Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
Everything was set up a few hours before and our harpist arrived about 45 minutes before the ceremony to play some soft background music. As 4:00pm approached, the guys, our minister, and our parents gathered in the Great Room at the Lodge—I stayed out of sight with my girls in the bridal suite. We didn’t have a day-of-coordinator, but a big thank you goes out to Pastor W’s wife, who coordinated everyone’s timing to walk down the isle. When she said go, the person/group in question went.
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
Mr. Bracelet and I had discussed exchanging wedding gifts in the months leading up to the wedding. I thought that I was a nice and meaningful tradition. And since Mr. B is a cool guy, he was on board with the idea.
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
As I was getting ready with the girls, I can only reconstruct the guys getting ready from the photos we have. I do know that they started getting ready much later than us, which makes sense since their look takes less time and their pre-ceremony photo session was scheduled for after ours.
Mr. Bracelet got ready together with Best Man N and Groomsman G. Our second shooter Kate was their designated paparazzo (paparazza?). The guys wore black tuxes (either rented or owned) with accessories rented from Men’s Wearhouse in Rapid City. We chose a blue-gray waistcoat and bow tie to match the bridesmaids’ dresses.
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
When our photographer Amy arrived the morning of our wedding, the first order of business was to capture the little details. So, less talking, more pictures!
The Rings
Despite having talked about which rings I tried on and ideas for engravings, I never actually shared our final choices with y’all. Mr. Bracelet chose a 5.5mm white gold band. My wedding band is a thin 2mm with a sprinkling of channel-set diamonds which align perfectly with the diamonds on my engagement ring.
We exchanged rings at our civil ceremony in Germany and have been wearing them since then. Mr. Bracelet really wanted us to wear our rings from the start, and we agreed to wear them on our right hand “German-style” until our September wedding. Thus, when we exchanged rings in September, we started wearing them on our left hand “American-style.”
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
The morning of our wedding started pretty relaxed. The hairstylist wasn’t scheduled until around 10:00am, so we had plenty of time. Mr. Bracelet and I met up to go to breakfast, along with several other people. We snuck in some last minute dance practice after breakfast, too!
Breakfast with Mr. B, my Japanese host-mother, and MOH R
{guest photo}
Then we girls got down to business in the Bridal Veil Suite. No, the Lodge didn’t pick a very “wedding” name for the suite—there are three waterfalls near the Lodge and one is actually called Bridal Veil Falls.
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
We scheduled our wedding events quite traditionally—Saturday afternoon wedding with a Friday rehearsal/ rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal was set for 4:00 PM with our welcome BBQ starting at 6:00 PM.
And I’m glad that I planned for lots of extra time. Several people involved in the rehearsal ran late. After waiting a bit we decided to go ahead anyway. So when Best Man N & Bridesmaid E showed up, we rehearsed again. And when our youngest participants made it (due to a time mix-up), we rehearsed a third time. No chance of forgetting the important parts now!
Pastor W explaining what to do
We rehearsed in our exact ceremony spot, though it would be hard to tell. Nothing more than some lawn, leaves, and nice afternoon sunlight. The chairs and other decorations for our ceremony went up the morning of the wedding.
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
I have a fun pre-wedding photo shoot to share with you: my bridal portraits!
Some of you might not be familiar with bridal portraits, which seem to be a predominantly Southern tradition.
Bridal portraits, sometimes also called a bridal session, are taken one to two months before the wedding and show the bride in her complete outfit—dress, hair, make-up, accessories, etc. Back in my mom’s day it involved a few studio portraits. One of the bridal portraits would then be used for the wedding announcement in the newspaper, and one would also be prominently displayed at the wedding. These days, many bridal portraits are more like engagement sessions, with a wide variety of styles and locations. You can check out bridal portraits by previous Bees here: Mrs. Plum, Fro Yo, Hyena, and Archer.
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
When I first started thinking about guestbooks, I really liked the idea of finger print guestbooks. However, my mom didn’t like the idea and asked me to consider alternatives. Since I wanted something decorative/useful, I wasn’t interested in traditional paper guestbooks. I was thrilled when I discovered guestbook quilts. Something useful and memorable at the same time, possibly treasured for generations.
Guestbook quilts seem to come in two forms: as unfinished quilt squares (that will be sewn into a quilt after the wedding) or as a finished quilt. I personally prefer the first method because it allows for guests making mistakes (that won’t make in onto the quilt) and arranging the squares in a visually pleasing manner.
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
Since telling y’all a long time ago that I picked a dress, I carefully kept mum about my dress. Then you glimpsed some of it when we got married and when I announced that I’ll start my recaps.
I bought my dress about a year before our wedding at Bridals by Lori in Atlanta. Like many salons, they have a no photo policy while you are trying on dresses. But when you actually choose your dress, you get to take photos:
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
When we started planning our wedding, I knew that I wanted to create a wedding website for our guests. It’s a great and easy way for guests to access wedding information. Moreover, you can start using it well before sending out your invites (we included our address on our save the dates), and you can include as much or as little information as you like.
Although I would have liked to program our homepage from scratch, I didn’t have the time as I was about to graduate from university. I chose a less time-consuming path—creating our website with iWeb on my Mac. It is an easy to handle program to create homepages with. Check our Mrs. Cupcake’s detailed tutorial if you’re interested. The only caveat is that you need a domain/server to host your self-made website.
Luckily, we didn’t have to look far to host our website. Being part of a techie family, my dad has his own domain and server. He agreed to let me use it for our wedding website and we had the simple URL of www.name.de/wedding.
I spent a long time thinking about which topics to include. I wanted the navigation to be intuitive for our guests. They should be able to find the information where they would be looking for it. I created the header in Photoshop using one of our favorite engagement photos by Legacy. We included the following categories and subcategories:
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
It’s hard to believe that our wedding already happened half a year ago! Time flies. Since the wedding, Mr. Bracelet and I have settled into our apartment, spent Christmas in Germany with my parents, and are generally enjoying living together. I really enjoy being able to cook full recipes without having to eat the same thing for a whole week!
We received our wedding photos in time for the holidays and gave each of our parents wedding photo albums for Christmas. I also sent CDs with a best-of selection to all aunts and uncles, as well as a full copy to our bridal party members. Although we had our photos and I could have long published my recaps, I wanted to enjoy our wedding photos in private for a while before going public. So here we are now, half a year after our wedding.
Miss Bracelet, Frankfurt, Germany/Rapid City, SDAge and Occupation: 26, Post-Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Electrical Engineering Student/ Ex-Navy Cal TechEngagement Date: May 11, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Schloss Heiligenberg/ Spearfish Canyon LodgeAbout Me: I'm a half-American from Germany who fell in love with a wonderful guy from Montana. We met in Japan and have been in a LDR for most of our relationship. I love organizing so much that it could be my middle name (Post-Its, anyone?). I have a serious addiction to paper products and milk chocolate. My fiancé totally gets my tomboy-princess-combo personality and will bring me chocolate when I need a pick-me-up. After a legal ceremony in Germany, we're planning a down-to-earth (semi-destination) wedding with our friends and family in the US.
I like the concept of giving each member of the wedding party a little something to say “thank you” (because they are investing time and money) and “you’re awesome.”
Gifts for BM E and MOH R (top row), BM P and BM K (bottom row)
Deciding what to give to my bridesmaids was a gradual process. In the end, I decided to gift each a necklace to wear at the wedding and an assortment of useful things (mostly stationery items) from Japan. The stationery gifts were a reflection of my interests (paper lover = me) and also allowed me to pick items to suit each ladies’ taste. Each gift bag included…
