Weddingbee Blog

There’s something I failed to mention in my bunnymoon posts. I had the ring well before our vacation, and MOH Sassypants saw it first. Hold up—how is that possible? Didn’t it ruin the surprise? Let me explain.

We started talking rings in the beginning of 2009. I told the mister I liked vintage-inspired settings that are intricate and detailed but not overly busy—something simple at first glance, but when you get up close you notice what makes it unique. Our conversation was reminiscent of the great color debate:

Image via KISSmetrics

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I was clueless about reputable florists in our area, so I started with the venue’s preferred vendors. I sent a few inquiries with guidelines as to how many guests and arrangements we’d need and described the look I was going for. I also stipulated I wanted to have ivory garden roses and mentioned peonies would be nice, even though I knew they’re pretty much out of season by September.

Dinosaur flowers AKA ranunculus via The Knot / Photo by Donna Newman Photography / Bouquet by 50Fifty Creative Services

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Mr. Macarons and I are big time foodies. We’ve both traveled a lot, the mister far more than me, so we have pretty extensive palates. An average week’s meals could consist of bún thit nùóng, bulgogi, patatas con chorizo, madras curry, and maybe a little homemade udon when the temperature starts to drop. We’re always on the hunt for new places to eat, and if it’s a new cuisine, say Vietnamese, we make it a point to try every item on the menu and not to just stick with our safe bets.

So it should come as no surprise that we’re not fans of the average catering favorites. We wanted a menu that reflected our varying tastes and travels, but was still accessible to all of our guests.

My searches were coming up short, and then one caterer in particular came highly recommended. We’ll call him Foodie X. According to his website, he prides himself on custom menus based on your tastes and budget. Foodie X is also all about being upfront and honest about cost.

So I gave it a shot. I sent Foodie an initial email outlining the details about how many people we’d be expecting, as well as our budget. I told him we’d prefer a plated meal but we’d do stations if it’s all our budget allowed. I also gave him a little background info on the places we’ve traveled and some of our favorite dishes.
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One of the first craft projects I took on besides the save the dates was making a feathery, flowery clip to wear in my hair on our wedding day. I know you haven’t seen my dress, but I’m keeping it a secret as Mr. Macarons checks the blog and has almost become as bad as me when it comes to surprises. So my accessories and other frilly things will just have to do for now.

Anyway, I had a love affair with Fay and Lyla by Lo Boheme.

{Image via Lo Boheme on Etsy}

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This is the story of our engagement and the trip that went with it. Given time and travel constraints, we thought of it as a pre-honeymoon (the honeymoon we can’t take right after the wedding). I began thinking of it as a before-honeymoon, or bunnymoon—a term that makes Mr. Macarons cringe a little. I like it. Mr. Mac will live.

After being amazed by the sheer size of Amien’s Cathedral, we continued on toward the somber part of our trip. The Normandy American Cemetery has 9,387 graves, a mere fraction of the American military members that lost their lives.

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This is the story of our engagement and the trip that went with it. Given time and travel constraints, we thought of it as a pre-honeymoon (the honeymoon we can’t take right after the wedding). I began thinking of it as a before-honeymoon, or bunnymoon—a term that makes Mr. Macarons cringe a little. I like it. Mr. Mac will live.

Recently I wrote about arriving in Paris and getting ready for our journey. We spent the first five hours driving out of Paris and toward Heppenheim and Heidelberg. Once in Germany, we stopped to stretch our legs and grab some fuel for the rest of our drive. Apparently some surfers were hungry, too.

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This is the story of our engagement and the trip that went with it. Given time and travel constraints, we thought of it as a pre honeymoon (the honeymoon we can’t take right after the wedding). I began thinking of it as a before-honeymoon, or bunnymoon—a term that makes Mr. Macarons cringe a little. I like it. Mr. Mac will live.

Mr. Mac’s job requires him to travel a lot. We’ve been lucky in the past, but in ‘09 he was needed outside the country for an extended period of time (we’re talking a year and then some), and I wasn’t able to go. We were handed a huge bucket of lemons, lemons that we decided to turn into lemonade that we’d drink in the cafés of Europe. While he could have spent a ridiculous amount of time and money traveling back home, a vacation sounded slightly better.

There were several places both of us wanted to go in that short amount of time. It didn’t help that they happened to be in opposite directions. Mr. Mac is German and it had been years since he had visited his early childhood home. I wanted to see where he grew up after all the stories about running through the Odenwald with his grandfather and what real Knodel tastes like. We both wanted to visit Normandy and pay our respects to those who served in WWII (my grandfather being one of them), and despite all the mister’s travels, he had never been to Paris. I really wanted to revisit as an adult and finally climb to the very top of the Eiffel Tower, as it was closed for renovations when I was there before.

So with that in mind, we decided to spend the first part of our trip driving and end with a relaxing week-long stay in Paris. Six months later it was finally time to go! Check-in and security were a breeze; the tough part was the flight. You see, I’m one of those people who can never manage to fall asleep for extended periods on a plane. Psychologically it probably doesn’t help that I ALWAYS end up across from that passenger. You know who I’m talking about—the one in a cherub-like state well before takeoff with a row to themselves, complete with a stockpile of airline pillows and blankets.

Meanwhile, I’m looking like this:

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Like many other brides, I too wanted save-the-date magnets. Simple, effective, and might just prevent Aunt June from sneaking another bite of Ben & Jerry’s from the freezer.

Designed in Illustrator, they’re as large as I could make them while still being able to fit them in a 4-bar envelope. I also wanted the finished product to be hefty and not bend.

I thought about using Vistaprint, but there were a few drawbacks:

1. I only needed 60 save the dates.
2. The closest size they offered would need to be trimmed down.
3. Their magnets were only 0.4mm thick.

I looked around at other vendors that made heavier weight custom magnets, but the minimum was usually around 250. My matron of honor made magnets for her wedding and was quite successful, so if she could do it, so could I.
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I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit to researching venues before I was engaged. Lots of them. I started right after I discovered Erin, our photographer. It was the one aspect of our wedding I was truly worried about. I had a look and feel in my mind that I just couldn’t shake. I wanted to get married outside, surrounded by our closest friends and family. I wanted to hear the wind swirl through trees and across open fields of grass, our only other onlookers members of the equine family.

{Image via ‘i do’ it yourself}

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Rabbits are more important than just a visual element on our invitations, in our decor, and in the Chinese Zodiac. We’re including a reading from The Velveteen Rabbit as part of our ceremony.

When my grandparents would stay with us during the winter, Nana would read it to me as part of my bedtime routine. It was my grandma’s story; I’m sure she grew tired of it, but I never did. When I told Mr. Macarons that I wanted to use it because it had a cute message, he said he wasn’t familiar with it and before he’d agree to it he’d need to read it. A few days passed, and during one of our weekend Skype sessions he revealed that while it was one the saddest childhood stories he’d ever read, it made him even more in love with me. How’d he figure?

It’s kind of hard to evaluate yourself—you tend to miss the qualities in you people value the most. According to Mac, the Skin Horse simply put into words what he’s always felt about me: If I love someone, I love the life out of them (my bunny is a good, tangible example), and then I love them some more no matter the consequences.
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So what’s the deal with all the rabbits? Besides being so cute and cuddly, rabbits and me go way back.

See this fella:

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As an artist and designer, I use a lot of color and play with texture and patterns when I can. My closet is the same way: a kaleidoscope of shoes, purses, clothing, and accessories. When it came time to talk wedding colors, Mr. Macarons was a bit worried I’d want something like this:

{Image via Deviant Art}

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Hi, hive! It’s Miss Macarons reporting for duty. I literally can’t tell you how thrilled I am to become a bee! I’ve only retyped this introduction several times because my hands won’t stop shaking. I’ve been a follower of Weddingbee since 2009 and always wanted to apply. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and a procrastinator, but when I finally get an idea/goal in my head, nothing can stop me from trying to reach it. Patience is a virtue I sometimes don’t have, and it was certainly lacking these last few weeks. You can only imagine my excitement and his relief when I told Mr. Macarons about my acceptance.

So who are the Macarons?

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