Mrs. Brooch, Arlington, VAAge and Occupation: 25, Writer/EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Front Desk ManagerEngagement Date: October 3, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Oxon Hill ManorAbout Me: I’m an indecisive girlie-girl with a motor mouth, can-do attitude, and knack for making others laugh. I dream of becoming a best selling novelist like Elizabeth Gilbert or Julie Powell (a girl can dream, right?), and love long road trips, a beautiful countryside, music, blogs, books, and all things vintage/thrift/antique/or homemade. I’m a Virgo, i.e. overly sensitive, emotional, and critical, and there’s no such thing as short and sweet in my world. I want to say and do it all. Mr. Brooch grounds me. I point where to go and he figures out the way. He’s a pragmatic fancy-pants who enjoys video games and movies. We both adore our mutt, Rocky, and spending time with our amazingly supportive family and friends. We’re planning a garden wedding with a formal reception with lots of whimsy and unique, Southern-inspired details.
My best friend of more than 5 years got down on one knee, and while confessing his endless love, asked me to be his wife! It was a magical moment that I will never forget; a place in time with so much meaning; a surprise with so much thought; and a story that will live on forever.
Mrs. Apple Cider, New York/CharlotteAge and Occupation: 27, Corporate Communications ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Grad Student – Clinical Mental Health Engagement Date: September 13, 2008Wedding Date: October 2009Venue: Banner Elk Winery & Blueberry VillaAbout Me: I am a North Carolina girl with a New York City spirit. I love crafting, blogging, laughing and dreaming. I know every word to the Anne of Green Gables and Little Women movies. I own every single Martha Stewart Wedding Magazine and have been dreaming of weddings since I was little. I believe life is about doing what makes you happy. If you aren't happy re-evaluate what you are doing. You should never look back on your life and not be proud of what you are doing. If you want to travel - travel. If you want to sing - sing. If you want to start a company - start a company. If you want to blog – blog!
By far, the number one question that I have been asked in the past year is, “how is your first year of marriage going?” This comes from friends and strangers alike. I always respond the same way: “you know…it has been…well…easy.” And that is the honest truth.
On October 3, 2009 I got to marry the best man I have ever met. The kindest, most decent man I have ever known. And the last year has been easy. We fit together. After spending so many years in a long distance relationship the transition into life together has been smooth and pretty blissful. I realize that at the end of the day I get to be with him and that makes things just…better. Read more…
Mrs. Toucan, BostonAge and Occupation: 25, Full-time Research Assistant, Part-time Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, ActuaryEngagement Date: February 18, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: November 07, 2007Venue: St. Catherine of Genoa, Jin Asian Cuisine RestaurantAbout Me: I’m a Gemini to the extreme. On one side, I’m a girly girl. I read countless bridal and fashion magazines, and have an obsession with keeping up with the latest Hollywood gossip. On the other side, I’m a sports fanatic. Despite being a full-time bride-to be, full-time research assistant, and part-time student, I’m also a full-time Red Sox fan from spring training to October, and a full-time Patriots fan from mini-camp to February. I devote almost as much time researching my for fantasy football team as researching for our wedding!
Hi, I’m back with some more photos from our two-year anniversary shoot! We just got our disk from Agnieszka Wormus of A Brilliant Photo, and I immediately started pulling out my favorite photos…there are lots of favorites though, so here’s your warning: This is a photo heavy post!
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.
Two years ago today, Mr. Pudding and I legally declared our commitment to each other. For those who are new to the hive, you may have missed my post about our “Engagement Party“. Here is a little refresher:
Mrs. Toucan, BostonAge and Occupation: 25, Full-time Research Assistant, Part-time Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, ActuaryEngagement Date: February 18, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: November 07, 2007Venue: St. Catherine of Genoa, Jin Asian Cuisine RestaurantAbout Me: I’m a Gemini to the extreme. On one side, I’m a girly girl. I read countless bridal and fashion magazines, and have an obsession with keeping up with the latest Hollywood gossip. On the other side, I’m a sports fanatic. Despite being a full-time bride-to be, full-time research assistant, and part-time student, I’m also a full-time Red Sox fan from spring training to October, and a full-time Patriots fan from mini-camp to February. I devote almost as much time researching my for fantasy football team as researching for our wedding!
