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.
Sometimes, things don’t go quite as planned. You can adapt and overcome or scurry about arms flailing, with your ramblings made incoherent by sniffles and a deluge of tears. What could possibly make me freak out so bad? Finding out that more than a few guests never received their invitations a mere 2 weeks before our RSVP deadline.
Let’s pretend that I didn’t watch the postal employee hand cancel every single envelope or that I didn’t verify each address using the USPS website prior to addressing them. Our invitations (with an extra 24 cents in postage) should have made it to all our guests, including my grandparents who’ve lived at the same address for the last fifteen years.
There’s no explanation other than some wonderful postal worker thought our invitations were so insanely awesome they just had to keep seven for themselves. Anyways, let me share with you what I ended up doing to remedy the situation.
Note to future brides: Don’t be cheap. Buy more than just 10 extra envelopes. 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!
Confession: the number of days between now and our wedding ends in “-teen,” and I haven’t sorted out our wedding cake yet.
OK, that’s maybe a bit of an overstatement, but just a bit. Approximately 45 seconds after getting engaged, I knew who would be making my wedding cake—she’s a friendor who has made all of my family’s cakes for birthdays, graduations, and weddings for as long as I can recall. She’s handled every design and request we’ve lobbed at her without ever breaking a sweat. Seriously—she bakes beautiful cakes that taste even better than they look, all while holding down the fort in her household with ten boys. I can barely shower on a daily basis, and I only have myself to look after. The fact that this woman is standing, let alone constructing sugary masterpieces, with how full her hands must be, is nothing short of amazing.
Because my family’s dined on her cakes many, many times, a cake tasting wasn’t really necessary. We know what flavors are in her repertoire that make our salivary glands kick into overdrive. After nailing down our flavors, it didn’t take long to figure out our design, too. Or, I guess I should say, designs… plural. Read more…
Mrs. Teacup, Santa CruzAge and Occupation: 34, Pharmaceutical SalesFiance's Age and Occupation: 41, Ditto! (For a different company)Engagement Date: October 1, 2010Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: ceremony in our family's Catholic church in Watsonville; reception at the Santa Cruz Beach BoardwalkAbout Me: I’m learning to embrace my true spirit as GIRLY GIRL after previous careers in the Navy and consulting for the government. My favorite hobby is SLEEP, with dancing HULA a close second. An INTROVERT in extrovert clothing, I’m questing to UNDO 34 years of TYPE A conditioning. Constantly processing the details of our upcoming nuptials, peek into this late blooming bride & groom's roller coaster ride to the altar. Giant Dipper required, sold separately.
I’m excited to share today’s post because it’s the first of many opportunities to gush over the greatness that is my future husband. You see, it’s Mr. Hot Tea who demonstrated how to make a wedding decision. With ease. And good judgment. And without changing it three times over. (Can you tell I’m a teeny bit envious of his natural ability in this department?)
After several months of struggling with venues (And color palettes. And themes. And flowers. And can you see how much I was not enjoying wedding planning at the time?!), I decided it was time to punt the planning over to Mr. HT. I thought for sure that dressing the men would buy me few weeks of sanity while he was in charge.
So on a rainy Tuesday in February, Mr. HT lovingly agreed to share our weekly date night with a third wheel. We trudged over to our local Men’s Wearhouse where I secretly hoped to meet this man:
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.
When I last left you, we were all lined up at the front of the barn.
Our officiant was our good friend Todd, who got ordained online just for us. He did such an amazing job. I mean, incredible.
Mr. S and I put together a rough ceremony by researching scripts online, taking our favorite parts from each of them, and mishmoshing them together into something we liked. But we left one part open for Todd to say whatever he liked.
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.
Since we are having a semi-destination wedding, Mr. Cucumber Sammie and I decided that it would be helpful for our guests if we set up a wedding website. At first the bridal side of my brain kicked in and I was convinced that I was going to build my own website from scratch! I didn’t earn that A in seventh- grade typing for nothing.
I spent a couple of days Googling “how to build a website,” and it just seemed way too complicated. And there was a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills marathon on, which was way more appealing. After my realization that building a website with no prior experience was a crazy idea, I started searching for a template we liked.
I checked out My Wedding, The Knot, and Brides. I was not thrilled with any of their templates. I wanted something simple and that didn’t look too much like a wedding website. I wanted a wedding website that didn’t look like a generic wedding website. As I type that I realize how insane that sounds. I also contemplated making my own template and website through Blogger. Mrs. Ostrich has a wonderful tutorial on how to build one.
Finally I found our perfect template at Wedding Wire. I was just about to give up and there it was…in our wedding colors….and free! Does it get any better than free when you are planning a wedding?
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. 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.
Over the past week or so, I’ve been sorting through about a semester and a half’s worth of photos in an attempt to finally edit, organize, and upload them all. I’m sadly behind, and many of my friends are still hounding me because of the fact that I have yet to share all of my engagement photos on Facebook. I guess that’s what grad school, work, being in a relationship, planning a wedding from across the country, and life in general does to a person.
Anyway, as I was going through my photos, I came across a few pictures of me in Lindsey, the dress that was almost my wedding gown. (If you don’t remember Lindsey, take a look at this post, which recaps my wedding-dress-shopping experience.) Even though I am totally thrilled that I chose Maeve as my wedding dress, I still love Lindsey and think she’s a gorgeous gown.
And I don’t think I look half bad in her. (I hope I’m right!) She’s a size too big and way too long in this picture—you can tell that the straps are basically falling off my shoulders. But even so, Lindsey was amazing. She was the first wedding dress I tried on, and she was instantly able to make me feel like a bride and actually fill me with excitement about having a wedding. And for that, I will always love her.
