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.
One of the things I’m most excited about the weekend of our wedding is our rehearsal dinner! We chose Oxon Hill Manor as our venue is because we love, love, love the National Harbor. If there any bees who haven’t been to the DC, MD, or Virginia area, please check out the National Harbor when you make your trip! It’s absolutely beautiful!
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.
And then we decided to move. And we’re going to be moving to the suburbs about a month before the wedding (yes, I know that moving right before the wedding is crazypants, but that’ll be a later post).
We’re still going to be close, about twenty minutes outside of the city, but we realized that it would be a giant pain in the ass to rehearse at our venue in the city, drive to the ’burbs for dinner, and then come back into the city to stay in the hotel.
So we needed Plan B.
Unfortunately, Plan A had been so affordable ($10 per person) that all of the alternatives were over budget. I contacted practically every BYOB restaurant in the city, and there was no way to feed 20 people for any less than $30-$35 per person.
But finally, finally, finally, we found our solution. Read more…
Mrs. Cardigan, AustinAge and Occupation: 21, Student/Soon-to-be Special Education TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 20, Student/Soon-to-be Accounting Systems AnalystEngagement Date: August 16, 2009Wedding Date: January 2011Venue: Vintage VillasAbout Me: I'm a native Austinite who was raised as a die-hard Aggie. Luckily, I'm a pretty persuasive girl because I managed to convince my high school boyfriend (now fiance!), Mr. Cardigan, to ditch his hardcore Longhorn ways and join me up at A&M, where we currently reside with our adorable dogs, Cullen & Ranger. We're currently planning a bright, cheery wedding with a ridiculous amount of DIY projects that I can't wait to tackle! I love crafting in any form, reading, and margaritas (I think I love them the most!). Organization is what keeps me sane and I love helping others, which is probably why I ended up as an education major. It gets a little chaotic sometimes when you're planning a wedding among all of the papers, projects, finals, and certification exams, but we're having the time of our lives and we can't wait to get started on our journey as husband and wife - and we're so excited to share our wedding with the hive!
I’m not gonna lie, this project falls under the “I’m burned out and I don’t care anymore” category.
I don’t know why I felt like rehearsal dinner invitations were necessary, because I realize that they totally aren’t, but I was trying to see it from the guests’ perspective. I love getting mail, especially invitations, so I figured they might too. Looking back, it’s a project I could have (should have?) cut out, but I didn’t.
I spent a lot of time thinking about how to do these, because I’m a total idiot when it comes to designing things. I kept trying to come up with something awesome, but I really just couldn’t. Finally, I got tired of it and threw something together in Word and called it a day. They didn’t turn out horribly, but they aren’t great, either.
Mrs. Husky, DenverAge and Occupation: 26, Systems AdministratorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Mechanical Engineer, recently laid offEngagement Date: August 14, 2009Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: Rancho San CarlosAbout Me: I am planning a quirky-crafty wedding with my recently out-of-work fiancé for a (fingers crossed!) warm October afternoon. We are two self-professed nerds with an affinity for all things outdoors---be it rain, snow or shine. Recently relocated from the drizzly Northwest, we're enjoying the many sun-soaked days in the mile high city. Our day will be filled with both of our large families and friends, a self-served Cajun feast, and a Zydeco-style jazz band rocking beneath the beams of a historic red barn.
Mrs. Octopus, Boston, MA/Pittsburgh, PAAge and Occupation: 25, Grad StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Graphics Operator for TV NewsEngagement Date: May 6th, 2009Wedding Date: September 2010Venue: Heinz Chapel Ceremony, Museum Reception
About Me: When my best friend dragged me to a toga party in our freshmen year of college, I was not expecting to meet my future husband; but seven years later, here we are. I'm a crazy-organized planner at heart, and I am a great lover of random trivia, books, chocolate, blogs, new and exciting adventures, mockumentary-style television, and anything heavily flavored with bright orange fake cheese powder. We're planning a festive and fun mini-destination wedding in the place where we met: fabulous Pittsburgh, PA! I can't wait to marry the man I love!
