Mrs. Poodle, Santiago, Chile/San Bernardino, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Industrial & Web DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Firefighter & Mountain PatrolEngagement Date: February 25, 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Mr. P's Grandparents’ RanchAbout Me: I’m a Chilean girl who's crazy about nature and swimming. I enjoy carving, drawing, reading and sewing; I drool over computers, fabric, pretty paper, purple and patterns. To me, chocolate should be one of the seven wonders, right next to lemon pie. I never thought an exchange work experience program was going to change my life forever, but while working in California, I met Mr. Poodle, and ever since my days are better and brighter. We are two goofy souls that, after finding each other, couldn’t help but want to be together forever. It has being a long and sometimes hard road, since we have to deal with such a long distance between us, but we are now facing the last stage of our Fiancé Visa, and soon we will be together. You know the best part? We will be married! So I’ll be blogging from Chile until just a few months before our “green and purple” wedding.
It’s funny that one of my favorite pictures from our wedding is not even a picture of us, but a picture of Mr. Poodle’s best friend’s grandma catching the bouquet. To me it was awesome that she was the one getting it, and even better, her reaction was priceless!
I made a paper and napkin flower bouquet to toss because I didn’t want anyone to get hurt by the clay flowers I made for all the rest of the bouquets. I also added some silk shamrock to add a pop of green.
Whew! We’re back online, and here with a great giveaway from our friends at Dress Rush!
DressRush.com offers daily wedding inspirations and exclusive members only sales at up to 70% off retail. Membership is free, but by invitation only. As a member, you’ll receive exclusive access to daily curated sales featuring the world’s leading designers and manufacturers. And today, Dress Rush is giving away the hilarious Universal movie BRIDESMAIDS!
They only have a limited number of copies to give away, so if you’re already a member, hurry on over to the site to claim yours! All you have to do is Like or Tweet the deal via Dress Rush’s site. And if you aren’t already a member, Weddingbee has an invitation for you! Just use Weddingbee’s invite link to sign up for great wedding deals and freebies. This deal is ONLY offered to those who sign up via Weddingbee’s invite link!!! Go get it! And while you’re at it, check out the great Rush Sale they have going on for gorgeous cake stands from Sarah’s Stands!
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
Hi hive! Just a reminder: Weddingbee will be performing scheduled maintenance this morning beginning at approximately 7AM through 10AM PST. We expect the entire site to be down at this time.
As a token of our appreciation for your patience, when we’re back online we’ll announce a fun giveaway! Stay tuned!
Mrs. Skunk, AtlantaAge and Occupation: 23, Post baccalaureate studentFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Mechanical DesignerEngagement Date: February 13, 2011Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Neverland Farms About Me: I’m a Georgia peach born and raised in the dirty dirty. I love reading, baking lots of sweets and forcing them on my friends, and most of all, rock climbing. I am in the process of applying to graduate school in physical therapy and I work at farmers’ markets around town selling bread for a local bakery. The mister and I met while rock climbing just over two years ago and have been inseparable ever since. Our climbing friends mean the world to us and have played an integral role in our relationship. We’re planning a barnyard shindig filled with good food, good friends, and lots of love.
Being from the South, this post is probably one of the most nerve wracking to write. I was raised a Christian. My parents weren’t strict about church, but I chose to go and ended up accepting Christ as my savior when I was in middle school. As I grew in my faith, I started questioning more and more about religion, and eventually quit going to church. I now find myself more in a Unitarian camp. My fiance, on the other hand, is atheist. So when looking into ceremony wording and readings, it was important to us to have things that aren’t overtly religious but still mean a lot to us. We’ve managed to take a lot of the ceremony from a Buddhist ceremony.
Besides the traditional exchanging of rings, we wanted to have another sort of unity ceremony. We considered three.
The candle ceremony was the first. This was the most familiar to us and therefore at the top of our list. But after talking to Suzy (our fairy godmother), candles are a no-go at our venue because it is outdoors. She said that too many times in the past the candles wouldn’t light or went out, and it just creates an awkward moment that she chooses to avoid by advising brides against it. But this was the only unity ceremony either of us had ever seen in person, and I’ve never been one to shy away from shopping for new candles.
