Weddingbee Blog

If you remember back to when I was debating the trends of current weddings, I mentioned that I wanted to include mustaches since they are a stupid and fun part of my life, but that they would not be mustaches on sticks for a photo booth because we weren’t doing a photo booth. So, how did I incorporate them? Escort cards!

OK, I don’t know if they even count as escort cards since we didn’t really have assigned seating. But I made everyone a card with their name on it to mark their seat once they had picked one, so they wouldn’t get back from the bar and find someone had stolen their seat. I put a sign saying as much next to the table where they were laid out (in alphabetical order—I was somewhat organized!) I forget the exact wording of the sign, but it was something along the lines of, “Feel free to sit wherever you’d like. Place your name card at your spot to hold your seat!” And, in case you’re wondering, letting people sit wherever they wanted worked out fine. We made sure we had a whole extra table on top of the number of people we were expecting so people would have enough room to spread out, but not so much room that anyone was left at a table by him or herself. Everyone found friends to sit with and I didn’t hear any complaints about the situation.

Anyway, here are what the cards looked like, except instead of Beloved Guest, they had the person’s actual name, and the typography at the bottom wasn’t kind of wonky like it is in this picture.

Personal Photo

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Wow, it’s already been more than a month since Mr. Cannon and I went and made it official.

Picture by Abby Troxell of Mary Wyar Photography

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I didn’t post about whether or not I was changing my name because it wasn’t really a part of my wedding planning. I had already decided back when we gave Cherry Bomb a last name what I would be doing with my last name when we got married—I was changing it. There are a lot of reasons to change it and a lot of reasons not to, and my reason was simple—I didn’t care. I don’t have any great published works or career motivations to keep it. I’m not overly attached to it. I have a brother with two sons to “carry on the family name.”  It didn’t really matter to me one way or another if I changed my name, and I think it did matter to Mr. Cannon. Would he have been upset if I didn’t change my name? No. Is he happy I’m changing? I think so. I also think it just makes it easier for people to know how to address us, and the whole family has the same last name. So, my real reason for changing is everyone else’s convenience. What a people pleaser. Plus, I think I always imagined I would take my husband’s name. And I’m happy to do it.

So today I started the name change process. Well, I guess I started it after the wedding when I changed my name on Facebook. If only the rest of the changes were that easy!

But that’s not to say the rest of it has been that hard.
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Hey, everybody! I guess I have to admit that we’re back now that I’ve eaten all the fudge I bought on our honeymoon and I’ve been back to school and work for a few days.

It was really, really great. I had so much fun and am completely blown away by how incredibly awesome our friends and family are. Seriously, they made “our day” a larger and more inclusive “our” and I can’t get over how absolutely amazing it was to be surrounded by so many people we love so much.

I won’t say it was perfect or the best day ever. I didn’t want perfection, and I think the best days usually come out of nowhere and surprise me. But it was a really great day that I’ll never forget and can’t stop smiling about. Remember how I couldn’t sleep the night before because I was so anxious? I couldn’t sleep the night of it because I was so excited! I had so much fun and am so glad that it was a success.

It’s official:
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Hive, I’m out! I can’t bee-lieve I’ve reached the end of my wedding-planning journey and am getting married today. Today I’ll bee spending the day with my loved ones as I bee-gin my life as Mrs. Cannon. (Sorry, I wanted to leave you as I came—using the word “bee” as much as possible.)

I haven’t checked the weather. It will be a bee-autiful day to me no matter what. It’s going to be fun, and I’m going to cry. I cried at the rehearsal last night, so I doubt I’ll hold it together during the real thing.

Thanks for all your help and encouragement. I don’t really have anything else to say, because as I’m writing this it’s 2:30 in the morning of my wedding and I can’t sleep and I can’t think because I’m excited/nervous/kind of crazy. Sorry for this rambling mess. Just know that I appreciate every person who has ever read a post of mine, and doubly appreciate every person who took the time to comment. This community is amazing, because it’s made up of amazing people. I love you guys.

But not quite as much as that dude I’m marrying today. Every time I try to type out how I really feel about him it ends up sounding silly and cliche. He is funny and loving. He more than puts up with my crap—he encourages it! And not only is he there when I need him, but he trusts me to be there for him. We have a balance between us that is so effortless it seems almost unremarkable, when it’s actually a dream come true. How can I not love him? He is my perfect match, and now we’ll get to stay a completed set together for the rest of our lives.

Photo by Abby Troxell of Mary Wyar Photography, LLC

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Mr. Cannon and I have noticed a strange occurrence in the world of weddings—the need to warn men about the terrors of marriage. It started at his job. He works in a factory and when some of the other guys heard he was getting married they started telling him how horrible marriage is and how he should avoid the whole thing. He pointed out we’ve lived together for years and have an almost two year old together and are happy, but they still insisted that getting married ruins everything, and that everything would change once we got married.

Next, he went on a job interview, where the man interviewing him gave him the “Don’t do it!” speech. Yes, this man was essentially a stranger. And of course, there were many warnings from co-workers, friends, and strangers alike that his bachelor party would be the last time he ever had fun in his life. Apparently, it’s all downhill from getting drunk and going to a strip club in Detroit. That’s a pretty depressing thought.

But my point is—what is up with the idea that marriage is so bad?
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Hey guys, I’ve been working on some DIY stuff lately. None of it really needs enough explanation to warrant its own post, so here’s a conglomeration of recent wedding crafts:

First, string balls. Both Ms Ferris Wheel and Ms Honey have covered these pretty extensively, so I won’t bother. I used this tutorial and used some Sugar ’n Cream variegated yarns to make my colorful version:

On our dirty lawn furniture

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I’ve been working on getting my something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue for the wedding. I’m almost there! Most of them are related to my accessories, so I thought I’d share some of my pretties for the big day.

