Miss Unicycle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing CompanyFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD StudentEngagement Date: March 26, 2011Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Bridges of Poplar CreekAbout Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
There’s been a lotof talkon Weddingbeeabout “other”wedding dresses, meaning the dress you wear to your rehearsal dinner, shower, and/or bachelorette party. In fact, it was Weddingbee that introduced me to the concept of wearing a white dress to all wedding events (not that I needed to be introduced to the concept of wearing certain colors, but you get what I mean).
I’m so grateful to the bees who blazed the wearing-white-to-other-wedding-events trail before me. That was sarcastic actually. If I hadn’t decided I needed a new white dress for every event, I’d be a lot better off, I imagine. I want my money and naïveté back! And my closet space too. For those of you who haven’t considered the fact that you have to wear white to all wedding events because you’re the friggin’ bride I apologize for giving you the idea now.
I decided to make a dress to wear to my shower (possibly both showers) because it would be “cheaper” and I could “make it look however I wanted.” I seem to have forgotten that buying fabric is rarely cheaper than just buying a Forever 21 dress. I also seem to have forgotten that I suck at sewing, so it’s literally impossible for me to make it look however I want. But I did my best!
Personal pic
I promise you I’m not wearing opaque white tights. That’s my real leg color…
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.
There have been lots of photos of the ladies getting ready, and I admit that I was a bit of a photographer hog, but I promise it wasn’t my fault.
If I learned anything from our morning, it’s to have a designated place for the men to get ready that has been run by everyone involved.
We planned on the boys getting shaves in the morning, then coming back to the Baconator’s mom’s room to get ready and have photos ops. Apparently we never ran this past his mom, so when he and the guys got to her room with tuxes in tow, his whole family was in the room and there was no place for them to get dressed. With no space to change, he and the guys went to his dad’s room instead…but the second shooter didn’t know that and found only family members when she arrived in MIL Bacon’s room and no one gave her directions on how to find the guys. FIL Bacon’s room number was a mystery and for some reason we didn’t make the appropriate phone calls to figure out where they guys were and suddenly it was time for the tea ceremony.
So, there are no adorable photos of the guys putting on cuff links or snapping on the rental ties or tying their embroidered sneakers. Instead, we only have a handful of post-tea ceremony shots of them eating lunch and the Baconator prancing down the hallway that our photographer managed to sneak in.
Miss Unicycle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing CompanyFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD StudentEngagement Date: March 26, 2011Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Bridges of Poplar CreekAbout Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
…to my to do list! (Sing the title of this post to the tune of that little ditty by Britney Spears. You know the one.)
I mentioned earlier that I’ve rediscovered my dependency on checklists. I blame The Knot for rekindling my love affair via their comprehensive checklist tool, featuring over 160 things to do. Which is conveniently located next to the huge, glaring countdown to my wedding day, which to me reads more like “You only have 143 days to get all this shit done, fool! I will own you!”
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.
The ladies were done and Mama Bacon was off with my side of the family showing them the city and treating them to lunch, so it was just the five of us in my hotel room to transform me into a bride.
Miss Unicycle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing CompanyFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD StudentEngagement Date: March 26, 2011Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Bridges of Poplar CreekAbout Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
Ever since I saw Fiddler on the Roof, I can’t hear the word “traditions” without singing it. Twice. Traditions are important to me. My family always laughs at me for wanting Christmas to be the exact same every year. In fact, I like to do the same thing year after year for all holidays. I feel anxious if birthdays, vacations, visits with friends, and other yearly occurrences aren’t the exact same every year. There is definitely something comforting in knowing what to expect year after year.
Miss Unicycle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing CompanyFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD StudentEngagement Date: March 26, 2011Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Bridges of Poplar CreekAbout Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
The Dollar Dance, AKA Money Dance, is a tradition that some people love, some people hate, and some people have never heard of. It’s when the bride and groom prostitute themselves as dance partners to their guests in exchange for dollars.
Personal pic
I wasn’t sure which pics would go with this post, so I just chose a bunch of the Unicycles dancing!
You’re supposed to pay a dollar to dance with the bride or groom for a small amount of time, and the best man and maid of honor collect the money and let guests know when it’s their turn and when their turn is up. The tradition originated in Poland according to Wikipedia, and the money is supposed to go toward the couple’s honeymoon. Neither of us is even a little Polish, but I still find this tradition intriguing.
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.
While I was busy being distracted by my dream dress and finally writing my letter for our Letters of Unity ceremony, the bridesmaids got dressed and put on their finishing touches before helping me put on Big White.
I love this photo of my engagement ring, my something old/blue, my ruby red slippers and my aptly named “Chance” perfume. I cannot say enough about wearing Toms for our whole wedding day—my feet were so happy.
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.
As you might remember, I spent hours and weeks and months fretting over my dress decision, so even after picking her up after my final fitting, I was just the teeniest bit anxious that I might have made the wrong decision. But when I woke up that morning and my mom brought the dress down to my room, I knew I had made the right choice. It was my dream dress.
So without further ado, some glamour shots of the one.
Mrs. Sparkler, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 27, Communications AficionadoFiance'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.
Sparks and I decided to go the traditional route and sleep in separate places the night before our wedding. So he stayed in our apartment, and I had to stay in our gorgeous hotel suite…DARN. I headed straight for the room after our welcome party and, honestly, that cab ride was a little nerve-racking for me. I’m not the kind of person who does well when all eyes are on me and, up until that point, Sparks had been constantly by my side taking on half of the attention. I started to have a minor panic attack when I thought about all the people who would be fussing over my hair, my makeup, my dress, etc. the next morning. So I did what any normal person would do: I had a glass of wine and distracted myself by working on my escort cards until two in the morning.
I know that might seem strange to some people, and I really can’t explain it—I was just SO nervous. I didn’t want to sit around having super-duper meaningful talks with anyone, I didn’t want to reminisce about my relationship with Sparks or my last night as a single Sparkler…I just wanted to not freak out. And I think that’s OK.
Before I wrote this, I actually gave myself a pretty hard time for ending the night that way. Maybe I should have had all my bridesmaids in the room for a sleepover, or maybe I should have stayed up all night talking with my sisters or writing Sparks a romantic letter. But that’s just not me. And it’s not what I needed. I needed to put my head down and work on 250 escort cards that I should have done weeks before. I just needed to be alone in my own thoughts for a nanosecond, and try to process what would happen the next day. And I don’t feel bad about it anymore.
Miss Unicycle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing CompanyFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD StudentEngagement Date: March 26, 2011Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Bridges of Poplar CreekAbout Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
We’re having an open bar at our wedding. That’s just the way it has to go. Too many of our guests are looking forward to gratis drinkage. I’m not planning on getting drunk at our wedding reception because I want to remember all the details as much as I can, and because I’ll probably be so high on life I won’t need any alcohol. (I’m getting bad flashbacks to high school health class now.) Mr. Unicycle won’t get drunk because he’s not big into drinking. But our guests? I hope they’re completely shit-faced. However, just because we’re having an open bar doesn’t mean we can’t have signature cocktails, right?
I love the idea of offering a signature cocktail or two because it gives guests an idea of what they can order at the bar. I personally am always at a loss for what to order at a bar. I’ll drink pretty much anything besides beer, but I don’t know enough about bartending to know what to ask for. Enter the signature cocktail! I wanted Mr. Unicycle and me to each have our own signature cocktail to offer as another way of infusing our personalities into the wedding. His favorite liquor is rum, so he immediately chose a rum old fashioned as his drink.
An old fashioned is basically just liquor with bitters and sugar, plus myriad garnishes. I friggin’ love garnishes, by the way. Mr. Unicycle is a classy dude, and this drink fits right in with our retro theme.
Mrs. Giraffe, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 23, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Music Student TeacherEngagement Date: October 23, 2008Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Trinity Lutheran Church & Idlewild Country ClubAbout Me: Coming from the suburbs of the Windy City, you'll often find me with my foot in my mouth while laughing for no reason or telling bad knock knock jokes. I've been crafty for as long as I can remember, and will DIY something twice over before I have someone do it for me. I'm a semi-awkward, typeface obsessed, design junkie and have been know to break out my dance moves for no reason as well as try my best to be ridiculous at all times. My love of pop culture, wordplay, and graph paper almost rivals my love of Mr. Giraffe (who is just the bee's knees). After a 2.5 year engagement, we're planning a modern-in-disguise traditional wedding, and cannot wait!
You guys, I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to think up a favor for our guests. Like, a serious amount of time that could have probably been spent doing other things that were more important. In hindsight, I had no reason to stress about the favors. Our photo booth photos could have been our favor, as well as our sweets table, but I just really wanted something fun at each seat to show our guests how much we appreciated having them with us!
Since I thought so long about it, I feel like it’s only fair to share some of those options as well as the big winner. The runners up were…
Hershey’s Kisses in springtime colors to match our wedding colors, which were baby blue and sage green and chocolate (get it?!) brown (but obviously I’d eat all the pink ones to keep them in our color scheme).
Miss Unicycle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing CompanyFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD StudentEngagement Date: March 26, 2011Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Bridges of Poplar CreekAbout Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
I trust my photographer to get all the major “must-have” wedding pictures for me—the bride getting ready, the bride and groom saying their vows, the best man’s speech, etc. I also trust that she’ll be good at getting everyone in natural looking poses. She did a great job at alleviating my anxiety and awkwardness during the engagement session by giving us poses to try and tweaking them when we looked awkward. This is essential in a photographer, because sometimes you think you look great/cute/hilarious/adorable in a photo, but really you just look strange.
Personal pic
When we posed for this, I thought it looked cute. But seeing the picture, I am confused at the angles. What, exactly, is going on here?
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.
My mom and aunts had gone to work on the hotel suite all morning and the ultra modern room with streaming sunlight was completely transformed into a warm and cheery Chinese experience prefect for the tea ceremony. Maybe the warmth was from all 30 people we stuffed in that little suite, but I’m still going to credit it to Mama B…
An instant heirloom - Our Chinese tea set complete with the traditional Double Happiness characters
Mrs. Sparkler, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 27, Communications AficionadoFiance'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.
After our amazing rehearsal dinner, we gathered everyone up and headed over to our welcome party. Most of us decided to walk the short distance to the residential high-rise that our friend Andrew had so generously offered up for our location. It was such a nice night, and I remember crossing my fingers (and my toes, and my eyes…) hoping it would stay that nice for the entire weekend.
Before we arrived, our waiting guests were already enjoying themselves, taking in the view, and catching up with everyone.
Miss Unicycle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing CompanyFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD StudentEngagement Date: March 26, 2011Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Bridges of Poplar CreekAbout Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
Napkins are boring. Usually. All you really need from a napkin is the ability to wipe the food from your face after your gluttonously feast on whatever food is given to you. I would personally be lost without napkins because I’m the messiest eater ever (statistically, that’s probably not true). But who really cares how napkins look? Martha Stewart does.
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
Hershey’s Pastel Kisses via Oriental Trading (Great prices there!)
