Weddingbee Blog

I had a hard time deciding on my bridesmaid gifts. In the end they all received Kate Spade wallets because I wanted to give them something they would use. They all seemed to like them, but had I seen these adorable Orla Kiely items first, I might have gone in this direction instead:

Handbag

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Hi Ladies! Long time, no post. I know, I am a terrible blogger! I actually have quite a few posts coming your way, but before I get to them, I wanted to tell you about my most recent wedding related activity. A few weeks ago I sat down with Holli Ehrlich from the Wedding Podcast Network for a newlywedcast interview. Holli asked about everything from our engagement story to what we would have done differently on our wedding day. It was really fun¢¢â€š¬”though I have to admit I am afraid to listen to it myself :). Mr. Grasshopper, on the other hand, downloaded it the first day it was available.

I’ve listened to a few of the other podcasts and they are really cute. If you are busy planning your wedding, check out the Wedding Podcast Network to hear from recent brides about their planning and wedding day fun. I bet one podcast would make your next commute to work or 30 minutes on the treadmill fly by!

If you are recently married and interested in sharing your story, drop Holli a line. I know she would love to hear from some newlyweds. It’s a fun way to decompress after your wedding.

Making it legal

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Or anyone who wants to travel for free wedding magazines.

Today is Home Improvement Saturday ¢¢â‚¬Å¾¢ in our apartment and we are clearing out our home of things we no longer need. Now that the wedding planning is officially over, I think I can say goodbye to my bridal magazines. Does anyone want them? They range in date from last October to around August maybe(?). I actually didn’t look, just going by when I remember buying them. Here is the small collection:

The fuzzy leopard slippers at the bottom are not included. Sorry ladies!

Anyway, if you live in the Park Slope area, or want to come to the neighborhood, let me know and I would be happy to hand them over to you. I’ll give them to the first person who emails for them: grasshopper@weddingbee.com.

Then why didn’t you send me a message via myspace.com?! Check out this weirdness.

I barely login to myspace.com, maybe every few months or so when someone adds me to their network. Anyway, I checked in not too long ago and found the following message in my inbox:

How odd is this craziness? Maybe it’s just spam, but it was pretty specific. I certainly didn’t have any wedding info on my myspace page. Has anyone else seen this kind of wedding bizareness?

How I wish I could have left her email address on here-it matched the mesasge perfectly.

Our ceremony was held in the courtyard of the Foundry, which is really quite lovely as it is covered in ivy and beautiful green things. The ceremony was short-about 20 minutes and was performed by a humanist minister.

The Quartet of Michael Lee

Michael Lee was one of the kindest and laid back vendors we had. His quartet was talented, polite and a joy to have at the wedding. They played a very nice selection of classical music for the ceremony and cocktail hour and received quite a few compliments from the guests. I cannot recommend him enough. Email me if you would like his email address. The Quartet of Michael Lee: A

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The week before the wedding I definitely had a few stressful moments and reactions, but they weren’t too outrageous (I think!). When it came to the big day, I was as cool as a cucumber, as my Mom would say. Everyone, including myself, was shocked by how relaxed I seemed. I really thought that nerves would get the best of me because I really hate being the center of attention, but everything seemed under control.

That is until we got in the limo. After already being 15 minutes late to pick us up, the driver asked me about the best way to get to Dumbo. I told him not to take Flatbush, he agreed, and the next thing I knew, we were on Flatbush! Jeez! Then he circled around on one way streets for a good 15 minutes. During this circling time I finally said “SIR! Do you know where you are going?!” Everyone in the car fell silent for a second until my friend Maggie looked at everyone, shrugged, and said “At least she called him sir.” And with that, Bridezilla had returned to a happy, smiling bride.

I think everyone has that one moment of being a Bridezilla on their wedding day, but how many of you can say it was captured on film?

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For a long, long time, Mr. Grasshopper said he did not want to see each other before the ceremony. I thought that was really sweet, but not as sweet as having photos of us near the bridges in Brooklyn. Because both the ceremony and reception were taking place at the Foundry, we would miss out on the built in time that most brides and grooms have to take photos before the reception. I knew if there was one thing that would get Mr. Grasshopper to change his mind, it would be taking part in the cocktail hour. A few weeks before the wedding, I tried one last time…

Me: Are you sure you don’t want to see each other before the ceremony?
Him: Yes.
Me: That means you will have to take photos during the cocktail hour and miss out on the bacon wrapped scallops.
Him: Ok. I’ll take photos before the ceremony.

