Mrs. Gloss, Boston/MaineAge and Occupation: 24, Designer/soon-to-be ArchitectFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Systems EngineerEngagement Date: May 23, 2008Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: SS Katahdin/Lakeside TentAbout Me: I don't like nickels or the skin that forms on pudding when it's in the fridge for too long. I couldn't live without Pantone markers, fountain soda (3/4 diet, ¼ regular Coke), run-on sentences, or ridiculously oversized sunglasses. I will try to DIY almost anything and am just OCD enough to make most of it work. I am truly excited about having all my family and friends together, becoming Mrs. Gloss, and having amazing photos to prove it!
We are officially 100 days out… yikes! While a lot of the big stuff is done, there are a few things looming over my head that have yet to be touched.
1. Florist - I’m not really concerned about centerpieces, since we are just doing single stems in these vases. (Seems pretty easy to DIY right?) Bouquets are another item all together. I think I am waaay too anal to be able to pull these together myself and have them look acceptable. I’ve been procrastinating on this since none of the florists in the area have websites (which is how I have done a majority of my research) and I haven’t been back to Maine since Christmas. Read more…
Mrs. Mascara, Chicago/Upper MichiganAge and Occupation: 25, Biomedical EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Process EngineerEngagement Date: July 27, 2008Wedding Date: September 2009Venue: Catholic ceremony, reception at local armoryAbout Me: A lover of Mr. Mascara, crafting, baking, Gossip Girl, diet soda, and all things wedding. A Yooper girl somehow displaced in the Chicago suburbs, planning a wedding from a distance, and counting down the days until I marry my best friend.
While we still haven’t finalized the menu, we have chosen a caterer and have a general idea of what will be served at our reception. Since Italian food is somewhat of a specialty where we’re from (and a favorite among both of our families), we knew from the beginning that we’d be serving it at our wedding.
Here’s a sneak peek at our menu! (I will be making the descriptions sound prettier after it’s finalized… if anyone has suggestions on wording, I’d love to hear them!)
Mrs. Quiche, Chicago/Montego BayAge and Occupation: 28, Interior DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 42, Telecom GuruEngagement Date: July 2, 2008Wedding Date: May, 2009Venue: Coyaba Resort, Montego BayAbout Me: I love Chicago and can’t imagine living anywhere else (Well, except Paris. Or anywhere in France, for that matter!). I’m a full-time worker, part-time student, soon-to-be-step-mom, indie music lovin’, architecture and design fanatic, macaroni and cheese addict, vegetarian, Francophile, Ohio State football obsessed, wedding planning girl. Mr. Quiche and I are “Partners-in-Crime” and cannot wait to celebrate our marriage surrounded by our family and closest friends. I plan on DIYing my little heart out (or as much as a suitcase to Jamaica will hold).
With a Jamaican wedding, a Jamaican menu is a must! Our all-out Jamaican feast will be happening on Friday night (I’ll write about that soon!), and the menu for the reception will focus on tropical flavors as well as personal favorites of ours. While we didn’t have a specific tasting during our “research” trip in October, the food we did eat while there was delish. No tasting = no pretty food pictures, so I’ll give you our DIY menu tutorial instead!
First, design and print your image on your paper of choice. We used white linen paper, as we did with our invitations.
Again, like our invitations, we used the same header, but swapped the colors, since we are backing these with bright pink cardstock. Read more…
Mrs. Labrador Retriever, Athens/SavannahAge and Occupation: 24, Student/Sports ReporterFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Physical Therapy Assistant Student/Future Dr. of PT
Engagement Date: December 31, 2008Wedding Date: November 2009Venue: Whitfield Square/Savannah StationAbout Me: I'm working on my second degree from UGA (Go Dawgs!). I'm a self-proclaimed attention-w****. If it involves a camera, I'm in front of it! You'll never meet a girlier tomboy than me. I can go toe to toe with any guy on the subject of college football, and lift more than any girl in my gym, all without chipping a nail. I hope to someday be the only person you want delivering your sports news. My FI and I are the loving parents of three Labrador Retrievers (one of each color) and are planning a "Southern Romantic Charm" wedding in the beautiful, historic city of Savannah. I'm not extreme in anything except moderation... and wedding planning.
I’m in LOVE with my bridal party. They’re all just as gung-ho as I am about the wedding planning! Two of my girls are already married, and a third will be married by the time my wedding rolls around. This means I get to learn from their experiences for free! Who needs a wedding planner?!?
