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!
This might be the wrong place to say this but.. isn’t it incredibly stupid that I would let something like a dress make me completely insane? You guys know what I mean, right?
What am I saying. Of course you do. And that’s why I heart the hive.
Going back to looking for a dress I could wear to the banquet…
I shopped. Everywhere. All the formal dresses that were within my price range was made out of chiffon and that felt totally wrong for an evening affair. And anything that was made of a heavier material wasn’t formal enough (is it just me or are stores saturated with short prom dresses? Is that a thing these days? I’m so out of touch.). The more I looked, the more worried I became that I wasn’t going to find anything. I started having anxiety nightmares where I showed up in jeans, clutching a pile of hideous dresses. In my waking hours, I had 20 tabs open on my web browser, all on different clothing stores.
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.
Okay, hive. Today, we’re going to talk about chub rub, which Urban Dictionary defines as “the rubbing and chafing of chubby thighs against one another during long walks or duration of activity.”
Yeah, I suffer from chub rub whenever I wear a skirt or dress without tights. Although I think that “chub rub” is a bit of a misnomer, because I’ve suffered from this all my life, when I was a size 6 and when I was a size 16. It’s just the way my thighs are shaped. They rub together no matter how big or small they are. So I’m going to call it “not-just-chub rub,” or NJCR for short.
I’ve tried different solutions to NJCR. I’ve rubbed deodorant on my inner thighs to create a protective barrier. It helped with the chafing, but felt kind of gross. Last year, Mrs. Rainbow turned me on to using Monistat Chafing Gel instead of my usual Smashbox Photofinish Primer (it’s the same formula, but the Monistat is waaaaay cheaper), I figured I’d try that on my thighs, since that’s what it’s made for. Again, it helped with the chafing, but didn’t help with the fact that my thighs rubbed together, and in the summer, it could get sweaty (sorry to be so gross).
My solution in high school and college was to wear spandex biker shorts under everything. Keep in mind that I was in high school and college in the late ’80s/early ’90s, so the only biker shorts I could find looked like this. The HORROR!
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.
Sparks and I will be heading to a friend’s destination wedding later this month, and we are REALLY looking forward to it. It’s still kind of chilly up here in Chicago, and I’ve been counting down the days ’til St. Thomas ever since we got our save the date. Today, as I sat day dreaming about the cute, warm weather outfits I’ll be able to wear, I started imagining my own honeymoon. Ahhhhh, warm breezes, exciting day trips, delicious meals… perfection. Then I realized, I haven’t even told you guys where we’re going!
Where in the world will the Sparklers honeymoon???
Sparks and I had three places in mind when we started planning the honeymoon: Hawaii, Spain and Italy. I was really pulling for Spain, Sparks really wanted Italy, and Mom Sparkler thought Hawaii would be best.
Each destination offered so many amazing reasons to go, it was really hard to choose…
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.
We had a few short hours between our cake tasting and our meal tasting at the Brock House. I hoped that we would have enough time to digest all of our cake prior to our meal!
The Brock House has a set amount of days in a month when they hold tastings; although, since we would have to fly in, they would have worked to accommodate us on a different day if need be. We could have up to four people at the tasting with everyone getting a salad or a soup, one main course, and a dessert. In order for us to try some additional dishes, my parents were kind enough to meet us in Vancouver.
Mr. Gazelle and I already knew what buffet package we’d be picking, so we wanted to try whatever dishes we could from that menu. First up: the salads! We tried a simple but delicious house salad, Caesar salad, seafood salad, and a mushroom and asparagus salad.
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!
I finally decided to just face the music and have my own BM-dress party. At the bridal salon, I told the consultant that I had no idea what I wanted and I was on a mission to try on as many dresses as it took to make some progress. She responded by pretty much getting out of my way; and, to be honest, I don’t blame her. I grabbed upwards of 20 dresses and headed off to a teeny tiny fitting room. By “teeny tiny” I mean that there physically was not enough space for me and all of the dresses I had selected. Thankfully, no other brides were in the BM department at that time, so my humiliation was relatively private.
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!
You’ve seen hints of our color scheme in my wedding-party invites, so I thought it was high time for me to put together an honest-to-goodness palette picture because…umm…because I’ve seen other people do it? Oh, stop laughing! You know you’ve succumbed to the “all the other brides are doing it” pressure at some point, too. Kinda like when I made that inspiration board—which I’ve never really looked at again since the fateful day I spent about six hours working on it. But that’s a post for another time.