YES! So here you go:

Leaving the block party. There were fewer blow up bouncing castle photo opportunities than I expected.

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Today marks the one year anniversary of our engagement, so I thought today would be a perfect day to kick off our wedding recap. I’d like to start by giving a shoutout to Mrs. Firefly for creating a great reviewing and recap style, which I will borrow for the same purposes. Anyway, here we go…

Hello and welcome to my wedding day!

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Back in the winter Mr. Grasshopper and I had decided to check out Chestnut during Brooklyn Restaurant week. We had heard good things about it and it was conveniently located in our neighborhood. After about two bites of their homemade bread and gnocchi, I had declared that we should figure out a way to have our rehearsal dinner there and Alex agreed.

I assumed that because they are a small establishment, there was no way they would go for a 40 person rehearsal dinner on a Friday night, but when Mr. Grasshopper called to check in a few weeks later they said yes, and that they even had a garden. Bonus! Meals always taste better when consumed outdoors, I think.

We told one friend we painted this fence a few days before the wedding and he believed us.

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That’s what Mr. Grasshopper’s grandmother said the day after the wedding. The Grasshoppers are back from Kauai, rested and married! Our wedding was better than I ever could have anticipated. We are still waiting on the rest of our professional photos, but here are a few to start:

Pre-wedding photos in Dumbo.

Strutting down the aisle with my Dad. You may know him from such media channels as Fox 5 news, CBS, AM New York….

MAKE OUT!!

Alex + Karen = 4eva temporary tattoos. A gift from one of the groomsmen. They were a huge hit. Babies and grandparents were sporting them by the end of the evening.

More photos and reviews coming soon!

Do you think your man might forget your anniversary in coming years? Perhaps he should opt for this Remember Ring wedding band instead of that featureless platinum band he has been eyeing.

24 hours before your anniversary the Remember Ring’s “hot spot” will heat up to 120� F for about ten seconds every hour! ALL. DAY. LONG.

(via Gizmodo)

I have been a bad bug this week. We have been so busy from morning to night with last minute wedding errands, I have barely had a chance to read the weddingbee, let alone post! We are pooped, but as Miss Caterpillar said, after tonight, we are done. Whatever is left is just not happening and that’s ok. Like that wall I wanted to paint…. or the sign for the guest book table.

Yesterday on our way into the city to run #11 of 100 errands, Mr. Grasshopper turned to me and said “How much was the coordinator again?” We both laughed with whatever energy we had left.

Anyway, I am signing off of my last post as Miss Grasshopper. When I check back in next, I will be Mrs. Grasshopper! Have a great weekend everyone!

I am off from work this week so that I can get the final last minute plans finished without stressing out before the wedding. However, sprinkled in between my wedding errands, I have a list of things I would LOVE to get done before the wedding. I cannot admit these additional errands to Mr. Grasshopper though, because he is all about getting the necessary stuff done. He’s so annoyingly efficient (which is why we always get things done).

My open list looks like this:

- bring the dog to the park
- name the tables accordingly so that I can pass the seating chart off to the favor/seating card people
- get a facial
- finish the photo project/table signs
- clean the apt.
- order food for our getting ready locations
- pick out songs for special dances (yes, we still have no idea)
- complete schedules for dj, photographer, wedding day quarterback
- confirm and update transportation plan

My personal list looks more like this:

- bring the dog to the park
- name the tables accordingly so that I can pass the seating chart off to the favor/seating card people
- get a facial
- buy some sort of window treatment for the bedroom
- do some clothes shopping for the honeymoon
- finish the photo project/table signs
- paint the living room wall
- clean the apt.
- buy a lamp for living room
- order food for our getting ready locations
- pick out songs for special dances (yes, we still have no idea)
- complete schedules for dj, photographer, wedding day quarterback
- confirm and update transportation plan

I have always been like this. When I have a shared goal with someone, my list always includes six other major ideas that would make the final result so much better. I might not get my personal list finished, but I am going to try damn hard to get the living room wall painted by Friday.

Wow. What a week!

Earlier this week I posted about the Gown Company shutting it’s doors for good. They announced this on their web site. When I wrote this post, I had no idea what a ruckus this might ignite. For many brides who purchased their dresses from this shop, this was the first they were hearing about this news and they were not happy.

I bought my dress from the Gown Company back in December. I had shopped high and low for a dress. I dragged my Mom from store to store every weekend for about three months(!) before I finally decided on my dress. The shop was great, the dress was great, I was pleased. In May when my dress was scheduled to arrive, I finally called the Gown Company to see if they had any news. I spoke to a new women I had not worked with before, the owner, and she told me that yes, my dress was in and that I owed her the balance, which she would charge me via paypal. I thought it was odd that a) no one called to tell me my dress had been in for a quite a few days, b) I was being charged for the balance of a dress I hadn’t even seen yet and c) I had to pay using paypal (which I had not done to first put a deposit down for the dress), but I went along with it.

After my first two fittings, you may remember I was disapointed with my dress, and in some ways because I shopped around for a day or so for another dress, I think what follows next is a result of bad karma. Bad karma and bad business.

The final fitting for my dress was scheduled for Wednesday night, so when I saw that the shop was closing, I didn’t freak out because I had seen my dress and my fitting was scheduled for the next evening. I figured all would be fine. For some reason though, my Mom was skeptical and told me to take my dress on Wednesday night, rather than waiting for additional alterations and a steaming. I told her she was an alarmist. She said “your wedding is a week away, you should grab that dress.”

I called the Gown Company multiple times on Tuesday and Wednesday to confirm my Wednesday appointment and no one answered or returned a message. Wednesday night I showed up a bit early at the shop only to find the bars on the shop were down, the lights were off and sample sale signs decorated the windows. A young man was also waiting outside the shop. Apparently he had been sitting in his car for two hours hoping to catch the store owner so that he could check in about his fiance’s dress. Their wedding is scheduled for October.

During this time Mr. Grasshopper’s Mom had shown up to meet me for my fitting, and we hung around for a good 40 minutes deciding what to do. First I examined the locks on the gates, but was quickly reminded that being arrested was worse than not having a dress a week before your wedding. With that note, I thought a trip to the Selia Yang shop across the street seemed appropriate to me. If I wasn’t getting my dress, I had better have a back up plan as my wedding is nearly a week away. Selia had some really great dresses (note to the brides who have not found a dress yet), and they were all samples. However, they would still need to be taken in and cleaned in a week. I also wasn’t ready to commit to a new dress without knowing what the deal was with my real dress.

On the way home, I called Mr. Grasshopper to tell him the update. We decided that if my dress didn’t show up, he would ditch his tux and we would both wear oversized badger costumes. I blame delirium on this idea.

When I got home I called my Mom, who called my brother, who called me, as my Mom called my sister and the next thing I knew we had TEAM DRESS making plans to stalk the Gown Company the next day. Mr. Grasshopper’s Mom took over the hours of 9 to 11, my brother made a few bike trips down 9th street, and by 11 a.m. they had spotted the store owner. I cabbed it over to 9th street immediately upon hearing this news, only to find that another bride had called Pablo Guzman from CBS to cover the story. Oh geez.

When I finally got to talk to the store owner, she didn’t mention our missed meeting until I asked about it, for which she apologized, but informed me that she did not have my dress- it was still with the seamstress. She told me she would have it that evening. This would have been fine, but I already had an appointment for that evening. When I asked if we could schedule an earlier or later appointment for me to pick up the dress (8 p.m.) she refused to extend the courtesy. She would barely agree to make an appointment for me the next day. She also told me I had no right to freak out about not having my dress because it was only one missed appointment. I don’t know what freaking out looks like to her, but I feel confident that asking someone to make up a missed appointment at my convenience is not freaking out. She finally agreed to call me when she had the dress in her hands so that I could arrange for someone else to pick up the dress.

Then my Dad showed up. With a lawn chair. Ready to camp outside the store until my dress was ready.

I had to head back to work because in the midst of all of drama, that afternoon I was launching four projects I had worked on for the past year. I left my Dad with his lawn chair and Mr. Grasshopper’s Mom. Other angry brides were quickly catching word that the store was open and had started to arrive at the shop too.

By 3 o’clock my Mom showed up to join the team and to keep my Dad off the news cameras.

By six o’clock, my Mom had my dress in her hands!

By seven o’clock you had probably seen my Dad on several news channels with his chair…

I wish all the other Gown Company brides lots of luck with getting their dresses or deposits back. If you need my Dad to speak to Pablo Guzman on your behalf I think he’d be happy to step-up for TEAM DRESS again.