Weddingbee Blog

3,700. The number of times we have typed “dress regret” on the Weddingbee boards. Why was I oblivious to this potential pitfall until it actually happened to me? After choosing the “Cambridge” I was done looking, or so I thought.

I mustered the courage to finally introduce myself on the boards and post a dress photo. Perhaps you remember my sassy avatar and if it’s out on the internet, it must be truth, right?

Then IT happened.

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I cannot tell you how relieved I feel to finally share the story of my dress search! Even still I find myself trying to hide the computer from Mr. Hot Tea so he won’t catch a peek. DOH—we’re married now silly Teacup, it’s okay.

Let’s rewind back a year ago. Just after getting engaged, we chose a date for our ceremony at the Carmel Mission Basilica. I had completed the Catholic catechism and was baptized, confirmed, and received my first communion at that altar during Easter 2009. It only seemed logical to want to get married there, and I needed a dress to stand up to the grandeur.

Photo credit: Karlo M. Leonor

Dutifully following Randy Fenoli’s advice of bridal homework, I pored over thousands of gowns in magazines and on theknot.com. I learned the recommended silhouettes for my body type and paid careful attention to my bookmarked styles. Maybe through process of elimination I’d figure out what I wanted.

Hindsight 20/20, I now know to listen for the little inner self who felt whirly-twirly over a beauty by Priscilla of Boston. She was all wrong for me and the Mission, and yet I still drool when she comes into view. Love!
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Aloooooooooha, Hive!

Oh, how I’ve missed you. I could bore you with how work, life and wedding converged into the perfect personal storm over the last few weeks. It got so bad that I was in serious need of a happiness intervention.

Credit: Sweet Tooth Suicide

It’s fascinating that the time leading up to “the happiest day of our lives” could cause crippling stress and anxiety. I’m ashamed to admit that it got me questioning everything only a few days before W-day. Thankfully, Mr. Hot Tea picked me up, warmed my cold feet and functioned when I could no longer cope.
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Aloha, hive. I’m super excited to share this month’s meet up in San Jose with you. You may remember our last meet, and the group is adding new members and celebrating our first bride to return as a newlywed “Mrs.” Yay!

First off, I want to extend some love and appreciation to our informally designated meet-up coordinator Miss Gopa. She is the driving force for scheduling our outings, posting them on the boards, and following up via PM to remind us of the upcoming event. Thanks, Gopa!

We kept with the tradition of dinner at Pasta Pomodoro in Santana Row…though the location may switch in the near future. Here’s a group shot of all the lovely ladies.

Back row: Miss Teacup, cutexkitty, breezybri19 / Front row: sparkedlove11, jbug, Miss Gopa

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When super excited, I relax my Midwest sensibility and default to West Coast vernacular. Forgive me, but to properly start I can’t help saying…

DUDES!

The DIY project I’m about to share was hands down the most fun, affordable and quick to assemble. I’m talking about providing entertainment for the 20 or so children we expect as guests.

A few Bees from past generations shared their cute ideas for kiddie activity bags, including Mrs. Lox, Mrs. Toucan and Mrs. Martini. For ours, I’ll begin with the price.

I spent $34 to create 24 of these fun little surprises. Yay for the budget! No lie, each completed bag cost a whopping $1.41 each. That’s right, one dollar and forty-one cents. Can you even get a cup of Starbucks drip coffee for that price?

Easy peasy and cute to boot!

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Aloha, dear Hive! Oh, how I’ve missed you. The past couple of weeks have been stressful at best. I’ve been trying to maintain a sunny disposition and not let wedding planning get the best of me. But, it has. It sure has.

We all have our fair share of family drama, vendor drama and life drama. If I had one wish it would be to declare our wedding a “drama-free” zone.

Image and art via RJH Graphics

I’ll spare you the gory details, venting would only make matters worse, leading to more hurt feelings and unneeded regret.

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Hello, Hive! A fever pitch is on the horizon with W-Day less than a handful of weeks away. I’ve completely focused all effort and energy to crossing off to-dos and making the last decisions to impact the look and feel of our wedding. No more time to change my mind, it feels good to find some final answers!

Case in point, my beauty trials. From my initial hair inspiration, Anne Hathaway’s glamorous locks clearly won out.

Image via Real Beauty

And as it has been throughout the planning process, my style turned out nothing like the original vision.

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Summer in Santa Cruz is in full force. For those of you who’ve never visited California’s central coast, there’s a reason why local souvenir shops sell lots of fleece jackets. Instead of sunshine, blue skies, and warm beach days, we get what Mr. Hot Tea affectionately refers to as the fog monster. Here’s a recent photo to reinforce the chill of a 60-degree summer:

{ The wool cap is a necessity, not just a fashion accessory }

The Teacup family vacation is regularly scheduled for late May or early June in hopes to avoid the fog monster for a little while. Unfortunately, W-Day planning and budgeting necessarily took priority over our annual summer sojourn.

Dudes, we are suffering from cabin fever. First world problems, I know. We live in a place where millions of people visit annually, courtesy of the Beach Boardwalk.

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I hope you’re sufficiently rested from all that pocketfold prep. This next part will be more gratifying because you’ll have a finished product to show for your work! Shall we get started?

Step 7: Host an invite-making party!

For extra motivation, set up an afternoon where willing friends come over to lend their helping hands. I asked fellow Hive members, fully knowing that I’ll be happy to reciprocate the favor. An incentive of homemade cupcakes and cookies sweetens the deal.

{ My invitation angels, BreezyBri19 and Miss Gopa }

Step 8: Affix ribbon to the folder.

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Aloooooooha, Hive! This little Teacup has been a busy bee. W-Day looms a handful of weeks away, inspiring a flurry of wedding-related preparation. Yay!

In the midst of bouncing around from project to project, I’ve neglected to keep you caught up on all our W-Day progress. No more - I’ve brewed a cup of my favorite hot green tea and put myself on DIY timeout to get back to writing. Blogging counts as wedding activity, right?!

I left off last week promising a detailed tutorial of our invites, post-reveal. Let’s start at the very beginning. I hear it’s a very good place to start. Thanks, Maria.

Image via Dvdizzy / Credit: “The Sound of Music,” Dir. Robert Wise, 1965, film.

Step One: Source your invitation cards.

I chose to leave this first step to the professionals. After scouring the internet for inspiration, I ended up with 122 different designs saved to a folder on my computer and yet nothing felt quite right.
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Warning - this post is pic heavy!

If you remember our proposal story, I shared Mr. Hot Tea’s health scare with a benign tumor requiring a craniotomy and neurosurgery. The procedure was scheduled for January 2011 and it was highly likely that his facial nerve would be severed to remove the tumor, causing full paralysis on one side of his face. Rehab would take between 6 months to several years.

Why do I tell you all this? Because more than anything, Mr. Hot Tea wants his smile back for our wedding. Imagine losing function in half your face, eye bulging and lip sagging. Here’s how it progressed.

{ Mr. Hot Tea about six months before we met }

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My previous invite post was necessarily a tease, but no more! We’ve given our guests over a week to receive them and now it’s your turn to see. I’ll let the pictures do the talking…

{ The wrap-around labels are similar to those of our STDs, & I love the cake stamp! }

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Before I tell you about me, let’s talk about you. Hive, your outpouring of support and encouragement for my initial shedding posts overwhelmed me! I was nervous to share and you dispelled my fear. Your comments ran the spectrum of weight loss options, from quick fixes to long-term lifestyle change. Diet, exercise, how-to books and motivating pictures—oh my! Please accept my gratitude, I’ve read all the feedback twice over and it means a lot to have you there on my journey. From the bottom of my teacup heart, thank you!

Image via The Tea Cosy

When we last left off, I was debating the merits of Weight Watchers vs. Jenny Craig. WW received the vast majority of positive feedback and I agree wholeheartedly with the concepts they teach. Based on my needs and lifestyle, I chose the road less traveled. Allow me to introduce my new BFF, Jenny!

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Can you believe it? Neither can I, it’s a miracle they made it in the mail! Here’s proof of my success, happily nestled in the Fizz & Frills marketplace bag. Yay, recycling!

Ladies, I won’t lie—the past few weeks have been incredibly hectic. It doesn’t help that I’m a terrible multi-tasker. Shedding for the wedding, invitations, and my bachelorette weekend all converged last Thursday. Although I wish it were effortless, I managed to keep my peak stress levels to a minimum. A girl can fantasize, right?
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Hello, Hive! I’m excited to share some photos from our recent local bee meet up in San Jose, California, on Wednesday, August 10. Our group hosts a monthly meeting for all comers in Santana Row and we’ve been getting together since May.

It’s a great time to associate real people with their online avatars. We’ve established a tradition of dinner at Pasta Pomodoro restaurant followed by dessert at Ben & Jerry’s ice cream or Pinkberry frozen yogurt.

Back row: cutexkitty, pengoala

Front row: Miss Teacup, nonapkns, sparkedlove11

Each month we’ve added a new face or two to the group. Meeting strangers from the internet could be intimidating, and I think breezybri19 speaks for all of us when she describes the experience:

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