Weddingbee

Hello, Hive! Don’t mind me, just popping in because I couldn’t resist the oh-so-fun “Secret Life of Bees” feature! Not that there’s anything earth-shattering, but…

Six random facts from the life of a Tulip:

image source

In the spirit of Miss Hot Cocoa’s post, a photo of my worst nightmare. I literally cannot view this photo with more than my peripheral vision!

1. Anything involving fingernails Freaks. Me. Out.
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My friends, the time has come. Our wedding is over, the recaps have been posted, and it is time to bid a fond adieu to Weddingbee. Though it’s sad to leave such a vibrant, intelligent, and supportive community, I recently discovered something that instantly makes weddings a thing of the past (a.k.a, the ultimate cure for PTWS):

Pregnancy.

Yes, Mr. Tulip and I have a bun—Or, should I say Bulb?—in the oven!

(This is a real book.)

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For budget brides, finding a reasonably priced photographer who does good work can be a major challenge. One trick I recommend is searching for talented people who are just starting out in the business. But where to find them?

I recently had that discussion with a Weddingbee reader from the West Coast. Curious what her part of the country has to offer, I headed to Craigslist-LA and checked out the first event photography ad on the list. And I just happened to stumble across a promising photographer at a great price, so wanted to share him with anyone near Orange County who’s working within a budget.

Sebastian Ho is new to wedding photography, but his artistic eye and experimental use of light already elevate his photos a notch above the ordinary. And, for a limited time, he is offering introductory pricing at half off his normal fees.
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Thanks to Smashing Magazine’s recent list of 70 Beauty-Retouching Photoshop Tutorials, I never have to look attractive in person again. Apparently, appearance is all in the Photoshop, baby!!

Sure, we know what Photoshop routinely does for celebrities:

(The lovely — and lovelier — Naomi Watts.)
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I am crazy for Haviland’s Laque de Chine dinnerware, which perfectly blends timeless elegance and playful color.

(Image source)

Unfortunately, $350 for one five-piece place setting is waaaaaaay out of our league. The coffee pot is my favorite piece, but at $570, the likelihood of picking up even that single piece is slim at best!

But yesterday Something Old Something New featured a set of pretty dinnerware from Z Gallerie. I clicked over to see what else they had on offer. And, lo and behold:
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There’s an interesting thread on the Weddingbee boards at the moment discussing what it means to have a “budget wedding.” Some say the term means sticking strictly within a defined wedding budget. Others believe it’s a synonym for “inexpensive,” especially if you are able to pull off something that looks more expensive than its actual cost.

In our case, I’m not sure how well we did with #1. We spent what we spent, and I made some unwise and even wasteful purchases. But I’d like to think #2 came out well. Everyone has different definitions of “inexpensive.” But Mr. T and I were married in an extremely expensive area, with a celebration that included everything we cared about … for $8,800.

Here’s the breakdown of how we spent that sum, along with some tips for other would-be “budget” brides. (And some last favorites from Punam Bean’s wonderful photos!):

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Even though we still have half a house to unpack, Mr. T and I have at least put most of our wedding gifts to use. It’s so much fun having all these new things!

There are certain items that everyone has heard of. You don’t need me to convince you of the glory of Le Creuset pans, for example. But here are some lesser-known sources and/or items that are worth a look:

Yamazaki Flatware from The Silver Superstore

My grandparents made us a wonderful offer to purchase flatware as a wedding gift. After lots of research (much of it on Amazon.com, which has extremely useful product reviews), I narrowed the ideal down to two brands: Yamazaki and WMF.

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One of the joys of a wedding day is that people tend to say very nice things to you.

My favorite wedding-day compliment was from some friends of Mr T, who accused us of ruining their drive home “because usually we amuse ourselves with an over/under on how long the marriage will last, and what will cause the break-up. But there’s just no point with you two.”

Wicked tradition? Yes. But it amused me, and the conclusion is pretty great if you think about it.

But make that my favorite compliment till now. Because my MOH recently emailed this story about her adorable little boy:
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I am slightly obsessed with the process of donating items I don’t want to charity. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with boxing everything up and dropping it off at The Salvation Army, Goodwill, or another thrift store. But bonus points if you can get your unwanted goods directly into the hands of someone who needs them.

Add the fact that Mr T. and I combined our households post-wedding, and now we have duplicates of everything in our very crowded condo, and it shouldn’t be hard to guess what’s on my mind these days!

(No, this photo is not from the Clutterers Anonymous website: This is our office, after the contents of my 1200-sf apartment were crammed into Mr T’s 670-sf place.) Read more…

Last week, Mr T. and I attended our first wedding as a newly-married couple. It was a beautiful, touching evening perfectly suited to the personality of the couple. But, boy, was it weird for us!

On your own wedding day, every moment is about the two of you. You are intensely connected with every detail, over which you have lovingly slaved for many months. The experience as a guest is quite different, and having the two events so close together highlighted the contrast for us. So thought I’d share a bit of the experience from the guest side, to put things in perspective for anyone still planning their own wedding….

(Our photos were few and rather awful. But Mrs Lovebug’s hot tip has gotten me into Picnik in a big way, so here they are, artsied up in best “memories of old” style…..) Read more…