Mrs. Cinnamon Bun, Calgary, AlbertaAge and Occupation: 26, Stage ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Theatre TechnicianEngagement Date: June 22, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Calgary Opera CentreAbout Me: I'm a life-long crafter and bookworm living in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Some of my loves include Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, knitting, opera, musicals, Etsy, baking, and of course, Mr. Cinnamon Buns. We're keeping our wedding close to home---the venue isn't very far from our house, and we live within walking distance of 6 bridal salons. I'm using the wedding as an excuse to try out every craft project I possibly can, with the endless help and support of my fiance.
A week or two ago, I was searching for guestbook options, and came up with idea of getting one of Tolkien’s books re-bound into a guestbook. After that post, I hopped on my bicycle and made my rounds of some of the used bookstores nearby, hoping to find an old, worn, lonely copy of The Two Towers, or an affordable hardcover 3-book set. The first used bookstore I went to had two hardcover 3-book sets, no lonely volumes. One set was a second edition in a box, and cost $400. It was gorgeous, and I wanted it, but not to cut up! I wanted to buy it and put it on my shelf and call it ‘precious’. I might have petted it for a bit in the store before (reluctantly) giving it back to the bookseller. The second set was newer (1980s), not so precious, but the books were reddish orange, and the only thing stamped onto the front cover (because I’d be using it without the slipcover) was the writing that is on the One Ring.
Very Tolkien, but a little…menacing? Portentous? (I’m quite the Tolkien geek, but I’ve never quite understood people who get their wedding rings engraved with ‘One ring to rule them all/one ring to find them/one ring to bring them all/and in the darkness bind them’ either.)
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!
At this point in our planning, we have the framework pretty defined. The big picture details are all confirmed and finalized, for the most part, so now it’s easy to pay attention to the tiny little details that very few people outside of the individual(s) planning the event will notice. One of those details? The first kiss.
Admittedly, this is an unbelievably small detail in the scope of the entire day. However, it is one of the most cherished and most photographed moments of the day, so I don’t think I’m 100% bonkers for wanting it to go off smoothly and beautifully. I mean, look at the flak the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge received when their first kiss wasn’t deemed satisfactory. It seems as though there are a good number of ways to make this moment imperfect in the eyes of the observers—too short, too long, too G-rated, too R-rated. Not to mention where you put your face and arms in relation to your partner’s face and arms. That’s a lot to think about if you’re over-analyzing things such as I am! I’ve decided to take action, thoroughly researching the photographic evidence of the available first kiss styles to determine which one is right for the Snow Cones on our big day.
Option 1: The demure, hands-touching-only style: very sweet, good photo visibility for both bride and groom
Mrs. Jam, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 25, Writer/Associate Wedding CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Structural EngineerEngagement Date: December 23, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Hunter’s Ridge, Princeton, ILAbout Me: I’m a penny-pinching cat lady getting ready to marry the frugal dog lover of my dreams. Our ideal Saturday morning includes rummaging around people’s junk at garage and estate sales followed by an afternoon date to our favorite café, where we only eat sandwiches that include the word “salad.” We actually love it so much, it’s sort of our unofficial wedding theme: Look at our delicious finds, eat homemade ham salad, and celebrate our love…barndance style. When we’re not obsessing over our love-fest shindig, we’re planning themed parties for our best friends and jamming to '90s music.
I am a writer. Mr. Jam is not. So when it came down to creating our ceremony, I lovingly forced the idea of writing our own vows because words are my bread and butter. Plus, I sincerely miss our long-distance IM sessions where we would do the whole, “OMG, I love you!” and “OMG, love you more!” thing for hours and hours until we virtually self-combusted. And let’s get real: Who doesn’t want to get goose bumps listening to two people spilling their guts using words they actually wrote?
The vows in my friend Jacki’s recent wedding video = part of the reason Mr. Jam finally agreed to write ours. WE JUST LOVE THEM.
But remember, Mr. Jam’s bread and butter is numbers, not words (unless they’re technical, though he was quite the essay-writer in college) so he suggested we write them together. I likened this to going Christmas shopping for each other together, meaning we’ll get exactly what we want but without the delicious surprise of, “OMG, darlin’, you know me SO WELL!”
