Mrs. Lox, BaltimoreAge and Occupation: 33, Government WorkerFiance's Age and Occupation: 35. IT ConsultantEngagement Date: May 8, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Vandiver InnAbout Me: I’m an East Coast gal born and bred and a suburban brat turned city rat for the last year. Now Mr. Lox and I enjoy walking all kinds of places, having the coolest things around in our backyard, and especially our garage parking. I love gadgets, toys, Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, monkeys, and our insane cats. I’m a blonde by birth and a redhead by choice. I’m that girl in the cubicle farm with all the cool toys and the file cabinet covered in magnetic poetry. I still use smiley faces in my emails, whether people like it or not. This is not the first rodeo for Mr. Lox nor me. And together, we are planning an intimate afternoon wedding on a budget we can afford by ourselves.
Mrs. Tartlet, Rochester, MIAge and Occupation: Age & Occupation: 27, Post-Doctoral Research FellowFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Medical StudentEngagement Date: May 2, 2009Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: The Royal Park HotelAbout Me: I'm an exuberant gal from the Midwest with a penchant for Neuroscience and anything sparkly. I'm not afraid to poke fun at myself, and I'm a believer that given the right pair of shoes, a girl can conquer the world. While an interest in the sciences threw Mr. Tartlet and me together (again, and again, until it finally stuck), we share a love for many things---food, video games, car dancing, food, bad puns, travel, did I mention food?---that ultimately led us to where we are now, less than five months from becoming Mr. and Mrs. We're planning a laid-back, romantic, garden-inspired affair with organic and quirky touches that reflect our love for the unexpected!
In the beginning, I had no intention of wearing a veil. My sister didn’t wear a veil at her wedding; therefore, I didn’t need to wear a veil. Much to Mama Tartlet’s chagrin, that about summed up my fool-proof logic. That is, until I went dress shopping and the bridal consultant slyly tucked that magical piece of fabric in my hair. I did a complete 180 and went from giving veils a cursory glance to drooling over the options. And, oh! To have photos like these:
Miss Oatmeal, Fresno, CAAge and Occupation: 25, Medical Device Sales RepresentativeFiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Police Officer/Captain in the US ArmyEngagement Date: February 16, 2010Wedding Date: May 2011Venue: Private Residence, FresnoAbout Me: I am a toast-loving, list-making, occasionally crazy California girl getting dangerously close to marrying her crime-fighting, patient, man's man fiancé. I’ve never left our hometown of Clovis, CA, I love Anthropologie so much it almost hurts, appreciate promptness, love that our 4lb. Chihuahua, Murphy, smells like Fritos, am irritated by windshield wipers that move too fast for the amount of rain, love me some cold weather, have an unhealthy obsession with boots, and wholeheartedly think that my family is everything. Mr. Oatmeal is, oddly enough, my brother's best friend. He's also the best thing that's ever happened to me, and together we are planning a vintage chic, backyard, spring wedding with a few nontraditional touches while trying to keep up with our crazy lives.
I was thinking about something the other day when Mama Oatmeal and I were watching Four Weddings on TLC. A bride started crying while saying her vows. That’s not uncommon, but for some reason this was the first time I actually gave some thought to what a problem this is going to be for me.
Mrs. Jaguar, SydneyAge and Occupation: 27, Primary School TeacherFiance's Age and Occupation: 29, IT ConsultantEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: June 2011Venue: Curzon HallAbout Me: I'm an Australian girl who is a self-proclaimed nerd, loves all things stationery and would be lost without books, music and the internet. Mr. Jaguar and I have been together for the past eight years and he finally popped the question last August. Hurrah! We currently live in Sydney, Australia with our adorable cat who thinks he's a person. We're a couple who likes to multi-task: we've been planning a wedding abroad, a permanent move from London to Sydney, and preparing to build our own home all at the same time. Travelling makes me giddy...as does Mr. Jaguar, of course!
Was anyone else unpleasantly surprised to find out how much bridal stores will try to charge you for accessories like shoes and veils? I knew they would be marked up, but I didn’t realise quite how much, and how extensively. When I bought my dress in Canada they offered to sell me the veil I tried on along with it, but I was already wayyyy over budget thanks to the lace bolero I’d splurged on too. I figured that was something I could easily pick up after doing some shopping back in Sydney, and that it might actually work out cheaper to wait and see what the price range was like.
Ha! HA. HAHAHAHAHA.
Yep, bridal store to bridal store in whatever country you’re visiting, veils are expensive.
