Mrs. Cardigan, AustinAge and Occupation: 21, Student/Soon-to-be Special Education TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 20, Student/Soon-to-be Accounting Systems AnalystEngagement Date: August 16, 2009Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Vintage VillasAbout Me: I'm a native Austinite who was raised as a die-hard Aggie. Luckily, I'm a pretty persuasive girl because I managed to convince my high school boyfriend (now fiance!), Mr. Cardigan, to ditch his hardcore Longhorn ways and join me up at A&M, where we currently reside with our adorable dogs, Cullen & Ranger. We're currently planning a bright, cheery wedding with a ridiculous amount of DIY projects that I can't wait to tackle! I love crafting in any form, reading, and margaritas (I think I love them the most!). Organization is what keeps me sane and I love helping others, which is probably why I ended up as an education major. It gets a little chaotic sometimes when you're planning a wedding among all of the papers, projects, finals, and certification exams, but we're having the time of our lives and we can't wait to get started on our journey as husband and wife - and we're so excited to share our wedding with the hive!
I love our venue. Really, I do. And I love that they have a boutique hotel attached to it. It works so well for so many reasons, and I’m incredibly excited about it.
BUT.
I do not love the way they handle room blocks, because it stresses me the hell out. You see, they’re one of those hotels that punishes you if all of the rooms aren’t booked. You have to sign a contract for a certain number of rooms, and if you don’t manage to fill them all, you get to pay for them all. Awesome, right? I thought about just ditching the idea of blocking rooms there and block them somewhere else, but there aren’t many hotels near our venues, and most of them are also small hotels, which I assume will mean they’ll have a similar policy.
I was terrified to actually commit to a number of rooms, but they make it somewhat easier by offering blocks by the “villa” rather than just a room. Read more…
Mrs. Octopus, Boston, MA/Pittsburgh, PAAge and Occupation: 25, Grad StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Graphics Operator for TV NewsEngagement Date: May 6th, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heinz Chapel Ceremony, Museum Reception
About Me: When my best friend dragged me to a toga party in our freshmen year of college, I was not expecting to meet my future husband; but seven years later, here we are. I'm a crazy-organized planner at heart, and I am a great lover of random trivia, books, chocolate, blogs, new and exciting adventures, mockumentary-style television, and anything heavily flavored with bright orange fake cheese powder. We're planning a festive and fun mini-destination wedding in the place where we met: fabulous Pittsburgh, PA! I can't wait to marry the man I love!
Once we locked down Heinz Chapel as our ceremony site, I assumed that we would create our block of hotel rooms at the Holiday Inn directly across the street.
See that awesome location? It’s less than a five-minute walk to Heinz Chapel! Also, it’s a very, very easy walk to many great attractions in the lively Oakland/University of Pittsburgh area, including the University’s main building, the Cathedral of Learning, the super-awesome Carnegie Museums of Art and History, and lots of great, busy bars and restaurants, including the Holy Grail of Pittsburgh foods, Primanti Brothers’ sandwiches: Read more…
Mrs. Starfish, Boston/NewportAge and Occupation: 25, Operations AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, SalesEngagement Date: October 8, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: The Atlantic Beach ClubAbout Me: I'm a perfectionist who is a planner at heart. I don't do well with surprises. I love planning, crafting, Newport RI, family and friends, and most importantly, Mr. Starfish---all of which will be big components in our October wedding in our favorite little city by the sea.
Blocking the rooms has been one of the most stressful parts of planning so far. Blocking rooms in a tourist town is great because you have lots of options. But… with that comes some not-so-great things. For example, these hotels don’t need our business like, say, a hotel in a random suburb. So what does that mean? Well… we had trouble finding hotels that would give our guests discounts and/or would allow guests to stay only one night.
After my first two calls, I realized this wasn’t going to be easy. So with my list of requirements in hand, I got to calling and emailing every place I could find within 5 miles of Newport.
