Miss Airplane, Plymouth, MichiganAge and Occupation: 26, Fundraising Project CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Food & Beverage ManagerEngagement Date: March 31, 2012Wedding Date: September 2013Venue: Fox Hills Golf Club & Banquet CenterAbout Me: I'm a true Michigander (born and raised) and a die-hard Wolverine. I am the definition of a multi-tasker and like to believe I am also a perfectionist, but my horrible short-term memory likes to prove otherwise. I'm an English major and a pretty punny girl, so get ready for some really horrible plays on words! When I'm not consumed with wedding planning, I enjoy copious amounts of television and an equally unhealthy addiction to bacon.
Dad and daughter relationships have always made me slightly emotional. Whether in a movie, a book, or heck, even a TV commercial, there is no doubt that I will get a little misty eyed. (Mrs. Armadillo’s recent post about her dad walking her down the aisle? Pass the tissues, stat!)
The worst emo attacks come from songs. I was super into country music growing up, and this one always got me.
Miss Airplane, Plymouth, MichiganAge and Occupation: 26, Fundraising Project CoordinatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Food & Beverage ManagerEngagement Date: March 31, 2012Wedding Date: September 2013Venue: Fox Hills Golf Club & Banquet CenterAbout Me: I'm a true Michigander (born and raised) and a die-hard Wolverine. I am the definition of a multi-tasker and like to believe I am also a perfectionist, but my horrible short-term memory likes to prove otherwise. I'm an English major and a pretty punny girl, so get ready for some really horrible plays on words! When I'm not consumed with wedding planning, I enjoy copious amounts of television and an equally unhealthy addiction to bacon.
I don’t know why, but I have always been a little wary of the clinking of the fork against the glass at a wedding to signal that the bride and groom should kiss. Maybe the concern is that the drunk people at our wedding will be a little too zealous with their clinking and break some glasses.
Oh, Leo, you’d never bust any glasses at my wedding. / Great Gatsby GIF
Or maybe it stems from my inexplicable fear of being sung “Happy Birthday” in a crowded restaurant (kind of similar, right?).
Miss Mongoose, New Haven, CTAge and Occupation: 28, Digital AdvertisingFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Business DevelopmentEngagement Date: November 19th, 2011Wedding Date: May 2013Venue: Hotel Nelligan in Montreal, CAAbout Me:
I was born and raised in Queens, NY (though you would never know due to my lack of a "real" New York accent) but currently live in Connecticut with my fiance. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a crazy obsession for planning and organizing things, so it comes as no surprise that I'm currently obsessed with planning our wedding. I love dancing, music, traveling, reading fiction novels, cooking, the color blue, cupcakes, all things space science-related and TV shows created by Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams. My fiance and I have been together for seven years and are so excited to finally get married next year. We are planning a peacock-themed destination wedding in Montreal, one of our favorite cities in the world, with 100 or so of our closest family and friends. While we may look very different on the outside, we have eerily similar personalities (probably due to the fact that we share the exact same birthday) and share very similar passions. But above all else, we love each other and love to have FUN!!!
To continue the discussion of wedding traditions, I forgot to mention that we are also definitely keepingall the dances (first dance, father/daughter, mother/son). As music lovers and dance machines, we wouldn’t skip these for the world.
The decision to skip the bridal shower was based solely on the fact that my bridesmaids are already going above and beyond for my wedding. Not only am I having a destination wedding in Montreal, but I’m also having a destination bachelorette-party weekend (next week!!) in Vegas (which was of course entirely optional for anyone to attend considering the costs). Because of this, there was just no way I could ask/allow them to throw me a bridal shower as well.
