Miss Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
So, we’re getting married in Texas. Bossyboots and I live in Chicago. As I have said multiple times, we’re getting married down in the Lone Star state because that’s where my immediate family lives, and about a third of my siblings are too disabled to fly or ride in a car on a long road trip. This decision was really tough for us to make, but in the end, I didn’t see the point of a wedding where a large chunk of my siblings couldn’t attend. And Texas is awesome. We get to have a messy BBQ welcome dinner, bluegrass music, frosty Shiner, open sky, with Tim Riggins and Matt Saracin for my single friends to smooch. Texas men are highly lustable. And sweaty, apparently. And they really do all play football.
The hink is that easily 80% of our guest list is based in Chicago. Out of the 162 people we have on our guest list, I am just praying that somewhere between 80-100 check that “yes” box on our RSVP. We’re doing everything we can to make the trip to Texas convenient, courteous, and affordable for our invitees, but… you just can’t get around the freaking crazy plane ticket ($250-$330). Yeouch.
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).
As the ceremony continued, King Hippo and I listened intently to what the minister was saying:
“Marriage is not just about finding the right person; it’s about being the right person. In a moment you will exchange your vows, making promises to each other intended to be for a lifetime. Keeping those promises requires being the right person, no matter what. Some of the best advise there is about what it means to be the right person in a marriage can be found in the best selling book of all time, the Bible, where it says, ’Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you have against one another. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity.’
There will be plenty of opportunities ahead for you to exercise compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. And it will not be easy. But if you are willing to forgive each other in love, these virtues will give you the very best chance at a lifetime together that is mutually satisfying and fulfilling.”
OK, King Hippo was listening intently. I was apparently checking out King Hippo!
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.
Prior to planning my own nuptials, I had never attended a wedding expecting an open bar. I kind of always hope there will be beer, wine and perhaps spirits for purchase, but in the rare occasion that a full on open bar is provided-I am legitimately surprised and grateful.
The Seals at my cousin’s wedding reception (Not only was it open bar-it was at a bar!)
When it came time to decide upon the type of bar that we would be providing at our own wedding, I’ll admit I was a little naive. I figured, because I never expected free alcohol, that our guests would come to our reception with a pocket full of cash ready to purchase their own drinks-and was thus set on a cash bar. Read more…
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!
Sorry, sorry. My apologies if I’ve now got that tune stuck in your head – if it makes you feel any better, it’s in mine too. I was lucky enough to take a few days off work from my teaching job in the days leading up to the wedding. I thoroughly recommend this to any bride-to-be, it really helped me get my head around what needed finishing during the home stretch.
There were minor stress attacks to be had.
Our charity ribbon favours hadn’t arrived yet and when I phoned to check on their arrival, I was told they’d sold out… and nobody had told me! WHAT? Thankfully a friendly receptionist at the Breast Cancer Foundation scrounged around through some old charity boxes and found me the ribbons I needed. Crisis averted.
There were last minute projects to finish.
I needed to assemble our table number lumies, our home-made wedding programs, and our place cards & charity favours. I don’t think we saw the top of our dining table for a good month prior to the wedding.
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. 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.
So in Part I of the Story of Us, I told you all about how Mr. Parasol finally got me to go out with him and a little bit about our relationship. Now I want to share the over-the-moon amazing proposal he surprised me with on our three-year anniversary.
By this time, we had been living in New York City for about a year and a half and were getting close to finishing up our master’s degrees. Anyway, on Friday December 17th, 2010, I came home after taking my last final of the semester and working a long shift. I was exhausted, hungry, and looking forward to a relaxing evening at home. As I approached my door, though, I spotted a note. It was from Mr. Parasol, and the note said that in honor of our three-year anniversary on December 19th, he would be showering me with surprises for the next three days. The note also contained a clue to the first surprise, but I was so tired I didn’t have a chance at figuring it out. But even though I was exhausted, that note instantly lifted my spirits, and I found myself incredibly excited (and anxious!) to experience all that Mr. Parasol had planned for us.
When I walked in the door, I saw that Mr. Parasol had prepared a beautiful dinner for us that consisted of some of my favorite foods and a delicious bottle of apple wine.
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!
As I may or may not have mentioned, I got really antsy for a question’ poppin’ immediately after we moved in together. Mr. Ladyfingers made the tactical error of telling me last June that he already knew how he was going to do it, and that he’d talked to people about it, and that I wouldn’t have to wait that long.
Being the charming, laid-back creature that I am, this turned every major event between June and Christmas into a nervous freakout letdown session. Our trip to the beach in July, my 30th birthday party, Halloween, Thanksgiving, anytime we went out to dinner, most weekends, and some Tuesdays.
I was a constant ball of nerves, all because he had the audacity to tell me he was going to ask me to marry him eventually. I’m telling you, I seriously checked sock drawers from time to time to see if there was a ring in there. So shameful.
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 what a pickle! Mr. Cucumber Sandwich and I have two wedding officiants. Some people are struggling to find one, and we have one too many! It is kind of a funny story, really. So sit back and grab a glass of sangria, and I will tell you about how we ended up with two people officiating our wedding.
It all started with my parents’ marriage. My dad went to Catholic school and ended up becoming friends with one of his teachers who just so happened to be a priest (a very young priest, if you will—probably only three or four years older than my dad). When it came time for Mama and Papa Cucumber Sandwich to get married he asked his friend, the priest, to marry them. They didn’t get married in the Catholic church…scandal! But since they were friends, the priest agreed to do it for Papa Cucumber Sandwich.
Fast forward four years and this same friend/priest (friest, if you will) baptized me. Let’s get in the time machine once again to present day. The priest is working in D.C. and I have met him a couple of times over the course of my living here. Once Mr. Cucumber Sammie and I get engaged, I convince him that we MUST have the priest who married my parents officiate our wedding as well. Mr. Cucumber Sandwich agrees, and I set off to find the friest.
An email, a few phone messages, and a couple of months later and no reply from the friest. Nobody has any updated contact information for him and we think he left his “job.” Basically there is no way to track him down. Finally, in desperation, I call his “job” and see if they have any forwarding information. They tell me he has moved and can forward an email for me but can’t tell me his information. Read more…
WatercoolerFeature Launched: July 1, 2007About: The most discussed posts of the week.
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.!
I am not a typical cake eater. I do like it occasionally, but it has to be certain kinds. I also am one of those weird texture eaters who does not like soggy breads, so some cakes make me gag—literally. So instead of taking the chance of getting some kind of soggy cake that I really won’t like, Mr. D and I decided to go the cupcake route!
Naturally, making the decision to have cupcakes was the easy one—the actual choosing of the cupcake flavors was completely different. I knew that we needed some kind of option that was plain and would be well received by everyone. So I suggested vanilla cupcakes. Mr. D immediately answered with the need for chocolate cupcakes. (He is the chocolate lover in our relationship.) So we are doing four types of cupcakes. Two plain kinds (chocolate and vanilla) and one that reflects each of us.
For my cupcake, I looked no further than my favorite baking blog: Bakerella. She had posted a recipe that I knew had my name written aaaall over it! Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the snickerdoodle duo cupcake:
Yes that is a tower of cupcake, frosting, and cookie. / Image via Bakerella
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).
With all the wedding party waiting for us at the front of the gallery and our guests on their feet, it was time for Mama Hippo and I to start our journey down the aisle, accompanied by the soulful sound and amazing lyrics of Tyrone Wells. I was definitely more excited than nervous. After months of planning, it was finally here, and I was just so flippin’ happy!
That’s our DOC on the left fluffing my train and our DJ on the right trying to duck out of the shot… I guess he didn’t realize there was a camera behind him.
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.
I’m sure that many of you are still pretty curious about us Parasols (and, honestly, I’m thrilled that anyone is even remotely interested in us), and so I thought I would start by sharing the story of how we met and fell in love.
In summer 2007, I was a studious English major at UC Berkeley who spent most of her free time having random adventures with her girlfriends.
Mrs. Bunting, Grand Rapids, MIAge and Occupation: 24, freelance illustrator & print productionFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, graduate of historyEngagement Date: December 3, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Spring Grove Park & St. George Banquet CenterAbout Me: I am a freelance illustrator and designer with a love of nature and a taste for adventure. Textures and color fuel my world, along with apple cider and noodles. I'll try anything once, especially if it involves heights or food. I've hiked the Grand Canyon, gone sky diving, cuddled a baby wolf, and now my latest venture consists of designing and planning a large wedding involving color, DIY details, love, and marrying my best friend.
Paddle fan programs are nothing new in the wedding world, but boy are they still fun! Here’s how ours turned out:
I would tell you that the concern for our guests’ comfort on a potentially hot summer day was the leading deciding factor to use paddle fans, but honestly, the cuteness factor had just as much influence. I just cannot resist things that are both adorable and functional. Read more…
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 really really really REAAAAAAAAALLY really like sweaters. Cardigans, to be more precise. And I live in Florida.
*hangs head*
This obsession has been met with everything from admonishment—“STOP BUYING THRIFT-STORE CARDIGANS IN THE DEAD OF SUMMER.”—to adoration: “I saw a cardigan you’d love!”
I was especially enamored of Mrs. Cardigan’s approach to wedding-day cover up and, emboldened by my on-the-fencedness when it comes to my strapless dress, I’ve been stalking photos of brides in cardigans for months now.
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.
