- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee Blog
When I first pondered what kind of favors to give for our wedding, I was wholeheartedly set on lavender sachets. I just love lavender; the color is beautiful and the smell is so fragant. It’s pretty yet also functional. I was almost set on buying bags of these buds when I suddenly realized that maybe not everyone will share in my sentiments; specifically the male guests and those who have allergies. Sigh. Nevertheless, I still think lavender is a great favor to give.
Here are a few favor ideas that I found - I am hoping that someone out there does lavender for the sake of Mrs. Violet (just kidding). These love buds would work perfectly for bridal showers too!
From the Knot, these babies are $1.65 each.
Last night one of my best friends called me out of the blue. I haven’t seen or spoken to him since the wedding (1.5 months ago) He called because he wanted to see how I’m enjoying my married life. I gave the usual “it’s the same, but it’s not at the same time..”speech. I told him that we should get together soon to chat in person.
Our schedules conflict tremendously. He works late hours and I don’t like to hang out in the city that late now that I live farther away; so I suggested that he swing by and hang out at my place. He hesitated and reminded me that I’m married. Well duh, so what? He went on to explain that now I’m married, that I’ll always have Mr. Violet by my side, so it won’t be as easy to hang out with me privately, without the husband. He won’t be able to talk to me about everything in front of Mr. Violet. My solution for him was that he can come and hang out in my backyard and we can talk privately(so what if the weather is getting a bit crisp and chilly!). I reassured him that just because I’m married, does not mean that Mr. Violet and I are glued to the hip forever!
I found the perfect gift to give to newlyweds: a personalized stamp! I only wish that one of our guests thought of this, but alas, no one did, so I went ahead and bought two stamps from Sweet Papery - an address stamp and a stamp for my etsy shop. The address stamp will come in handy when it’s time to send out those Christmas cards. I just love how “our” last name appears on the stamp.
Dear Husband,
I’d be very grateful if you can make the following yummies for me. In no particular order..
Banana Muffins with Mascarpone Cream Frosting
Your wife,
Mrs. Violet
My wonderful husband made banana muffins.
Featured on Weddingbee
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
“Make an elegant invitation statement without the fuss. Stylish invitation sets with matching envelopes, reception and response cards included.”
I decided not to wait for our photo thank you cards, so I made some of my own to send out. Thanks to the great idea of meleven, I will instead use the photo thank you cards for Christmas.
Making thank you cards is actually quite simple.(well for the most part) I will try to give you a quick snapshot of how you can make your own handmade cards to send out.
What I used:
80lb cardstock (I bought 8.5 x 11″ and made two cards using my trimmer and scorer.)
Scrapbook paper of your choice
Computer & Printer
Ink, Stamp & Glue
I highly underestimated how stressful wedding planning would be. I can honestly say that I’m glad it’s over. I am also glad that as nervous as I was the days leading up to the wedding, I did do my best to enjoy it and now I can look back and cherish those days with good thoughts.
The common question asked nowadays, of course, is “how is married life?” Considering how long Mr. Violet and I have been together, it’s no surprise when I say “nothing has changed.” Since we’d already been living together, we were already used to each other’s ways, so in that respect, nothing has changed. He has always been good to me - drives me to the train station in the morning, makes me coffee, runs my errands, opens the car door for me, etc. However, it’s not entirely the same. Our pyschological mindsets have definitely changed. It feels really good to be a married couple. I love the fact that he goes out of his way to always tell people, “hey, meet my wife..” It’s really cute how eager he is to tell the world that I’m his wife and he’s my husband. I’m still trying to get used to it.
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
The wedding is over and it’s time to write the thank you notes.. or not. When we made our contract with our photographer, it included 80 Thank You Photo cards. It was optional and we didn’t pay extra for it, and at the time I thought it would be cool. In retrospect, I really wish we could have asked to swap it with something else. Our photo proofs are expected to arrive 6 weeks after the wedding which means I have another 4 weeks or so before we get them. Then we have to choose the proofs we like. Who knows how much longer that will take? I’m the kind of person that wants to immediately send a thank you note as soon as I get a gift, and this waiting stinks.
For some reason, I forgot that I make cards (DIY overload perhaps?)! I could have made the cards, printed our own non-pro photo to include and have it sent already. I guess it’s because I didn’t expect to get really great non-pro shots, but fortunately, we did get a few nice shots. My favorite so far was posted in “The Key to Love“.
This is how I went about choosing our bridal thank you gifts - it had to be practical, nice and sentimental. I took care of the girls, flower girl, ringbearer, usher & FSIL, while Mr. Violet took care of the guys.
I bought a set of 12 white paper bags, embellished it with paper posies and personalized it with their names and title.
We are so lucky to have friends who are so camera happy. We actually got back a good number of great photos. So while we wait for the pro pictures, here are a few to start.
Getting ready… my hair and make up were done by my MOH & BM respectively.
Following Mrs. Bees’ list, this is my list of what I could have done better and things that I did right.
What I did wrong..
1. Mr. Violet & I are not musically inclined when it comes to the dance floor. We did our best to come up with a short playlist of songs we liked and gave it to our DJ. He did take our suggestions and played most of our songs. Unfortunately, the songs didn’t work. Aside from the fact that almost half our guests were older and Asian and don’t dance, even the younger crowd that do normally dance didn’t run to the dancefloor. However, despite the lack of dancing, everyone seemed to be very engaged at their tables and there were a lot of mingling going on. My advice is that if you don’t know your dance music, find a good DJ and just leave it up to them.
2. I really wanted to talk to all of our guests, at least once. I tried so hard and thought that a guestlist of 108 wouldn’t be that difficult to get around to. I was so wrong! I was able to get to most of our guests, but I realized later that I missed a few. I also didn’t get to take a picture with everyone. Although we did get a really huge group photo towards the end of reception, so I hope that the photographer was able to capture the guests that I missed.
Mr. Violet and I had a small after party after the wedding. It turns out that there was a bit of guy/girl drama going on that day between different couples. I won’t get into the specifics but I was really surprised and a bit turned off to learn that it was happening on our big day. One of my GMs said that it just goes to show how hard relationships are. He considers us a role model couple because we made it work. It was really sweet when he said that to me because I never thought of us as a perfect couple of any sort. We fight and argue just like anyone else. In fact, there were points in our lives where we almost gave up. Of course, we didn’t because we both had enough faith in each other and truly loved one another. And here we are, united at last.
So, ladies and gents, for those of you that want to know the key to love, what is it? This is my answer; our reading at our ceremony, recited by our BM Sharrie.
Many of our guests were amazed with the venue we chose, the delicious food and all the little DIY details that went into our beautiful day. As much as I could take credit for all the work, I must thank our bridal party for being by our side. The first person I’d like to thank would be Stan. He not only stood beside Mr. Violet as I walked down the aisle, he also created this incredible slideshow for us. From the very start, we knew he’d be the person to do the job because he has created awesome slideshows before. All we did was hand over our pictures and a few of our songs & he did the rest. As a surprise to us, we were not allowed to see the slideshow beforehand. I’m glad we didn’t because I’m sure my "wow" reaction must have been captured on film.
Mr. Violet is a huge video game nerd and this was the perfect way to capture us. I was never huge on video games, but I was hooked on the Mario Bros. when I was younger.. and hey, who wouldn’t want to be the Princess?
Stan, once again, you amazed us! Thank you so much! We love you!
We did it. We’re married! The day couldn’t have been more beautiful. Flowers were in full bloom. The backdrop was romantic, rustic and it felt very surreal. There were a few snafu’s but the Mr. & I were just overwhelmed with happiness. It’s been 8.5 years in the making. A very long time for some, but for us, it happened at the perfect time. Right after the ceremony, our bridal attendant brought over some food for us to enjoy privately as we took a moment to cherish the first few moments as a married couple.
I’m exhausted and I’ll have the next few days to recuperate at home, while we wait to embark on our Carribbean cruise in December. Here’s a quick sneak peek, courtesty of our florist, Betty.
I almost can’t believe it and I really don’t think I feel it yet, but I am 2 days from becoming Mrs. Z. I’m really excited at this point. One of our GM’s just came over to try on his tux and he looks quite handsome. There’s really nothing left for me to do but pack for Sunday night, as I am sleeping over at my parents’ house. On Sunday, we are rounding up our wedding party at our place to run through Monday’s wedding schedule. I have written down contact information of the vendors for my wedding party in case anything should happen. I’ve also listed the wedding party’s cell phone numbers so that they can reach each other. I’m doing this because, as controlling as I normally am, I do not plan on doing anything on Monday except to smile and have fun! I really mean it.
I’ve also been wearing my heels around a bit more and feel much more comfortable in it now. I have one more hair & makeup trial session with my girls and that’s it. Oh most importantly, yesterday I went to the city and enjoyed a spa package which included a shiatsu/hot stone massage, body scrub & a pedicure! A must do for all brides to be - it’s totally worth it!
One of the things I’d been meaning to do but procrastinated on, was packing up my stuff from my parents’ house. I’ve been living on and off with Mr. Violet for the last few years. Most of my childhood things were still in my parents’ house, pretty much in the same exact spot it’s always been in the last 20 years or so. It was a huge task going through everything, and most importantly, trying to get rid of my own history.
When I was younger, I used to write a lot. I had a foreign pen pal from the other side of the world; I used to send letters back and forth with my friends, especially my MOH, and I kept a daily journal. I was always afraid that I would forget things, so I’d write everything down so that one day I could look back and remember myself back when I was a kid. Little did I realize that over the years, I accumulated not just one but two boxes full of journals! In addition, I also have a box filled to the brim with letters and notes that I used to pass back and forth in school, and little momentos that really aren’t significant to anyone but me. And a last item that I’ve kept over the years - love letters. At one point in my life, these letters were very significant. Boy crushes, serious relationships etc. What do I do with these now that I’m about to start a new chapter of my life with my soon to be husband?
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Mrs. Violet, New York Age and Occupation: 27, Executive Assistant Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Computer Engineer Engagement Date: May 13, 2006 Wedding Date: September 2007 Venue: Westbury Manor About Me: We've been dating since college. In our spare time we enjoy the city life, playing with our dog "Sam", eating our hearts out, and traveling. I also love to DIY. Check out my crafty creations at http://www.waisze.etsy.com.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 30 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