OK, so the pictures I managed to scrape together for our rehearsal are so crappy they’re kind of not worth bothering to post. I hope you don’t mind if I hustle straight through this post. We all wanna get to the good stuff anyway, right?
If you remember, when I left off, we were about to leave for our rehearsal, and I was approaching meltdown levels of frazzled. Fortunately, my bridesmaids whisked me away into a car pretty quickly, where I indulged in about ten minutes of no-holds-barred, loud-volume ranting, and my bridesmaids nodded and told me I was totally right about everything. By the time we arrived at Heinz Chapel, I had gotten my frustrations out of my system and was fully ready to move on and enjoy our rehearsal. Phew! 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.
Since I started perusing wedding forums and blogs on a daily basis, one thing that’s surprised me is how fancy rehearsal dinners have become.
I’ve only been in two wedding parties, and both of them were over 10 years ago. But one rehearsal dinner was a crab-boil party at the groom’s parents’ house, and the other was in a private room of a bar where we had things like chicken fingers and domestic draft beer. Both of them were a lot of fun.
Now, though, I’m seeing things that I can’t believe. Brides are wearing $400 cocktail dresses to their rehearsal dinners! Creating Gocco invitations to send out! Reserving four-star restaurants!
I’m not judging. I think a fancy rehearsal dinner sounds like a lot of fun, and I would enjoy attending one.
But you bet your ass I’m not throwing one!
I want the night before the wedding to be as stress free as possible. I want everyone to meet and mingle—our parents have met several times, but nobody else in our families has. I want everyone to eat and drink and relax because the next day is going to be a doozy. And I want it to be as cheap as possible.
So, here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re going to go back to our house after the rehearsal at Bartram’s. We’re going to order the Naked Burrito Bar from Qdoba, which is only ten bucks per person or so.
Mrs. Knitting, TorontoAge and Occupation: 24, Student Recruitment Assistant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Neuroscience PhD CandidateEngagement Date: October 2009Wedding Date: December 2010Venue: University of Toronto Faculty Club
About Me: I'm a pearl wearing, etiquette book reading Toronto girl who loves cooking and baking, museums, charm bracelets, and collecting books on Jackie Kennedy (a lot). I've been known to spend Sunday mornings at the antique market, Wednesday evenings at sister sushi dinners, and any bit of spare time reading. After six and a half years of many late night walks, watching DVDs together in bed, travelling to places like New York, and Tobermory, doing Sudokus together on the couch, lots of Indian food, the occasional yoga class, moving in together and so much more, Mr. Knitting and I are planning a cozy Christmasy (it's a word!), vintage wedding in Toronto complete with many DIY projects (eek!) and lots of help from our amazing group of family and friends.
As you may have gathered, Mr. Knitting and I aren’t exactly “traditional.” Anything that’s incorporated into our wedding is there because it’s something we love and something that makes a lot of sense to us. Keeping that in mind, you probably won’t be too surprised with what we’ve decided to do for our rehearsal “dinner.”
Mrs. Hot Wings, Chicago/San DiegoAge and Occupation: 28, ProfessorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, InstructorEngagement Date: December 20, 2008Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Ocean View Villas/Jasmine Seafood RestaurantAbout Me: I am a psychology grad student living in Chicago and planning my wedding to a fellow psych grad student. I am a Sunny So-Cal bred gal who trudged across the country to follow her love of psychology and ended up finding a partner in the process. I am overly passionate about anything I involve myself with. I am an activist, a foodie, a reality TV watching junkie, an over-analyzer, a photography obsesser, and am utterly cheesy to the core. This is a story of what happens when a boy and a girl meet, fall in love over academic dorkiness, and a shared love for life. We (mostly I) are planning our semi-destination wedding in my hometown of San Diego. We are excited to bring our families and friends together from across our lifespans to celebrate our future in a grand 400+ person culturally blended affair!
