Mrs. Tartlet, Rochester, MIAge and Occupation: Age & Occupation: 27, Post-Doctoral Research FellowFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Medical StudentEngagement Date: May 2, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: The Royal Park HotelAbout Me: I'm an exuberant gal from the Midwest with a penchant for Neuroscience and anything sparkly. I'm not afraid to poke fun at myself, and I'm a believer that given the right pair of shoes, a girl can conquer the world. While an interest in the sciences threw Mr. Tartlet and me together (again, and again, until it finally stuck), we share a love for many things---food, video games, car dancing, food, bad puns, travel, did I mention food?---that ultimately led us to where we are now, less than five months from becoming Mr. and Mrs. We're planning a laid-back, romantic, garden-inspired affair with organic and quirky touches that reflect our love for the unexpected!
I adore buying presents for people, but generally have an incredibly hard time buying gifts for Mr. Tartlet. He’ll probably say the same thing about me, which is why the majority of our “gift” giving typically revolves around grabbing a bite to eat. I’ve had two full years to concoct the ultimate gift package for him, though, and I’m wickedly anticipating his reaction when he sees what’s in store for him. I’ll give you one, evil sneak peek Mr. Tartlet:
Ms. Sloth, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 35, Account Manager and Fashion BloggerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Design AdminEngagement Date: December 25, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Bartram's GardenAbout Me: I'm an internet junkie and music snob with a good eye for a bargain. I couldn't live without thrift store shopping, cheeseburgers, sushi, Coke Zero, websites devoted to silly photos of baby animals, Photoshop, and Mr. Sloth. Speaking of which, he and I are a pair of goofball homebody nerds who love our beagle (the most ridiculously adorable dog EVER) to an embarrassing degree. We're planning a low-key and intimate yet festive and quirky outdoor wedding with DIY details and deeply personal touches, and it's all taking place in the city where we fell in love and call home: Philadelphia.
I’ve nailed down the gifts for my bridesmaids, but Mr. S is having a hard time figuring out what to buy for his three groomsmen. We bought them their ties, but other than that, we’ve got nuthin’.
When you Google “groomsmen gifts,” you get results like this:
Mrs. Hippo, New York City/Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 34, Event Planner for a Non-Profit Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Finance ITEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Samuel Lynne Galleries and Marc EventsAbout Me: I’m a thirty-something bride living in New York City and planning a modern-ish wedding in Dallas, Texas. I love trashy reality television (Jersey Shore, anyone?), online shopping, Sunday brunch, Central Park, and random celebrity spottings on the streets of Manhattan. While I love NYC, I miss good Tex-Mex, my college friends, central A/C, and being in close proximity to a Target. I’m thrilled to finally be planning an event that’s not work-related and to be marrying my best friend in what I hope will be a unique and personal ceremony followed by a reception with plenty of good food, good drinks, and dancing (regardless if it’s good or not).
I consider myself a pretty creative person and I now know, without a doubt, where I get it from. Mama Hippo completely and totally showed me up with her creative wedding projects!
I mentioned way back when that our reception was going to be set up lounge style, with a mixture of 60″ round tables with chairs and more lounge-y couches, ottomans and armchairs. I mentioned to Mama Hippo that it would be great to have some decorative pillows in our wedding colors to decorate the space. She is an awesome seamstress so I knew it wouldn’t be any problem for her to whip up some navy and yellow pillows. The Thursday before the wedding, Mama Hippo unveiled the collection of pillows she had been working on for months, and I was blown away. Completely.
Is that our wedding logo I spy? Embroidered? On pillows???
Mrs. Tartlet, Rochester, MIAge and Occupation: Age & Occupation: 27, Post-Doctoral Research FellowFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Medical StudentEngagement Date: May 2, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: The Royal Park HotelAbout Me: I'm an exuberant gal from the Midwest with a penchant for Neuroscience and anything sparkly. I'm not afraid to poke fun at myself, and I'm a believer that given the right pair of shoes, a girl can conquer the world. While an interest in the sciences threw Mr. Tartlet and me together (again, and again, until it finally stuck), we share a love for many things---food, video games, car dancing, food, bad puns, travel, did I mention food?---that ultimately led us to where we are now, less than five months from becoming Mr. and Mrs. We're planning a laid-back, romantic, garden-inspired affair with organic and quirky touches that reflect our love for the unexpected!
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.“
-Robert Brault
It was the first week of May 2010—one full year before Mr. Tartlet and I would take our vows. Around this time I had hit the wedding planning doldrums. Our engagement photos had been taken. Our venue was decided. Florist, videographer, baker—all booked, booked, and booked. I had lapsed on reading wedding blogs, and found myself getting irrationally irritated when someone would inquire as to how wedding planning was going (because it wasn’t). I was stuck in another dreaded “waiting” phase. At any rate, the day started out just like any other: I hit the snooze on my alarm a couple times. I walked the 10 minutes to work. I grabbed a very large coffee from the Java City in the lobby and proceeded to take the elevator up five floors to the lab. Little did I know that it was no ordinary day, because BM Tanya had brought in a beautifully wrapped box and this delightfully cute card:
Thrilled, I carefully unwrapped the box to reveal these beauties:
Mrs. Elephant, Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 27, Financial Operations AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, IT Student/Store ManagerEngagement Date: March 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: The Tribute Golf ClubAbout Me: I'm a Philly native creating roots deep in the heart of Texas. I might be a little obsessed capturing those Kodak moments of anything and everything (mainly on vacations). I've become more of a gamer thanks to Mr. Elephant, who I met online and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with. We are planning a wedding based on our favorite colors, blue and green, with a travel theme for 150 of our closest friends and family. Hopefully our long (2-year) engagement won't kill me!
Before I get to the latest DIY project I just wanted to take a moment to remember that two years ago today Mr. E had me in tears. That is a night I will never forget, and cannot believe that we are finally this close to the big day!
OK, back from my trip down memory lane. Inspired by Miss Lioness’ post on bouquet charms, I decided to add another DIY project to the list! Read more…
Mrs. French Toast, Pleasanton, CAAge and Occupation: 29, Marketing & PRFiance's Age and Occupation: IT geek by day, self-proclaimed handyman by nightEngagement Date: October 2009Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Palm Event CenterAbout Me: I’m a city girl at heart who moved to the suburbs a year ago. Now I’m adjusting to life with a front lawn, nosy neighbors, cooking attempts, and making sure the garbage pail is pulled out on time every week! When I’m not traveling, Mr. FT and I enjoy marathon sessions of Law & Order: SVU, snowboarding, photography, spoiling our 3-year old yorkie-poodle Mokka and disagreeing over what music to listen to in the car. We’re planning a small winery wedding while incorporating some cultural elements into the day as a nod to our Chinese backgrounds.
Growing up, I was never a fan of Scrabble. But Words With Friends makes it so convenient and fun to challenge my friends and play with people from all over the world. It’s my nightly ritual to make a last move on WWF before I hit the sack.
I’ve been thinking of ways to incorporate WWF/Scrabble related themes to the wedding day. Read more…
Mrs. Hippo, New York City/Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 34, Event Planner for a Non-Profit Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Finance ITEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Samuel Lynne Galleries and Marc EventsAbout Me: I’m a thirty-something bride living in New York City and planning a modern-ish wedding in Dallas, Texas. I love trashy reality television (Jersey Shore, anyone?), online shopping, Sunday brunch, Central Park, and random celebrity spottings on the streets of Manhattan. While I love NYC, I miss good Tex-Mex, my college friends, central A/C, and being in close proximity to a Target. I’m thrilled to finally be planning an event that’s not work-related and to be marrying my best friend in what I hope will be a unique and personal ceremony followed by a reception with plenty of good food, good drinks, and dancing (regardless if it’s good or not).
Mrs. Buttons, Clearwater, FLAge and Occupation: 24, "Working on it"Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Financial ServicesEngagement Date: June 13, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Carlouel Yacht ClubAbout Me: I'm a self proclaimed perfectionist and a professional nomad (seriously, I've lived in TX, WI, MI, FL, NC, and now VA!). I love wine, cooking, curling up with a good book (nerd alert!), spoiling the furbaby, and of course, the wonderful Mr. Buttons! We are planning a lighthearted and whimsical wedding (with a good deal of DIY projects) in Clearwater, Florida, but from a distance of 800 miles away! We are looking forward to sharing our day with our family and friends, and most importantly, starting our lives together as husband and wife!
Hive, I wanted to take a short break from my recaps for a moment, because I am so excited to share this project with you! If you’re anything like me, a go-to gift for a party, birthday, or other celebration, is typically a bottle of wine. And hey—I like receiving bottles of wine myself…just in case you were wondering…
Anyway, I was getting bored with the typical wine bag as a wrapper. Yawn. I scoured the Internet for some inspiration, and (surprise) Martha gave me some good ideas to get me started. I added my own twist, and I am SO happy with how it turned out!
Materials needed:
Bottle of wine/champagne
Dish towel
Straight pins
Twine
Wax paper
The instructions are pretty simple. First, lay the bottle lengthwise on the dish towel, leaving about 2 inches of slack at the bottom.
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!
There’s been a lot of talk about bridesmaids’ gifts around late, like from the lovely Miss Jaguar and Miss Hippo. I always told myself, way back before beecoming a bee, that I would totally blog about this is the future because..
Well, because it isn’t easy!
After I began shopping, the whole deal was pretty painless and I’ve got gifts I’m so excited about, but pre-shopping? I was not excited. Not at all.
See, all my girls (all whopping six of them) are all very different. How on earth do you buy 1 gift (because, of course, I wanted to do matching gifts), for 6 different people?
BM/FSIL T, & Junior BM/FSIL L, not pictured here… but the rest of us are!
Mrs. Jam, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 25, Writer/Associate Wedding CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Structural EngineerEngagement Date: December 23, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Hunter’s Ridge, Princeton, ILAbout Me: I’m a penny-pinching cat lady getting ready to marry the frugal dog lover of my dreams. Our ideal Saturday morning includes rummaging around people’s junk at garage and estate sales followed by an afternoon date to our favorite café, where we only eat sandwiches that include the word “salad.” We actually love it so much, it’s sort of our unofficial wedding theme: Look at our delicious finds, eat homemade ham salad, and celebrate our love…barndance style. When we’re not obsessing over our love-fest shindig, we’re planning themed parties for our best friends and jamming to '90s music.
Wedding season is quickly approaching, and I know what you’re all thinking inside those wedding-crazed heads of yours: “I best save up my paychecks so I can buy all of my soon-to-be-married couple-friends gifts, even though they probably won’t remember who got them what.”
And that’s pretty sad, right? All of the time spent picking out a perfect gift for a couple near and dear to your heart, wrapping it to perfection, finding the most amazing, tear-jerker card…and then nobody remembers which gift-giver gave what. OK, except maybe the KitchenAid mixer. Everybody remembers who got them that.
So what do you get for the couple who has it all, wedding gift or otherwise?
Well, budget-abiding hive, I now present you THE PERFECT ALL-OCCASIONS GIFT, WHICH HAPPENS TO ALSO BE PERFECT FOR WEDDINGS:
My excited (now married) friend showing off her new last name, gifted by her loving bridesmaids
Mrs. Elephant, Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 27, Financial Operations AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, IT Student/Store ManagerEngagement Date: March 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: The Tribute Golf ClubAbout Me: I'm a Philly native creating roots deep in the heart of Texas. I might be a little obsessed capturing those Kodak moments of anything and everything (mainly on vacations). I've become more of a gamer thanks to Mr. Elephant, who I met online and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with. We are planning a wedding based on our favorite colors, blue and green, with a travel theme for 150 of our closest friends and family. Hopefully our long (2-year) engagement won't kill me!
Oh, the visual sound effects of the classic Batman comic and the 1960s TV show starring Adam West. Mr. E grew up reading comic books, and has recently renewed that interest. With this collection slowly beginning to take up space in our guest room (we really need a second bookcase), I thought it would be fun to add in a couple of superhero elements into our wedding day.
I’ve been thinking about a garter for a while and when I found out one of Mr. E’s favorite superheroes was Batman, I quickly ordered this set. Read more…
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 Bacons are many things: fun, sarcastic, practical, clever, goofy, old school, and the list goes on. Not on that list? Gushy, clingy, touchy-feely in public, or superfluous.
