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…
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!
As weird as it may seem, soup has played an interesting part in our relationship. Back in ’07, we were preparing for our first Christmas together and Mr. E asked what I would like. I joked with him that I was running low on soup so it would be great if he could pick some up. We laughed about it, but Mr E. actually incorporated soup into my gift.
Gypsy checking out the gift of soup & Ramen
Along with all of that soup was a beautiful diamond necklace. The running joke of soup as a gift has continued since then and was even incorporated into Mr. E’s proposal where the ring was inside of a personalized soup can. Read more…
Ms. Cheetah, Los Angeles/Palm Springs
Age and Occupation: 31, Artist, EducatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, TV FinanceEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The ViceroyAbout Me: I’m a silly, sassy lady with a compulsion to create. I love to sing and dance, despite the fact that I lack any talent doing either. I somehow manage to be messy and organized at the same time. I like to spend my days road tripping, watching '80s movies, reading true crime books, buying things on sale, sending postcards, playing board games, dining at food trucks, snuggling, and drinking ginger ale. I have a weak spot for all things sweet, especially Mr. Cheetah! I’m a Chicago girl and he’s a Nor Cal boy but we love living in the City of Angels. After 10 years as a couple we are planning a fun-filled semi-destination wedding in Palm Springs. Hope you enjoy the ride!
Mrs. Dolphin, Gainesville, FLAge and Occupation: 24, Graduate Architecture StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Interactive Interface DeveloperEngagement Date: February 14, 2008Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Plantation Bay Country ClubAbout Me: I’m currently a Graduate Student at the University of Florida studying Architecture. I enjoy playing Scrabble with my Fiance, rooting for the Florida Gators, making any drink that involves a blender, cleaning (yes... I’m crazy), design... GOOD design that is, the new Pepsi with natural sugar, taking pictures, discovering new places in the U.S., and obsessing over doing (and designing) everything myself for our upcoming wedding!
This Christmas, I have searched high and low for a knight ornament for Mr. Dolphin’s alma mater. I even contacted Bunnywithatoolbelt (who made our cake toppers) to make a miniature knight ornament for us, but a custom piece proved to be a little more expensive then I had in mind. Then I thought, why not make our sweet little cake toppers into ornaments?
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 a possibility that not everyone has finished their shopping yet (as shown by Future Little Sister in Law Lizzy asking me what Mr. G wanted last night), and I was thinking about how after you get engaged, couples often start to get a gift that goes to both of them, rather than just getting individual gifts.
It’s actually kind of awesome because you feel all part of a unit and grown up and stuff. (Feeling grown up is optional, by the way.)
As a long engagement bride, I’m officially approaching my second Christmas as an engaged lady. If you’re looking for a good gift idea for yourself, or anyone else in the midst of wedding/planning/craziness/whatarewedoing, here are some things I got last Christmas that I’ve gotten a lot of use of out of the last year.
Picture frames! Mr. Giraffe & I received a very nice one last year from our friend Justin. It’s very fancy so I’ve put it in the wedding pile for a future wedding photo, but it was just about the sweetest gesture ever and I seriously cannot wait to use it. Read more…
Mrs. Cheese, KnoxvilleAge and Occupation: 29, Engineering ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, CAD DesignerEngagement Date: July 31, 2008Wedding Date: May, 2009Blogging Since: October 16, 2008Venue: Our home and the two acres it sits onAbout Me: I’m an emotional girl who loves sentimental things, parenthetical asides, and trying to do things herself. I can cook, sew, am a whiz at planning, terrible at delegating, and totally in love with my fiancé (who will be my second husband but first love of the rest of my life). For our home/ garden/ DIY wedding, we’ll be moonlighting as interior designers, home improvers, and gardeners with the help of our fabulous friends and neighbors. We can’t wait to be married, and are learning how fun getting married can be.
Hi, all! It’s been a while since I’ve posted, yes, but on a nice and relaxing (ahem, slow) Friday afternoon, I thought I’d take a few minutes to brainstorm some last minute gift ideas. You know, for procrastinators like me! (And then, because you all are so awesome, perhaps you can share some ideas too?)
Magazines: my favorite gift to give (and get!) is a magazine subscription—the gift that keeps on giving. Really! Every month you get a shiny new magazine that (let’s be honest) you’d never have gotten around to ordering for yourself. Love! So I order the magazine, buy the current issue, and enclose a note that this is the first of many monthly gifts coming their way.
Movie night: Almost every movie theater company allows you to buy gift certificates—and who doesn’t like movies? Our local theater corporation has a great package: two tickets and a combo. I print out little ticket stubs (fake, of course), the details of the gift certificate, and a reminder that smooching during movies is highly recommended (um, for couples, that is).
Mrs. Jaguar, SydneyAge and Occupation: 27, Primary School TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Curzon HallAbout Me: I'm an Australian girl who is a self-proclaimed nerd, loves all things stationery and would be lost without books, music and the internet. Mr. Jaguar and I have been together for the past eight years and he finally popped the question last August. Hurrah! We currently live in Sydney, Australia with our adorable cat who thinks he's a person. We're a couple who likes to multi-task: we've been planning a wedding abroad, a permanent move from London to Sydney, and preparing to build our own home all at the same time. Travelling makes me giddy...as does Mr. Jaguar, of course!
One of the first things I started looking for when we got engaged, was a full-fledged bridal journal. I wanted something to tell me, step by step, what I should do, how I should do it, WHEN I should do it, and look all pretty and shiny at the same time. I browsed online for weeks, searched high and low, realised I was aiming my expectations too high and decided to forgo spending crazy amounts of dollars on a ‘wedding’ book. I splurged on a super cute 2010 diary instead, and I may or may not have the 2011 one ready to go. (Thank you Paperchase, oh store of luscious stationery products.)
