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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!
Back in March, I met with our friend, Designer Mama, to start going over ideas for our invitation design. She’s an awesome graphic artist with great taste, and a sweetheart to boot, so I was naturally super excited to see what she came up with. I was nervous about asking her to help with the invites, but I couldn’t imagine doing them myself, and I didn’t really want to outsource the project to somebody I barely knew. I was willing to pay her whatever she wanted, so imagine my complete shock when she said she’d do it as a gift! I could have hugged her. I probably did.
I tried telling Mr. Ladyfingers how excited I was, and he reminded me about his idea: Buy a pack of 50 party invitations from Target and call it a day.
Heh.
To start the process, I brought over my Super Freakishly Organized Binder of All Things Wedding (which, incidentally, I had left under a friend’s car seat a few weeks ago and went batcrap crazy thinking I’d lost). One of my very favorite things to save are wedding-invitation images (actually, any kind of stationery), so I had plenty of ideas! We started going over them to see what unified those designs I loved.
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!
Now that I’ve been able to get a little distance from the relentless dress disillusion that consumed me last week, I’m in a much better place to continue sharing this story with you. So let’s clear the room and then get back to it.
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!
Before you get any crazy thoughts, let me explain.
Last weekend, Mr. Snow Cone celebrated his bachelor party with a long weekend in Atlantic City. That left me with a couple days to kill, so I gleefully took advantage of the free time to tackle a few wedding tasks. In addition to my flowerletters, I had one other item that was very high on my priority list—the hair trial. I don’t want Mr. Snow Cone to know how my hair will be styled on our big day, so his bachelor party weekend was the perfect opportunity for me to experiment with my ’do.
Mrs. Seashell, Chicago, IL / Providence, RIAge and Occupation: 28, Marriage and Family TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical EngineerEngagement Date: September 3, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: The Glen Manor HouseAbout Me: Fonts and fashion, stationery and Sundays, photography and french toast... the beauty is in the details for this fun-loving Chicagoan who loves to plan plan plan! The soon-to-be hubs plays "Mr. Fix-It" in our new condo while I swoon over beautiful, personalized stationery and choose shades of aubergine for my bridesmaids' dresses... and thus begins my new fairy tale! Skirting to the East Coast for our September nuptials where my home state of Rhode Island awaits with fall foliage, I'm just a few dress fittings and bachelorette party away from saying "I Do" to a very happy ending!
After the world’s most sentimental father daughter dance, it was time to officially get the party started! We kicked off the evening with Earth, Wind, and Fire’s September. (It seemed appropriate given our September 25 wedding, wouldn’t you say?) The crowd took a little while to get moving, but soon enough the dance party in full force. This was the first time in the evening I felt like letting out a deep exhale and saying, “This is it! We did it!” There was nothing left to plan, coordinate, organize, or execute. All that was left on the agenda was to LET LOOSE. It was awesome. Read more…
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.
With the decision to take our time planning our religious ceremony, Mr. Funnel Cake and I started mulling over seasons and dates that would work for our wedding. Ohio has some pretty extreme temperatures ranging from -5ºF/-21ºC in the winter to a sweltering 104ºF/40ºC in the summer. It’s also not uncommon for temperatures to drop by up to 50ºF/10ºC in a single day.
We nixed a winter wedding pretty fast because the last time I visited Ohio in the winter I nearly froze my Swiss-climatised arse off in my mother’s house. We also nay-ed summer because the extreme humidity and wall of heat when you walk outside is not something I wanted reflected in our photos.
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.
Pistol was the last bridesmaid standing, so we planned to harass encourage her to try on every dress we could find until we found “the one.” Honestly? It didn’t take long. We decided to go back to David’s since I had such success with the other women the week before. It was a Sunday afternoon when we finally got around to going, and the store was pretty dead. We wandered around picking up every short dress in the store and took them to the dressing room. I asked the consultant to take any of the dresses that weren’t available in orange, and we were left with nothing but potential.
She started trying them on, and we made some mental notes on our favorites. After she tried on everything, we whittled it down to our top three and made her try them on again. The finalists?
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!
Oh, sweet Hive—how I’ve missed you! It’s hard to believe we’re creeping up on the two month mark since we tied the knot, and I’m elated to begin re-living that joyous day with you. Now, some of the newer members (hello!) might be giving me the eyebrow and saying “who is that Mrs. Tartlet, anyway?” Well, I’m the one who after five years of dating my honey had the surprise engagement on a cruise ship, and in the two years following went down the path that so many of you are traversing now: we hunted for the perfect venue for our romantic, garden-inspired wedding, I found “the” dress (and shoes, and veil), we tag-teamed abunchofDIYprojects (wecray-zay), pondered the flower situation, searched for bridesmaid dresses, tasted plenty of goodfood and so much more in order to celebrate our blessings with 60 of our closest family and friends. And, it. was. awesome!
Still with me? ’Cause you know I wouldn’t throw that block of text at you without a peek of what’s to come! The killer Epic Motion team created a wedding trailer for us that I admit I’ve watched daily for the past two weeks.
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!
After two torturous weekends of indecision, I finally came to terms with changing our wedding plans. I had to cancel our dream venue, and I as sit here writing this, I can feel the tears forming. Clearly, I’m still not completely at peace with the change. But, I am happy again and excited. And now that I am looking back on this with some perspective, I know I made the right move for us.
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!
I swear this is the last post about my shower. But I couldn’t not tell you about some awesome gifts I got, and gave (erm…I hope they thought they were awesome!). Also…embedded in this post is the number one all time tip to making your relationship last. I know. It’s gonna be amazing!!!
I got a boatload of sweet gifts, y’all. I mean, I guess I know in theory that that is what a shower is for, but man, I was feeling really overwhelmed with new stuff…in a good way! Mr. Magic’s Mum got us the:
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.
I must say that I absolutely am infatuated with engagement photos. Maybe even more so than snapshots of the couple on the big day.
Personalities stand out, individual styles shine, and sometimes you really can catch a glimpse of the energy, love, and feelings that these two people have for one another.
After booking our oh-so-amazing photographer, Brett Martelli, we started to think about where the heck we would have our engagement pics shot. Brett suggested something that was “us” and, to tell you the truth, a plethora of ideas came to mind. With my mind blurry with remembrance from engagement-picture settings of couples gone before us and posted in the blogosphere, I knew it should be a locale that meant something to us…
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!
Before we could get married, we had to practice getting married! Our families arrived at the church on Friday evening after spending the afternoon at our venue setting up tables, chairs, linens, the bar and other little details in the muggy, stifling heat.
At the beginning of the rehearsal, the church coordinator got us all lined up at the front of the church. We were to begin part-way through the ceremony, work out the logistics* of our ceremony, then exit the church and practice the processional.
*To the best of my knowledge, ours was the first wedding to take place at our church since we moved into this new building about a year and a half ago. We needed to figure out the best way to have people stand, walk and serve communion without everyone tripping over each other.
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!
It only took us about, oh, two weeks to book most of the big stuff for the wedding. For all the worrying and research I subject myself to, when I find *it*, whatever it is, I take action—and fast. I have no real interest in shopping around or weighing my options. Thankfully, Mr. Ladyfingers approaches life in much the same way.
Here are some of the big things we knocked out just in the first month:
The venue
In the days after we got engaged, we researched probably 50+ venues in and around the Tampa Bay area. We looked at banquet halls and hotels. We looked at museums and garden clubs. We looked at outdoor and indoor venues. County buildings. Historical buildings. Mansions. We considered a backyard wedding, or a city hall affair, more than once.
The speed with which we settled may have been a little unorthodox, but many of the venues were just either out of our price range or didn’t offer us enough time ($1,500 for a four-hour block that includes setup and breakdown time? Uh…no thanks). So when we finally found a place we could afford, we sped down to look at it.
And…it stunk. I mean, literally. The place smelled a little like, um, pet smells. The lady helping us walked us through the main room, told us there were waterfalls out back, and went to turn them on. Little streams of water came out of rocks as we awkwardly stood around listening to the main street traffic whiz by right outside the ceremony “garden” and giving each other silent “let’s go NOW” signals. The lady never reappeared, so, we left.
But! Bridesmaid Preggo had told me about the place where SHE was married a few years earlier, and it was only 20 minutes from the stinky place we’d just bailed from. So we gave them quick call and headed over.
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.
I woke up bright and early on the morning of the wedding and had to, as usual, shake Mr. S out of bed. After we ate a quiet breakfast, I kicked Mr. S out of our hotel room so that he could get ready in his brother’s room. I was expecting the girls shortly.
But first, I had about 45 minutes to myself, which was fabulous. I ran across the street to pick up some bottles of OJ and cheap champagne. And then, back in the hotel room, I poured myself a cup of coffee and relaxed, listening to music, relishing the last few minutes of quiet before everyone arrived. I changed into a robe, and posted this self-portrait to Facebook, with the caption “We’ll call this one ’before.’”
I arranged all of my accessories and other pretties on the table. 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.
You may remember the story from this post. I had a sad tale to tell about some beautiful ballet flats for the wedding day. These were the apple of my eye:
