Mrs. Otter, Indianapolis, INAge and Occupation: 22, Freelance Social Media ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, CVS Shift SupervisorEngagement Date: November 11, 2011Wedding Date: April 2013Venue: Mustard Seed GardensAbout Me: I'm a born and raised Hoosier girl, but a diehard Michigan Wolverines fan. I have a tendency to take too many photos and spend full days having TV marathons. Mr. Otter and I met in high school, started dating a couple years later, and moved in after a month of being official. He is easygoing and makes plans on a whim, while I'm color coordinating my planner and organizing everything in sight. He hates glitter, but it's my favorite thing. I have tattoos and he still won't get one, despite my attempts to convince him. We're planning a small, rustic, and (hopefully!) peony-filled wedding to get our married life started. (And yes, there will be glitter involved!)
So now that we’ve officially booked the lovely and (obviously) talented Stacy for the wedding, we found ourselves in quite the predicament. We get a second engagement shoot included in our package. I was thrilled, kind of like a puppy about to get a bone. More pictures!? WHEN? WHERE? *crazy eyes* Mr. Otter wasn’t nearly as excited as I was, but no way was I going to miss a session with Stacy!
Plus, a second session means all new inspiration! So with that in mind, I started the hunt for some new (to us) ideas.
Photo by: Sweet Little Photographs via Lover.ly / Mr. Otter loves his ties, so if I put him in a tie, I’m sure his enthusiasm level will rise.
Mrs. Mink, Charlottesville, VirginiaAge and Occupation: 34, College AdministratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 40, Craft Beer ConsultantEngagement Date: November 26, 2010Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Pippin Hill Farm & VineyardsAbout Me: I left a pre-war brownstone in Boston six years ago to live in a funky, Southern city where Thomas Jefferson, Dave Matthews, and urban chicken keepers enjoy equal social standing. I still love my Patriots and Red Sox, but have fallen in love with Virginia. I work in education and specialize in integrating technology into my work to improve the student experience. I’m a diehard blogger, animal lover, jamband follower, and DIYer. I paint to relax and have transferred by energy from home projects to wedding projects in recent months. When Mr. Mink and I started talking about marriage, we knew our wedding would be outdoors, that my golden retriever would be part of the day, and that the music would be fantastic. We’ve taken a few risks during our planning process and we’ve been enjoying the process immensely!
Just as we finished getting ready, Dr. Bridesmaid noticed that the men had arrived at our venue, Pippin Hill. You’d think that after knowing Mr. Mink for seven years this wouldn’t be a big deal, but I actually got butterflies when I saw him coming down the little hill.
Miss Cauldron, New York City/AustinAge and Occupation: 33, Human ResourcesFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, TechnologyEngagement Date: October 8, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Pecan Grove at the Salt LickAbout Me: I grew up in the Lone Star State, but moved to NYC after college to get a taste of the Big Apple, and never left. I love baking, yoga, Mr. C, and sunshine (not necessarily in that order)! Mr. C and I met on Match.com back in 2007, and our second date was at a Texas barbecue restaurant in Manhattan. It’s only fitting that after almost five years together, we are getting married at an iconic Texas barbecue joint. (Shiner Bock and brisket, anyone?) I’m proud of the life we have built together around our love for each other, Mr. C’s crazy dog Bosley, and fun sailing adventures on our boat, and I’m looking forward to celebrating our marriage at one seriously awesome party in September.
We awoke on day five to a beautiful day with perfect wind to make a long(ish) haul south to Solomons, Maryland. We had been told it was a must-see spot, with a fun bar and delicious seafood. Done and done.
Mrs. Wallaby, Houston
Age and Occupation: 24, Environmental EngineerEngagement Date: January 1, 2012Wedding Date: November 2012Venue: Oak Tree ManorAbout Me: I'm a free-spirited, adventurous girl who loves anything active, reading, traveling, cooking up new dishes for my fiancé, and working on my budding garden. My fiancé is an athletic, intellectual, animal-loving guy with an obsession with basketball and who treats me with the deepest compassion and respect. We are both engineers, and we met at our workplace. Together we complement one another and make a great team, and we are excitedly counting down the days until our outdoor wedding in Houston in November. We're planning a green wedding with lots of Persian cultural touches, and I can't wait to share all of the before-and-after details of our special day
I have some exciting news to reveal…we’re honeymooning in Australia and New Zealand!!! The day after our wedding, Mr. Wallaby and I will embark on a 16-day adventure to the land down under!
My mom was the one who recommended that we head to the Southern Hemisphere for our late November honeymoon. Like many couples, we want to escape to a sunny place where we can lie on the beach and sunbathe. We would have wanted to spend our honeymoon in the Mediterranean (Mr. W has never been to Greece or Italy and I am begging him to go), but it will be drizzly and a little chilly in November. My parents’ next-door neighbors are a really sweet newlywed couple in their sixties, and they spent their honeymoon in New Zealand and had a blast. My mom remembered some of their stories and suggested we follow their lead.
