Weddingbee Blog

I was looking through my old posts trying to pick out my favorite Weddingbee post. I picked this one because I can still remember how ridiculously excited I was when I finally got the email that said that I was going to be a blogger on Weddingbee! You would have thought I won the lotto or something. I was elated and slightly dazed. I am very blessed and lucky to be in the company of such wonderful, creative and supportive individuals. Thank you for allowing me to share and celebrate “everything wedding” with all of you…

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Hi *points to name tag* I am Miss Jelly Beans and I am a weddingplannaholic!

Once upon a time (July 2005), in a land far, far away (it’s really not that far), Mr. Jelly Beans got down on one knee (he hates getting his clothes dirty, so I knew this was big), on a very windy day (good thing I had a cute white blazer on), at the very top of the Eiffel tower and asked Miss Jelly Beans to be his wife. To this day he claims Tom Cruise stole his idea.

We have been together for almost 9 years now and have been in a long distance relationship for 6. I moved from sunny-all-year, Los Angeles to four-seasons, Ottawa 6 years ago with my family. This was not a deterrent but merely a minor navigational glitch in our relationship.
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As promised, here are some of the pictures of our labor of love for the baby we love…taken by the best auntie and photographer in the world! Veraya used film and I am so in love with how they all turned out. We are so lucky to be surrounded by such talented and creative friends. Thank you so very much!

My vision was to have a vintage sweets theme. So, we had to have a sweets buffet.

I tried to take on as many DIY projects as I could to help minimize the costs and to lower Mr Jelly Beans’ blood pressure. Overall, taking into account all my prep work, I was one happy Jelly.

We had the best time with baby Jelly and our closest family & friends. In the end, that’s all that really matters…

All photographs are property of Veraya Gachacoop of iSnap Studio.

Enjoy today’s eye candy brought to you by the Jelly Bean family…

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Or at least that’s what my dear husband has been calling baby Jelly Beans’ 1st birthday celebration, since I came up with the idea of having a mini-soiree for her birthday. And I thought planning our wedding was hard work. Try planning a wedding…errr…I mean birthday party with a super happy and rambunctious almost-1-year old. It made our wedding planning seem like a walk in a meadow of flowers & butterflies.

The combination of ex-bride-to-be and my type-A tendencies made me determined to do everything myself, with the help of Mr Jelly Beans, of course. I designated naptimes & bedtime as my craft time—meaning I haven’t slept in over a month. *Yawn*

So much has changed since our wedding 3 years ago. And by changed, I mean there are bigger and grander crafts and ideas. Visions of sugar, vintage candy, pink and sparkly things were dancing through my head. I’m not going to lie to you—Mr JB was scared…very scared!

Here is a sneak peek into planning our little bean’s special day…more pictures of my DIY projects and the party are coming to a Weddingbee blog near you!

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Two things I absolutely love are sweets and photography. So when Veraya Gachacoop of Isnap Studio posted this to her blog I was giddy with excitement.

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I saw Katie B’s work online and was immediately wowed by it.  As an Asian bride I was really having a difficult time finding a makeup artist that could execute my wedding vision. I wanted to look fresh and flawless. And, when I saw her pictures, I was convinced that she was “the one.” The only other time that this has happened was when I met Mr Jelly Beans.

Unfortunately, at that point in my wedding planning, Katie was in California and I was in Canada. So, despite all the not-so-subtle hinting which led to whining, begging and pleading, Mr Jelly Beans put his foot down and I settled for local hair and makeup artists.

I was lucky enough to finally get to work with Katie B and her fiance Shaun for our first year wedding anniversary pictures.

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Hi hive! Yes it’s me, Mrs Jelly Beans, alive and well!

It’s been 2 years since my last post. I know, because I checked. I have a few valid excuses for being MIA for such a long time.

First, despite my absence I still continue to get my daily dose of Weddingbee. But, it just got harder and harder to write. I attribute it to post-wedding writer’s block. Don’t get me wrong—I still have a love affair for all things wedding, vintage, and sparkly.

Then we were blessed with exciting news! On New Year’s Eve 2008, Mr Jelly Beans and I found out that we had a mini Jelly on the way!

Fast forward to the present—after laboring for 15 hours with the love and support of my husband, on 09-09-09 we welcomed baby girl Jelly Beans into our lives. Our lives have been filled with more happiness, cuddles, and giggles than we could have ever imagined!

Recently I began to think about writing again.
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We made it to the winter edition of Bride and Bloom, out on newsstands now. Check it out!

I am walking on clouds. This is icing on our year-old wedding cake. It’s already been over a year since the Jelly Beans tied the knot, cried like babies, and partied like rock stars with family and friends. And I still get giddy when the latest editions of wedding magazines hit newsstands. So you can only imagine my elation and euphoria with our own wedding being featured in one.

