Weddingbee Blog

Looking for a fun bachelorette alternative, or a great anniversary date? I’ve got your poison, right here…

Last year we were in NYC for Mr. M’s birthday, and partook in the experience that is Accomplice: The Show. This interactive scavenger hunt game/theatre/tour of the city was one of my most memorable NY experiences of all time. Mysterious, silly, quirky, sexy and most of all, FUN. We basically got to pretend to be undercover “accomplices” to a mob heist/getaway… we met up with informants, delivered “packages”, and did fun detective work to get us from drop point to drop point.

If you liked Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, then this will tickle your inner detective fancy juuuuust right. Heck, we did it in a torrential deluge of rain and still had the time of our lives. See?

Yes, we are wearing trash bags that we stole from NYC public trash bins. No shame.

Read more…

I promise I’ll start my official wedding recaps soon; I’m just waiting for the pictures to come in. Until then, I’m cooking up some great wedding fodder for you all. Including…

Back by popular demand… Flab to Fab! That’s right kids. After losing 20lbs leading up to the wedding, I am determined to not fall back into my lazy, food-addicted, compulsive and guilt-ridden ways. I achieved my dream of being a buff bride, but I still want to be a hawt newlywed, yo! Who says marriage is the time to let go?

I admit, I fell off the wagon with a loud *clunk* for the month after the wedding. Lots of excuses abound, mainly my sprained ankle and post-wedding blues. But enough is enough. I’ve gained back 6lbs and I’m saying the flab stops here!

How am I getting back on track, you ask? Welp chillins, let’s have some show and tell, why don’t we?

1. Friend-spiration. There are so many great weight-loss and fitness blogs around the internets, but my favorite new one is Bikini by 30. Sure, maybe I’m biased because this gal is my friend, but she’s also a real, funny and interesting woman working to overcome bad habits and replace with new goodness. Check it. Got one to recommend?

2. Some new food goodies to shake things up. Variety is the “do” of diets. If I don’t try new things, I burn out. Fast. Meet my new lunchy lust.
Read more…

A few months ago, fellow blogger and friend DIY Wedding Girl asked me to model some hairpieces and earrings for a photo shoot. I jumped at the chance, figuring I needed all the modeling practice I could get leading up to our wedding, since I have quite a history of “frozenface”… you know, that “I’m uncomfortable in front of the lens” look? Yeah, I’m a repeat offender. So, I thought some warm ups might be helpful, and it was super fun, to boot! Of course, it was pretty easy, given the great company of Siena and her fabulous photog friend Alexandra Breckenridge… oh, and the red wine helped too - ain’t no shame in my game!

Ah, the many faces of me:

Read more…

Post Wedding Depression (PWD) is a real thing, people. It creeps up on you, and latches on quietly to your ambition. It hides around the corners of your wedded bliss and pounces in sneak-attack fashion, dragging you down into stagnation. It hides under your covers, a cold bedfellow, suckling the warmth in your heart until you shiver.

Well, that may be a bit dramatic. But still…

I’m sure the Post-Wedding Blues affect everyone differently, but mine has been coming in the form of laziness, stagnation, overindulgence and non-motivation. I’m sure it’s been made more powerful by the fact that for 3 weeks I’ve been on crutches, limping ungracefully through life, unable to exercise, unable to even walk without pain. That’s definitely a bummer. Mr.M has been battling it too (word up to sensitive groomsies), but his is mildly more assuaged by the relief that all the planning is over.

It seems so silly, after just living the happiest day of our lives, to be whiny, complaining babies. But it also makes sense, after all that anticipation, excitement, attention and payoff, real life doesn’t glitter quite the same way.

This is so not the way I want to begin my Wife-Life. So, this week, I’m hopping back on the horse, taking the reigns, and trying to reclaim my life. The issues:
Read more…

If you’re like me, and you just can’t get enough of Dan’s pictures (and let’s be real, who can?!), take a gander at the to-die-for slideshow he put together of our teasers and much more!

After the overwhelming response to his photos yesterday, Dan has announced that he will waive his travel fees for any LA brides who found him through these posts and wish to book him as if he were a local photographer. Woot!
Read more…

For days on end, I’ve compulsively checked our photographer’s website for teasers… quivering in eager anticipation.

Today, I got what I wanted, and oh man - it’s so much better than I ever dreamed.

Check out his post, here.

Read more…

Hey peeps, its time for another round of… save yo’ coin, woman!

Here’s what’s happening that you need to know:

1. Like my dress? My designer, Deborah Lindquist, is hosting a free spring fashion, beauty, and wellness event at Point du Vue salon in West Hollywood tonight. At the event, all of her spring, eco-chic fashions will be 50% off, plus there will be complimentary Point de Vue hair services, mini-makeovers by Lola Cosmetics, and spiritual relaxation by Lifestream specialist Brandy Rosenberg. Sounds dreamy, no? Tonight, 3-8PM.

2. San Diego/SoCal gals: Encore Bridal is hosting a huge sample/nearly-new couture dress sale this weekend! Get your Melissa Sweet, Christos, Vera Wang and more, for 40-70% off! General Admission (FREE): Saturday June 13, 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM and Sunday June 14, 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. Where: The Omni San Diego Hotel, 645 L Street Downtown San Diego. More details here.

3. Free Destination Wedding Photography! Melissa Diep, out of Chicago (represent!), is offering a free package to any couples getting married ANYWHERE outside of the US. You just pay the airfare and hotel! What a score. Melissa’s work is really great and this deal is hard to beat! Check out the whimsy below, and contact Melissa here.

(source)

Read more…

Believe me when I tell you I can’t wait to start breaking down my wedding with recaps and photos, but I feel that waiting for the pro pics is only fair. The guest pics that have been pouring onto Facebook, however, are even dreamier and more wonderfully evocative of the whimsy and ferocious fun than I remember. It makes me even more drunk with gleeful anticipation to see them reflected through Dan’s glorious lens! But, I must wait. And so shall you.

In the meantime, it’s time for a long overdue dose of wedding porn… MAPO’S WEDDING - what what!?!? For you newbs, MaPo is my bestie back in the Windy City. She was responsible for helping Mr. M and me get together, and I later set her up with her (now) husband, Feta. We planned our weddings alongside each other and each stood up as each other’s Maid of Honor/Best Lady. I threw her a raucous bachelorette party in LA, and she threw me a sick hen night in Chicago. She got married in January, and I’m excited to share her enchanting, fairie tale winter wedding with you!

She got married at the Barn of Barrington - a medieval castle crossed with a barn in the very best of ways - which sadly closed last month (RIP). We all got ready in a room there, singing and laughing all day long. I made her a sweatshirt with a $10 kit from Target, for her to wear while getting ready…

MaPo enjoying her last homemade Diet Cherry Vanilla Coke of singledom, while Feta’s cousin styles her hair.
Read more…

Back when we booked Digital Princess to do our wedding videography, we were thrilled to learn that our package included a “love story” video, to be pre-taped and shown at the wedding reception.

We were stoked. We saw it as the perfect opportunity to express ourselves in a very personal (read: unorthodox) way, and a way to give our guests an unexpected surprise. When we told Mercedes and Andrea our big idea, they jumped right on board and blew our minds with their execution of the prep that we had done. The finished product was better than we ever imagined… and was definitely one of the highlights of the whole night for us, and the guests.

When we showed it at the reception, right before the toasts began, the crowd. went. nutz. The earth trembled under the excitement of their standing ovation and demands for an encore presentation. We were on cloud nine, grinning wildly like little schoolkids at Disneyland. Mission fun: accomplished.

So without further ado, I present to you our love story - every bit of it true.
Read more…

….that’s MRS. Meatball to you!

It was, without question, the most mind-blowingly amazing, overwhelmingly beautiful, and unbearably fun experience we’ve ever had. The official word from the guests was that it was, in fact, the best wedding, ever. What more could we ask for?

I can’t wait to share every last detail with you, but for now I’ll leave you with this teaser…

Read more…

This week has been straight up insanity. There have been so many tears, and so many laughs, already.

It started with Mr. M catching a cold. I had to give him a shot of B-12. in. his. bum. I ain’t scared of that… Ninja please, needles don’t scare me! He’s doing much better today, thank god.

My parents and siblings are here, the loving worker bees. How lucky am I? Mom has done about 12 loads of laundry - she’s a saint among women for that duty. Dad is designing our paper goods, ‘cuz we just finalized the ceremony order yesterday. Procrastinate much? Sisters and Brother and significant others are just kicking major ass in every direction. It’s so comforting.

Major pre-wedding crisis? Check. Let’s hope it’s the first and last of the wedding. I may blog about it later, it was a dooz.

Me? I’m stuck at work. It SUCKS. Today is my last day, though. I feel horrible about it; my job is definitely suffering for my wedding-brain. They’re so nice here though; I am so lucky.
Read more…

I gotta keep it real, our invitations are so PIMP, they’re one of my favorite projects from the wedding thus far. Don’t get me wrong, our Save-the-Dates were extra-fly and unique, but something about our invitations just rocks my world in ways beyond expression. I think it’s because they really capture the energy of the wedding, and drive home to guests exactly what to expect out of our funky, eclectic, Magic Carpet Ride-themed wedding!

MAD PROPS to the gals at Elizabeth Anne Designs who worked as design consultants on these and patiently made every suggestion and note that we had come to life. Also BIG UPS to my girl Mercedes for her insane art skillz.

So, let’s get started. I’m dumb and didn’t take a photo of the envelopes before we ran out, but we used Stardream Jupiter A9 envelopes, just like our STDs. We decided to go with printed envelopes because we could use our symbolic Ganesh image and the cute font is better than our handwriting any day of the week!

Read more…

*ahem* Could I have everyone’s attention please? I have an announcement to make.

(the crowd hushes as Miss Meatball hops aboard a milk crate and picks up a megaphone made out of, well, cardboard)

I’ve lost 17 lbs since JANUARY, yo!!!!!! I made that flab my bitch. I took it to school, then I took it home, and then I punished it! ’Memba my goal to lose 2 sizes in 5 months? CHECK. In fact, I’m fitting into clothes that I haven’t worn since senior year of undergrad, and have gotten below my “plateau weight” - you know, that number on the scale you can never seem to drop below? Well, I just did!

I’m in shock. I guess I shouldn’t be, after 5 months of Tiger and Jilian whooping my ass, inventing my healthy-stealthy meals, and having you wonderful readers to hold me accountable. But, still, I look in the mirror and I can’t believe the difference. I look younger. Much younger. I feel much younger. More comfortable. Stronger. More “me” than I’ve felt in years. While I know he loves me at any size, Mr. M looks at me now and I can see myself reflected differently there and I love the way that feels. I feel (gasp) SEXY!

I didn’t weigh myself at all this whole time, so stepping on the scale the other day was such an enormous payoff. I’m the kind of girl who is always losing and gaining 5lbs, so I needed a more significant result to feel motivated, and this was it.
Read more…

Having a videographer at our wedding was very important to us from the start. My memory, especially in times of overwhelming emotion, is not so great, and I wanted to capture not only the words that were said, but how they were said. But by the time we got around to booking a videographer, many we inquired with were already booked for our date, or their prices were exorbitant (or both - yikes!).

Then one night, I met a guy at a party and we got to talking. I mentioned being a bride, as I am wont to do these days, and he passed me his wife’s business card - as luck would have it, she runs a videography company! I loved the name - Digital Princess Productions (how cute!) - so I checked it out and really liked their style.

It’s woman-owned (score!), and the girlies who run it, Mercedes and Andrea, are incredibly fun, delightful and cool - just the kind of gals you’d want at your wedding (or even better, in the girlie pre-party dress-fest). Their style is very unique: both girls have background in TV/film production, which lends itself to a fun editing style that I really like.
Read more…

In February, we had an e-shoot with the lovely Dacia Lamb. We chose to shoot at our home and on a walk down to the ever-cool Sunset Junction shopping area (home to the famous indie-rock festival) to keep the pictures homey and nostalgic for ourselves. We live in a rad part of LA with loads of artsy influence and cool urban landscapes mixed with soaring views of the city and mountains.

Having photo shoots before the wedding is a great source of practice for those of us who are (ahem) not the most naturally photogenic of people. This shoot really helped me identify some photo-flubs I regularly make. It also helped us understand that Mr. M’s afro needed a trimming! Since I’m his personal stylist, it’s good to see when afro-puff becomes afro-overload!

Here are some favorites, and a bit of context for ya!

In front of the door at a local Indian eatery, Tantraz.
Read more…