Miss Mongoose, New Haven, CTAge and Occupation: 28, Digital AdvertisingFiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Business DevelopmentEngagement Date: November 19th, 2011Wedding Date: May 2013Venue: Hotel Nelligan in Montreal, CAAbout Me:
I was born and raised in Queens, NY (though you would never know due to my lack of a "real" New York accent) but currently live in Connecticut with my fiance. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a crazy obsession for planning and organizing things, so it comes as no surprise that I'm currently obsessed with planning our wedding. I love dancing, music, traveling, reading fiction novels, cooking, the color blue, cupcakes, all things space science-related and TV shows created by Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams. My fiance and I have been together for seven years and are so excited to finally get married next year. We are planning a peacock-themed destination wedding in Montreal, one of our favorite cities in the world, with 100 or so of our closest family and friends. While we may look very different on the outside, we have eerily similar personalities (probably due to the fact that we share the exact same birthday) and share very similar passions. But above all else, we love each other and love to have FUN!!!
I’ve been thinking a lot about traditions lately and how they define weddings. You speak to some brides-to-be and there are just so many passionate feelings about certain traditional wedding aspects. One bride may say “A wedding isn’t a wedding if the bride and groom spend the night before together,” while another bride may say “We sleep together every night. What’s the point of sleeping apart the night before the wedding?”
I love that we currently live in a day and age where people have the option to do whatever the hell they want to do for their wedding. Whether it’s sticking to every traditional aspect to feel a connection to this experience that so many people have gone through over hundreds of years, shelving every single tradition to make the wedding entirely unique, or falling somewhere in between, the important thing here is that there are no longer set rules on what you can and cannot do.
I was curious to see where Mr. M and I fell within the “tradition” spectrum and, in making this list, I’m realizing that we fall somewhere in between, but a bit more toward the nontraditional side. I’ll start with what we’re keeping. (This will be a two-part post.)
To me, there is nothing more iconic of weddings than the white wedding dress. Also, I can’t think of another time in my life where I’ll be able to wear a stunning white gown, so this was a tradition I definitely didn’t want to skip. FYI, this is NOT my wedding dress above, but it is from the Pronovias line.
Mrs. Unicycle, Chicago, ILAge and Occupation: 23, Editor for a Web Publishing CompanyFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, MD/PhD StudentEngagement Date: March 26, 2011Wedding Date: June 2012Venue: Bridges of Poplar CreekAbout Me: I’m a writer by trade who likes analyzing pop culture, making fun of celebrities, and laughing until I cry. I’m the queen of half-assed crafts, and there’s nothing I won’t try to DIY. You can usually find me reading blogs on my laptop in front of a good Lifetime movie, wine in hand. I’m planning a polka-dotted summertime wedding to my physics geek college sweetheart, and when I’m not making stupid puns I’m freaking out about my wedding timeline.
We did the bouquet and garter tosses back-to-back, toward the end of the night. These tosses weren’t just accidental happenings—they were premeditated! I had written them into the schedule for the night (which was distributed to all wedding party VIPs and vendors), plus I crafted a garter and bought a mini bouquet specifically for the tosses. We even picked special songs to use. We were serious about the task of tossing.
Miss Jackrabbit, Brighton, UKAge and Occupation: 26, Office ManagerFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, SongwriterEngagement Date: October 5, 2012Wedding Date: September 2013Venue: Fabrica Gallery, BrightonAbout Me: I honestly thought I'd go all Monica Geller when I started planning our wedding, but in truth, things couldn't have gone much differently. I am working my way through this venture, figuring things out as I go, and adopting a 'Que Sera, Sera,' approach to making decisions. When I'm not organising the biggest day of my life, I can usually be found drinking a glass of wine, crafting up one thing or another, or stopping my cat from head-butting me in the face.
Ooooh that Miss Lemur! I swear, we’re like the same person sometimes. Proposals, bunting…always writing about things at the same time.
This post has been sat waiting patiently to be published, and when I logged on the other day I saw this post. One mind! One mind, I tell you! But never mind, I shall continue with my original post and you can all just forget you read that one last week, OK? Good.
So!
“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe.”
The saying is often known as the “four somethings,” and for some reason the last part is always missed out.
Still, I wanted to keep in line with the full tradition (and maybe encourage some wealth my way!) and tried to figure out a way to comfortably wear a sixpence in my left shoe. We all know how much I like my feet to be comfortable, so this could be tricky.
Mrs. Lemur, Greenville, South CarolinaAge and Occupation: 22, Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Security OfficerEngagement Date: October 9, 2012Wedding Date: May 2013Venue: Pleasant Ridge Camp & Retreat CenterAbout Me: I may fancy myself a doctor after too many episodes of House—but in reality I'm finally almost done with my degree in business administration (less than three months left!). My fiance and I met at school in undergrad hundreds of miles away from either of our hometowns and have been happily running and hiking together ever since. We're undertaking a long distance relationship as I finish school and we plan our casual wedding for a day after graduation—needless to say, it will be the busiest and most exciting weekend of our lives so far!
Hive, I hate the bouquet toss. At every wedding I’ve been to I have avoided it like the plague. As an introverted person, the idea of having everyone’s eyes on me while I hold a bouquet is terrifying. (Oh wait, that’s what it’s like to be a bride? Dang it.)
It actually got worse when I was dating/soon-to-be engaged. Then there was all this (self-perceived) pressure to catch the bouquet and then act cute and playful, like I was just waiting around for Mr. Lemur to pop the question. (We had talked about it. I knew when it was coming. It wasn’t then—and catching the bouquet had nothing to do with it!)
Mrs. Lemur, Greenville, South CarolinaAge and Occupation: 22, Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Security OfficerEngagement Date: October 9, 2012Wedding Date: May 2013Venue: Pleasant Ridge Camp & Retreat CenterAbout Me: I may fancy myself a doctor after too many episodes of House—but in reality I'm finally almost done with my degree in business administration (less than three months left!). My fiance and I met at school in undergrad hundreds of miles away from either of our hometowns and have been happily running and hiking together ever since. We're undertaking a long distance relationship as I finish school and we plan our casual wedding for a day after graduation—needless to say, it will be the busiest and most exciting weekend of our lives so far!
Most of the time brides just stick with the first four somethings: old, new, borrowed, and blue. A lot of our bee bloggers are doing this or have done this! Miss Armadillo talked about wearing her mother’s veil as her something borrowed. Mrs. Doe wore a borrowed blue garter for both her something borrowed and her something blue. Mrs. Cauldron wore her mother’s wedding ring and carried several charms with her on her wedding day for her something old (and borrowed!). The something new is usually the easiest—Mrs. Spaniel used her stunning dress and shoes.
Mrs. Otter, Indianapolis, INAge and Occupation: 22, Freelance Social Media ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, CVS Shift SupervisorEngagement Date: November 11, 2011Wedding Date: April 2013Venue: Mustard Seed GardensAbout Me: I'm a born and raised Hoosier girl, but a diehard Michigan Wolverines fan. I have a tendency to take too many photos and spend full days having TV marathons. Mr. Otter and I met in high school, started dating a couple years later, and moved in after a month of being official. He is easygoing and makes plans on a whim, while I'm color coordinating my planner and organizing everything in sight. He hates glitter, but it's my favorite thing. I have tattoos and he still won't get one, despite my attempts to convince him. We're planning a small, rustic, and (hopefully!) peony-filled wedding to get our married life started. (And yes, there will be glitter involved!)
Hive, for those of you lucky enough to never have encountered Indiana weather, let me explain—we can experience a different season every day. I mean that very literally. One day it’s snowing, the next is sunny and warm (but windy). That was last week, for anyone who was wondering.
The point is that we really have no idea what weather we’re going to get on our wedding day. While most records show it hasn’t rained in Indiana for 10-plus years, I’ve still got a rain plan, and I’ve still got ideas dependent on the weather.
One idea (as I’m sure you all guessed from my not-so-clever title) is the getaway. Our venue is PERFECT (in my obviously biased opinion) for a getaway because of the nice long path leading up to the barn doors. At the end of the path is the parking area, so assuming it’s planned out right, we can just have a car waiting there to go to the hotel.
If I was the only one making a getaway and had the cooperation of the weather, I would definitely want people throwing glitter at me. Upon consideration, I immediately shunned the idea despite the gorgeous photo I was able to find:
Mrs. Lemur, Greenville, South CarolinaAge and Occupation: 22, Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 22, Security OfficerEngagement Date: October 9, 2012Wedding Date: May 2013Venue: Pleasant Ridge Camp & Retreat CenterAbout Me: I may fancy myself a doctor after too many episodes of House—but in reality I'm finally almost done with my degree in business administration (less than three months left!). My fiance and I met at school in undergrad hundreds of miles away from either of our hometowns and have been happily running and hiking together ever since. We're undertaking a long distance relationship as I finish school and we plan our casual wedding for a day after graduation—needless to say, it will be the busiest and most exciting weekend of our lives so far!
Yes, this is a blatant rip-off of Miss Otter’s “The Stuff We’re Skipping” series. I was going to come up with a clever name, but…I’m not that clever. She wrote about choosing to forgo the programs, removing the garter, and the wedding website. I’m going to continue her awesome series and talk about two (or three) things that Mr. Lemur and I are skipping in our wedding.
I’m not sure how prevalent having a unity candle is in other cultures, but in the Protestant Christian culture it seems like every wedding has a unity candle. (I read somewhere that this is not true of Catholicism, but I don’t know much about that! If anyone wants to comment and clarify, I’d love to hear about it.)
I assumed this was a hallowed tradition, you know, one of those Things-You-Have-To-Do. I was never a huge fan of the unity candle—the practice seems strange to me and it causes awkward moments where the candle doesn’t light right away or it blows out.
I think the unity candle does make for some really sweet moments. It’s a symbol of support from the parents as their children get married and form their own families. Sometimes the lighting is accompanied by a song or reading by a friend or family member—this is special!
Miss Blue Whale, College Park, MDAge and Occupation: 27, Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: March 10, 2012Wedding Date: May 2013Venue: Southern Tree Plantation in Blairsville, GAAbout Me: I love bright colors, glitter, sugar, cheese, tiny animals, talking in silly accents, dancing, and all things music. I love to plan things, but when it comes time to execute the plans, I tend to panic. My friends tell me that I remind them of a mix between a cartoon character and a Disney Princess. Mr. Blue Whale and I are Southerners at heart, but we’ve been transplanted to the East Coast for school. We both love barbecues, star-gazing, bonfires, music, making up nonsense words, and generally being silly. Our wedding will be a fun-filled destination wedding in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It will most certainly feature bright colors, '80s music, and glitter.
I’m just going to come out and say it. Mr. Whale and I will be spending the night before our wedding together. But shhhh! Don’t tell our parents.
Some of you might be surprised to hear this, because you already know we’re not doing a first look. But our reasons for not doing a first look have nothing to do with tradition or bad luck. We just don’t want to see each other before the ceremony. But you know what we do want? A good night’s sleep before the wedding.
Mrs. Toadstool, Obregon, MexicoAge and Occupation: 23, Research AssistantFiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Sales ManagerEngagement Date: October 1, 2011Wedding Date: December 2012Venue: Hacienda los AgavesAbout Me: I’m a born and bred Mexican girl with a severe coffee addiction, an obsession for books and an aversion for exercise. I like to plan things, so this wedding’s my dream project---I just need to remind myself from time to time that I’m the bride and not just the planner. I recently realized brown’s my favorite color as I was trying to incorporate it in every aspect of our wedding and I'm dreaming of an autumn vibe since we don’t have that around here. I’m marrying my best friend and partner in crime on the day of our nine-year anniversary! He’s an awesome, smart, fun guy who is patient, and crazy enough to spend the rest of his life with me. We’re planning our not-so-dreamy dream wedding in December in a non-traditional way and making it our own.
I always knew I would walk down the aisle with my dad on my wedding day.
I know there are a lot of mixed feelings concerning the concept of being “given away.” I didn’t look at it that way; I thought about it as him walking there beside me, just as he has done my entire life. But being honest, to some extent, it felt like he was giving me away.