As soon as Mr. W and I started researching places to go and things to do in Australia and New Zealand, we knew it was the perfect honeymoon destination for us. We both love spending time outdoors, and there is endless kayaking, hiking, swimming, etc. in both countries. We also realized that we can accomplish one of our major bucket-list items: scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef!
Miss Manatee, Fort Worth, TXAge and Occupation: 21, Nursing StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: October 2011Wedding Date: June 2013Venue: The Sanford HouseAbout Me: We're just two nerdy, library-bound romantics that found each other. We're planning our fun, ombre themed nuptials in Arlington, Texas! We love boating, romantic comedies, occasional visits to the gun range, and our little kitty Cade! Two years after an extremely successful blind date, we can't wait to start our lives together!
When picking our date, we first discussed seasons. In Texas, I’d like to think people do their best not to plan an outdoor wedding in the depths of July or August. It’s just not nice. When temperatures easily reach 105–110 degrees between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM, it simply doesn’t make sense. Because I already had somewhat of an idea about a venue in that the reception would ideally be outside, we had to take that into account. This left us with spring or late fall.
Mrs. Armadillo, Houston, TexasAge and Occupation: 23, Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Armed Security OfficerEngagement Date: September 28, 2011Wedding Date: March 2013Venue: First Presbyterian Church/Bay City Civic CenterAbout Me: I’m an oldies-loving, board game-playing, coffee addicted fine arts junkie from Southeast Texas in pursuit of her master’s degree in communication studies who met the goofy, strong, artistic, and unexpected love of her life in the beautiful piney woods of East Texas. Serendipity threw us together again and again (and again) on our college campus before we eventually stuck, but when we finally did submit to destiny, we hit the ground running and never looked back! We’re planning a religious, small town, budget-friendly, DIY-infused “winter becomes springtime” ceremony and reception to celebrate the beginning of our lives together with the people we love the most, and are pouring our hearts and souls into making sure our wedding represents us as a couple down to the nitty gritty details and balances tradition with the quirky individuality that is uniquely and unequivocally “us”!
Hey, hive. Anyone familiar with no-shave November? Well, as much as Mr. A would have loved to participate this year, his new-found position as a security officer pretty much made that decision for him. You see, after probably seven years of having a beard (his school system actually allowed full beards in their dress code and he was able grow one starting in ninth grade!), Mr. A had to shave that adorable baby face of his for work.
Now I know what you’re thinking: So what? No big deal, Miss A! And you would be right, of course. The fact that Mr. A is now a clean-shaven dude of the working world really isn’t a big deal at all, in retrospect. But for Mr. A, shaving his face was a HUGE DEAL. He doesn’t feel like himself without facial hair, and to be honest, after being with him for three years and only knowing him with facial hair, the change was definitely something I had to get used to, too. When he first did it, I’ll just be honest: he looked WEIRD. Maybe because his skin was crazy white underneath that beard, or maybe because it looked like a child’s head had been Frankensteined on a grown man’s body after the hair came off. Whatever the case, I would constantly find myself staring at him while we were watching TV or in the car together. It just didn’t look like “him” without the beard. For comparison, here’s a side-by-side photo:
On the left, Mr. A getting ready for the annual charity ball / On the right, Mr. A and I this weekend at a USO 1940s benefit dance
Mrs. Genie, Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 23, Admissions AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, BiotechnologyEngagement Date: July 3, 2010Wedding Date: July 2012Venue: Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community CenterAbout Me: I am bibliophile and Disney nerd who is marrying her science genius high school sweetheart in not one, but two, weddings! When I am not working or wedding planning, I am usually found reading a book (or my Nook), weeping at an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, or frolicking in Disneyland. Mr. Genie is usually found rolling his eyes at my eccentric behaviors while playing Diablo III, solving great big science problems, and introducing me to highbrow television like Breaking Bad. We are getting married in a traditional American wedding, jetting to Costa Rica, and coming back for a traditional Bengali wedding one month later! I can’t wait to share all my plans with the Hive! "You ain’t never had a friend like me!"
After our first look and first few couple shots, our bridesmaids and groomsmen were signaled from the limos to make their way out to us.
Don’t they look dashing?
The girls had a little bit more trouble getting out to us. We really could have used those heel protectors! The dirt was closer to sand, so we were definitely sinking as we walked around. BM KK was trying to keep her balance on the long walk out.
