Weddingbee Blog

We, like the Pineapples and many readers, encountered resistance with the ‘no kid’ policy for our wedding. I had a recent conversation with a newly married coworker about the matter that went down like this:

Me: We’re already getting the guilt trips about how awful it is of us to not invite kids to the wedding
Bob: Stick to your guns man, we did the same thing and just had to tell everyone NO
Me: I know, if you tell one person yes, then you have to say yes to everyone else
Bob: Yup. My cousin, you know the one with the husband who has terminal cancer, called and asked if she can bring their kids because no one can babysit their eldest, who is blind since she was shot in the head catching a stray bullet during a drive-by
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I hated dress shopping. The attention, the price tags, the sales people, the stage with special lighting, the awwww’s from strangers were all just entirely too much for me to handle. I envy those of you who have/had great experiences filled with fussy, teary, bonding moments. I came to grips with reality long ago though and realized I would not have those. So it was all good, and I moved on.

I found out Brides Against Breast Cancer had a gown sale in town back in February ’07, 3 months after our engagement. The idea of that inevitable payment for a wedding dress going towards a good cause thrilled me. I had no expectations of falling in love with my wedding dress, for I do not think it’s possible for me.  I was simply looking for something that worked. My criteria included 1. champagne color, 2. fit me.

My MOH and I arrived at the event and found a room full of gowns and volunteers.

Image courtesy of BABC

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In addition to positive reader feedback, I also received a couple notes on our RSVPs complimenting the invites:

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I was going to make our wedding invitations because I wanted to save money, and not be lured or pressured into getting the whole outer envelope + inner envelope + insert + tissue + mo’ tissue shebang. While I love to design, paper is my least favorite medium. So despite having the paper purchased and a template all worked out, I changed my mind and went to a shop recommended by friends. This is what I got:

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Centerpiece numero dos!

I like mixing things up, so why not have some variety? I began thinking about having a second centerpiece when I couldn’t find any more tea sets from the first trial, pictured below, on sale.
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I love thoughtful details. Sure, I ooo and ahh at letterpress menus and pintuck satin linens like the rest of them, but I’d rather take a DIY program with a funny haiku or a well told story any day. I’m not sure whether that makes me easy or hard to impress…

I adore this idea kandr came up with, lining an entrance pathway with their pictures from childhood chronologically, inviting guests to start from their beginnings down to their wedding day:

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Image from Apertura

One of the most common pieces of advice for wedding planning is to ’stick to your budget’. So is it weird that a frugal bride like myself never had one clearly established?

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I needed long burning tea lights for the centerpieces. What I found were pricey and/or did not come in red. Your standard no frills tea light runs cheap with a usual burn time of 2-3 hours, I think.

I bought five 30 count boxes of red scented tea lights from Pier1 when I stumbled upon them on final clearance at 90% off ($6 became $0.6 - that’s $0.02 per candle). I thought that I’d just deal with the given 2-3 hours. FFIL happens to be a candle expert, and we asked him if he could melt some of them to the brim of the tin container in order to extend their burn time. He came up with a much more genius idea:

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 Tada! Here is my first centerpiece.

I wanted the centerpieces to (be):

1. Affordable
2. Low - to not interfere with conversation at guest tables
3. Fit the theme (Chinese Tea)
4. Reusable for the most part
5. Easy to transport and set up
6. Incorporate something with life (flowers or plants)
7. Include candles as part of the centerpiece (as opposed to just adding votives around the piece)
8. Unique
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Okay so maybe the latter part isn’t quite accurate, but I did promise Mrs. Bee I’d be on my best behavior before she lets me loose up in here!  Mr. GT & I are planning a cross-cultural wedding, by which I mean the Asian guests will find it to be a true American experience, whereas all other guests are sure to be telling tales of how this one time at band camp they went to this crazy full blown Chinese wedding, for years to come.  Yup, mass confusion, or ‘good times’ if you’re from my hood.

Serendipity called and my application was sent in sometime after the call for drinks.  Now our Chinese Tea themed wedding will have the perfect conclusion once we’re dubbed Mr. & Mrs. Green Tea.   I’ll try my best to not be too long winded, except when I’m doing reviews or giving instructions.  Me likes pictures so you’ll be getting those to offset any boring words.  That’s about it for now - stick around for more tea, more madness, and more won-tons.  Oh and, thanks for having me!