I did manage to find a sweet novelty present that I gifted Mr. Jaguar for Christmas, though—a Groom Survival Kit. It’s full of cute, kitschy hints, tips and phrases, and some funny games to help your man pass the time while your head is off in bridal fantasy land.
Mrs. Cheeseburger, Baltimore, MD/State College, PAAge and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentEngagement Date: June 28, 2008Wedding Date: March 2010Venue: Catholic Church Ceremony & Hotel ReceptionAbout Me: I'm a passionate girl from Pittsburgh, currently living in Baltimore for school, who loves Penn State, seeing movies, football, thunderstorms, black and white photos, Christmas, good beer, my amazing friends and family, and of course, my mister! We met, fell in love, got engaged, and will be married at our alma mater (go lions!) in a traditional Catholic ceremony followed by a hotel reception with lots of DIY details. It means so much to have our families and friends meet at our favorite place on earth to celebrate our love for one another - I truly couldn't ask for anything more!
I’ve absolutely loved reading all the favorite posts! While I think this post certainly explains how much our wedding ceremony meant to Burger and me, I couldn’t resist re-running this post about this fabulous shower gift I received from my bridesmaids.
This easy DIY project was gifted to me by my amazing bridesmaids, and was well received the first time around on the ’Bee. Many have gone on to tackle this themselves, with lots of positive results to speak of! My friend who championed this idea has said over and over that she should go into business making these for people. Give it a read and see what you think? What bride wouldn’t love this? I know I did!
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Last weekend during my shower in Pittsburgh I was given some amazing gifts. We really cleaned up and were reminded how insanely generous our families and friends are! And while I could swoon over the registry gifts we received all day, I wanted to share a little something different with you all.
Ladies, meet the Panty Parfait.
(please notice that there is even a “cherry” on top!)
Ms. Cheetah, Los Angeles/Palm Springs
Age and Occupation: 31, Artist, EducatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, TV FinanceEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The ViceroyAbout Me: I’m a silly, sassy lady with a compulsion to create. I love to sing and dance, despite the fact that I lack any talent doing either. I somehow manage to be messy and organized at the same time. I like to spend my days road tripping, watching '80s movies, reading true crime books, buying things on sale, sending postcards, playing board games, dining at food trucks, snuggling, and drinking ginger ale. I have a weak spot for all things sweet, especially Mr. Cheetah! I’m a Chicago girl and he’s a Nor Cal boy but we love living in the City of Angels. After 10 years as a couple we are planning a fun-filled semi-destination wedding in Palm Springs. Hope you enjoy the ride!
A few days ago I told you about my bridesmaid BA’s recent wedding in Argentina, now I want to tell you just a tad more about BA.Aside from being a beautiful bride and uncanny remember-er of song lyrics, BA is also a great friend and has been a part of my family since we were kids.In fact my sister and I often refer to BA as our “fake sister.”BA even accompanies us on many of our family vacations.Here we are in the Caribbean a few years ago:
Me, Sister Cheetah, & BA
And just because I love this picture so much, here is BA with Baby Brother Cheetah in Wisconsin, just before BA moved to Argentina to be with her (now) husband:
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 mentioned here that we are planning to have a ring warming during our ceremony. I think that with the size of our guest list, we will need to split the rings up, passing each ring among half of the guests, instead of passing them together. So now I’m on a mission to find the perfect vessel (er…two perfect vessels) to use for the passing of the rings. Here are some of my faves from my online search:
If we were getting married in Hawaii or some other tropical island location, this would be perfect!
Mrs. Barrettes, Tumon, Guam/Napa, CAAge and Occupation: 29, DancerFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Licensed Building ContractorEngagement Date: November 16, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: V. Sattui WineryAbout Me: I'm an East Coast girl, living on a tiny little island in the Pacific, twirling, leaping, and shimmy-ing my way through life, and now, wedding planning! I'm equal parts nerdy and cool... okay, mostly nerdy. I love satin bows, red lipstick, black & white graphic anything, the shine of sequins and the sound of a champagne "pop". My favorite books are The Portrait of a Lady, by Henry James, and Tender is the Night, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I can also conjure a pretty good Patronus Charm. I started my appreciation for good red wine while traveling on the high seas, and it's only fitting that my passion for wine drinking led me to my Napa-bred honey. We bonded over bottles of Cabernet on my oceanfront porch and haven't looked back since. We're sealing the deal at a winery in the Napa Valley on a 'perfect ten' of a day!
In honor of the Marine Corps birthday yesterday, I wanted to share this small detail that I gifted Mr. B for our wedding!
I gave these to him on Valentine’s Day this year, in preparation and celebration of our wedding. He served in the Marine Corps for 4 years and I thought this small touch would be a nice way to honor such an important part of his life on our wedding day. Read more…
Mrs. Jaguar, SydneyAge and Occupation: 27, Primary School TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Curzon HallAbout Me: I'm an Australian girl who is a self-proclaimed nerd, loves all things stationery and would be lost without books, music and the internet. Mr. Jaguar and I have been together for the past eight years and he finally popped the question last August. Hurrah! We currently live in Sydney, Australia with our adorable cat who thinks he's a person. We're a couple who likes to multi-task: we've been planning a wedding abroad, a permanent move from London to Sydney, and preparing to build our own home all at the same time. Travelling makes me giddy...as does Mr. Jaguar, of course!
The very same week I received my acceptance email to become a bee, I also received another positive email too: one from an Etsy vendor I had been working with for the past few weeks. What was I waiting for? Well, this is where I need to make a quick public service announcement:
Mr. Jaguar, it’s time for you to leave. No reading any further, no harmless scrolling, no clicking of any kind…back away from the computer, stat!