I’ve never been a daddy’s girl; my dad and I are too much alike to have that close relationship, but he’s been a great support in my life and to some extent it feels like I’ve always been under his wing, for better or worse. So this felt like the last straw of him coming to terms with the fact that I am leaving home, I am all grown up now, I am in a serious relationship with a great man, and I’ll be living with him now (eek!).
There was only one small flaw in my “walk down the aisle with my dad” plan. He had no idea it was happening.
This is the only pic I could find with my dad, and I had to crop out my sister…true story.
Miss Panda, Boston, MAAge and Occupation: 26, Graduate StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Graduate StudentEngagement Date: June 27, 2011Wedding Date: June 2013About Me: I love window shopping, cute animals, crafting, baking, and most forms of procrastination. I tend to be overly meticulous with choices to a point of complete and total indecision. Mr. PBear and I met and live in the amazing city of Boston. We are big nerds who love trying new foods, playing video games, and cuddling with our adorable hamster. After 5 years together, we are planning an intimate, DIY-heavy, vintage garden themed, nonreligious wedding in the city where we fell in love.
I realize that I’m an oddball sometimes, so here’s another one of those times.
I hate, hate, hate the tradition of being walked down the aisle and being given away. Seriously, the idea of being walked down the aisle by someone freaks me out and makes me incredibly uncomfortable.
From the first time I imagined my own wedding (and let’s be honest, I was probably like four), I have always wanted to walk myself down the aisle. I’m not even completely sure why, but I’ve always have felt this way.
She looks so radiant walking down the aisle by herself.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents and this really isn’t about them. And maybe that’s what so weird about this. Looking for information about this online brings up many people who want to walk themselves because they have non-existent relationships with their fathers or their father has passed on, and it seems perfectly okay in that case. But I don’t seem to find many stories about people who choose to walk down the aisle by themselves for other reasons.
Mrs. Treasure, ChicagoAge and Occupation: 24, Law StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Equity AnalystEngagement Date: July 30, 2011Wedding Date: September 2012Venue: Saint James Chapel at Quigley Prep/Murphy AuditoriumAbout Me: I was born and raised in Indiana, but now live in sweet home Chicago. I'm a third-year law student and aspiring trial lawyer, which means Mr. T never wins an argument. Other than Mr. T, I love singing, exploring the Chicago restaurant scene, and Notre Dame football. We met in a musical (just like my parents!) and after 4 years together, we are excited to be planning our urban "destination" wedding.
You all know the saying: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.
These are the things that every bride is supposed to have with her on her wedding day. I’ve always loved this little tradition, and was happy to fulfill it (and go above and beyond, really) on my wedding day. Here are my “somethings.”
Something old: I wore a brooch on my dress from the 1940s. I hope that someday, I can pass it down to my daughter or daughter-in-law to wear on her wedding day.
Something new: I had lots of new things. My dress, bolero, veil, necklace, shoes, and wedding ring were all new, but I guess if I had to pick just one thing, it’d have to be my dress.
Mrs. Otter, Indianapolis, INAge and Occupation: 22, Freelance Social Media ConsultantFiance's Age and Occupation: 23, CVS Shift SupervisorEngagement Date: November 11, 2011Wedding Date: April 2013Venue: Mustard Seed GardensAbout Me: I'm a born and raised Hoosier girl, but a diehard Michigan Wolverines fan. I have a tendency to take too many photos and spend full days having TV marathons. Mr. Otter and I met in high school, started dating a couple years later, and moved in after a month of being official. He is easygoing and makes plans on a whim, while I'm color coordinating my planner and organizing everything in sight. He hates glitter, but it's my favorite thing. I have tattoos and he still won't get one, despite my attempts to convince him. We're planning a small, rustic, and (hopefully!) peony-filled wedding to get our married life started. (And yes, there will be glitter involved!)
OK, you guys. I’m all about traditions—I love them. I love making new ones and having old ones that I can rely on. I love seeing all the different traditions people choose to incorporate into their weddings. But from day one, there was one tradition I knew I would be modifying—the garter toss.
