Mrs. Lemur, Greenville, South CarolinaAge and Occupation: 22, Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Security OfficerEngagement Date: October 9, 2012Wedding Date: May 2013Venue: Pleasant Ridge Camp & Retreat CenterAbout Me: I may fancy myself a doctor after too many episodes of House—but in reality I'm finally almost done with my degree in business administration (less than three months left!). My fiance and I met at school in undergrad hundreds of miles away from either of our hometowns and have been happily running and hiking together ever since. We're undertaking a long distance relationship as I finish school and we plan our casual wedding for a day after graduation—needless to say, it will be the busiest and most exciting weekend of our lives so far!
Yes, this is a blatant rip-off of Miss Otter’s “The Stuff We’re Skipping” series. I was going to come up with a clever name, but…I’m not that clever. She wrote about choosing to forgo the programs, removing the garter, and the wedding website. I’m going to continue her awesome series and talk about two (or three) things that Mr. Lemur and I are skipping in our wedding.
I’m not sure how prevalent having a unity candle is in other cultures, but in the Protestant Christian culture it seems like every wedding has a unity candle. (I read somewhere that this is not true of Catholicism, but I don’t know much about that! If anyone wants to comment and clarify, I’d love to hear about it.)
I assumed this was a hallowed tradition, you know, one of those Things-You-Have-To-Do. I was never a huge fan of the unity candle—the practice seems strange to me and it causes awkward moments where the candle doesn’t light right away or it blows out.
I think the unity candle does make for some really sweet moments. It’s a symbol of support from the parents as their children get married and form their own families. Sometimes the lighting is accompanied by a song or reading by a friend or family member—this is special!
Miss Blue Whale, College Park, MDAge and Occupation: 27, Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: March 10, 2012Wedding Date: May 2013Venue: Southern Tree Plantation in Blairsville, GAAbout Me: I love bright colors, glitter, sugar, cheese, tiny animals, talking in silly accents, dancing, and all things music. I love to plan things, but when it comes time to execute the plans, I tend to panic. My friends tell me that I remind them of a mix between a cartoon character and a Disney Princess. Mr. Blue Whale and I are Southerners at heart, but we’ve been transplanted to the East Coast for school. We both love barbecues, star-gazing, bonfires, music, making up nonsense words, and generally being silly. Our wedding will be a fun-filled destination wedding in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It will most certainly feature bright colors, '80s music, and glitter.
Attention! Calling all hive members who walked down the aisle to an upbeat song! I need your help!
Okay, here’s the deal. I’m trying to decide what song to walk down the aisle to. I’ve been debating whether to share it or keep it to myself until after the wedding. But I need the advice of the hive to make my decision, so I guess that means I’ve got to share.
I really really want to walk down the aisle to “Save Me” by Gotye. Take a listen.
Miss Panda, Boston, MAAge and Occupation: 26, Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: June 27, 2011Wedding Date: June 2013About Me: I love window shopping, cute animals, crafting, baking, and most forms of procrastination. I tend to be overly meticulous with choices to a point of complete and total indecision. Mr. PBear and I met and live in the amazing city of Boston. We are big nerds who love trying new foods, playing video games, and cuddling with our adorable hamster. After 5 years together, we are planning an intimate, DIY-heavy, vintage garden themed, nonreligious wedding in the city where we fell in love.
I realize that I’m an oddball sometimes, so here’s another one of those times.
I hate, hate, hate the tradition of being walked down the aisle and being given away. Seriously, the idea of being walked down the aisle by someone freaks me out and makes me incredibly uncomfortable.
From the first time I imagined my own wedding (and let’s be honest, I was probably like four), I have always wanted to walk myself down the aisle. I’m not even completely sure why, but I’ve always have felt this way.
She looks so radiant walking down the aisle by herself.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents and this really isn’t about them. And maybe that’s what so weird about this. Looking for information about this online brings up many people who want to walk themselves because they have non-existent relationships with their fathers or their father has passed on, and it seems perfectly okay in that case. But I don’t seem to find many stories about people who choose to walk down the aisle by themselves for other reasons.
