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!
Our photographer “must-have shots” list is a work in progress, as I continue to find more and more beautiful examples from the weddings of others. We had originally booked our photographer from about an hour before the wedding to two hours before it ended, in the interest of keeping our budget trim, but as things opened up over the past few months, we decided to book her through the end of the wedding so she could photograph the cake cutting, bouquet toss, exit, and more things we didn’t want her to miss.
I’d STRONGLY suggest putting together a shots list for your photographer. Every wedding and every couple are different, and even the most professional of photographers are not mind readers. They may not end up capturing some special moment you’d like, and the last thing you want is regret as you flip through wedding photos in the years to come.
Our shots list, so far, looks something like this:
Mrs. Knitting, TorontoAge and Occupation: 24, Student Recruitment Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Neuroscience PhD CandidateEngagement Date: October 2009Wedding Date: December 2010Venue: University of Toronto Faculty Club
About Me: I'm a pearl wearing, etiquette book reading Toronto girl who loves cooking and baking, museums, charm bracelets, and collecting books on Jackie Kennedy (a lot). I've been known to spend Sunday mornings at the antique market, Wednesday evenings at sister sushi dinners, and any bit of spare time reading. After six and a half years of many late night walks, watching DVDs together in bed, travelling to places like New York, and Tobermory, doing Sudokus together on the couch, lots of Indian food, the occasional yoga class, moving in together and so much more, Mr. Knitting and I are planning a cozy Christmasy (it's a word!), vintage wedding in Toronto complete with many DIY projects (eek!) and lots of help from our amazing group of family and friends.
After dinner was finished we all moved into the main lounge to cut the cake while the staff set up the dining room for dancing. However, before we got to the cake, Mr. Knitting’s parents and their friends took this opportunity to sing us Sto Lat. The title means 100 years and I like to refer to it as the Polish all purpose congratulations song.
Here we are being sung to:
When they finished the song, Mr. Knitting used that opportunity to give me a very big Hollywood style kiss, which is definitely really out of character for both of us! Read more…
Mrs. Seal, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 25, Personal AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Sales and Support SpecialistEngagement Date: December 12, 2009Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Sts Peter and Paul Church/The Bently ReserveAbout Me: I am a goofy, wannabe crafty, well-intentioned Renaissance Woman (OK, perhaps "aimless wanderer" is a more aptly suited term for me, but hopefully you get the point)—basically I dabble in just about everything and pride myself in such. Without warning, I occasionally breakout into soulful improvised songs and interpretive dances and there's just no stopping me! As so many others before me, planning our wedding has unearthed a deep, intense passion for all things bridal and I secretly fear the day it will come to an end. Mr. Seal and I are quite the pair and life with him by my side is extremely rewarding—I am so thankful to have found him. Together we are planning a black-tie San Francisco affair for 250—light on the stuffiness and with lots of extra Seal-y flair.
I have no idea what my deal is, but I am weirdly obsessed with out-of-town/welcome bags. Sometimes as I lay in bed, I fantasize about the day in which I walk into the local warehouse store and buy all of the yummy snacks to fill said bags. Strange? Most likely.
Anyhow, whatever it is, there’s something truly exciting in knowing that my guests will be welcomed by a bag of goodies at their hotel room. I know I hate getting into a hotel room, thirsty and hungry from traveling, only to be met by $10 bottles of water and candy bars. It’ll be a nice treat for them and another way for us to express our supreme gratitude!
Plentyoflovelybees have put their own twist on the welcome bags/boxes and I intend to follow suit! About a year ago (yes, a year ago), in keeping with the skyline theme from our Save-the-Dates, I purchased customized welcome bags from Favors You Keep. With my new found DIY confidence, I know that I could have perhaps attempted these myself for a fraction of the cost-but, honestly, I’m glad I let someone else take on the task, because I love what I ended up with!
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.
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy…it’s a girl! Girl Photography, that is (haha, I crack myself up!). We got a sneak peek of our engagement shoot this past weekend. They are totally A-MAZING and I am now completely confident with our wedding in Nicole’s hands. Would you like to see?!?
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 got married!! The day was amazing and perfect. I catch myself looking down at my wedding band and finding it hard to believe that the day wasn’t a dream.
Mrs. Brooch, Arlington, VAAge and Occupation: 25, Writer/EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Front Desk ManagerEngagement Date: October 3, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Oxon Hill ManorAbout Me: I’m an indecisive girlie-girl with a motor mouth, can-do attitude, and knack for making others laugh. I dream of becoming a best selling novelist like Elizabeth Gilbert or Julie Powell (a girl can dream, right?), and love long road trips, a beautiful countryside, music, blogs, books, and all things vintage/thrift/antique/or homemade. I’m a Virgo, i.e. overly sensitive, emotional, and critical, and there’s no such thing as short and sweet in my world. I want to say and do it all. Mr. Brooch grounds me. I point where to go and he figures out the way. He’s a pragmatic fancy-pants who enjoys video games and movies. We both adore our mutt, Rocky, and spending time with our amazingly supportive family and friends. We’re planning a garden wedding with a formal reception with lots of whimsy and unique, Southern-inspired details.
I also couldn’t wait to connect with Weddingbee! I woke up at 7 AM and the first thing I did was text message my best friend staying down the hall to borrow her laptop for my last post as a Miss.
JackieDe and her husband dance one last dance at their wedding reception
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.
Miss Doily, Cedar Rapids, IowaAge and Occupation: 25, Autism Paraeducator/ StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Freelance Writer/ PublisherEngagement Date: August 27th, 2010Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Father’s Vineyard Church/ A Touch of Class Banquet CenterAbout Me: I’m an Iowan girl with a deep love of Harry Potter, classic movies, cardigans, and Post-Its. My type-A Virgo tendencies often cause me to drive my laid-back college sweetheart fiance batty with lists and PowerPoint presentations. I love to be crafty and do things myself, which explains why my two crazy kittens often will prance around the house covered in glitter and ribbons. When I am not bogged down with work, school, or wedding planning, I like to travel to visit my expansive family and have wild adventures with my best friends. After a rollercoaster ride of a love story, I’m ready to take that final plunge, marry the love of my life, and become a Mrs.!
One of things in wedding planning that took Mr. D and I the longest was figuring out the guest list. We have always wanted a smaller wedding because we want our wedding to be intimate. So we decided that the guest list would include 150 guests at maximum (believe me, that was as intimate as we could get it). So first we looked at our family portion of the guest list. Let me just say that we both come from larger families. Well okay, not this large:
But I do have one mom, one dad, one step-dad, one grandmother, one step-grandfather, one step-grandmother, 4 aunts and 5 uncles (plus their spouses…so double it), one step-aunt, 6 brothers and sisters (plus a pregnant sister-in-law), 16 cousins (plus some spouses and children of cousins). This alone is 55 people on my family list. Mr. D has 38 on his. That’s 93 people if we invite ONLY family. Out of our families invited, most have already said that they would be attending (and invites haven’t even gone out yet), and we also know of 15 that will not be attending due to health, distance, or financial reasons.
So then we looked to our friends portion of the list and were kind of stuck. Who do we invite? Read more…
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 a little larger than your average point-and-click. Sometimes I have felt hampered in that I can’t quite put it in the pocket of my jeans, or into a small purse. I have in the past considered buying a camera like this one: Read more…
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.
No, I’m not leaving the hive yet; I haven’t quite finished sharing. This post is about our wedding weekend farewell brunch. I loved the idea of adding an extra event to our weekend, but I was a bit skeptical about choosing a brunch.
