Mrs. Deviled Egg, PittsburghAge and Occupation: 27, Public RelationsFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, AccountingEngagement Date: December 24, 2007Wedding Date: May, 2009Blogging Since: October 21, 2008Venue: Historic auditorium and meeting hall in one of Pittsburgh's commuter citiesAbout Me: I am obsessed with all things crafty, especially scrapbooking, knitting, jewelry-making & cake decorating. I also love being an aunt, wrapping presents, watching football (Go Steelers!), shopping at yard sales and consignment stores, procrastinating, singing and learning to play the guitar. When it comes to wedding planning, I'm excited about working on DIY projects and finding creative ways to stay under budget. Of course, nothing is more exciting to me than knowing that the wonderful Mr. Deviled Egg will be my husband.
I truly apologize for disappearing from the blog for so long. I hate excuses, but I have one. I have a few, actually. I could blame our 10-month home renovation, work/job-security issues and taking on a new opportunity, typical busy married life, being late to the game in getting our photos back from our photographer and, of course, plain old laziness. All are the truth, but the biggest, most honest reason is that some things got sucky and revisiting our happy wedding day just didn’t seem too enticing. While I think our start of married life has been pretty awesome overall, not everything has been sunshine and roses.
Thankfully, the part that sucked was not my relationship with my husband. Despite the curveballs thrown our way, we’ve been rock solid and I think we’ve learned so much and grown closer.
Unfortunately, the sucky part has everything to do with infertility. The big IF. And it has a way of invading and bringing down just about every aspect of your life.
Putting this post together has been tough, but I do believe that infertility needs every voice it can get. While I’m well aware that Weddingbee isn’t supposed to be about babies, I do think all aspects of marriage are fair game. And since (for most couples, anyway) children are part of the marriage equation at some point, I’m going to continue with this post. (Sorry in advance for any TMI content.) Read more…
Mrs. Zebra, Providence, RIAge and Occupation: 24 Marketing/Costume DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26 Management/Firefighter Engagement Date: December 12, 2008Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The Providence BiltmoreAbout Me: I'm a small town New England girl with an affinity for procrastination, crossing the proverbial line, and putting her foot in her mouth. I'm a lover of history, all seasons, sewing and Incubus. I design costumes on the side for my old high school's theatre department, which is where I met my sexy man. Our motto for our Big Fat Lebanese/Portuguese/Irish near-300 person wedding is "the more the merrier"! We are marrying in a Catholic ceremony and are hammering out the details of our Victorian-inspired reception.
August 23 happens to be a pretty significant date in my life. It was the day my Grandmother and Grandfather were married. It was the day that my nephews were born. And it was also the day that my first post as a bee went live, one year ago. It’s been a wonderful year full of highs and lows, a lot of excitement, and gratitude that I’ve had the opportunity to share this community with you. I can’t believe one year has passed already and my time here as an active bee is nearing an end. I’ve got plenty of recaps to show you still. I plan on milking that for as long as you will have me.
Safari Bees, can you believe it’s been a year? I sure can’t.
Okay, enough babbling… to celebrate my one year Anniversarbee, I give to you my PWC.
Mrs. Candy Apple, Princeton Junction, NJ/ Seattle, WAAge and Occupation: 26, Project EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, AttorneyEngagement Date: May 9, 2010Wedding Date: August 2011Venue: St. Joseph's Parish, Seattle Tennis ClubAbout Me: I am a Pacific Northwesterner, born and bred. I have lived in many cities---Santa Clara, Durham (England); Florence; Boston; Princeton Junction---but my heart will always be nestled up near the Cascades and Olympics, which is why we are holding our wedding there. I am a bookworm and a History nerd: I love that my life consists of books, books, and more books, since I work in Publishing! Recently, all waking time not consumed by work and my daily commute has been overtaken by wedding planning. Well, that, and watching Premier-League soccer. There is nothing I love more than a good Tana French mystery, traveling to new places, Anthropologie shopping sprees, Iittala dishware, Kate Spade shoes, impeccable typefaces (think: Archer), and a nice English ale (hellooo, Old Speckled Hen!). Oh, and did I mention my obsession with wedding blogs? Yeah, there’s that too. Join Mr. Candy Apple and me as we prep for our wedding, and, more importantly, our marriage!
This Monday, 15 August 2011, my amazing, wonderful, loving, funny, caring grandfather passed away.
