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’ve never done very well when it comes to answering the same question over and over again. Case in point: When I was five, I fell off the rings at the playground and got two black eyes. When I next went with my mother to the grocery store, about 16 old ladies in a row asked me what happened. Apparently, I got sick of saying I fell off the rings, and finally proclaimed, “My mom beat me up, OK?!” She later told me that was the closest she ever came to actually wanting to beat me up.
I’m sort of getting to that point when it comes to the nonstop question, “How’s the wedding planning coming along?” I know I shouldn’t be aggravated. It’s a beautiful event. People just want fun stories about cupcakes and bunting. They want to live vicariously, or they’re just being polite. But when all my free time is spent crafting and reading wedding blogs (plus maybe a little of my work time—just a tiny bit), and all my social time with my closest friends is spent talking about their roles in the wedding as bridesmaids, and all my time, period, is spent thinking WEDDINGWEDDINGWEDDINGOMGWEDDDDIIIIING, then talking about it with people who have no role in the wedding whatsoever—well, it just seems superfluous.
And I feel especially awkward when people who aren’t being invited to the wedding, but think they are, ask me those questions. I feel like I shouldn’t divulge too much info so they’re not as disappointed when they find out they’re missing out on all this awesomeness. Because, yes, our wedding is *that* important to people.
So why am I ranting about this now? Because last night an acquaintance who’s getting married next October started peppering me with questions about wedding planning. At first I thought, she’s just a fellow bride-to-be who needs some guidance. She’d ask me how much things cost for the vendors we chose, and I really don’t mind talking about that, especially with others in my shoes. A girl needs to know a ballpark floral figure, y’all. There’s no shame.
But then it became clear there was something else going on below the surface. Every time I’d tell her how much we paid for something, she’d counter that she had found somebody cheaper and with more included. She asked if we were doing an open bar or a cash bar, and when I said open she said, “Oh, we’re doing a cash bar.” She asked if we were doing sit-down service or a buffet, and when I said buffet she said, “Oh, we’re doing sit-down.” It went on and and on like that for at least 15 minutes.
Mrs. Elephant, Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 27, Financial Operations AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, IT Student/Store ManagerEngagement Date: March 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: The Tribute Golf ClubAbout Me: I'm a Philly native creating roots deep in the heart of Texas. I might be a little obsessed capturing those Kodak moments of anything and everything (mainly on vacations). I've become more of a gamer thanks to Mr. Elephant, who I met online and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with. We are planning a wedding based on our favorite colors, blue and green, with a travel theme for 150 of our closest friends and family. Hopefully our long (2-year) engagement won't kill me!
I know that looking at 20 million posed pictures of our family and friends isn’t the most exciting thing to do, so I’ve tried to narrow it down to my top 10 fun favorites. Our friends and family are pretty good looking.
Side note: I’m not normally this much shorter than everyone else. Since I would have sunk in the grass with how long I was standing there for pictures I opted to take off my heels.
Mrs. Ostrich, San Francisco/HawaiiAge and Occupation: 30, Fashion Buyer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 38, CopywriterEngagement Date: October 4, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Sweet ceremony by the sea and sunset celebration on the North Shore of HawaiiAbout Me: Born in the city of angels and residing in the city by the bay, I’m a fearless fashion buyer by day, a passionate blog author by night and a dreamy bride-to-be in between. I thank my lucky stars to live in such a stunning city that gives me gifts like organic honey lavender ice cream, movie nights in the park, tucked away beaches, legendary record stores, '80s dance parties, awesome sports teams, stellar flea markets, and vintage bookshops. Oh, and I love to dance! We always find every excuse to escape to the beach, and decided a little seaside wedding in Hawaii is our idea of bliss. Full of our favorite people, music, food and sparkly lights, this is one sunset celebration we will always remember.
“If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.”
- Buddhist proverb
waves arms enthusiastically *
Hey hey, hive! Just when you’ve thought I’ve faded away into newly married oblivion, your prodigal ostrich has returned.
I haven’t forgotten you. In fact, Mr. O and I are patiently waiting for our dreamy wedding pics to arrive so I can share them with all of you. And since it may be a bit longer before the recaps can commence, I decided to go off the grid for a solid month and relish in newlywed bliss. You know, finding every excuse to call Mr. O “husband” with the goofiest grin, watching too many so-bad-they’re-good reality shows (the latest? Hardcore Pawn) and eating too many pieces of pie and, for a moment, escaping the wild and crazy wedding world. And it felt goooood. But before it felt too good, I had to jump back in and share the last bits of pre-wedding goodness with all of you.
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.!
On top of juggling school, work, and wedding planning, I have added yet another item to my already overflowing list of things to do: lose weight. I am currently 223 pounds. I’m a size 16 (which is down from 245 and a size 18). There, I said it—I’m not ashamed to admit my weight to all of you guys (well, just a little). I have yet to order my dress in hopes of losing weight. However, I have a problem that keeps me from losing it easily. I am a COE. This stands for a compulsive over-eater. More simply put, I am addicted to food and cannot always control what I put into my body. I would binge eat, up to 3,000 calories in a sitting. Then I would feel guilty about eating that way and would consciously be very careful about what I ate, hardly eating anything at all until I would lapse and do it again. This is what caused me to go from being 170 (a size 12) my freshman year of college, to being the size I am now. I gained almost 80 pounds in six years. The cycle was devastating to me. But good news: I have not binged in a year. Which is why I have managed to lose 20 pounds. But I have so much more to go: my ideal weight is 160.
So what am I doing to lose this weight? Well, several things.
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.
From the beginning, we planned to do all of our photography before the ceremony, so that we, our families, and our attendants could enjoy cocktail hour with our guests. So you’re going to have to sit through a handful of photo posts before we get to the main event. Hang in there!
When we booked Bartram’s Garden as our venue, I was really excited to have some photos taken in the big grassy field with the Philadelphia skyline in the background. I loved the juxtaposition of the tall, wild grass framed by the sleek skyscrapers.
Unfortunately, while the rain had slowed down to a drizzle by the time we got to Bartram’s, it was too foggy to really see the skyline.
Still, it was a pretty grassy field, and we got some good photos, so all’s well that ends well. What you can’t tell in these photos is that the only thing going through my mind was please don’t fall please don’t fall please don’t fall please don’t fall because it was muddy out there, you guys! And I am one clumsy lady. Luckily, I managed to stay upright. Yay!
And if you squint, just maybe you can see glorious Center City Philadelphia behind us. Maybe. Read more…
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!
I feel like I have most parts of this wedding under control, with one glaring exception—the music. We booked our DJ eons ago and then I promptly put “deal with wedding music” in the furthest recesses of my brain. Now that I can count the number of weeks until the big day on one hand, I figure I should probably resurrect my focus on the wedding music.
Don’t get me wrong—I am a relatively big music fan, and I really enjoy a well-constructed playlist. However, my music fandom is pretty passive. If whatever’s playing on the radio is decent, I’ll keep it on. If it’s stinky, I’ll change stations. Rarely am I so impressed by an artist, album, or song to go out of my way to make an iTunes purchase. My personal music library is mostly comprised of musical and movie soundtracks and Top 40, so I don’t necessarily think that’s the ideal soundtrack to a wedding reception. As a result, my library of “songs to be played at the wedding” is pretty tiny, mostly because I’ve never taken the time to compile a list of any form. Unfortunately, my inactivity over the past months has segued into sheer anxiety; I feel like a reception’s music can make or break the evening, and I definitely feel like the pressure’s on to pick some sweet booty-shaking tunes. I want the dance floor to be active, but I don’t feel like I’m necessarily up to the task to get people out there in the first place.
So, to sum up, this is what I don’t want: Read more…
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.
Now that we’re getting into the final stretch, I figure I need to step up my collections. As I mentioned previously, I am collecting milk glass for our centerpieces. What I don’t think I have mentioned is that we also want to use vintage books as part of our tablescapes. It is definitely not a new concept on the wedding blogosphere. (But when I thought of it, I thought I was ooooh so original.)
Today I want to share my favorite haunts for building these collections of milk glass and old books. If you live in D.C., I hope you find these helpful. If not, sorry.
After my mild panic about the wedding being so close, Sammie Sister and I hit up the Georgia Avenue Thrift Store in northwest D.C. When we walked in the door, they were having ladies 50% off for the next five minutes. I made a mad dash around the store until I realized they weren’t talking about ladies getting 50% off, just ladies’ clothing. Oh well. There was no milk glass to be found, but don’t worry—I didn’t come home empty handed.
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!