I didn’t know if it would be worth the money. Having a welcome dinner where you spend more time with guests sounds so much more exciting. Read more…
Mrs. Parasol, San Ramon, CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 25, Non-profit writer, editor, and bloggerFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Law school studentEngagement Date: December 19th, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Bent Creek Winery (Livermore, California); Reception: Family Residence (San Ramon, California) About Me: I am a California girl at heart. I love the outdoors, sunny days at the beach, and hiking in the woods and mountains. I also love good books and am fresh from completing my Master's degree in English and Comparative Literature in New York City. Living in NYC was an amazing experience, and while I'm glad to be back on the West Coast, I'm also thankful that my two years back East gave me an opportunity to explore new places, make new friends, and indulge my passion for Broadway shows. Oh, and I received a pretty awesome proposal from Mr. Parasol in Central Park. Above all else, Mr. Parasol is my biggest cheerleader and my best friend. But even though I'm thrilled to be marrying him, I wasn't always totally on board with this whole wedding thing and at first, I wanted to run off and elope. I've finally been convinced to throw the wedding I never thought I wanted, and so now I'm busy planning an intimate September wedding filled with DIY details. Along the way, I'm slowly learning to appreciate, perhaps even love the wedding planning process.
Mr. Parasol and I are now a couple months into our engagement, and we have done absolutely no wedding planning. We haven’t set a date, researched any vendors, or even decided what we want for our big day. To be fair, we intentionally put off any definitive wedding planning because we want to savor the joy of simply being engaged without all the stress of planning.
We still aren’t totally certain we want to have a wedding anyway, and given that Mr. Parasol and I have so much on our plates right now, we barely have time to think about planning a wedding. We are both finishing up our graduate degrees, deciding where Mr. Parasol will go to law school in the fall, and coordinating another relocation. Needless to say, wedding planning is the furthest thing from our minds.
But even though planning for our wedding isn’t a top priority, Mr. Parasol and I do take planning for our marriage very seriously. We are blessed to attend The Journey, an amazing church community in New York that offers engaged couples a 12-week course to help prepare them for marriage. And no, it’s nothing like the crazy premarital counseling Robin Williams forces on Mandy Moore and John Krasinski in License to Wed.
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!
All in the name of fitting into a wedding dress while feeling good about myself, I started exercising almost immediately after Mr. Ladyfingers put a ring on it. I’d never been much of an exerciser, nor a dieter. I’ve been lucky to have never struggled with body image, unlike so many of my friends, but for about a year before the engagement, I’d really been letting myself go. When my clothes stopped fitting me, when I started eating a candy bar and a bag of chips every day, when I grabbed fast food on my way from one place to another four out of seven days a week, when I bought Ben and Jerry’s by the twos and sometimes even ate two dinners in one night—one at around 5 PM and another at 10 when I got home…well, it made me feel super crappy about myself.
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.
Hello, my name is Miss Cucumber Sandwich and I have invitation envy. It feels so good to say it out loud. Venue: knew I wanted to get married there since I was 16 and haven’t had a moment of doubt. Dress: knew it was perfect for me and haven’t even felt compelled to look at other dresses. Invitations: I have become the green-eyed monster!
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.
I’m slowly getting closer to completing my bridal ensemble, hive. Over the past few weeks, I’ve purchased pretty much everything I need. The only things left to buy are the shoes. But let’s save the shoe drama for another day… this post is about the veil. Yep, I finally bit the bullet and ordered a gorgeous, flowing, simple veil.
Remember the topper I was searching for? Well, that idea transformed the moment I saw a drop veil in one of my crazy Google image searches. It was perfect! Drop veils are super simple, when pulled back they are two tiers, and they come in a variety of lengths. I was sold.
Monique Lhuillier Lyric gown and veil / Image via Project Wedding
GORGEOUS. You can see why they’re called drop veils. They are literally just dropped right on top of your noggin’. Usually held in place with a hat pin.
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.
After we said the “Ja” word, we gathered to take a few pictures outside the Verwaltungszentrum Werd and I had an inkling that something suspicious was up…
