Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
After the dress was on, the girls and I just chilled for a few minutes. I drank some water. And some prosecco sangria. And we all kind of just enjoyed the moment. As with the rest of the morning, no one was feeling particularly rushed or nervous. We were just hanging out and looking especially pretty, you know? We were having a blast and enjoying each other.
Then the event coordinator came back into the room to get me. It was time for our first look.
That’s when things got real. All of a sudden, everything seemed so fast. The year I’d spent planning was nothing. The awful week leading up to the wedding was forgotten. The hours we had just spent getting ready were just a blink of the eye. This was really happening.
We walked along the sidewalk to the main house. Then up the stairs. Then inside. The parlor doors were closed and I knew Mr. Lox was waiting behind them. Waiting for me. 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!
After everyone hit the buffet, we settled in for the toasts. In England, the best man’s speech is longer than in the US and more akin to a stand up comedy routine/roast for the groom. Mr. D’s brother is not that wild about public speaking, so he opted for the US tradition.
It was sweet, funny and brought a smile and a tear to everyone’s face. 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!
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!
Uh… hey…it’s me, your favorite split shank purple shoe…
Just so I don’t give you a case of recap blue balls (again) I’ve actually finished writing them and am publishing them one at a time. Being a Weddingbee blogger has meant so much to me and I apologize for taking so long. In case anyone who was here in 2009 is still around, thanks for keeping me company! If you’re new to the hive—welcome! I’m a semi-old timey bee who is about to celebrate her two year anniversary!
Before I move ahead with the reception, I just wanted to take a moment to highlight how several projects turned out. Some I didn’t even blog about (for shame!).
Those pomanders? That everyone helped so much with? Looooooooved them and for me, they were so worth it! (Big ups to Mr.D, my cousins Megan and Rachel, my sister Regan, my best friends and MOH’s MB and Beth, and Candy Corn). It takes a big village to make 10 pomanders. They’ve since visited Mrs. Cowboy Boot in Colorado, my cousin Megan, and now one of Megan’s friends!
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
With Mr. Lox all dressed up and ready to go, it was finally time. Time to put on the most expensive garment I’ve ever owned, that is! With my mother out of the room, all that was left were my four dearest friends, the event coordinator from our venue, two photographers, and a videographer. I mean, you know, almost no one!
But seriously, all of the sudden the entire deal felt very real.
It’s kind of a weird feeling having about five pairs of hands making sure you look just right. But still exciting! Read more…
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
While my makeup was getting finished up, obviously other things were happening too. Vendors were showing up on the scene and doing their thing… most notably my fantastic photographers. The snuck out of the room with my dress and me calling after them “Just don’t get it wet!” You see, there was a 70% chance of severe thunderstorms on our wedding day. So while you may think that is a random declaration, I assure you it made sense at the time.
They laughed and went off to get fantastic pictures like these.
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
I don’t have pictures of the days before the wedding. Which is actually not such a big deal, because we didn’t have a rehearsal or a rehearsal dinner. So we’re going to fast forward through that and land right on the morning of the wedding. It’s time to get ready!
The night before the wedding, Mr. Lox stayed in his father’s room, and in our suite I stayed with one of my oldest and dearest friends. We stayed together the night before my first wedding. We stayed together the night before her wedding three years ago. And that night we stayed together one last time. It was really sweet.
We got enough sleep and got up in time to grab breakfast before the troops arrived. When they did, I was totally ready for them. I had prosecco sangria in the fridge and one of my friends brought the perfect cups. We were on our way!
My dress was moved into the corner to avoid the clouds of hairspray that would soon be invading the room. Read more…
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
To really tell our story, I need to go back to the kick-off of the festivities… the day the Lox in-laws rolled into town. Or at least, should have…
In the weeks leading up to the wedding, I was determined that I would be calm when the time was near. I would relax, I would have my work done and passed to my DOC. I would be chill. I’m just cool like that, right?
Sure. If you believe that, there’s some land in Florida I’d like to sell you too. The truth was that just mere days before the wedding, I finally melted down. So here’s the unglamorous story about how the wedding festivities began.
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
Yes, it’s true. My recaps are really starting. But before I talk about the days leading up to the wedding, before we dive into chaos and joy… I want to set the mood for you all.
I have a face like a muppet. Yeah, I’m just putting it right out there. And it is impossible to follow me around all day with a camera and not get some muppety goodness on film. But my muppet faces tell what I am choosing to believe is a charming story about our wedding day. So here are a few glimpses to help set the mood as the Lox recaps kick off.
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
Before I start my recaps (no, I haven’t forgotten them!) I want to take a moment to get real with you all. Not that I’ve ever been anything else… but this is something I need to say.
You all know this is my third marriage. As in, I’m already divorced…twice. Right. Third marriage. You all get it.
So here’s the thing. More than once in the past year, I’ve wondered what people must think of me. After all, some of these folks came to my first wedding. And some of the same folks showed up at the open house we had after my second husband and I eloped in St. Lucia. Some of these folks must wonder where I got off having an event for my third wedding.
When it got towards the end, I was all over the place emotionally. And finally I sat down with one of my oldest and dearest friends and told her what I was feeling. It was a good choice I made. What she told me that day still makes me cry. So pardon my tears while I tell you what happened. Read more…
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
So, aside from relaxing, we did actually do some cool stuff on our honeymoon. I mean, we were in Costa Rica after all!
Our second day there we went on a hiking and ziplining tour. When we showed up for the early tour there was only one other couple going with us… our friends from the resort! (Psssst! Hi there guys!) Instead of telling you about it, let me just show you.
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
Well my loves, recap time is almost upon us. But while I sort through my pictures and make sense of all of this, I thought you might like to know what we did when it was all over.
Our wedding ended at 6:30 on a Sunday evening. We stayed that night at the B&B where it was held. And on Monday, we hurried home to pack and prepare for our Costa Rican honeymoon!
This was a big adventure for both of us. I had not traveled out of the country since I went to St. Lucia in 2005, and Mr. Lox hadn’t ventured outside our borders since his days as an enlisted man. So he was sporting a sparkling new passport and we both had our sense of adventure with us. Which was good, because it needed to get us through two 2.5 hour flights before we would land in San Jose, Costa Rica.
After getting off our plane, we hopped a ride to the rental car place and grabbed our ride… a Toyota Rav4, before setting off on a 3.5ish hour drive to our final destination.
We saw things like this…
What’s that on either side of us? A crazy yet purposefully planted forests of palm trees. See? Read more…
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
So, now that the planning stage is over, I am totally qualified to tell you about my favorite part of the planning process. And it might surprise you… at least I know it surprised me.
One of the things Mr. Lox and I decided to do a long time ago was to take dance lessons before the wedding. But then, as wedding planning kicked into high gear, neither of us could really find the time to research and find a place to take lessons. I was surprised to learn that it’s not as easy to find good dance lessons as I thought it would be. But then, it was Groupon to the rescue. We found a Groupon for a Ballroom Blitz class. It was four weeks long with a different dance being taught each week. We figured we could decide which one of the four would be right for our song and then we’d be set.
After the third group lesson, we realized that a class like that wouldn’t cut the mustard for what we really wanted. It was fun, and I’m totally glad we did it (would do it again in a heartbeat) but we needed private instruction. So, just a handful of weeks before the wedding, we went for a package of 10 private dance lessons with Beginning Ballroom. And hive, this was the best wedding planning decision we made.
The obvious benefit was a confident and nice looking first dance. You all get that. But it had another, even greater, hidden benefit. Read more…
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
Hive, I missed you all so much! Mr. Lox and I are back from our amazing honeymoon and I just wanted to check in.
The wedding…it was amazing. I’d sum it up for you if I could but it’s not a one post sort of thing. So let’s just wait for pictures and video and then we’ll talk in recaps, okay?
In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy a little photographic evidence that we actually did manage to do this amazing thing and get married. I promise, we will talk more about it later. In the meantime, I may take some time to gather myself, maybe talk about some last minute projects, and perhaps the honeymoon, too. We’ll see. But I’m here and I missed you. Read more…
Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
Well, it’s about that time. And I find myself completely at a loss for words. You all, every one of you, have been nothing short of amazing and our wedding… that little thing that’s happening TODAY… is better because I know you.
You have given me ideas, cheered me on when I faltered, and given me courage when I was fresh out. This wedding that’s about to happen is something more than it was when I started planning. And that’s because of you.
So in just a moment here, I’m going to sign off and go enjoy this one day I’ve been leading up to for the past year. I’m going to let people take care of me. I’m going to try to live up to my zen bride ideal. I’m going to try to take it all in. And I know, at least once or twice today, I will stop and think of how I simply can’t wait to tell you what just happened. Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
