Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
On Wednesday morning around four, lightning struck the Artisan Ballroom at Barr Mansion and burned it to the ground. By the time reporters got there, the sun was rising and ashes were still smoldering. The place where the Dude and I said our vows and became husband and wife barely nine months ago is no longer standing.
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
Attention Austinites: we’re having a Weddingbee meet up! Come out to Taqueria Arandas for some delicious interior Mexican food, refreshing margaritas, and stimulating conversation.
Join us on Thursday, June 3rd at 5:45 at the Taqueria Arandas on Burnet Road.
Here’s the address:
6534 Burnet Road, Suite 3
Austin, TX 78757-2840
We hope to see you there!
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
If you guys hadn’t noticed, I’ve been putting off my last official Weddingbee post. I’m not quite ready for my time here as a blogger to end! But I guess it’s better to finish my recaps while a few of you still remember me, so here it goes.
When I left off, everyone was having a great time at the reception: there was drinking, dancing, toasting, and faux-tobooth mayhem! We didn’t want the party to end, but we had to leave our venue, so I got over my fear of public speaking to make an announcement about our after party.
Pretty soon it was time for us to make our grand exit! Read more…
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
Sure, there have been times in my life where my emotions have overflowed and I had no choice but to let the tears fall. I find that as I’ve gotten older, however, and have less reason for drama in my life, I cry even less than I used to.
Normally, this isn’t weird to me. I like the fact that I have a handle on my emotions pretty much all of the time (well, for most of the month, at least). I like that hurtful things people say to me usually don’t get to me. (I mostly just find them kind of funny.) I like that when I feel like I am overreacting to something, I pretty quickly recognize it and can rein it in. I like that my husband is not the kind of person that does things to manipulate my feelings and cause me to cry. But I have to say that sometimes I feel like a freak because I didn’t expect to, and in fact didn’t, cry on my wedding day. Read more…
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
After the toasts, I quickly headed to the bathroom to pee, and after that is when the fun really began. By this point, everyone was relaxed, full, and ready to have a great time.
My good friend Amanda (the one who did the e.e. cummings reading), had wanted to do a toast for us, but somehow that never got communicated to our coordinator, Rick. Since she didn’t get to give an “official” toast, she gave us a sweet and heartfelt unofficial one afterward.
That’s Amanda on the right, saying very sweet things about the Dude and me. She is one of the few people who knew us both individually before we met; and she’s the reason we met! Read more…
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
I actually purchased the guestbook and pens months before the wedding, but for some reason I never blogged about them. And, we ended up not getting too many photos of them at the wedding, either.
But that’s OK. I took some yesterday just for you guys.
Instead of the traditional plain white guest book with lined pages, I chose this repurposed hardcover children’s book that Etsy seller Ex Libris Anonymous turned into a journal. To the original book were added 60 pages of unlined, acid-free paper: perfect for sweet little messages from our guests. The messages ended up looking more like a yearbook than a wedding guest book, but that was OK with us. Read more…
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
My original plan for our faux-tobooth was to borrow a Polaroid camera, hang up a piece of fabric, and let people sort it out for themselves. I realized there were some logistics to sort out, but I really had no idea how we were going to do it. Luckily, our awesome friends, Katie and Ben, volunteered to bring their camera and equipment and set up a much more professional booth for us. I provided the fabric (three yards from Jo-Ann’s), and a Goodwill chalkboard, and they took care of everything else.
We got some pretty amazing photos out of it, so I’m really glad we went this route. Our photographers offer a faux-tobooth package, but it was cheaper (free!) to go this route, and this also meant we didn’t have to sacrifice one of our shooters to the faux-tobooth for the whole night.
Not everyone took photos, but we did get a lot of great shots.
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
Before I get to the end of my recaps (the dance party, the fauxtobooth, the send-off, and the after party), I thought I’d share some of the cool details that personalized our wedding.
First, the flowers. You’ve all seen close-ups of my bouquet, but here’s another for good measure.
It was filled with pink garden roses, cream spray roses, and dusty miller. I was so in love with it! I wish I would have paid more attention to it that night. Read more…
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
After we made our way around the room, talking with each table, our coordinator, Rick, directed us toward the stage. MOH Deniz and Best Man Curtis joined us onstage for the traditional toasts. (As an aside, I had to pee really bad at this point. I know that I was the bride, and everyone would’ve waited for me—but dinner had already gone long. We wanted to make sure that there was plenty of time for fauxtobooth fun and dancing, so I just went with it. But now you know why I look a little antsy in some of the following photos!)
Best Man Curtis and the Dude have been friends since their sophomore year of college. They bonded over a love of statistics and college football. Read more…
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
So there we were, minding our own business at our sweetheart table: eating our wedding dinner, chatting with guests as they stopped by our table, and letting our ears fill with the sweet sounds of our perfect playlist.
You can see our sweetheart table in the middle here, though we’re not sitting in it.
I was sitting on the side facing the bar and our iPod set-up, and the Dude was facing the opposite wall. I noticed out of the corner of my eye my SIL, J-Dawg fiddling with the stereo, but honestly it didn’t really register with me what she was doing. Obviously, I was a bit preoccupied with enjoying my delicious veggie lasagna and chatting with my brand new husband.
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
Before I reveal the big surprise from our reception dinner, I’d like to take a moment to share with you one of my favorite aspects of our wedding: the dinner music. The Dude and I had a very strong vision for what we wanted our guests to hear as they munched down on the yummy organic food, and it wasn’t your typical wedding music. No Michael Buble, Frank Sinatra, or Motown in sight (not that we don’t chill to some Marvin Gaye or Al Green when the time is right). Instead, we wanted music that set a dreamy mood. For us, that meant fuzzy guitars, minor keys, shoegaze, local artists, indie bands, and a few unexpected classics. We didn’t pay attention to lyrics—at all.
I’d love to share the whole playlist with you guys at this time, as it’s something I’m very proud of.
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
When we reentered the barn after taking a few post-wedding pics, the room had been transformed from our ceremony space into a magical English garden wonderland.
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
After our officiant announced us as husband and wife for the first time, our guitarist played us back down the aisle with this song.
Play while you read!
What better song could there have been to accompany us as we made our way, together, out into the rain? (Well, besides a certain Rihanna song.)
Luckily, staff was right there to hand us an umbrella. We ended up getting some of my favorite shots of the day at this point, and they were totally unplanned! Read more…
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
After the handfasting, our officiant, Spike, read the following poem, by Alice Walker.
“Beyond What”
We reach for destinies beyond what we have come to know and in the romantic hush of promises perceive each the other’s life as known mystery. Shared. But inviolate. No melting. No squeezing into One. We swing our eyes around as well as side to side to see the world.
To choose, renounce, this, or that– call it a council between equals call it love.
Mrs. Mouse, AustinAge and Occupation: 25, Weddingbee Editor/AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Civil EngineerEngagement Date: December 19, 2007Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Barr MansionAbout Me: I just graduated from law school and will be taking the bar, getting married, going on a honeymoon with my guy, and then trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. I was born and raised in a small East Texas town, but I'm no country girl! I'm obsessed with British accents, fantasy (including Harry Potter, of course), and classic rock. My fiance and I consider ourselves both music and beer snobs--but every once in awhile we love to hear a crappy band and drink a cheap brew or two. We're planning an eco-friendly, casual, English garden affair for the end of summer, and we can't wait for it to get here!
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