Ms. Cheetah, Los Angeles/Palm Springs
Age and Occupation: 31, Artist, EducatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, TV FinanceEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The ViceroyAbout Me: I’m a silly, sassy lady with a compulsion to create. I love to sing and dance, despite the fact that I lack any talent doing either. I somehow manage to be messy and organized at the same time. I like to spend my days road tripping, watching '80s movies, reading true crime books, buying things on sale, sending postcards, playing board games, dining at food trucks, snuggling, and drinking ginger ale. I have a weak spot for all things sweet, especially Mr. Cheetah! I’m a Chicago girl and he’s a Nor Cal boy but we love living in the City of Angels. After 10 years as a couple we are planning a fun-filled semi-destination wedding in Palm Springs. Hope you enjoy the ride!
Ms. Cheetah, Los Angeles/Palm Springs
Age and Occupation: 31, Artist, EducatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, TV FinanceEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The ViceroyAbout Me: I’m a silly, sassy lady with a compulsion to create. I love to sing and dance, despite the fact that I lack any talent doing either. I somehow manage to be messy and organized at the same time. I like to spend my days road tripping, watching '80s movies, reading true crime books, buying things on sale, sending postcards, playing board games, dining at food trucks, snuggling, and drinking ginger ale. I have a weak spot for all things sweet, especially Mr. Cheetah! I’m a Chicago girl and he’s a Nor Cal boy but we love living in the City of Angels. After 10 years as a couple we are planning a fun-filled semi-destination wedding in Palm Springs. Hope you enjoy the ride!
Mrs. Dolphin, Gainesville, FLAge and Occupation: 24, Graduate Architecture StudentFiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Interactive Interface DeveloperEngagement Date: February 14, 2008Wedding Date: May 2010Venue: Plantation Bay Country ClubAbout Me: I’m currently a Graduate Student at the University of Florida studying Architecture. I enjoy playing Scrabble with my Fiance, rooting for the Florida Gators, making any drink that involves a blender, cleaning (yes... I’m crazy), design... GOOD design that is, the new Pepsi with natural sugar, taking pictures, discovering new places in the U.S., and obsessing over doing (and designing) everything myself for our upcoming wedding!
Hello sweet hive! Here is my favorite post I’ve ever written. It isn’t my favorite necessarily for the content, but for the response I’ve received from the post. When I bought white lace for my veil, I knew I would have to dye it ivory to match my wedding dress. I searched high and low for a step-by-step guide on tea dying (I was scared out of my mind and needed ridiculous specific steps to feel more confident). When the internet didn’t turn anything back, I decided to jump in, heels first, and write my own DIY.
Since writing this article I’ve received so many emails and comments from brides/mothers who used my guide and found success. I even had a cousin contact me after she found my article on Weddingbee and I got to see her perfectly ivory veil in action at her wedding last month.
You can see my finished ivory veil in action here. Enjoy!
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Okay… so I searched all over Gainesville for someone to professionally dye my beautiful white lace to ivory (so it would match my dress). Can you believe that there is no place in Gainesville where you can get this done? Unbelievable!
But, there’s a ray of hope. One seamstress I asked mentioned tea-dying my lace. I had heard of this before but was slighting skeptical as to whether I could successfully do this myself. Searching the internet, I only found a handful of ’how-tos’ and no one really went into detail. They just skimmed over what they did to show you their beautifully dyed ivory lace. But, I’m a girl who needs directions. I ain’t gonna mess up my nice lace…
For all the other brides out there like me, who need some directions, here is, step-by-step, of how I got to the perfect shade of ivory for my beautiful Alencon lace for my veil:
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.
Etsy. We all love Etsy, don’t we? I know I, for one, can spend hours browsing Etsy every day. I did that before getting engaged, and now we have a wedding to plan, browsing Etsy might as well be my second job. It’s so easy to be pulled in to looking at gorgeous things you didn’t know you needed, that it can easily paralyze an indecisive bride. And, it can make the decisive ones start to wibble about decisions.
I can definitely be indecisive, I’m the first to admit it. It doesn’t matter when I’m just browsing willy-nilly, but now that I’m actually trying to buy things for the wedding it makes things very hard. I came up with a strategy that is super-simple, but helps me stay on track and not get distracted by the pretties. It’s not just for Etsy either—it really helps with narrowing down choices, if not making the final decision.
All you have to do is grab a Post-It, a piece of paper from the recycling bin, or open up a blank Word document. Write down what you’re deciding on. Now write down things that it needs to be—things you will not budge on. Now, when you get 20,000 items found for “wedding photographer [your city],” you can start going through and eliminating ones that don’t match your list. Our photographer list was:
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 am incredibly indecisive, I had a really hard time deciding what kind of headpiece I’d wear. I know that I’m not interested in wearing a traditional veil, but other than that, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted.
Enter Etsy. I’ve said it before: I’m an addict. The only problem with Etsy is that you can’t try anything on before you buy. And so I had to make a few purchases before getting it right.
