Mrs. Funnel Cake, Zürich, Switzerland/Columbus, OhioAge and Occupation: 24, Visual Communication DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Application EngineerEngagement Date: May 30, 2010Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Catholic church followed by a botanical conservatoryAbout Me: I'm an American designer who moved to Switzerland for love after a fairytale beginning at the top of the Eiffel Tower. I love travel, photography, museums, learning German so I can speak with my mother-in-law, cooking (eating), cuddling, and I'm not afraid to try something new even if it terrifies me. My Swiss/Brazilian man and I are both down to earth people planning a traditional Catholic wedding in my hometown with some quirky cultural exceptions to reflect our different backgrounds. We look forward to celebrating with friends and family from all over the world in a classic, sophisticated fusion of heritage and love.
In Part II, I finally saw Mr. Funnel Cake face to face.
Now, I am kind of a shy person to begin with (before you know me and I become a crazy extrovert), yet I didn’t seem to have any trouble deciding to meet a perfect stranger in a foreign land. Alarm bells should have been ringing about meeting strange men like this, but Mr. Funnel Cake just looked so good natured! So I said “hello” to Mr. Funnel Cake and introduced myself, and then we walked to the botanical gardens to start our fun.
I have to interject here that in introducing myself to Mr. Funnel Cake, I had something to clarify: His email did not match the name he would sign as, and so I was a little confused why I was writing to a “Kay” and getting responses from a “Patrick.” Mr. Funnel Cake clarified that both “Kay” and “Patrick” were his names. Patrick was his middle name and was easier for foreigners to say because “Kay” rhymes with “hi” and has a big “ch” throathy gurgle at the beginning. So to simplify things, he said he usually told people to call him Patrick if he was abroad. He told me I could call him either…which didn’t really answer my question. Thus began my time where I knew him as “Patrick.”
At this point I had met a few people off the internet, usually after contact on a forum, and I always find the experience funny. It’s somehow like hanging out with a friend that you don’t know yet…so the social interaction and conversation is a bit different than with your normal friends. I seem to have inherited some of my father’s enviable small-talk skills, though, because I can carry on a conversation all right if there are any potentially awkward silences.
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!
Now that I’ve received some positive feedback in the form of text messages with multiple capital letters and exclamation points from friends all over the country, I think it’s safe to assume that most of our guests have received their save the dates. So, without further ado, here they are!!
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.
Yesterday, my dad reminded me that it was the 18th anniversary of his mother’s, my grandmother’s, passing. I was reminded not only of my wonderful Grandma Nancy, but also all the other important people in my life that have left us all too soon.
My mind eventually shifted to how to remember all of the grandparents we have lost at our wedding. I have always known that I would want to do something special and meaningful to commemorate our loved ones who will not be with us on our wedding day, but I have been unable to decide the best way to accomplish this.
Remembering loved ones at a wedding seems to be a difficult thing to maneuver. Balancing the desire to remember loved ones while celebrating such a joyous occasion without becoming macabre is difficult. But, it is very important to us to remember these people, as they held a special place in our lives and will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Some ideas I have considered for remembering our loved ones include:
Acknowledgment in the program or ceremony. This is a common approach at most weddings I have attended, and I think it is a nice way to remember deceased loved ones without bringing an inordinate amount of attention to the fact that they are not present.
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.
Finally it was time to get married. Mr. Knitting and I had worked on the ceremony for weeks and I was really happy with it. John Horvath, our Officiant from All Seasons Weddings, provided us with a basic ceremony that we pretty thoroughly edited to reflect us and our relationship (i.e. we took out all the really sappy stuff because that makes us cringe a bit!).
*Below I’ve interspersed parts of our ceremony with some commentary.
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!
Pop culture has made being the 10 letter “b” word so commonplace that you forget that it’s not like a switch gets turned on the moment you have a ring on your finger. I was so sure that I wouldn’t be that horrible word because I was raised to be considerate (to a fault) of other people’s feelings. It almost pains me to make a decision that’s just about me. This causes all kinds of guilt on a normal everyday basis but when it came to planning the wedding, the guilt that sort of buzzes in my ear regularly turned crushing.
Before the guilt though, came fear—am I allowed to ask for what I want? If I do, will I be called the “b” word? And when we were making the big decisions, like location, that fear ran through me hardcore. Will people think badly of me because I’m not having it in my own hometown? Will my family members think I’m not standing up for myself and letting the future in laws have more say? Will the important people in my life be there? Read more…
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!
Mrs. Jaguar, SydneyAge and Occupation: 27, Primary School TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Curzon HallAbout Me: I'm an Australian girl who is a self-proclaimed nerd, loves all things stationery and would be lost without books, music and the internet. Mr. Jaguar and I have been together for the past eight years and he finally popped the question last August. Hurrah! We currently live in Sydney, Australia with our adorable cat who thinks he's a person. We're a couple who likes to multi-task: we've been planning a wedding abroad, a permanent move from London to Sydney, and preparing to build our own home all at the same time. Travelling makes me giddy...as does Mr. Jaguar, of course!
One of the things I knew the least about before becoming engaged was RSVP-ing. I’ve only been to a small handful of weddings in my time and they were mostly small and intimate events, where responding tended to happen in person rather than by card. Being on the other end of the response line has taught me LOADS about etiquette: let’s just say I will never, ever slack off on responding again. Seriously. Waiting around to find out about guest responses really, really sucks.
It doesn’t matter how well you know someone or how many times you gently remind them to send the card back—there will always be slackers. Our cut-off date was May 1st (yep, over a week ago) and we’re still waiting on about twenty-five guests. I’ve started chasing up guests. My family has started chasing up guests. Mr. Jaguar’s family have started chasing up guests. And while we’ve had a few verbal ‘sure, we’ll be there’ and ‘I think so!’ responses, that’s not good enough for me.
Mrs. Sand Dollar, HoustonAge and Occupation: 24, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Electrical TechnicianEngagement Date: January 8, 2010Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: MacLean ParkAbout Me: I'm a domestic diva down to the core. I heart cooking, sewing, baking, decorating and making sure we have a hand-crafted home. The best part about the wedding is I get to incorporate it all! I make sure I put my art degree to good use by screen printing, craft knife cutting, and a whole lotta graphic design. We're having a big-time party on a small-time budget, and I promise to show you a boot-scootin', barbecue-eatin', finger-lickin' good time! Mr. Sand Dollar and I spend most of our time on DIY projects or traipsing around the outdoors with our two pooches Rory and Juno. I'm looking forward to sharing our journey with all of you!
My husband bought this ring from Etsy seller Single b. and proposed to me with it. I adored it. I certainly wore it every day. Then one horrible cold day I looked down to see this: Read more…
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!
And now it’s time for my favorite part of any recaps ever. The details. Before I get into the dinner and dancing portion of the night, I want to give you a quick look at how our reception looked.
Let’s just jump right in, shall we?
First up, here’s the dining room all set up. One of my favorite memories from this room is the moment that I was running to the bridal room just minutes before the ceremony began. I ducked through here so I could cut through the kitchen, and it was the first time I had seen the room all set up. I was in a hurry so it was a bit of a blur, but I remember as soon as I made it to the bridal room, I kept replaying the glimpse I got in my head—I couldn’t get over how much I loved it!
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!
One of the perks of working in theatre is getting to know super awesome people…like my friend Marvelous Makeup Melanie. Read more…
Ms. Ferris Wheel, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 29, PsychologistFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, PsychologistEngagement Date: May 23 and 28, 2010 (one for each of us!)Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Parc55 Hotel (city lights ceremony, ballroom reception)About Me: Born in the Southeast, educated in the Northeast, and over-educated on the West Coast, I finally earned my city-girl credentials and have put down roots in gorgeous San Francisco. I’m a raging perfectionist with a lightning quick wit and a terrible sense of both time and direction. Our wedding task list is endlessly growing because of my predilection to think that DIY projects I can make = DIY projects I should make (so not true!). I always go to bed wishing there were more hours in the day to enjoy all the things I adore, whether that be hobbies, friends, my career, our two dogs, or Mr. Ferris Wheel. Ours is a story of a non-traditional couple living an oddly traditional life planning a not-so-traditional wedding in this city we adore. Together we are bustin’ out all of our best skills (and some of our worst ones) to plan a laid-back-chic DIY-craftastic love-alicious affair!
Whatever aversions I had to hotel ballroom weddings (and thanks to being in wedding blogland for a while, I had a lot) fizzled pretty quickly when we realized that their wedding ’packages’ would mean a little less planning for us and a lot more convenience for our guests. Those things are hard to definitively put a price on, but when we did the calculations as best we could we figured that having our ceremony and reception at a hotel (depending on the specific hotel, of course because I’m not talking the Ritz Carlton here) might cost us $1-2000 more than another venue. And we decided that was worth it to us.
When we went to visit the Parc 55 Hotel we were already impressed with some of their package perks (free suite for the wedding night, free hour of open bar, etc.). We toured some of the typical ceremony spaces on the lower floors when, on a whim, I asked the coordinator whether they had any spaces with unbelievable views, even if the room wasn’t technically an event space. She led us up to the Club Lounge on the 30-somethingth floor. The room is small and awkwardly laid out, not all of ours guests would be able to have a seat, and there are some elements of the room we would definitely need to camouflage.
Mrs. Funnel Cake, Zürich, Switzerland/Columbus, OhioAge and Occupation: 24, Visual Communication DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Application EngineerEngagement Date: May 30, 2010Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Catholic church followed by a botanical conservatoryAbout Me: I'm an American designer who moved to Switzerland for love after a fairytale beginning at the top of the Eiffel Tower. I love travel, photography, museums, learning German so I can speak with my mother-in-law, cooking (eating), cuddling, and I'm not afraid to try something new even if it terrifies me. My Swiss/Brazilian man and I are both down to earth people planning a traditional Catholic wedding in my hometown with some quirky cultural exceptions to reflect our different backgrounds. We look forward to celebrating with friends and family from all over the world in a classic, sophisticated fusion of heritage and love.
In Part I, I made the first contact with Mr. Funnel Cake while I was living in Zürich, writing an email saying hello.
How did Mr. Funnel Cake respond? You guessed it. He was very friendly. He welcomed me to Switzerland and said he would be glad to make my stay as comfortable as possible, and that if I needed anything I should just ask. The definition of a gentleman, if you will…and I hadn’t even met the guy.
He seemed tame enough, so I wrote him back and asked if he knew of any good places around the city to see or authentic Swiss food to eat, or if he would want to meet for a drink and give me clues about what’s fun. (Kind of promiscuous coming from a twenty-year-old who wasn’t old enough to drink in her own country yet!) After writing back and forth a few more times, Mr. Funnel Cake asked me to come up with a time and place for something I wanted to see and he would do his best to show me around. Read more…
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.
Today I am going to share with you my love of magnets. I love magnets for many reasons: they hold up important stuff such as pizza coupons on your fridge, they find treasures like straight pins on the floor, and most importantly they can be (and hopefully always are) fun decoration for your fridge or other magnetic device.
Magnets have fun colors, fun shapes, fun designs, they’re fun in 3-D—they are just plain fun.
But, telling you about my love of magnets is not nearly as awesome as showing you my magnet collection. Yes, I said magnet collection.
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.
There have been many thought-provoking posts around the hive (including a fairly recent one by Miss Hyena) regarding a bride’s identity-altering decision as to whether or not she will change names for marriage. See for me, a name is not just a name; names tell stories, reveal history and hold meaning. My last name, the one I’ve lived with and signed thousands of times, is absolutely no different.
Truth be told, my surname is unique. So much so in fact that I am likely related to all others with my last name in the US in some distant way or another. Also, when I type my last name into Google images, I am immediately greeted by a page filled with a familiar face.
Anyhow, my name is important to me, so it is not without hours of thought that I am even considering changing it. Mr. Seal is a great sport about it all and understands my hesitation. In fact, Mr. S says that he’d 100% support me if I decided to not take on his.
Seems like a simple enough decision then, right? But no.
Mrs. Oyster, DallasAge and Occupation: 30, Music TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 46, Art TeacherEngagement Date: January 9, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: The Tower ClubAbout Me: I'm a Texa-Californian with a penchant for sparkly things and a tendency to think a lot. I've been known to sing random songs or dance when there is no music on. My fiance and I love world culture, we love to travel, and we have an incredibly eclectic taste in music. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to celebrate our marriage with our family & closest friends. We're planning an “urban black-tie” wedding and hope to incorporate our personalities and some of our own interests. We look forward to a life of love, laughter, good music, beautiful art, and to creating our home together with our four (!) cats.
Hello, Hive! It’s Mrs. Oyster here, the one who got married a looong time ago. I’m back… almost.
While waiting for our digital photos, I’ve been starting out in our quest to DO SOMETHING with these hundreds of wedding prints. The first step was deciding to put the proof images in something other than a shoebox. (If you haven’t booked your photographer yet, proof sets are just prints of every photo from the wedding.) Our photographers offered the proofs in two formats: a pre-printed book and the loose 4×6 prints. Personally, I prefer the prints, because I love that we can take them out and frame them if we want. Later, I overheard one of them talking, and she said that customers who order loose prints often complain because they are unwieldy, and because family members and friends will come over and steal one or two of them.
Well, we had no such problems, mostly because we never told anyone that we had any prints, and because our house is too messy to invite anyone over to. Also, the photographers made it very easy for our geographically spread-out family to buy their own prints online, so that worked out well. And in the beginning at least, I love that we have them to pick up and look at when it’s time to do things like choose album shots, select photos for enlargements, or whatever else (like writing Weddingbee recaps!).
But eventually, I needed to put the prints in a format that made it easier to look them over. Read more…
