Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
*Co-blogged with my on-call webmaster, who will also be marrying me come June.
As was the case with Save the Dates… I was anti-wedding website. I thought they were uber cheesy. However, I took a moment to consider how I tend to lose things like invitations. I also realized that with all our out-of-towners… they might appreciate help locating fun Chicago activities, and places to go out so that they can make a mini-vacay out of their visit. I ALSO realized that large portions of our families have never ever met, so a website might be a good way for them to somewhat get to know each other.
Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
I am pretty much completely obsessed with crafting. It’s my favorite thing to do. If I have a Friday night to myself, I get really excited to be able to craft in peace, without anyone to make fun of me. If I had room for a craft room in my apartment… oh, that would be AWESOME! I’m a nerd.
Anyway, invitations were one of the very first projects I fantasized about when this whole wedding-planning thing got started. Not the dress, not flowers… the invitations!
For weeks I have been playing around with colors, illustrations, watercolors… and now I think we’ve finally settled into a design. I attempted our first mock-up, and I am really excited about the results. Some of the paper choices will be different (cardstock vs. paper), but I think I am going to stick pretty closely to this look. Because blogs without pictures are boring… let me introduce to you a sneak peek of… Ms. Amelie Laureen!
Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
Something that is super important (in my mind anyway) is that brides should be relaxed on their wedding day. On the day you leave singledom behind… I don’t think that’s too much to ask! For this reason, I am planning out a few things to help me keep my sanity on what might be a cray-zee, busy day… Read more…
Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
I recently turned thirty (which I was actually excited about!). Two of my sisters decided to surprise me by flying to Chicago for the weekend! Seeing them was really a wonderful present. One sister is a student in Boston, and the other lives in Dallas, so they hadn’t seen each other in a long time either. Read more…
Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
One of the advantages of having several married buddies is mooching off of their wedding mishaps and wisdom!!! I have probably had about ten good friends get married so far, and I have definitely paid attention. My friend and bridesmaid T was actually married only about a month ago and one of the things she did for her wedding was so wonderful that I am following her astute example!
Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
Many girls CAN’T WAIT to buy their wedding dress. Although I started out being way more excited about our invitations than my dress… (Hi, Crafty-Nerd!)… the sands are starting to shift.
Probably my single biggest inspiration for my wedding is Grace Kelly. In general, she had the most incredible clothes and she was so… graceful. She epitomizes vintage chic, hands down! Just take a look at her incredible wedding to Prince Ranier of Monaco:
Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
OK, we should probably have a talk before you and I go much further… I don’t think I am going to be able to keep this secret for very long, as you might begin to wonder who all of those seemingly unrelated people in my blogs-to-come photos came from….
Every bride and groom has a special set of circumstances that drive how they put together their wedding day. Some couples might have family scattered throughout the globe. Some might have to figure out how to navigate the tricky waters of divorced families. Others have huge budget challenges - the list goes on and on!
My challenge is how to honor everyone when you have the LARGEST FAMILY IN THE WORLD.
Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
I just got here, and I am already spilling my secrets!
1. I am a freak of grammatical nature. When I was a little kid, grammar was my WORST subject. I was so, so bad at it. Consequently… my mom made me do extra grammar lessons at night. I would cry and cry all over my workbooks because I hated it SO MUCH! After a while I could diagram the life out of any sentence…. and so now I am actually pretty good at grammar and context. I know the difference between principle and principal; President and president; their, they’re, there, etc. There was a recent news story about a couple that corrected a historic sign in a national park. Ummmm, I have to say that could have totally been me on a bad day. Freak!
Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
All right, I didn’t want to post my Save the Dates until after I mailed them, but…. I am having trouble deciding which design to use! Totally conflicted….
The designs are the same except that one version uses gold heat embossing, and the other uses blue heat embossing. What do you think? Is one better than the other? Let me know what you think in comments! Read more…
Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
Today I *think* I finished designing my Save-the-Dates. I am not going to show the whole thing because, well, I want to actually mail them before I show them off!
Originally, we weren’t going to send out paper Save-the-Dates. Mr. Snapdragon and I had prioritized our budget, and Save-the-Dates were an unnecessary expense. However, we promptly realized the error of our ways when we remembered the following things:
1) A significant number of people on our guest list are less than computer literate. In fact, some might have a bit of trouble even getting a computer to turn on, so an email Save-the-Date would be no good to those particular guests at all!
2) Sometimes the internet fails to actually deliver the missive to all of the intended recipients, especially when a mass mailing is involved.
3) Paper Save-the-Dates are actually extremely cheap.
CONCLUSION: We are going to do both a paper and an email STD; that way the computer illiterate will get the info and the email-friendly but snail mail challenged addresses will be reached, as well. Read more…
Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
So… I have a secret. A big one. Like the kind I feel like I should be super embarrassed about.
I met my soon-to-be-husband online.
Oh, the shame!!! Senor Snapdragon is equally embarrassed about this fact, so much so, that I am verboten from telling anyone… except… thousands of bees.
Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
You have no idea how excited I am to Bee it up with all of you! This site has already been so helpful to me…I am really happy that I get to blog here and learn from all of you!
A little about me… Senor Snapdragon and I have been dating for almost four years now, and we have been talking about getting married for the last two. I am a ringless bride, and it is a WEE bit possible that the actual, official—for real—engagement might happen at the rehearsal dinner. Right now, my beloved ring setting sits, nekkid and alone, in my jewelry armoire. We realized that saving up for the diamond before planning the wedding would delay getting married by an additional year… and that was just silly (I am 30, I have babies in my eyes!!!) Thankfully I have tiny fingers and I’m no diva, so a huge diamond is totally unnecessary. Thanks, Mom!
I grew up in Waxahachie, Texas. (10 points to anyone who knows where that is – 50 if you can pronounce it!) I transplanted to Chicago for school… and then decided to stay. Read more…
Mrs. Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
… with our invitations. 