So I created an easy-to-follow vow format, enabling our vows to be written in secret but still feel cohesive like they were written together: Read more…
Ms. Ferris Wheel, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 29, PsychologistFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, PsychologistEngagement Date: May 23 and 28, 2010 (one for each of us!)Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Parc55 Hotel (city lights ceremony, ballroom reception)About Me: Born in the Southeast, educated in the Northeast, and over-educated on the West Coast, I finally earned my city-girl credentials and have put down roots in gorgeous San Francisco. I’m a raging perfectionist with a lightning quick wit and a terrible sense of both time and direction. Our wedding task list is endlessly growing because of my predilection to think that DIY projects I can make = DIY projects I should make (so not true!). I always go to bed wishing there were more hours in the day to enjoy all the things I adore, whether that be hobbies, friends, my career, our two dogs, or Mr. Ferris Wheel. Ours is a story of a non-traditional couple living an oddly traditional life planning a not-so-traditional wedding in this city we adore. Together we are bustin’ out all of our best skills (and some of our worst ones) to plan a laid-back-chic DIY-craftastic love-alicious affair!
Choosing an officiant seems like it should be one of the more simple wedding decisions one can make. Either you choose a religious figure, or not. If not, you go with someone who has a close personal tie to you and your partner (and preferably has a penchant for public speaking).
Wow that sounds easy. Sign us up for non-religious-figure, closely-personally-tied with mad public speaking skills, please.
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.
You guys, we are two days out from the day. Two! Days! So pardon my utter insanity, pretty please?
One of the things we decided to do for our ceremony was to write our own vows. Or rather, I suggested it and Mr. Lox was on board. I’ve never done this before so I’d like to share the experience with you and perhaps help you from falling into the same trap that I did.
Obviously I read wedding blogs. And so I’ve read multiple times about people writing their own vows. I had visions or us telling each other how much the other means to us, why we love them, and what we promise for the rest of our lives. I did not, however, communicate any of that to Mr. Lox. Now, Mr. Lox does NOT read wedding blogs. After all, why should he when he has me? So when I said, “Let’s do our own vows!” he had something quite different in mind.
Then we decided it would be super romantic to keep the vows a surprise. You can see what’s coming right?
Mr. Lox sent his vows to the officiant last week, just a day or two before I was ready to send mine. I had about half a page typed that I was still refining a bit. And after he sent his, I had a horrible feeling. A feeling that these two sets of vows were not going to match up. So I asked him, without revealing the content, if he could give me an idea of the structure.
Remember the half a page I had written? Read more…
Ms. Sloth, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 35, Account Manager and Fashion BloggerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Design AdminEngagement Date: December 25, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Bartram's GardenAbout Me: I'm an internet junkie and music snob with a good eye for a bargain. I couldn't live without thrift store shopping, cheeseburgers, sushi, Coke Zero, websites devoted to silly photos of baby animals, Photoshop, and Mr. Sloth. Speaking of which, he and I are a pair of goofball homebody nerds who love our beagle (the most ridiculously adorable dog EVER) to an embarrassing degree. We're planning a low-key and intimate yet festive and quirky outdoor wedding with DIY details and deeply personal touches, and it's all taking place in the city where we fell in love and call home: Philadelphia.
We’re in the home stretch, y’all! I’ve only got one major thing left to finish for W-day, but it’s a biggie: writing my vows. And I’ve got some writer’s block.
I’ve been working on them for several weeks, and I’ve finally gotten something written that is very romantic and fairly formal. But that’s a problem. See, as a couple, Mr. S and I are not very romantic or formal. We fart in front of each other, a LOT. We call each other “butthole” as a term of endearment. We pick food out of each others’ teeth.
And we are both embarrassed by huge romantic gestures and flowery language. 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 this weekend, Miss Sparkler reminded me about my plan to walk down the aisle alone. I know the last time we talked about it, I seemed like there might have been some wiggle room in that decision. That was a little unfair of me because there isn’t. For all the reasons I gave there and then some, I still plan to do this one by myself.
But I haven’t been able to shake the fact that I wouldn’t have made that decision if my step-father were still here to step in. It would have been his greatest joy to escort me down the aisle and I would have been delighted to have him do it. But it is what it is and he isn’t here with us, so that is not a choice I get to make.
So my dears, that brings us to the question of why on earth I’m writing about this again. I mean, if nothing has changed, then why bother to re-open the topic? Well, because something has, in fact, changed.
Like I said, I keep thinking of my step-father when I think about this. So it occurred to me that maybe I could find a way after all to take him down the aisle with me. Enter, my keychain:
Mrs. Sparkler, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 27, WriterFiance'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.
I have a confession to make, hive. There’s a big part of my life that I haven’t yet divulged to you. But it being Mother’s Day, and with other things weighing on my mind, I wanted to put it all out there and recognize the person in my life that has always been there for me: My mom.
When I was a younger Sparkler, I lost my Dad. I’ve already told you that he was a Marine, but what I didn’t tell you was that he was a test pilot. This very honorable career was also very dangerous, and one July, while co-piloting a flight of the V-22 Osprey, he made the ultimate sacrifice.
Dad and me… waaaaay back in the day.
In the blink of an eye, my Mom was left alone with a growing family (my youngest sister was only five months old).
Mrs. Crepe, Queens, NY/Nashville, TNAge and Occupation: 28, Jewelry DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Animation DirectorEngagement Date: September 28, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: A church in downtown NashvilleAbout Me: I'm a native New Yorker who has always been a DIY kind of girl and loves tackling creative projects while getting the most out of a dollar. I'm marrying my college sweetheart and we love frequenting antique stores, exploring together, and playing with kittens. We're planning a fun, "us" wedding in his hometown---with as many handmade touches as we can pack into a day!
But what fun is that? At this point, Mr. Crepe is saying to me, “Everything you do has to be quirky.” Well, deal with it. I’m sure you knew that’s what you’re signing up for. And this thing is $40, which I guess isn’t a ton of money but if we can save a bit AND be quirky, all the better, right?
I came across this cute little rustic candle holder on Etsy: Read more…
Mrs. Lioness, AtlantaAge and Occupation: 25, Physical TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, AttorneyEngagement Date: August 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Anthony’s Fine DiningAbout Me: I’m a Southern girl with New England roots. I say "wicked" and "y’all" in the same sentence and I like to drink sweet tea with my lobster. Mr. Lion and I are both former Floridians now living in Atlanta, which fortunately is still SEC country...Go Gators! We both love baseball, coffee, traveling, cooking, and playing Words with Friends with each other on our iPhones all day long. I’m very passionate about the things and the people I love, and I tend to plan things with all of my heart...our wedding, of course, is no different! Oh, and also Mr. Lion is a first generation American of Cuban descent. I may look more like Lucy than Ricky, but I’m doing my best to incorporate some Latin elements into our vintage-garden-Southern wedding!
Nothing better illustrates the differences between my personality and Mr. Lion’s personality than how we respond to a to do list. I look forward to crossing off each item with pride and a satisfying sense of accomplishment because I’m just a bit type-A. My laid back husband, on the other hand, needs a deadline. ”This has to be done by when? Oh okay, I’ll make it happen.” But, don’t you want to just do it now? Wouldn’t that just make you feel like you could take on the world?!
“Assemble the chuppah” was on Mr. Lion’s to do list for months.
For months, our living room was home to 8-foot aspen poles that had nowhere to go. By the way, we ordered these from Nature’s All, Inc., a company that sells aspen and birch poles specifically for chuppahs and arbors. This way, you can be certain that the width, height, and shape of each pole is uniform throughout.
I had also purchased birch flower pots from Save On Crafts. These were to serve as bases for each pole. Read more…
Mrs. Crepe, Queens, NY/Nashville, TNAge and Occupation: 28, Jewelry DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Animation DirectorEngagement Date: September 28, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: A church in downtown NashvilleAbout Me: I'm a native New Yorker who has always been a DIY kind of girl and loves tackling creative projects while getting the most out of a dollar. I'm marrying my college sweetheart and we love frequenting antique stores, exploring together, and playing with kittens. We're planning a fun, "us" wedding in his hometown---with as many handmade touches as we can pack into a day!
As much as I loved the mossy teacup idea, the book ring holder won out. It tied into the stacked book centerpieces so perfectly and that detail was hard to resist. I’m also trying to keep the ultra-girlie-ness on a leash, since this wedding is for both of us and keeping the mister’s preferences in mind helps me with that.
I started out by using a small book from a used bookstore—Mr. Crepe found this little one and the cover was just so incredibly pretty.
