Mrs. Macarons, TampaAge and Occupation: 26, Graphic DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, Renaissance ManEngagement Date: September 12, 2009Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Lange FarmAbout Me: I'm creative at heart and a graphic designer with an unhealthy obsession with type. I love roller coasters, spicy foods, and a good glass of Crianza. We’re planning a soft and lovely vintage-meets-modern wedding in a state that’s known for its beaches, glitz and glam. I have a ton of DIY projects and lots of little details I’m dying to share and can't wait to celebrate with our closest friends and family.
As an artist and designer, I use a lot of color and play with texture and patterns when I can. My closet is the same way: a kaleidoscope of shoes, purses, clothing, and accessories. When it came time to talk wedding colors, Mr. Macarons was a bit worried I’d want something like this:
Mrs. High Wire, DallasAge and Occupation: 23, Legal AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Director of CommunicationsEngagement Date: October 9, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Clark GardensAbout Me: My loves include yoga, anything spicy, our eccentric cat, our rambunctious dog, and Mr. High Wire, of course! Like the steadiness act of the tightrope walker, this gal is busy balancing life while planning a wedding to the man of her dreams. We’re hosting a laid-back, vintage-inspired, bird themed wedding with heavy doses of love, good eats (did someone say tacos and margaritas?), and endless Texas charm. Mr. High Wire and I are so happy to have you along for the walk across the tight rope.
When I got engaged, here was the general line of questioning people asked when they found out the happy news.
Question 1: “Oohh you’re engaged! When’s the date?”
As soon as you get engaged this will definitely be the first question you get asked. It doesn’t hurt to have possibly at least a season in mind even if you don’t have a specific date. This appeases people a great deal more than shrugging your shoulders and saying, “Dunno.”
Question 2: “What are your colors?”
Now that we’re pretty far into planning this here weddin’, folks, I’m noticing this question crop up more and more. For some, this is the question they are able to answer ASAP. However, our wedding colors took a little time to solidify.
If you aren’t one of those who’s had your colors picked out for as long as you can remember (I definitely was not one of those people), it is somewhat of a daunting task! I wanted the day to look cohesive, so I had to narrow down my color choices. Read more…
Mrs. Prairie Dog, Cincinnati
Age and Occupation: 24, Program CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, PhD/Biomedical EngineerEngagement Date: December 18, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Glendale LyceumAbout Me: I'm a pilgrim soul of a girl with a house full of books and a coffee addiction that could slay Juan Valdez. My life is a whirl of grammar correction, good music, glue-gunning, and two pets named Hazel and Winston Churchill. I'm marrying my high school boyfriend in a formal-ish spring affair, roughly themed: "Elizabeth Bennet crashes a party co-hosted by Jay Gatsby and Cath Kidston, and loves it."
Way back when I discovered Weddingbee, I would stumble across bee bloggers who were well into their planning, hammering out the weeks-before details. If I wanted to know anything about the “feel” of their wedding—their bridesmaids dresses, their colors, whatever—I had to click their icon, click “Older” posts a bunch of times and scroll. A lot.
Since I often write posts with no pictures at all, I figured I’d prove to new readers (I know you Christmas, New Year’s and Valentine’s Day engagees are out there) that we actually have concrete plans for our wedding, not just a bunch of relationship babble. Also, I’m so close to my wedding that I am writing this post to remind myself: there are things that are decided. There are things that are cohesive. Or something.
Mrs. Magic, Chapel Hill, NCAge and Occupation: 30, Licensed Clinical Social WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, ResearcherEngagement Date: December 1, 2009Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Barn at ValhallaAbout Me: I’m a tall drink of water (5’10”!) and a Southern bride with an enormous appetite for Mexican food, good deals, anything French, and all things wedding! By day I am lucky enough to work with individuals with autism and their families. By night, I’m even luckier to be able to spend time hanging out with awesome friends, crafting, shopping, thinking about exercising, and kicking it with Mr. Magic and our two cats. I tend to have sudden, intense cravings that will not be denied (seafood enchiladas! new jeans!) and I’m prone to being a disorganized mess of anxiety and stress. After waiting (and waiting!) to get engaged, I am finally planning the colorful, fun, fabulously awesome Fall wedding of our dreams. In an effort to share the fun and craziness that is wedding planning, I’m gonna blog about it for y’all---the good, the bad, and the pretty!
As you may have read, I’m worried our wedding will become a lukewarm mess, with semi-interesting aspects that come together to leave our guests feeling meh.