Mrs. Gloves, Columbus, OhioAge and Occupation: 25, Executive AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, FirefighterEngagement Date: December 29, 2011Wedding Date: January 2013Venue: Cathedral ceremony, reception in a converted hardware warehouseAbout Me: I’m a blond-haired, blue-eyed Midwestern girl, who had grand plans of an international career, before the economy came crashing down right as I graduated college. I love travel, exploring other cultures, cooking for friends and family, and relaxing in a pedicure chair. My fiancé is the perfect, level-headed and logical counterpart for my impulsive tendencies, and the nicest person I’ve ever met. Lately, we like to spend our time renovating our new home, planning our wedding, and fitting in date night with friends. We are so looking forward to a wedding weekend jam-packed with all of our favorite people, plenty of food, and flowing champagne!
Hive, I’m having a rough time. The thing is—my grandma was diagnosed with stage-four ovarian cancer a little over two months ago. She’s been going to chemo, which has shrunk her cancer, and was told last week that she needs to have surgery in January for the doctors to get out what they can and see where it’s spread to. McGlovin and I went to visit her this weekend, in an effort to reassure her that her health is far, far more important to us than her presence at our wedding. In truth, though—I’m heartbroken.
Grandma and Grandpa just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary—60 years! They are crazy-adorable, and their devotion to each other is really inspirational, as cheesy as that always sounds. Check out one of their wedding pics:
Mrs. Potion, Herndon, VAAge and Occupation: 23, ITFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, SalesEngagement Date: November 26, 2011Wedding Date: November 2012Venue: St. John’s Catholic Church / SpringHouse, Alexander City, ALAbout Me: We are two complete and total geeks that met at engineering camp, of all places, and after several years of being in love long-distance, we’re finally at the beginning of a lifetime together. We’re working with a modest budget to plan a long-distance wedding full of handmade details, Harry Potter references, and, most importantly, lots of love. I could spend an entire afternoon watching Food Network while shopping for shoes online, while he’d prefer to pwn some n00bs on Halo while blasting Deadmau5 on his stereo. I taught him how to swing dance and he taught me to appreciate Tolkien; he introduced me to LOST and I introduced him to the BBC’s Sherlock. I’m a Gryffindor, he’s a Ravenclaw, and we can spend hours discussing and debating the finer points of Rowling’s masterpiece. We’re so excited to be setting out on this adventure and I can’t wait to share all the details with you!
So, I’m not sure if you’re aware of this or not, but we’re getting married this Saturday. Holy crap, you guys.
Now that we’ve established that…
Let’s take a look at the RSVP breakdown!
The guest list for this wedding was MASSIVE. Originally, Mr. Potion and I had imagined inviting 100, maaaaybe 150 people, with about 50 people actually showing up because of the rather inconvenient location (Middle-of-Nowhere, Alabama, though it’s Middle-of-Somewhere to us).
And then the church told us that, technically, they could sit 300 people.
And then my mom checked out reception venues, and the winner told her they could accommodate 200, or maybe even 250 people—or, if we utilized the outside space, as many as we want!
This is a dangerous thing to promise someone like my mom.
Mrs. Pain au Chocolat, Wilmington, DEAge and Occupation: 29, RealtorFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, RealtorEngagement Date: November 21, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Greenville Country ClubAbout Me: An ENFJ with an artistic streak who loves backgammon, sailing, graphic design, and sleeping in. Travel (near or far), good wine, and tasty food makes my heart sing. I'm a compulsive list-maker who lives to plan and organize. Mr. P and I have lived together for 4 years, all the while renovating our city townhome bit by bit. We're planning a whimsical, Anthropologie-inspired garden wedding in June 2011.
Given the post title, you can probably surmise that “In My Life” won out as our father-daughter dance song. Daddy PaC and I have too much fondness for The Beatles to dance to anyone else. Lyrically and sentimentally, “In My Life” made the most sense. Dancing to this song just felt right. Because of my dad’s misgivings about the tempo, Mr. PaC and I did a quick demo to show that it needed no choreography, just a general idea of how we’d move. All I had to do was follow Daddy PaC’s lead.
A proud Daddy PaC leading me onto the dance floor. (My grandmother and two aunts are framed underneath our arms.)
Mrs. Dragon, Sioux Lookout/Brockville, ONAge and Occupation: 24, JournalistFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Graphic DesignerEngagement Date: August 22, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Mother of the Bride’s ResidenceAbout Me: I moved to Northern Ontario for a job, expecting to be single for the year I'd be there. Within one month I was dating a co-worker, and now, more than two years later, we’re planning a wedding and I’m still a Northern girl. I’m a reporter and a photographer for a small-town newspaper, and I get to do all kinds of fun, exciting, and sometimes weird things at work. When I’m not getting the scoop, I’m cooking, adventuring, playing with our three black cats, or blogging.
A few weeks before the big day I sent Rozy a big list of family picture configurations. Both Mr. Dragon and I have parents that have split up, so we have our biological parents, their significant others, and a big variety of siblings to contend with. That alone made family pictures difficult, but our location threw another problem into the mix.