I haven’t gotten around to scanning the pictures in the magazine, so here are some taken by our fabulous photographer Miv of Miv Photography.

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Let me count the ways…

I loved Trista & Ryan’s super pink wedding
I loved Jessica & Nick’s gorgeous Texan wedding
I love all your cute & innovative ideas
I love how my heart pitter patters at the mention of your name

I received an e-mail from Mindy Weiss’ blog that she will be at the Wedding Salon at the Beverly Hills Hotel for her book signing.

Ummm.. need I say more?

I convinced/bribed my bestest friend and Mr Jelly Beans to accompany me to the wedding show.
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Hi Hive,

It’s been a few months since my last post. Married life has been amazing and crazy at the same time. So many unexpected events have happened since our wedding day. And we just celebrated one awesome Jelly-filled year of marriage! Yeay!

So before our lives are filled with many more new memories, I wanted to relive one of the happiest days of our lives.

Image by MIV photography

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In the beginning, I thought I had made up my mind that there was no way I was going to succumb to wearing a veil. No way Jose!

I put on my first veil during my first ever fitting and I was hooked. At that point there was no turning back. I knew I wanted a simple, no edging veil. I picked a short veil with tons of rhinestones. Perfect for me, I thought!

Then I started looking through wedding videos from the Philippines, and that’s where my obsession with the drop veil was born.

I searched locally but the closest they had here in Ottawa was the mantilla. Gorgeous but just not quite what I had envisioned. I finally found an online store called veilshop. They had an awesome tutorial describing types of veils, different lengths, edging, colors and accents.

I knew for sure I wanted a drop veil, so that made my decision making process easier. I ordered free swatches to make sure that the veil color matched my dress. I spent more than the budget alloted for a veil because mine ended up as a special order with the added crystals. But oh did they sparkle!!! To this day I absolutely, positively still have a love affair with my veil!

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So you spend 2 years planning and anticipating for your wedding day. Of course, aiming for perfection, down to the minute details. But you know what, I have learned that no matter how much or how long you have planned, and no matter how many lists you make- life happens!

I just wanted to share with all of you some of our memorable wedding moments. And maybe you can share with me some of yours?

Roll the film please!

1. Because I started semi-bawling soon after I stepped out of my limo, one of my false eyelashes fell out during our wedding vows. I swear I looked like Mike, the green creature from Monsters, Inc. At one point I looked at my best friend/bridesmaid and whispered, “my one eyelash fell off, can you tell?” Her reaction spoke volumes. So I discreetly yanked off the other one and hid them in my bundle of tissue. Needless to say we were unable to glue them back on. Note to self: Next time, minimize crying like a baby!
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Being a bridesmaid, soon after our wedding, gave me a new perspective on all things wedding! I found myself super psyched to be on the other side of the fence and super picky when choosing vendors. And it’s not even my wedding. Is that good or bad? You be the judge.

So when it came to hair and make up I began to do my research as a diligent and eager bridesmaid should. The bride had a friend who would be doing our hair. Check! So I proceeded to look for someone who could achieve greatness and work wonders. I am so not gifted in that department. I am envious of those who have mastered that art of makeup application.

I stumbled upon a make up artist while reading one of my daily blogs. Her gallery was gorgeous. And this is how I met Lo Ann of Let’s Get Beautified.

Several emails later, I had made my appointment for the morning of the wedding. She was very accommodating and flexible despite her busy schedule. Gotta love that!
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In November one of our dearest and closest friends tied the knot!

Being one of her bridesmaids, I was more than happy to have the honor of bejeweling her monogram cake topper.

The bride provided me with the supplies and the monogram. All I had to do was to add the bling factor. I was really nervous that I would screw this one up. It’s one thing when you are working on your own project, but to work on someone else’s is a totally different ballgame.

So what if it turns out to be the most hideous cake topper in the history of cake toppers? She won’t even notice right? Who am I kidding?

No pressure Mrs Jelly Beans! Deep breaths, tons of patience and steady hands.
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Post-wedding, after the oohs and the aaahs, after the last gift was unwrapped, meticulously catalogued, alphabetized and put away, it was time to think about Thank You Cards!

I smell another DIY project in the works! Of course friends and family, Mr. Jelly Beans included, tried to convince me to succumb to the conventional store bought route. Not that there is anything wrong with store bought. Especially since there are oodles and oodles of gorgeous designs out there, but I really wanted something that would still coordinate with the theme of our wedding.

Since I was in Los Angeles for an extended period I was blessed to have full access to one my favorite stores- Paper Source. I swear I could spend hours in that store! So off I went, a woman on a mission.
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Our wedding day has come and gone and we have so many people to thank! We were very fortunate to have been surrounded by amazing vendors and resources. One of them being our Day of Wedding Coordinator, Stacey Price from Marry Me Productions.

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