Weddingbee Blog

I love reading about how others found Weddingbee but thought I’d save my own story for a rainy day, or at least a day when I’d been around for a little longer than oh, immediately.

How did I find Weddingbee?

I found it via Mrs Avocado—I was a follower of her personal blog and wandered my way over to Weddingbee from there. When I first found the site, I was in a long-term relationship with Mr. Jaguar but there was no engagement in sight; so I stalked for a while, but ended up throwing in the towel after those familiar niggling feelings of frustration (and envy!) started coming back.

When we (finally) got engaged in August 2009, I found myself back here again, only this time for inspiration. Since we were having a super long engagement, the idea of applying to blog hadn’t really crossed my mind yet, so I visited quite sporadically. In the lead-up to my application, I had Weddingbee added to my feed reader, and was actively following along with the Sea Creatures generation, particularly Mrs Dolphin, Mrs Sand Dollar, Mrs Octopus and Mrs Seashell.

It was reading their stories, and watching the new Accessories generation get announced and begin blogging, that really prompted me to consider putting in an application. In particular, when Mrs Earrings began blogging, I got incredibly excited—a Kiwi Bee! Yes! I’d never seen an Australian blogger here before, and I was really keen to try out and give it a go.

My Application Story

If there’s one thing you should know about me before we begin, it’s that I’m incredibly impatient. Always have been, always will be. I was clock-watching like a crazy person, waiting for the 8-month out rule to apply to me. All was going well in my best efforts of being patient, until the Safari Animal generation got released. That was it. I couldn’t wait any longer. I HAD TO APPLY NOW. (Side note: I was totally coveting the Sloth icon.)

I’d been blogging online for a number of years and had already started discussing our wedding planning on that blog. Because I had a gut feeling that I’d be wanting to apply to blog at Weddingbee at some point in the future, I’d also started a second blog—one that was more related to inspiration pictures and random wedding mutterings that I was sure my regular blog readers would just skim over! When I created my application, I made sure to link to both of the blogs, and talked about why I’d chosen to do it that way.

Funnily enough, I still have my Weddingbee application saved in my inbox! I remember spending weeks and weeks reading and re-reading it, editing and tweaking it, because I wanted it to be PERFECT. Here was the catch for me though: I was soon to be headed overseas (travelling to Europe and then off on our Pre-Wedding-Moon) but I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to try out to blog. So what did I do? I was a crazy person, and I scheduled two straight months of pre-written blog posts, just to prove that I would 100% take this blogging gig seriously.

I remember sending it off into the big bad world, and sitting on my hands for the next few weeks. I remember getting jumpy every time I would get an email coming through. I remember watching fellow Safari Animal bees get introduced, and feeling both excited and jealous of them at the same time. Finally, I got my response: a YES! I remember sitting down and standing up and sitting down again and calling Mr. Jaguar, and freaking out because it was a yes! It was happening! When it came down to choosing a character, I was torn between a few: the Panther, the Giraffe or the Jaguar. I HAD to choose the Jaguar: she was quietly cute, she looked just like our Oscar-kitty, and she just felt right.

What it’s like being a bee?

It’s incredible. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of: blogging to an audience who legitimately want to hear about whatever it is you’re writing about. Imagine your own personal blog, where you’ve got yourself a nice cozy batch of friends who comment—and then multiply that by a dozen and bask in the warm and fuzzies that follow. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come to the ‘Bee feeling confused, overly emotional or just plain worried (over epic things and over teensy-weensy little things) and have quickly been set straight. The honesty and the candidness that you guys share is refreshing, and it’s done with compassion and not snark: both things that are lacking sometimes in wedding world.

It’s also a lot of work. I won’t lie and say that there haven’t been times when I’ve been exhausted, where I’ve wanted to just skip the blogging and do something completely mindless instead. But it’s a commitment that you take on board, and it’s one that I do my best to stick to. Can you believe that since I was first announced as a bee at the end of September 2010, I’ve written over 100 posts? And I won’t be shutting up any time soon either, what with six weeks to go until the wedding, followed by our recaps. Woo! I find what works best for me is simply writing when the inspiration strikes. Sometimes I’ll sit down and plug out three or four blogs, ready to schedule for the week ahead—sometimes I’ll sit down and just do one, because that’s all I’ve got in me that day.

Any advice for potential applicants?

My biggest bit of advice? Apply at the right time. If you’re anything like I was, you were stalking the Hive and counting down until that magical ’8 months out from your wedding!’ moment. That’s all well and good, but remember: the earlier you’re chosen as a bee, the more posts you’ll be writing throughout your time here. If you’ve not planned a lot and are relying on inspiration pictures rather than actual purchases or events, you might want to leave it another month or two before applying. Be ye not so impatient as I was!

That being said, if you’ve got the drive and you’re keen, GO FOR IT! It’s easy to start comparing yourself to other people & their weddings, and that will probably continue even if you are successful in becoming a blogger—but if all weddings were the same, we wouldn’t still be here, would we? The reason Weddingbee is as amazing as it is, is because the bloggers are all bringing something new and unique to the table—so make sure you are making your visions clear while you’re blogging.

In closing, being a bee is wonderful. I’m SO pleased to have documented my entire wedding planning process in such great detail—and having met so many wonderful people along the way is a bonus. And thank you, for each and every comment you’ve made or message you’ve sent. You have no idea how much it means to receive them!