Mrs. Ladyfingers, Saint Petersburg, FLAge and Occupation: 30, Marketing ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Sports WriterEngagement Date: December 24, 2010Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Palma Sola Botanical ParkAbout Me: I hail from Oklahoma, he was born and raised in Long Island. Fate brought us together, and now we live in a cute little rental house with our nutty dog, and our aloof cat. We both love to read, watch movies, explore our town, and laugh like hyenas. When I’m not obsessively wedding crafting, I enjoy stalking style and decorating blogs, making collages and painting, napping, thrifting, rearranging our bookshelves, and being a total weirdo with my friends. Hi!
About six months ago, I saw a photo of a wedding project where the bride and groom had used their engagement photos in aisle endcaps. I loved this idea for many reasons: Since we hadn’t done save the dates or engagement announcements, we really hadn’t gotten a chance to use our e-photos, and I’m kind of obsessed with them. I also knew we weren’t going to have much of a budget for our ceremony decor, so flowers were out of the picture. With a garden wedding, flora probably won’t be missed, but I did want something to fancy things up.
Hive, I searched and searched for that original inspiration pic so I could show it to you. Apparently I hadn’t saved it on my hard drive, printed it out, or bookmarked it. I Googled every combination and searched every wedding site I frequented. So I’m now convinced the whole idea came to me in a dream. Which is fine.
Materials
Two colors of card stock in our wedding colors (gray for the main piece, and pink for the border piece)
Mrs. D'orsay, Baltimore/Lancaster UKAge and Occupation: 24, nonprofit communications Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Web site developer and designer; co-owner of men's skincare shopEngagement Date: August 10, 2008Wedding Date: August, 2009Venue: Oakland ManorAbout Me: I'm a Maryland raised environmental policy wonk/activist/organizer and communications aficionado. In the past year I've lived in Baltimore, MD, Tucson, AZ, Miami, FL and Lancaster, England. In my not so spare time I enjoy planning trips with Mr. D' Orsay, visiting friends and family and crafting like a mo-fo. I also enjoy modern dance classes, rugby and soccer but have been banned by my mother, MOHs, and Mr. D' Orsay from playing till after the wedding. I have an unnatural addiction to cheese and shoes, but love Mr. D' Orsay more than either and can't wait to become Mrs. D' Orsay!
Mrs. Sunhat, Dyer, IN Age and Occupation: 32, Tax AccountantFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Landscape ForemanEngagement Date: September 25, 2010Wedding Date: December 2011Venues: St. Andrew the Apostle, Fiesta PalaceAbout Me: I'm a Midwest girl who grew up in the country and now works in the big city! I love cooking, entertaining, reading (addicted to my Kindle) and going to the movies. I don't miss an episode of Hoarders and I start cleaning every time I watch! My profession doesn't call for much creativity so wedding planning has been a great outlet. Mr. Sunhat and I met online three years ago, cheer for rival MLB teams and share a home with our dog, Wrigley. We are planning a traditional, Polish, Catholic wedding with lots of DIY elements and some fun surprises. I'm so excited to be married on New Year's Eve and we can't wait to ring in the new year as husband and wife!
This is our absolute favorite photo. Wrigley was so good! Stephen, our photographer, just had us call her over and he handled the rest. Right before he snapped a picture, he would ask “Wrigley—you want a treat?!” and she’d look right at him! Read more…
Mrs. Sunhat, Dyer, IN Age and Occupation: 32, Tax AccountantFiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Landscape ForemanEngagement Date: September 25, 2010Wedding Date: December 2011Venues: St. Andrew the Apostle, Fiesta PalaceAbout Me: I'm a Midwest girl who grew up in the country and now works in the big city! I love cooking, entertaining, reading (addicted to my Kindle) and going to the movies. I don't miss an episode of Hoarders and I start cleaning every time I watch! My profession doesn't call for much creativity so wedding planning has been a great outlet. Mr. Sunhat and I met online three years ago, cheer for rival MLB teams and share a home with our dog, Wrigley. We are planning a traditional, Polish, Catholic wedding with lots of DIY elements and some fun surprises. I'm so excited to be married on New Year's Eve and we can't wait to ring in the new year as husband and wife!
When deciding on outfits for our engagement pictures, I knew I wanted to take one set of casual pictures and another with a little bit dressier feel.
We are lucky to have a fantastic location for our pictures—my grandparents’ old farm. My parents still live next door and, although family no longer lives on the farm property, we still own the land and ramshackle barns that make for a perfect backdrop.
The casual outfit was an easy find. Because of the country/farm feel of the setting, I wanted to find a cute plaid or “country looking” shirt to pair with jeans and some boots. One lunchtime trip to Macy’s and I scored the perfect shirt—in our wedding color, no less!
Mrs. Kettle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 26, Non-Profit Donor Resource CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Musician & TeacherEngagement Date: May 29, 2011Wedding Date: February 2012Venue: Patrick C. Haley Mansion, Joliet, ILAbout Me: I'm a city girl who loves a good escape, so I'm planning a Chicago wedding outside of the city. I've been described as a quirky yet down-to-earth drama queen who loves fiercely. I used to be a scientist, but now I'm learning to navigate the world of non-profit organizations. I love cooking, blogging, shopping, and music, and movies (Hans Zimmer is my favorite movie composer). Mr. Kettle and I had a short courtship and now we have a happy home with our cat-who-thinks-she's-people, Belle. We spend our days and nights with good food, live music, video games, family, and friends. Our wedding has become this wonderful excuse to bring together hundreds of people we can't bear to be without.
Taking that first crack at looking natural in photographs was no easy task for me, but before we even got there, we had to find a photographer.
For some reason, finding a photographer for this wedding has been a major source of stress for me. I didn’t know this would be the case at first, so I dove into finding a photographer with the same gusto as everything else. Mucho gusto, that is.
But then I hit a wall. I had too many photographers. I was getting follow-up calls at the most inconvenient times. I couldn’t coordinate schedules with Momma Kettle or Mr. Kettle to set up meetings. I began avoiding the calls like I was avoiding a bill collector. It was bad, y’all.
Miss Ticket, Riverside, CAAge and Occupation: 25, Executive AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, HVAC TechnicianEngagement Date: November 14, 2010Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Crestmore ManorAbout Me: I'm a lifelong So Cal gal, a chocoholic, a closet gamer, and a television enthusiast (love me some Vampire Diaries!) who adores playing in the kitchen and lives in flip flops. Mr. Ticket and I are best known for singing and dancing in the car, our World of Warcraft addiction, adoring food, crane game playing, and our general homebody ways. Oh, and GO STEELERS!
We had soooooo much fun shooting our engagement photos! We met our photographers (Carrie & Jim) at Knotts Berry Farm at 5:00 PM on a Sunday (yay for twilight tickets—only $28.50!), and we started walking around the park. At first we were a little bit awkward. Mr. Ticket hadn’t met our photographers before (though he had seen them at work at Sister Ticket’s wedding), and we weren’t sure what to do. After walking around and talking for about 20 minutes, we got much more comfortable and just started being ourselves and not worrying so much about the camera. We had a few awkward shots where Carrie or Jim tried to pose us (we aren’t very good posers, darn us), but generally we just had a LOT of fun. Our photographers are totally awesome people and we love them. I can’t wait to work with them again on our wedding day, and I’m relieved to know that Mr. Ticket loved them, too, so hopefully he won’t be nervous around the camera on our wedding day.
But that’s enough talk…want to see some pictures?!
Miss Ticket, Riverside, CAAge and Occupation: 25, Executive AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, HVAC TechnicianEngagement Date: November 14, 2010Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Crestmore ManorAbout Me: I'm a lifelong So Cal gal, a chocoholic, a closet gamer, and a television enthusiast (love me some Vampire Diaries!) who adores playing in the kitchen and lives in flip flops. Mr. Ticket and I are best known for singing and dancing in the car, our World of Warcraft addiction, adoring food, crane game playing, and our general homebody ways. Oh, and GO STEELERS!
When we first booked our photographers, I knew I wanted us to have an engagement session. I know Mr. Ticket, and the odds of us having professional photos taken together after the wedding were pretty much zip. So this was a great opportunity to have some nice pictures of us that aren’t from the wedding!
So now it was just time to decide on wardrobe and location. Let’s start with location.
We figured we would most likely take pictures at the usual places—a park or the beach. They are standards for a reason: they produce pretty pictures! But while I was looking at other people’s engagement pictures for inspiration, I ran into these…
Mrs. Honey, Durango, COAge and Occupation: 28, Financial AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Lab Tech/PhlebotomistEngagement Date: August 1, 2010Wedding Date: January 2012Venue: Vallecito LakeAbout Me: I am a Colorado girl through and through, marrying an adrenaline-fueled Alabama boy. We love the outdoors just about as much as we love spoiling our dog and three cats. On any given weekend you can find us being adventurous, doing anything from rafting to snowboarding, and everything in between. We live in an outdoor mecca and truly believe in "Work Hard, Play Harder." I'm an optimist to the core, a crafter wannabe, a Southern food cook-in-training and a big time believer in girls nights. We met, fell in love and got engaged in eight short months and are now knee-deep in planning what we hope to be a super-fun, very us wedding celebration. Join us as we plan a rustic meets whimsical, Colorado winter wedding with loads of personal touches and good food!
I showed off our urban inspired engagement pictures and I hinted that our next shoot would be more “Colorado” inspired. They turned out beautiful and we were once again reminded how lucky we are to have such a talented friend. After being kicked out of the first spot we attempted to shoot at*, we headed to a stunning location in Hermosa Valley right along the Animas River. BM Candace had a vision for this engagement shoot and I think she did an amazing job executing it.
We hauled some props to the field, including pillows and a down comforter, and set up our own little sanctuary in the middle of this beautiful setting:
Mrs. Cannon, Toledo, OHAge and Occupation: 27, Financial AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, AssemblerEngagement Date: February 28, 2011Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Epworth UMC & Ward PavilionAbout Me: I'm the curious combination of being a go-with-the-flow, laid back, obsessive planner. I try desperately to stay as busy as possible at all times (and am succeeding big time right now!) My biggest loves in life are Law & Order: SVU, Community (the show, not the concept, although I like that, too), ice cream, white cheddar popcorn, beer, hiking, knitting, decorating, writing, being outside, spending time with friends and family and musical theater. Mr. Cannon is pretty sweet, too. We've had a lot of fun traveling and having adventures all over the country, but have finally moved back near our hometown to settle down. We're planning a low-key, colorful, fun wedding and an awesome-to-the-max reception.
So, I promised myself I would post every day this week because I didn’t post at all last week. However, I have a TON of homework to do (it’s my last week of class!) so I don’t have a lot of time. I have lots of things I want to write about, but I want to REALLY write. You know, articulate my thoughts clearly and re-read my post before I hit the publish button. Luckily, my photographer sent us our engagement picture book which we’ll be using as our guestbook and it arrived today. So, I present blogging without writing—aka pictures of our guestbook:
Ooooh, what’s in this fancy box? Oh, and Cannon, I love your lime green gingham table cloth! *blushing* Thanks! (Ok, I’m done complimenting myself.) Read more…
Mrs. Honey, Durango, COAge and Occupation: 28, Financial AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Lab Tech/PhlebotomistEngagement Date: August 1, 2010Wedding Date: January 2012Venue: Vallecito LakeAbout Me: I am a Colorado girl through and through, marrying an adrenaline-fueled Alabama boy. We love the outdoors just about as much as we love spoiling our dog and three cats. On any given weekend you can find us being adventurous, doing anything from rafting to snowboarding, and everything in between. We live in an outdoor mecca and truly believe in "Work Hard, Play Harder." I'm an optimist to the core, a crafter wannabe, a Southern food cook-in-training and a big time believer in girls nights. We met, fell in love and got engaged in eight short months and are now knee-deep in planning what we hope to be a super-fun, very us wedding celebration. Join us as we plan a rustic meets whimsical, Colorado winter wedding with loads of personal touches and good food!
I whined about not being able to afford the photographer of my dreams in my last post because of (the lack of) money and my best friendor situation. Well, sometimes a girl gets lucky enough to have the best of both worlds: a bridesmaid AND a talented photographer.
We are fortunate to have gotten our engagement pictures taken by the amazing BM Candace as our wedding gift. Since we aren’t paying, we gave her free rein, with a couple requests and suggestions. I think for her it was fun because she got to be uber creative, and for me, well, it was my best friend shooting us—need I say more?! I knew we were in for something amazing, because in the days leading up to our first shoot she was sending me Pinterest pictures as inspiration. BM Candace decided that we would do two shoots: an urban-influenced shoot and a Colorado-inspired shoot.
It was exciting and nerve-racking all the same. I’ve been in a gajillion pictures with BM Candace but never on the other side of her lens. Fortunately I mixed up a batch of Sweet Tea vodka and lemonade to help ease my nerves.
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!
I am *so glad* we did an engagement shoot with our amazing photographers before the wedding. Not just because I love the pictures we got, but because it gave us an opportunity to see what it’s like to have our own personal paparazzi for a few hours. What looks easy from the outside (stand still, smile) was actually pretty hard work (stand still for a long time, now sit at an awkward angle, giggle, now be serious, oops too serious).
Mrs. Cucumber Sandwich, Washington, DC/Cape May, NJAge and Occupation: 28, School CounselorFiance's Age and Occupation: 40, Collegiate AthleticsEngagement Date: March 27, 2010Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Congress Hall HotelAbout Me: I am a school counselor who spends my day wrangling children and my nights attempting to be creative with wedding projects. My enthusiasm for each of these activities far surpasses my skill. Thank goodness Mr. Cucumber Sandwich is there to pick up the pieces and be the voice of reason about my DIY tries. I have an obsession with terrible romantic comedies (‘From Justin to Kelly’ anyone?, anyone?!?), competitive Scrabble play, and hot dogs. I could eat astronaut ice cream for every meal and can’t seem to resist buying more shoes. Our wedding is going to be a true hodge podge of semi-destination, tradition, Yuengling, New England charm, with just a dash of ‘Jersey Shore’ thrown in. It has been six years in the making and I can’t wait to marry my best friend.
I know I have mentioned about 10,057 times how awesome our photographer is, but now she is just out of control. Mr. Cucumber Sammie even said that she is worth her weight in gold. Best wedding decision ever.
We got an early wedding present delivered to us the other day. What oh what could it be?!?
Mrs. Cucumber Sandwich, Washington, DC/Cape May, NJAge and Occupation: 28, School CounselorFiance's Age and Occupation: 40, Collegiate AthleticsEngagement Date: March 27, 2010Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Congress Hall HotelAbout Me: I am a school counselor who spends my day wrangling children and my nights attempting to be creative with wedding projects. My enthusiasm for each of these activities far surpasses my skill. Thank goodness Mr. Cucumber Sandwich is there to pick up the pieces and be the voice of reason about my DIY tries. I have an obsession with terrible romantic comedies (‘From Justin to Kelly’ anyone?, anyone?!?), competitive Scrabble play, and hot dogs. I could eat astronaut ice cream for every meal and can’t seem to resist buying more shoes. Our wedding is going to be a true hodge podge of semi-destination, tradition, Yuengling, New England charm, with just a dash of ‘Jersey Shore’ thrown in. It has been six years in the making and I can’t wait to marry my best friend.
Nicole is A-MUH-ZING! She got us our engagement pictures way before promised, and they are out of this world. Because I am borderline narcissistic, I am going to show you even more pictures of myself (oh, and Mr. CS, too). Don’t worry—I won’t share all 292 she sent us, but I am tempted. They are that good!
Here are just a couple of my favorites. Mr. Cucumber Sammie already said he didn’t like some of these, but I say too bad…apply to the ‘Bee yourself, and then you can share whatever you like. But this is my post and I post what I want! I am already totally over marital compromise.
Mrs. Cucumber Sandwich, Washington, DC/Cape May, NJAge and Occupation: 28, School CounselorFiance's Age and Occupation: 40, Collegiate AthleticsEngagement Date: March 27, 2010Wedding Date: October 2011Venue: Congress Hall HotelAbout Me: I am a school counselor who spends my day wrangling children and my nights attempting to be creative with wedding projects. My enthusiasm for each of these activities far surpasses my skill. Thank goodness Mr. Cucumber Sandwich is there to pick up the pieces and be the voice of reason about my DIY tries. I have an obsession with terrible romantic comedies (‘From Justin to Kelly’ anyone?, anyone?!?), competitive Scrabble play, and hot dogs. I could eat astronaut ice cream for every meal and can’t seem to resist buying more shoes. Our wedding is going to be a true hodge podge of semi-destination, tradition, Yuengling, New England charm, with just a dash of ‘Jersey Shore’ thrown in. It has been six years in the making and I can’t wait to marry my best friend.
It felt like our engagement shoot was a microcosm of how our wedding is going to be. Of course, ever the student, there were a couple of lessons I learned on Sunday I hope to apply to our wedding day. I am going to share them with you in hopes that you will remind me as I get closer to the wedding and start to lose my mind.
1. Prioritize: Unfortunately we didn’t make it to one of the places that I had on my list. I would have loved to take pictures at several locations, but we ran out of time. Kramers Books (where we had our first date) was most important so we started there, and I couldn’t be happier with the pictures. Over the next couple of weeks, Mr. Cucumber Sammie and I are going to brainstorm things that are most important to us for the wedding day. Everything else will just be a delicious bonus.
Mrs. Ladyfingers, Saint Petersburg, FLAge and Occupation: 30, Marketing ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Sports WriterEngagement Date: December 24, 2010Wedding Date: November 2011Venue: Palma Sola Botanical ParkAbout Me: I hail from Oklahoma, he was born and raised in Long Island. Fate brought us together, and now we live in a cute little rental house with our nutty dog, and our aloof cat. We both love to read, watch movies, explore our town, and laugh like hyenas. When I’m not obsessively wedding crafting, I enjoy stalking style and decorating blogs, making collages and painting, napping, thrifting, rearranging our bookshelves, and being a total weirdo with my friends. Hi!
Our photographer “must-have shots” list is a work in progress, as I continue to find more and more beautiful examples from the weddings of others. We had originally booked our photographer from about an hour before the wedding to two hours before it ended, in the interest of keeping our budget trim, but as things opened up over the past few months, we decided to book her through the end of the wedding so she could photograph the cake cutting, bouquet toss, exit, and more things we didn’t want her to miss.
I’d STRONGLY suggest putting together a shots list for your photographer. Every wedding and every couple are different, and even the most professional of photographers are not mind readers. They may not end up capturing some special moment you’d like, and the last thing you want is regret as you flip through wedding photos in the years to come.
Our shots list, so far, looks something like this:
