- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee Blog
The chuppah:
Image via Sukkah Soul
For those of you not up on the Jew lingo, a chuppah is a wedding canopy, under which a couple marries. It is there to symbolize the home a couple will build together as newlyweds, and moreover it is gorgeous! Good symbolism and prettiness? I can definitely get behind this tradition! When I first started thinking about a chuppah for our wedding, I fell in love with something like this:
And that is especially true when it comes to hair! Girls with curly hair only wish they could straighten it out, and girls with straight hair want beautiful ringlets. For me, all I have ever wanted is thick locks. Through the years, I’ve noticed a definite thinning of my hair. Here you can see my dinky pony tail (and yes I am petting an elephant!!).
The problem is, for my wedding day I have dreams of hair like this:
No, not Miss Warbler, but these Warblers from Glee:
AHHH, I love them!
Why, you may ask, am I talking about the Warblers? Well, as I’ve told you before, Mr. Elk and I met in college during our freshman orientation. During those four years, we had more fun than I can tell you! God I miss college, especially now in medical school. What I wouldn’t give to go back to those lazy days hanging out by the Japanese cherry blossoms…but I digress.
Long before I started actually planning a wedding, I decided that no matter what I would somehow incorporate fireflies into my nuptials. You see, ever since I was a little girl, one of my favorite things in the entire world has been fireflies. That first night of summer when the fireflies come out and light up the night is simply magical! Unfortunately, my wedding date is a little early for actual fireflies, so I have been on the lookout for other possible ways to get that magical feel.
And then there was Pinterest—the most amazing website EVER. (OK, I may be in my “obsessed with Pinterest” mode…) One of the first pictures that I saw on Pinterest was this gorgeous shot, and I thought, hmmmmm that kinda looks like fireflies caught in a jar on a warm summer’s night!
Image via Beauty in Everything / Photo by Kevin Coffey
Not only does it look gorgeous, but it looks easy enough to make (and cheap!). Mason jars at 69 cents each, a packet of tissue paper, and a bottle of Mod Podge and I was off experimenting.
(Personal photos ahead)
Featured on Weddingbee
Unique Wedding Favors
“Add a memorable touch to your wedding with unique favors that match your theme.”
Or should I say eight other dresses! In case you haven’t figured it out, I am talking about bridesmaids’ dresses. Long ago I fell in love with mismatched bridesmaids’ dresses like these:
Image via Nine Seventeen Eleven / Photo by Lane Dittoe
I absolutely love the coordinating colors and unique look of each bridesmaid. I think it is an awesome way to allow each girl to have her own style and feel comfortable. That being said, I didn’t know how to do this with eight girls realistically, and still end up with a semi-coordinated style.
So I decided if I couldn’t have mismatched colors, I would at least have mismatched styles! I decided on a purple/gray color (not really sure how I came to that decision) and knew that I wanted long chiffon dresses (light enough for summer with a more formal feel!).
And his name is Dusty. Dusty Miller.
Image via flowershopnetwork.com
Looking at this picture, I’m not sure why I love this plant. There is nothing particularly appealing about it when it is all alone. BUT…add in some gorgeous peonies and a few garden roses, and my heart starts pitter pattering out of my chest!
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
As I’ve mentioned before, Mr. Elk’s parents are fresh-off-the-boat Irish immigrants who moved here in their 20s. (Note—gratuitous personal photos of our trip to Ireland)
No I am not pregnant, and no, Mr. Elk does not have an amputated right arm—TERRIBLE photo.
Awhile ago I stumbled upon this photo of these awesome personalized cocktail napkins and LOVED the idea!
Image via Style Unveiled / Photo by Fancy Fin Photography
They are so witty and adorable! With phrases like “Thanks for being quiet during the ceremony. You look great by the way,” who wouldn’t want to giggle a little reading these while standing in line for a cocktail, enjoying finger foods?
While I thought they were adorable, I didn’t really think I could waste a bunch of money on having them made for me, and so I gave up on the idea…until I saw this old post by Mrs. Cupcake, who used her Gocco to add fun facts to plain cocktail napkins, tutorial provided. If you remember, I bought a Gocco on a (terrible) whim one day, and have been searching for new projects to use it for so as to not feel like I wasted my $200. So you see, this project was a true win-win situation; I got to use my Gocco again and I got my adorable napkins.
One day, a girl and her fiance went to run some errands. While driving out of the shopping center, the girl saw something out of the corner of her eye that made her squeal with delight. A bridal salon she had never before noticed! She quickly called and made an appointment for later that week (AKA the next day).
When she walked into the bridal salon for her appointment, though, she became disappointed. There were only 20 or so bridal dresses in the entire store, and none of them looked anything like the style this girl was looking for. While all of her instincts said to leave, the girl felt bad and so she talked to the consultant. She explained that she wanted a fitted dress, preferably one with lace, tulle, petals, flowers, etc. The consultant said she knew just the dress but it was already in a fitting room. She took it out and it was just a plain lace dress, limply dangling on its hanger with odd straps. The girl was disappointed. She didn’t really like it very much, but decided she would be polite and try it on.
Once the dress was on, the girl looked up into the mirror and…SPARKS FLEW! The girl did not want to take off the dress! She looked at it from every angle, confused. This was not what the girl had wanted—there were no ruffles, no petals, no rosettes, none of the features of the girl’s dream dress. But the girl quickly realized all of the dresses she had tried before that had had those details never seemed right. They were all too childish or too trendy or too overbearing and, simply put, too much. This dress, though, was simple, understated, elegant, and classic. The girl realized that the other dresses she loved so much on models she would have looked back in five years and wondered, “What was I thinking?” but this dress, even if it became outdated, would always be stylish.
To be quite honest, Mr. Elk isn’t really big into fashion. With two pairs of jeans, one pair of sneakers, and ten button-down shirts in varying colors, it would be more accurate to say he doesn’t care about clothes at all, which will become all the more evident when you hear this story: When I first started dating Mr. Elk, I had an event to attend and wanted his advice on what to wear. I tried on two dresses: one was a long red dress with thick straps and a deep V neckline. It had ruching on the side and floral detailing. The other was a maroon strapless chiffon dress with a sweetheart neckline and natural waist that had an ombre effect. He looked at me in both dresses and asked, “What’s different about them? They are both red dresses.”
Image via Really Funny Pictures
A long time ago I fell in love with these escort cards that Mrs. Brooch blogged about:
Image via Mrs. Brooch
Unfortunately, they are no longer available on Etsy. I really want to recreate this look and feel for the wedding, so another trip to Michaels it was! I found decorative paper in varying patterns and got to work.
A few years ago I stumbled upon a wedding featured on Style Me Pretty that made me gasp out loud. Although this was well over a year before our engagement, the wedding has always stuck with me as one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. It was beyond simple, and some of the photos of the bride and groom were taken in front of a gorgeous old weeping willow:
Image via Style Me Pretty / Photos by Watson Studios
Soon after, pictures of crystal chandeliers dangling from the larger branches of trees started surfacing all over the interwebs, and once again I couldn’t help but swoon! I love the idea of the simplicity of nature starkly contrasted with the formality of a chandelier. I think it helps bring a unique, formal feel to an outdoor space without making it feel too overdone or showy, and I think it makes a gorgeous backdrop for an outdoor ceremony.
I broke down and bought a Gocco screen printer. I don’t know what made me decide I could spend 200 dollars on some printer thingy, especially considering I am not planning on using it to make my invitations (which would have saved me money). Instead I wasted a lot of money, and now I feel I must use this crazy contraption on a bagillion other DIY projects to make up for my splurge.
So today, I present my first ever Gocco’ed project: tears of joy packets! I bought glassine envelopes off of eBay, printed a design I quickly put together in PowerPoint, and voila! I was a Gocco-printing machine. (Personal Photos)
When I started dress shopping, there was one brand that stood out above all the others: Watters. I was beyond convinced that my dress was going to end up being one of their creations, which are filled with lace, three-dimensional floral details, and all things pretty. Unfortunately, of the eight salons I had managed to shop in, only two carried the brand. And of those two salons, they each only had one Watters sample. BAHHH. I was not a happy camper. I decided I had to go to a store that carried most of the line, and so I traveled an hour and a half away to another city in search of my beautiful Watters dresses. Before I tried them on, these were some of the clear contenders.
(Note: all dress images from Watters)
Dallas: Loved the V neckline, loved the lace and floral detailing!
I…am…an…addict. Yes, I admit it, I am addicted to wedding-dress shopping. For almost a full month after getting engaged I did not allow myself to walk into a bridal salon. I knew that Mama Elk would be hurt if I began the search without her, and since we were five hours apart and I was on my surgery rotation, there was no way we could get together until I was on break from school. When I did finally allow myself to begin the dress-search process, I became crazed. I would walk into a bridal salon and, in a frenzy, rummage the racks. I would pull three dresses at a time, dragging them in my wake. I did not listen to the advice of consultants. I was manic. I pulled dress after dress onto my body, sausaged into my Spanx.
I went to nine different salons in three different cities, some on multiple occasions. I tried on well over 50 dresses, all within a three-month period. While I never went to a blowout sale, or Kleinfelds for that matter, I feel that Monica sure represents who I was while dress shopping (read: crazy).
PS: Don’t you just love their version of Kleinfeld? I especially love how few brides are waiting and how unimpressive their version of the store looks!
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Miss Elk, City: Syracuse/Long Island Age and Occupation: 25, Medical Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Computer Engineer Engagement Date: November 22, 2010 Wedding Date: May 2012 Venue: The Old Field Club About Me: I’m a Long Island girl finishing my last year of medical school in western NY, on the road to becoming a pediatrician. When I’m not studying or sleeping at the hospital, I spend my free time watching bad TV (Vampire Diaries anyone?), playing with my pooch, singing incredibly off-key (to the annoyance of Mr. Elk ), and reading Harry Potter for the zillionth time. Mr. Elk and I are planning a secular wedding infused with both Irish and cultural Jewish traditions. Only a week after I become an M.D., I will get my Mrs. degree, too!
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
