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.
The Baconator and I have gone back and forth for a while now about how guests would find their seats. He was all about a chart and I love the personalized nature of adorable escort cards. He thought escort cards were redundant and I thought a chart was boring. We were at a bit of a stalemate until I stumbled on this piece of inspiration at the People En Español 50 Mas Bellos party in New York last month (I was there for work!).
Milk Mustache props for the “Got Milk?” photo booth
Mrs. Hippo, New York City/Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 34, Event Planner for a Non-Profit Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Finance ITEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Samuel Lynne Galleries and Marc EventsAbout Me: I’m a thirty-something bride living in New York City and planning a modern-ish wedding in Dallas, Texas. I love trashy reality television (Jersey Shore, anyone?), online shopping, Sunday brunch, Central Park, and random celebrity spottings on the streets of Manhattan. While I love NYC, I miss good Tex-Mex, my college friends, central A/C, and being in close proximity to a Target. I’m thrilled to finally be planning an event that’s not work-related and to be marrying my best friend in what I hope will be a unique and personal ceremony followed by a reception with plenty of good food, good drinks, and dancing (regardless if it’s good or not).
The morning of our wedding, King Hippo and I woke up around 8:00 AM and headed to one of our favorite Dallas spots for a casual, private breakfast. Since we wouldn’t see each other until the walk down the aisle, we wanted to have some quiet time together before separating for the entire day. It was perfect and peaceful and the wonderful start to what would end up being the most amazing day ever…but I’m skipping ahead.
After breakfast, I showered and gathered up my stuff for the rest of the day. I said my last goodbye to single King Hippo and dropped my stuff off in the hotel suite I would be getting ready in with my ladies. In typical Mama Hippo fashion, she prepped the room with all the things we would need to get ready. From bobby pins to breath mints, she thought of everything… even bringing an extra mirror since there would be several women in the room trying to get primped at the same time. Mama Hippo thinks of everything!
I headed to the salon connected to our hotel a little before my hair appointment so I could visit with Mama Hippo, Sister Hippo and a few of the bridesmaids that were already there. Read more…
Miss Sweet Cream, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 26, Public Relations Account ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Outside SalesEngagement Date: July 4, 2010Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church / Rosebank WineryAbout Me: Born in the ‘burbs of Philly, it took some time living in the Big Apple to realize that I’m a girl who likes her roots. That’s why the mister and I bought a 1950s house on a charming street not too far from our childhood stompin’ grounds. This could also be the reason why our hometown is the scene where we are planning our super sweet, totally charming, BBQ-for-supper wedding that I never knew I always wanted. I DIE over DIY projects and live for vintage, heartfelt inspiration. I obsess over all things mid-century (from forks to furniture). Love is… cartoons and flea markets, and I am known to whip up a mean banana cream pie. I met the Mr. in grade school and after that boy took me for a spin on the handle bars of his BMX, I knew that things would never be the same again. Besides lovin’ my Mr., I also love to plan, sew and create, and that’s just what I’m doing as I navigate through the details, creating a laid-back day that oozes charm; one that will go down in (at least our) history as the Best. Day. Of all time.
While the hunt to find the perfect supper for our laid-back wedding left our taste buds missing the “dating stages” of caterer-hunting, we thought that at least we have cake to taste. Lots and lots of it.
That is until I started calling around for prices of wedding cake.
I still cannot believe that prices that some places can charge for just one piece! There was complete sticker shot when you multiplied that by the number of guests we approximated that we would have. And while I am sure that those cakes are absolutely delicious and unbelievably beautiful, our pockets aren’t bottomless & we are pretty wise to know that money doesn’t grow on trees.
Our cake inspiration was pretty simple. I mean, I am by no means a cake decorator, but little dots can’t be that hard right? We wanted something that was simple and… well instead of trying to paint a picture with words let me just, well, show you what I was sugary sweets had me drooling:
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. Cannon, Toledo, OHAge and Occupation: 27, Financial AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, AssemblerEngagement Date: February 28, 2011Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Epworth UMC & Ward PavilionAbout Me: I'm the curious combination of being a go-with-the-flow, laid back, obsessive planner. I try desperately to stay as busy as possible at all times (and am succeeding big time right now!) My biggest loves in life are Law & Order: SVU, Community (the show, not the concept, although I like that, too), ice cream, white cheddar popcorn, beer, hiking, knitting, decorating, writing, being outside, spending time with friends and family and musical theater. Mr. Cannon is pretty sweet, too. We've had a lot of fun traveling and having adventures all over the country, but have finally moved back near our hometown to settle down. We're planning a low-key, colorful, fun wedding and an awesome-to-the-max reception.
A few weeks ago, Cherry Bomb and I packed into the car and headed down to Columbus to visit my grandma so we could pick out a dress pattern. (I mean THE dress pattern. I’m still getting used to my wedding lingo.) Grandma wanted to go to Jo Ann Fabrics to hunt for dress patterns, so we headed to the one closest to her house. I had a general idea of what I wanted the dress to look like, so it was a matter of leafing through the pattern books until I found what I was looking for. Grandma chased Cherry Bomb through the store as I looked at dress after dress after dress. There were actually quite a few patterns that I liked, but I finally focused on one that had a scalloped bottom because I felt it added a bit of visual interest. I consulted Grandma about it, and we decided to get it. (We ended up with McCall’s M6331, for anyone who is interested.) My favorite part of the pattern was that it could also be made as a romper. I find rompers to be hilarious on grown women, and Mr. Cannon often threatens to buy matching rompers for Cherry Bomb and me, so I felt it was a sign that I was destined for this pattern.
Mrs. Marmalade, Norwalk, CT/Raleigh, NCAge and Occupation: 27, Administrative AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Army OfficerEngagement Date: December 31, 2009Wedding Date: July 2011Venue: Old Cadet Chapel/Highlands Country ClubAbout Me: I'm a Tri-State area "lady," through and through. A big chunk of my life has been split between NYC and Connecticut, and I'm finally heading down south to live with Mr. Marmalade. Our long distance relationship has been one adventure after the next, we've spent time in Texas, Louisiana, Florida,and Georgia, thanks to his military career. Next to Mr. Marmalade, my loves include live music, useless trivia, shoes, design, and my crazy half-tiger kitty, Oliver. I have a passion for food and wine, and I've been known to travel long distances to get my hands on the best meals. I come from a tight-knit big fat Greek Ecuadorian family---we're loud, we talk with our hands, and we spend hours talking loudly with our hands over large meals. I'm going to miss them so much as I pack up and begin my life, far away from home. But with Mr. Marmalade by my side, I'm ready to take on whatever may come. Next up: our wedding!
I came across this gorgeous wedding shot by one of my favorite wedding photographers, Steve DePino, just as I was starting to stress over my bridesmaids’ dresses.
Mrs. Ladyfingers, Saint Petersburg, FLAge and Occupation: 30, Marketing ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Sports WriterEngagement Date: December 24, 2010Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Palma Sola Botanical ParkAbout Me: I hail from Oklahoma, he was born and raised in Long Island. Fate brought us together, and now we live in a cute little rental house with our nutty dog, and our aloof cat. We both love to read, watch movies, explore our town, and laugh like hyenas. When I’m not obsessively wedding crafting, I enjoy stalking style and decorating blogs, making collages and painting, napping, thrifting, rearranging our bookshelves, and being a total weirdo with my friends. Hi!
I may have mentioned that I did a lot of freaking out in the first few weeks. Did I mention that? I freaked out. A lot. If there’s one piece of advice I could give you, it would be this: Enjoy your engagement before you start planning.
The number one reason for my stress was a lack of budget. We’d been engaged for about 15 seconds before I started looking at venues, having no idea what our price point was because we hadn’t even talked about it yet. But the number two reason was that without a guest list we could not choose a venue.
So we started innocently cobbling this list together, with no idea how inflaming this step can be or of its long-term repercussions.
Here’s what we did.
Get it all out
First, we listed every single person we could think of having at our wedding. This included distant cousins, high school friends, coworkers, people we regularly talk to, and schoolmates—and that’s cool, because once we got that list of EVERYBODY, we could start looking at places that held that many people and figure out our numbers from there. Some people have generous parents or family members who are contributing to or covering the bill. If that’s the case, the person or people paying should be involved in the conversation. We were footing the entire bill and decided that, while our family would have input, we’d need to have the final say on our guest list.
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. Cucumber Sandwich, Washington, DC/Cape May, NJAge and Occupation: 28, School CounselorFiance's Age and Occupation: 40, Collegiate AthleticsEngagement Date: March 27, 2010Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Congress Hall HotelAbout Me: I am a school counselor who spends my day wrangling children and my nights attempting to be creative with wedding projects. My enthusiasm for each of these activities far surpasses my skill. Thank goodness Mr. Cucumber Sandwich is there to pick up the pieces and be the voice of reason about my DIY tries. I have an obsession with terrible romantic comedies (‘From Justin to Kelly’ anyone?, anyone?!?), competitive Scrabble play, and hot dogs. I could eat astronaut ice cream for every meal and can’t seem to resist buying more shoes. Our wedding is going to be a true hodge podge of semi-destination, tradition, Yuengling, New England charm, with just a dash of ‘Jersey Shore’ thrown in. It has been six years in the making and I can’t wait to marry my best friend.
I know I am getting ahead of myself because I haven’t even shared our venue with you yet, but I wanted to talk about the decor that didn’t happen. When I first started looking at wedding porn, there were so many things that I wanted. Looking at all those delicious weddings can be completely overwhelming and definitely set up unrealistic expectations for me. I finally had to quit cold turkey. Not before I completely fell in love with Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling, though!
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.
The weather was gorgeous, just the right temperature, and no sign of any rain at all. That’s the one thing the 14-day forecast never said it would be. They always called for rain, but I knew better!
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.
We planned for our portraits to be right after the “getting ready” time, both because we really liked the idea of the “first look,” and because, well at least for me, I thought it would be nice to have portraits right after having my hair and makeup done, as opposed to several hours later.
We also decided to do the “unveiling.” Since I was not being given away, and I was wearing a veil, I was either going to have to have Mr. Oyster unveil me at the altar (an idea that made me feel weird) or just have it open all the time. So at the last minute, we decided it would be nice for Mr. Oyster to get to do it during our first look. He loved this idea and was looking forward to it. I know this from the many veil-related jokes he made the entire week before the wedding.
When I selected our venue, I took one look at the restaurant and knew that’s where I wanted our portraits to be. I love the backgrounds (you’ll see more of them in our portraits), and it gets great light!
I let the photographers arrange us and set up the first look however they wanted. I was standing in the window, and Mr. Oyster was to come over to me, and then we would, well, look at each other.
In the category of “weird memories from your wedding day,” I remember that the restaurant was supposed to be closed and empty at that time of day, which it was, except for two people sitting behind me having a weird business-y, gossip-y conversation. Read more…
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!
One of the many things I learned from our wedding weekend was that it’s practically impossible to over-pack. I say “practically” impossible rather than “literally” impossible, because I’m sure there is a way to go overboard. Seriously, though, you never know what you’re going to need, so you may as well bring it all!
Sister Lioness did a fabulous job putting together a MOH Survival Kit, just as Mrs. Bee and Mrs. Cola have blogged about in the past. A few days before the wedding, she roamed through the aisles of Target, snatching up everything in sight that just might be necessary. Read more…
Mrs. High Wire, DallasAge and Occupation: 23, Legal AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Director of CommunicationsEngagement Date: October 9, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Clark GardensAbout Me: My loves include yoga, anything spicy, our eccentric cat, our rambunctious dog, and Mr. High Wire, of course! Like the steadiness act of the tightrope walker, this gal is busy balancing life while planning a wedding to the man of her dreams. We’re hosting a laid-back, vintage-inspired, bird themed wedding with heavy doses of love, good eats (did someone say tacos and margaritas?), and endless Texas charm. Mr. High Wire and I are so happy to have you along for the walk across the tight rope.
Thanks! I love you. Scroll quickly past this post, please! 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.
Holy smokes, Hive…we are less than two weeks away from the Gazelle wedding! How is this happening so fast? I have to tell you, the run to the end is a strange and crazy time. Planning a wedding feels very similar emotionally to training for a marathon.
When you train for a marathon it is something that you have been working towards for months. Then in the final two weeks you ramp your activity down to let your body rest up and gain energy for race day. You have all of this energy just waiting to be released so you are buzzing around, jittery and emotional in those final two weeks before the marathon. This phenomenon is commonly known as taper madness.
Well my friends, I have taper madness for the wedding. My mind is going in a million different directions. I’ll be engrossed in work but then I’ll quickly remember that oh my gosh, I need to make sure I pack a getting ready outfit! What am I going to wear on the plane to our honeymoon? I better remind Mr. Gazelle to find his birth certificate!
I am also feeling emotional and dare I say it, perhaps slightly irritable? Read more…
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!
This past Sunday, a group of Philly, New Jersey, and Delaware gals got together at Bar Ferdinand for brunch. What a great turnout!
It was my first Weddingbee meet up and I had a blast. It was so fun meeting such a great group of Hive members! Lots of wedding talk (of course!)—the good, the bad, and the ugly. It was fun hearing all of the different venue and vendor suggestions flying around, although I was lame and couldn’t contribute to those discussions. I guess it’s what I get for having a “destination” wedding!
Bar Ferdinand is an awesome restaurant, by the way—they serve a tapas-style brunch that was amazing. I enjoyed the patatas bravas and cangrejo croquettes, which were delicious. The churros and hot chocolate looked divine, as did the carne asada; I may need to make a return trip. They also let us mob on their little back room, so that we basically had a private room to ourselves. Sweet!
Fun ladies, wedding talk, a visitor with a crazy outfit/ hat, and drinks—what more could you want on a Sunday? Read more…
