Weddingbee Blog

Originally published on May 4, 2010

Mrs. Skunk nominated Mrs. Seashell’s secret to flawless bridal skin! Mrs. Skunk says, “With this post, I went out and bought the same face wash, and lo and behold the stuff worked. I’ve never had terrible skin, but a couple breakouts here and there. My skin has been breakout-free since I read this post!”

~~~

I’m going to brag a teeny tiny bit-I have great skin. I know-I’m lucky. I know this because it hasn’t always been that way. About 8 years ago I had what I call the “facial that changed my life”. No joke.

The aesthetician informed me that I had very sensitive skin. I had no idea! I would get an ever-so-slight red blemish and go nuts picking at my face and rubbing it down with harsh products full of chemicals and exfoliants.

(source)

During the facial I was advised to try a simple, natural, facial cleanser.

Read more…

Mr. Seashell and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary by taking a road trip up to Door County, Wisconsin. In my mind it would be a perfect fall-getaway type weekend where we could wander, explore, hike, and enjoy the start of fall. It was definitely all those things, despite the fact that it literally rained the entire weekend.

As a native New Englander, I was picturing Door County to be a bit like coastal Maine/New Hampshire. It did not disappoint! Plus, I got to challenge my notion that the only thing to see in the Midwest is Chicago.

Mr. Seashell took the metra from downtown Chicago to the north suburbs (near my office) last Friday afternoon. I snuck out a little early so we could hit the road. We first made our way to Cedarburg.

Read more…

They say the first year is the hardest…

Read more…

For now.

True, our wedding is over. But I can’t say goodbye. So, I promise to write an anniversary post, announce a baby Seashell (not yet), or find another excuse (or two) to check in along the way. For now, today, I want to say Thank You.

Seashell Wedding Highlights from Seashell on Vimeo.

Our wedding would not have been the same with out you. Thank you, hive, for sharing in this journey with me. You have made the process of planning a wedding infinitely more fun, more memorable, more detailed, and more rewarding.
Read more…

After the band had stopped playing, after the guests waved their sparkly wands and sent us on our way, after we made the long drive back to downtown Providence, we found time for just a few more photos.

We felt like we were on a Hollywood movie set as we strolled the quiet streets of Providence. Occasionally passersby would yell, “Awwww!” or “Congratulations!” from somewhere off in the distance.
Read more…

After the world’s most sentimental father daughter dance, it was time to officially get the party started! We kicked off the evening with Earth, Wind, and Fire’s September. (It seemed appropriate given our September 25 wedding, wouldn’t you say?) The crowd took a little while to get moving, but soon enough the dance party in full force. This was the first time in the evening I felt like letting out a deep exhale and saying, “This is it! We did it!” There was nothing left to plan, coordinate, organize, or execute. All that was left on the agenda was to LET LOOSE. It was awesome.
Read more…

I’ve held off on writing this post because I’ve thought a lot about capturing this part of our wedding day perfectly. Then I realized that it’s already all here—in photos and video—and that my words are superfluous. But that’s not entirely true. There’s a reason we write words with recaps, after all.

Two days before our wedding I wrote a post titled “Time After Time.” It was about what the song Time After Time meant to me and my Dad. It was something I had felt all my life, but never put into words. When the post went live on Weddingbee I emailed it to him (I was retrieving bridesmaids from the airport) and by the time I made it home I found my dad and my mom crying by their computer screens.

Then, in December Weddingbee ran a “Best of the Bee” series of bees’ favorite posts. I chose “Time After Time” and mentioned that there was an additional story that I’d share during my recaps. So…
Read more…

In preparation for our first dance, Mr. Seashell and I signed up for dancing lessons. Part of the reason was because we chose a song that we, frankly, had no clue how to dance to.

Assuming you’ve come to learn a little about me, it should surprise you that our first dance was to an upbeat country song. It should be even more surprising that I suggested it. But sometime early into dating Mr. Seashell I came to learn that he was a bit of a country music fan. On occasion I’d tolerate it, but more often than not I’d roll my eyes and request a change of tune. But one evening he put a CD in our car and told me to give this artist a chance. Halfway into a certain song I admitted that I actually liked it.

Then, months later, we went to a Pat Green concert. When the song came on that slowly had become “our song” Mr. Seashell pulled me close. Pat sang, “And it came upon me wave on wave, You’re the reason I’m still here, Am I the one you were sent to save?” and he said in my ear, “You know it’s true.” In that moment I knew it was the song we had to dance to at our wedding.

Read more…

We kicked off cocktail hour with champagne all around.

Our cocktail hour was exactly what we had hoped. The weather at Glen Manor House was ten degrees cooler than in the city (so, about 76) and our guests mingled, nibbled, and explored the gorgeous property. We spent a significant portion of cocktail hour taking photos, but also managed to have time to chat with guests and get a few bites of food. Great tip: The venue coordinator asked us in advance which hors d’oeuvres we wanted to try. While we were greeting our guests a tray was brought to us so we could enjoy our time and also sneak in a nosh! Read more…

My absolute, absolute favorite Weddingbee posts are recaps, and specifically the wedding detail posts. I just adore the sweet, subtle, thoughtful things that make a wedding feel unique. Creating a vision for our wedding and then finding all the small things to make it come together was one of my favorite parts of the planning process.

First, way, way, way back when, I created a vision board. Originally wanting an ivory and gold wedding, it soon became clear that some touches of purple would liven things up. I posted this ages ago with the hope to recreate the vibe and feel of this board—not an exact literal translation.

Sources: Invitation via http://www.weddinginvitations.be, Dresses via Dessy, Pillow via 5eizen on Etsy, Couple via Glen Manor House, Sign via Martha Stewart Weddings, Chandelier via Clipart.com, Bouquet via Martha Stewart Weddings, Shoes via Purple Wedding, Pansies via The Knot, Pearls, Cake via Martha Stewart Weddings

As the look and feel started to come together I wasn’t exactly sure what to call the style I was hoping to achieve. “Classic elegant romance,” “Regal and romantic,” “Sentimental”? One of the front runners for my recaps was “Happy Tears and Chandeliers.” You get the idea; I was going for something I couldn’t quite name. Maybe you’ll know the perfect description.

Read more…

I think this is my absolute, undeniably, holycrap, let’s-make-a-gallery-wrap-out-of-you favorite wedding photo. It’s been my desktop background for a while now and I don’t see that changing any time soon. This is one of those photos that 100% completely confirms why you chose the wedding photographer you did - when a photo takes your breath away you know you’re onto something good.
Read more…

Once we were on the road to our wedding reception, the gravity of the day sunk in. We had just gotten married—married! It was simply surreal.

For the first time since we’d arrived to Rhode Island we had a moment that truly felt our own.

Read more…

Come now and declare your union. And we who love you, declare our intent to hold you dear forever and ever.

I, Brian/Amanda, take you, Amanda/Brian, to be my wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death. This is my solemn vow.

Read more…

On behalf of Amanda Rose S. and Brian John V., I welcome you to this formal declaration of their marriage. This service is an expression of their love for each other, their dedication to their families and friends, and their deepest desire for the future that awaits them.
Read more…

It was time to officially get the show on the road! Guests began arriving at Manning Chapel on what turned out to be an amazingly gorgeous day. A perfect day to get married, if I do say so myself.

As guests entered the chapel they were greeted Mr. Seashell’s goddaughter who handed out our handmade programs.
Read more…