I fear our ceremony, cocktail hour, reception, and yes, even the details, will leave our guests almost cold. Or they’ll think it’s too busy, too crowded with a plethora of details and a spectrum of flair. Too cramped with poms and chalkboards, buttons and bunting, pumpkins and brownies. Is that possible? Read more…
Mrs. Magic, Chapel Hill, NCAge and Occupation: 30, Licensed Clinical Social WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, ResearcherEngagement Date: December 1, 2009Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Barn at ValhallaAbout Me: I’m a tall drink of water (5’10”!) and a Southern bride with an enormous appetite for Mexican food, good deals, anything French, and all things wedding! By day I am lucky enough to work with individuals with autism and their families. By night, I’m even luckier to be able to spend time hanging out with awesome friends, crafting, shopping, thinking about exercising, and kicking it with Mr. Magic and our two cats. I tend to have sudden, intense cravings that will not be denied (seafood enchiladas! new jeans!) and I’m prone to being a disorganized mess of anxiety and stress. After waiting (and waiting!) to get engaged, I am finally planning the colorful, fun, fabulously awesome Fall wedding of our dreams. In an effort to share the fun and craziness that is wedding planning, I’m gonna blog about it for y’all---the good, the bad, and the pretty!
Being engaged for a long time has its pluses and minuses. The pluses are that we I have more time to plan, more time to gather inspiration, and more time to save money. The minuses are that I have more time to plan and change my mind, more time to gather inspiration that is different (better?) than the inspiration of last week, and more time to spend money.
It’s six in one hand and a half dozen in the other. Or, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Or… well, I’m sure there is some saying that actually works well here, but really, a long engagement is both a blessing and a curse.
My original inspiration board was nixed by Mr. M for being a bit too country, and looking back I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. Hay bale furniture is cute, but not really us.
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!
Now that we’ve blown past the 100-day mark, I decided to take a mental inventory of the decisions we’ve made in our planning. I wanted to make sure we weren’t making haphazard choices that would result in a horribly uncoordinated affair. I guess it makes sense to first tell you about the type of wedding we’re gunning for.
Once we had a date secured, Mr. Snow Cone and I sat down to map out what we wanted our wedding to look and feel like. We never entertained the idea of a theme, per se. Instead, following advice my SIL gave me, we tried to decide on a two-word phrase that would guide our decisions, describing a general style for the wedding. In a perfect world, this style would be the commonality among all of our details, apparel, decor, and the like, resulting in one impressive finished product.
We ultimately decided on “updated classics.” We’re both pretty traditional people. We like things that are familiar and comfortable. They’re traditions for a reason, after all! At the same time, though, we didn’t want our wedding day to look and feel like it could have occurred 10, 20, or 30 years ago. We wanted a little flair to show off our personalities, making it a personal affair for the two of us. We’ve decided our goal is to take traditional elements and maintain their predictability for the most part, but with a dose of originality and individuality, making them our traditions instead of wedding-world traditions in general. Ideally, I don’t want people to see something and ponder, “What was that?!” Instead, I’d love for them to think, “That was so cool!” We’re using personalization to attempt to push people an inch out of their comfort zones instead of a mile.
So, without further ado, here’s our six-month checkup in inspiration-board form.
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!
You’ve seen hints of our color scheme in my wedding-party invites, so I thought it was high time for me to put together an honest-to-goodness palette picture because…umm…because I’ve seen other people do it? Oh, stop laughing! You know you’ve succumbed to the “all the other brides are doing it” pressure at some point, too. Kinda like when I made that inspiration board—which I’ve never really looked at again since the fateful day I spent about six hours working on it. But that’s a post for another time.
Let’s bring it on back around to the point of *this* post. I know you’re waiting with baited breath. (BTW, what does that even mean?! Sounds disgusting.) So without further ado, I give you our perfect palette.
{Black, white, dove gray, cobalt blue, gray, charcoal gray}
Mrs. Green Tea, SacramentoAge and Occupation: 30, Tea AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Coffee CriticEngagement Date: November 17, 2006Wedding Date: August 23, 2008Blogging Since: June 10, 2008Venue: Vineyard on the DeltaAbout Me: I'm just your average obsessive compulsive, arts & crafts loving, funky-on-the-inside/boring-on-the-outside girl, who dares to say 'Hey! I can make that!' Nerdy professional by day, goofy won-ton by night. The won-ton sometimes comes out during the day when I'm fed the dollar breakfast at Ikea. Since our engagement, wedding planning has put me on high alert for bargains and I've been pushing my nimble fingers through callous building experiments!
In honor of Earth Day, I created the ’Color Hive’ to share with you:
If you can’t quite put your finger on what this reminds you of, here’s a tip: Read more…
Mrs. Pony, Bloomington, ILAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, AttorneyEngagement Date: March 22, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Mackinaw Valley Vineyard; Bloomington Center for the Performing ArtsAbout Me: I found my Southern counterpart in law school and since he popped the question last March, we have been busy graduating, job searching, bar taking, and wedding planning. My loves include must see TV, magnets, quotes, anything green, my car, fun socks, the Cubs, and my Mr. Together we love wine, playing outside, and exploring the world together. Stay tuned to see our Midwest wedding full of Southern charm, vintage flair, lots of DIY details, and a whole lot o’ wine.
What do you think of the red-green-gray-white color scheme now that you can see the colors all mashed together?
Mrs. Pony, Bloomington, ILAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, AttorneyEngagement Date: March 22, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Mackinaw Valley Vineyard; Bloomington Center for the Performing ArtsAbout Me: I found my Southern counterpart in law school and since he popped the question last March, we have been busy graduating, job searching, bar taking, and wedding planning. My loves include must see TV, magnets, quotes, anything green, my car, fun socks, the Cubs, and my Mr. Together we love wine, playing outside, and exploring the world together. Stay tuned to see our Midwest wedding full of Southern charm, vintage flair, lots of DIY details, and a whole lot o’ wine.
After I boldly declared our red and green color scheme, I began thinking about adding an accent color to the mix. Accent colors can add a pop of unexpected fun or elegance while adding depth to the colors already in the mix. In our case, I was just hoping an accent color would help our wedding look less like a Christmas party and more like a wedding.
First, I decided to add white as an accent color. This one was pretty easy. I don’t think I have been to a wedding where white/ivory wasn’t involved somewhere. It kinda goes with the territory, so to speak.
But adding white did not help alleviate the feeling that Santa is coming to town.
Mrs. Pony, Bloomington, ILAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, AttorneyEngagement Date: March 22, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Mackinaw Valley Vineyard; Bloomington Center for the Performing ArtsAbout Me: I found my Southern counterpart in law school and since he popped the question last March, we have been busy graduating, job searching, bar taking, and wedding planning. My loves include must see TV, magnets, quotes, anything green, my car, fun socks, the Cubs, and my Mr. Together we love wine, playing outside, and exploring the world together. Stay tuned to see our Midwest wedding full of Southern charm, vintage flair, lots of DIY details, and a whole lot o’ wine.
Wedding colors are one of the most important wedding decisions couples make. These colors show up in every aspect of the wedding and can give your wedding an overall theme and ambiance. So it makes sense that brides (…and grooms?) spend a decent amount of time and energy developing their color schemes.
Yeah. We didn’t do that.
Our colors didn’t speak to us. We didn’t have any divine inspiration. I kind of just declared what our colors would be. I love green. I also love red.
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!
Picking a color palette was not nearly as easy as I had expected. We finally reached common ground by agreeing on purple, but that’s really only half the battle. Without a complementary color, if we just stayed with purple and purple only, we’d have a wedding that resembled Grimace:
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!
Pretty early in the wedding-planning process, you need to nail down a color palette. True, this decision won’t necessarily have an impact on the other big-ticket decisions (such as date or ceremony/reception venue), but it shows up in almost every other decision you’ll make. You can’t pick bridesmaids’ dresses, table linens, boutonnieres, “mother of” attire, or centerpieces without knowing what colors you’re working with. Well, I guess you could pick all of your details without picking a specific color palette first, if you don’t mind having your wedding kind of resemble rainbow throw-up.
Mrs. Seal, San FranciscoAge and Occupation: 25, Personal AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Sales and Support SpecialistEngagement Date: December 12, 2009Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Sts Peter and Paul Church/The Bently ReserveAbout Me: I am a goofy, wannabe crafty, well-intentioned Renaissance Woman (OK, perhaps "aimless wanderer" is a more aptly suited term for me, but hopefully you get the point)—basically I dabble in just about everything and pride myself in such. Without warning, I occasionally breakout into soulful improvised songs and interpretive dances and there's just no stopping me! As so many others before me, planning our wedding has unearthed a deep, intense passion for all things bridal and I secretly fear the day it will come to an end. Mr. Seal and I are quite the pair and life with him by my side is extremely rewarding—I am so thankful to have found him. Together we are planning a black-tie San Francisco affair for 250—light on the stuffiness and with lots of extra Seal-y flair.
Before further developing the “Old San Francisco” motif, it was important to establish a color scheme. I mean, that’s like the second thing people ask when they find out you’re getting married—”What are your colors?!” This seemed like a pretty loaded question, and I had to be prepared!
Prior to coming up with the San Francisco theme, I was dead set on black and white with red accents, like a thiiiisss:
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!
By now, you’ve heard about my wedding crush, and my crush inspiration. My inspiration (from friend Brooke who is so awesome for sharing - thanks, girl!) is something like this:
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
Photo shared by friend Brooke / Photos by Colin Lyons/E-EpicsEpics in Frames by Colin Lyons *