The first was this beautiful feather fascinator from seller fatalefemme:
Quirky. Stunning. Chic. Unfortunately, it just didn’t look right on my head. Maybe if I had a short, chic hairdo like the model, I could’ve rocked it, but for now, it was back to the drawing board.
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.
I talked about wanting a side pony (see my vision here), but there’s the issue of the veil, and well, I kind of want a flower, too. That’s way too much going on my head, I know, but I’ve always loved wearing a flower in my hair!
Isn’t it the perfect subtle touch for a garden wedding, too? I know I’ve got to narrow that down all these wants and go with something practical, but what if i did it all?
This bride totally pulled it off (see the veil and flower):
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.
I was never a huge fan of veils. Not at first, anyway.
I knew I’d be wearing one, though. Granny’s wishes. We’re really close and I’d do anything for the woman, including wearing a veil and a blusher on my wedding day.
It was one of those things I figured I’d warm up to and I definitely have. With each dress, I put on a veil knowing I’d have to eventually buy and wear one, all the while not giving the type of veil any thought at all.
I never even knew there were so many to choose from!
Mrs. Ostrich, San Francisco/HawaiiAge and Occupation: 30, Fashion Buyer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 38, CopywriterEngagement Date: October 4, 2009Wedding Date: April 2011Venue: Sweet ceremony by the sea and sunset celebration on the North Shore of HawaiiAbout Me: Born in the city of angels and residing in the city by the bay, I’m a fearless fashion buyer by day, a passionate blog author by night and a dreamy bride-to-be in between. I thank my lucky stars to live in such a stunning city that gives me gifts like organic honey lavender ice cream, movie nights in the park, tucked away beaches, legendary record stores, '80s dance parties, awesome sports teams, stellar flea markets, and vintage bookshops. Oh, and I love to dance! We always find every excuse to escape to the beach, and decided a little seaside wedding in Hawaii is our idea of bliss. Full of our favorite people, music, food and sparkly lights, this is one sunset celebration we will always remember.
Ever since I was a little girl, I have adored you. The sheer, airy tulle fabric. The edges of lace. Long, short and everything in between - you have always been one of my favorite things.
I fell head over heels with you in Jen Aniston’s marvelous wedding…
Ms. Cheetah, Los Angeles/Palm Springs
Age and Occupation: 31, Artist, EducatorFiance's Age and Occupation: 32, TV FinanceEngagement Date: April 2010Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: The ViceroyAbout Me: I’m a silly, sassy lady with a compulsion to create. I love to sing and dance, despite the fact that I lack any talent doing either. I somehow manage to be messy and organized at the same time. I like to spend my days road tripping, watching '80s movies, reading true crime books, buying things on sale, sending postcards, playing board games, dining at food trucks, snuggling, and drinking ginger ale. I have a weak spot for all things sweet, especially Mr. Cheetah! I’m a Chicago girl and he’s a Nor Cal boy but we love living in the City of Angels. After 10 years as a couple we are planning a fun-filled semi-destination wedding in Palm Springs. Hope you enjoy the ride!
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.
The great veil debate has finally ended in the Meerkat household. The debate onlylasted six months. It seems like a long time to decide on something so simple, but when tradition is involved, things get a bit more complicated.
Back when we first got engaged, Mama-In-Law Meerkat offered to let me wear the veil that had belonged to both her and her mother. Including myself, that would make three generations of the Meerkat family who would have worn it. I was pretty well set on wearing it until I started thinking about hairstyles. I knew right away the kind of style I wanted:
Mrs. Hippo, New York City/Dallas, TXAge and Occupation: 34, Event Planner for a Non-Profit Fiance's Age and Occupation: 35, Finance ITEngagement Date: August 8, 2009Wedding Date: March 2011Venue: Samuel Lynne Galleries and Marc EventsAbout Me: I’m a thirty-something bride living in New York City and planning a modern-ish wedding in Dallas, Texas. I love trashy reality television (Jersey Shore, anyone?), online shopping, Sunday brunch, Central Park, and random celebrity spottings on the streets of Manhattan. While I love NYC, I miss good Tex-Mex, my college friends, central A/C, and being in close proximity to a Target. I’m thrilled to finally be planning an event that’s not work-related and to be marrying my best friend in what I hope will be a unique and personal ceremony followed by a reception with plenty of good food, good drinks, and dancing (regardless if it’s good or not).
While my plan is to do my own makeup for the wedding, I will need someone do my hair. I know my limitations, and my hair is definitely one of them. Seriously. I can look passable for work or a night on the town, but for our wedding, not so much. It’s time to call in the professionals.
I’ve been growing my hair out since we got engaged, so I feel like it’s only appropriate to do an up-do. Not to mention that it would be a treat for me to see my hair pulled up in something other than a haphazardly tied hair rubber band. Here are the inspiration photos I plan to take to my hair trial:
