Weddingbee

I saw a great tip on MarkJennwedding’s site yesterday.

The Juilliard School of Music hires out singers and musicians for less than what you’d typically pay. For $175 the first hour per musician and $100 each additional hour, you can have Juilliard trained musicians play at your wedding. They have string quartets/trios, harpists, cellists, flutists, etc. Singers go for the same rate but require piano accompaniment.

Miss Jenn hired 2 harpists for her own wedding. An additional $150 delivery charge applies for harps. I really wanted a harpist for my own wedding and I would have had one if I’d known about Juilliard at the time!

For more information, contact Jane Cho at Juilliard.
212-799-5000 x7315.

There’s an old folklore poem that says your marriage will be affected by the month you get married in.

January - Marry when the year is new, he’ll be loving, kind and true.

February - When February birds do mate, you wed nor dread your fate.

March - If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you’ll know.

April- Marry in April if you can, joy for maiden and for man.

May - Marry in the month of May, you will romance the day.

June - Marry when June roses grow and over land and sea you’ll go.

July - Those who in July do wed must labour for their daily bread.

August - Whoever wed in August be, many a change is sure to see.

September - Marry in September’s shine so that your life is rich and fine.

October - If in October you do marry, love will come but riches tarry.

November - If you wed in bleak November, only joys will come, remember!

December - When December’s snows fall fast, marry and your love will last.

Does this hold true for you? What about your parents?

“WOMEN wishing to marry might try to hurry the process along, slyly dropping hints about rings or blatantly pressuring boyfriends to pop the question. But not Jennifer Chung.

Ms. Chung, who is Chinese-American, held off her wedding plans until just the right moment so she could get married in the Year of the Dog, which begins today, the first day of Chinese New Year.

Her reasoning was based on luck, not logistics. Ms. Chung, 29, an account supervisor at Gigante Vaz Partners, an advertising agency in New York, considers the Year of the Dog to be an auspicious one for weddings. Last year, the Year of the Rooster, was thought to be particularly unlucky for marriages.”

Read more at the New York Times.

I bought a copy of Our Wedding Anniversary Memory Book awhile ago so that we could have a keepsake of all of our wedding anniversaries in one place. Though the illustrations are a little old fashioned, I think it’s a great little book to record your anniversary memories. It’ll definitely be something fun to look back on with each passing year.

This would also make a wonderful bridal shower or wedding gift. Each left-hand page has a die cut where you can insert a 3×5 or 4×6 photo. The right-hand side has a love quote, space to write where you’re living at the time, a list of memorable moments, and the traditional and modern wedding gifts. The book spans 50 years with the first fifteen year by year followed by the 20th, 25th, 30th, 40th, and 50th.

I originally started weddingbee as a personal blog on xanga. That blog enabled me to learn so much about wedding planning simply by documenting the whole process and by interacting with other brides in the blogging community. I soon realized that blogs and brides go hand in hand and started this site in hopes of helping other brides out there.

Fellow weddingbee blogger Miss Ladybug (also known as OrganizedWedding) and I have transferred everything from our xanga sites to here. You can now search for posts according to author, category, and date! We will be adding more bloggers and much more content in coming weeks. Meanwhile have a look around and stay awhile!

Warning: This site will be updated daily and may be highly addictive.

I have a confession to make. I returned a lot of the gifts we received off our wedding registry. We had a very small registry (because we didn’t want to appear greedy even though I am) and ended up getting pretty much everything we registered for. But it was too much - I still have presents stacked in our living room closet (that I plan to regift one day haha just kidding).

The reality is that when you live in a small New York apartment, you just don’t have room for all the gifts you receive. So for couples living in New York, I now give gift cards to the store they’re registered at so they can buy what they need/want.

We registered at Bed Bath and Beyond because of their great return policy and because we needed a lot of basic housewares. Other popular places to register include: Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Williams and Sonoma, and Target. You might even want to consider specialty stores like the Container Store (which I love), Home Depot, Ikea, or even Amazon.

What everyone needs is going to be different, but I thought I’d share some of the products that I use myself and recommend.

2 Slice Toaster Cover from Bed Bath and Beyond - $5.99. I’m going to buy one of these and a blender cover today actually. It’ll keep your toaster clean because who knows what could fall in there.

Cabinet Shelves from the Container Store in small ($2.99), medium ($3.99), and large ($4.99). Simply indispensable for organizing your kitchen cabinets. I have more than double the space thanks to these nifty organizers. They also come in double stacking but I find the single ones are perfect for shelves.

Corner organizer rack from the Container Store for $7.99. The open front enables you to access dishes easily and maximizes cabinet space.

Lid Organizer from the Container Store for $3.99. Also good for organizing baking pans.

Undersink organizer from the Container Store for $14.99. It’s plastic and kinda ghetto, but the shelves are adjustable so you can make room for pipes. Besides you’re never going to see it and it’s great for organizing all those cleaning products under your kitchen and bathroom sinks.

Oxo Goodgrips Dustpan and Whiskbroom $9.99 everywhere. The best whiskbroom I’ve ever used.

All Clad Stainless Steel cookware. Yes it’s expensive but it’s simply the best and will last you a lifetime. This is what you’ll see all the chefs on the Food Network using. These are the basic pieces I’d recommend:

• 12″ & 10″ nonstick frying pan. Hands down the best nonstick pan I’ve ever used. For a more seasoned cook, you might want to get the regular frying pans in 12″ and 10″ instead of the nonstick.
• 3 quart covered saute pan
• 2 & 3 quart covered sauce pan
• 8 or 16 quart stockpot.

3.5 quart Rival Crockpot. Don’t get the ones with the fancy dials and switches. The old fashioned ones with only three settings - off, low, high - are still the best and will last you a lifetime. Plus it’s only around $20-$30! You’d be surprised how many delicious meals you can make with crock pots from chili (which I make all the time), pot roast, even stuffing! You turn it on when you leave for work, allow to cook for 8 hours and when you come home voila! a hot meal all cooked and waiting for you. I love my crock pot.

Lodge Logic Preseaoned Square Grill Pan - $25.00. Cast iron gets super hot so it really sears the flavors into your food and is great for indoor grilling. Clean-up is kinda hard, but it’s worth it for those delicious burgers, chicken, steaks and veggies with perfect grill marks. I also take it camping because it’s so sturdy and put it right on top of the campfire grill.

Riedel red and white wine tumblers. I can’t count how many wine glasses I’ve broken. These great tumblers are in the shape of wine glasses without that easily breakable stem.

Vacu Vin Wine Saver. I use this ALL the time. It sucks the air out of open wine bottles so the wine retains its taste longer. This is simply indispensable.

Oxo medium silicone spatula. I use the silicone spatula almost every single day. I love this tool! So much so I bought the medium spoon spatula, but the silicone spatula is still my favorite. Silicone can withstand extremely high heats so even if you leave it in your pan, it won’t burn and it won’t scratch your nonstick pans.

Oxo Stainless steel locking tongs. You’d be surprised just how much you use tongs in the kitchen! They’re an absolute kitchen essential especially when it comes to grilling. These lock to close for easy storage.

Oxo Good Grips Smooth Edge Can Opener. This can opener takes lids off under the lid so there are no sharp edges. It also has little tongs for you to lift the lid off so you never even have to touch it at all.

Oxo Good Grips 2 cup angled measuring cup. You can see the measurement looking down into the cup instead of the side.

Silpat Baking Sheets. A must if you bake!

Braun Handheld Blender and Chopper. I use this more often than a blender. Works fabulously!

Corelle Dishes. Just like the ones mom had. I’ve had cute dishes from Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel made of glass, stoneware, earthenware…. they all chip and they’re heavy. This is a practical set to start out with - super durable, light, and affordable.

Global knives. The Japanese makes the best knives and no kitchen is complete without a set of good knives. The Global line is much lighter than Wusthof or Henckels so it’s great for women to use. I’d recommend the chef’s knife, santoku knife, paring knife, and a set of steak knives to start.

Sonicare Elite 7500. It has a timer so it automatically shuts off after 2 minutes. It also beeps every 30 seconds so you know when to switch to a different section. My teeth have never felt cleaner!

I’ll add more as I think of them…

More of those funny Natan ads…

From an email…

my best friend is getting married and i am her bridesmaid… i have to help my friend’s mom in planning the shower, obviously the bachelorette party, etc. was wondering if you have any links/ideas re: party favors/games to play at a shower, bachelorette party ideas, etc…

Personally I’ve only been to 1 bridal shower and 1 bachelorette party in my entire life (which I planned as the maid of honor). I guess I was one of the first to get married amongst my friends. My friends also threw me a bridal shower/bachelorette party in Vegas when I got married so technically I’ve been to 1 1/2?

Both bachelorette parties were in Vegas - my parents read this site so suffice it to say that there were penises (fake ones), strippers, gambling, and lots of debauchery. I can’t say that I know too much about planning bridal showers and bachelorette parties, but here are a few ideas…

This is from the bridal shower I planned for my friend.

• Kitchen themed shower which means everyone brought kitchen related shower gifts.
• Guest favors - I purchased cookie cutters and attached a recipe for cookies (and more stuff I can’t remember) and put it all into gift bags.
• All decorations were in the bride’s color scheme - fuschia & tangerine.
• Had food catered from a favorite Cuban restaurant Versailles.
• Drink - French martinis. Vodka, Chambord, & pineapple juice.
• Games played - I never, toilet paper wedding dress, how well does the bride know the groom (and vice versa), who knows the bride the best, guess that jingle, purse scavenger hunt, etc… Everyone had a blast with the games. You have to do a lot of prep for these beforehand!
• Game prizes - antibacterial hand soaps from Bath & Body Works (and more I can’t remember). We had a grand prize too.

Toilet paper wedding dress was one of the most fun and popular games. We had everyone break up into groups of 3. One person served as the bride and the other team members made a wedding dress out of toilet paper. The last dress won - they even made a garter!

Bridal Shower Ideas

1. Alice’s Tea Cup where you can host your very own mad hatter tea party!

2. Little Shop of Crafts party where you can do any craft in the store - pottery, mosaics, wood, plastercraft, beading, make a tshirt, or make a teddy bear.

3. An activity party like rollerskating, ice skating, bowling.

4. Host a party at someone’s apartment or at a restaurant.

5. Naughty/sexy themed party - sex toys and/or lingerie as gifts.

6. Wine tasting party.

7. Take a naughty class together - lap dance, strip tease, blow job, how to talk dirty, role play.

8. Take a dance class together - hip hop, belly dance, salsa, samba, bollywood, african.

9. Take a cooking class together.

10. Take a flower arranging class at Flower School or at the New York Botanical Gardens.

Bachelorette Party Ideas

1. It’s obvious but, Vegas baby! You can’t go wrong.

2. Tranny bars like Lucky Cheng’s or Lips - always lots of laughs.

3. Hire a private erotic balloon maker for a party. I met him at Lucky Cheng’s and he’s hilarious!

4. Weekend roadtrip.

5. A girl’s day out at Coney Island.

6. Have a tarot card reader, palm reader, astrologer, or psychic come and give everyone readings.

7. Slumber Party - pizza, movies, popcorn, makeovers, games and alcohol!

8. A makeover party. Hire a makeup artist come and give everyone makeovers. Then go out for a night on the town!

9. Girl’s night out… and don’t forget the karaoke bar!

10. Strip club! It’s all in good fun.

Links

1. All About Showers - bridal shower games with worksheets that you can print.

2. Party 411 & blissweddings - more bridal shower games.

3. 101 Bachelorette Party tips - ideas for themed bachelorette parties.

4. Bachelorette Party Ideas for girls that are a little bit wild.

5. Webtender, Barmeister, Digital Bartender, Realbeer, Barnonedrinks - drinking games.

I’ll add more ideas as I think of them. Meanwhile, please share your best bachelorette party and bridal shower ideas!

(All images from Ceci unless otherwise noted)

From a reader…

I’m looking for invitations on sites such as Mygatsby, whiteaisle…etc. but I don’t understand all this lingo. What should I look for? Do I really need to order the STD cards, menu, programs, rsvp cards, etc.?

These are all the wedding stationery components:

1) Save the Date Cards - Save the dates are usually sent out 6 months to a year before the wedding if you’re having a destination wedding, a large number of out of town guests, or a wedding around a holiday. This provides guests sufficient time to make travel arrangements.

2) Invitation - The invitation indicates information for the ceremony when the ceremony and reception are held in the same location. If the ceremony and reception are held in 2 separate locations but is semi-formal, you may print all the information on the invitation but make sure it’s not too wordy. For formal events held in 2 locations, a separate reception card should be used.

3) Reception Card - The reception card is usually smaller than the invitation and includes information for the reception.

(New Leafletter Press)

4) Outer Envelope - Outer envelopes were historically used because invitations got dirty during the delivery process. This way the contents would be protected and a clean inner envelope could be presented to the lady of the house. Your return address should be printed on the back flap of the envelope and your guest’s title, full name, and addresss should be printed/calligraphered on the front.

5) Inner Envelope - The inner envelope is no longer necessary, but a lot of people choose to include the inner envelope if the wedding is a formal affair. We had inner envelopes because it’s just a little more exciting to have to open that extra envelope. Inner envelopes are addressed less formally than outer envelopes with the guest’s name printed on the front. Omitting this piece is a great way to cut costs on invitations.

6) Inner Envelope Lining - For decorative purposes, the inner envelope may be lined with tissue paper or paper.

(Paper-Source)

7) Tissue paper - Tissue paper was used to separate each invitation layer because ink used to take a long time to dry back in the day. This kept each layer clean. Today it serves a decorative or formal purpose.

RSVP Cards or RSVP Postcards - RSVP cards are filled out and returned by guests so you know who will be attending. Less formal events can use RSVP postcards which will eliminate the need for an envelope (and save you money!).

9) RSVP Envelope - Guests return their RSVP cards in these envelopes. They should have your name and address printed on the front.

10) Travel Information / Hotels Cards - If you have secured a special airline rate or blocked hotel rooms for your guests, you may choose to include a separate card with this information. This is often sent with the save the date card.

11) Parking / Transportation / Map / Direction Cards - If you have made special parking/transportation arrangements for your guests, you can include a card with that information. If you have a lot of travelling guests or a venue that is difficult to find, you may also choose to include map / direction information. These cards can be included either with the save the date or with the invitation.

12) At Home Card - This is a very formal card that indicates your new address as a married couple and when you’ll be occupying that address. I think hardly anyone uses this anymore.

(cardsupply)

13) Ceremony Programs - Programs provide guests with information about the ceremony and the wedding party. They’re not mandatory, but most people choose to do them. They’re also a nice keepsake for guests.

14) Menus - Menus are not mandatory but they’re a nice touch. One can be placed on each place setting, or there can be 3 or so per table that guests share.

15) Escort Cards or Seating Chart - Escort cards are usually organized alphabetically by guest names. They indicate which table a guest is seated at. A seating chart serves the same purpose. You can allow guests to sit anywhere at their designated table or you may choose to have assigned seating with placecards.

16) Table Cards - Once a guest picks up an escort card or looks at the seating chart and finds out what table they’re seated at, they will look for the corresponding table. Table cards are usually numbered but you can be creative and choose to name them anything you like.

17) Placecards - Placecards look like escort cards and are put at each place setting designating assigned seating.

18) Thank You Cards & Envelopes - You may choose to get your thank you cards printed at the same time you print your invitations to have a uniform theme throughout.

Barebones this is what you’d need:

1) Invitation
2) Outer Envelope
3) RSVP Card
4) RSVP Envelope (Unlese you’re doing RSVP postcards)
5) Escort cards
6) Tablecards
7) Ceremony Programs

You can order everything through one company if you’d like everything to match or follow a specific theme. I ordered the 1) save the dates, 2) invitations, 3) seating chart, and the 4) programs, placecards, table cards, and menus from 4 different companies. I also made travel/accomodation cards myself and bought thank you cards after the wedding. Everything can be ordered separately and at different times. You can also make everything on the list above if you’d like and save a lot of money in the process (although it would be quite time-consuming!)

After you’ve selected your staionary, you have to choose the type of printing - engraving, thermography, letterpress, embossing, and regular printing. Read up on that here.

Additional Tips:

1) Some companies may include extra envelopes, but if they don’t order extra envelopes because you will make mistakes addressing them. Calligraphers usually request additional envelopes as well.

2) Number the back of your rsvp cards because some people will return them without filling out their names.

3) Invitations are typically mailed 6-8 weeks before the wedding date. You may want to send them out a little sooner if you are having a destination wedding or a large number of travelling guests.

4) Take a complete invitation to the post office and have it weighed so you can affix the correct postage.

5) Have the post office hand cancel your invitations because they look so much lovelier that way.

I ordered invitations from mygatsby.com for my brother’s wedding, so I’m familiar with their ordering process. It was also a lot easier knowing what to order, having been through it all with my own wedding. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask. Hope this helps!