It wasn’t entirely a shock, as his health had gone downhill recently, but he was always larger than life in my mind; I thought he would live forever. Witty, smart, fun, warm. The perfect patriarch, he supported his children and grandchildren, pushed us when we needed pushing, helped us up when we scraped our knees, gave us countless hugs, kisses, and smiles. I am so grateful that I was able to spend time with him when I was home for my bachelorette party two weekends ago. I cherish those hours we spent together.
I keep thinking of moments I had with him each smile and phrase leads to another memory, another moment spent together. More stories, more emotions. It’s funny how thoroughly my interactions with him are woven throughout my memories of childhood, growing up, and into adulthood. He was so present in the lives of his children and grandchildren. I grasp at these fragmented thoughts and memories, writing them down so I don’t forget.
He was so excited about our wedding, and I am incredibly sad that he will not be there to witness our love and joy that day. Always social and out-going, he loved big events and relished in time spent with family and friends. With just over a week until our wedding, his passing has left me with a rip-tide of emotions that I am still trying to process. Read more…
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.
Getting married digs up a lot of questions. You know what I am talking about—when’s the big day? How many guests? When are you having kids? What are your colors?
Yeah. They always sneak that kids one in there, don’t they? Sneaky sneaky.
Though I personally don’t mind the question at all, I do think it’s a bit presumptive and the ensuing answer is often complicated. Assuming we do want children, deciding when we want them is a toughie to answer. I’ve often heard that there is no “right” time to start poppin’ out (or adopting) babies, but I do think there are better times than others.
Mr. Seal and I are (very thankfully) in agreement on the wanting kids front. We both want children. Although he’d be happy waiting a decade to start trying, I’m in a pinch more of a hurry (which I’ll explain in a moment). Read more…
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!
When I was 12, writing out guest lists for my imaginary, far-in-the-future wedding, I never dreamed I’d be doing this without my grandparents or my aunt. And I definitely never in a million years would have guessed I’d be planning a wedding without my mother.
This post has been in my blogging dashboard in draft format since before I even applied to be a bee. It’s been a tough one to finish—partially because I’m still, 5 years later, going through the grieving process. Partially because I don’t want to come across like I’m trying to elicit sympathy. But because I know others have been through this, are going through this, or are afraid of this, I feel I need to come clean about the biggest dark cloud over this entire process.
My mom died in 2006 of a heart attack. She was gone by the time I made it to the hospital, and it was, to say the least, a shock.
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!
First let me preface this post by saying that nobody has yet made us feel the way I’m about to describe. Nobody has said one thing about the way we’re planning our wedding or the choices we have made. I know that not everybody can say this and, for that, we are grateful.
But.
From time to time, we wonder whether our parents, our family, will raise an eyebrow at the type of wedding we’re having. We were both raised in very large Italian families—his in New York, mine in Chicago. When somebody got married, it was in a very large Catholic church, then a banquet hall—usually the same one every time—that held roughly 300 people. Cousins of cousins of cousins were invited. Everybody had a plus-one. Kids abounded. Sometimes, as a 12-year-old, you could even get a misanthropic bartender to slip you a real daiquiri instead of the virgin version you ordered. The favors were always the same. It wasn’t even a question: six Jordan almonds in a little net bag, tied with a ribbon. There were junior bridesmaids and multiple flower girls. There was always a ring bearer. Read more…
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!
There are plenty of dicey family dynamics that can muddy up the wedding-planning process. I just (like, literally JUST as in five minutes ago) finished watching an episode of Bridezillas where the girl’s crackhead dad reappeared after years and the alcoholic mom decided she didn’t want to go to the wedding if he was going to be there, and then went anyway and tried to make out with her daughter’s gay friend. This is why I watch Bridezillas: It *always* makes me feel better.
So what came up for us? Pretty tame stuff, comparatively speaking. We’re in no way worried about anybody causing a scene, being difficult, or making us cry. But we did have some decisions to make on details here and there.
The invitations
Invitation wording seems to be one of the more controversial wedding issues. For us, it was a non-issue simply because we didn’t ask anybody to “approve” the wording. We’re paying for 85% of the wedding ourselves, with each of our dads kicking in a sum. I hammered out the wording in about two minutes with Designer Mama, she designed and printed up the invitations, we showed our parents the final product. Done. Read more…
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!
I may have mentioned that I did a lot of freaking out in the first few weeks. Did I mention that? I freaked out. A lot. If there’s one piece of advice I could give you, it would be this: Enjoy your engagement before you start planning.
The number one reason for my stress was a lack of budget. We’d been engaged for about 15 seconds before I started looking at venues, having no idea what our price point was because we hadn’t even talked about it yet. But the number two reason was that without a guest list we could not choose a venue.
So we started innocently cobbling this list together, with no idea how inflaming this step can be or of its long-term repercussions.
Here’s what we did.
Get it all out
First, we listed every single person we could think of having at our wedding. This included distant cousins, high school friends, coworkers, people we regularly talk to, and schoolmates—and that’s cool, because once we got that list of EVERYBODY, we could start looking at places that held that many people and figure out our numbers from there. Some people have generous parents or family members who are contributing to or covering the bill. If that’s the case, the person or people paying should be involved in the conversation. We were footing the entire bill and decided that, while our family would have input, we’d need to have the final say on our guest list.
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.
Hive, I haven’t intended to be so elusive in regards to our favors and I fear I have unintentionally amped them up to be a bit more groundbreaking than they are. They’re not quite as unique as Mrs. Tartlet’s book charity favors or maybe not as fun as Mrs. Ostrich’s CDs, but they come from an important place nonetheless.
And it’s partly because of this beautiful lady:
My Grandma Mary
I never had the privilege of knowing my Grandma Mary—she passed at the young age of 56 from pancreatic cancer long before I was born. I can’t tell you how weird it has been not knowing this woman—a woman who has touched the lives of so many in my family. Being that I am so very close to Mama Seal, it’s strange not knowing the person who brought her into this world and shaped her into everything I aspire to be. Even now, referring to her as “grandma” feels strange to me—as if it’s an amazing honor I never earned.
But despite not ever having met her—I feel an intangible closeness to her. Read more…
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.
Let me start by saying family is very important to me, especially my grandparents. So many of my childhood memories are filled with them; bedtime was always special with Nana, and Papa made me a hardcore Steelers fan by the ripe old age of five. When I was twelve, my entire family went on a cruise to celebrate their 50th anniversary. I remember thinking to myself that I wanted to be just like them, and that I’d celebrate my 50th anniversary on a cruise, too.
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.
The new family I am marrying into are some of my most favorite people in the world. I feel like I’ve known them my whole life and already feel like we are family. It bugs me that I had to wait 20 years of my life to meet them!
The first time we met - Fall 2007 at the University of North Texas (Go Eagles!)
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!
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.
I talked previously about how totally awesome my daughter is and how incredibly blessed I feel to have her in my life. As happy as I am to have her, and as proud as I am to be her mom, I will also admit that it has been a bit awkward to be a single mom who’s not really a single mom. Mr. Cannon and I have lived together since we moved to Arizona in 2007, so Cherry Bomb has lived with us as a traditional nuclear family her entire life. But since Mr. Cannon and I aren’t married, there have been a couple of issues for us.
Mrs. Cotton Candy, Riverside, CAAge and Occupation: 29, Field CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 34, Process ServerEngagement Date: July 5, 2007Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Riverside Art MuseumAbout Me: I’m a girl in love with her best friend planning a small mid-century modern inspired wedding that’s been a long time coming. I love all things design, sewing, flea markets, and a good book. I’ve been known to swoon over a well-designed chair and often find myself craving a new addition to my chair collection regardless of the lack square footage in our home. I’m Mexican American girl who hates all things spicy but loves her rowdy Mexican family and her Latin roots. My wedding muses may not be your typical wedding superstars, but with a lot of DIY, a dash of offbeat style, and lots of love and laughs, Mr. Cotton and I plan to create a day that is unmistakably us.
Back when our wedding was just a glimmer in Mr CCandy’s and my eyes, we never envisioned our final month before the wedding to be so hectic, stressful, and downright heartbreaking. The past two weeks have been an emotional one for the Cotton Candy family. On Thursday June 2nd, Mr CC received a phone call from his step dad informing him that his mother had been complaining of severe pain and was taken to the ER but was stable. Since his step dad had assured him his mother was stable, Mr CC wasn’t too concerned when he took off for the hospital and declined my offer to tag along. About an hour later as I was on my way to work, I received a phone call from Mr CC: his mother had suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm and due to its location in her brain stem, she would most likely not survive.
The next few days were a blur of hospital waiting rooms, bad cafeteria food, and lots and lots of tears. On Saturday June 4th, Mr CC’s mom passed peacefully surrounded by those who loved her and was laid to rest this past weekend. Read more…
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.
I am really looking forward to our wedding. I’ve been planning and envisioning it for so long, and I know that no matter what happens, I’ll end up getting married to Mr. Cannon and because of that alone it will be one of the happiest days of my life. But will it be THE happiest day of my life? That’s hard to say; it has some pretty stiff competition.
