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!
Let’s talk numbers, shall we? As a financial operations analyst, numbers are actually my friend. Give me some spreadsheets and I’m a happy camper.
You may remember that we extended our engagement into a 25 month period in order to save up enough money for the wedding that we wanted to have. We were fortunate to receive some financial help from my parents, and Mr. E and I paid the other 65%. I’m going to be very honest with you all—we ended up spending a pretty penny on the wedding. There were splurges that were not needed, but totally wanted. We ended up going over budget, (but I’m throwing in everything I can possibly think of) so here’s how it breaks down. It’s a little long, but I added pictures to help
Mrs. Bruschetta, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 25, Communication ProfessionalFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Physical Therapy Graduate StudentEngagement Date: November 30, 2007Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: St. Thomas of Villanova Church & the F.U.E.L. HouseAbout Me: I’m a self-proclaimed grammar geek who loves singing (like, really belting it) in the car. My mister and I are planning a vibrant summer soiree celebrating our passions – including food and Philly – and when we make it official, we’ll have been together for eight years! Being super competitive is in my nature, and talking excessively is in my genes. I’ve got a terrible sense of direction, but can always easily find my way into Mr. Bruschetta’s arms.
I wasn’t a glass slipper kind of bride. But not just because, frankly, they sound exceedingly uncomfortable. No, the erratic, eclectic weather our wedding day heralded two years ago today demanded practicality.
{Cindy shot it, but just you wait hive—I’m so excited to do this photo justice by sharing all the details that led up to the moment the camera went “click.”}
I’ve long believed rain visits on significant days of my life. 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.
Aloooooooha, Hive! This little Teacup has been a busy bee. W-Day looms a handful of weeks away, inspiring a flurry of wedding-related preparation. Yay!
In the midst of bouncing around from project to project, I’ve neglected to keep you caught up on all our W-Day progress. No more - I’ve brewed a cup of my favorite hot green tea and put myself on DIY timeout to get back to writing. Blogging counts as wedding activity, right?!
I left off last week promising a detailed tutorial of our invites, post-reveal. Let’s start at the very beginning. I hear it’s a very good place to start. Thanks, Maria.
Image via Dvdizzy / Credit: “The Sound of Music,” Dir. Robert Wise, 1965, film.
Step One: Source your invitation cards.
I chose to leave this first step to the professionals. After scouring the internet for inspiration, I ended up with 122 different designs saved to a folder on my computer and yet nothing felt quite right. 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.
Many of us know the trials of LD relationships and understand that it’s hard keeping in touch when you’re separated by 7000km and several time zones. By the time the wedding arrives, I won’t have seen her for over 14 months. Yes, her. I’m talking about my wedding dress, of course!
Sabelle and I started dating online last June and met for the first time on my Zivilstand day. She’s been good to me over the months and while I don’t hear from her that often, Mama Funnel Cake sends me photos and keeps me up-to-date on her life.
Mrs. Sunhat, Dyer, IN Age and Occupation: 32, Tax AccountantFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Landscape ForemanEngagement Date: September 25, 2010Wedding Date: December 2011Venues: St. Andrew the Apostle, Fiesta PalaceAbout Me: I'm a Midwest girl who grew up in the country and now works in the big city! I love cooking, entertaining, reading (addicted to my Kindle) and going to the movies. I don't miss an episode of Hoarders and I start cleaning every time I watch! My profession doesn't call for much creativity so wedding planning has been a great outlet. Mr. Sunhat and I met online three years ago, cheer for rival MLB teams and share a home with our dog, Wrigley. We are planning a traditional, Polish, Catholic wedding with lots of DIY elements and some fun surprises. I'm so excited to be married on New Year's Eve and we can't wait to ring in the new year as husband and wife!
Who knew I could go on about shoes for three posts?
So after shipping the four pairs of ivory shoes back to Zappos, I was stuck. I put the shoe decision on the back burner, as I had more than enough time to figure the problem out later. There was just one thing—I couldn’t get those Caparros off my mind! The more I looked at them, the more I knew how perfect they would be. They had a classic look, and the sequined trim made them all the more special. Don’t remember what they look like?
Mrs. Teaspoon, Sydney, AustraliaAge and Occupation: 27, Medical ScientistFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, BankerEngagement Date: June 4, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: St Aloysius' College, Milson's PointAbout Me: I am a mad scientist who enjoys swimming at the beach in summer and skiing powder in winter. Our favourite times together are spent with the sand between our toes, cooking up a storm, re-watching and re-reading every Harry Potter ever made, and spending time with our dear friends and family! We have travelled the world together in our 6 years of dating, from Paris, to Thailand, to Las Vegas, and we are tackling the many challenges of planning our special day the best way we know how---together!
Originally my bridesmaids were planning on surprising me with a dress that I would wear for the entire evening of my kitchen tea/hens’ night, however, this was making me extremely nervous. I know how long it takes me to find a dress for myself, how possible would it be for someone to find me a dress that I was likely to like?
The only pre-requisite that I knew about the dress was that it would be appropriate for a floral themed event, so I would think it would look something like this:
Miss Petit Four, San Antonio/Isla MujeresAge and Occupation: 25, Technology teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Math Teacher and Football CoachEngagement Date: Feb 13, 2010Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Zama Beach Club, Isla Mujeres, MexicoAbout Me: I am a polka-dot obsessed, destination wedding diva living and loving in the great state of Texas. I am an island girl at heart and I visit the beach as often as I can. I am a wannabe DIY goddess, but that doesn’t mean I won’t give it my best shot. I love pearl earrings, the color pink, and ruffles are a part of my everyday wardrobe. My wonderful fiance and I are planning a destination wedding with our closest family and friends and we’re leaving a trail of glitter in our path!
If you are like me, you browse through countless wedding blogs whenever humanly possible. I love seeing all the lovely little details of DIY weddings and stare longingly, wondering how to make them.
Today I wanted to try those cute little cupcake signs that have been seen on Style Me Pretty.
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.
Specifically, the yards upon yards of which I bought for ceremony decor. Mrs. Bunting helped solved my assembly issues by directing me towards welt cord, the stuff used for piping around furniture or pillows. I was able to get 30 feet, more than enough to span the distance between branches. At less than $4, I won’t feel bad chopping a bunch of off when it doubles as a backdrop for our DIY photo booth, which will hopefully look a little something like this:
But without the ability to attach it to a wall or door frame I had to come up with an alternative. 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.
So my natural hair color is gone, as is that muddy brown color I ended up with after my first hair appointment (not a bad color, but definitely not what I was going for). Here’s what I came out of the salon with:
Personal Photo
It’s actually darker and richer than what it looks like in the picture (thank you bad lighting!), and I love it! It came out exactly the way I hoped it would. After months of giving my hair a break, I finally feel like myself again—my brunette-loving self.
Once again, the salon supervisor tried to talk me into getting a PM Shine, which is a demi-permanent dye and what I got last time. I get why they suggest this:
Miss Kettle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 26, Non-Profit Donor Resource CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Musician & TeacherEngagement Date: May 29, 2011Wedding Date: February 2012Venue: Patrick C. Haley Mansion, Joliet, ILAbout Me: I'm a city girl who loves a good escape, so I'm planning a Chicago wedding outside of the city. I've been described as a quirky yet down-to-earth drama queen who loves fiercely. I used to be a scientist, but now I'm learning to navigate the world of non-profit organizations. I love cooking, blogging, shopping, and music, and movies (Hans Zimmer is my favorite movie composer). Mr. Kettle and I had a short courtship and now we have a happy home with our cat-who-thinks-she's-people, Belle. We spend our days and nights with good food, live music, video games, family, and friends. Our wedding has become this wonderful excuse to bring together hundreds of people we can't bear to be without.
In my last post, I talked about redesigning the budget. I mentioned that Momma Kettle was looking to move our wedding venue somewhere else other than Chateau Bu-Sche. I glossed over it at the time, but now I’m ready to talk about it.
Actually, hive, I want to shout it from the rooftops!! But first a bit of background for anyone who hasn’t been reading my Weddingbee posts. We started our wedding venue search looking for somewhere we could have the ceremony and reception. We found a great place that just wasn’t right for us.
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.!
That’s right! One year ago today, Mr. D got down on one knee and asked me if I would be his partner and wife. Obviously I said yes, and the rest is history.
Today another pretty big event is occurring. It’s my 25th birthday. The big 2-5. Quarter of a century old. Of course Mr. D had to be a slight jerk and schedule our fantasy football draft for 8:45 in the morning. No sleeping in for me. However, I do get the #1 pick, so I guess it’s all okay. Read more…
Mrs. Star, New York CityAge and Occupation: 22, ActressFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Casting AssistantWedding Date: October 2009Venue: Ceremony: The Kraine Theatre, Reception: Midtown Loft & TerraceAbout Me: I’m a professional actress who’s always had New York City in her blood and I'm finally getting the chance to make a home in Manhattan with my fiancé, my dog, and my big dreams! I love polka dots, craft projects, Dunkin’ Donuts’ iced coffee, and anything sparkly. I’m having a blast planning our elegant/dramatic/New York City/acting-themed/largely-DIY wedding and am thrilled to be the youngest current Miss Blogger!
Hello there, Hive! Long time no see! I have missed you all so. So as soon as I heard all of us old bees were getting to share our weddings again, I jumped at the chance! Are you ready to dive right back in to our day? I sure am!
Our theme was best described as: elegant/dramatic/New York City/acting-themed/polka-dotted/largely-DIY, and I was working off an inspiration board I made that featured deep purple and polka dots: Read more…
Weddingbee GalleryFeature Launched: April 10, 2009About: A collection of inspirational wedding pictures from readers and bees.
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 Ticket, Riverside, CAAge and Occupation: 25, Executive AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, HVAC TechnicianEngagement Date: November 14, 2010Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Crestmore ManorAbout Me: I'm a lifelong So Cal gal, a chocoholic, a closet gamer, and a television enthusiast (love me some Vampire Diaries!) who adores playing in the kitchen and lives in flip flops. Mr. Ticket and I are best known for singing and dancing in the car, our World of Warcraft addiction, adoring food, crane game playing, and our general homebody ways. Oh, and GO STEELERS!
So the other night I had a dream that I was playing with my ring, twirling it around on my finger (really nothing out of the norm—I actually play with my ring all the time), and when I woke up from the dream I reached for my ring to do the very same thing only to find it wasn’t there.
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.
They say that weddings are one of the most stressful events of your life, up there on the list with death of a spouse, divorce, jail and illness. Apparently changing jobs can be very stressful life events as well. This year both Mr. Funnel Cake and I have changed jobs and in my case, it was very, very stressful.
In all honesty, this year has probably been one of the most stressful ones we have gone through together. I took this stress level test and scored nearly 400 points. It doesn’t even include anything on there about scares with your residence permit, stress coping with language difficulties in a foreign country and general fear of deportation and separation. With all that stress, it wasn’t a surprise when I wound up at the doctor’s office this summer and was told I have mono. Great. Now I was stressed and extraordinarily tired.
For me, thinking about the wedding has been a happy place in what have been some dark moments at times. Sometimes riding the commute home, I would take my mind to a dream where I am surrounded by loving family and friends and my soul is filled with warmth and serenity. That sounds incredibly cheesy, but the wedding has been my beacon of light. If daydreaming about cake toppers makes me happier, by golly I’ll fantasize!
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