Mrs. Lioness, AtlantaAge and Occupation: 25, Physical TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, AttorneyEngagement Date: August 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Anthony’s Fine DiningAbout Me: I’m a Southern girl with New England roots. I say "wicked" and "y’all" in the same sentence and I like to drink sweet tea with my lobster. Mr. Lion and I are both former Floridians now living in Atlanta, which fortunately is still SEC country...Go Gators! We both love baseball, coffee, traveling, cooking, and playing Words with Friends with each other on our iPhones all day long. I’m very passionate about the things and the people I love, and I tend to plan things with all of my heart...our wedding, of course, is no different! Oh, and also Mr. Lion is a first generation American of Cuban descent. I may look more like Lucy than Ricky, but I’m doing my best to incorporate some Latin elements into our vintage-garden-Southern wedding!
Where we last left off, our wedding day had gotten off to a rocky start. As we got ready at my apartment, a rushed feeling of panic set in. Whose idea was it to have an 11 AM wedding anyway?! As we ran out of time, we had no choice but to head to the venue. Fortunately, at least I was ready.
{guest photo}
As we arrived at the venue, everything set in. The altar and the ballroom both looked amazing (more on that later). I stepped down into the wine cellar, our bridal getting ready room, and took a look around. Read more…
Wedding BiosFeature Launched: September 12, 2008About: Wedding bios of real brides.
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
Hi hive! Weddingbee will be performing scheduled maintenance tomorrow morning beginning at approximately 7AM through 10AM PST. We expect the entire site to be down at that time.
Mrs. Cannon, Toledo, OHAge and Occupation: 27, Financial AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, AssemblerEngagement Date: February 28, 2011Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Epworth UMC & Ward PavilionAbout Me: I'm the curious combination of being a go-with-the-flow, laid back, obsessive planner. I try desperately to stay as busy as possible at all times (and am succeeding big time right now!) My biggest loves in life are Law & Order: SVU, Community (the show, not the concept, although I like that, too), ice cream, white cheddar popcorn, beer, hiking, knitting, decorating, writing, being outside, spending time with friends and family and musical theater. Mr. Cannon is pretty sweet, too. We've had a lot of fun traveling and having adventures all over the country, but have finally moved back near our hometown to settle down. We're planning a low-key, colorful, fun wedding and an awesome-to-the-max reception.
I have been DYING to share my dress with you guys. Unfortunately, my computer had other ideas. I have twice uploaded pictures only to have them go missing after I uploaded them. I finally discovered my problem, and got everything ready to share last night.
If you’ll remember, my grandma had decided she wanted to be done with my dress by the end of July. She met this original due date, and I took my dress home. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite right. The top fit a little funky, and I was worried. I fretted over this problem for a little while, and finally showed it to my sister, who agreed it needed some work. I was really nervous about asking my grandma for adjustments because I didn’t want her to have to make changes after she’d already worked so hard on it. I didn’t want to seem ungrateful for all she’d done.
But my sister laid it out for me as the voice of reason I needed—not only would I be unhappy with the dress without the alterations, but my grandma would be disappointed seeing me wear an ill-fitting dress at my wedding.
She pointed out that it’s just as important for my grandma to be proud of what she has created for me as it is for me to love my wedding dress, and both of those things could only happen if grandma made the alterations. And she was right. So I called my grandma up to see if I could take another trip down to Columbus to get some work done on the dress. She agreed and we went down to spend the day with her as she corrected my dress’s problems. The dress fits much better now and I’m absolutely thrilled with it. But the best part of the dress is this: Read more…
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!
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.
OK, I think my title is a little over-dramatic because we never were technically without an officiant. But it certainly felt like it. Before I delve into the specifics of our situation, let me give a little background.
A very long time ago, I told you about how Mr. Parasol and I did premarital counseling at our church in New York before we even set a date or started thinking seriously about our wedding. Well, naturally once we set our date and started wedding planning, it seemed only logical to ask the pastor with whom we had done our marriage counseling to officiant. We were close to him, we respected his wisdom and guidance, and he knew us well as a couple.
And he would have been more than willing, but there was a snag: Read more…
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!