Anyways, I’ve already told them that I want the theme of our wedding to be “Romantic Southern Charm”. In keeping with that theme, we’d like a sort of upscale take on Southern comfort food, but without the upscale price.
Well, my soon to be sister-in-law, Leslie, called a while back to let me know she did some searching of local caterers (she lives in my host city, Savannah). She found out that Paula Deen’s (you may know her from the Food Network) restaurant The Lady & Sons is actually very affordable. We can get the Southern Buffet delivered to my site for $18.99 a head plus tax. We pick from 3 meats and 4 sides (including mac and cheese, my fave). We would also get cheese biscuits, one choice of 3 dessert options, and tea (sweet & unsweetened). We can also get fancy chafing dishes and hire their servers if we wish.
I think this is an amazing price, considering The Knot.com has our suggested per-person food cost at nearly $60 a head. The only thing missing is seafood. Mr. Lab loves seafood, and because our wedding will be on the coast, it’s only appropriate to have some. So Leslie even sent them an email and asked how much more it would be to add items like crab cakes and the shrimp and grits. Read more…
Mrs. Perfume, DCAge and Occupation: 36, Consultant (and Part-Time Professor)Fiance's Age and Occupation: 41, ConsultantEngagement Date: May 13, 2008Wedding Date: May, 2009Venue: The Homestead, Hot Springs, VirginiaAbout Me: I'd like to think that I'm a modern day Little Edie Beale. Only not as..."talented". More realistically, I'm a foodie who can't bake; a dancer and dilettente; an art collector with a penchant for the whimsical and subversive. I live in the city and adore the country, but not much in between. I like smart design, great craftmanship and good value. Most of all, I love the new vintage aesthetic: classic, sweet, delicate, bespoke. If I had to do it all over again, I'd go for a culinary arts degree rather than a PhD; but wouldn't trade Mr. P for the world.
Other than being our favorite weekend retreat from the city, one major reason we love the Homestead is the food. They have a 54-page banquet menu of everything you could ever imagine, from nouveau high-style to country cook-out. But ultimately, we wanted old-fashioned, simple fare.
We definitely enjoy experimental cuisine (a la Blumenthal, Keller, Dufresne); however, there is just something wonderful about unembellished food. Read more…
Mrs. Hot Cocoa, Boston/Los AngelesAge and Occupation: 31, JD/PhD StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Medical StudentEngagement Date: May 30, 2008Wedding Date: March, 2009Blogging Since: April, 2008Venue: Ritz Carlton, Marina Del ReyAbout Me:
I am a professional student by day and an amateur cupcake taster, bargain shopper, and wedding planner by night. I am obsessed with NPR, the Food Network, paper, dance shows, Anthropologie, post-structuralist theory, Weddingbee!, "The Office," and celebrity gossip. When not procrastinating from my dissertation, I spend time catering to Jellyby, our overly anxious shih tzu, and getting to know Mr. Hot Cocoa. We have only been dating for fifteen years, so it's like I'm in love with a stranger! From the East Coast, we are planning a Jewish-Chinese Extravaganza in L.A., where we both grew up.
Now that we’ve selected the delectable dishes we’re serving at the reception, I figured it was time to dig the Gocco out of my closet (a feat in and of itself) and make the menu cards.
I scanned the lasercut motif that is on the front of our invitation into Adobe Illustrator and laid out the menu text in a mix of Feel and Georgia fonts. I then Goccoed the menu onto Kunzite paper, a metallic lilac shade from Paperandmore.com, rounded the corners, and mounted the menu onto a mix of grape, violet, and plum #10 cards from Paper Source (on sale for 50% off!).
Mrs. Champagne, DC/Vail/ColoradoAge and Occupation: 26, Eye DoctorFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, AttorneyEngagement Date: March 13, 2006Wedding Date: February 2009Blogging Since: July 30, 2008Venue: Small church ceremony with mountain-view log cabin receptionAbout Me: I'm a small town mountain girl with a city heart. Found my way to the east coast, and Mr. Champagne kept me here so we're planning a wedding from afar in my hometown Vail, Colorado. I'm secretly obsessed with reality TV, Wii games where I can shoot a gun, country music, and Caesar: Dog Whisperer. I also spend time pretending to golf, backseat driving, having one way conversations with our MinPin Maxwell, loving champagne, and wedding perfecting… I mean, planning. I use way too many repeated symbols and letters when I write, and I'll love Mr. Champagne endlessly…
I know menus aren’t the most exciting aspect of planning a wedding, but we really wanted our guests to see some of the menu items we had chosen because they were sort of themed around our location. So where’s a gal to turn for DIY menus? To my trusty Gocco, of course. Our monogram is literally going to be EVERYWHERE at our ceremony, reception, and even on our OOT bags. Our menu is no exception! I put our menu on Stardream opal text paper and taped it to Stardream Onyx cardstock. We’ll place them inside the napkins on the tables.
