Weddingbee Blog

We had an amazing time on our honeymoon! In fact, it ended up being even cooler then we had ever planned. On top of exploring parts of Utah, the Beehive State, we flew over the Grand Canyon and tripled our money in Las Vegas. What can I say, we had some great layovers and quarter slot machines.

Read more…

Hey Everyone! It’s Mrs. Raccoon here!

Forgetting things at home, an unexpected snow storm, and a few handfuls of other challenges couldn’t keep us from getting married.

Our phenomenal photographer Jamie Vester was able to get a sneak peek to us just one day after

Read more…

What is that awful sound? Oh yeah, time! It’s crunch time here for the Raccoons. We’ve been engaged for over a year now and have still managed to save a lot of things for what feels like the last ridiculous minute. Even in the midst of all the rushing, there were a few ideas I didn’t want to let go of. They’re the smaller things that most likely no one else will notice or care about—but I still do. The projects just had to be modified. Instead of waiting for a surge of creativity that probably would never strike and creating some original and mind blowing DIY, I went looking for tips and templates from others who were willing to share. Thank you so much other brides and bloggers! So, here are some of the little things that I’m so in love with and the people who were able to make them!

A sign for our favor table heavily influenced by Weddingbee’s shanny14

Read more…

Hive, we’re not hiring a videographer. Their work is gorgeous and it captures great parts of a great day and saves it nicely for you forever. We were just honest about how often we would actually watch it—and for us, we could not justify hiring a professional. Still wanting to cover all of the bases and be able to repair some possible great post wedding regret of not having video, we’ve bought a simple getup that should get the job done.

$128 Kodak PlaySport Video Camera Bundle from Amazon

The package includes the camera, a wrist strap, remote control, tripod and 8GB memory card.
Read more…

I know there are computer programs and online services for this, but my low tech technique has been highly successful for us so far! How low tech? I’m talking poster board and book stickies with names written on them. I know my poorly scaled design isn’t beautiful, but it is so, so easy to work with and rearrange.

If you’re kind of lost about where to start, I clumped our attending RSVPs into groups.

Read more…

We did our homework and showed up at the clerk’s office over prepared toting every sort of ID imaginable. They pretty much just asked us if we were on drugs or married to anyone else. No sweat or surprises and $20 later, we have our certificate and 60 days to make it all official!

The copy that’s ours to keep leaves a little to be desired. It’s just a yellow sheet of printer paper they slapped an extra seal on. I don’t know where my expectations of awesomeness came from, but not being met it left me searching for a different certificate. A little something like this is more what I had in mind:
Read more…

I’ve always been a big fan of nail polishes. I think I began to pay even more attention to my hands and nails after becoming engaged because of all of the grabbing at and requests to see my hand. Engagement rings are shiny, pretty, and kind of a big deal, but I was still surprised by it all.

As we’re approaching our wedding date, I thought I could iron out some of the smaller details like nail polish while avoiding larger and more important things, of course. Standing in the nail care aisle, even at a local chain store, can be a little overwhelming. Looking for a nice pale color? No problem! They only have more options than you knew of colors existed. Nothing was really speaking to me until my eye caught a lonely little bottle of an OPI lacquer called Sweetheart. If it was such a hot item that there was only one left, it was worth giving a shot, right?

I’m happy I did, too! It’s the perfect creamy color I’d dreamed up for myself!
Read more…

I have seen some pretty amazing card boxes here on Weddingbee and around the internet. Mine probably isn’t one of them, however it’s not too bad on the eyes and will serve its purpose just fine. We bought a printed cardboard box and just had to fold it into shape and tie a bow around it. It’s substantially larger than what we had imagined, but it’s OK because newlyweds are supposed to be optimistic, right?

Total cost of project: $3

Read more…

Hi Everyone! It’s Miss Raccoon here. Sorry I’ve been away for so long! It’s that kind of time when you ask, “Anything else?” as a rhetorical question and some greater power says, “Oh most definitely. Challenge accepted.” We still consider ourselves to be doing pretty well because we were able to have a great Thanksgiving weekend with our families and our wedding is in two months!

It came up in conversation that we still hadn’t picked a song to use for our first dance. In the beginning, we took Miss Doily’s idea of setting up a playoff chart. We had a good time making cuts and practicing dancing to different songs. Frank Sinatra’s version of Cheek to Cheek was the victor and we were going to shamelessly borrow choreography from a YouTube video. It was going to be funny and fantastic and… so not us. It didn’t sit well with me.

Call me selfish, but I think the first dance should be more for us than entertainment for guests.
Read more…

You learn a lot by setting up a wedding registry. The scanner guns are even more fun than you had imagined, there are a lot of gadgets out there that you never knew existed that you’re now convinced you can’t live without, and they’re not kidding when they say don’t use fabric softener on your towels because it covers them in a film and makes them less absorbent.

I use to be really bad about judging other people’s registries. You’re just starting out together…why is a Q-Tip holder, the complete seasons 1-4 of Alf, and some random crystal that could pay my rent on your list? It’s on there because they put it on there and that’s fine. There are so many ins and outs that I had never considered before.
Read more…

I picked out my wedding jewelry! Jewelry was another area where I didn’t have too strong of an opinion. I wear silver colored jewelry much more than I wear yellow gold colored jewelry and long and heavy earrings hurt and pull down my earlobes. That’s about all I knew, but I think it’s important to be comfortable with and confident about the accessories you’re wearing.

Plan A was to borrow pieces from my mother but I was having trouble coming up with a complete look I liked. While at the mall tonight, there was a stack of flyers at JC Penney for $10 off a purchase. There’s no harm in looking, right?

Liz Claiborne Necklace and Pure Silver Plated Earrings

Read more…

I thought this was a problem for us because many of our friends and acquaintances have not been around weddings much and therefore don’t know the rules. RULES! (Don’t you just feel like you’re going to get your knuckles smacked when something wedding related isn’t just right sometimes? ) More and more I see on the boards and blogs that this is an across-the board-problem.

As frustrating as the question can be, I guess I’m a little flattered that so many people either really like us or think our wedding is going to be a good enough time to want in on. I’m alright with both of those. But what do you say back when someone asks if they can come to your wedding? Sometimes I just want to smile awkwardly and then get angry with myself for not locating the nearest emergency exits when I entered the building.
Read more…

I know a lot of people are leaning towards not inviting children to weddings these days. All of our guests with children are coming from out of town, and I feel bad about separating families for the weekend…plus, I love kids. The things they do are so funny. Want extra reasons to invite kids? They make good use of the dance floor and take really cute photographs.

Image via leodjphoto / Photography by Leo Djiwatampu

Read more…

My first fitting went well! Well…mostly. I showed up a few minutes early with my dress, shoes, proper undies, and payment all ready to go. The seamstresses were really nice, nobody got stuck with pins, and I was given plenty of privacy while changing.

Read more…

Who doesn’t want to look and feel their best at their wedding?

Hey look! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s one of those things that makes so much sense and is so easy to say but isn’t easily done!

Even in the face of some serious and some trivial pressures, I’ve managed to fa la la la la fail in this area so far. Where some brides might feel like they need to lose five pounds because they’re getting married and that’s what good brides do, I need to lose closer to ten times that because I’m honestly at an unbelievably unhealthy weight. Am I dying a little inside as I share this? Yup, but seriously, catch a side profile—it’s not like it’s a secret. I guess shout out to Mr. Raccoon for sticking with me through all of the ballooning. Sorry for the bait and switch; you’re a good guy.

Read more…