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.
Invites fit to send to royalty, for less-than-royal prices!
Before the cost breakdown, here’s a quick date breakdown because I always wanted to see examples of what was mailed when I was planning:
We sent out our save the dates just over 6 months before the wedding. Everyone got one, even relatives that had known for 5 months beforehand when and where it was.
We sent our invites 3 months before the wedding.
We set our RSVP date 4 weeks (just under) before the wedding.
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!
Apparently I am notthe onlybloggerto have used Bow Wow Wow’s song as inspiration for the title of my candy-buffet post. And here I thought I was being original. Oh well, I’ll just have to walk around with the song stuck in my head for the rest of the day.
Since I’ve given up sugar/sweets/desserts for Lent, I of course cannot seem to get sugar/sweets/desserts out of my mind. So, clearly, I am torturing myself with images of delectable candy buffets. What else would I do with my time? Sigh.
Mr. CA and I had a lot of back and forth when it came to our favors. Do we want to do something awesome like making tons of cute little soaps? Do we want to give them little seed packets? Do we want to do little potted plants/seedlings/bulbs? Do I want to make lavender sachets? I honestly was at a loss. What the heck do I DO?
Ms. Gazelle, Calgary/VancouverAge and Occupation: 32, EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Technology AnalystEngagement Date: September 3, 2010Wedding Date: July 2011Venue: Brock House Restaurant, VancouverAbout Me: I am a marathon runner, cyclist, Ironman triathlete and beautiful shoe fiend who also loves kicking back and watching Glee. I grew up a bit of a nomad as I traveled around the world with my family, living everywhere from Australia to England to South America and Indonesia. I finally settled in Calgary a few years ago and met Mr. Gazelle who loves me even though we cheer for different hockey teams. We are planning a bit of a destination wedding in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia and we can’t wait to share the day with our close family and friends.
I picked up my dress! Yippee! After purchasing it, my dress was looked over by the seamstress and it was now ready to pick up.
My dress came with a bonus bag attached to the zipper. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I managed to figure out what everything was inside of it, although that still doesn’t answer all of the questions!
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!
FLOOFY! It’s like fluffy, but on crack and way better. Not that being on crack is way better. I mean, I wouldn’t know, seeing as how I stay away from the hard drugs. Erm, all drugs.
OK. Poms. Floofy, fluffy poms. Here’s the scoop on how to make them and some tips that may or may not make things go quicker.
Step 1: Procure the goods. Get some yarn (preferably on sale or with a coupon, or both FTW). It doesn’t have to be fancy—any yarn will do. Get some sharp scissors. And decide if you want to invest in a pom-making gadget (I did) or use a piece of cardboard or your own hand.
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!
So, I have our wedding photos (and they are AMAZING!!!), but I need to spend a little more time with them before I dive headlong into our recaps. But don’t worry, they’re coming soon, I promise! In the meantime, I realized I never actually shared the story of the weekend I spent with my girls.
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!
Last Saturday began as any ordinary weekend morning. No wait, that’s not right. It was the opposite of ordinary! I woke up before the crack of dawn, my apartment became instantly crowded, and I spent the next few hours in a cloud of makeup and hairspray. The cloud cleared, and my bridesmaids raced me over to our wedding venue. I met Mr. Lion under the chuppah, and we exchanged some very significant words.
Yep, Mr. Lion and I are now married! It’s crazy, it’s surreal, and it’s AWESOME! Married life is good, and our wedding was absolutely spectacular. Every time I talk about our wedding, I feel like one ginormous cliche. “It was the happiest day of my life.” “Everything was perfect.” “It was better than I ever dreamed it would be.” I’m embarrassed to admit that all of these words have come out of my mouth, but I don’t know how else to describe it! It really was the perfect day. We had gorgeous weather, our decor came together really nicely, and everyone keeps telling me how much fun they had!
Our friends and family are starting to post pictures on Facebook, and it’s been fun seeing our wedding through their eyes. Read more…
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.
I really haven’t given much thought to cultural traditions when it comes to our wedding. My family is a classic American mash-up that includes a lot of Irish, a lot of Polish, and a bit of Native American (I know, hard to believe). So, while I love the Polish Bread and Salt tradition, and some of the Native American blessings, I’m not sure that I feel a connection strong enough to make me want to include either in the wedding. And while Sparks is probably 85% Irish, I’m pretty sure the only connection he feels to the motherland occurs when his hand is wrapped around a glass of Smithwick’s.
However. One thing I am very strongly connected with is the long history of military service in my family; most recently with my dad (more on him later). He and my mom were married in a classic and beautiful military ceremony in Pensacola, Florida:
Mom had her bouquet modeled after Princess Diana’s. Maybe Kate Middleton and I will wear the same dress… ha!
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.
As mentioned in my previous post, when it came down to choosing the lovely ladies who would stand by me on my wedding day, I decided on the magic number 10. With the ladies in mind, I then had to decide how I would ask them.
After fighting off my excited urge to call them up and blurt out, “HEY! WANNA BE MY BRIDESLADY?!”, I decided to undertake a craft project. Like Miss Lox…I am not naturally crafty, and this was quite a commitment.