Mrs. Piglet, Virginia/OahuAge and Occupation: 28, ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Entrepreneur/Fashion Apparel Wholesale ImporterEngagement Date: June 22, 2008Wedding Date: August 2009Venue: Ceremony at the Lanikuhonua Phase II private estate, reception at a historic hotel in WaikikiAbout Me: I'm an East Coast gal with intense road rage and an addiction to romantic comedies, fast food, gadgets, Korean BBQ, and my wiener dog George aka Georgia May. I carry mustard packets in my purse and I love perusing the aisles at discount stores. A self proclaimed shopaholic, I impulsively buy electronics, software, and craft tools; none of which I know how to use. I'm excited to dust
these babies off and immerse myself in DIY projects galore in
preparation for our DW in paradise!
I love me some eggs in the morning. More specifically, my favorite is eggs with rice, ketchup, and kimchi (spicy Korean cabbage). This morning, there were two yolks in one of the eggs.
Mrs. Quiche, Chicago/Montego BayAge and Occupation: 28, Interior DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 42, Telecom GuruEngagement Date: July 2, 2008Wedding Date: May, 2009Venue: Coyaba Resort, Montego BayAbout Me: I love Chicago and can’t imagine living anywhere else (Well, except Paris. Or anywhere in France, for that matter!). I’m a full-time worker, part-time student, soon-to-be-step-mom, indie music lovin’, architecture and design fanatic, macaroni and cheese addict, vegetarian, Francophile, Ohio State football obsessed, wedding planning girl. Mr. Quiche and I are “Partners-in-Crime” and cannot wait to celebrate our marriage surrounded by our family and closest friends. I plan on DIYing my little heart out (or as much as a suitcase to Jamaica will hold).
A recent question posed to the feisty Dear Abby (sidenote: I *heart* Dear Abby. And Margo.) got me thinking about dietary lifestyles and wedding receptions.
DEAR ABBY: My daughter and future son-in-law are being married this summer. They are both vegans, and are planning a vegan dinner for their reception. I thought it was a very cool way of showing what different types of vegan dishes could be planned, but I’m getting grief from my husband. He thinks it is “selfish” of them not to offer a meat dish. I couldn’t disagree more.
I told him I think they are right, but that I’d write to you and ask your opinion. It will have no effect on their reception, but I’d like to quiet things down on the home front. — FUTURE MOTHER-IN-LAW Read more…
Miss Fondue, NashvilleAge and Occupation: 27, Technical AnalystFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Network Admin Student/Senior Game AdvisorEngagement Date: December 25, 2007Wedding Date: May 2009Blogging Since: September 14, 2008Venue: Ravenwood Golf ClubAbout Me: I’m your average computer geek marrying a gaming geek and trying to find a good balance of elegance and geek chic in our wedding. I adore The Sims, Nintendo, cosplay, (good) music, TiVo, theme parks, and our two crazy felines.
Miss Candy Corn, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 27, Freelance Writer, Photographer and IllustratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Front End Web DeveloperBlogging Since: May 6, 2008Engagement Date: November 10, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Our backyard!About Me: I’m a 27-year-old photographer, writer and illustrator who enjoys shooting weddings, catching typos in magazines, geeking out with Google Reader, watching Wonder Years marathons with my fiancé, and hanging out with our menagerie of pets. I’m an encore bride planning an intimate, offbeat backyard wedding with my fiancé (known around these parts as “The Ginger”), as we explore our adventures of homeownership.
Mr. Candy Corn’s stepfather is from France (Mr. CC lived there for quite some time and is fluent in French as well), which has resulted in us having nearly a dozen French guests who will be attending our wedding. Some know a great deal of English, some don’t speak any, so I wanted them to feel included by inserting some French-lovin’ here and there. The above is one of the cake signs I made, with an illustration I did of an Ann Wood cake topper, since our cake topper is handmade by Ann. Read more…
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).
Many people ask me what the hardest part of planning a destination wedding is. They guess it is choosing venues, restaurants or table linens. The fact is, the hardest part about planning a destination wedding is figuring out how to get everything to the destination! Every planning and decor decision makes me think about how we will get the item to the other side of the country. Can we ship it? Pack it in our checked baggage? Do we have to carry it on the plane with us? Our luggage will include all our wedding week clothing, rings, parent/wedding party gifts, my dress, Mr. PN’s kilt, honeymoon clothes, etc., so we decided it would be best to send along some items in advance.
Our amazing florist graciously accepted to receive a few packages and take them to our venue on the morning of the wedding. So, we have spent the last couple weeks finishing our wedding programs, table names, escort cards, menu cards, and cake table photos. Read more…
Mrs. Cookie, DenverAge and Occupation: 25, Nonprofit Fundraiser/Theatre DesignerFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Financial AnalystEngagement Date: September 2007Wedding Date: September 2008Blogging Since: May 8, 2008Venue: Ten Mile StationAbout Me: With a degree in Theatre I never realized that planning a wedding was a lot like Theatre Management, until I started planning my own. I am a coffee addict, especially Starbucks' Grande Mochas, yummy! I love to cook (especially chocolate chip cookies for my honey), travel to exotic places, and be creative. As a couple, Mr. Cookie and I are extremely practical, down to earth, and children at heart. We live in a cozy abode with our adorable Pomeranian, and love to play board games and watch movies into the evening.
Another DIY project brought to you by my Gocco: our menus!
I wanted to keep them simple and informational, as we are offering a very selective bar menu. I used Laurell and Futura fonts, and also used the same paper by Art. Co from Xpedx that I have been using for our stationery needs.
Mrs. Pomegranate, SacramentoAge and Occupation: 27, Technical SpecialistFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Software EngineerEngagement Date: August 23, 2007Wedding Date: October, 2008Blogging Since: June 5, 2008Venue: R.H. Phillips WineryAbout Me: Hi, I'm Miss Pomegranate and I'm a shopaholic. I have a weak spot for the chic cheap - especially anything I can re-create on the DIY. Shoes are my vice, music is my passion in life and technology is the medium by which I live and work. When I'm not scoping out a sale, I'm spending my quality time training for a marathon, playing Wii with my fiance and snuggling with my Silver Labrador and Teacup Panther - and oh yeah, planning my wedding!
Mr. Pomegranate and I love our food - and we like it to be fresh (Mr. Pom’s BeeTV Cooking Show aside). We’re big supporters of finding food locally - be it through farmer’s markets or our CSA subscription - as it is not only an eco-friendly way of consuming, but it is also pretty darn tasty! You’ll always get what’s in season and that makes it extremely fresh. This is one of the reasons why we love our caterer so much - he gets all of his restaurant’s produce from the same organic CSA that we belong to.
Not expecting a true “tasting” per se, we jetted over to Mulvaney’s Building & Loan (the fruits of the Culinary Specialists catering labor) right after work and dove into a glass of wine at the bar while waiting for the catering manager to appear. Margo was a delight with her warm, friendly demeanor - even more appreciated was the very professional air about her. We had just sat down at a table for four, when a waiter plunked a very large plate of my (now) favorite appetizer displayed on the menu: In-House Irish Smoked Salmon with Accompaniments. Read more…
Miss Candy Corn, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 27, Freelance Writer, Photographer and IllustratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Front End Web DeveloperBlogging Since: May 6, 2008Engagement Date: November 10, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Our backyard!About Me: I’m a 27-year-old photographer, writer and illustrator who enjoys shooting weddings, catching typos in magazines, geeking out with Google Reader, watching Wonder Years marathons with my fiancé, and hanging out with our menagerie of pets. I’m an encore bride planning an intimate, offbeat backyard wedding with my fiancé (known around these parts as “The Ginger”), as we explore our adventures of homeownership.
Here’s a mock-up of our menu that I just designed! I’m going to print it in brown ink on light blue paper and back it with chocolate brown cardstock. The birdtastic clip art was something I stumbled upon while browsing Google and I figured it would mesh well with our theme. It might be a wee bit difficult to read on here, but it will be printed larger so it will be more legible for guests.
I planned on having two menus per table, since our tables will be round.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to display these?
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
From our RSVP card: lamb, trout, or veggie
