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.
If I were to go back and do one thing differently I would have taken some ginseng and maybe have done a Soduku puzzle or two. Yeah, there’s just so much going on during your wedding day that you can’t possibly remember everything. It’s really fricken frustrating. This is why I’m telling you right now that your wedding video is worth its weight in gold. Seriously, I was originally going to hire a student and have a friendor edit it. If you can work it in your budget, please do yourself a solid and hire a videographer. You will not be disappointed.
I haven’t received my pro pictures yet. (I’m dying over here!!! I need to have a little more patience; I know they’re going to be unbelievably amazing.) However, I did get the video back last week. I’ve been holding this recap in my back pocket. I watch it to make me smile, I watch it to wake me up in the morning, I watch it to put me to sleep at night. Zeb shows it to everyone who walks in the house. We love it—couldn’t be more happy with it. It gives an absolutely accurate portrayal of the day in 3.5 minutes. Who could ask for anything more? Once you see it, I think you’ll know why my recaps are named “Raise Your Glass.” Read more…
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!
Approximately 85% of our final guest list was traveling to Atlanta from elsewhere. Some folks even came from overseas. The least we could do is make them feel welcome in Atlanta with some OOT bags. Y’all sent over tons of fabulousideas, but I ran out of time chose to create a grocery-themed bag. I figured a bag of groceries would make me feel at home, so why not?
We began our OOT bag assembly with a few dozen Trader Joe’s reusable bags.
Mrs. Snow Cone, Pittsburgh/Johnstown, PAAge and Occupation: 23, Public Health Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, EngineerEngagement Date: April 9, 2010Wedding Date: August 2011Venue: OMOS Church ceremony/Sunnehanna Country Club receptionAbout Me: I’m one of the lucky ones---I met my future husband at the ripe old age of 13, started dating him as a mature woman of 15, and have been enjoying the ride ever since. Here we are, 8 years later, living in Pittsburgh, planning a "homestination" wedding in the place our school romance began---Johnstown, PA. I thrive on talking a mile a minute, eating my weight in chocolate, and internet shopping. I love a lengthy to-do list almost as much as I love a healthy amount of chaos in my life. Mr. Snow Cone and I watch countless episodes of Friends and The West Wing on repeat, root for rival college sports teams, and make each other laugh each and every day. We’re putting together a small-town wedding with a big personality and a classically modern (or modernly classic?) look for 250 of our closest family and friends. It’s been 8+ years in the making, and sometimes I still can’t believe I’m finally getting to marry my high school sweetheart!
For the days immediately following the appointment in Greensburg, I wrestled with the decision between my two dress options. I tried the list of pros and cons, which got me nowhere. I tried to envision myself on my wedding day, and all I could see was a white dress, nothing specific. I may have even enlisted the help of my summer roommates (who all happened to be Mr. Snow Cone’s groomsmen). Shockingly, that didn’t yield a definitive answer, either. I knew this was a decision that I was supposed to make for myself, but I was really banking on someone—anyone—stepping in and matter-of-factly stating “THIS IS YOUR DRESS,” followed by me realizing that, indeed, this mystery decision-maker was actually right. Commence celebrating.
Congratulations to our winners, Crown, judya64, and snmcdowell!
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Indigo Album Design offers affordable handmade Flush Albums and Coffee Table Books, all featuring
personalized design layouts. This month they’re launching something new and exciting, and to celebrate, they’ve got a great giveaway for Weddingbee readers!
Indigo is now offering “The Album Bundle,” which includes a main wedding album with a custom clamshell album box and two parent albums. The Album Bundle is the perfect way to spread the album love! These albums feature all panoramic full spreads with a custom design of your photographs. To top it off, you can choose between the black or red vinyl cover treatments and you’ve instantly taken care of both sets of parents’ holiday gifts for the year!
To celebrate the launch, Indigo Album Design is giving away (3) $100 gift cards to three lucky Weddingbee readers!
If you’re interested in “The Album Bundle,” now’s a great time to order! The Bundle is currently 12% off through April 15th. Order now and save!
You have two chances to enter this contest!
To enter to win one of the three $100 gift cards, head on over to Indigo Album Design’s new Album Bundle and then come back here and let us know what your favorite aspect is about the bundle. 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, April 20, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST to enter. Good luck!
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.
I have to admit, I get a little confused when people talk about finding the perfect bridal clutch or purse. When, as a bride, do you actually use it? Where does it go? You’re probably not carrying it down the aisle, it isn’t under your arm while you’re dancing, and you can’t cut the cake with a purse in your hand. And bridesmaids, too! I’ve seen some cute wedding photos where the bridesmaids have matching pretty clutches instead of bouquets, but I see those way less than I see BMs carrying flowers, and yet people still buy them matching clutches.