Mrs. Crepe, Queens, NY/Nashville, TNAge and Occupation: 28, Jewelry DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Animation DirectorEngagement Date: September 28, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: A church in downtown NashvilleAbout Me: I'm a native New Yorker who has always been a DIY kind of girl and loves tackling creative projects while getting the most out of a dollar. I'm marrying my college sweetheart and we love frequenting antique stores, exploring together, and playing with kittens. We're planning a fun, "us" wedding in his hometown---with as many handmade touches as we can pack into a day!
The ring pillow was one of those unimportant details to Mr. Crepe and me—we probably aren’t going to have a ring bearer so having a pillow seemed unnecessary. But you know how it is. You come across photo after photo of adorable creative solutions for something so seemingly simple and then it doesn’t seem quite so unnecessary. Besides, it’s such a tiny project, right? Justification is the word of the day. (Or month.)
Mrs. Pancakes, New York/Costa RicaAge and Occupation: 26, Law School StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Latin American Policy AnalystEngagement Date: March 12, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Casa Punto de VistaAbout Me: I’m a perfectionist with a big heart. I love a good laugh and firmly believe no one has ever regretted being prepared! My motto is “go big or go home.” I am incapable of doing anything in moderation, especially when it comes to shopping, TV, food and travel, and some would say wedding planning! The other half of this nearlywed team is a laid-back, adventure-loving, accident prone, sweetie from LA. He makes me laugh, is always down for an impromptu dance party, and totally indulges most of my hare-brained schemes. Now, in my final year of law school, we’ll be spending the spring abroad in Amsterdam and planning a DIY, whimsical, detail-filled destination wedding in Costa Rica!
First of all, I want to apologize for my absence the last few days. That being said, our wedding is NEXT MONTH!!
Despite all the wedding planning I should be doing, and thesis writing I should be finishing, in the last month, I have been to Spain, France, Belgium, and Germany. Along the way I’ve managed to collect a number of great little trinkets to include in our big day. I’ll blog about all the great stuff I’ve picked up, but today I just want to talk about vintage hankies! Read more…
Miss Carousel, Dusseldorf, Germany/Garda, ItalyAge and Occupation: 29, International Product ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Front End DeveloperEngagement Date: May 29, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: I’m an American-Italian girl living in Germany with my Belgian fiancé, planning a wedding in Italy. I can’t wait to show our guests the wonderful Lake Garda, Verona, and want our wedding to be a fun filled, charming, day in the life of “La dolce vita.” Mr. C and I love spending time together, and have added wedding related activities to our cooking nights, dance lessons, and road trips. We love sampling restaurants, could listen to Sinatra all day, and are just a tad geeky and into technology. As we want all of our passions to be part of our marriage, what better way to start than by incorporating them in our wedding day?
Mr. Caro and I will be celebrating our wedding in a converted church. It took us a while to find the right ceremony venue but we are very happy about our final choice: we think this church has a great intimate vibe and it fits our style perfectly.
The only thing I do not like about it is… the transparent chairs…
Don’t get me wrong: I think transparent chairs look really chic and cool in the right ambiance! I just don’t think the intimate and historic atmosphere of the church fits well with those stylish contemporary chairs for our wedding… 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.
In our initial meeting with our officiant, she asked us a series of questions so she could learn a little bit about us to help her customize our ceremony. There weren’t very many questions in that she learned how much Mr. Lox and I love wine. In fact, I would wager that it is our most prominent shared hobby. We frequent wine tastings and wine dinners. The owner of the best local wine shop knows us by name. We just really enjoy learning more about wine, and well, drinking it!
After figuring this out, she suggested we add a wine toast to our ceremony. A what now? I mean, that’s what we thought, at least. Please bear in mind, this is before wedding blog land entered my life. Right, so back to how this works. On a table near us during the ceremony, there will be a glass of red wine. At some point, the officiant will say something like this:
Mr. & Miss Lox, because you have pledged your love to one another through the exchange of vows and rings, it is appropriate on this joyous occasion that you make a toast—to life and love!
This wine represents the sweetness and bitterness of life. Throughout your lives, may you find life’s joys heightened, it’s bitterness sweetened and all things hallowed by true companionship and love. As you share the wine together from this cup, so too may you share joy and fulfillment from the cup of life. Drink now, and may the cup of your lives be sweet and full to overflowing!
So when I said, “Let’s do our own vows!” he had something quite different in mind.