Mrs. Otter, Indianapolis, INAge and Occupation: 22, Freelance Social Media ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, CVS Shift SupervisorEngagement Date: November 11, 2011Wedding Date: April 2013Venue: Mustard Seed GardensAbout Me: I'm a born and raised Hoosier girl, but a diehard Michigan Wolverines fan. I have a tendency to take too many photos and spend full days having TV marathons. Mr. Otter and I met in high school, started dating a couple years later, and moved in after a month of being official. He is easygoing and makes plans on a whim, while I'm color coordinating my planner and organizing everything in sight. He hates glitter, but it's my favorite thing. I have tattoos and he still won't get one, despite my attempts to convince him. We're planning a small, rustic, and (hopefully!) peony-filled wedding to get our married life started. (And yes, there will be glitter involved!)
We have three grandfathers (both of Mr. O’s and my pappy) who have passed, and won’t be present on our wedding day. Also missing will be my best friend, and now precious angel, Kirsten.
Personal photo / Kir and I during school one day
Kir passed away in December of 2006. I was a sophomore in high school. Anyone who has lost someone close to them can attest to the fact that it never gets easier. To this day, Kir is always on my mind. Even little things like shopping trips where I find something and think “oh that’s perfect for her!” So to not have her standing beside me at my ceremony is just as devastating as my pappy missing.
Mrs. Otter, Indianapolis, INAge and Occupation: 22, Freelance Social Media ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, CVS Shift SupervisorEngagement Date: November 11, 2011Wedding Date: April 2013Venue: Mustard Seed GardensAbout Me: I'm a born and raised Hoosier girl, but a diehard Michigan Wolverines fan. I have a tendency to take too many photos and spend full days having TV marathons. Mr. Otter and I met in high school, started dating a couple years later, and moved in after a month of being official. He is easygoing and makes plans on a whim, while I'm color coordinating my planner and organizing everything in sight. He hates glitter, but it's my favorite thing. I have tattoos and he still won't get one, despite my attempts to convince him. We're planning a small, rustic, and (hopefully!) peony-filled wedding to get our married life started. (And yes, there will be glitter involved!)
Like Mrs. Mink, I pondered some time ago the unplugged ceremony. After reading Mrs. Mink’s post again, I went and visited the article she mentions on Offbeat Bride about the unplugged wedding ceremony. Once again, I saw this gem of a photo:
Now. As someone who works as a social media manager, I totally understand capturing moments and sharing them. Even from a guest perspective, I can see why they would want to capture their own photos of the day. Heck, as a bride, I know I’m going to be really impatient to get my photos back, so I’m actually looking forward to seeing some guest photos…of the reception.
Mrs. Gray Wolf, Washington DCAge and Occupation: 26, Business Development ExecutiveFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Research ScientistEngagement Date: November 11, 2011Wedding Date: February 2013Venue: Whittemore HouseAbout Me: I'm an ultra-organized, pun-loving, list-making, cheese-enthusiast bride-to-be. Although my day job is in cubicle land, I'm happiest in the modern art wing of a museum, having recently earned my Masters in Museum Studies. Shortly after a chance meeting five years ago, I moved in with Wolfman and haven't looked back since. We love music, movies, TV, and all things pop culture; we have an unspoken competition to be the first to share the latest YouTube sensation or indie song. Together, we've filled quite a few pages in our passports, but also love quiet nights in with a Game of Thrones marathon and our French Bulldog, Tonks (Harry Potter, anyone?). I'm planning a small, cozy winter wedding---think mercury glass and candle light---in the heart of DC. Our venue is a historic home with a lot of political charm, but needs a bit of work to be wedding-ready.
Because of the space issues with our ceremony spot—and our budget—we’re just having our DJ play some music for our ceremony. It wasn’t too much extra and gives us complete freedom for what we want to play (and someone to make sure songs start and stop at the right moment). This is good…since we’re sticklers about the music.
We’re kind of viewing this whole big wedding thing as one gigantic playlist. Anyone ever seen High Fidelity (one of the Gray Wolf favorites)? We’re following Rob Gordon’s advice for a great compilation:
We want to start off with a bang (prelude and processional) and then kick it up a notch (recessional)…and then cool it off a bit (cocktail hour tunes). Then do it all over again with the reception.
We wanted the prelude music to be sort of soft—something instrumental that would easily segue into a more dramatic number in the processional. We were looking for songs that would say something about us too. This was sort of hard, finding instrumental songs that still were a nod to our tastes, as we don’t regularly listen to acoustic numbers or orchestral arrangements. Enter in VSQ and this album:
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!
This was the moment: the moment where we would make our vows, in front of our family and friends, and become married. The moment that I had been imagining in my head ever since Mr. Mole and I met for lunch on a snowy day in a windy city.
Photo by Cashman Photography
Reverend Walter turned to us, and asked us the following two questions. Read more…
Mrs. Dalmatian, Nashville, TNAge and Occupation: 23, Pediatric NurseFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Computer Engineer and Entrepreneur Engagement Date: April 13, 2011Wedding Date: May 2012Venue: Historic CedarwoodAbout Me: I am a Northern girl from Chicago who is planning a wedding filled with Southern charm in Nashville, Tennessee. I love dogs, the White Sox, Full House reruns, and anything with ruffles on it. Mr. Dalmatian is my computer-genius problem-solving fiance who is constantly teaching me new things and making me a better person. We live with our adopted pup Echo, who is very excited that his parents are getting married!
In case you could not guess, I am a fan of wedding blogs. Shocking, I know! Obviously my number one favorite (by a landslide) is Weddingbee, but there is also another blog I like to stalk on a regular basis. Okay, I’ll be honest, there are a lot of other blogs I stalk on a regular basis, but only one that is relevant to this particular post, and that one would be the Cedarwood Weddings Blog. It is our venue’s blog and they post pics of real weddings and inspiration shoots quite frequently (hence why I stalk it quite frequently). The nice thing about this blog is that when I see something I like I don’t have to think,”Okay, now I have to come up with a way to buy/make that,” I just think, “Okay, now I have to tell them that I want them to use that at our wedding too!”
And that is exactly what happened when I saw this photo:
Mrs. Argyle, St. LouisAge and Occupation: 24, Project CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, PilotEngagement Date: February 15, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Jewel Box in Forest Park and Windows on WashingtonAbout Me: I'm a true Midwestern girl (born and raised), lover of red wine, reality TV and the entire J.Crew catalog. I love to dance regardless of who is watching, and enjoy a good laugh with my girls. I have a soft spot in my heart for planet Earth, my two dogs and my fiance. Fall is my favorite season (which is why we are marrying in September), but I love a warm summer day and the Colorado mountains in the winter. We are planning a modern soiree downtown, with lots of bold colors, and fun, eco-friendly elements.
Because my family is so large, we opted to just stick with our close family members for photos after the ceremony. This allowed Mr. A and I some additional time for photos together later on and gave us a bit of down time.
Mrs. Argyle, St. LouisAge and Occupation: 24, Project CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, PilotEngagement Date: February 15, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Jewel Box in Forest Park and Windows on WashingtonAbout Me: I'm a true Midwestern girl (born and raised), lover of red wine, reality TV and the entire J.Crew catalog. I love to dance regardless of who is watching, and enjoy a good laugh with my girls. I have a soft spot in my heart for planet Earth, my two dogs and my fiance. Fall is my favorite season (which is why we are marrying in September), but I love a warm summer day and the Colorado mountains in the winter. We are planning a modern soiree downtown, with lots of bold colors, and fun, eco-friendly elements.
We spent months writing our ceremony. Since we asked my aunt to officiate, we wanted to incorporate her ideas and ours to create a cohesive and beautiful ceremony. There were revisions after revisions. Researching and reading. We finally nailed it down. Read more…
Mrs. Archer, Los Angeles/New OrleansAge and Occupation: 26, Marketing and ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Actor-Writer, Fitness InstructorEngagement Date: May 15, 2011Wedding Date: October 2012Venue: the Columns HotelAbout Me: I’ve been in love with Mr. Archer for my entire adult life. After over seven years, two of them long distance, we're thrilled to (finally!) be planning a sweet Southern jazzy Jewish destination wedding. Working in marketing for a clothing company and running a niche consulting company with Mr. A, life is crazy, in the best possible way! I adore Saints football, dressing up, dance television, bright colors, beautiful things, and alliteration. When I’m not working, sleeping, or smooching my handsome fiancé, I’m making lists, cooking, or eating or drinking something yummy, bargain-shopping, and still oogling my heirloom engagement ring....ooh, sparkly!
When I last left y’all, I had returned from my crash-course in venue selection in New Orleans. None of the choices had been perfect, but I was leaning in the direction of Southern Oaks, despite my many misgivings. Between the pushy owner—when told him I had no interest in renting the dilapidated horse-drawn carriage for $600 and five minutes, he insisted that it was “so much nicer that whatever I was thinking”—the fact that they do not allow tastings, a stream of bad reviews, limited access to the venue (one hour before, 30 minutes after) and my own gut feeling…I just couldn’t bring myself to write the deposit check.
Not gonna lie, that feeling really sucked. I was really disappointed that I didn’t have a venue option I really liked. I felt like I had wasted a plane ticket and weekend, and was no further along in the process than I had been before I left. And I felt like I had let Mr Archer down a bit—I’d gone off with my girlfriends to find us a wedding venue, and though I had a lovely time, I had nothing to really show for it.
So I was in a bit of a wedding planning funk, no doubt about it. I was drinking wine and avoiding thinking about how we were going to get married on a street corner (which sounded just dandy after a couple of glasses, not gonna lie) one evening, when Mr. Archer’s mom called. He updated her on the venue hunt, and she made a few suggestions to look into. I was convinced they were all going to be too pricey, but figured we might as well look into them anyway. I was right about two—Race and Religious and the Elms Mansion put us just over budget. House of Broel was well within our price range, but when I sent BM S to view it, she vetoed it immediately—there is a bride-doll and dollhouse collection scattered through the entire venue, which comes off a little creepy. That’s three more discards, if you are counting. And just when I was feeling like Goldilocks…MIL Archer nailed it. Read more…
Mrs. Honey, Durango, COAge and Occupation: 28, Financial AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Lab Tech/PhlebotomistEngagement Date: August 1, 2010Wedding Date: January 2012Venue: Vallecito LakeAbout Me: I am a Colorado girl through and through, marrying an adrenaline-fueled Alabama boy. We love the outdoors just about as much as we love spoiling our dog and three cats. On any given weekend you can find us being adventurous, doing anything from rafting to snowboarding, and everything in between. We live in an outdoor mecca and truly believe in "Work Hard, Play Harder." I'm an optimist to the core, a crafter wannabe, a Southern food cook-in-training and a big time believer in girls nights. We met, fell in love and got engaged in eight short months and are now knee-deep in planning what we hope to be a super-fun, very us wedding celebration. Join us as we plan a rustic meets whimsical, Colorado winter wedding with loads of personal touches and good food!
It took a few extra minutes and a few requests from the DJ to get the entire crowd outside…probably because moments before our ceremony, this is how it looked outside.
A few brave souls grabbed a fleece blanket or huddled under an umbrella, but the majority of guests gathered under the covered porch. Read more…
Mrs. Opossum, TallahasseeAge and Occupation: 23, Aspiring Interior Architect
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Soon to be Firefighter
Engagement Date: October 30, 2011Wedding Date: April 2012Venue: The Retreat at Bradley's PondAbout Me: I am a recent design graduate and aspiring interior architect that is a compulsive list maker, a Christmas light fanatic, and an avid nap-taker. This freckle-faced Southern girl loves being on the back of a horse, hanging out at the gym, and watching SVU with her rugby-playing fiance. It is a dream come true to finally be planning a wedding (in five months) to my high school sweetheart (of seven years). While preparing to tie the knot we're also balancing Fire College, grad school applications, jobs, and precious time with our supportive family and friends. We're moving fast...but are excited about enjoying every moment of this time in our lives!
Around these parts all I seem to be doing is tyin’ up all the loose ends! Email here, details there…it’s a constant back and forth. I’d thought I’d take a minute to stop and reflect on the most important part of our wedding day, the ceremony. Mr.O and I will be married by the Pastor of the Lutheran Church I grew up in. During our initial meeting with him we discussed all the usuals like marriage counseling and ceremony planning. Basically he told us he could give us four options for ceremonies and then we could splice and dice and add and combine them any way we wanted. This was the perfect compromise for us. It has allowed us to incorporate some of the traditional elements of a church wedding with our own personalities added in. In order to perfect the flow we searched all over the internet for examples. We found that generally church ceremonies are laid out similar to this, give or take the placement of a few parts:
Processional
Welcome
Opening (usually with a prayer)
Readings
Statement of Intent
Words of Encouragement (which may be long or short- for some services it’s an entire sermon)
Vows
Exchanging of Rings
Announcement/Proclomation of Marriage
Prayer
Communion (if your church does this)/ Unity Candle
Mrs. Honey, Durango, COAge and Occupation: 28, Financial AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Lab Tech/PhlebotomistEngagement Date: August 1, 2010Wedding Date: January 2012Venue: Vallecito LakeAbout Me: I am a Colorado girl through and through, marrying an adrenaline-fueled Alabama boy. We love the outdoors just about as much as we love spoiling our dog and three cats. On any given weekend you can find us being adventurous, doing anything from rafting to snowboarding, and everything in between. We live in an outdoor mecca and truly believe in "Work Hard, Play Harder." I'm an optimist to the core, a crafter wannabe, a Southern food cook-in-training and a big time believer in girls nights. We met, fell in love and got engaged in eight short months and are now knee-deep in planning what we hope to be a super-fun, very us wedding celebration. Join us as we plan a rustic meets whimsical, Colorado winter wedding with loads of personal touches and good food!
We finished with pictures and had about 45 minutes to spare before our ceremony start time. I was in a pretty little bubble, hugging people and swooning over our details. Even though I had a pretty good idea of what the space looked like when I left it the afternoon before, I soaked in the finality of what our guests would be seeing in the minutes and hours to come.
Enjoy the sweet details
Forever ago, I told you how I initially didn’t consider our venue because of my first impression. Now, not to brag (or maybe to brag), but had I seen a picture more like this, there wouldn’t have been a hesitation!
Don’t worry, the chairs are just missing because they were used for ceremony seating as well.
Mrs. Bacon, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 26, Digital Advertising ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, IT Client ServicesEngagement Date: June 17, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Ravenswood Billboard FactoryAbout Me: I'm a Midwestern girl that can't seem to commit to staying in one place for too long and is constantly daydreaming about my next adventure. I am an aspiring foodie with a weak spot for the unusual and I love semi-reality food television. My other loves easily include laughing as a form of exercise, a book that I can't put down, summer baseball games, espresso with whipped cream, couch potato days and nights with the ridiculous Mr. Bacon, and our two kitties, Lincoln and Sawyer. We're planning a faux-destination wedding for 150 of our closest friends and family in the city we've both adopted as home that has a modern, yet whimsical twist and as many personal touches as we can manage.
After 450 days of planning, it was finally time to get married. No more fussing with a paper cutter; no more fretting about seating charts; no more worrying about the ring bearer’s forgotten tux. Just me, the Baconator, the people we love most in the world, and the moment we’d all been waiting for.
(I am going to include our ceremony in its entirety since we handcrafted so much of it and when I was planning I wished that I had more Bees’ weddings to refer to when putting it all together. The next couple posts will probably be pretty text heavy)