Mrs. Pony, Bloomington, ILAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, AttorneyEngagement Date: March 22, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Mackinaw Valley Vineyard; Bloomington Center for the Performing ArtsAbout Me: I found my Southern counterpart in law school and since he popped the question last March, we have been busy graduating, job searching, bar taking, and wedding planning. My loves include must see TV, magnets, quotes, anything green, my car, fun socks, the Cubs, and my Mr. Together we love wine, playing outside, and exploring the world together. Stay tuned to see our Midwest wedding full of Southern charm, vintage flair, lots of DIY details, and a whole lot o’ wine.
One of the few requests Mr. Pony has made for our wedding is that we get married outside. After a few searches, we stumbled across the perfect venue in our area: a chapel in a grove of trees with a quaint church available in case of inclement weather.
We visited, loved it, and were ready to book it immediately…but the venue refused to take reservations until it was a year out from the wedding. So we waited and waited, and my anxiety grew. When the day to book the chapel finally came, we called at the exact time we were told we should, but were told that someone else had already booked it right before we called. Damn.
After waiting five months to book what we hoped to be our ceremony location, we were heartbroken when we realized our ceremony plans had to be completely reworked. Mr. Pony and I were definitely anxious that we would not find a suitable ceremony location with exactly a year left before our wedding. Adding to that, I was scheduled to start work in two days, so the opportunity to visit new locations was slim.
We decided to check out some places that looked promising immediately. As in less than an hour after we lost our ideal ceremony location.
Our first stop was the Davis Lodge at Lake Bloomington. I loved that it was cheap and pretty, had an indoor area, and was very close to my house.
I did not like that we would need to rent chairs, that the ground sloped too much where we would want to have the ceremony, and that the indoor space was so small.
Mrs. Cardigan, AustinAge and Occupation: 21, Student/Soon-to-be Special Education TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 20, Student/Soon-to-be Accounting Systems AnalystEngagement Date: August 16, 2009Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Vintage VillasAbout Me: I'm a native Austinite who was raised as a die-hard Aggie. Luckily, I'm a pretty persuasive girl because I managed to convince my high school boyfriend (now fiance!), Mr. Cardigan, to ditch his hardcore Longhorn ways and join me up at A&M, where we currently reside with our adorable dogs, Cullen & Ranger. We're currently planning a bright, cheery wedding with a ridiculous amount of DIY projects that I can't wait to tackle! I love crafting in any form, reading, and margaritas (I think I love them the most!). Organization is what keeps me sane and I love helping others, which is probably why I ended up as an education major. It gets a little chaotic sometimes when you're planning a wedding among all of the papers, projects, finals, and certification exams, but we're having the time of our lives and we can't wait to get started on our journey as husband and wife - and we're so excited to share our wedding with the hive!
I felt like we had only been waiting in the bridal room for seconds before our DOC walked in and asked if we were ready to go.
Everyone looked at me, anticipating my answer, and I wasn’t quite sure what to say. Of course I was ready to go, but holy cow it came quickly! I definitely could have used a few more minutes to gather myself before walking down the aisle, but there was no time. The guests were waiting—and so was Mr. Cardigan—and it was time to get the ceremony started!
First up were the grandparents, and once they were seated it was time for Mr. Cardy’s parents to walk.
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!
Today was my very last day of class…EVER!! Like, seriously, I am officially both a JD and an LLM! TWO graduates degrees under my belt…how did that happen!!?!
OK. Well. Not “officially.” I still have to finish my thesis, submit one paper and take a final…but I’m oh-so-close. Once I’m done with that I can FINALLY focus on the wedding.
Speaking of which, we are getting married in ONE MONTH!!!! WOOOHOOOOOOOO.
As a little celebration, today after class, I decided to stop by a great little antique store on my way home. Here’s what I picked up:
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. Seal, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 25, Personal AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Sales and Support SpecialistEngagement Date: December 12, 2009Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Sts Peter and Paul Church/The Bently ReserveAbout Me: I am a goofy, wannabe crafty, well-intentioned Renaissance Woman (OK, perhaps "aimless wanderer" is a more aptly suited term for me, but hopefully you get the point)—basically I dabble in just about everything and pride myself in such. Without warning, I occasionally breakout into soulful improvised songs and interpretive dances and there's just no stopping me! As so many others before me, planning our wedding has unearthed a deep, intense passion for all things bridal and I secretly fear the day it will come to an end. Mr. Seal and I are quite the pair and life with him by my side is extremely rewarding—I am so thankful to have found him. Together we are planning a black-tie San Francisco affair for 250—light on the stuffiness and with lots of extra Seal-y flair.