Our guests rock, we want to rock with them, and we will be rockin’ in each others’ arms all.night.long. How do we plan on remembering just who celebrated with us ten, twenty, and fifty years from now? In case you didn’t catch all my cheesy hints…we are having a rock guest book!
I think this idea actually spurred from a picture I saw early on of signed seashells, but then I came across this picture and I was sold:
We’ve been collecting little stones for the last year, and my favorite part is that Best Man Cruise has taken this wedding project so seriously. Read more…
Miss Porcupine, NYC/Lancaster, PAAge and Occupation: 26, Sales Coordinator/PublishingFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Assistant Manager/SalesEngagement Date: August 8, 2010Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Riverdale ManorAbout Me: I'm a born and bred New Yorker with a love/hate relationship for the city I have always called home. Although I may seem quiet from afar, I have a loud personality once you get to know me. I am a book nerd at heart, but love a night out in the city with good friends. I have a serious addiction to all things cheese, chocolate, cardigans, Mexican food, and reality TV. The future hubs and I met in college, settled in New York, and decided to go with a rustic/peacock infused wedding in Lancaster, PA, right near his hometown. Come the big day, we will be together 5 years, and we're looking forward to making it official!
Creating a guest list was one of the most annoying of all wedding-related tasks. I started it, got bored, edited it, tried to finish it, started it over, stopped, and then ended up working off the first one again. Finally, I made some progress one random boring evening.
Image via Glamour / Artwork on it designed by yours truly
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.!
Like I’ve said in my introduction to our church, the building was once a strip club. Because of that, our building doesn’t have a normal church ambiance. There are no vaulted ceilings, no stain glass windows, and no glossy pews. Basically, there is none of this:
It’s a simple building with little decoration. The church is more about focusing on God than on appearance. Read more…
Miss Warbler, Long Beach/MalibuAge and Occupation: 24, Quality Assurance EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Handheld AdministratorEngagement Date: December 7, 2010Wedding Date: April 2012Venue: Calamigos Ranch MalibuAbout Me: I’m a Korean BBQ loving, cheesecake enthusiast bride living in the LBC! By day I write and edit for an online search engine marketing company. By night I am a volunteer food taster of all that is delicious. I am fortunate to be marrying an amazing man who loves me and my quirky ways. I love food, books, indie music, and Harry Potter. We are planning a small, intimate wedding up in the Malibu Hills with our closest family and friends. With the help of my wonderful fiance, our loved ones, and red velvet cheesecake, our wedding will be glorious!
With our business cards tucked safely away inside the envelopes, I drove to the post office. I was on the hunt for the new Garden of Love stamps. I was in luck! My post office had just gotten them in that week. So I did what any bride would do and bought five booklets.
Mrs. Giraffe, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 23, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Music Student TeacherEngagement Date: October 23, 2008Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Trinity Lutheran Church & Idlewild Country ClubAbout Me: Coming from the suburbs of the Windy City, you'll often find me with my foot in my mouth while laughing for no reason or telling bad knock knock jokes. I've been crafty for as long as I can remember, and will DIY something twice over before I have someone do it for me. I'm a semi-awkward, typeface obsessed, design junkie and have been know to break out my dance moves for no reason as well as try my best to be ridiculous at all times. My love of pop culture, wordplay, and graph paper almost rivals my love of Mr. Giraffe (who is just the bee's knees). After a 2.5 year engagement, we're planning a modern-in-disguise traditional wedding, and cannot wait!
Hive, I know I’ve been absently recently. There’s a lot going on, and even though I haven’t shared my recaps yet, I feel like this is a very important post for me to write, so I’ll be dropping in some images from the big day. Don’t worry about them though, I’ll catch you up on everything once I start recapping.
In the beginning, I was anti-video. Don’t get me wrong, I think wedding videos are gorgeous, and watching a few made me tear up a little. I scrapbook, and love flipping through albums, so spending moolah on photos made sense, but on video?
I mean, when was the last time I watched one of my parents’ home videos? I showed some baby ones to Mr. G a few years back, but that’s pretty much it. Who wants to watch a video of themselves? And, better yet, who wants to pay a ton of money for it? Read more…
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