- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee Blog
Here’s how the hunt for my first dress went: Saw it. Liked it. Tried it on. Wrote the check.
Here’s how the hunt for my second dress went: Remembered it. Liked it. Unpacked it.
Let me explain. I didn’t mean to become a two-dress bride—it just kinda happened. Many many months before I was engaged, one of my mom’s friends got married. She just so happened to get married at Grandview, which my mom knew I had taken a liking to. So my mom sent me the link to her friend’s pictures. Like I mentioned in my previous post, Grandview didn’t make me swoon, but something in the pictures did.
Photo borrowed from my mom
If you’ve read the title of this post, you might have a hint of an idea what this is about.
I’m from the South, and it’s not a true Southern wedding, in my opinion, without a groom’s cake. BM C. Bear had a cannoli cake since that was her groom’s favorite dessert. BM L. Bug had a cake with a postal theme as a nod to her postman hubby. My own father had a small chocolate cake for himself. And so I got down to business.
My FI is a drummer, so I first looked into cakes that looked like drums.
Cake by Cake Ink.
Warning: This post is photo heavy. I would apologize, but I’m too smitten with the subject.
Feeling frustrated from the not-so-fruitful venue hunt, I tabled the subject. The beginning of March rolled around. We had decided we were getting married in late October, and that was about it. We were down to seven months with no venue and, therefore, nothing else planned. I very casually started the hunt again online.
For the record, I had never before even considered looking around the northeast Georgia area. Granted, I practically grew up there. Hiked the trails, panned the rivers for garnets, fished the trout streams, and learned to drive on the very windy Highway 129. We camped for years, and my family ended up building a house up there when I was in middle school. It has definitely become a second home for me. But it was nowhere near the rocks where my fiance and I met! The horror! Yeah, I’m crazy. It’s beautiful up there and meaningful to me ’cause it is a take on the tradition of getting married in the bride’s hometown.
But honestly, I didn’t expect much. Like I said, I know that area. And besides wineries, which would be a little too highfalutin’ for our blood, there wouldn’t be much in the way of venues. Or so I thought. Cue tinkling bell sounds!
Image via PrintActivities
As soon as we were engaged, I was determined to find a venue. We had settled on a late October wedding, and here we were in the middle of February. I needed to get a move on. My thinking was that we for sure wanted to be married outside, with a great view, and preferably in northwest Georgia or the Chattanooga area where we met and got engaged.
So while the boys were out climbing one day, one of my soon-to-be bridesmaids (heretofore known as BM C. Bear) went out a-looking. I had heard about one particular venue called Grandview.
Image via Grandview / Photo by Liz Power Photography
Featured on Weddingbee
Unique Wedding Favors
“Add a memorable touch to your wedding with unique favors that match your theme.”
The mister and I had spoken of marriage before. But I was sure that it was going to happen during “boulder season.” (That’s what we call the time where the weather is actually cold enough for us to decide to go outside to climb.) Well, now it was February, and while the weather was still holding out, the days had slowly started turning warmer, and I knew for sure that it was going to be a longer wait than I had anticipated. Also, I had recently boogered up my left middle finger and wasn’t in the mood to go outside and watch everyone else climb while I had to sit back.
I finally got cabin fever and decided one weekend that I would go up to Chattanooga and stay at a friend’s house so I could at least hang out with everyone once the day was over. While everyone was getting ready, I at the last minute decided I couldn’t stand it, taped up my fingers, grabbed my gear, and got in the car. We were headed to Rocktown and, come hell or high water, I was gonna climb. I didn’t notice a single thing weird about the day except that, on the way up, the mister’s hands were much sweatier than normal. I figured he was just as antsy as I was to get on rock. But then at a fork in the road, he turned left to go to the lookout while everyone else followed right and went on up to the trail head for the boulder field.
(Overlook courtesy of T.G.)
So you might be wondering what got us to this day. And I suppose that’s pretty important. Ours is a pretty fun story (or so I tell myself). I had recently graduated from college and was looking to meet new people since I was now on my own in the city with a big-girl job. I had climbed a little bit in college, and I got back in touch with an old climbing friend who suggested I come out with him sometime to climb and meet a bunch of his buddies. I finally went out with them to a boulder field in northwest Georgia on one of the coldest days that season. I’m from Georgia, y’all, and weather like this particular day doesn’t happen often. It maybe got into the 40s that day, and not having been outside for that length of time in that cold of weather, I only wore cords, a long-sleeved shirt, and a hoodie. I was mostly miserable all day.
About midday, one of the guys had the audacity to tease me by throwing my sneakers on top of a rock in an attempt to convince me to climb. (I managed to climb up an easier way and snag them without having to climb up the hard way.) Then that same guy decided to feed my dog the crust off his sandwich after I’d already mentioned that she gets no people food. I thought to myself, “What a jerk!” and decided that I did NOT like this kid. The sun started to go down, and I got even more miserable and started visibly shaking. I attempted to play it cool, and when “the kid” offered me his jacket, I scoffed. Once the group called it a day, I tromped off to my car, not sure what I thought about this whole climbing outside in the cold business, but on the way out I made sure to notice what car “the kid” got into. Sos I could keep a wary eye on him, of course.
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
We’re a mere two months out from our wedding, and I’ve yet to feel the rush of “stuff” to do. Perhaps I’m a bad bride. Or else I’ve managed to pick some great vendors. I’m going with the latter for now.
Who are we, you might ask? We are the Skunks. One part mechanical designer (him) and one part student/farmer’s-market bread slinger (me). Together plus my dog, we’ll soon be one happy family.
Well, butter my buns and call me biscuit! I’m a bee, y’all!
I got a text from my fiancé saying, “Check the wedding email account when you get a chance. There’s good news for you.” I kinda squealed inside, but managed to contain it. After all, what if he was talking about something completely different? And I had a whole afternoon of stuff to do before I could sit my little tush in front of a computer. But lo and behold, I got home and saw “think you’d be a great addition to the Weddingbee team.” Hoodeehoo! I’m so excited to share with y’all a little glimpse into our big day.
Who exactly are we, you ask? Why, we’re the Skunks! We met atop a mountain in the middle of a boulder field a little over two years ago while climbing. Today, we’re still climbing and excited to start the next adventure of our lives together.
(Photo courtesy of J.S.)
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Mrs. Skunk, Atlanta Age and Occupation: 23, Post baccalaureate student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Mechanical Designer Engagement Date: February 13, 2011 Wedding Date: November 2011 Venue: Neverland Farms About Me: I’m a Georgia peach born and raised in the dirty dirty. I love reading, baking lots of sweets and forcing them on my friends, and most of all, rock climbing. I am in the process of applying to graduate school in physical therapy and I work at farmers’ markets around town selling bread for a local bakery. The mister and I met while rock climbing just over two years ago and have been inseparable ever since. Our climbing friends mean the world to us and have played an integral role in our relationship. We’re planning a barnyard shindig filled with good food, good friends, and lots of love.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