All right, guys. I have a confession: I have my dress. In fact, I’ve had my dress for ages and have been holding out on you.
I, however, have absolutely no intention of showing it to you here on the ‘Bee until my wedding-day recaps. This is for quite a few reasons. Most importantly, Mr. S reads the blog and no matter how hard he tries to convince me that he’ll be a good boy and heed my cute “Stay Out, Mr. Seal!” warnings…I can’t risk it. It’s not that I don’t trust him; it’s just that I know I wouldn’t be able to resist a monumental temptation like that, so I surely shouldn’t ask it of him!
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!
Now that we have a firm hold of our guest numbers, our next step is to tackle the seating arrangements. We’ve had a somewhat unique wedding setup from the get-go because our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all take place in the same room. Long story short, a misunderstanding occurred where I was under the impression that our room could be “flipped” during the cocktail hour. I was gravely mistaken and learned fairly late in the game that our venue has a regulation where decor items must be in place and ready to go prior to the start of the ceremony. This means tables, chairs, centerpieces–the whole nine yards. That enlightening phone call left my palms clammy and the games began to work within the boundaries of our venue.
There’s something timeless and elegant about classic rounds. Case and point:
Photo by chocostudio (10 points if you recognize whose venue this is!)
And, here’s an example of how they would look in our venue *drool*: Read more…
Mrs. Candy Apple, Princeton Junction, NJ/ Seattle, WAAge and Occupation: 26, Project EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, AttorneyEngagement Date: May 9, 2010Wedding Date: August 2011Venue: St. Joseph's Parish, Seattle Tennis ClubAbout Me: I am a Pacific Northwesterner, born and bred. I have lived in many cities---Santa Clara, Durham (England); Florence; Boston; Princeton Junction---but my heart will always be nestled up near the Cascades and Olympics, which is why we are holding our wedding there. I am a bookworm and a History nerd: I love that my life consists of books, books, and more books, since I work in Publishing! Recently, all waking time not consumed by work and my daily commute has been overtaken by wedding planning. Well, that, and watching Premier-League soccer. There is nothing I love more than a good Tana French mystery, traveling to new places, Anthropologie shopping sprees, Iittala dishware, Kate Spade shoes, impeccable typefaces (think: Archer), and a nice English ale (hellooo, Old Speckled Hen!). Oh, and did I mention my obsession with wedding blogs? Yeah, there’s that too. Join Mr. Candy Apple and me as we prep for our wedding, and, more importantly, our marriage!
Although I had a lot of apathy toward and uncertainty about finding my own wedding dress, I at least thought that I had a little bit of direction for my bridesmaid dresses. Not that picking them out was any easier than figuring out what I wanted to wear, but I knew at least one thing going into it - I did not want long bridesmaid dresses.
Okay. Phew. One decision out of the way. Hey, at least it’s something, right?
So, armed with that decision, I set out into the world of wedding blogs to try and find some inspiration as to what I wanted my ’maids to wear. Yeah, I suppose it isn’t as easy as simply narrowing down the length, huh?
At first, I wanted to go with a more non-traditional dress that doesn’t really scream “bridesmaid.” Something fun, and patterned - perhaps from Anthropologie (because we all know how much I love that store). I really liked how these dresses looked in bridal party pictures, and I definitely knew that my girls could wear them after the wedding, since they weren’t, you know, “typical” bridesmaid-esque dresses.
Mrs. Prairie Dog, Cincinnati
Age and Occupation: 24, Program CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, PhD/Biomedical EngineerEngagement Date: December 18, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Glendale LyceumAbout Me: I'm a pilgrim soul of a girl with a house full of books and a coffee addiction that could slay Juan Valdez. My life is a whirl of grammar correction, good music, glue-gunning, and two pets named Hazel and Winston Churchill. I'm marrying my high school boyfriend in a formal-ish spring affair, roughly themed: "Elizabeth Bennet crashes a party co-hosted by Jay Gatsby and Cath Kidston, and loves it."
Nearly a month out now, and I think our wedding accessories are in order! Here are our shiny trappings:
Here we have: Pdog’s cufflinks (in a shape that matches my engagement ring), his ring (brushed metal comfort—fit with milgrain—perfect), and both of my rings (which I’ve talked enough about already). Pdog is so obsessed with his ring. He keeps wearing it around the house, and I have to remind him to take it off before we leave, as to not cause confusion with friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Read more…
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.
So with all of this supremely awesome music and dance partying going on, we know our wedding peeps will need a little treat to keep them going on the dance floor. Like these mouth watering donuts and hot cocoa. Yummmm.