And so, just for fun, and because I don’t have any superstitions about showing off pictures of me in a wedding dress, I present to you Lindsey, the dress that almost was:
And yes, that is Mr. Parasol in the background, though he did not look! / Personal photo
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!
Dusk had fallen, and everything inside the Conservatory was bathed in romantic candlelight. As we dined to the soundtrack of murmured conversations, tinkling silverware, and the occasional outburst of merriment, I surveyed our guests from the vantage point of our sweetheart table and in a moment of uncertainty nervously asked Mr. Tartlet whether or not he thought people were having a good time. Through a mouthful of steak he brusquely mumbled something along the lines of: “Woman, are you crazy? Eat your food.” He moved on to attack his pile of dauphinois potatoes, and I once again let my eyes run over the scene, giving a small nod as if to reaffirm that all was well.
No matter what breed of wedding—big or small, rustic or modern—we can all appreciate what an investment it is of time, money, and emotion. I found myself profoundly worried that our guests were bored.
Gradually my fears were assuaged as I took note of people engaged in cheerful discourse…
Mrs. Honey, Durango, COAge and Occupation: 28, Financial AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Lab Tech/PhlebotomistEngagement Date: August 1, 2010Wedding Date: January 2012Venue: Vallecito LakeAbout Me: I am a Colorado girl through and through, marrying an adrenaline-fueled Alabama boy. We love the outdoors just about as much as we love spoiling our dog and three cats. On any given weekend you can find us being adventurous, doing anything from rafting to snowboarding, and everything in between. We live in an outdoor mecca and truly believe in "Work Hard, Play Harder." I'm an optimist to the core, a crafter wannabe, a Southern food cook-in-training and a big time believer in girls nights. We met, fell in love and got engaged in eight short months and are now knee-deep in planning what we hope to be a super-fun, very us wedding celebration. Join us as we plan a rustic meets whimsical, Colorado winter wedding with loads of personal touches and good food!
Hive, I’m not kidding—designing my invitations is driving me caraaaazy! I have invitation ADD, and I have an addiction to looking at invitations; it makes for a very bad combination. Just when I think I finally found something I just have to have, along comes something else I have to have a little bit more. I’m designing my invitations, all my paper rather, by myself…with the most basic processing platform: Microsoft Word. Don’t get me wrong—I’m enjoying it. I just wish I had the funds to purchase Adobe Illustrator to make it a tad easier. Here’s my all-over-the-place train of thought.
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.
We got ready for our first dance by doing a few warm up stretches while we waited for our guests to trickle back into the ballroom.
I stretched out my leg while Mr. Knitting practiced his ballet first position:
You’d think from these stretching photos that we’d have something elaborate planned for our first dance: 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.
Once upon a time when Mr. and Miss Pony started upon this wedding planning journey, Miss Pony told Mr. Pony that he could have full control over his wedding day attire. Knowing that Mr. Pony has solid fashion sense, she relinquished control over this decision and waited for Mr. Pony to show her some amazing fitted suits that would show off his long and lean figure.
Meanwhile, Mr. Pony made the lazy easy decision to rent tuxedos from a national chain store without so much as entertaining the idea of what the Pony wedding colors are or doing any form of research whatsoever. 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.
Mr. High Wire sent me this link the other day. If you don’t feel like clicking over to read, or want to read it later, here is my (biased) review:
A bride e-mails the best man to provide guidelines and rules for her soon-to-be husband’s bachelor party. One rule is that the party may only be a one night/day event. She suggests he plans nothing out of town because she doesn’t want her fiancé traveling without her. She says it makes her sad when he gets to explore a new place and she doesn’t get to go. She proposes that instead of spending a bunch of money on a bachelor party, they buy the couple some Kate Spade dinner plates since they are her fiancé’s favorite (yeah, sure they are) and the couple feels guilty registering for something so expensive. She would rather her fiancé’s friends pick up the tab for the plates instead of their other guests.
Maybe these are the Kate Spade Plates he loves?
(from Bed, Bath, and Beyond)
Mrs. Teacup, Santa CruzAge and Occupation: 34, Pharmaceutical SalesFiance's Age and Occupation: 41, Ditto! (For a different company)Engagement Date: October 1, 2010Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: ceremony in our family's Catholic church in Watsonville; reception at the Santa Cruz Beach BoardwalkAbout Me: I’m learning to embrace my true spirit as GIRLY GIRL after previous careers in the Navy and consulting for the government. My favorite hobby is SLEEP, with dancing HULA a close second. An INTROVERT in extrovert clothing, I’m questing to UNDO 34 years of TYPE A conditioning. Constantly processing the details of our upcoming nuptials, peek into this late blooming bride & groom's roller coaster ride to the altar. Giant Dipper required, sold separately.
This morning I thought about how I was painfully thrust back into my wedding-planning process, and that we might play a guessing game in the style of Family Feud to make the memory fun for all of us.
Name five things you expect to see at a wedding ceremony:
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.
One of the many things I love about wedding planning is getting things in the mail. It is no longer just bills and J.Crew catalogs! People are actually sending important things to me. Now I have a reason to go through the mail instead of carrying it in from the mailbox and then letting it sit on the entrance table for days. It is kind of thrilling.
I don’t know anyone but a bride who could get excited about getting envelopes filled with envelopes in the mail. But color me excited! Our envelope samples arrived, which means we are that much closer to finishing our invites.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