Let’s bring it on back around to the point of *this* post. I know you’re waiting with baited breath. (BTW, what does that even mean?! Sounds disgusting.) So without further ado, I give you our perfect palette.
{Black, white, dove gray, cobalt blue, gray, charcoal gray}
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.
This past weekend Mr CC and I had the pleasure of attending a wonderful shower in our honor, thrown by my amazing bridesmaids. I had mentioned earlier that I had offered to take the favor portion of the party planning off my bridesmaids’ plate, so the Friday before our shower I got busy cranking out these easy peasy DIY sachet favors.
You may be surprised to know that they’re bits and pieces of yarn I’ve been saving from my pom pom crafts. For some crazy reason I’ve spent the last 5 months saving all of my yarn trimmings from my poms, so when the idea of making scented sachets for the shower came up, I knew I had the perfect filler. 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!
After my millions of questions about how to figure out the music, I wound up bawling all over Mr. Hyena about the playlists, and the bar, and how I can’t deal with this wedding crap anymore and we should just elope because no one will like our wedding anyway WAHHHH.
And Mr. H came up with a brilliant, albeit unconventional, way to deal with all the mini “events” during the reception.
We would emcee our own wedding. Five months in advance.
I know what you’re thinking. You don’t have to say it. I know. But hear me out.
Here’s the plan: we have four “events” we want to include in the reception: anniversary dance, cake cutting, bouquet toss, garter toss. 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!
At this point in the ceremony, BIL Cardy asked us to face one another as we prepared to read our vows.
(Note: As I mentioned in part 1, I am only sharing bits and pieces of the actual text from the ceremony and readings. If you’re interested in seeing the whole thing, let me know and I’ll pass it along.)
We wanted to have a ring warming ceremony, but we didn’t want to have to wait for the rings to make it through the entire crowd. Instead, we chose to have just our bridal party bless our rings for us.
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.
Mrs. Pencils, Washington DC/Frederick, MDAge and Occupation: 24, Program Director, Education Non ProfitFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Administrative Assistant, Ocean Conservation Non ProfitEngagement Date: July 26, 2008Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Morningside InnAbout Me: I'm a nerdy Northwestern girl who always knew she was meant to live in the East, harboring a deep love of ice cream, underwear, Diet Coke with a splash of Coca-Cola, pashminas, scrapbooking, stationery, wall calendars and books written for preteens. I think every day should include good thin crust pizza, chocolate, an obscure historical monument, lots of laughter, a dash of wedding planning and, of course, amazing Mr. Pencils! I'm loving the adventure of planning a Maryland wedding and Rocky Mountain reception, and most of all, I just love love!
This weekend, Mr. Pencils and I celebrated one year of marriage together. I can scarcely believe that it’s truly been 365 days since we said our vows, became husband and wife, and, of course, took lots and lots of photos.
And I think I know the two most pressing questions on your mind:
How have the Pencils’ fared in their first year and what, just WHAT, does Mrs. Pencils’ post-wedding chop look like NOW?
I can report, on both counts, with one simple picture:
Life is good!
It has slowly begun to dawn on me over the last few weeks how very real our little family is, and how very real it all now feels. Read more…
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.
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. 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!
It is so easy to get wrapped up in wedding craziness. All these books, blogs, and TLC shows convince you that you need things (that you don’t really need), and to be something (that might not actually be you at all).
I’ll admit it, I’ve been sucked up in this a few times. You can’t help it really; I read all these posts here on Weddingbee about two shoed brides and fancy shoed brides and all kinds of shoes! The bees who are writing the posts are always so excited, and those feelings come through the posts. And, well? I wanted that feeling. I wanted to be a bride who had shoe excitement. I really did.
So what did I do? I spent (or possibly wasted) hours of lunch breaks looking at shoes online, from sites like Zappos and Endless.
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!
Just when I thought I had pretty much all the DIY projects out of the way, Weddingbee offers up a bit more inspiration. This place is awesomesauce! But I guess I don’t have to tell you that.
I’ve made tissue poms a la Martha as ceiling decorations but hadn’t thought about them for my own wedding- probably because I feel like I’ve seen them everywhere! But recently, Mrs. Hot Wings’ post about using them as napkin rings completely inspired me. Napkin rings were a detail I had given up about, mostly because I had taken on way too many DIY projects and was feeling overrun. I didn’t want to come up with any other ideas…my brain was spent.
I did a quick search online and came across this great tutorial. I had initially planned to make the smallest size they suggested, but instead cut the paper into 4×7″ rectangles because it was what worked with the sheets I had without any waste. I figured that if I did a test run and they were easy enough, I’d do the rest.