As I mentioned in my last post, our rehearsal dinner could have very easily been a wedding reception! Maybe this explains why I was so gosh darn exhausted after having 3 DIY events in one weekend. We had 85 guests in attendance, including our wedding party, aunts, uncles, cousins, significant others, nieces, nephews, and out of town guests. I wore an awesome J.Crew Goddess Wedding Dress that was slightly altered.
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!
So I may have gone a little overboard, but I had some free time while watching college football and I really wanted a cool rehearsal bouquet for MOH Navy.
I started with a bag of ribbons saved from her showers, a Styrofoam ball, flower stakes, floral wire, a bouquet base found in the bridal aisle of Michaels, and a glue gun.
I glued the Styrofoam ball to the floral base and stuck the stakes in the bottom.
Mrs. Hot Wings, Chicago/San DiegoAge and Occupation: 28, ProfessorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, InstructorEngagement Date: December 20, 2008Wedding Date: August 2010Venue: Ocean View Villas/Jasmine Seafood RestaurantAbout Me: I am a psychology grad student living in Chicago and planning my wedding to a fellow psych grad student. I am a Sunny So-Cal bred gal who trudged across the country to follow her love of psychology and ended up finding a partner in the process. I am overly passionate about anything I involve myself with. I am an activist, a foodie, a reality TV watching junkie, an over-analyzer, a photography obsesser, and am utterly cheesy to the core. This is a story of what happens when a boy and a girl meet, fall in love over academic dorkiness, and a shared love for life. We (mostly I) are planning our semi-destination wedding in my hometown of San Diego. We are excited to bring our families and friends together from across our lifespans to celebrate our future in a grand 400+ person culturally blended affair!
Our rehearsal dinner had details that rivaled our wedding reception! It could have easily been our wedding reception had we wanted a backyard style Mexican cookout wedding. In fact, I highly recommend these vendors for such an event if you’re interested in having an affair like this. It was laid back and a total blast!
Mrs. Buttons, Clearwater, FLAge and Occupation: 24, "Working on it"Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Financial ServicesEngagement Date: June 13, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Carlouel Yacht ClubAbout Me: I'm a self proclaimed perfectionist and a professional nomad (seriously, I've lived in TX, WI, MI, FL, NC, and now VA!). I love wine, cooking, curling up with a good book (nerd alert!), spoiling the furbaby, and of course, the wonderful Mr. Buttons! We are planning a lighthearted and whimsical wedding (with a good deal of DIY projects) in Clearwater, Florida, but from a distance of 800 miles away! We are looking forward to sharing our day with our family and friends, and most importantly, starting our lives together as husband and wife!
After a lovely afternoon of sun and fun at our beach party, it was time to get pretty for our rehearsal dinner! I rushed to our hotel to jump in the shower and threw on my dress, and then it was time to head to the hotel lobby to start a caravan for our guests! Remember our rehearsal dinner nightmare? Our OOT bags/info featured directions on how to get to the restaurant. Well, since plans had changed, Mommy and Daddy Buttons organized a caravan for our friends and family to get to the NEW rehearsal dinner location. Thankfully, we all arrived in one piece!
Mrs. Scissors, LaGrange, GAAge and Occupation: 25, Photography & Graphic DesignFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Engineering Grad StudentEngagement Date: January 1, 2009Wedding Date: June 2010Venue: Ceremony - First United Methodist Church; Reception - My parents' house!About Me: I’m a six-foot-three bride with a fifty-foot personality! I love great art, fabulous design, intense color, tons of music, indie photography, watching movies on repeat, and being really awesome. This super-tall, Southern, loud, quirky, neurotic artist is marrying a German, quiet, silly, super-amazing roboticist in an eclectic, funky, fun, snazzy, technicolored June wedding. Anything is game for this shindig, for it is all about us! We’re bringing giant paper cranes, six-foot-tall portraits, fortune cookies, a photo booth, a club-circuit DJ, handcuffs, and possibly a kidnapping to this small Southern town. Watch out, y’all, and try to keep up!
After I was freed, we thought it would be a good time to hand out gifts and cards to our bridal party. Read more…
Mrs. Starfish, Boston/NewportAge and Occupation: 25, Operations AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, SalesEngagement Date: October 8, 2008Wedding Date: October 2010Venue: The Atlantic Beach ClubAbout Me: I'm a perfectionist who is a planner at heart. I don't do well with surprises. I love planning, crafting, Newport RI, family and friends, and most importantly, Mr. Starfish---all of which will be big components in our October wedding in our favorite little city by the sea.
One of the best things about being a crafter during wedding planning is having leftover supplies from past projects. I love making cards and if I see a really great sale at PaperSource, I’ll pick things up, even if I’m not sure what to do with it, because I know eventually I’ll get good use out of it.
Our rehearsal dinner invites were great proof of this. A while back, PaperSource had a huge sale on sparkly red rick rack cards. At the time I was dreaming of a lobster bake rehearsal dinner or using them for Christmas cards, so I bought them without a clear vision in mind.
Fast forward a year, and I needed rehearsal invitation materials fast. I turned to my paper drawer and had these waiting, along with leftover envelopes and 4-bar white paper. I decided to include some ribbon leftover from our OOT bags to jazz them up a bit.
Mrs. Buttons, Clearwater, FLAge and Occupation: 24, "Working on it"Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Financial ServicesEngagement Date: June 13, 2009Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Carlouel Yacht ClubAbout Me: I'm a self proclaimed perfectionist and a professional nomad (seriously, I've lived in TX, WI, MI, FL, NC, and now VA!). I love wine, cooking, curling up with a good book (nerd alert!), spoiling the furbaby, and of course, the wonderful Mr. Buttons! We are planning a lighthearted and whimsical wedding (with a good deal of DIY projects) in Clearwater, Florida, but from a distance of 800 miles away! We are looking forward to sharing our day with our family and friends, and most importantly, starting our lives together as husband and wife!
After a wonderful sunset bridal shower, the bridesmaids and I spent the rest of our evening catching up and cleaning up the beach house in preparation for the following afternoon. I was relaxed and having a great time. The clock ticked, and soon it was after 10PM. I logged on to my computer, and it instantly felt like a train had hit me when I pulled up my to-do list.
I hadn’t finished writing the vows!
I hadn’t made a CD with our ceremony music to play during our rehearsal!
I didn’t have a CD player or set of iPod speakers on which to PLAY the music!
AHHH! Weren’t these important details? HOW IN THE WORLD HAD I MANAGED TO FORGET ABOUT THIS!?!?
Mrs. Meerkat, Kalamazoo, MI/Riviera MayaAge and Occupation: 30, Application EngineerFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: July 26, 2008Wedding Date: December 2010Venue: Al Cielo / La LagunaAbout Me: I’m a tech-savvy tomboy with an affinity for hot tea and good sushi. Us Meerkats are just a couple fun lovin’ geeks from Michigan. We love anything having to do with movies, books, video games or technology and we hold a special place in our hearts for our two very spoiled shih-tzus, Wicket and Bravo. We also LOVE to travel. We love it so much it only took us 12 hours after we got engaged to decide to have a destination wedding. We are working our little Meerkat tails off planning a rustic-chic, travel themed destination wedding in the Riviera Maya with a semi-formal, vintage-turned-modern, outdoor at home reception back here in Michigan.
Since we are staying at an all-inclusive resort, our first inclination about the rehearsal dinner was just to have it at the resort. I mean, the price was right: free. But Mama-in-Law Meerkat had other ideas; she wanted to host it. We have done so little that is traditional that it didn’t seem right not to let her have this one thing.
She asked that we use our amazing Google-fu and help her research some possible locations. Her criteria was simple: quiet, good/authentic food, wow factor. The first place we considered was Blue Parrot in Playa Del Carmen:
