Weddingbee Blog

One of my favorite new wedding trends: overhead decorations. There is something whimsical and celebratory about Chinese lanterns, chandeliers, fabric, or even umbrellas creating a new ceiling for a wedding venue.

I’m not sure I can pull anything like this off at our wedding, but I sure am going to try!

These simple, colorful paper lanterns take this venue from a party to a unique wedding reception.

Image via Real Simple / Photo by Debra McClinton

I love this unique idea from Duet Weddings. They stripped the traditional wedding tent so that the guests could experience the trees overhead, but still used the tent structure to hang draped curtains and beautiful rustic chandeliers.

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I have a confession…I love flowers at weddings. I love that they add a scent (our strongest sensory memory, by the way!) and color to the decor palate. I know that they only last a few days and they tend to be expensive, but I can’t help it. I think they are beautiful.

On the other hand, there are some non-floral centerpieces out there that I think are incredibly creative and chic. Some of these options are so romantic and beautiful they just might be enough to sway me in the “non- floral” direction.

This first one is all about setting a mood. It’s simple but still creates a unique touch with all the romantic candlelight.

Photo by Bliss Photography / designed by NLC Productions and La Fete / Image via Style Me Pretty

The second is all about texture. This idea uses a stump and tapered candles wrapped in a variety of twine to create interest in a natural looking centerpiece (that isn’t made of flowers)!

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After I’d been engaged for a total of three days, stress and tears had already happened. I’m hoping that was the last of the stress and tears I’ll see for a long time. Don’t worry—I’m pretty sure I’m not turning into a Bridezilla. I think I cried for a legitimate reason (oh, is that what they all say?). See, the thing is, Mr. Opossum and I really want to get married soon. I know that most people are content with a year (or more!) long engagement, but hey, we aren’t most people. We’ve been dating for seven years, have never been more sure of anything, and are ready to get this show on the road!

And besides all of those reasons (which I think are enough), we’re “old fashioned,” so in order for us to start officially sharing a home we want to be officially tied to each other as husband and wife. I plan on starting grad school in the fall, and the most economical and logical way to do it is to bring Mr. Opossum, as my hubby, with me.

Since we got engaged in the middle of fall, that left us with three seasons to chose from. First, winter, which was so soon that it would have been practically impossible. Even I, armed with my huge portfolio of wedding ideas, couldn’t pull that off in time. So that left us with spring and summer. I’m sure everyone knows this, but Florida is blistering hot in the summer. Mr. Opossum was in his brother’s wedding in July and made me promise he would never have to wear a tux in July again. So July was out. Another Florida summer weather phenomenon is rain (and lots of it!). The weather being so unpredictable is something I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with. My best friend got married this past summer and it rained…and she totally kept her cool (you can’t even tell in her gorgeous pictures), but I do not have her composure or patience.

See? No rain here!

Photo by Woodland Fields Photography

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Mr. Opossum proposed on a typical Sunday. I hadn’t showered yet (we were planning on going to the gym later that afternoon), and I had been begging him to take me to get some frozen yogurt. We stopped at the ATM (because Mr. Opossum needed cash for a “surprise”) and headed over to get frozen yogurt.

While I was getting out of the car Mr. Opossum was messing with something in the back seat. I asked him what he was doing, and he said he was fixing a bag of clothes that had tipped over. He was taking too long for my taste, so I told him I was going inside because I needed my yogurt… Little did I know that he was trying to get my ring out of a bag and two boxes and into his pocket without me noticing.

After we ate our frozen yogurt we headed off on our drive. He had a completely different destination in mind (he was planning on proposing to me at this awesome historic plantation in neighboring Thomasville), but I asked him to take me into this little gated neighborhood out in the boondocks. After an unsuccessful first try at sneaking through the gate, we followed a truck into the neighborhood and drove around looking for houses (a favorite pastime of ours) until we found a sign that said “Lake House.”

We followed a little gravel road down to this pretty little spot by the lake. There is this cute little building sitting in the center surrounded by tons of trees and a really great view of the water.

Personal photo

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I can’t believe I am saying hello to THE hive right now. I opened the email inviting me to become a bee in the middle of a really tough day at my job as an after-school teacher…needless to say I squealed, jumped up and down (terrifying the kids that were sitting in my office), and totally finished my day off grinning from ear to ear. I had to let the shock wear off a little bit before I could sit down and write this post. Needless to say, it still hasn’t totally set in just yet!

I’ve been poking around on Weddingbee for years, long before there was an engagement ring in sight. What can I say? The hive is a pretty incredible place! I am so humbled to bee (sorry, it’s obligatory!) blogging among such an intelligent, creative, beautiful, and inspiring group of women.

