Mrs. Starfish, Boston/NewportAge and Occupation: 25, Operations AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, SalesEngagement Date: October 8, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: The Atlantic Beach ClubAbout Me: I'm a perfectionist who is a planner at heart. I don't do well with surprises. I love planning, crafting, Newport RI, family and friends, and most importantly, Mr. Starfish---all of which will be big components in our October wedding in our favorite little city by the sea.
One of the things that was super important to us when choosing a photographer was finding someone who included an album in the package. I can be pretty cheap and figured I may not want to spend the money months after the wedding, so I knew I had to include the price up front. I’m really happy I did because if you read this post, you may know that I probably would have cheaped out on it.
We went to pick it up the other night. Here is a peek into the pages of the Starfish wedding album: Read more…
Mrs. Pain au Chocolat, Wilmington, DEAge and Occupation: 29, RealtorFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, RealtorEngagement Date: November 21, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Greenville Country ClubAbout Me: An ENFJ with an artistic streak who loves backgammon, sailing, graphic design, and sleeping in. Travel (near or far), good wine, and tasty food makes my heart sing. I'm a compulsive list-maker who lives to plan and organize. Mr. P and I have lived together for 4 years, all the while renovating our city townhome bit by bit. We're planning a whimsical, Anthropologie-inspired garden wedding in June 2011.
Mr. PaC and I jetting off to attend our friends’ wedding in Mexico…on Cinco de Mayo! All I can think is gonna be one heck of a celebration!
Wedding pavilion at sunset
Initially, I dug my heels deep into the beach sand over the time, expense, and additional stress of traveling less than one month before our wedding. Read more…
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!
As I mentioned before, we are having a Moravian pastor marry us. She is the pastor at my childhood church in Wilmington, NC. The thing is, she is relatively new there…so she was not the pastor when I was growing up, and I have only met her a handful of times. When we started our pre-marital counseling, there was a lot of getting to know each other that needed to be done.
But before we met face to face with our minister, she asked Mr. Magic and I each to take an online survey through a program called Prepare-Enrich. I was worried it was going to be really intensive and open-ended, essay style questions, but it was actually relatively quick and painless with a Likert scale format. Here’s a shot from their “About” page:
I immediately took my quiz and then nagged Mr. Magic to take his. After that, we set up our first official pre-martial counseling session with our Minister, hereafter known as the Minister of Magic Wedding, or just Minister of Magic, primarily because there just can’t be enough Harry Potter references in my life. She seems much more competent than this Minister of Magic…
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.
For the last few months, I have kept this idea of incorporating Southern elements into our wedding in the back of my mind just waiting for the perfect idea to come along. One day, while innocently perusing one of the many lovely wedding blogs I frequent, I came across an idea that stopped me in my tracks. The absolute perfect Southern addition to our wedding day.
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
Hi hive! Last week we asked the bees to make their own predictions for the royal wedding, and we hope you’ve had fun playing along! We asked a specific set of questions, answered as best as we could below. Now comes the daunting task of choosing our winner!
The British Monarchy made Flickr their official photo sharing site, and now that the images have been released, it’s time to take a peek into the final results of the wedding day’s details!
The Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding day style:
She wore a satin and lace dress designed by Sarah Burton for the Alexander McQueen. Her hair was half up, half down, and she wore a lace-embroidered elbow length veil. She wore an additional dress for the evening festivities featuring a jeweled belt and white bolero, also designed by Sarah Burton.
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!
Once all the *duh-rama* of choosing my Party People had subsided, I was finally ready to tackle that whole “asking them” thing. Being the creative and crafty woman that I am, I was jumping out of my skin to get elbow deep in some paper and adhesive. Based on a lot of inspiration I’d culled from the far-and-wides of the interwebs, here’s what I put together:
{Clockwise from top left: box top, box bottom with pleated paper medallion, booklet invite (with name blurred)}
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!
I’ve shared the biggest pieces of my wedding day attire with you here in the Hive—namely the dress. But there are so many more other little details that are still in the works, those little things that will hopefully set put the whole outfit together.
First things first, you know what this means Mr. Jaguar—it’s time to leave!
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.
Remember back in the winter, when I got dress regret? I was so annoyed and embarrassed by my own wishy-washy indecisiveness that I almost held out on the hive.
Well, I’ve been holding out on you again, this time about my shoes. You see, the wedding is very rapidly approaching, and I’ve been having major shoes blues. I was really afraid that I’d fail in finding the perfect wedding shoes and that I’d have to be a barefoot bride.
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!
OK, so the first attempt at BM-dress shopping didn’t go so well. Thankfully, I’m not one to get bummed out at the first sign of failure. Instead, I devote every waking moment to finding a solution until I can show that obstacle who’s boss. Maybe not the best method of coping, but it works for me. So, I turned to my trusty interwebs to find some BM dresses that would pass muster. I scoured all of the various collections that my salon carried, hoping to find some winners. Unfortunately, nothing really jumped off the screen at me. I decided I just wasn’t trying hard enough and proceeded to look at the same dress pictures over and over and over again, willing one of them to wow me. Still nothing.
Then I took the alternate approach and decided to make everything a possibility. Short? Sure. Long? Why not. Chiffon or satin…why not both?! In a matter of one short mentality shift, I went from having nothing that caught my eye to having my eye caught by about 50 different dresses at once. I will confess that a certain dress was kind of pulling ahead…
Image via Jasmine Bridal: Belsoie L3009 (The catalog image is in Cobalt, but the image above is in Bordeaux. To preview the dress in any of the available colors, click the color box and the “preview” button.)
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!
I adore buying presents for people, but generally have an incredibly hard time buying gifts for Mr. Tartlet. He’ll probably say the same thing about me, which is why the majority of our “gift” giving typically revolves around grabbing a bite to eat. I’ve had two full years to concoct the ultimate gift package for him, though, and I’m wickedly anticipating his reaction when he sees what’s in store for him. I’ll give you one, evil sneak peek Mr. Tartlet:
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!
For the first time since we got engaged, I recently started to freak out a little bit about our reception music. We’ll be joining the masses rockin’ an iPod/laptop reception, and I have very little grasp on the logistics.
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
No no, not you all. I mean, I’m glad you’re here and all. But today I’m talking about thanking those guests who are choosing to come a longer way and stay overnight with us at the inn. So Mr. Lox and I chose to make out of town bags for them. Okay, maybe that’s’ not exactly how it went. Perhaps to be more accurate, I should say that I decided to make OOT bags and Mr. Lox supported me like he almost always does.
Making the OOT bags was something I knew I ‘d do as soon as we knew we’d have OOT guests. And, truth be told, we don’t have many. But I still thought it would be nice. So that decision was simple. What wasn’t simple? Was deciding what they should look like and what should be in them!
After many iterations of what these would look like, they ended up like this.
Starting with the bag on the left and going clockwise, this is what we have: Read more…
Mrs. Earrings, Fresno, CA/ Nelson, New ZealandAge and Occupation: 20, Student, Wannabe Writer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 19, Photography StudentEngagement Date: February 14, 2010Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Gardens of the WorldAbout Me: I'm a girl from down under who grew up in Indonesia and I'm marrying a California boy. I'm addicted to all things sweet, have never met a chocolate silk pie than can get the better of me, and have dreams of one day being a fulltime novelist. I go weak in the knees for lace, tea cups, and a beautifully crafted sentence. When I get excited about something (whether it is historical linguistics or the Beatles) I tend to go overboard in research, and planning this wedding is no different. Mr. Earrings is my high school sweetheart, my best friend, and somehow we combine all our quirks into one big happy mess.
Apart from marrying my best friend, my favourite thing about our wedding was being surrounded by so many loved ones. Whether related by blood or not—to us they are all family and I’m so happy our photographer was able to capture our precious (and all too fleeting) moments with them.
Mrs. Bacon, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 26, Digital Advertising ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, IT Client ServicesEngagement Date: June 17, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Ravenswood Billboard FactoryAbout Me: I'm a Midwestern girl that can't seem to commit to staying in one place for too long and is constantly daydreaming about my next adventure. I am an aspiring foodie with a weak spot for the unusual and I love semi-reality food television. My other loves easily include laughing as a form of exercise, a book that I can't put down, summer baseball games, espresso with whipped cream, couch potato days and nights with the ridiculous Mr. Bacon, and our two kitties, Lincoln and Sawyer. We're planning a faux-destination wedding for 150 of our closest friends and family in the city we've both adopted as home that has a modern, yet whimsical twist and as many personal touches as we can manage.
David Tutera hates cake toppers. I’m pretty sure he calls them tacky in every episode. I love watching him transform weddings, but really, how can something so itty bitty and adorable be tacky?
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.
Even though our wedding will be taking place in central Illinois, Mr. Pony and I want to incorporate some good ol’ Southern charm into our event. Mr. Pony is from Tennessee and we got engaged while visiting Savannah (what I consider to be the epitome of Southern culture), so Southern elements are a necessity for our wedding day. But, I am having trouble coming up with uniquely Southern ideas to make this happen.
One of the things that was super important to us when choosing a photographer was finding someone who included an album in the package. I can be pretty cheap and figured I may not want to spend the money months after the wedding, so I knew I had to include the price up front. I’m really happy I did because if you read this post, you may know that I probably would have cheaped out on it.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
