Miss Unicycle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing CompanyFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD StudentEngagement Date: March 26, 2011Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Bridges of Poplar CreekAbout Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
We’re having an open bar at our wedding. That’s just the way it has to go. Too many of our guests are looking forward to gratis drinkage. I’m not planning on getting drunk at our wedding reception because I want to remember all the details as much as I can, and because I’ll probably be so high on life I won’t need any alcohol. (I’m getting bad flashbacks to high school health class now.) Mr. Unicycle won’t get drunk because he’s not big into drinking. But our guests? I hope they’re completely shit-faced. However, just because we’re having an open bar doesn’t mean we can’t have signature cocktails, right?
I love the idea of offering a signature cocktail or two because it gives guests an idea of what they can order at the bar. I personally am always at a loss for what to order at a bar. I’ll drink pretty much anything besides beer, but I don’t know enough about bartending to know what to ask for. Enter the signature cocktail! I wanted Mr. Unicycle and me to each have our own signature cocktail to offer as another way of infusing our personalities into the wedding. His favorite liquor is rum, so he immediately chose a rum old fashioned as his drink.
An old fashioned is basically just liquor with bitters and sugar, plus myriad garnishes. I friggin’ love garnishes, by the way. Mr. Unicycle is a classy dude, and this drink fits right in with our retro theme.
Miss Mink, Charlottesville, VirginiaAge and Occupation: 34, College AdministratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 40, Craft Beer ConsultantEngagement Date: November 26, 2010Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Pippin Hill Farm & VineyardsAbout Me: I left a pre-war brownstone in Boston six years ago to live in a funky, Southern city where Thomas Jefferson, Dave Matthews, and urban chicken keepers enjoy equal social standing. I still love my Patriots and Red Sox, but have fallen in love with Virginia. I work in education and specialize in integrating technology into my work to improve the student experience. I’m a diehard blogger, animal lover, jamband follower, and DIYer. I paint to relax and have transferred by energy from home projects to wedding projects in recent months. When Mr. Mink and I started talking about marriage, we knew our wedding would be outdoors, that my golden retriever would be part of the day, and that the music would be fantastic. We’ve taken a few risks during our planning process and we’ve been enjoying the process immensely!
Being locavores, we were attracted to our venue because of their farm-to-table philosophy. The catch was that we wouldn’t know much about our wedding menu until a few months before our wedding. We knew who had tastings very soon after booking their venues. We even have a friend whose caterer brought what was essentially a tasting to their very first meeting (it worked…they booked that caterer).
A local photographer who has an amazing way with shooting food (and is a food blogger on the side) recently tweeted about having a shoot at our venue and I knew it was time to book our tasting. As I flipped through nine pages of options, I knew we were going to have fun with the decisions ahead of us. We love food and we love the chefs at our venue. We knew everything we saw would be amazing, but certain items were sticking out more than others.
Since I was a child, I have found beef unappealing. I joke that if you put the steak from the Ruth’s Chris ad that’s in every in-flight magazine next to a plate of grilled vegetables, I would pick the vegetables. Mr. Mink, an enthusiastic carnivore, thinks I’m crazy. Read more…
Miss Fox, Washington DC/Havre de Grace, MDAge and Occupation: 26, Massage TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Field Support EngineerEngagement Date: April 18, 2010Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m a dancer turned massage therapist who was born and raised in New York. Alas, true love has brought me “south” where I still maintain my penchants for pretty shoes, wine, crossword puzzles, cherry blossoms, and the Mets. I own more sunglasses than a normal person should and don’t eat red meat (though I make up for it by eating my weight in sushi). I tend to be a big planner who likes to get things started early, but generally end up being indecisive and procrastinating when it comes down to it. I have a (not so) secret crush on Chris Carrabba, but my loyalty and love ultimately goes to the future hubs, of course! Together, my Foxy man and I love to discuss (read: debate) politics and current events, have Mario Kart and Scrabble duels, and just laugh. A lot. We’re hoping and planning for a laid back, fun, summery, rustic vibe to our June wedding that will be genuinely “us” – that is, if we finally make some decisions. Huzzah!
