Miss Kettle, Chicago, IL
Age and Occupation: 26, Non-Profit Donor Resource Coordinator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Musician & Teacher
Engagement Date: May 29, 2011
Wedding Date: February 2012
Venue: Patrick C. Haley Mansion, Joliet, IL
About 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.
The time is finally coming up this weekend for our tasting with our wedding venue. I’m so excited. I feel like I should store up extra free space for all the food we’ll be trying that day. It will be me, Mr. Kettle, Momma and Daddy Kettle, Mima and Poppa Kettle, FSIL Grand, and Grandmother Kettle. We take entourages everywhere we go now, apparently…
On that day, I’ll feel like this:
All the food possibilities overwhelmed me just a bit. Luckily, we only had to choose three entree options. I’m guessing they’ll fill in the sides with options that complement those choices best.
I just had a scary thought. What if we don’t try any sides?! Oh, the horror! I’d hate to have to choose sides without knowing how they taste.
I must admit that I’m not so worried about side dishes. I’m really thinking about…cake!
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Miss Fox, Washington DC/Havre de Grace, MD
Age and Occupation: 26, Massage Therapist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Field Support Engineer
Engagement Date: April 18, 2010
Wedding Date: June 2012
Venue: Vandiver Inn
About Me: I’m a dancer turned massage therapist who was born and raised in New York. Alas, true love has brought me “south” where I still maintain my penchants for pretty shoes, wine, crossword puzzles, cherry blossoms, and the Mets. I own more sunglasses than a normal person should and don’t eat red meat (though I make up for it by eating my weight in sushi). I tend to be a big planner who likes to get things started early, but generally end up being indecisive and procrastinating when it comes down to it. I have a (not so) secret crush on Chris Carrabba, but my loyalty and love ultimately goes to the future hubs, of course! Together, my Foxy man and I love to discuss (read: debate) politics and current events, have Mario Kart and Scrabble duels, and just laugh. A lot. We’re hoping and planning for a laid back, fun, summery, rustic vibe to our June wedding that will be genuinely “us” – that is, if we finally make some decisions. Huzzah!
Guess what?? I made my first puffball!
Yes, this was around Christmas. Hence the ornaments.
So, it kind of looks more like a really large, lopsided, blue loofah…
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Miss Ticket, Riverside, CA
Age and Occupation: 25, Executive Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, HVAC Technician
Engagement Date: November 14, 2010
Wedding Date: October 2011
Venue: Crestmore Manor
About 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!
RSVP #s Are In! Well, mostly. Here’s a basic breakdown for you.
- Total Invited Guests: 102
Formal RSVP Received by Deadline: 62 (61%)
Phone In/ In Person/Tracked Down After Deadline RSVPs: 14 (14%)
Still Missing RSVPs/Haven’t Been Able to Track Down: 26 (25%)
- Total Yes: 60
- Total No: 16
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Miss Aardvark, Beaver Dam, WI
Age and Occupation: 23, Assistant Product Manager
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Business Analyst
Engagement Date: May 28th, 2011
Wedding Date: April 2012
Venue: St. Philip Catholic Church/Arcadia Brewing Co.
About Me: I am a resourceful lady who love surprises and adventure. At the same time, I value traditions, family and friends. I like to make crafty messes, sometimes, clean them up, and do pretty much anything outdoors. The Mister and I are pretty avid cyclists---we have nine bikes in our home right now...and one motorcycle! We both enjoy eating food we can't pronounce (language doesn't really matter) and going places we've never been. We currently reside in rural Wisconsin, enjoying the cheese and beer it has to offer, and getting outside whenever we can!
My saga of finding a wedding venue had a little bit of a rough start. Lucky for me (and Mr. A) it has a very happy ending. I was fortunate enough to have two great priests growing up. One was a fairly young man who was a fantastic speaker, highly intellectual, and very friendly. All of the little old ladies in our parish called him “Father What-a-Waste” because, on top of everything I just mentioned, he was pretty decent looking. All of that aside, he transferred to a much bigger parish when I was in high school and I figured that was that.
Fast forward to the weekend after the “Seven-Minute Meeting,” as it had come to be known, and Mr. Aardvark and I are enjoying time with my family. My step-mother gets an email informing us that “Fr. What-a-Waste” is returning to my hometown of Battle Creek!
This was great news and in a few short (OK, they felt like millennia) weeks I was talking to him (on the phone and via email!) about how to schedule our wedding date. He was kind enough to FAX some paperwork to our local priest, and just like that we had our location, ceremony time, and date set! It was really a dream come true.
Now, the church is not at all the small, quaint building I had envisioned in plan A. It is a beautiful, large, old, traditional Catholic church. Would you like to see?
Photo via St. Philip’s website
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Miss Warbler, Long Beach/Malibu
Age and Occupation: 24, Quality Assurance Editor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Handheld Administrator
Engagement Date: December 7, 2010
Wedding Date: April 2012
Venue: Calamigos Ranch Malibu
About 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!
On Sunday, Mr. Warbs and I had our long awaited engagement session. We were both super nervous, but we got over that pretty quickly. The one hitch was that our photographer stepped in dog poop. Whoops! Since it will be a while before we get the finished result, our amazing photographer sent me her favorite photo to tide us over.
Photo by Nataly Lemus Photography
Ah, I can’t wait to see the rest!
Miss Porcupine, NYC/Lancaster, PA
Age and Occupation: 26, Sales Coordinator/Publishing
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Assistant Manager/Sales
Engagement Date: August 8, 2010
Wedding Date: March 2012
Venue: Riverdale Manor
About 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!
Everyone says that getting married is all about “starting your life together.” Well, truthfully, we started our life together three years ago when we moved in together. So, when we exchange those rings and say “I Do,” I feel like there is something I need to embark on in order to “begin.”
Mr. Porcupine and I have been living together for over three years in New York, and I grew up here. This has been the only home I’ve ever known, except for my college days which took place on the suburbs of New York. Even though we both want(ed) to live here, we are also kind of sick of it. As ridiculous as this may sound, I feel stuck in NYC. I know, I know—this must sound crazy/pompous/idiotic. Some people would do just about anything to live in this iconic city. But, like any place in the world, there are drawbacks. Being close to Broadway, the restaurants, the hustle and bustle, the parks, the people of every culture, and the “New York charm” come with negatives.
For one, I am so tired of being broke.
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Mrs. Waffle, Austin
Age and Occupation: 31, Costumer/Artist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Animator
Engagement Date: July 27, 2010
Wedding Date: June 2011
Venue: Hummingbird House
About Me: My life is pretty much spent in a sea of fabric, paint, sequins and drama. When I’m not working, I play on a trivia team, take Broadway dance classes, read, buy shoes, and occasionally geek out on video games. I am an American girl who loves all things British and Mr. Waffle is a Brit who loves all things American...I guess it was meant to be!
photo by Steve Twigger
To continue with the theme of the memory jars, we had decided that we would seal our vows in a jar after saying them to each other. Captain Toes presented the jar to those assembled and explained its purpose.
Mr Waffle was first. I held the jar and listened to his words…
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Mrs. Funnel Cake, Zürich, Switzerland/Columbus, Ohio
Age and Occupation: 24, Visual Communication Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Application Engineer
Engagement Date: May 30, 2010
Wedding Date: October 2011
Venue: Catholic church followed by a botanical conservatory
About 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.
I’m aliiiive. (And Mr. Funnel Cake is too!) We both survived our Polterabends none the worse for wear. Sadly, I was having too much of a good time trying to understand Schwiizerdütsch socialising to be a good blogger and take photos. So what did I get into with Mr. Funnel Cake’s scouting friends on Saturday night?
Well, after I met the girls at a tram stop in Zürich, we walked up to one of the girls homes on the hill in Zürich with a spectacular view over the city. (Just imagine, it’s more fun that way!) We had a lovely little apéro with prosecco and my very favourite Paprika chips, which deserve their own photo because they are SO yummy.
(Source)
Mind you, this whole time I was listening and speaking Swiss German, with varying levels of success.
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Miss Doe, Northern California
Age and Occupation: 24, Real Estate Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Recycling Manager
Engagement Date: December 25, 2010
Wedding Date: May 2012
Venue: Monte Verde Inn
About Me: I’m a Rat Pack fan and a Christmas nut that loves to read, good wine, cheesy ’80s movies and ’90s sitcoms. My wiener dog with an attitude problem and lazy basset hound are my constant source of entertainment. He's a hunter and I like cooking so it's not rare to see wild game on our dinner menu. Both of us were born and raised in a small historic farming town where our feet are still firmly planted. We have been together for nearly a decade and have shared many life experiences together, including birthdays that are only one day apart. We are two old souls that are creating our long-awaited wedding with loads of tradition that blends our two styles into rustic elegance in the foothills of Northern California.
My “something borrowed” comes with a little bit of history and a whole lot of love. First off, I am going to share some information. Let me introduce you to my grandma and grandpa. These two lovebirds were married in June of 1960.
Hot dang, they look incredible. They have been married for over 50 years. In fact, here is a photo of them from their surprise 50th-wedding-anniversary party.
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Mrs. High Wire, Dallas
Age and Occupation: 23, Legal Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Director of Communications
Engagement Date: October 9, 2010
Wedding Date: September 2011
Venue: Clark Gardens
About 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.
After an absolutely blissful honeymoon, we are back and living it up, married style.
We spent yesterday relaxing at home and trying to get our house back in order after covering every surface with honeymoon laundry, tissue paper, leftover wedding decor and gifts galore. It looks like a tornado went off, which drives me batty. I can’t relax in the middle of a household disaster!
There’s lots to fill you all in on between now and when we dive into recaps (which will happen as soon as we get our professional photos back). I’m already hunting around for my next event planning project, before I can get sucked into any Post Wedding Blues. A Halloween party? A trip to Austin? Hosting our first married Thanksgiving? It is all on the radar. There’s been lots of updates on our humble abode that we have slowly been working on over the last few months. I just plowed through the most amazing book series of my life, the Hunger Games. And I can’t wait to tell you all about our absolutely incredibly relaxing and rejuvenating (and somewhat nudist) honeymoon. Oh yeah, we’ll get to it all.
For now, I’ll leave you with the one little taste of the wedding that has surfaced online:
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Miss Ticket, Riverside, CA
Age and Occupation: 25, Executive Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, HVAC Technician
Engagement Date: November 14, 2010
Wedding Date: October 2011
Venue: Crestmore Manor
About 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!
It’s getting closer and closer to the wedding and I realized I haven’t even mentioned what our bridal party will be donning for the affair. Fairly early on in the wedding planning process, I decided I wanted my girls to wear short black dresses; somewhat similar to Mrs. Avocado’s girls.
Via Mrs. Avocado on Weddingbee
I have been in several weddings, and generally speaking, the dresses are frightening (I’ve got some pictures of flower girl dresses I wore as a child that make Ronald McDonald look fashionable) and most certainly will never be worn again. Let’s just say Miss Ticket does not look good in yellow…
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Miss Fox, Washington DC/Havre de Grace, MD
Age and Occupation: 26, Massage Therapist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Field Support Engineer
Engagement Date: April 18, 2010
Wedding Date: June 2012
Venue: Vandiver Inn
About Me: I’m a dancer turned massage therapist who was born and raised in New York. Alas, true love has brought me “south” where I still maintain my penchants for pretty shoes, wine, crossword puzzles, cherry blossoms, and the Mets. I own more sunglasses than a normal person should and don’t eat red meat (though I make up for it by eating my weight in sushi). I tend to be a big planner who likes to get things started early, but generally end up being indecisive and procrastinating when it comes down to it. I have a (not so) secret crush on Chris Carrabba, but my loyalty and love ultimately goes to the future hubs, of course! Together, my Foxy man and I love to discuss (read: debate) politics and current events, have Mario Kart and Scrabble duels, and just laugh. A lot. We’re hoping and planning for a laid back, fun, summery, rustic vibe to our June wedding that will be genuinely “us” – that is, if we finally make some decisions. Huzzah!
October 3rd, 2011 @ 12:57 pm by Miss Fox
That’s the most creative I can be with a title for the first of what I’m sure will be 473,982 posts about save the dates, or as us bees like to refer to them, STDs. And yes, like most people, that still cracks me up. They really need to give you a manual before you start delving into the whole online wedding world. I was severely confused with all the acronyms here on Weddingbee for a good two weeks when I first started reading. [Editor's note: If you're feeling confused about wedding acronyms, check out the Weddingbee Abbreviations Wiki!]
Anyway, you should all know by now that I’m a planner. When I first started seriously thinking about the save the dates, we still had 18 months until the wedding, at which point we also already had a venue, invites, preliminary guest list, DJ, possible photog, and my dress. #overachiever
I quickly came to the conclusion that we MUST have save the dates 1.) because I like making pretty things and 2.) because 99% of our guests are out-of-towners, coming from Philly and various parts of New York. And I was determined for them to be a DIY.
At first I was thinking about doing something with a Scrabble board:
Sorry about the blurring!
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Miss Petit Four, San Antonio/Isla Mujeres
Age and Occupation: 25, Technology teacher
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Math Teacher and Football Coach
Engagement Date: Feb 13, 2010
Wedding Date: March 2012
Venue: Zama Beach Club, Isla Mujeres, Mexico
About 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!
Does that even make sense? Well, it sorta does to me. 
Just because Mr. PF and I are having a destination wedding doesn’t mean that we are bucking all tradition completely. We are actually going to incorporate some of my family traditions, his family traditions and some island traditions in our ceremony. It should be very interesting, to say the least.
Image via Jabez Photography
The first ceremony we are doing is a tradition from my family, which incorporates a Lasso.
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Mrs. Prairie Dog, Cincinnati
Age and Occupation: 24, Program Coordinator
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, PhD/Biomedical Engineer
Engagement Date: December 18, 2009
Wedding Date: May 2011
Venue: Glendale Lyceum
About Me: I'm a pilgrim soul of a girl with a house full of books and a coffee addiction that could slay Juan Valdez. My life is a whirl of grammar correction, good music, glue-gunning, and two pets named Hazel and Winston Churchill. I'm marrying my high school boyfriend in a formal-ish spring affair, roughly themed: "Elizabeth Bennet crashes a party co-hosted by Jay Gatsby and Cath Kidston, and loves it."
Here is a quality that does not serve me well in social and professional settings: I am nearly incapable of moderating my facial expressions. I emote—exaggeratedly and often. And it has never been more clear than the photographs captured during our toasts.
First up, my MOH. Guests later remarked how charming, personal, and earnest her speech was—a collection of moments from our shared childhood, teen, and college years, as well as her advice for us.
This is one of those rare photographs where my feelings are captured with absolute, if not squinty and over-emotional, precision:
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Miss Aardvark, Beaver Dam, WI
Age and Occupation: 23, Assistant Product Manager
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Business Analyst
Engagement Date: May 28th, 2011
Wedding Date: April 2012
Venue: St. Philip Catholic Church/Arcadia Brewing Co.
About Me: I am a resourceful lady who love surprises and adventure. At the same time, I value traditions, family and friends. I like to make crafty messes, sometimes, clean them up, and do pretty much anything outdoors. The Mister and I are pretty avid cyclists---we have nine bikes in our home right now...and one motorcycle! We both enjoy eating food we can't pronounce (language doesn't really matter) and going places we've never been. We currently reside in rural Wisconsin, enjoying the cheese and beer it has to offer, and getting outside whenever we can!
The wedding-venue hunt, or WVH for short, can be one of the hardest parts of planning. For many brides there are SO many options they become overwhelmed with the pros and cons of all of them. Lucky for me, I am not one of those brides. Both Mr. Aardvark and I are Catholic. That did a lot of venue limiting for us. We knew we wanted the ceremony in a church. However, being relatively new to Wisconsin and having family and friends all over God’s green earth, we were not sure which city or even which state would be the best place for us to tie the knot.
After a little bit of discussion, we decided that my home state of Michigan would be best. If you are not familiar with the shape of this lovely state, it looks like this:
Image via Google Maps
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All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
Image via Jabez Photography
