Miss Cheeseburger, Baltimore, MD/State College, PAAge and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentEngagement Date: June 28, 2008Wedding Date: March 2010Venue: Catholic Church Ceremony & Hotel ReceptionAbout Me: I'm a passionate girl from Pittsburgh, currently living in Baltimore for school, who loves Penn State, seeing movies, football, thunderstorms, black and white photos, Christmas, good beer, my amazing friends and family, and of course, my mister! We met, fell in love, got engaged, and will be married at our alma mater (go lions!) in a traditional Catholic ceremony followed by a hotel reception with lots of DIY details. It means so much to have our families and friends meet at our favorite place on earth to celebrate our love for one another - I truly couldn't ask for anything more!
We had always planned to light a Unity Candle during our ceremony. I think it’s a beautiful tradition with a lot of sentimental meaning. I love that Burger’s Mom and Mom Cheeseburger will light the taper candles individually, and that Burger and I will use them to light the pillar candle symbolizing the unity of our two families.
So, what’s the problem?
Well, I kinda forgot to get us one. Whoops!
I’m not sure how it works at other churches, but at the church we are going to be married in, if we want to light a unity candle, we have to provide the supplies ourselves. I happened to mention my forgetfulness to Mom Cheeseburger a while back, and just a few days later, she had a surprise for me!
When I realized that I forgot, I figured I’d just pick up two tapers, a pillar candle and some candle holders at Michaels and call it a day, but my mom really went the extra mile! Apparently the pre-made unity candle sets can be kinda pricey, so Mom Cheeseburger decided to break out a little DIY of her own.
Miss Ribbons, Washington D.C./Bloomington, INAge and Occupation: 23, Research Associate for an international development firmFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Proposal Coordinator for contractor
Engagement Date: May 2, 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Indiana Memorial UnionAbout Me: I'm an Indiana transplant living in DC with my fiance and our pretty kitty. I enjoy the color pink, I'm obsessed with the Dior New Look and tulle, and I heart my level 80 paladin. I'm a sucker for bad TV, literary theory, and cakes of all persuasion. I also happen to be marrying the cutest closet nerd around! It's all about Bloomington for us because it's where we met -- on the college paper. If there's a theme for our small summertime wedding, it's Dior meets Dorothy Draper on a lark in Bloomington; think poofy, plus graphic prints, bold colors, and a whole lot of prettiness.
We have a curious situation with our ceremony. I was raised Catholic and Ribs was raised… well, sort of Jewish? He had a Bar Mitzvah. That’s about it.
We’re doing a semi-Jewish—in the loosest sense possible—ceremony anyways.
As a writer and deeply observant person, I’ve become completely mystified by the world and, even more, the universe. I won’t go New Age on you, but trust me: it all blows my mind.
Having my mind blown by these things, I’m much more “spiritual” than religious. I think there’s a lot of beautiful things about Catholic mass, but the teachings don’t jive with my worldview. However, most of my family does continue to practice Catholicism. I didn’t want to create some humanist ceremony that’s completely devoid of their familiar text—the Bible. I also knew I literally couldn’t have an outdoor Catholic ceremony in a town where I’m nowhere near a member of the church. Read more…
Miss Paisley, Orange County, CAAge and Occupation: 25, JournalistFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Spanish ProfessorEngagement Date: September 2008Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Family Lake HouseAbout Me: From my earliest days I attracted attention, as much for my intelligence as for beauty. I display an originality, a perspicacity, a certain je ne sais quoi that sets me apart. I posses a mysterious authority which compels people to do my bidding. I am a regal blonde with classic features and the daintiness of Dresden porcelain. I am poised, soft-spoken, and well educated... Okay, now that enough eyebrows have sufficiently shot through the roof, everybody can relax---I kid! I'm just a sarcastic NorCal-turned-SoCal girl who loves outdoor activities, books, letterpress printing and of course, Professor Paisley.
Yup, that’s what’s on the to-do list with Papa Paisley this weekend. In other words, I’m crazy! I’m heading up to wine country to my grandma’s house tonight, where the wedding will be. There, the plan is to build a driftwood arbor, drink bar, wine bar. We have a couple of other projects in the works, as well. I hope brother Paisley helps us out, too. That would be awesome, because we’ll need all the help we can get!