So who are the Opossums? We’re ridiculously fun Floridians who have been dating since we were 16 years old…Mr. Opossum is the one thing I took with me from my high school biology class. Our last names just so happen to be close to each other in the alphabet, which meant we were forced to sit next to each other. He immediately started making goofy jokes, so of course I developed a girly little crush…one that has lasted for seven whole years! We’ve survived three high school proms, four years of long-distance commuting while in college, and four months on different continents while I was studying abroad in Italy. We’re finally back in one place and could not be more ready or excited to tie the knot!

I’m working toward becoming an interior architect, which means I’m putting together a design portfolio and applying to grad school while planning this wedding. I love being creative in pretty much every aspect of my life, so planning this wedding is just another great opportunity for me to flex my design muscle! I really enjoy traveling, trying new foods, running, hanging out with kids at my job, and forcing Mr. Opossum to take me on long drives.

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Here are some pictures from our first dance as a married couple. It took us a while to find our song, but eventually we found the perfect song for us: ABBA’s “Take a Chance on Me”. It was wonderfully upbeat and it made all of our guests laugh, so it was our perfect song.

We took two dance lessons, which were totally fun. If you can talk your fiance into doing it, I promise you won’t regret it. I only wish I could have practiced in my dress. These smiley pictures are totally lying to you guys, because I was so nervous.

Mr. Coconut was awesome and didn’t step on my dress once!
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This post is slightly painful because it’s a reminder that the sun went away for a moment during our portrait session. Ever the prepared bride, I had set aside plenty of time to get portraits. Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn’t agree with me, because it rained for a few moments, causing the sky to grow black. Our photographer, bless his heart, had to pull out the dreaded flash for some of the pictures.

I’ve tried my best to boost some of the images in Photoshop, but I’m clearly no expert. Forgive my mistakes.

(All images by Jason Angelini.)

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I’m going a little out of order here, because we took portraits and group shots before the ceremony, but I really wanted to share this first!

(All images by Jason Angelini.)

Here’s a shot of the chair signs I made for the immediate family.

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Here are some pictures of our “first sight” moment. Pardon my lack of captions, I just wanted to get these up quickly, but I think the pictures are self explanatory.

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The morning of the wedding was in a word, awesome. I was surrounded by the coolest women. My sister was my rock. My best friend, Ashley was my whip. The other girls were just marvelous, too. I could not have envisioned a better start to my first day of marriage. Makeup and hair started early and on time. I had pre- loaded my iPod with some chill tunes and brought my sound dock for around the clock music: Bob Marley, The Beatles, Jack Johnson, The Decemberists. It definitely set the tone for the morning. The best morning.

(All professional pictures taken by Jason Angelini. There are some non-pro pictures sprinkled in here as well.)

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Originally I was going to split up the honeymoon into three parts, but I’ve decided to combine the last two hotels into one. That way we can get to the wedding recaps that much sooner! Woo hoo!

After a week in Playa Hermosa, we traveled four hours southwest to Nosara. Nosara is predominantly owned by North American hippie surfers, so there was a very relaxed vibe there. We stayed at the Harmony Hotel, which was my favorite hotel of the three.

Here’s the entrance, it was very chic and natural at the same time.

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Hello to the Hive! Sorry, I’ve been so absent lately. I hate to admit it, but things have been moving slowly for me lately. I haven’t had the desire to blog; I know it’s shameful to admit, but true. It wasn’t until Sunday night that I started to feel that urge to share with my dear friends again! I had read about the rumors, the post-wedding blues, and thought I would never fall victim to something that crazy. I suppose that the wedding filled up such a huge part of my life, that now I find all the free time to be… stifling.

However, I see the light at the end of the tunnel now. The fog is starting to lift and I’m feeling energetic and extremely elated to be a newlywed. A few nights ago, Mr. Coconut and I went to Starbucks and played Scrabble. Later we watched Love Actually with a bottle of red and devoured a fruit & cheese basket my cousin had sent to us. Marriage is bliss.

Okay, on to the honeymoon recaps so that we can get to the good stuff (WEDDING RECAPS)!
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Well, like Mrs. Cherry Pie, I went ahead and did it. Oh yes, that’s right. I joined the Post Bride Hair Chopping Club! I’ve always planned to cut my hair after the wedding, not because I hated my long hair but because it was just time. Now, it takes only 10 minutes to complete my new do for work, and I’m looking mighty professional, to boot!

Here’s the before picture, pardon the quality of my crackberry.

I was able to donate a full 10 inches of hair to Locks of Love. Feel free to jump on this bandwagon, too!

Here’s a crappy after photo (again, pardon the crackberry) of my new professional look (Exhibit #1):
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I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving weekend! I’m starting to feel normal again after all the wedding hoopla, and I’m ready to blog! First up, some after pictures of our tiny apartment. (We’ve actually started discussing renting a larger place, so this may have all been for naught. Oh well, ya gotta roll wit’ da punches.)

Before:

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