Mrs. Meatball, HollywoodAge and Occupation: 30, Actor/Writer/Office MavenFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Actor/WriterEngagement Date: October 7, 2007Wedding Date: May, 2009Blogging Since: September 16, 2008Venue: Private Garden/The Bungalow ClubAbout Me: I love melty cheese and diet coke almost as much as I love my man. I'm from Chicago, he's from NYC, and we both miss public transit and great pizza. We have an adorable muppet dog called Paco. I'm part hippie with a healthy dash of hip hop superstar, have excessive empathy for animals, and have not one, but two bionic eyes (long story). We're broke and it ain't no joke. It can't stop us from planning the bold and whimsical wedding of our dreams, but we've had to get pretty creative to make it work, yo!
Whenever our family or friends come to visit Los Angeles, we heartily recommend the Magic Castle Hotel in Hollywood. They have the BEST customer service out there - our favorite element of which is the FREE, unlimited snack/beverage/DVD rental service they offer. Normally a diet coke is upwards of $2 at a hotel! Plus, in the summer, they bring popsicles out to the pool every…
Mrs. Lemonade, Austin/San AntonioAge and Occupation: 28, BureaucratFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Music ManagementEngagement Date: December 21, 2007Wedding Date: April, 2009Blogging Since: August 22, 2008Venue: Country Club ceremony, ballroom receptionAbout Me: I’m a total wonkette who is lucky enough to be surrounded by her favorite things on a daily basis – awesome music, the great State of Texas and of course, Mr. Lemonade! I find any excuse I can to craft something and am completely infatuated with the 1950’s, all things Kennedy, and my furbaby Vida.
I had lunch with one of my bridal babes recently, and inevitably conversation turned towards the wedding. I have no idea how we got on the subject, but we started talking about valet services. Yes, you read that correctly – valet services.
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The Club will provide one valet free of charge for our guests, and recommends that we have one for every 50 guests. I’ve…
Mrs. Green Tea, SacramentoAge and Occupation: 30, Tea AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Coffee CriticEngagement Date: November 17, 2006Wedding Date: August 23, 2008Blogging Since: June 10, 2008Venue: Vineyard on the DeltaAbout Me: I'm just your average obsessive compulsive, arts & crafts loving, funky-on-the-inside/boring-on-the-outside girl, who dares to say 'Hey! I can make that!' Nerdy professional by day, goofy won-ton by night. The won-ton sometimes comes out during the day when I'm fed the dollar breakfast at Ikea. Since our engagement, wedding planning has put me on high alert for bargains and I've been pushing my nimble fingers through callous building experiments!
Along our wedding planning process, we’ve tried to put ourselves in the guests’ shoes. After all, this will be as much a day for them as it is for us! Here are some of the things we’ve put together to optimize their wedding guest experience:
1. Taxi Tags - we’ve already informed guests via our wedding website that the venue allows overnight parking if they need…
Mrs. Pinot Noir, New York/Napa ValleyAge and Occupation: 24, Health EducatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Market ResearcherEngagement Date: November 10, 2007Wedding Date: October, 2008Blogging Since: June 25, 2008Venue: Auberge du SoleilAbout Me: I am a Minnesota raised, NYC transplant planning a destination wedding in Napa. I'm balancing my love for the environment and my hubby-to-be's love for tradition to create our "green wedding in disguise." Our wedding will include local food and wine, antique touches and lots of love and laughter. When wedding planning isn't taking up my free time (and money) I love to read, cook, workout, watch baseball and travel! Follow along in my adventure as I attempt to plan an eco-friendly and socially responsible wedding (with eco-oblivious Mr. Pinot Noir).
Kate Parker Weddings has over 20 great city/theme specific Out of Town Welcome Baskets. While these baskets are certainly out of my price range, ranging from $25-45 each + shipping, they are a great place to draw inspiration! Each basket is filled with locally made products and information specific to your wedding weekend.I love the “Green” Welcome Basket:
Mrs. Lovebird, New York/CancunAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentEngagement Date: September 22, 2006Wedding Date: July, 2008Venue: Dreams Cancun Resort & SpaAbout Me: Born and raised New Yorker planning a destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico and a traditional Chinese banquet in New York City. Got proposed to in Cancun, so it’s only fitting we are going back to get married. I love trivia, board games, bargain shopping, asian dramas and eating yummy food!