I thought these were ADORABLE but way too venturesome for inexperienced me, so they got axed:
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.
You guys, I have the best bridesmaids. While my MOH Alisa is hard at work up north planning my bachelorette and BM Leah is booking plane flights to fly all over the country to see us (from her current home in Texas), BMs Jess and Mary Alice are here in Atlanta whipping up these beauties:
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’m not a huge fan of the traditional guestbook. To me, it would feel like we’re taking attendance. If we had a traditional guestbook, I would never look at it, which seems like such a shame.
On the other hand, I’m a huge fan of photo albums, so when I saw photo guestbooks in action, I was in love. The idea of getting our guests to write us little notes yearbook-style makes me really happy. I used our snowy engagement pictures and put them all in an album using Blurb, and I left white spaces on almost every page for writin’. I love the way our book turned out; the photo quality is good, the software was easy to work with, and there were a lot of options for the book: Hardcover or softcover? What colors? How thick do you want the pages?
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!
Mrs. Elephant, Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 27, Financial Operations AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, IT Student/Store ManagerEngagement Date: March 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: The Tribute Golf ClubAbout Me: I'm a Philly native creating roots deep in the heart of Texas. I might be a little obsessed capturing those Kodak moments of anything and everything (mainly on vacations). I've become more of a gamer thanks to Mr. Elephant, who I met online and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with. We are planning a wedding based on our favorite colors, blue and green, with a travel theme for 150 of our closest friends and family. Hopefully our long (2-year) engagement won't kill me!
What’s that I hear? Is that our countdown clock nearing two weeks?
Thanks to Daddy and Mama Elephant, we knocked out the out of town boxes that will welcome our guests to Dallas. Mr. E and I did all of the bulk shopping at Costco, then I headed up to my parents’ to put them together (and store them, since we have no room left in our apartment) while he was recovering from his bachelor party.
I started the assembly line by wrapping the boxes in the Washi tape and using spray adhesive to attach the welcome sign.
Ms. Gazelle, Calgary/VancouverAge and Occupation: 32, EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Technology AnalystEngagement Date: September 3, 2010Wedding Date: July 2011Venue: Brock House Restaurant, VancouverAbout Me: I am a marathon runner, cyclist, Ironman triathlete and beautiful shoe fiend who also loves kicking back and watching Glee. I grew up a bit of a nomad as I traveled around the world with my family, living everywhere from Australia to England to South America and Indonesia. I finally settled in Calgary a few years ago and met Mr. Gazelle who loves me even though we cheer for different hockey teams. We are planning a bit of a destination wedding in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia and we can’t wait to share the day with our close family and friends.
Also on my list of things to do the other weekend was visit fabric stores. I was on the hunt for two different things.
First up? Ribbon for invites. I have a big idea in my brain for the invitations that I’m planning on DIYing. I can’t wait to share what these invitations are going to look like! I’ve already picked up almost all the materials to create a mock-up; I just haven’t had a chance to pull it together yet. I’m still looking for idea generation, though! For the closure on the invites, I found this picture for inspiration from Paper Circle.
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.
So, Saturday was my birthday (same as Mrs. Lioness’ wedding day; it was a great day!). We woke up to half a foot of snow dumped on the city, which was unpleasant to say the least. We’d arranged to meet Cinnamon Buns’ mum and step dad at a diner near our house for birthday brunch, as both Cinnamon Buns and I had full work days starting at 12:30PM.
As brunch was over, we walked back to our house and in the lobby of the building we bumped into some ex-coworkers of mine! I’d temped with them for 2 months a couple summers ago, and one of them, K, moved into my building a few months later. We don’t really see each other very often, but every now and then in the parkade we wave hi to each other. It turns out that that morning K had enlisted the help of the other coworker to bring some stuff to the city dump, including this beauty that they were struggling to get out the door when we came in:
They jokingly offered it as a present, as it was just being thrown away, and said “Really? The dump? You’re serious?” Read more…
BeehiveFeature Launched: Aug 31, 2006About: A forum for readers to post questions and get feedback from the hive, aka the weddingbee community.
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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Hive moms: How has life changed for you post-baby? What were your identity/adult/couple struggles?
Parenthood is HUGE, and writing about it is like trying to write a single paragraph on marriage or the meaning of life. So tomorrow I might tell you something different, but here’s what comes to mind today:
Parenthood is so much more difficult than most people realize. It’s more than just a few sleepless nights— a baby drops into your life like a bomb and shakes everything. If you stay home, you will be sometimes bored, and you will question your identity without the reinforcements of career and salary. If you work, you will feel constantly torn between work and home. You will need to figure out how to pay for childcare (over $1,000/month in our town) or how to live without a second income. You will be pooped on and vomited on and screamed at, sometimes for what feels like hours. You often won’t know what you’re doing, and you will be frequently judged by everyone from family to strangers. The smallest errand can take an extra half hour of prep time. You WILL have sleepless nights. Oh, and of course if you’re the mother you will grow a human that will tear its way out of your body like the creature from Alien. Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
Parenthood is HUGE, and writing about it is like trying to write a single paragraph on marriage or the meaning of life. So tomorrow I might tell you something different, but here’s what comes to mind today:
