Weddingbee Blog

We’re patiently awaiting the arrival of our cardstock to start churning out the Save the Dates, but lord knows, we have tons more to do in the meantime. The ladies and gents in the bridal party were starting to ask when they should arrive in Hawaii, and because of this, another project was born. Our party is geographically dispersed, with some in NY, PA, Vancouver, VA, and CA. That said, we decided to pig-ee back off of other bee innovations (Mrs Lily, Mrs. Jelly Beans, Mrs. Eggplant) and created a newsletter.

I picked up two wedding magazines on our coffee table for inspiration: The Knot, and Pacific Weddings. After flipping through the first couple of pages, I decided to replicate the layout of The Knot’s Table of Contents. I’m super simple, so the layout remains the same throughout and only the images and text change.

The Cover: Wherever possible, we’re trying to include our engagement photos with Inhar since we love them that much. We had already introduced our bridal party via our wedding website, so the newsletter’s focus was logistical information, bridal party attire, and a brief snapshot of what the Pigsters have been up to since the holidays. Do you see the hibiscus? The barcode on the bottom right corner also includes the wedding date.

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Welcome to our wedding website! Having a Computer Science degree, I’ve always looked forward to this aspect of the wedding planning process. Once we decided that we would have a destination wedding in Hawaii, we wanted everyone to know as soon as possible. A lot of our friends were likely to use their airline miles and hotel points, and since airlines limit the number of seats available for point usage, we wanted to give them the heads up on the date, location, etc. My girlfriend highly recommended Wedding Window. There were so many goodies included in the $80/year price, that we didn’t mind paying. There were a ton of templates to choose from, and they were all customizable.

The Pigsters love snowboarding. Mr. Pig often claims he’s X Games material.

Some of my favorite features were:
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We opted for a morning outside ceremony despite the gap it will create in between the ceremony and reception. One of the main reasons for this is my sensitivity to heat. That, coupled with the nervousness associated with being the center of attention, means I will be drenched and will probably look as if I’ve run a marathon.

Image source

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The Mr and I have been in LA for the past week - he’s here for work, and I’m here for vacation. Despite being on vacation, I have a tough time sleeping in, regardless of what time I hit the sack. It’s really frustrating because I can see the tired-ness on my face, particularly, under the eyes. Mr. Piglet swears by Korean saunas and convinced me to go this past weekend. I was more willing to go since I was in another state; therefore, the chance of me running into a familiar face was pretty darn low (the naked factor scares me).

Image source

We went to Natura spa on Wilshire, which is located in the basement of a Korean mall. No frets if you don’t speak Korean.
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Our engagement photos were taken by Sissy Piglet’s good friend Inhar. Even with her as our photographer, we were still a bit camera shy in the beginning. It’s really weird to have your photos taken! Despite being advised to NOT wear matchy matchy outfits, Mr. P and I amused ourselves with couple’s tee shirts (I persuaded him a teensy bit). He wore his sneakers and I wore my Ugg(lies), as one of my BFFs refers to them, and we were good to go as far as outfits were concerned. We wanted a variety of pictures, so we also brought along some props.

Prop #1: Jorge aka George aka Georgia May aka GEORGE! (We’re always screaming because she’s quite rebellious.) We gave her a fresh cut, trimmed her ears - and voila - she stole the spotlight. As you can see from the picture below, she camera shy as well, hence, the pictures of her behind.

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I am a beach baby. I LOVE the beach and all things tropical. Papa Pig was actually born in Honolulu, and his entire family still lives on the island. Growing up as a military brat, we were fortunate to be able to spend two years in Guam, which I consider to be a miniature, less commercialized version of Hawaii. I’ve always known I wanted to have a destination wedding. The one setback was knowing that some of our family might not be able to attend. To remedy this, we decided to hold our wedding and ceremony on the island of Oahu, and hold a second reception locally in Baltimore, Maryland. We researched a ton on TheKnot Hawaii community boards (thank you Hawaii Knotties!) and our top contenders for the wedding ceremony/reception were:

• Hale Koa - budget friendly, military hotel. Since the Hale Koa Hotel is a federal entity, prices would not be subject to the 4.7% sales tax. There’s a garden area were we could host our ceremony, but we really wanted an oceanfront ceremony. How could we go to Hawaii and not have an ocean backdrop? This was our first choice for the reception, but the aesthetic of the room wasn’t quite what we were looking for and it was without windows. Being a military hotel, brides do require sponsorship in order to host an event at their facility.

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From the get go, we Pigsters both agreed that photography was of utmost importance to us. After scouring photo blogs (best photog list ever) and the Wedding Photo Journalist Association (WPJA), we became dedicated fans of two photographers: Ben Chrisman and Our Labor of Love (OLOL). We were disappointed when we learned that Jesse and Whitney from our OLOL were unavailable on our wedding date, but were elated to find Ben Chrisman! We LOVE the artistry of his photos and his ability to capture raw emotion. My favorite slide show of Ben’s is the wedding he shot in Greece—I am in total awe every time I watch it. He was our first vendor booked, and we cannot wait to work with him in paradise!

We’re definitely sacrificing other aspects of the wedding for Ben, mainly flowers. Who needs flowers when the ocean is your backdrop? We haven’t met him in person, but we cannot wait to spend time with him on our wedding day and during our day after shoot.

Here are some photos from the wedding in Greece, in addition to some of his other work. All photos © Ben Chrisman. Enjoy!

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At the tail end of 2008, I de-virginized my feet. For my girlfriend’s birthday, we spoiled ourselves and made a trip to Yvonne’s salon in Alexandria for an afternoon pedicure. I had never heard of these minnow-sized, flesh eating fish that nibble away at dead skin cells. The concept was so bizarre that I had to partake in the fun. Apparently, health concerns banned the usage of razor blades in pedicures and the owners of this salon discovered the ‘garra rufa’ fish as an alternative to the blade approach. I find the foot germ pool just as concerning despite the cleaning/bleaching of the individual tubs in between each client session. Anyhow, the owners have appeared on ‘The View’ and the ‘Today’ show as the innovators of this concept, and have their appearances memorialized in frames on their wall.

First off, they examine your feet for any cuts/gashes. Afterward, they seat you on a bench with a tub filled with water and hundreds of fishies.
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With the passing of the holidays and the arrival of 2009, we’ve begun to focus our efforts on our wedding stationery (another one of my favorites). I first saw the boarding pass idea on Aylee designs and fell in love immediately. What a fun idea! After scouring the internet for design ideas, I came across the amazing work of East Six designs on Style Me Pretty. Each design in their portfolio truly has the ‘wow’ factor. The ones I particularly became fond of were the corner flourish/image combinations, which served as the inspiration for our Save the Dates.

Draft 1 deets:
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Being the fickle person that I am, I went through several phases while looking for the dress. Each time I narrowed the dress requirements (e.g., sweetheart neckline, fit-and-flare, strapless, white, etc.), I would find a dress that met all the requirements, yet I was never able to pull the trigger in fear that I was succumbing to another impulsive buy (much like my Filene’s purchases at the running of the brides). The good news is that one requirement stayed constant throughout my dress shopping journey, which really helped narrow down the selection of dresses at the boutiques. I wanted a dress made of silk organza. The fabric is so light, airy, and comfortable, PERFECT for our outdoor ceremony. The two almost-dresses were both by Melissa Sweet and are quite popular amongst the hive.

Contender #1: Melissa Sweet Aurora. This dress fit the bill. I tried it on several times and convinced myself that this was the dress. The one aspect holding me back was the comfort factor. I’m pretty lanky and bony with the exception of my poochy mid-section area. I didn’t want to feel self-conscious throughout the night, so I opted to continue the dress hunt.

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Without knowing when or where we were going to be married, I quickly dove into my #1 priority - THE dress. I adore Filene’s Basement - like seriously - I’m obsessed. In general, I love all of those discount stores e.g., Marshall’s, TJ Maxx, Loehmanns, etc. Mr. Piglet and I enjoy the treasure hunt to find great brands at bargain prices. A year before I was engaged, I walked into Filene’s Basement and saw racks upon racks of wedding dresses. I felt semi-guilty looking at them knowing I wasn’t engaged, so I opted to look at the purses and sales racks instead. One year later, I had the ring on my finger and rallied my sister and a friend to join me to bump elbows and fight the other bridezillas at the Running of the Brides in Towson, Maryland. Boy oh boy, were we unprepared.

We woke up early and made our way to the basement. There were 50-60 brides ahead of us, which wouldn’t be so bad if each didn’t have 4-6 people in their entourage. I’ve heard that the line at the DC Running of the Brides wrapped around five blocks so I shouldn’t complain. We did a jersey theme and all wore football jerseys from past tourneys we had played in. Once the door opened, I literally saw mothers get trampled by younger girls and the rack became bare within seconds. It became a waiting game for the brides to give up dresses they didn’t want. Bartering was common amongst the brides. Craziness. All in all a fun experience and I walked out with two dresses. Yup, I’m another multi-dress bride, neither of which I decided to keep. I wish I read Miss Latte’s post before braving the masses at the running of the brides. Had I done so, the experience may have gone a bit smoother and we could’ve avoided the ‘deer caught in headlights’ reaction.
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It’s no secret my family has an addiction to junk food; hence the character choice, Miss Piglet! Mr. Piglet, on the other hand, rarely craves anything too sweet. He’s repulsed by my ability to eat Snickers and Starburst as morning treats, and usually convinces me to order summer versus spring rolls. According to my dentist, the last cavity found left no room for additional cavities on my back molars. Look Ma, no [mo] cavities.

Allow me to digress for a sec and offer you a bit of insight into the logistical situation of our relationship. Although we’re merely an hour away from each other, I consider our relationship semi-long distance not only because we’re separated by the state line; but more so, [duh duh duhhh] THE beltway. We did it though! For five years, we mainly saw each other on weekends with the occasional weekday visit. Did I mention I’m still a piglet living at home? That means, the Mr would often come from Baltimore and head back up the same day. Boy, I heart him.

Ok back to the story! After one of our weekend soirees, I was shocked when Mr. Piglet pulled out a pack of Starburst from his jacket pocket just before taking me home on a Sunday afternoon. This is RARE I tell you.
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Hello from Miss Piglet aka Miss Piggy! I am so honored to be a part of the hive and cannot wait to share the joys and woes of wedding planning with such great company. Being a consultant, I’m very much in tune with the concept of not ‘reinventing the wheel’ and cannot wait to add our own flair to the common DIY projects that have inspired me throughout the years; many of which, are from the hive. The piglet character was an easy choice considering I am quite the pig when it comes to my diet. My latest food obsession is a Korean BBQ joint called Honey Pig, and I will always be a fan of the 2 for 2 filet-o-fish deals at good ole Mickey D’s.

Mr. Piglet is so the opposite as far as diet is concerned and often encourages me to balance my diet w/ veggies, fruit, etc. Aside from balancing my diet, he truly balances me as a whole. We met in college during my sophomore year through a friend (now bridesmaid) and although he didn’t leave the best impression then, he did leave a lasting one that prompted us to keep in touch over the years.

He is unique, has the kindest heart, and freakishly looks like me (according to our family and friends). Fast forward to 2009, and we are now engaged and planning a destination wedding in Oahu! Yay to DW brides!
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