Considering all of our 90+ guests were all flying to Cancun for our wedding, we knew our OOT bags were not going to be an easy task.
First off, we had to decide on how big we actually wanted to make these babies, keeping in mind that we would have to transport them all the way down to Mexico. Initially, I was all about the canvas totes; then…
Mrs. Tiramisu, Annapolis, MD/MaineAge and Occupation: 26, Eye DoctorFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project Manager/Real Estate Management grad studentEngagement Date: May 15, 2007Wedding Date: July, 2008Blogging Since: March 4, 2008Venue: Oceanfront lawn and tentAbout Me: I was born and raised in Maine, now living in Annapolis, Maryland and planning a hometown wedding from afar. I’m nothing short of obsessed with wedding planning, and am loving the do-it-yourself madness that has now taken over my life! As for me, I’m a craft-loving, martini-drinking, girly-girl who loves traveling, photography, my schnauzer, and above all, spending time with Mr. Tiramisu.
The other night on Miss Gingerbread’s BeeTV broadcast, a question was posed to us Bees with only a few days left until our weddings: “What did you want to do that you just didn’t get done?” I couldn’t really think of anything at the time, which I I took as a pretty awesome sign that I’ve actually finished up almost all of the projects that…
Mrs. Penguin, Northern CaliforniaAge and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in ChiefFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical TherapyEngagement Date: January 29, 2007Wedding Date: June 7, 2008Blogging Since: September 14, 2007Venue: Winery in the Gold CountryAbout Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
Our wedding is WAY out in the middle of nowhere. I mean, it might as well be on the moon. The problem is if you Google or Mapquest directions to the site, they take you on a really unnecessarily difficult route to get there, so we’re directing our guests the easy, 3 turn way, which in the end, is a couple miles longer, yet gives…
Mrs. Hydrangea, DallasAge and Occupation: 26, Administrative AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Network AnalystEngagement Date: June 2007Wedding Date: September 2008Blogging Since: January 14, 2008Venue: Catholic Church and Reception at The W HotelAbout Me: Mr. H and I come from very different cultures and backgrounds so I'm excited to plan our wedding with a balance of both traditions. My mom has always been a DIY queen, and I'm just now starting to get into it with a new house and a wedding to plan!
For our OOT bags, I knew that I wanted to put in a couple of bottles of water with our logo on them. Since water doesn’t go bad, I figured I might as well get these knocked off my to do list. I decided to use Nestle bottles of water because the labels are the easiest to remove. I took off a label, measured it,…
Mrs. Bubblegum, Exeter, NHAge and Occupation: 24, Actuarial AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Ressearch & DevelopmentEngagement Date: February 9, 2007Wedding Date: May 2008Blogging Since: November 2, 2007Venue: Dunegrass Golf ClubAbout Me: I can be summed up by the four things I love most: kitties, cheese, math, and Mr. Bubblegum. I am knee-deep in DIY projects to keep wedding costs low but quality high for the special day when I get to marry my bestest friend.
How do I know it’s getting close? Because the OOT bags are ready to go!! This was a long time coming, since those tote bags had been sitting here since December. And now I get to share the process!!
Step 1: Ordering totes. There were a few routes I was considering:
I thought these were super cute, and they’re only $2/piece for the large size. However, the “large”…
Mrs. Sundae, Chicago/Lake Geneva, WIAge and Occupation: 28, Knowledge ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Investment AdvisorEngagement Date: July 20, 2007Wedding Date: September 2008Blogging Since: February 5, 2008Venue: The Abbey ResortAbout Me: It’s hard to believe that by the time Mr. Sundae and I get married we will have been together for almost ten years. When we first met in college we split dollar pitchers and now we share the mortgage payments. Despite our love for the city we are looking forward to tying the knot in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
I plan on providing all the guests staying in our hotel with “out of town” bags. I wanted to do something a little different, so I ordered canvas totes from cheaptotes.com. The basic cotton canvas totes are just 99 cents, so I figured I couldn’t go to wrong! I ordered just 5 to test them out, but liked them enough to order the rest.