That should take up one day pretty sufficiently! It takes a long time to collect pretty driftwood from around the lake. Read more…
Miss Starfish, Boston/NewportAge and Occupation: 25, Operations AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, SalesEngagement Date: October 8, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: The Atlantic Beach ClubAbout Me: I'm a perfectionist who is a planner at heart. I don't do well with surprises. I love planning, crafting, Newport RI, family and friends, and most importantly, Mr. Starfish---all of which will be big components in our October wedding in our favorite little city by the sea.
I booked the church without ever actually stepping foot inside. This is a little out of character for me. I typically research up a storm on everything wedding related. The weekend after making it official, I just had to go and see it, partially to ease my mind, so I’d have no worries. So, the following Sunday after booking, I had two of my bridesmaids come on a mini road trip to Newport… to go to church.
Miss Lace, Pasadena, CAAge and Occupation: 29, Elementary school teacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, EngineerEngagement Date: September 6, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Orange County Performing Arts CenterAbout Me: Born and raised in Southern California, my fiance and I are marrying in Orange County. We're planning a vintage wedding with a modern twist. I am an elementary school teacher by day and a wedding planner by night. I love reading, blogging, scrapbooking, trying out new DIY projects, buying awesome finds at incredible deals and spending time with friends and family. Trying new restaurants, traveling and shopping also top my hobby list. I'm anxious to share my wedding ideas and planning with the hive!
When I teach art to my students, I emphasize that there’s no such thing as a mistake. You can always turn it into something. If you do that a few more times on your piece, it’ll look like you did it on purpose. It’s a happy accident.
Well, I had a happy accident the other day. Over the weekend, Mr. Lace and I, after determining we needed to kick wedding planning into high gear, decided to take a look at tuxes. By the time we finished all our previous engagements and were ready to go it was 5. I decided to call ahead and check the closing times on two of the tux shops we were going to visit. The first one closed at 5 (of course). With my fingers crossed, I called the second shop. They were open until 9. We got there, sat down with the sales rep, looked through the tuxes and were out of there in 20 minutes. We ran a couple of other errands and then decided we should stop for dinner before heading back to Mr. L’s place.
We threw out a couple of places, went back and forth and finally decided on Panera Bread. It was the healthiest option in the area and we had just started our wedding diets and didn’t want to break them so quickly. While parking, I saw a wee little bookstore. Read more…
Miss Hamster, New York CityAge and Occupation: 28, Finance GalFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Finance GuyEngagement Date: March 9, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: The Pierre HotelAbout Me: I'm an original Jersey girl living it up in the big NYC! I love baking for others, hosting brunches, and exploring NYC with my mans. Besides Mr. Hamster (of course), I'm attracted to shiny things, bold colors, snacks, matching and coordination, pork and duck fats, miniature versions of things, corny jokes and puns. We are planning a swanky Spring wedding in the heart of NYC, followed by a second reception in Singapore. From one city that never sleeps to another - I can't imagine a more exciting ride!
Tradition has it that the father of the bride walks the lovely bride down the aisle, “giving her away” to the groom, like so:
My dad and sis at her wedding in 2005
For the Hammy wedding, I thought it would be meaningful to have both my mom and dad walk me down the aisle, since both of them had played integral parts in my upbringing. However, big sis then told me that my dad was really looking forward to walking me down the aisle solo. Read more…
Miss Poodle, Santiago, Chile/San Bernardino, CAAge and Occupation: 27, Industrial & Web DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Firefighter & Mountain PatrolEngagement Date: February 25, 2009Wedding Date: January 2010Venue: Mr. P's Grandparents’ RanchAbout Me: I’m a Chilean girl who's crazy about nature and swimming. I enjoy carving, drawing, reading and sewing; I drool over computers, fabric, pretty paper, purple and patterns. To me, chocolate should be one of the seven wonders, right next to lemon pie. I never thought an exchange work experience program was going to change my life forever, but while working in California, I met Mr. Poodle, and ever since my days are better and brighter. We are two goofy souls that, after finding each other, couldn’t help but want to be together forever. It has being a long and sometimes hard road, since we have to deal with such a long distance between us, but we are now facing the last stage of our Fiancé Visa, and soon we will be together. You know the best part? We will be married! So I’ll be blogging from Chile until just a few months before our “green and purple” wedding.
I am not going to lie, for this particular project I haven’t being as involved as I would like to be. Do you know why?
Because Mr. Poodle, my FIL and lots of their friends like big machines way more than I do! And that doesn’t mean I don’t like them! But most of the time we are at Mr. Poodle’s grandparents’ ranch, I have a box of wedding crafts so the girls can help me with them, while the boys play out in the field!
I think I should start this post with the very first decision we had to make about our chapel, which was finding the perfect spot for the altar and choosing the direction of the aisle. Read more…
Miss 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.
One of the things I’m really looking forward to on our wedding day is my walk down the aisle. It will be the last walk I will take as a single gal, all eyes will be on me in my beautiful dress, and I’ll be walking toward my future together with my best friend, Mr. Cola.
And an important part of this walk will be having my father walk me down the aisle. I’ve always been a bit of a daddy’s little girl, and couldn’t imagine him not by my side. But there are some difficulties with this, since my dad had a stroke several years ago that left him partially disabled. A recent boards post touched on the subject of how to handle the walk down the aisle with a disabled father, so I thought I would share my plan with the hive. It will be so worth it for me to make a few changes from the traditional walk to have my dad walk with me.
Our ceremony and reception are at the same place, but the ceremony site is across a good sized meadow, which poses a bit of a problem as my father usually uses his wheelchair for long walks, but can walk short distances with his leg brace and cane. But walking this far would take him a very long time, and he is not very steady on uneven surfaces like grass.
This is a picture I took, standing at our ceremony site in the meadow, looking back toward the lodge and deck, to give you a better idea of the distance (and it’s even further than it looks): Read more…
Miss 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.
When I first got engaged, Mr. Argyle and I both decided that we wanted to ask a friend or family member to officiate our ceremony. From the start, I had my heart set on the Jewel Box in Forest Park for our ceremony (which is where our ceremony will take place), so it was a matter of finding someone to officiate. We had toyed around with the idea of hiring someone, but after some thought, we just weren’t in to it.
So, we forgot about it for a while, until it came up in discussion a few months ago. I suggested that we ask my mom’s sister, my Aunt Kat, to officiate our wedding. It would involve her getting ordained. And, before asking her, I searched around the internet about getting ordained online, just to see how easy it would be (and in the process, got ordained myself).
The question then, became when we would ask her. I wasn’t game for asking her online or the phone (she lives in Albuquerque, NM), and was hoping she would be in town soon. Read more…
Miss Hot Wings, Chicago/San DiegoAge and Occupation: 28, Psych Grad StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Psych Grad StudentEngagement Date: December 20, 2008Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Ocean View Villas/Jasmine Seafood RestaurantAbout Me: I am a psychology grad student living in Chicago and planning my wedding to a fellow psych grad student. I am a Sunny So-Cal bred gal who trudged across the country to follow her love of psychology and ended up finding a partner in the process. I am overly passionate about anything I involve myself with. I am an activist, a foodie, a reality TV watching junkie, an over-analyzer, a photography obsesser, and am utterly cheesy to the core. This is a story of what happens when a boy and a girl meet, fall in love over academic dorkiness, and a shared love for life. We (mostly I) are planning our semi-destination wedding in my hometown of San Diego. We are excited to bring our families and friends together from across our lifespans to celebrate our future in a grand 400+ person culturally blended affair!
Having a summer wedding outdoors? Heck, depending on what part of the world you live in, you might have to deal with this year-round. What is it that I’m talking about, you ask?
The sun! There’s the squinty eyes, the sweating, and the sunburns. This past summer, I attended my cousin’s beautiful beach wedding. Even though she had a shade hut that we all sat under during the ceremony, all the walking around afterwards left me utterly sunburned. I’m actually in Chicago sitting outside and the temperature is about 30 degrees, and I STILL have the tan lines to prove it, even though it’s February!
What could save your guests? SHADE! Let’s explore some options.
At least, there are the programs. Talk about multi-use paper products!
Miss Sewing, San Mateo, CA/Honolulu, HIAge and Occupation: 24, Electrical EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Electrical EngineerEngagement Date: June 27, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Anela Garden Chapel & Japanese Cultural Center, HonoluluAbout Me: I'm an easily entertained, compulsive idea-scheming machine who loves good art, good food, and a good engineering challenge. I'm planning a half-destination wedding on the beautiful island of Oahu - imagine a plethora of movies, art and games; savory Hawaiian food; blended Chinese and Japanese cultural details; lush, fragrant tropical flowers and all the air conditioning a NorCal native could want! And once I marry the love of my life, we'll come back to the 'mainland' to party it up all over again in my hometown of Salinas, the salad-bowl capital of the world!
Miss Pug, New York City/Half Moon Bay, CAAge and Occupation: 33, LawyerFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, dittoEngagement Date: July 2008Wedding Date: March 2010Venue: Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon BayAbout Me: The Mr. and I are two 30-somethings who enjoy tasty sweets of all kinds, our neighborhood wine store, and cuddling with our pug. NYC is where we live and the city we love, but we’re doing the deed out in Northern California. We are trying to keep the affair small, intimate, and manageable. Our motto is: the less people, the better! (I’m kidding.)
Miss Pug, New York City/Half Moon Bay, CAAge and Occupation: 33, LawyerFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, dittoEngagement Date: July 2008Wedding Date: March 2010Venue: Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon BayAbout Me: The Mr. and I are two 30-somethings who enjoy tasty sweets of all kinds, our neighborhood wine store, and cuddling with our pug. NYC is where we live and the city we love, but we’re doing the deed out in Northern California. We are trying to keep the affair small, intimate, and manageable. Our motto is: the less people, the better! (I’m kidding.)
I previously wrote about how we’re ending up with a more traditional wedding that I had originally anticipated. To me, what the real hallmark of this more “traditional” wedding was that we are having a “formal” ceremony (as opposed to something like City Hall). Or the Ceremony, as it likes to be called.
This is my idea of what big scary Ceremony is like (AP photo via here)
I had a struggle with Ceremony. We fought, we wrestled, I think we even kicked each other in the guts. Or butts. It’s been a blur. But I surrender now. Just lift your heel from my larynx, please. Read more…
Miss Pug, New York City/Half Moon Bay, CAAge and Occupation: 33, LawyerFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, dittoEngagement Date: July 2008Wedding Date: March 2010Venue: Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon BayAbout Me: The Mr. and I are two 30-somethings who enjoy tasty sweets of all kinds, our neighborhood wine store, and cuddling with our pug. NYC is where we live and the city we love, but we’re doing the deed out in Northern California. We are trying to keep the affair small, intimate, and manageable. Our motto is: the less people, the better! (I’m kidding.)
When we first got engaged, I wanted to do something “different”, partly because I felt that at being post-30, I should be over the frills and chills of a traditional wedding. Well guess what, folks? There’s not a chance.
After going through countless scenarios and considerations, I found myself at a place that resembled much more the traditional wedding than the I’m-so-over-the-wedding-industry celebration that I ever so presumptuously thought I would have. And you know what? There is no crying over spilled milk here. It’s all good. I’m inclined to say that it’ll be great. Because we chose it to be that way and we’re gonna embrace it.
In the meantime, though, let me share with you a few of the possibilities that I had previously conjured and then reluctantly surrendered.
Once upon a time, I thought of having a simple no-frills ceremony at a place with signs like this:
And having a little moment like this, where I get to treasure something really special while still in the everyday world, with people around me going about their business, but me and Mr. Pug knowing and sharing something so happy that it makes things surreal: Read more…
Miss 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.
Selecting our wedding officiant was pretty easy for us, although I know many couples that find this process difficult. But for us, it came down to figuring out which friend of ours, who isn’t in the wedding, would be good at it!
We never even considered a pastor/priest/religious figure, since we aren’t religious ourselves. And even the justices of the peace and other non-church affiliated officiants in the area were pretty expensive—the lowest I found was around $400. For an approximately 16 minute ceremony, that was pretty steep. So, we decided to ask one of our good friends to do it, and I know we will be very happy with our decision. He’s totally cool with us writing everything he has to say, he’s great at public speaking, and he’s a really fun, entertaining guy. He even took the initiative to get ordained online right after we asked him to be our officiant (even though it appears in our county they don’t actually verify if your officiant has been ordained or not)!