. I was raised in a very traditional (codependent) family and am super close to my fam. I talk to my baby sisters every day, sometimes even three or four times a day. I also talk to my parents four to five times a week…did I mention we are uber codependent?
Mrs. Sparkler, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 27, Communications AficionadoFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, PublisherEngagement Date: July 21, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Chicago Illuminating CompanyAbout Me: I’m a Southern lady living in the big city of Chicago. Well, lady may be a stretch, but I’m working hard to keep some Virginia charm in our sleek, urban, wedding-palooza! I’m addicted to marathons, not-so-famous bands, Chicago restaurants, and Mark Twain. I cry during SPCA commercials, and I think LOST was the best show to ever hit television. Mr. S and I met at a classy college mixer and, 7 years later, he’s still by my side. He’s the only child, laid back, free spirit... I’m the oldest of five kids, type-A, organizer. It doesn’t work on paper, but we’ve never paid attention to that stuff anyway. Somehow it works. And like they say, sometimes when you know…you just know.
If anyone can guess that reference, we should talk…or have a sing-a-long.
This post actually has nothing to do with the mall (sorry for being so deceitful). But it does have to do with shopping! Close enough?
Anyway.
About a month after getting engaged, I planned a trip home to visit my mom and youngest sister. This was the first time they had seen me since Sparks put a ring on it, and they were excited. Really excited. So even though I had only been engaged for a few weeks, I decided to go ahead and make an appointment to try on a few dresses. I mean, why the heck not?
With the littlest sis and Mom—my shopping buddies for the day!
This is a great question because it is something that we talk about all the time! For the Hermit Crabs, we started this process during our engagement. Once we realized the tensions that an engagement could bring up with various family members, Mr. HC and I agreed that we would always present a united front outward. We may have many discussions about it between us, but when we talked to family members, we would always be unit first. This was one of the first steps for us. Second, living far from both of our families for three years, we started making our own traditions around the holidays, another step that started this process long before the wedding. And finally, now that we are married, we are working with our families to show that though unfortunately we cannot always be everywhere for all the holidays or our free time (wouldn’t that be nice!), we are going to have to make choices, and our priority is now for us to be together, and split up for these occasions. Honestly, sometimes this has been very tough for us, and sometimes our families have been very supportive of us. Although we are in our first year of marriage, we have been on this road for many years now, and it is definitely a process for everyone! We always try to remind ourselves of what our families are experiencing as well, so that we can have more sensitivity for their perspective in addition to our own.
