Mrs. Waffle, AustinAge and Occupation: 31, Costumer/ArtistFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, AnimatorEngagement Date: July 27, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Hummingbird HouseAbout Me: My life is pretty much spent in a sea of fabric, paint, sequins and drama. When I’m not working, I play on a trivia team, take Broadway dance classes, read, buy shoes, and occasionally geek out on video games. I am an American girl who loves all things British and Mr. Waffle is a Brit who loves all things American...I guess it was meant to be!
Eventually, once a year, I end up in a Bermuda Triangle of my own creation, one that’s comprised of activities, commitments and jobs that I have willingly agreed to by the simple fact that I have trouble saying NO to people or because I fail to set boundaries. I am currently in one of those situations. I saw the giant wall looming ahead of me, but I still decided it was a good idea to run full force towards it. Normally, I stop just inches before hitting it. Today, I wasn’t so lucky.
The thing I find interesting is that my work and commitment load hasn’t really changed.
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!
Mrs. Tartlet, Rochester, MIAge and Occupation: Age & Occupation: 27, Post-Doctoral Research FellowFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Medical StudentEngagement Date: May 2, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: The Royal Park HotelAbout Me: I'm an exuberant gal from the Midwest with a penchant for Neuroscience and anything sparkly. I'm not afraid to poke fun at myself, and I'm a believer that given the right pair of shoes, a girl can conquer the world. While an interest in the sciences threw Mr. Tartlet and me together (again, and again, until it finally stuck), we share a love for many things---food, video games, car dancing, food, bad puns, travel, did I mention food?---that ultimately led us to where we are now, less than five months from becoming Mr. and Mrs. We're planning a laid-back, romantic, garden-inspired affair with organic and quirky touches that reflect our love for the unexpected!
Over the past couple of years we’ve been incredibly blessed to be a part of our close friends’ lives as they experience the joy of parenthood. Our own lives have been enriched so much by the presence of these little ones that when we envision our wedding party gliding down the aisle—gals dressed to the nines, guys all snazzy and fine—it simply isn’t complete without a little maid and man to round out the procession. Plus, Mr. Tartlet is cray-cray about kids. Having them around is a surefire way to plaster a grin on his face (see picture below). Allow me to introduce the two wee ones who are likely to steal the show. First up, my cousin’s adorable daughter:
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!
OK, I swear, I will not post every piece of milk glass that I buy, find, or receive as a gift (hint hint HINT). But just a few more photos because it was such an exciting day!
After my last trip to the flea market, I learned that prices vary a lot for these coveted containers—anywhere from $1 to $45. I knew one woman had a dollar table with a few pieces (and said she’d have more in the future), but everyone else was charging at minimum $4 a piece. That’s not a lot, but when you think I might need at least 60 pieces, it does add up.
So the other day I went first to our local PTA thrift store. I found one large bowl for $8 and bought it, possibly because I had not drunk any caffeine yet and was not thinking clearly. Headed to the Goodwill…nada. So I drove out to the flea market, where all my dreams came true!
My lady with the dollar table had NOT added any more milk glass as she had promised, so I moved on. I found some great deals, some for $1 or $2, which bolstered my confidence that I should hold out and look for the cheaper ones. I asked one guy who sold me one of the best pieces why it was only $2, and he said, “Well, I just want to get rid of all this stuff.” Works for me!
The two pieces on the right are my favorite—they’re the hobnob pattern, of course. The second from right was $2!
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!
Suddenly my computer started ringing; someone was trying to video chat with me. I picked up and Mr. Crepe began a five-minute comedy sketch about the rolls of toilet paper he had just received from UPS.
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.
Once we crunched some numbers, it became apparent that dream destinations like the Seychelles, the Maldives, Fiji, and French Polynesia were out. The airfare to these gorgeous spots ($1,000+ per person) coupled with 12 hours or more of flight time was a double whammy. My inner bride was bummed. In my head I’d always pictured a honeymoon at a luxurious, secluded beach retreat with fantastic food and plenty of free activities.
Refusing to scale back on the quality of the resort or length of stay, we turned to nearer beachy spots…and our travel agent. Running with a budget number supplied by Mr. P (much less than I thought we should spend), she asked what I thought of Panama. My mind was truly blank. All I could think of was, “A man, a plan, a canal—Panama??”
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.
I’m a big believer that all good outfits start from the ground up, and by ground I mean the shoes. Some of my favorite outfits have started off with the perfect pair of footwear, so it goes without saying that on one of the biggest fashion days of my life (our wedding) I would abide by my tried and true policy.
My search for the perfect wedding shoes began and ended with this Zooey Deschanel for Cotton ad:
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.
When we last left off, I’d ordered our envelopes, liners and Moo Cards, and card stock, I’d printed out my invitations, RSVP cards and labels, and I was getting ready to assemble the invites.
But before I did that, I had one more thing to take care of: the RSVP cards. Using a UV Black Light pen that I ordered from eBay, I wrote the individual names on the cards. That way, if someone forgot to put their name on their card, I could still identify it without calling everyone on our guest list!
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).
I mentioned way back when that we were thinking about doing a ring warming as part of our ceremony, but I didn’t have all the details worked out. Now that the end is drawing closer, I thought I’d share how we’re planning on doing it. First things first… if you weren’t on Weddingbee back then, or you have no idea what a ring warming ceremony is, check out this post, then come back.
So, when we met with our officiant, we explained the concept of a ring warming ceremony and told him that the rings are typically passed at the start of the ceremony, so that by the time it came to exchange rings they had passed through the hands of all of our guests. While our officiant thought it was a really neat addition to the ceremony, he felt really strongly about the passing of the rings being a distraction from the other parts of the ceremony. He said that it would be human nature for people to be looking around to see where the rings were, to be thinking about what they wanted to be thinking about when the rings came, and to generally be more focused on the rings than the ceremony. Interesting. Every time I’ve heard about a ring warming, it was done in this same way, so why the big deal? Our officiant told us that our guests should be focused on us as a couple and not on anything else and emphasized that he really didn’t want to pass the rings while other things were happening. Hmph. We were at a standstill. Read more…
Mrs. Seashell, Chicago, IL / Providence, RIAge and Occupation: 28, Marriage and Family TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical EngineerEngagement Date: September 3, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: The Glen Manor HouseAbout Me: Fonts and fashion, stationery and Sundays, photography and french toast... the beauty is in the details for this fun-loving Chicagoan who loves to plan plan plan! The soon-to-be hubs plays "Mr. Fix-It" in our new condo while I swoon over beautiful, personalized stationery and choose shades of aubergine for my bridesmaids' dresses... and thus begins my new fairy tale! Skirting to the East Coast for our September nuptials where my home state of Rhode Island awaits with fall foliage, I'm just a few dress fittings and bachelorette party away from saying "I Do" to a very happy ending!
Hive, it’s finally here. The actual Seashell Wedding Day. This is where the real fun begins: pro pics, pretty details, “I do’s” and all that good stuff.
I woke up the morning of our wedding feeling great. The sun was shining and the day looked beautiful. I slept well all night and didn’t have the same overwhelming feelings of anticipation that plagued me the day before. When I got out of bed to brush my teeth I was struck by how ordinary I felt. Like, shouldn’t there be birds singing on my window sill from some Disney movie? I looked in the mirror. Nope, just me, getting ready for one of the biggest days of my life.
First order of business: hair and make up with my girls.
When our photographer arrived I was in the midst of getting my hair done. After struggling to choose the right look, I finally found something I was excited about. Read more…
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.
In case you don’t know, I am a hot tea fiend. As in I drink four to five cups a day. Well, the way I jones for a cup of tea is the same way Mr. Meerkat feels about his coffee. We get up in the morning, we make a cup of coffee and tea. We finish dinner, we make more coffee and tea. Before we even start a movie we make coffee and tea. Our coffee and tea addiction is so prominent that it was even mentioned during our wedding ceremony.
So as I am going Google search crazy trying to find cost effective ideas for our decor, a thread on our very own Weddingbee boards pops up with this image (thanks to mamasita2004).
Mrs. Giraffe, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 23, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Music Student TeacherEngagement Date: October 23, 2008Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Trinity Lutheran Church & Idlewild Country ClubAbout Me: Coming from the suburbs of the Windy City, you'll often find me with my foot in my mouth while laughing for no reason or telling bad knock knock jokes. I've been crafty for as long as I can remember, and will DIY something twice over before I have someone do it for me. I'm a semi-awkward, typeface obsessed, design junkie and have been know to break out my dance moves for no reason as well as try my best to be ridiculous at all times. My love of pop culture, wordplay, and graph paper almost rivals my love of Mr. Giraffe (who is just the bee's knees). After a 2.5 year engagement, we're planning a modern-in-disguise traditional wedding, and cannot wait!
Hive, I’m still alive, I promise you. Lately, I’ve been so busy. There was a crazy awesome shower I can’t wait to tell you about and tons of other stuff going on. I clearly need to quit my job so I can wedding plan and blog full time.
Anyway, I have to talk a little about invitations today. Sure, I should be assembling my invitations this week, but I’m a FAIL bride seeing as I just sent them to print on Monday. I’m going to want to get them out ASAP because it took me forever to send them to print, which means I have to make decisions!
Oh wait, what? I’m horrible at making decisions.
You’d think designing the invitations was the hard part, you’s think when that part was over, that you’re on easy street. Well you’re wrong, or at least I was.
See, before you send out your invitations, you have to decided how to package them. Making this decision is literally making me uncomfortable because I simply cannot decide. If I haven’t been able to make my mind up in the last two years, I don’t know how I should expect myself to do it in a week, but I’ve gotta!
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.
Guys, I feel like I’ve been a bad bee lately, and I’m very sorry. I’ve only been posting once a week at best, and that’s not enough! I have an explanation, but it’s not an excuse.
See, it all started a few weeks ago, when I fell in love. Falling in love with someone other than your future husband can really screw with the wedding planning process!
Don’t worry—it wasn’t with another human. It was with a puppy named Chickie:
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, let’s talk wedding photos. They are this HUGE investment and they are really the only thing that lasts past the wedding day (other than your love for your new hubby/wife, of course!). Here’s the thing: after taking our engagement photos I realized that I have a huge smile. Mr. P does a great job of making me laugh and never taking life seriously, so during our entire e-session I was grinning from ear to ear. Now this might sound sweet, but how will I ever get myself under control on my big day!?!? I really love these romantic subdued wedding pictures.
The two pieces on the right are my favorite—they’re the hobnob pattern, of course. The second from right was $2!
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