Happy tears from our emotional first look soon dissolved into peals of laughter when the rest of our wedding party joined us on the meticulously groomed grounds at the Royal Park. To quote Carrie Bradshaw, “they say nothing lasts forever; dreams change, trends come and go, but friendships never go out of style.” These incredible people are a handful of those who make our brightest days brighter, always have our backs, and whom we love unconditionally.
Our relationships with friends and family defined our wedding celebration, and we couldn’t help but get caught up in the gaiety of having so many of our nearest and dearest together.
Mrs. Macarons, TampaAge and Occupation: 26, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, Renaissance ManEngagement Date: September 12, 2009Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Lange FarmAbout Me: I'm creative at heart and a graphic designer with an unhealthy obsession with type. I love roller coasters, spicy foods, and a good glass of Crianza. We’re planning a soft and lovely vintage-meets-modern wedding in a state that’s known for its beaches, glitz and glam. I have a ton of DIY projects and lots of little details I’m dying to share and can't wait to celebrate with our closest friends and family.
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.
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!
And in true Ms. Ferris Wheel fashion, I have decided to make this infinitely more difficult for myself. Would you believe me if I told you that white or ivory floor-length tablecloths AND chair covers are INCLUDED in our wedding package?! Of course you’d believe me. Why would I lie to you about something like that? I wouldn’t.
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!
About an hour before the ceremony started, our photographer led me into the Sunday school room and made sure I was hidden behind a wall partition for our non-first look. Then, he brought in Mr. Hyena through the other door, between this room and where the guys were getting ready. Mr. Hyena reached around the wall for me, and I put my hand in his.
I’ll admit, I was sneaky. I did try to get a peek at Mr. Hyena. I saw part of his face. He did not try to sneak a look. Read more…
BeehiveFeature Launched: Aug 31, 2006About: A forum for readers to post questions and get feedback from the hive, aka the weddingbee community.
Hi Hive! It’s Lorienne, your friendly Hive moderator here!
As many of you know, eHarmony has been Weddingbee’s home for the past few years.
A few months ago, we began refocusing our efforts and resources on helping people all over the world get into great long-term relationships. Part of that re-focusing effort also meant looking for a new home for Weddingbee, ProjectWedding and JustMommies. It was extremely important that we matched Weddingbee with a team that would love Weddingbee as much as we and you do, and who would take great care of this wonderful Community.
We are pleased to introduce you all to Internet Brands, Weddingbee’s new owner. Internet Brands is a fantastic, community-centric company (so much so that they purchased vBulletin a few years back, which many of you know is a very widely used bulletin board system. We are confident that they will love, honor and cherish the Hive as much as we do!
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 wasn’t aware that so many weddings have “themes” until we started planning our own. Perusing the bookstore wedding racks one day, I found an article about developing your theme, with some examples––movies, sports, travel, birds.
Wait—BIRDS? Like, as a THEME?
Oh MAH God. Totally perfect, I thought. One, I love birds. Like seriously obsessed. And we both love music––which ties in with birds, I think, right? Songbirds, sure. My one and only tattoo, which I got just two years ago, is a music note with wings. So…yeah. And birds could signify so much. Freedom, lovebirds…um, cute stuff. So I decided that our theme would be BIRDS. We’d use a birdcage as a card box, and do lovebirds on our invitations, and stencil little white birds on glass jars and bottles for our centerpieces.
And then, as I so often do, I drifted away from that idea, partially because Mr. Ladyfingers kept screwing up his face when I would talk about it and making sideways comments about how our theme was birds because *I* love birds.
Duh. So?
So I kinda struggled for a bit on the theme thing. I saw lots of lovely examples—for instance, a movie theme where the programs listed the bridal party as members of a cast and movie posters dotted the décor.
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 thought flower girls’ dresses were going to be much, much easier than bridesmaids’ dresses. After all, it’s just two little girls, right? Wrong.
The first little girl is my stepsister J. I was 21 and J was four when my parents got married. My stepdad and his first wife got divorced when J was one, so her first memories are really of my mom and her dad together and of us being her older siblings. She told me the first time Mr. D and I got engaged that she was going to be a flower girl and that she wanted a poufy dress and a tiara. And if I didn’t provide these things, she wasn’t going to do it. She is very, very precocious. Now that she is almost nine, she said she will still be a flower girl, even if she doesn’t get all of the other stuff.
Little Miss J: My littlest sibling, and by far one of the biggest handfuls (Personal photo)