For the past few years, money has been tight, so on Valentine’s Day we’d treat ourselves to a fancy dinner, maybe exchange a card and that was it: no gifts. There was no reason to buy surprises, because if the other person didn’t love it, it was a waste of money we didn’t really have. The last time that we truly exchanged gifts was probably two Christmases ago. This was a pretty hard adjustment for me, since I’m the girl that sends Thanksgiving cards because I know that people love getting non-bill snail mail and can find a gift for friends in every store, from Target to the Post Office. I knew that all that fluff just wasn’t practical anymore.
But then came Valentine’s Day last week, and as I looked around at all the tokens of love that the other ladies in my office had—huge flowers from their beaus (and the random sales rep), cute little bears, and even a Star Wars themed lamp (don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it?), and I was suddenly wrapped into a PMS induced haze of jealousy. 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.
You see, we had, once-upon-a-time, planned to exchange gifts and letters on our wedding day. I took my job very seriously and thought of the most painfully amazing gift to give Zeb. (Details soon, promise!) Zeb says he’s got a great idea too. Now, his practical side is taking over and he wants to save money by not purchasing each other gifts.
Are wedding gifts that big of a deal? Is this something that I can just throw off the list and not regret… like, say, unique table numbers? Do you cherish the gift that your spouse gave you on your wedding day? Read more…
Mrs. Meerkat, Kalamazoo, MI/Riviera MayaAge and Occupation: 30, Application EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: July 26, 2008Wedding Date: December 2010Venue: Al Cielo / La LagunaAbout Me: I’m a tech-savvy tomboy with an affinity for hot tea and good sushi. Us Meerkats are just a couple fun lovin’ geeks from Michigan. We love anything having to do with movies, books, video games or technology and we hold a special place in our hearts for our two very spoiled shih-tzus, Wicket and Bravo. We also LOVE to travel. We love it so much it only took us 12 hours after we got engaged to decide to have a destination wedding. We are working our little Meerkat tails off planning a rustic-chic, travel themed destination wedding in the Riviera Maya with a semi-formal, vintage-turned-modern, outdoor at home reception back here in Michigan.
At some point in your lives, you’re going to be a wedding guest. It’s basically inevitable. And the WORST part (at least for me) is trying to find the perfect gift, especially back when I was just out of college and broke as hell. So, I thought it was time to look at this whole wedding-gift-thing from a newlywed’s perspective.
When I give a gift, I am always worried if I spent enough or if the gift will even get used. But you know what? The cost of the gifts we got never played into if we liked them. And we have used every single thing we’ve received. What mattered was someone cared enough to get us a gift (or even just a card). I want to show you a couple of things we got that make me smile.
1) A drawing from a six year old on plane
Cousin S. sat next to a six year old girl on the flight to Mexico. When this little girl found out we were getting married she drew us a picture with Spongebob on it and told Cousin S. that was her wedding gift to us. How could I not treasure our very first wedding present?
Mrs. Knitting, TorontoAge and Occupation: 24, Student Recruitment Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Neuroscience PhD CandidateEngagement Date: October 2009Wedding Date: December 2010Venue: University of Toronto Faculty Club
About Me: I'm a pearl wearing, etiquette book reading Toronto girl who loves cooking and baking, museums, charm bracelets, and collecting books on Jackie Kennedy (a lot). I've been known to spend Sunday mornings at the antique market, Wednesday evenings at sister sushi dinners, and any bit of spare time reading. After six and a half years of many late night walks, watching DVDs together in bed, travelling to places like New York, and Tobermory, doing Sudokus together on the couch, lots of Indian food, the occasional yoga class, moving in together and so much more, Mr. Knitting and I are planning a cozy Christmasy (it's a word!), vintage wedding in Toronto complete with many DIY projects (eek!) and lots of help from our amazing group of family and friends.
I know, I know, you’re all thinking I’m terribly rude and ungrateful for writing a post with this title, but read on, and I think you’ll understand why I feel comfortable publicly calling this our worst wedding gift.
Mr. Knitting’s dad added his friend Edward to his portion of our guest list. Even though our invitations said 5PM, Edward and his random male friend arrived at around 5:40PM and awkwardly stood in the hallway for our entire ceremony. Kind of annoying and rude, but not the end of the world.
Then during our cocktail hour he had between 4 and 6 drinks before the bartenders told him nicely that he would have to come back later. Edward did not like this and was very rude to the (extremely nice) bartenders. Read more…
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
BM/FSIL T, & Junior BM/FSIL L, not pictured here… but the rest of us are!