Mrs. Cola, Mountain View, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Product Communications and PromotionsFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Managing Partner and Senior DesignerEngagement Date: March 5, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: The Mountain Terrace, Woodside, CAAbout Me: I’m a Washington State native, enjoying life in Silicon Valley California with my fiancé, our three kitties and one leopard gecko. I like reading wedding blogs, Photoshopping wedding design mock ups, making lists, and planning, planning, planning! I’m a bit of an anomaly, on one side I’m a very girlie girl, I collect shoes, I lay out my outfits 4-6 weeks in advance, and I’d never leave the house without my hair curled and makeup on. But on the other side, I’m a total tomboy, I love to go camping and hiking, play drinking games (hey, I’m Irish!) and most of my closest friends are guys. My fiancé and I are planning a DIY-focused wedding with a balance between easygoing (what he wants) and chic and stylish (what I want), and are tying it all together with elements in lavender, sage, butter cream and chocolate.
Mr. Cola and I are following in the steps of several bees, and will be renting a charter bus for our wedding guests. Considering the hotel is a half hour away, and our venue is at the top of the Santa Cruz Mountains, up a curvy, carsick-inducing road, I consider it money well spent. No guests of ours will be getting DUIs or in a wreck on account of our wedding!
Here is a peek at a mock-up of the map I made for our invitations inserts, showing the windy roads—we even caution guests again to take advantage of our bus (click the map for a larger view):
But just because we consider it a necessary expense doesn’t mean we didn’t shop around for the best price! However, it proved to be more difficult than anticipated; gathering charter bus quotes was hard work. Read more…
Mrs. Pudding, Greater Toronto Area/VermontAge and Occupation: 26, High School TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Computer EngineerEngagement Date: August 2008Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Catholic Ceremony, Cultural Hall ReceptionAbout Me: Quite literally a citizen of the world, I was born in Poland, grew up in Canada, and now live in the beautiful state of Vermont. I love reading historical biographies, multi-tasking, teasing my hair, and, despite my height, wearing high heeled shoes. I am the ultimate klutz with an uncanny ability to put on a graceful front. Mr. Pudding and I have been dating for over six years, and are very excited to finally merge our (very large) families. We are planning a traditional Polish-Catholic wedding that is anything but predictable.
We will have a lot of out of town guests at our wedding. In fact, “out of town” is probably an understatement - I should say “out of country”. Approximately 50% of our guest list will be crossing the US/Canada border to attend the celebration, and another 10-15% will travel for more than an hour to join us. Because of this, arranging for hotel accommodations was a very important task, one that we knew had to be taken care of early.
It dawned on me this morning that I’ve never told you about our great accommodations find! We have informed our guests about the reserved hotels via our STDs and website, and have received overwhelmingly positive feedback! I think that I have heard at least twice as many “great choice on the hotel, guys” than “Wow! Your STDs are beautiful and amazing and must have taken so much hard work!”
On to the goods! After checking out many of your standard hotel chains in our area, including the Holiday Inn, the Comfort Inn, and the Marriott Residence Inn, we were just not impressed. Even with a group discount, the hotel rooms were expensive (averaging around $120.00), and they were mostly located about 30 minutes from our venue, right next to Highway 401.
Mrs. Nachos, Chicago/St. ThomasAge and Occupation: 33, Commercial Real Estate & HairstylistFiance's Age and Occupation: 36, Radio ProducerEngagement Date: May 22, 2009Wedding Date: April 2010Venue: Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort, St. ThomasAbout Me: I'm a happy, laid back city girl that can find the silver lining in any situation. An optimist at heart, my motto is to turn your "what ifs?" into "so whats!". My fiance is a radio producer and the biggest Cubs fan you'll meet - our apartment decor definitely shows it. He and I grew up next door to each other and because of it, we have the best home videos and easiest holiday dinners. We are planning an intimate wedding in the Virgin Islands and a cocktail party in June for 150 of our closest friends.
We originally booked our stay at the Wyndham in a Resort View room. Resort View rooms are on the bottom of the totem pole, but we were OK with that because our wedding contract allows for one free room upgrade, and it was the least expensive to book. And besides the obvious moments for a honeymoon, we’re not planning on hiding out too much in our room to begin with! So we would be going from the Resort View (I couldn’t find any pics) to the Bay View…
Mrs. Sewing, San Mateo, CA/Honolulu, HIAge and Occupation: 24, Electrical EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Electrical EngineerEngagement Date: June 27, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Anela Garden Chapel & Japanese Cultural Center, HonoluluAbout Me: I'm an easily entertained, compulsive idea-scheming machine who loves good art, good food, and a good engineering challenge. I'm planning a half-destination wedding on the beautiful island of Oahu - imagine a plethora of movies, art and games; savory Hawaiian food; blended Chinese and Japanese cultural details; lush, fragrant tropical flowers and all the air conditioning a NorCal native could want! And once I marry the love of my life, we'll come back to the 'mainland' to party it up all over again in my hometown of Salinas, the salad-bowl capital of the world!
To be honest, I don’t know all that much about the business of flying. I’ve been on a plane only a handful of times, none of which ever required booking a ticket for myself. So for someone who intends on flying multiple people to Hawaii, the learning curve is steep. But I’ll ride that wave.
We’ll start with a lessons-learned from my “experience” booking the flight to Oahu for our scouting trip. I’ll put the process in bulleted form for simplified reading, though it’ll probably still be confusing.
Mr. Sewing and I for sure, were going. Then I thought it might be nice to take my parents too, as sort of an early 25th anniversary present. Not content at that, my parents decided they wanted my siblings to come as well. So, six people flying to Hawaii would not be so bad, eh?
Well, my carrier of choice (Hawaiian) listed zero flights for the day after Christmas on their main website. Sold out? Mr. Sewing told me no, but the flight would have to be bought through an online travel agency since it was semi-late in the game.
Screaming over crazy prices ensued. Did it really cost over 800 dollars to fly during a holiday? Apparently.
Mrs. Guinea Pig, Baltimore, MD Age and Occupation: 26, PhD student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Operations Director at a non-profit Engagement Date: December 25, 2008 Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: The Chesapeake Bay Beach Club About Me: I'm a tomboy science nerd whose girly side has made a startling appearance thanks to wedding planning! I love to bake, knit and sew but I also ride a motorcycle (that Mr. Guinea Pig wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole). We live with our three crazy cats and love to read, travel, watch movies, and do home improvement projects together! My parents/family are Canadian but I'm definitely American, although I've lived in 5 different countries, 6 different states, and speak Russian fluently. Mr. GP and I met online (did I mention I'm a scientist?) and had a whirlwind romance - now we can't wait to get married & celebrate with all our friends and family in a blue and yellow waterfront affair!
Even though our venue is only about an hour from Baltimore and DC, it’s essentially an out of town event for everyone involved. No one coming to our wedding actually lives on Kent Island, which probably means that a fair number of people will be staying in the area hotels, at least for Saturday night. And while the hotels are only about 10 minutes from the venue, word on the street is that the island’s cops really love sitting at the on-ramp to the highway and nabbing people leaving wedding receptions (there are a couple of other venues nearby too), who have a pretty high likelihood of having had a drink or two before driving home from the party. Now, I know that the MD government needs more money, but I’d rather not supplement it with DUI tickets.
We do NOT want our guests drinking and driving. Obviously. Read more…
Mrs. Trail Mix, New YorkAge and Occupation: 26, PE TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, MBA StudentEngagement Date: March 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Tannery Pond at the Darrow SchoolAbout Me: I'm a country girl who somehow found herself living in the Big Apple and loving every minute of it. I'm planning a rustic, country-chic wedding in my hometown in upstate New York and it's going to be a Party with a capital P. White wine, flea markets and running keep me happy and my friends, family and fiance are my world. I'm a little bit crafty, a little bit crazy but mostly just crazy in love.
Did anyone else’s college have a housing lottery? It was always kind of stressful, trying to figure out who was going to live with whom and how to best configure all your friends in the best location possible. Well, that is how I feel about figuring out hotel logistics for the wedding.
Here’s the problem: I grew up in the middle of nowhere. Read more…
Mrs. Labrador Retriever, Athens/SavannahAge and Occupation: 24, Student/Sports ReporterFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Physical Therapy Assistant Student/Future Dr. of PT
Engagement Date: December 31, 2008Wedding Date: November 2009Venue: Whitfield Square/Savannah StationAbout Me: I'm working on my second degree from UGA (Go Dawgs!). I'm a self-proclaimed attention-w****. If it involves a camera, I'm in front of it! You'll never meet a girlier tomboy than me. I can go toe to toe with any guy on the subject of college football, and lift more than any girl in my gym, all without chipping a nail. I hope to someday be the only person you want delivering your sports news. My FI and I are the loving parents of three Labrador Retrievers (one of each color) and are planning a "Southern Romantic Charm" wedding in the beautiful, historic city of Savannah. I'm not extreme in anything except moderation... and wedding planning.
The future in-laws have done it again… they’re getting me a horse and buggy to carry me to and from the ceremony!
When I found out, I was initially thrilled! But then I started thinking that it may be a bit unnecessary. I mean, I could just ride the trolley there and back, right? Why spend extra money when we don’t need to? We’re trying to cut back on frivolous items, not tack them on!
I voiced these concerns to Mr. Lab and his sister, but they weren’t having it. Mr. Lab is a very traditional, Southern-raised lad and I’ve come to realize that like me, he has a few “expectations” of his wedding and future bride.* One of them is the romantic view of his soon-to-be wife riding up in a horse-drawn carriage moments before exchanging vows. He was sold on the idea the moment he heard plans of it. And he’s not budging. Because he rarely requests anything wedding-wise, I’ve decided to let him have this one. Apparently being a buggy bride is no frivolous thing in Mr. Lab’s book!
So for an extra $175, I will be chauffeured in one of these beauties:
Mrs. Sunbeam, San Francisco/Grove City, PAAge and Occupation: 26, Grad Student & Office ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Motion DesignerEngagement Date: May 10, 2008Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Harbison Chapel & The Maple Lane FarmAbout Me: Mr. Sunbeam and I are high school sweethearts. We both come from a small town in PA but are growing to love the California lifestyle. He loves wine and I love cheese... the perfect combination! When I'm not drooling over wedding blogs, I'm attending grad school, out being a foodie, or attempting to "walk" our cat at the park. Two things guaranteed to excite me are wedding cakes and breaking out my suitcase to travel. Mr. Sunbeam and I are personalizing our hometown wedding to celebrate our high school sweetheart status and PA roots with a few CA touches. After ten years of dating we couldn't be more excited to call each other husband and wife!
There are some things that really got the short end of the stick budget-wise, like transportation. Up until a month ago we really hadn’t given much thought to transportation. Early on we kicked around the idea of getting an old model-T Ford to drive us around. But the model-T search wasn’t the easiest task, and a limo was WAY too expensive for us, so we pictured ourselves driving off in Momma Sunbeam’s Prius and went on with the planning. Then one day it hit me: what about a school bus??
We’re high school sweethearts, so we could definitely chalk it up to a nostalgia thing, and chances were that it would be cheap. Read more…
Mrs. Labrador Retriever, Athens/SavannahAge and Occupation: 24, Student/Sports ReporterFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Physical Therapy Assistant Student/Future Dr. of PT
Engagement Date: December 31, 2008Wedding Date: November 2009Venue: Whitfield Square/Savannah StationAbout Me: I'm working on my second degree from UGA (Go Dawgs!). I'm a self-proclaimed attention-w****. If it involves a camera, I'm in front of it! You'll never meet a girlier tomboy than me. I can go toe to toe with any guy on the subject of college football, and lift more than any girl in my gym, all without chipping a nail. I hope to someday be the only person you want delivering your sports news. My FI and I are the loving parents of three Labrador Retrievers (one of each color) and are planning a "Southern Romantic Charm" wedding in the beautiful, historic city of Savannah. I'm not extreme in anything except moderation... and wedding planning.
I just found out that my FMIL is giving me a special wedding gift: a room at the absolutely stunning Mansion on Forsyth Park the night before the wedding!
She caught wind of the fact that I was scouting out a pretty place for my “getting ready” shots from FSIL. The two then began scheming behind my back and after some research, chose the iconic Savannah hotel. When they told me of their plan, I was beyond ecstatic! There would be no way I could afford a night at the hotel, so I was extremely grateful. Just look at how gorgeous this place is! Read more…
Mrs. Star, New York CityAge and Occupation: 22, ActressFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Casting AssistantWedding Date: October 2009Venue: Ceremony: The Kraine Theatre, Reception: Midtown Loft & TerraceAbout Me: I’m a professional actress who’s always had New York City in her blood and I'm finally getting the chance to make a home in Manhattan with my fiancé, my dog, and my big dreams! I love polka dots, craft projects, Dunkin’ Donuts’ iced coffee, and anything sparkly. I’m having a blast planning our elegant/dramatic/New York City/acting-themed/largely-DIY wedding and am thrilled to be the youngest current Miss Blogger!
For me and Mr. Star, wedding day transportation was pretty much a no-brainer. One of the wonderful parts of having our wedding in the middle of Manhattan is that it’s never hard to get around. In fact, transportation abounds for those of us without our own wheels!
It was never a part of my wedding dreams to have a big, fancy limo or a sleek vintage car to drive us around that day; although don’t get me wrong, peeps, those options are gorgeous, too! But a part of having our wedding in Manhattan was sacrificing the things that weren’t a top priority in order to fund things like our beautiful, but expensive loft space!
And what form of transportation could be more classic New York City than a yellow taxi cab? Read more…
Mrs. Bruschetta, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 25, Communication ProfessionalFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Physical Therapy Graduate StudentEngagement Date: November 30, 2007Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: St. Thomas of Villanova Church & the F.U.E.L. HouseAbout Me: I’m a self-proclaimed grammar geek who loves singing (like, really belting it) in the car. My mister and I are planning a vibrant summer soiree celebrating our passions – including food and Philly – and when we make it official, we’ll have been together for eight years! Being super competitive is in my nature, and talking excessively is in my genes. I’ve got a terrible sense of direction, but can always easily find my way into Mr. Bruschetta’s arms.
After we found the F.U.E.L. House, the mister and I quickly realized we were jazzed about almost everything a city reception had to offer. A counterpoint to the polished area surrounding our suburban ceremony site. A structure that’s on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, down the road from several significant sites connected to the birthplace of the United States and in close proximity to some our favorite restaurants — so we can celebrate in a neighborhood that’s special to us, and share this area with our family and friends.
The only thing we didn’t love? The parking situation.
We set the date, signed the contract to secure the F.U.E.L. House — and knew we wouldn’t be able to stretch the budget to include valet parking for our guests. (Given our estimated guest count, we’d have to pay two or three attendants, which would come to at least — but most likely more than — $1,000 for the night.) Instead, Mr. Bruschetta and I pounded the pavement in Old City to complete some parking research. (To help you get your bearings, our cocktail hour and reception locations are flagged on the map below in shades of blue. The hotels at which we’ve secured room blocks are in green.)
Mrs. Joey, SeattleAge and Occupation: 28, Project Administrator for Public Health NGOFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, High School History TeacherEngagement Date: June 24, 2008Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: Eastside Catholic Chapel and Lake Union CafeAbout Me: I'm a Seattle girl through and through except for the fact that I don't drink coffee. I love my job most of the time because I get to travel and work with brilliant people who are trying to prevent Malaria. I love DIY projects of all sorts, cooking, and watching sports. I'd wear anything at Anthropologie and could spend all day on Etsy. I love to travel but shouldn't because I always get myself into unbelievable situations!
That’s right friends, we’re down to single digits.
It’s starting to feel real. My sister (Joey MOH) arrived yesterday and I feel like that was the official start of the wedding countdown. She’s the first of the wedding party/guests to arrive and today FMIL Joey will be here.
I am SO glad Sister Joey is here. For one, because I missed her, and also because she can manage all the last minute details I don’t have the capacity for. For example, where I’m going to stay the night before the wedding, and what is our wedding transportation will be.
I was going to stay at my parents’, but they now have 8 out of town guests staying at their house. That feels like too much madness and not enough hot water for me. Mama Joey is upset that I’m considering not staying there and possibly staying at my apartment the night of the wedding. She says it’s tradition to stay at your parents’ house the night before the wedding, and I say it’s a logistical nightmare. I do not have the energy to fight this out with her so I’m leaving MOH/Sister Joey to figure this out.
Where are you staying the night before the wedding? Did anyone spend it with their FI?
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