Something Old - I had my idea for this for a while. Before my dad’s mother passed away, she told me she was going to leave me her pearl ring. She also told me to make sure my dad gave it to me, because she “knows how he can be.” I finally worked up the nerve to ask my dad about it this weekend, and he went to the safe and got it out for me. After making sure that I was going to take good care of it and inspecting it to make sure the pearls weren’t going to fall off, he finally gave it to me.

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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:
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Well, I had my hair trial today. It went well and didn’t take long, so I’m pretty happy with the overall experience. I’m not really a hair and makeup person. I think they’re fun to play with, but I’m lucky if I even brush my hair before I leave the house most days, let alone style it. You know how there are people who get their hair fixed and nails done every week? I’m more of a twice a year person. So, my knowledge about this kind of stuff is pretty limited.

I decided to get my hair done at the Beauty Bar because I got my hair cut there in January and enjoyed it. I decided to get my hair cut there in January because it is near my house. So, you can tell I’m not the pickiest lady to begin with. I found some inspiration pictures this week, but didn’t bring them with me because I’m smart like that. I also forgot to bring the headband and birdcage veil I’ve been thinking about wearing. Super smarts here!

I went to my appointment and browsed through a bridal hair magazine as I waited. A few minutes later I met the woman who will do my hair for my wedding. Kind of crazy to think of, isn’t it? Anyway, she asked what I wanted and I explained that I wanted to wear it down with big loose curls.
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So, I put off two important factors of the wedding until now—hair and makeup. Oops. Tonight I made an appointment for a hair trial, which is supposed to take place on Sunday. I’m in the midst of working out a time for my makeup trial, but hopefully it will be the same day so I an see how it all works together.

Image via Deirdre Cahill

I wasn’t really sure exactly what I wanted to do. For makeup, I wanted to look pretty and not go too heavy since I rarely wear makeup to begin with. I want to look pretty and fresh but not over the top. I Googled up a few pictures:
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So, our RSVP due date was August 20. By then, 26 out of our 64 invitations had no RSVP sent in. We had a few late ones come in and a few people who called, texted, Facebooked. emailed, or whatever, to let us know. There were a few we knew would be coming without them saying anything (*cough* Mom & Dad *cough*). Now we’re tracking down the last few we aren’t certain about and should have final numbers by then end of the week.

So, I’m trying to figure out exactly how many tables we’ll have, how many linens we need to rent, how we’re going to arrange everything, and whether or not we’re really going to do escort cards. It’s weird. The closer the big day gets, the less worried about it I seem to get, despite the fact that I have a ton of stuff to do. It’s like, I’ve realized that my time is finite, and whatever isn’t done just won’t be done and somehow, I’ll still get married. It’s a real relief.

I’m going to do my best, get things done and be satisfied. I’m going to be honest—I’ve been worrying about this wedding a lot, and for all the dumbest reasons.

My number one worry has been, “What will everyone else think?”

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Part of being a bride in the internet age is spending way too much time mulling over other people’s weddings. Sure, in the past you could skim magazines for ideas, but the internet has brought us wedding blogs, wedding planning websites, and images from photographers’ websites. It’s become easier than ever for brides to find things we like from weddings past and incorporate them into our own weddings.

It comes down to deciding what works for your wedding and what says “you”. I know you’re all dying to know which trends the Cannons have embraced and which have we shunned. And most importantly, why? So, here we go!

Embraced- Mustaches. My love affair with fake mustaches started four years ago. Back before Cherry Bomb came around, Mr. Cannon and I were big fans of hitting the town with our friends and drinking at the bars. The downside of that (other than making my liver sad and a fool of myself) was my drunken online shopping problem. I would often get home and buy something completely stupid that I found hilarious at the time. The next morning, while still finding my purchase hilarious, I was not keen on the actual money I spent on it. One of these purchases was for two packs of fake mustaches, a package of astronaut ice cream, and a DVD of Pete’s Dragon.

However, I always made the best of these purchases.
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So, school is back in session and I didn’t quite get everything crossed off my list. But I did get a lot done, so I’m not going to beat myself up over it. One big thing I wanted to cross off my list? Bouquets! So as of today I almost have all the bridesmaid bouquets done and plan on having mine finished by the end of the week. Remember last time I talked about flowers and showed you all the tutorials I was using? Now I’ll let you on to how to finish up the bouquets after you’ve made your flowers.

These are smaller bouquets since they’re for the bridesmaid’s. Each one takes six of the larger flowers and five of the smaller ones. I used pipe cleaners as the stems for the larger flowers and hot glued floral wire as the stems for the smaller flowers.

I put one large flower in the center and arranged the other five around that center flower. Once I liked how they looked, I duct taped them together.

Then I added the smaller flowers into the arrangement and duct taped those in.
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One thing I really wanted to do for the wedding was go shopping with my mom and FMIL for their outfits. I had no ulterior motives in going with them and didn’t really care what they picked, but I always enjoy a group shopping trip. We scheduled this excursion for the Monday after the shower. My aunt, who had been unable to attend the shower, was in town and wanted to meet up, so Mr. Cannon, Cherry Bomb, Mom, FMIL, my aunt and I went to Red Robin for dinner. After eating, Mr. Cannon headed home to get some sleep, and the rest of us hit the mall.

This shopping experience wasn’t quite what I was expecting, mostly because we had Cherry Bomb with us. I spent most of the time chasing her around while everyone else browsed and tried things on. We went to several stores but finally found a few contenders at Dilliard’s. My mom tried on her first dress and she really loved it, as did I. It was very flattering and she seemed really happy in it. The second dress she tried on was boxy and not that impressive. The third dress must have been really horrible because she refused to show it to me.

As my mom tried on dresses, this was happening:
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