Rozy and I figured it’d make the most sense to just do the formal pictures in my mom’s yard, because it was nicer than any park or alternative setting nearby. But with a tent full of tasty food and potent drinks, and a lot of people conversing amongst themselves, it was really, really hard to catch everyone’s attention long enough to get the pictures started, let alone finished.
*
I may look chill here, but I’m actually looking around trying to find the family members we needed.
[A side note about the red spiky plant in the background: it’s a castor bean plant, the one Guinness has labelled the most poisonous plant in the world. Anyone watch Breaking Bad? Ricin is made from castor beans. There were a lot of “STAY AWAY FROM THAT PLANT!” warnings through the weekend.]
Miss Panda, Boston, MAAge and Occupation: 26, Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: June 27, 2011Wedding Date: June 2013About Me: I love window shopping, cute animals, crafting, baking, and most forms of procrastination. I tend to be overly meticulous with choices to a point of complete and total indecision. Mr. PBear and I met and live in the amazing city of Boston. We are big nerds who love trying new foods, playing video games, and cuddling with our adorable hamster. After 5 years together, we are planning an intimate, DIY-heavy, vintage garden themed, nonreligious wedding in the city where we fell in love.
So once upon a time, I came up with a list of rehearsal dinner locations and we started going through the list for things to try. The first place we tried was very underwhelming to say the least and then my mother vetoed a second place .
Because these places aren’t exactly cheap, we decided to go to our next choice on the list for Restaurant Week. So, we tried a place that I had originally vetoed, before our rehearsal dinner budget crept upwards. It was getting nearly impossible to find a restaurant that could hold us with a private room in the admittedly limited price range, and in the immediate walking area of the venue, so I thought the best thing to do was to increase the price range.
Mrs. Coyote, Westchester, NYAge and Occupation: 26, Administrative AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Computer ProgrammerEngagement Date: August 2010Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Franklin PlazaAbout Me: I am an overly-caffeinated, sports-obsessed history nerd who loves a good book and hates bananas. Originally from a small town in Upstate NY, I made the move to Westchester County and never looked back! My loves include NBC Thursdays, red wine, fleece pajamas, and my amazing fiancé. Together we are planning a formal evening affair for 175 guests with a mix of new and old traditions and plenty of personal touches.
Well hello there, hive! I apologize for my absence last week. As I’m sure many of you heard, Hurricane Sandy really threw us for a loop down here in Westchester County. Mr. Coyote and I are (thankfully) safe and sound and counting our blessings, but we were unfortunately out of work and out of Internet for the entire week. Everything is now running as smoothly as it can be after a disaster such as this, so in an attempt to return to a normal life, I am back to finishing up my recaps!
Today’s post is going to be a little bit different than all of my other recap posts. That’s because this particular entry is not really a recap, but a story and a group of photos that I felt really needed to be shared with the world. This is a story about Mrs. Coyote and her little brother.
(Personal photo)
My brother and I have a very interesting relationship. We’re not just siblings…we’re best buds. And when we’re together we are a serious force to be reckoned with. Some of our favorites past times include harassing our mother, stalking each other on Facebook…
Mrs. Wallaby, Houston
Age and Occupation: 24, Environmental EngineerEngagement Date: January 1, 2012Wedding Date: November 2012Venue: Oak Tree ManorAbout Me: I'm a free-spirited, adventurous girl who loves anything active, reading, traveling, cooking up new dishes for my fiancé, and working on my budding garden. My fiancé is an athletic, intellectual, animal-loving guy with an obsession with basketball and who treats me with the deepest compassion and respect. We are both engineers, and we met at our workplace. Together we complement one another and make a great team, and we are excitedly counting down the days until our outdoor wedding in Houston in November. We're planning a green wedding with lots of Persian cultural touches, and I can't wait to share all of the before-and-after details of our special day
I’ve never been a bridesmaid. I am sure having experience being a part of wedding planning provides brides with a lot of perspective on many of the planning decisions—such as what works and doesn’t work, how to tiptoe certain issues, etc. When Mr. Wallaby and I got engaged, I realized…I’ve only been to a few weddings as an adult. I was really intimidated by wedding planning. I thought, if there is a primer on wedding planning for dummies, I need it! So I had precisely zero experience in the bridesmaid department.
I knew from early on in our engagement, though, that I didn’t want to be too fussy about what the bridesmaids wear. I love them dearly and want them to look and feel pretty—but beyond that, I don’t care too much! They all have great taste and enviable wardrobes. They also all have very different figures that may not be flattered in the same dress. So I decided that I would leave the fashion up to the girls! I showed them my general color palette, and instructed them to pick out whatever suits their fancy, to create a mismatched look:
