Weddingbee Blog

I think if I could, I would have had a million flower girls. Okay, so more like 10 or so… I just LOOOOOVE kids (Mr. Ramen and I could not possibly ever exclude kids, because we love them so much!).

Most of our cousins are older than us, married, and have started families, leaving us with a bunch of sweet little baby cousins, the majority of which are super cute girls! And since I had spent so much time trying to find the best dresses for my lovely ladies, I couldn’t leave my little girls hangin’! I spent TONS of time looking online at the typical FG dresses, but I just wasn’t finding what I wanted…

So… once again, I hit up Nordstrom (hello, Nordstrom Visa). and stumbled upon this GORGEOUS little number by Biscotti in the spring season catalog… (*insert little gasps of delight here*)

Is this not the most PERFECT, beautiful little dress EVER?!?!?
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We were leaning towards the Bentley Projects, but there was the issue with parking, possibly having to split our guests between two rooms, the issue of some unruly children that might be in attendance (Bentley Projects has a strict policy that kids have to be suuuuper well behaved and essentially micromanaged the entire time they are there - or they will be kicked out!), and the length of the rental (only for 4 hours). So we figured it MIGHT be a good idea to look into other options.

After some more research, we discovered the Tempe Center for the Arts!
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source

I’ve been coming to realize that when people say, “Do whatever makes you happy!” or “I don’t have any opinions on that” or “It’s up to you!” they are lying. YUP, that’s right - they are not telling the truth.

EVERYONE has an opinion on everyone else’s wedding - what dresses would look better, what colors/flowers/hairstyle/food/timing would be better. What THEY would do in YOUR situation. Not that you asked, thankyouverymuch. As a bride, you learn to be less and less critical of other brides’ decisions as you start to plan your own wedding (I hope!) and deal with the constant criticism. And it sure can be constant - and from people you least expect it from!
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Because I’m a closet gamer… and it’s too cute

So, I like to think of myself as a creative chick. I like doing arts and crafts and that sort of deal. BUT, I also really want a high-end look for our wedding. A lot of friends have gotten married in recent years and I don’t want our wedding to just blend in with theirs. Knowing that we would have a limited budget (I’m in grad school, and Mr. Ramen just finished school…), I thought to myself, ‘OH! Paper lanterns and tons of candles should be very simple, chic, and inexpensive!’

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I’m a biter.

Yes. It’s the truth. Somewhere on Weddingbee, many many moons ago, I saw a DIY craft that one of the bees did to ask her friends to be her bridesmaids (I forget who). I thought it was a GRRREAT idea. So I did it, too. With my own little spin, of course. I bought the accordion book kits (~$5) from Paper Source (AKA, a girl’s best friend, AKA my mothership), and some pretty paper from the Paper Studio in Tempe, and got to work!
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Call me crazy - I bought my bridesmaids’ dresses before I had even finished asking them to be my bridesmaids. Not that I have officially asked them yet, either —I’m getting around to it. I have one project to finish up, and then it will be official!

So, having been a bridesmaid once (going on twice) myself, I know that it is nice if the dress is affordable, cute, comfortable, and makes them look like the sexy women they are.

Trust me - I’m not a deluded bride who thinks that the hideous bridesmaid dress will actually be re-worn - I KNOW mine will (right, girls?)! But, I suppose beauty IS in the eye of the beholder. Very early on (in the pre-engagement days) I decided that I wanted my girls to wear cute little black dresses of their choosing. They’re slimming, re-wearable, and who doesn’t need another LBD? I know I could always use more! I also decided to be extremely lax about hair/makeup, shoes, jewelry - I mean, hey, they know what feels good and looks good on them, right?

So I started the long tortuous online search for potential bridesmaid dresses back in January. I originally was thinking of just finding some cute dresses to show my girls as ideas, and let them run wild. Until I found it. The most perfect, unique LBD ever. Seriously.

I hurried up and ordered this beauty from Nordstrom for my MOH (my beloved younger sister) to try on:
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We did it! We booked our sites! OK, I lied. we didn’t really book them officially, as in sent-in-our-deposits-signed-the-contracts-official. BUT we have our date reserved and the contracts/deposits are in the works - WOO HOO!

God has some seriously good timing. Everything came together literally at the last minute. God was really gracious, as I was honestly SO stressed because I essentially had 1 week to get everything taken care of before I had to leave AZ and head back to school. It’s tough to find a place that is affordable, nice, has the right je ne sais quoi, ANNND can fit around 300 guests. Anywhere.

So… back to the beginning. Sometime last summer, Mr. Ramen and I went to the Phoenix Art Museum on First Fridays for a date, since it’s freeeeeeee! We thought the space was awesome and would be incredible for a wedding reception. Although obviously, we weren’t engaged at that point. It is possible that I was the one who first thought that it was a good idea. So, I did a little research and found out that the rental was (surprisingly) quite reasonable. Since I knew I would be in optometry school, I knew that December was pretty much the only reasonable time of year for us to get married in AZ. (Not to mention, 110*+ weather in the summer in a big white dress? No thanks.) Unfortunately, the museum was planning a giant exhibit extravaganza or something for Dec 09, so the event coordinator told me to check back later in the year. So once the ring was on my finger I shot off an email… and no dice. They were still booked solid. I was pretty devastated, to say the least.
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How it all happened…

The proposal story, in all of its glory. Unabridged.

Soooo, once upon a time, Mr. Ramen and I went hiking on Camelback Mountain. We like to hike when it’s cool enough in Arizona and we actually have free time. So… uh, not a lot, but we like it. Annnyways, we were hiking, and Mr. Ramen mentioned that we should return and watch the sunset from this one rock overlooking the city.
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… which means it was terrrrrrrrible.  It was a long day of work, lectures, and practicing clinical skills. As is my habit after coming home, I switched my laptop on to check my email. I quickly scanned through the 10 or so new emails to see if there was anything noteworthy, or just another message from Victoria’s Secret telling me I could get a free pair of panties if I bought another bra. My eyes quickly stopped on one message that said “Weddingbee”. My heart stopped. I quickly opened it, hoping that it wasn’t a rejection note.

“Ohhmygooooooshhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! I’m going to be a bee!” I gleefully announced to my fiance. His response: “SIGHHHHHHHH. Do you promise to stop being obsessed with Weddingbee after our wedding, now?” And all I could do was just giggle with joy, which is odd, because I am definitely NOT the giggly nor gleeful type. Best Monday ever, hands down.

With all that said, I am seriously thrilled that I was chosen to be a bee! I have been following Weddingbee for.ev.er. No really - since it was just a “featured site” on Xanga. I am a faithfully addicted reader (hence, the comment by my poor fiance), and have been inspired many times over by the wonderful now-Mrs. bees. I always thought that I would apply to WB once I got engaged; but I was struck by the selfish monster, and really wanted to keep all my ideas and spin-offs (what I call “my creations” that were inspired by far more creative crafting mamas) to myself. Sad, I know. At any rate, through the past several months of being engaged, I realized that I actually liked to share my ideas, tips, and experiences. So, I decided to stop hoarding and start sharing and caring… and now I’m here!

A fun random fact about me and Weddingbee…
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