Mrs. Sparkler, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 27, Communications AficionadoFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, PublisherEngagement Date: July 21, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Chicago Illuminating CompanyAbout Me: I’m a Southern lady living in the big city of Chicago. Well, lady may be a stretch, but I’m working hard to keep some Virginia charm in our sleek, urban, wedding-palooza! I’m addicted to marathons, not-so-famous bands, Chicago restaurants, and Mark Twain. I cry during SPCA commercials, and I think LOST was the best show to ever hit television. Mr. S and I met at a classy college mixer and, 7 years later, he’s still by my side. He’s the only child, laid back, free spirit... I’m the oldest of five kids, type-A, organizer. It doesn’t work on paper, but we’ve never paid attention to that stuff anyway. Somehow it works. And like they say, sometimes when you know…you just know.
I can’t even begin to tell you how good it feels to check this off our list, hive! With one major day in our wedding weekend completely planned, I feel like I’m allowed to start getting excited (because, you know… I wasn’t excited before or anything).
We sat down and hashed out the pre-wedding details last week, starting with the menu for the rehearsal dinner. I was so happy that Sparks decided to take the reins on this particular project. There’s no way I could have narrowed down Gioco’s menu to just a few items! Everything is so tasty! But we did have to pick a few favorites, and here are a few we ended up going with:
Ms. Sloth, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 35, Account Manager and Fashion BloggerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Design AdminEngagement Date: December 25, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Bartram's GardenAbout Me: I'm an internet junkie and music snob with a good eye for a bargain. I couldn't live without thrift store shopping, cheeseburgers, sushi, Coke Zero, websites devoted to silly photos of baby animals, Photoshop, and Mr. Sloth. Speaking of which, he and I are a pair of goofball homebody nerds who love our beagle (the most ridiculously adorable dog EVER) to an embarrassing degree. We're planning a low-key and intimate yet festive and quirky outdoor wedding with DIY details and deeply personal touches, and it's all taking place in the city where we fell in love and call home: Philadelphia.
Before we could have a wedding, we needed to have a wedding rehearsal. Bartram’s Garden is only open during the day on weekdays, so we had to rehearse during the day. So, there was no rehearsal dinner, just a rehearsal lunch. I ordered sandwiches, chips, salads, desserts and drinks from an awesome cafe, and we chowed down at the pavilion at Bartram’s.
Mrs. Snow Cone, Pittsburgh/Johnstown, PAAge and Occupation: 23, Public Health Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, EngineerEngagement Date: April 9, 2010Wedding Date: August 2011Venue: OMOS Church ceremony/Sunnehanna Country Club receptionAbout Me: I’m one of the lucky ones---I met my future husband at the ripe old age of 13, started dating him as a mature woman of 15, and have been enjoying the ride ever since. Here we are, 8 years later, living in Pittsburgh, planning a "homestination" wedding in the place our school romance began---Johnstown, PA. I thrive on talking a mile a minute, eating my weight in chocolate, and internet shopping. I love a lengthy to-do list almost as much as I love a healthy amount of chaos in my life. Mr. Snow Cone and I watch countless episodes of Friends and The West Wing on repeat, root for rival college sports teams, and make each other laugh each and every day. We’re putting together a small-town wedding with a big personality and a classically modern (or modernly classic?) look for 250 of our closest family and friends. It’s been 8+ years in the making, and sometimes I still can’t believe I’m finally getting to marry my high school sweetheart!
For whatever reason, shortly after getting engaged, Mr. Snow Cone and I sat down to dinner one night and hashed out where we wanted to hold our rehearsal dinner. We knew with our relatively large bridal party (14 attendants), our relatively large immediate families (a combined total of 12), and whatever ceremony participants needed to be included, our dinner guest list would probably add up pretty quickly. Johnstown doesn’t offer a plethora of restaurants that have spaces large enough to hold our group. Aside from the space restrictions, neither of us was smitten with the idea of having all of us squeezed into a room, plopped down around tables, trying to tiptoe around the restaurant staff to socialize with everyone else at the dinner.
We wanted something that was more relaxed, with all of our loved ones able to cross paths casually, chit-chatting with familiar faces and being introduced to new ones while genuinely enjoying themselves. Thankfully, we knew just the place: Read more…
Mrs. Sparkler, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 27, Communications AficionadoFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, PublisherEngagement Date: July 21, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Chicago Illuminating CompanyAbout Me: I’m a Southern lady living in the big city of Chicago. Well, lady may be a stretch, but I’m working hard to keep some Virginia charm in our sleek, urban, wedding-palooza! I’m addicted to marathons, not-so-famous bands, Chicago restaurants, and Mark Twain. I cry during SPCA commercials, and I think LOST was the best show to ever hit television. Mr. S and I met at a classy college mixer and, 7 years later, he’s still by my side. He’s the only child, laid back, free spirit... I’m the oldest of five kids, type-A, organizer. It doesn’t work on paper, but we’ve never paid attention to that stuff anyway. Somehow it works. And like they say, sometimes when you know…you just know.
…we eat! Oh, and we rehearse. But everyone knows what happens at the ceremony rehearsal. Let’s talk about the meal that’s happening after!
You might remember that we are hosting a pretty large dinner the night before our wedding. And while the guest count is still sky-high, I’m happy to report that we’ve finally found a place that will hold us all! We ended up choosing a cozy, old-school-Italian style restaurant, just a few blocks from our venue. It’s the perfect mix of comfort food and classic Chicago that Sparks and I had been searching for.
Mrs. Lioness, AtlantaAge and Occupation: 25, Physical TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, AttorneyEngagement Date: August 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Anthony’s Fine DiningAbout Me: I’m a Southern girl with New England roots. I say "wicked" and "y’all" in the same sentence and I like to drink sweet tea with my lobster. Mr. Lion and I are both former Floridians now living in Atlanta, which fortunately is still SEC country...Go Gators! We both love baseball, coffee, traveling, cooking, and playing Words with Friends with each other on our iPhones all day long. I’m very passionate about the things and the people I love, and I tend to plan things with all of my heart...our wedding, of course, is no different! Oh, and also Mr. Lion is a first generation American of Cuban descent. I may look more like Lucy than Ricky, but I’m doing my best to incorporate some Latin elements into our vintage-garden-Southern wedding!
The greatest part of our rehearsal dinner was the tremendous amount of love that surrounded us. Though our wedding wasn’t huge, it was hard to spend a lot of time with a lot of people. I think it’s really just impossible to make the rounds as much as you’d like to. Our rehearsal dinner allowed more time for a smaller number of people, and I really appreciated that.
The first thing we did with that quality time (besides eat, of course) was deliver presents to our house party. I had given gifts to my bridesmaids earlier that day at their brunch. Mr. Lion planned to deliver gifts to his groomsmen later that night, as I had kicked him out of our apartment and forced him to stay with his best man. What? We didn’t want to see each other on our wedding day! That meant separate beds. Anyway, even though the bridal party was already accounted for with gifts, we still had some very important friends and family members who deserved some props.
Mrs. Lioness, AtlantaAge and Occupation: 25, Physical TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, AttorneyEngagement Date: August 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Anthony’s Fine DiningAbout Me: I’m a Southern girl with New England roots. I say "wicked" and "y’all" in the same sentence and I like to drink sweet tea with my lobster. Mr. Lion and I are both former Floridians now living in Atlanta, which fortunately is still SEC country...Go Gators! We both love baseball, coffee, traveling, cooking, and playing Words with Friends with each other on our iPhones all day long. I’m very passionate about the things and the people I love, and I tend to plan things with all of my heart...our wedding, of course, is no different! Oh, and also Mr. Lion is a first generation American of Cuban descent. I may look more like Lucy than Ricky, but I’m doing my best to incorporate some Latin elements into our vintage-garden-Southern wedding!
I had always imagined leaving our rehearsal with some of my favorite people by my side, laughing all the way to our rehearsal dinner venue. In actuality (well, for me anyway), there was too much business to attend to. This person was staying in this place Friday night only, this stuff had to go over here, these people were carpooling but those people weren’t. We all went our separate ways, and I set out alone to drive to our new rehearsal dinner venue (you know, because the original venue had closed down). Amid the chaos, I remembered that my gas light had come on in my car earlier that day…about 10 miles ago earlier that day. So, I was late to our own rehearsal dinner because I had to get gas!
Turns out, I was lucky to be running late. Things over at our rehearsal dinner venue were a mess! Don’t get me wrong, this restaurant is awesome; but, I don’t think they were used to a party of our size, and they certainly weren’t used to catering. Fortunately, MIL Lion stepped into their kitchen (yep) and let her Latina mama powers take over. After about 15 minutes, the curtains opened and our show was up and running!
I was greeted by a buffet filled with some of my favorite Cuban dishes, as well as tables filled with some of my favorite people.
With four of the five Lioness Bmaids and their “signivs”
Mrs. Lioness, AtlantaAge and Occupation: 25, Physical TherapistFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, AttorneyEngagement Date: August 29, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Anthony’s Fine DiningAbout Me: I’m a Southern girl with New England roots. I say "wicked" and "y’all" in the same sentence and I like to drink sweet tea with my lobster. Mr. Lion and I are both former Floridians now living in Atlanta, which fortunately is still SEC country...Go Gators! We both love baseball, coffee, traveling, cooking, and playing Words with Friends with each other on our iPhones all day long. I’m very passionate about the things and the people I love, and I tend to plan things with all of my heart...our wedding, of course, is no different! Oh, and also Mr. Lion is a first generation American of Cuban descent. I may look more like Lucy than Ricky, but I’m doing my best to incorporate some Latin elements into our vintage-garden-Southern wedding!
After a fun day with my favorite girls, and a brief wardrobe change, it was time to head over to the venue for rehearsal. What’s that? You want to hear about my outfit? Well, okay!
I wanted to wear something bridal, but I also wanted something that captured the style of our wedding. I decided on a white dress with shamrock green accents. I wore a Vineyard Vines silk sundress with a Limited cardigan. I accessorized with some silver strappy sandals that I had lying around, as well as a pearl necklace and earrings set that I received as a gift from a family member.
Here’s the outfit in action, complete with my ribbon-clad rehearsal bouquet. Oh, and hey! This is the first official pro-pic! Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Evan Hampton’s fine work: Read more…
Mrs. Sparkler, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 27, Communications AficionadoFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, PublisherEngagement Date: July 21, 2010Wedding Date: September 2011Venue: Chicago Illuminating CompanyAbout Me: I’m a Southern lady living in the big city of Chicago. Well, lady may be a stretch, but I’m working hard to keep some Virginia charm in our sleek, urban, wedding-palooza! I’m addicted to marathons, not-so-famous bands, Chicago restaurants, and Mark Twain. I cry during SPCA commercials, and I think LOST was the best show to ever hit television. Mr. S and I met at a classy college mixer and, 7 years later, he’s still by my side. He’s the only child, laid back, free spirit... I’m the oldest of five kids, type-A, organizer. It doesn’t work on paper, but we’ve never paid attention to that stuff anyway. Somehow it works. And like they say, sometimes when you know…you just know.
One of the major tasks still sitting on our “To-Do” list is finding a place for the rehearsal dinner. I’m pretty eager to get this done because, plain and simple, I love to eat. And I love to plan. And I really love planning to eat. So why is this very important task still waiting to be completed? Well, we’ve run into a, um, big issue that’s making choosing a venue a little harder than we anticipated.
The problem? I know I haven’t introduced you to them quite yet, but this is our wedding party:
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.
Our wedding to do list is a mess. I’m pretty sure that we aren’t supposed to be investigating rehearsal dinner places until June, and engagement announcements should have been sent out last summer, but what’s a girl to do?
The Baconator and I had decided quite a few months back that the best place to do the rehearsal dinner would be at our favorite pizza place, since they have a downtown location. Of course this didn’t work out because the downtown location only holds 30-40 guests and we’ll need a space that fits 55. Yep, we’ll have as many people at our rehearsal as some people have at their whole wedding, but that’s neither here nor there. So, we are back on the search for a place for our well rehearsed friends and family to chow down. Only one other pizza chain has space for all of our people, but the space isn’t private, so we’d have to shout over all the hubbub of the restaurant on a Friday night, which is so not ideal. Read more…
Ms. Sloth, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 35, Account Manager and Fashion BloggerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Design AdminEngagement Date: December 25, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Bartram's GardenAbout Me: I'm an internet junkie and music snob with a good eye for a bargain. I couldn't live without thrift store shopping, cheeseburgers, sushi, Coke Zero, websites devoted to silly photos of baby animals, Photoshop, and Mr. Sloth. Speaking of which, he and I are a pair of goofball homebody nerds who love our beagle (the most ridiculously adorable dog EVER) to an embarrassing degree. We're planning a low-key and intimate yet festive and quirky outdoor wedding with DIY details and deeply personal touches, and it's all taking place in the city where we fell in love and call home: Philadelphia.
Well, there are a lot of reasons. But one of the biggest reasons is because, when I posted about our rehearsal dinner restaurant closing down, I got so many amazing suggestions from you all about other alternatives. You guys are seriously the best!
Unfortunately, after making a ton of phone calls, no restaurant could offer us prices even close to the low prices that Arbol had quoted. We asked our hotel if we could rent out a conference room and bring in our own food, but the conference room rental fee was exorbitant, and they wouldn’t let us bring in outside food. We were thisclose to just shoving everyone into our hotel suite and ordering pizza, but then, I had a call with our venue coordinator, and everything changed.
She told me that, because of an event the night before our wedding, Bartram’s Garden would be closed to the public, and she asked if we could have our rehearsal sometime between 1-4 in the afternoon.
Ms. Sloth, PhiladelphiaAge and Occupation: 35, Account Manager and Fashion BloggerFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Design AdminEngagement Date: December 25, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Bartram's GardenAbout Me: I'm an internet junkie and music snob with a good eye for a bargain. I couldn't live without thrift store shopping, cheeseburgers, sushi, Coke Zero, websites devoted to silly photos of baby animals, Photoshop, and Mr. Sloth. Speaking of which, he and I are a pair of goofball homebody nerds who love our beagle (the most ridiculously adorable dog EVER) to an embarrassing degree. We're planning a low-key and intimate yet festive and quirky outdoor wedding with DIY details and deeply personal touches, and it's all taking place in the city where we fell in love and call home: Philadelphia.
Mrs. Cinnamon Bun, Calgary, AlbertaAge and Occupation: 26, Stage ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Theatre TechnicianEngagement Date: June 22, 2010Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Calgary Opera CentreAbout Me: I'm a life-long crafter and bookworm living in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Some of my loves include Lord of the Rings, Sherlock Holmes, knitting, opera, musicals, Etsy, baking, and of course, Mr. Cinnamon Buns. We're keeping our wedding close to home---the venue isn't very far from our house, and we live within walking distance of 6 bridal salons. I'm using the wedding as an excuse to try out every craft project I possibly can, with the endless help and support of my fiance.
Before reading wedding blogs and wedding magazines, I’d only heard of rehearsal dinners in the vaguest of ways. It wasn’t something that I thought was terribly common, so I wasn’t fussed about having one. Then I get into blogland, and start regularly buying Martha Stewart Weddings, and I realize that people send out invitations, they go to fancy restaurants, make speeches, have dress codes… This is totally not what will be going on for the Cinnamon Bun rehearsal. Invites? Nah. Speeches? Plenty of time for that at the wedding. Dress code? Steel toes.
We are setting up our venue ourselves, and we get access to it around 5PM on the Friday before our Saturday wedding. We’ve asked our bridal party, parents, and friends to meet us there so we can set up the space. We’ll have chairs to set up, decor to arrange, a faux-to booth to rig, tables and more chairs for the reception area, plus all the totally amazing, knock-your-socks-off DIY I’m planning. There will be pipe and drape to set up to hide some of the stuff on the walls in the venue, we’ll be putting chairs in orderly rows, not to mention unloading all this stuff from our car (and/or possibly a U-Haul, depending on what all we pick up that day! There is a limited amount of room in my 1992 hatchback).
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 the countdown continues, I beginning to find myself trying to save more and more on the DIY projects. Case in point, our rehearsal dinner invites.
I was all set to just order cute ones off of Vista Print, but even with a coupon code ordering 30 still would have cost something. It’s not that expensive in the scheme of things, but I decided I could just use left over pieces of cardstock I’ve saved from other projects and print them at home.
I found the poem online from another bride a while ago and saved it because it was too cute.
Mrs. Brooch, Arlington, VAAge and Occupation: 25, Writer/EditorFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Front Desk ManagerEngagement Date: October 3, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Oxon Hill ManorAbout Me: I’m an indecisive girlie-girl with a motor mouth, can-do attitude, and knack for making others laugh. I dream of becoming a best selling novelist like Elizabeth Gilbert or Julie Powell (a girl can dream, right?), and love long road trips, a beautiful countryside, music, blogs, books, and all things vintage/thrift/antique/or homemade. I’m a Virgo, i.e. overly sensitive, emotional, and critical, and there’s no such thing as short and sweet in my world. I want to say and do it all. Mr. Brooch grounds me. I point where to go and he figures out the way. He’s a pragmatic fancy-pants who enjoys video games and movies. We both adore our mutt, Rocky, and spending time with our amazingly supportive family and friends. We’re planning a garden wedding with a formal reception with lots of whimsy and unique, Southern-inspired details.
Like I mentioned, we had to decide between Bond 45 and McCormick and Schmick’s on the National Harbor for our rehearsal dinner. Well, M&S won! We had such a great experience when we went, and the staff were great! Bond 45 was WAY more expensive than we thought it would be, and the feeling in the place just wasn’t nearly as warm. If you have questions, PM me because it was quite a disaster! We weren’t happy at all. We actually left Bond 45 and went back to M&S for dessert, and so, it was decided!
My FMIL is going there next Friday to check out the place and look at their banquet menus. I told her I would take care of picking out the invitations (any chance I get at gawking over paper goods, I take) and therefore, I’ve been scouring the Internet for hours now.
Mrs. Pretzel, SeattleAge and Occupation: 32 Learning, Training, and Development SpecialistFiance's Age and Occupation: 28 Manufacturing EngineerEngagement Date: September 2, 2009Wedding Date: July 2010Venue: Catholic Church & The Engine Room at Georgetown StudiosAbout Me: I’m just a thirty-something girl who never dreamed of weddings, poofy dresses, or ritzy receptions. I am a rabid knitter, except recently, wedding projects have replaced my yarn and needles. I’ve been fiercely independent since the age of 2 and 30 years later I think my family and friends had given up on me settling down and getting married.
Ironically, I had to go all the way to Seattle to find a boy from Purdue. We fell in love over Seattle Beers and cooking together. I love NASCAR, he loves Legos. I can talk like a Muppet and he can fit a whole McDonald’s cheeseburger in his mouth. We are a two reception couple, currently planning a brewery inspired bash.
One of the things that I love going to out of town weddings is getting to see a new city. I especially enjoy when the bride and groom plan an event for the early arrivals, when everyone is relaxed and enjoying themselves. Mr P and I love Seattle and we were very excited to share our city with our many friends and relatives who were visiting for our wedding. We created a large list of activities around town so our guests could explore on their own and Thursday night we coordinated a night at the ball park.
Fun fact: did you know that Nintendo of America owns the Seattle Mariners? The stadium has a network for the Nintendo DS where you can watch replays, browse stats, and order food from your seat. Read more…
