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.
It’s that day, when the finished/unfinished state of DIY projects doesn’t really matter anymore.
When you know that at some point the careful scheduling will get stretched, but it doesn’t really matter.
When who brings what date just makes you shrug.
When you wake up with butterflies of joy in your stomach.
When you’re marrying your one and only, and that’s all that matters.
And also, a many happy returns to my great-uncle Arthur, who turns 90 today! Turning 90 means you don’t want to be on a plane for 12 hours, so he won’t be making the trip from England to be with us today, but he did send along this touching drawing on the back of one of our RSVP cards:
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.
I normally love being the center of attention and enjoy getting my picture taken. But I have to admit I was feeling a bit awkward about engagement pictures. Don’t get me wrong, I was super excited that Mr. Cannon and I were going to get some pictures of us together. Ever since Cherry Bomb was born, we haven’t gotten many pictures of us. She is our favorite photographic subject, and pictures of the little lady have outweighed the pictures of us by a ton.
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!
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.
Way back when Mr. Funnel Cake mentioned Plan Z, I secretly started researching how to execute the plan. I knew a foreign marriage application in Switzerland was fairly time and labour intensive process, and I wanted to be prepared if and when Mr. Funnel Cake would agree we should do it. I figured if it came to this, we would need to execute our plan very quickly, and I was right!
(Image via my computer where I was constantly stalking EF)
So, what do you need to get married in Switzerland? Well, if you are Swiss all you need is your Passport or Identity Card. If you live outside the city you wish to marry in, you also need a copy of your residence certificate and civil status certificate from your local registry office, but Mr. Funnel Cake is a “Zürcher” so he just needed to bring his ID card with him.
The documents required from Americans are a little more complicated…
Mrs. Pretzel, SeattleAge and Occupation: 32 Learning, Training, and Development SpecialistFiance's Age and Occupation: 28 Manufacturing EngineerEngagement Date: September 2, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Catholic Church & The Engine Room at Georgetown StudiosAbout Me: I’m just a thirty-something girl who never dreamed of weddings, poofy dresses, or ritzy receptions. I am a rabid knitter, except recently, wedding projects have replaced my yarn and needles. I’ve been fiercely independent since the age of 2 and 30 years later I think my family and friends had given up on me settling down and getting married.
Ironically, I had to go all the way to Seattle to find a boy from Purdue. We fell in love over Seattle Beers and cooking together. I love NASCAR, he loves Legos. I can talk like a Muppet and he can fit a whole McDonald’s cheeseburger in his mouth. We are a two reception couple, currently planning a brewery inspired bash.
We had no plans to do a bouquet or garter toss. At 32 yrs old I was the last of my friends to get married. There was only a small handful of unwed women at our wedding and I figured it was just easier to skip this tradition.
My family had other ideas. Meet my cousin M and his girlfriend A. Aren’t they absolutely adorable? Soon after dinner was served my cousin M approached me to inquire when the bouquet toss would be. He wanted to make sure that his girlfriend caught the bouquet. I told him that we weren’t doing a toss but this information didn’t compute. Not doing a toss? Unbelievable. 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.
Yes, the title of this post is shamelessly stolen from Teen Girl Squad, which if you have never seen before you need to go watch immediately so we can giggle about being MSG’d and possum’d.
Choosing who would stand next to me on my wedding day was surprisingly easy for me. I thought I would envy those brides that are lucky enough to have sisters or female cousins (I have neither), because they are obvious choices for a bridal party. Then I realized that I get to choose whomever I want, instead of feeling any obligation or guilt over my decision. After realizing that, it was just a matter of asking them to buy a dress.
So who is on Team Girl Squad?
Cheerleader
If this picture looks familiar, just look to your right.
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.
Our wedding stationery was not something I wanted to drop serious moolah (or time or energy) on. No extra inserts, not hiring a calligrapher, and while letterpress is beautiful, we aren’t investing our wedding cash in that arena. I’m still toying with the idea of purchasing a corner rounder and maybe some twine to keep everything together. But nothing fancy, okay?
For most of our engagement, I was pretty set on the fact that we wouldn’t be including a separate insert in our invites to direct our guests to the venue. Everyone (except me) has a smart phone or GPS these days. No one needs us to give them directions. They can just look it up or plug the address into their GPS of choice. Right?
If you were to type our venue address into Google Maps, it would show you directions that look like this if you are driving in from Dallas, Texas:
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!
For all of you fine folks who are planning on honeymooning, vacationing or dreaming about honeymooning/vacationing in Maui, Waffle and I decided to condense our 10 day stay into our top ten Maui moments for you!
10…Aloha Mixed Plate
The hunt for good, cheap food in Maui can seem hopeless. Lucky for us, a lot of friends pointed us in the direction of Aloha Mixed Plate which is just on the edge of Lahaina. Here, you can get a HUGE plate of food for between $6 and $13 depending on what you order. We went twice! Our favorites were the coconut prawns, the BBQ Mixed Plate and $3 mai tais (best real mai tai I had the whole time in Maui).
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.
I feel like 90% of what I am referring to as wedding planning is really reception planning. Since Mr. Cannon and I are having a pretty traditional religious ceremony, there hasn’t been a lot of planning in that arena, and for that reason I hadn’t put a lot of thought into it. I mean, yes, I know we need to pick out a few Bible verses and things, but in many ways it feels like the ceremony is almost an afterthought in the context of everything else.
But while looking through the sample ceremonies and thinking about what is actually going to happen on our wedding day, it finally hit me. I am most likely going to cry at the wedding. I was getting teary eyed reading through the sample ceremonies in the parking lot of Pizza Hut. A lot of people say things like, “Don’t get too caught up in the wedding—it’s all about the marriage!” By which I believe they mean that the wedding planning and the party and whatnot are one day of the rest of your lives, so don’t put too much stock into it. That hasn’t been a problem for me because the marriage is really the important part in my mind. Mr. Cannon will be husband forever! I can’t wait!
But within all of that, I hadn’t really considered the enormity of the actual ceremony. Obviously, throughout our relationship we have had many promises and obligations to one another, but they have mostly been unsaid and merely implied. The wedding ceremony is my chance to vocalize those promises, and vow to uphold them for the rest of my life in front of God and everyone. It’s a powerful moment. It’s being decisive and making a choice and having the confidence to say how you feel and what you want. Honestly, as patriarchal as the history of marriage is, the ceremony feels like it will be a very feminist moment. It’s saying, “I have the choice to marry any man or no man, but I choose you.” And it’s not an inconsequential choice—it’s a lifelong commitment. It’s saying, “I’ve changed my mind about everything from my favorite color to my faith in God dozens of times over my short life, but I know I won’t change my mind about having you in it ever.” In every way, it really is a huge, powerful, important, emotional decision.
Mrs. Plaid, AustinAge and Occupation: 26, Pastry ChefFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, Cabinetry CarpenterEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: Kindred Oaks, GeorgetownAbout Me: I am a Jersey girl born and raised but have since migrated to Texas and embraced its twang and Tex-Mex. I could probably eat chips and queso every day but instead I eat popcorn. I use the word “awesome” way too much but I just can’t seem to stop myself. I am addicted to all things DIY and am planning what I call a Texas-Chic wedding. I love snuggling with my two adorable dogs and of course, my adorable fiance. I can’t wait 'til I can call him my husband some day! October 2010, here we come!
As the evening was coming to a close, we danced one more dance to Last Dance by Donna Summer and then it was time for the guests to head out to the front of the house for our sparkler send-off.
When Mr. P and I exited the front door the house to descend the stairs we were met by a cloud of smoke. Apparently the wind that had died down shortly before our ceremony decided to return making for a very smoky exit, instead of the expected sparkly exit. Read more…
DIYFeature Launched: October 8, 2008About: The best DIY projects from Bees and brides around the web.
For more great DIY projects, be sure to visit the Weddingbee DIY section, conveniently organized by type of project. Submit your own, complete with tutorial, and you may see it featured here on the blog! If you’ve seen any great DIY around the hive and think it should be featured, feel free to email us at cathy at weddingbee dot com!
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.
Don’t forget: the Philly meet-up is this Sunday, June 26. If you are coming, please PM me here so that we can get an accurate count.
Mrs. Socks, Mrs. Pain au Chocolate, Mrs. Thimble, Miss Candy Apple and I hope to see you at noon at Bar Ferdinand at 1030 N. 2nd St. for a yummy tapas-style brunch and delicious wine and cocktails.
Miss 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 took my mom and Lil $is into Manhattan for (what turned out to be) round one in my misadventures in dress shopping. Our first stop in my marathon day of dress hunting was the J.Crew Bridal Boutique—I was sure that my dress was there! I was so excited to get there—so excited that I barely took any pics of the gorgeous shop. Except these:
Mrs. Biscuit, Morgantown, WVAge and Occupation: 24, Dental StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Chemist at a pharmaceutical companyEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: July 2011Venue: Catholic Church, Lakeview Golf Resort and SpaAbout Me: I'm an engineer who decided to trek back to my hometown three years ago to become skilled in the arts of drilling and filling. I'm engaged to a pretty awesome guy who tests your assorted benzodiazepines by day and home brews by night. Together we have two fur children, Tsali and Tobias N. Fünkat. I'm a lazy perfectionist and eternal sorority girl who enjoys running, crafting, string cheese, good beer, and bad reality TV. We are planning a Big Fat Italian/Sicilian/Polish wedding filled with DIY details and are expecting 300 +/- 50 guests. Our whimsical summer affair is themed "Alice attends the Mad Hatter Vintage Garden Tea Party in a Ballroom. She Thinks That The Venue is Odd for a Vintage Garden Party, but is Tripping on LSD, so She Doesn't Really Care." Yes, I am the Dickens of themes.
I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m not that great at thank you notes. As a child, we had a special Hallmark program to make cards on our computer and the most commonly used one had a turtle on it:
It’s not that I wasn’t grateful for my gifts. I guess I’m kind of a procrastinator. OK, that’s a lie. I’m the Procrastinator. I’ll formally claim my title—someday.
But I know wedding thank you’s are something I cannot put off. Read more…