Miss Peacock, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 26, PhD StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Internet WhizEngagement Date: December 5, 2006Wedding Date: September, 2008Blogging Since: December 13, 2007Venue: St. Clement Church, Cafe Brauer (or a big church wedding and a fancy party at a cafe in Lincoln Park.About Me: I am a grad student with a secret obsession for all things wedding related. I also love to read, travel, drink champagne and go for walks with our dog, Maisy, and Mr. Peacock. We are planning our very vintage wedding in the greatest city in the world, our hometown of Chicago. I am so proud to be a Bee!
My mom and I had an amazing meeting with our florist, Viv at Petal Play Designs, yesterday. I came equipped with my laptop so that I could show her all the photos that I have been collecting, as well as my room layout from Perfect Table Plan. We walked through our plans for the day and listed all the items that we will need to…
Mrs. Sundae, Chicago/Lake Geneva, WIAge and Occupation: 28, Knowledge ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Investment AdvisorEngagement Date: July 20, 2007Wedding Date: September 2008Blogging Since: February 5, 2008Venue: The Abbey ResortAbout Me: It’s hard to believe that by the time Mr. Sundae and I get married we will have been together for almost ten years. When we first met in college we split dollar pitchers and now we share the mortgage payments. Despite our love for the city we are looking forward to tying the knot in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
I’ve had my eye on everything at The MacBeth Collection for quite awhile, but I could never justify actually making a purchase. All of their stuff is painfully cute, but I didn’t actually need a damask trash can. Then a few weeks ago I came across a 25% off coupon, which got my wheels spinning, and the very next day someone suggested using the oval tubs for…
Mrs. Lovebug, TucsonAge and Occupation in 06: 31, WriterFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Professional Game Show ContestantEngagement Date: February 18, 2007 Wedding Date: April 19, 2008Venue: Historic InnAbout Me: Likes: blogging, wikis, semi-colons, cuddling, fragrant flowers, syntax, and spooning. Dislikes: typos, dangling modifiers, flypaper, citronella candles, and run-ons. If I had my druthers, I'd exchange simple vows in a candlelit library. But I lost my druthers long ago...anyone seen them?
I don’t know when or where she said it, but when Mrs. Bee said that her bathroom baskets were a saving grace to a few of her guests, it lodged firmly in my brain: MUST MAKE BATHROOM BASKETS.
Mrs. Lovebird, New York/CancunAge and Occupation: 25, AttorneyFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Medical StudentEngagement Date: September 22, 2006Wedding Date: July, 2008Venue: Dreams Cancun Resort & SpaAbout Me: Born and raised New Yorker planning a destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico and a traditional Chinese banquet in New York City. Got proposed to in Cancun, so it’s only fitting we are going back to get married. I love trivia, board games, bargain shopping, asian dramas and eating yummy food!
Mrs. Sundae, Chicago/Lake Geneva, WIAge and Occupation: 28, Knowledge ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Investment AdvisorEngagement Date: July 20, 2007Wedding Date: September 2008Blogging Since: February 5, 2008Venue: The Abbey ResortAbout Me: It’s hard to believe that by the time Mr. Sundae and I get married we will have been together for almost ten years. When we first met in college we split dollar pitchers and now we share the mortgage payments. Despite our love for the city we are looking forward to tying the knot in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
Mama Sundae and I found this box at Hobby Lobby, but the first time we saw it I passed it up. When we went back and it was still there a few months later, on sale, I knew that I had to have it. It’s actually covered with a thick, almost canvas-like fabric and has some great grosgrain ribbon tied around it. Part of the reason…