So, I was going to write this whole coming-out-from-under-my-shell/hello-I’m-coming-back-to-my-internet world post. Except I got scared. It’s weird to not write for so long and then try to get back into it. Or maybe I was just being lazy. Either way, I had to skip all my excuses because the Mister and I had our anniversary shoot yesterday (yes, a few months late) with the fantastic Agnieszka Wormus from A Brilliant Photo.
Mrs. Glasses, Tokyo/Los Angeles, CAAge and Occupation: 24, English teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, English teacherEngagement Date: September 2008Wedding Date: October 2010 Venue: Parents' backyardAbout Me: I’m an expat living in Tokyo. I’ve been in Japan for almost three years now, where I met my fantastic English fiance. It’s time to leave Japan, so we are planning a fun, intimate, backyard ceremony back home in the suburbs of L.A. in October. Our wedding will be a mix of my love for food, beer, my Japanese culture, and Mr. G’s Englishness. We are on a tiny budget and DIYing almost everything!
Mrs. Lightning, Cape Town Age and Occupation: 22, Journalist and Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Computer ScientistEngagement Date: December 27, 2008
Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Hout Bay ManorAbout Me: I'm a young American living abroad in the beautiful city of Cape Town with a wonderful South African fiance and our crazy kitty Zeus. We're young, driven and madly in love. Together we're pursuing our wildest dreams including our biggest undertaking yet, a vintage retrospective wedding filled to the brim with DIY madness. I have an unnatural attraction to cake, a passion for blogging and a love of good design. While I might be an overly obsessive creative with too many ideas and nowhere to put them, Mr Lightning is my biggest fan and I can't wait to make my true love mine.
As I mentioned last time, Mr Lightning and I are celebrating our first year of marriage this weekend. Times have been a bit tough of late and it resulted in us having to forgo any fancy anniversary celebrations. But it is this exact predicament that formed the basis of my sentimental first anniversary gift.
We all know the first anniversary is paper, but I wanted to think outside the box for Mr Lightning. Read more…
Mrs. D'orsay, Baltimore/Lancaster UKAge and Occupation: 24, nonprofit communications Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Web site developer and designer; co-owner of men's skincare shopEngagement Date: August 10, 2008Wedding Date: August, 2009Venue: Oakland ManorAbout Me: I'm a Maryland raised environmental policy wonk/activist/organizer and communications aficionado. In the past year I've lived in Baltimore, MD, Tucson, AZ, Miami, FL and Lancaster, England. In my not so spare time I enjoy planning trips with Mr. D' Orsay, visiting friends and family and crafting like a mo-fo. I also enjoy modern dance classes, rugby and soccer but have been banned by my mother, MOHs, and Mr. D' Orsay from playing till after the wedding. I have an unnatural addiction to cheese and shoes, but love Mr. D' Orsay more than either and can't wait to become Mrs. D' Orsay!
It’s the D’orsay first anniversary, as far as anniversaries go, the 1st is a great one to celebrate. But the whole paper thing? Well, it had me pondering for a bit. I know I don’t have to follow traditions, but I like having a theme, as it narrows the field for decision making.
First up? A calendar modified from YHL’s template (thanks to Mrs. Bunny for modifying it for me)! Sadly, it was a struggle to come up with 12 quotes that would fit/look nice/have meaning. At first I had 12 quotes all from Superbad (long story) but figured while funny, it wouldn’t be a very romantic gift. I sourced from our favorite movies, past emails and ceremony music for the final quotes.
Miss Handbag, Smyrna, DE/JamaicaAge and Occupation: 25, AdministrationFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, SalesEngagement Date: Christmas Night 2008Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Rosehall Resort, Montego Bay, JamaicaAbout Me: I am a Type A, emotional Italian fireball, who on a weekly basis must be brought back to reality by my level headed, calm, cool and collected fiance. We are planning an intimate, all white with hints of black, vintage inspired wedding on the old sugar aqueducts of Jamaica, with 30 of our closest friends and family flying in to witness the occasion. We are not traditional by any means and will be doing things very differently. :)
This past weekend we celebrated our last dating anniversary. Our six-years-of-dating bliss is coming to an end in a few months and it feels awesome.
Mr Handy surprised me with 2 days away at King of Prussia in PA. It was much needed and so relaxing. On Saturday morning we woke up, he told me to pack for 2 days and we hit the road. After about an hour-and-a-half we arrived at KOP mall. If you have never heard of it, Google it. This mall is amazing. We walked around for a few hours, grabbed some lunch and just talked…something we don’t do enough when life gets hectic. We decided to go to the hotel and take a nap so we could stay out Saturday night (what? We’re old!).
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.
Well hi there! Today is our one month anniversary of getting MARRIED!
And we’re loving it!
So many people have asked us things like “Does it feel different being married?” or “Has anything changed since tying the knot?” And my answer is yes and no.
I’ve writtenseveraltimesabout the fact that Mr. Cola is my best friend, how we’ve known each other for 10 years, been dating over 7 years, and have lived together for longer than we’ve dated (we were friends and roommates first). So on one hand, nothing very significant has changed on the home front; we didn’t move in together for the first time, we didn’t get a new house, and we aren’t adjusting to each others’ quirks. On this end of things, the only thing different was we came home from our honeymoon to a mostly clean house for a change. And it’s managed to stay pretty clean, because I’ve been taking a break from messy DIY projects (although that’s about to change; we need to get on our thank you cards!).
Mrs. Lemon, Los Angeles/MontereyAge and Occupation in 2006: 26, Graduate Student (Public Policy)Fiance's Age and Occupation in 2006: 29, Environmental ConsultantEngagement Date: April 7, 2006Wedding Date: July 7, 2007Venue: Rosary Chapel & Monterey Marriott, Monterey, CAAbout Me: My FI and I met online, but we like to tell people that we met at a "cookie shop" which is the technical location of our first encounter. He proposed exactly 1 year, 1 month and 6 days after our first date (it's the only part of his proposal speech that I remember), and we're planning long-distance from Los Angeles for a July wedding in my hometown of Monterey, CA. I have a passion for all things "cool, cute and quirky" and I enjoy video games, reading blogs (WeddingBee, trashy celeb, consumer & political) and crafting in my spare time, if I have any!
Yesterday marked anniversary #3 for the Lemon family. THREE YEARS! I can hardly believe the time has passed by so quickly! Trust me, if you think your wedding planning period flies by in a flash, you’ll be utterly astounded when you start flying through the years and actually need to start looking up the appropriate gifting source for each occasion. And since I didn’t have any leather on hand for Mr. Lemon yesterday, I made him a virtual gift… our own Google Search Story:
(P.S. you can make your own search story by going here!)
If you happened to be uber bored one day and chanced upon my the Lemon archives here at Weddingbee, all of that would make perfect sense to you… except for that last line. Read more…
Mrs. Buttons, Clearwater, FLAge and Occupation: 24, "Working on it"Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Financial ServicesEngagement Date: June 13, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Carlouel Yacht ClubAbout Me: I'm a self proclaimed perfectionist and a professional nomad (seriously, I've lived in TX, WI, MI, FL, NC, and now VA!). I love wine, cooking, curling up with a good book (nerd alert!), spoiling the furbaby, and of course, the wonderful Mr. Buttons! We are planning a lighthearted and whimsical wedding (with a good deal of DIY projects) in Clearwater, Florida, but from a distance of 800 miles away! We are looking forward to sharing our day with our family and friends, and most importantly, starting our lives together as husband and wife!
Last week (exactly last week, actually), Mr. Buttons and I celebrated one month of marriage. Woo hoo! Who knew that a month could pass by so quickly?
Mr. Buttons and I decided that we didn’t want to wait an entire year to eat the top tier of our wedding cake; we don’t have the space in our freezer, and we were concerned that in 12 months our cake would simply not taste as good as a fresh one. So, the top tier was defrosted in preparation for our evening! Read more…
Mrs. Bunny, ColumbusAge and Occupation: 24, Associate Editor/ReporterFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, ReporterEngagement Date: September 23, 2008Wedding Date: July 2009Venue: Everal Barn, WestervilleAbout Me: Organized, but messy. I love art (all kinds). I don't have any secrets. I talk a lot and listen even more. I show love by baking. I'm timid by nature, but brave when it counts.
Mr. Bunny and I work at competing weekly newspapers, which makes it a little interesting trying to describe our work joys and frustrations without giving away too much before the paper comes out. In spite of that little hurdle, we've managed to build a pretty solid relationship in the short one-and-a-half years we will have been together when we tie the knot. I can't wait!
One year ago this weekend, Mr. Bunny and I held hands in front of our family and friends and promised to love, cherish and support each other — for as long as we both shall live.
I know I’ve been bad about getting around to my recaps, but oh, this year has been good. We’ve fought, we’ve made up, we’ve shared fears, we’ve dreamed big. Mr. B encouraged me to quit the job I hated so much and start my own business. And I did. And he’s helped me every step of the way.
Mrs. Glitter, Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 27, Research Consultant/WriterFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, AccountingEngagement Date: May 6, 2007Wedding Date: June, 2009Venue: Millenium Biltmore HotelAbout Me: I was born and raised in West Los Angeles, California. I spent eight years in the Northeast working and completing my education. Having split time between two sides of the country has given me a true appreciation for both coasts. It has also provided an overabundance of cross country drives, flights and long distance relationship fun/misery! I love my family, my doggy Emma, fabulous wine, Anthropologie, politics, reading, being outdoors, exploring new cities, and good movies! My fiance and I are complete opposites, but somehow we have managed to fall completely and hopelessly in love.
This weekend we will celebrate our first wedding anniversary.
For the past twelve months, we have been creating a home together, sketching out a future, and calling each other husband and wife.
On several occasions I have thought to myself, ‘Wait a second, we have no clue what we’re doing!’
But somehow, some way, we are growing up. Read more…
Mrs. Perfume, DCAge and Occupation: 36, Consultant (and Part-Time Professor)Fiance's Age and Occupation: 41, ConsultantEngagement Date: May 13, 2008Wedding Date: May, 2009Venue: The Homestead, Hot Springs, VirginiaAbout Me: I'd like to think that I'm a modern day Little Edie Beale. Only not as..."talented". More realistically, I'm a foodie who can't bake; a dancer and dilettente; an art collector with a penchant for the whimsical and subversive. I live in the city and adore the country, but not much in between. I like smart design, great craftmanship and good value. Most of all, I love the new vintage aesthetic: classic, sweet, delicate, bespoke. If I had to do it all over again, I'd go for a culinary arts degree rather than a PhD; but wouldn't trade Mr. P for the world.
Over Memorial Day weekend we celebrated our one year anniversary! My, how time flies. We headed back down to the Homestead for the weekend, and it was a fantastic time full of great moments and nostalgia (is it nostalgia if it’s memories of just a year ago?). We kept saying “A year ago at this moment we were…” and then would recount what we were doing at that time. It was fitting because some of our activities of this weekend paralleled those of our wedding weekend (unplanned and totally cheesy, but sweet)!
Esme, our wedding coordinator, arranged to have us in an upgraded suite in the tower, the tallest part of the hotel with the best view, for our stay. And as I got ready for dinner, Mr. P called me out to the living room to look at something…
Hi, I’m back with some more photos from our two-year anniversary shoot! We just got our disk from Agnieszka Wormus of A Brilliant Photo, and I immediately started pulling out my favorite photos…there are lots of favorites though, so here’s your warning: This is a photo heavy post! 
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
As I mentioned last time, Mr Lightning and I are celebrating our first year of marriage this weekend. Times have been a bit tough of late and it resulted in us having to forgo any fancy anniversary celebrations. But it is this exact predicament that formed the basis of my sentimental first anniversary gift.