A little under a year ago, Foxy decided to buy a starter at-home beer brewing kit. Read more…
Mrs. Mole, Los Angeles/Las VegasAge and Occupation: 29, Test Prep InstructorFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, User Experience ArchitectEngagement Date: April 2011Wedding Date: January 2012Venue: Wynn Las Vegas/Bouchon BistroAbout Me: I’m a Wisconsinite-turned-Angeleno who is planning a destination wedding in Las Vegas. I am passionate about education: I spent 23 (!) consecutive years in school, and now I work to help other people get into graduate programs. I love running on the treadmill, buying bath products from Lush, learning new moves in step aerobics, and exploring my neighborhood on foot. I am sometimes snobby about food, but I am rarely snobby about books. I read everything from Geoffrey Chaucer to Iris Murdoch to Chuck Klosterman to Candace Bushnell. My fiance and I are getting married on our third anniversary!
Well, I’m not a total teetotaler. I drink the occasional glass of wine or beer, maybe averaging a drink or two per month. But Mr. Mole doesn’t drink. Ever. Not even a little bit.
Only one glass of wine at this table in NYC!
I didn’t find this out until our second date. Chicago offers liquor licensing for BYOB (bring your own booze) restaurants, and we just happened to go to one of those places for our second date. As we hugged hello outside of Habana Libre on Division, I suggested that we pick up a bottle of red wine from the liquor store down the street. “No thanks,” said Mr. Mole, “I don’t drink.” “Ever?” I asked, somewhat incredulously. “Never,” answered Mr. Mole.
Miss Kettle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 26, Non-Profit Donor Resource CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Musician & TeacherEngagement Date: May 29, 2011Wedding Date: February 2012Venue: Patrick C. Haley Mansion, Joliet, ILAbout Me: I'm a city girl who loves a good escape, so I'm planning a Chicago wedding outside of the city. I've been described as a quirky yet down-to-earth drama queen who loves fiercely. I used to be a scientist, but now I'm learning to navigate the world of non-profit organizations. I love cooking, blogging, shopping, and music, and movies (Hans Zimmer is my favorite movie composer). Mr. Kettle and I had a short courtship and now we have a happy home with our cat-who-thinks-she's-people, Belle. We spend our days and nights with good food, live music, video games, family, and friends. Our wedding has become this wonderful excuse to bring together hundreds of people we can't bear to be without.
No dancing on table tops or maxing out credit cards, but I’m sure at least one person woke up wondering if they had a hickey or a bruise. This post is all about partying without having a truly good reason to do so.
The one benefit of having such a large wedding party that’s comprised of people I spend a ton of time with already is all the extra hanging out that takes on a wedding theme. We already have five official wedding-related events, but this post is about the unofficial events. We had a bridezilla pizza party, we’re coming up on part two of our three part makeup-for-the-chicks party. And last Friday night, we had a signature drink party.
Our venue has a number of drink packages to choose from for the reception. The one we went with includes a signature drink. They had several options we could choose from or we could develop our own. Mr. Kettle and I quickly decided to develop our own. Read more…
Miss Fox, Washington DC/Havre de Grace, MDAge and Occupation: 26, Massage TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Field Support EngineerEngagement Date: April 18, 2010Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m a dancer turned massage therapist who was born and raised in New York. Alas, true love has brought me “south” where I still maintain my penchants for pretty shoes, wine, crossword puzzles, cherry blossoms, and the Mets. I own more sunglasses than a normal person should and don’t eat red meat (though I make up for it by eating my weight in sushi). I tend to be a big planner who likes to get things started early, but generally end up being indecisive and procrastinating when it comes down to it. I have a (not so) secret crush on Chris Carrabba, but my loyalty and love ultimately goes to the future hubs, of course! Together, my Foxy man and I love to discuss (read: debate) politics and current events, have Mario Kart and Scrabble duels, and just laugh. A lot. We’re hoping and planning for a laid back, fun, summery, rustic vibe to our June wedding that will be genuinely “us” – that is, if we finally make some decisions. Huzzah!
I should start off by establishing that we have decided to only serve beer and wine at our reception. We’re both big winos and Foxy seriously loves his beer. We realistically can’t afford a full open bar, and we really don’t see the need for a cash liquor bar in addition to an open beer and wine bar. I know people have varying opinions on this, but it’s the best option for us.
Now on to the good stuff. For a small extra fee per person, our venue also allows you to do a champagne toast and/or a signature cocktail to serve throughout the night. Given our budget, we can only realistically do one or the other.
On the one hand, a champagne toast would be pretty schweet, because let’s be real here: I LOVE champagne (or sparkling wine, as the case may be).
Not really a good descriptive photo, but it’s def a usual Sunday afternoon.
Plus, I love the look and feel and vibe of a true, classic champagne toast. And some of the the pictures can be unbeatable!
Mrs. Skunk, AtlantaAge and Occupation: 23, Post baccalaureate studentFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Mechanical DesignerEngagement Date: February 13, 2011Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: 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.
Our venue doesn’t offer tastings. My first instinct is that this could turn out to be a terrible situation. But all of the reviews I’ve read have been nothing but positive, and I already trust Suzy with my life. (After all, she is my wedding fairy godmother.)
That being said, the reason they don’t offer tastings is because the final menu is determined by what happens to be available at markets that week, as everything is bought and prepped specifically for our day. The tentative menu makes me drool.
Miss Snapdragon, Chicago/DallasAge and Occupation: 32,Associate ProducerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Lighting DesignerBlogging Since: November 14, 2008Engagement Date: January 1, 2011Wedding Date: March 2012Venue: Marie GabrielleAbout Me: Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I'm a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. I run a slow marathon, but my feet are learning to move faster. Mornings aren't my thing, but I can night owl with the best of them. Don't tempt me with your Cherry Cokes---I'm trying to quit. Tomorrow. Or never.
Food and Booze, people, food and booze. Read more…
Mrs. Cannon, Toledo, OHAge and Occupation: 27, Financial AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, AssemblerEngagement Date: February 28, 2011Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Epworth UMC & Ward PavilionAbout Me: I'm the curious combination of being a go-with-the-flow, laid back, obsessive planner. I try desperately to stay as busy as possible at all times (and am succeeding big time right now!) My biggest loves in life are Law & Order: SVU, Community (the show, not the concept, although I like that, too), ice cream, white cheddar popcorn, beer, hiking, knitting, decorating, writing, being outside, spending time with friends and family and musical theater. Mr. Cannon is pretty sweet, too. We've had a lot of fun traveling and having adventures all over the country, but have finally moved back near our hometown to settle down. We're planning a low-key, colorful, fun wedding and an awesome-to-the-max reception.
Mr. Cannon has been very excited about the opportunity to brew beer for our wedding. He got into brewing three or four years ago when I bought him a fancy starter kit from Homebrewers Outpost and a few books on the subject for Valentine’s Day. We have brewed together ever since, and I dare say I believe we’ve gotten better at it over the years. I will say Mr. Cannon is way more into brewing than I am, although for some strange reason it always seems like the beers I brew turn out better. Maybe I just add more love or it needs a woman’s touch or something. That’s obviously total crap, but my beers do tend to be the best for whatever reason. (Yes, I’m totally bragging here!)
Most brewing supply stores offer all-grain, partial mash, and malt extract beer kits in addition to a variety of individualized grains, hops, and yeasts so you have the option to design your own beer or follow an already proven design. Read more…
Mrs. Seal, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 25, Personal AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Sales and Support SpecialistEngagement Date: December 12, 2009Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Sts Peter and Paul Church/The Bently ReserveAbout Me: I am a goofy, wannabe crafty, well-intentioned Renaissance Woman (OK, perhaps "aimless wanderer" is a more aptly suited term for me, but hopefully you get the point)—basically I dabble in just about everything and pride myself in such. Without warning, I occasionally breakout into soulful improvised songs and interpretive dances and there's just no stopping me! As so many others before me, planning our wedding has unearthed a deep, intense passion for all things bridal and I secretly fear the day it will come to an end. Mr. Seal and I are quite the pair and life with him by my side is extremely rewarding—I am so thankful to have found him. Together we are planning a black-tie San Francisco affair for 250—light on the stuffiness and with lots of extra Seal-y flair.
Prior to planning my own nuptials, I had never attended a wedding expecting an open bar. I kind of always hope there will be beer, wine and perhaps spirits for purchase, but in the rare occasion that a full on open bar is provided-I am legitimately surprised and grateful.
The Seals at my cousin’s wedding reception (Not only was it open bar-it was at a bar!)
When it came time to decide upon the type of bar that we would be providing at our own wedding, I’ll admit I was a little naive. I figured, because I never expected free alcohol, that our guests would come to our reception with a pocket full of cash ready to purchase their own drinks-and was thus set on a cash bar. Read more…
Mrs. Pony, Bloomington, ILAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, AttorneyEngagement Date: March 22, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Mackinaw Valley Vineyard; Bloomington Center for the Performing ArtsAbout Me: I found my Southern counterpart in law school and since he popped the question last March, we have been busy graduating, job searching, bar taking, and wedding planning. My loves include must see TV, magnets, quotes, anything green, my car, fun socks, the Cubs, and my Mr. Together we love wine, playing outside, and exploring the world together. Stay tuned to see our Midwest wedding full of Southern charm, vintage flair, lots of DIY details, and a whole lot o’ wine.
In addition to the beer and other spirits that we will be serving at our wedding, we are going to personally select wines for our guests to enjoy at our reception. Our plan is to select several varieties of wine that have meaning to us both separately and as a couple.
For instance, we visited Maryhill Winery on a whim while traipsing through Washington with Mr. Pony’s brother a couple years back. It was my first time visiting a winery and I loved it! Had we not had to fly back to Illinois the next day, you bet your ass we would have brought several bottles back with us to enjoy.
We are also planning to serve wine from the winery we are getting married at; a winery we visited in Bloomington, Indiana with friends; one from Oregon close to where FMIL Pony grew up; one from the Umbria region of Italy where Mr. Pony’s brother lived and they visited a few years ago; and one from West Tennessee where Mr. Pony grew up.
I realized as I typed this that most of these wines represent Mr. Pony and his family, but lest you think I will not be represented in our wine selections, we are going to class it up at our reception with my newest favorite wine cooler, some Peach Sparkletini:
Image Credit: Wineoland (Cheap, tasty, and classy. Love it.)
Mrs. Pony, Bloomington, ILAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, AttorneyEngagement Date: March 22, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Mackinaw Valley Vineyard; Bloomington Center for the Performing ArtsAbout Me: I found my Southern counterpart in law school and since he popped the question last March, we have been busy graduating, job searching, bar taking, and wedding planning. My loves include must see TV, magnets, quotes, anything green, my car, fun socks, the Cubs, and my Mr. Together we love wine, playing outside, and exploring the world together. Stay tuned to see our Midwest wedding full of Southern charm, vintage flair, lots of DIY details, and a whole lot o’ wine.
One of the awesome things about our reception venue is that we get to select every single vendor instead of relying on a predetermined list. This is also one of the worst things, as I have come to learn, but today we are focusing on the good parts. Because it’s Friday. And only good things are allowed on Fridays.
Mrs. Snow Cone, Pittsburgh/Johnstown, PAAge and Occupation: 23, Public Health Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, EngineerEngagement Date: April 9, 2010Wedding Date: August 2011Venue: OMOS Church ceremony/Sunnehanna Country Club receptionAbout Me: I’m one of the lucky ones---I met my future husband at the ripe old age of 13, started dating him as a mature woman of 15, and have been enjoying the ride ever since. Here we are, 8 years later, living in Pittsburgh, planning a "homestination" wedding in the place our school romance began---Johnstown, PA. I thrive on talking a mile a minute, eating my weight in chocolate, and internet shopping. I love a lengthy to-do list almost as much as I love a healthy amount of chaos in my life. Mr. Snow Cone and I watch countless episodes of Friends and The West Wing on repeat, root for rival college sports teams, and make each other laugh each and every day. We’re putting together a small-town wedding with a big personality and a classically modern (or modernly classic?) look for 250 of our closest family and friends. It’s been 8+ years in the making, and sometimes I still can’t believe I’m finally getting to marry my high school sweetheart!
When Mr. Snow Cone and I were mapping out our wedding, one thing we never debated for a single second was having an open bar. Our friends enjoy a good imbibing, as do a good portion of our family members, and as do we! We wanted everyone to have a good time, and it’s no secret that a little liquid courage can get a few extra bodies out on the dance floor, heightening the fun factor for everyone there. When we met with our venue coordinator to start mapping out details of the big day, we talked through the logistics of the bar situation. Here’s what we came up with:
Open bar, as mentioned above, but with standard alcohol as opposed to premium. Although we want everyone to have a good time, we don’t want people to make the bar bill astronomical. Plus, we know that a good number of our friends are fresh out of college, so very few of them have significant liquor preferences. And for those who do, tough patooties. Cheap vodka has the same effect as expensive vodka, especially once you’re at drinks two, three, and beyond.
In addition to the standard open-bar liquors, we’ll have a couple standard wines and champagnes, too, for the winos in the bunch.
Since I’m not a beer drinker, Mr. Snow Cone took full control when picking out the brewskies. Here are his three selections:
Mrs. Hyena, College Station, TXAge and Occupation: 23, Marketing SpecialistFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Aerospace Engineering Grad StudentEngagement Date: January 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Downtown 202About Me: I'm a Texas girl who met my future hubby in high school, then headed up to Oklahoma for a college education (BOOMER SOONER!) before moving back to the Lone Star State to be with him. I love reading and recycling, Photoshop and reality TV, making lame jokes and then laughing at them, quoting movies, and Mr. Hyena most of all. I'm perpetually early and I like to get things accomplished. When my cat meows at me, I meow back. We're planning a laid-back, unintentionally DIY wedding with a cocktail-party vibe, and can't wait to celebrate our nuptials with our nearest and dearest!
I mentioned a while back that the project I was looking forward to the least is our DIY bar. I was so looking forward to having someone else take care of this, but once we hired our bartender, I found out it was significantly cheaper to provide our own alcohol than to purchase it through him. This also means we have to provide our own mini-fridges and coolers, but we’ve already planned to borrow some from family members.
The wine we chose for our wedding is not very expensive, but HEB runs specials on it pretty often, so over the past few months, Mr. Hyena and I have been on the lookout for any sales, and then cleared the shelves of whatever was available. Then, recently FSIL Hyena told me they were having a blow-out “Texas Wine Week” sale, and the time had come to round out the rest of the bottles.
We estimated about 48 bottles of wine for the afternoon, and finally have them all. Now, neither of us really has the means to store this much wine, but I made it work.
The rest are over at Mr. H’s. Thank goodness I’ve been packing up my apartment and therefore haven’t had people over in a while, because this totally makes me look like I have a problem.
For those of you who are purchasing your own wine before your wedding, I learned something interesting from FMIL Hyena: Read more…
Mrs. Sparkler, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 27, Communications AficionadoFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, PublisherEngagement Date: July 21, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Chicago Illuminating CompanyAbout Me: I’m a Southern lady living in the big city of Chicago. Well, lady may be a stretch, but I’m working hard to keep some Virginia charm in our sleek, urban, wedding-palooza! I’m addicted to marathons, not-so-famous bands, Chicago restaurants, and Mark Twain. I cry during SPCA commercials, and I think LOST was the best show to ever hit television. Mr. S and I met at a classy college mixer and, 7 years later, he’s still by my side. He’s the only child, laid back, free spirit... I’m the oldest of five kids, type-A, organizer. It doesn’t work on paper, but we’ve never paid attention to that stuff anyway. Somehow it works. And like they say, sometimes when you know…you just know.
The other day, while watching a documentary about the history of Champagne (yes, we are nerds… okay, I’M a nerd), I started thinking about the type of bubbly we would serve during the toasts at our reception. After pondering this for a few moments, and realizing that I didn’t really care what kind of Champagne we passed around (Andre, anyone? Perhaps a 2011 Boone’s Farm? Kidding.), I moved on to thinking about the actual order of the toasts and the wonderful people who would be giving them.
