Facebook and Online Social Awkwardness

How is it possible that planning a wedding, just one day out of your whole life, can present so many of the most awkward moments you'll ever experience? You know what I'm talking about... moments like:

"I'm so excited about coming to your wedding!" (Umm... what makes you think you're invited?)


or


"You're just going to love my new boyfriend. He'll be at the wedding!" (And he's definitely not invited...)


or worst of all...


"I am going to be a bridesmaid, right?"

*Crickets chirping*

And as if there isn't enough social awkwardness in the world already, this technological world that we live in now, filled with inventions like Facebook and Twitter, manages to introduce a whole new level of awkwardness!

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I feel like Facebook is such an unchartered area as far as etiquette is concerned.  It has never been so easy to know everything about a person's life without even having a conversation with them.  How many of you have seen someone's wedding date on the stalker feed and made sure to check back later to browse through all their wedding photos, all without them knowing that you're even aware they've gotten married? I'm totally guilty of this. Please say you've done this, or something like this before, so I don't look like a total weirdo. 

Anyway, as much as I like to utilize Facebook to see what other people are up to, I'm a pretty private person myself. I have a Facebook to keep in touch with friends, but I rarely include personal information on it. I've actually never even updated my status! When it comes to the wedding, my parents always taught me that it is rude to talk about an event that someone is not invited to in front of them, especially if they know other people who are invited, or have a reason to believe that they might be invited. (Obviously if someone asks me a question about the wedding, I'll answer. I can't just ignore them. But I do try my best to avoid it!)  What drives me crazy about Facebook is that I can't stop other people from writing about my wedding on my wall or posting pictures from wedding-related events for all to see.  And if I tell them to stop, it makes me look like a killjoy.

Also, have you noticed how people manage to come out of the woodwork once you get a Facebook?

Photo Souce: Someecards

Seriously! People who I haven't talked to in years send me a friend request, and then act like they're coming to the wedding! And I've also noticed that people are a lot gutsier online than in person. I've received so many awkward comments along the lines of, "Saw you're getting married! I better get an invitation!" I feel like most people would never say this if they saw me in person!

Anyway, I hate hurting people's feelings. I know it's inevitable, but I'd love to avoid it. I've even considered deleting my Facebook for a while, until the wedding has passed... or maybe posting a note along with our first wedding photo: "Friends and family: We are so excited to announce that we are now husband and wife. We chose to have a small, out of town wedding, and were unable to include everyone. Thanks for your understanding!"  <-- How awkward is that though? I guess my main hope is that we don't lose any friends due to the wedding.

Photo Souce: Someecards

So what are your opinions on Facebook wedding etiquette? Have you put your wedding out there, or do you tend to keep it more private? (I totally understand, and even expect some of you to respectfully disagree with me.) Have you experienced any awkward moments in your wedding planning? Please share! As weird as it is in the moment, awkwardness can be strangely entertaining when retold! :)

Look! I'm being decisive!

I'm generally a pretty indecisive person.  I tend to overanalyze everything.  A crucial part of my decision-making process is consulting others about their opinions. It really helps me to see different perspectives and weigh out the positives and negatives.  I've come to you quite a few times now asking for your advice and opinions regarding different elements of our wedding. So many of you have been so friendly and helpful to me in my moments of indecision. I have felt so surprised and flattered by the way that you, people whom I've never even met before, seem to genuinely care about my wedding.  Seriously, I'm starting to feel like some of you are my real life friends! :)

Looking back over my posts, I noticed that I've left you hanging a few times.  So for those of you who are following my wedding planning journey and are curious as to what I've ended up deciding after some of my posts, this one is for you!

1. Almost a month ago now (time flies!), I wrote about the pants we bought for our groomsmen/"Ninja turtles," and asked whether you thought we should have them buy the matching jackets or just wear the pants with a shirt and tie. You guys brought up some great points on both sides. Well... we decided to get the jackets, and I am so thrilled that we did! And we ended up getting the normally $325.00 jackets during an Easter sale at the Banana Republic Outlet for just $123.00 a piece! All of the guys love their suits and seem happy to have the option of wearing the jacket or taking it off after the ceremony. Plus, getting our wedding party's outfits all figured out was such a huge relief to me and Mr. Turtle!

^ Brother Turtle/Groomsman Raphael in his suit next to our bridesmaid's dress (Watters #4826)

2. I also wrote about my desire for a draped tent frame structure to house our reception. I had a vision, but no idea of where to begin. Well, I am happy to report that thanks to a recommendation from our florist, I discovered Julie, the goddess of draping who is going to make all my flowy white tent dreams come true! I presented her with all of the inspiration pictures I'd collected and we decided to recreate this photo with a sheer white chiffon:

Photo Source: A Boxed Event

I am so excited to see how this turns out!

3. And finally, we made our table linens decision! I showed you a few of my options, remember? Well for some reason, this decision ended up being the one I've struggled with the most so far. I think it's because I realized that linens, something I had previously thought of as a pretty insignificant detail, actually have the power to totally set the tone of the reception. After staring at swatches with my mom for weeks on end, we decided on a light pink lamour with silver dupioni runners. Since we're going with the silver chairs, I guess it will kind of look like this picture.  Picture long banquet tables outside with silver runners on them though though! I'm no linens expert, but I like this choice and am just feeling relieved to have our last "big" decision made.

Photo Source: Style Me Pretty

Thanks again to all of you who shared your input on these issues. Your encouraging comments always make my day!

So what is your decision-making process? Do you tend to benefit from hearing other people's opinions or do you keep your dilemmas to yourself?

Invitations Are Here!!!

Our invitations arrived on Wednesday, and I am just giddy with excitement! Our mailman probably thought I was crazy, considering how fast I grabbed the box out of his hands and closed the door on him.

I know I haven't shared much about our invitations yet... but I love them so much that once I get started, I'm sure you'll be begging me to stop.  For now I'll just say, I designed them myself and had them letterpress printed by Kristin at Twin Ravens Press.  (Twin Ravens Press also printed invitations for Mrs. Cherry Pie, Mrs. Coconut, Mrs. Bear Cub, and Mrs. Ramen.) They turned out even better than I'd imagined, with double thick Crane Lettra paper, delicious indentations of my most favorite fonts, and pink envelopes of course! I will slowly reveal them to you over the next couple weeks as I've only begun the little touches I'm planning to add!

Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! How are your invitations going? Are you designing them yourself, or turning to a trusted professional? Is the process going better than you expected or turning out to be a disappointment?

Dad Comes Through With the V.I.P.

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Nooo, unfortunately, it's not that kind of a V.I.P. Our V.I.P looks a little bit more like this:

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With the joys of having a backyard wedding come a lot of hassles that you don't get with a normal wedding venue. Early on in the planning, we realized that our guests would probably have to go the restroom at some point in the evening. And something about our 100-120 guests wandering into Mr. Turtle's grandparents' house to find the one downstairs bathroom just didn't seem right. Our families explained to me that we needed to have a Porta-Potty. This was sad news to me because I couldn't get the image below out of my head. 

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As "bridezilla" as this may sound, those just don't fit with the vibe I'm going for! (One of my first thoughts: do they come in pink?) The world of luxury restroom trailers (is there a such thing?) was opened to me at a bridal show when we stumbled across "The Presidential."

It wasn't like angels were singing or anything, but this discovery brought me hope. (And Mr. Turtle perked up a bit. Probably his favorite part of the bridal show experience!)  As much as a portable restroom was becoming a necessity, it's just not the kind of thing I felt like researching. So... I handed it over to my dad. I told him that making sure a portable restroom was on location on the day of our wedding was his one and only job. And I e-mailed him the pictures I took of "The Presidential."

Since then, "The Presidential" has become the family joke. Seriously... the topic of the wedding does not come up without my dad contributing something about "The Presidential." And Mr. Turtle's dad likes to taunt me about it just about as much as my dad does. They get quite a laugh out of it. They think that it's going to be the highlight of the wedding. ("How was the Turtles' wedding?" "It was great! You should have seen the bathroom!!") Anyway, I'm sure you can only imagine the puns. And I'm really not a bathroom humor person. 

A couple months ago, I realized that as much as he talked about it, Turtle Dad still had not officially booked the  "Presidential." So when he called the company to inquire about it, they pretty much laughed in his face. Apparently, "The Presidential" gets booked 1-2 years in advance. And it's designed for events quite larger than our wedding... like concerts. I got a good laugh out of this, but my dad's "Presidential" dreams were crushed. 

So "The Presidential" did not work out, but we've officially booked "The V.I.P."  It's not as classy as "The Presidential," but I have a feeling our guests will still be impressed! :)

(P.S. Dad: I know you read this, and I hope you're happy that I finally did the Porta-Potty post!) 

Did any of your dads get involved in your wedding? Any fun stories? 

To Top It All Off

I'm planning on carrying on the 1980's tradition of wearing a ginormous wedding hat. Check out this sweet masterpiece of lace and tulle I picked up:

JUUUUST KIDDING!! (I do like to play dress up in antique stores though, in case you're wondering.)

But seriously now, this is my veil:

It doesn't have much of a story to go along with it. The only type of veil I've ever considered wearing is a birdcage veil. I feel like it fits me. This is the first one I tried on.  It's called "Natasha" and the designer is Jennifer Leigh. It has tiny rhinestones and pearls on it. I immediately loved it. The end. 

So what do you think? Should I have stuck with the lace hat? ;) Who else is all about jumping on the birdcage bandwagon?

Inspiration Everywhere: Hair

As you may have noticed, I went from posting twice a day to being a little scarce around here.  Don't worry, my enthusiasm about Weddingbee has most definitely not wavered. I've just been totally overwhelmed with school and work craziness, running on caffeine and adrenaline, and feeling very far removed from the wonderful world of wedding planning. But I promise I'm coming out of my shell now! (You know, my shell, since I'm a turtle...get it?!) I have so many wedding details I can't wait to share with you next week, but today I'm got another little collection of inspiration photos to show off.

An aspect of our wedding that I've barely given a thought to is how I'm going to wear my hair. I know I want it down, but that's about it. When I hit the three month countdown the other day, it really hit me that it's time to start figuring this stuff out! Honestly, looking through wedding magazines for hairstyles has left me feeling a little uninspired. A lot of beautiful up-dos, but not many brides with their hair down, and nothing that really sticks out as my style. Then it occurred to me to look to one of my very favorite places: the fashion industry!

Right now I'm just loving, like love love loving the hair and makeup looks from the Dior Spring 2010 Ready-to-Wear show. Retro waves, side part, totally glamorous...

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All photos from Style.com

So I'm thinking I'd like to look a little something like this, but with pink lips rather than red. 

How are you ladies wearing your hair for your weddings? Where did you find your inspiration photos? Did wedding magazines come through for you, or did you end up taking inspiration from a non-wedding source? 

The Winning Shoes

First I wrote about "falling in love" with a pair of pink-petaled Louboutins.  Then I wrote about my next love, "Micha" by Bourne. You heard the whole sob story. I ordered them, they came to my house, they were way too big, I ordered them again, and they were discontinued, never to be found again. So many of you were so supportive and left the sweetest, most consoling comments. A few of you even tracked the shoes down for me! But little did you know, I'd already found a new pair of shoes. And this time, we're together forever!

Here they are! Meet "Spring Fling" by Stuart Weitzman:

As you can see, I made a couple of adjustments to them to make them my own.  I ordered them from My Glass Slipper in white satin, and they came to my house just like this:

I tried them on and decided that they were perfect! I love the classic style, and the chunky heel will not sink into the grass like most of the other shoes I looked at would have done.  Also, I could totally tell the difference in quality from the Stuart Weitzman brand compared to others I've considered. For 4 inch heels, they were surprisingly comfortable! I used the Try-N-Dye program, and had them dyed pink! I also bought sparkly shoe clips from Absolutely Audrey to make them even more my style.

They're definitely brighter than I originally planned on, but I tried them on with my dress and my jewelry and it all just fits! I feel like they bring an element of my style that was missing from my wedding day ensemble. And plus, all of my favorite pictures of pink-shoed brides have bright pink shoes! The pop of color is such a fun surprise!

Photo source: Brides Magazine

Photo source: Style Me Pretty

Photo source: Green Wedding Shoes

Photo source: Style Me Pretty

As you can tell, I just love my shoes! (Thank you, Mr. Turtle's parents!!)

Are any of you going for a fun pop of color with your wedding day shoes? Tell me about them!

French Macarons (Taking Inspiration Too Far?)

In an earlier post, I admitted my obsession with the French bakery, Laduree. When I first decided to use their packaging as inspiration for our paper elements, our wedding style had been leaning toward a 1950's/60's retro kind of vibe, which is totally us. But, I also felt determined to tie our Laduree paper elements to the rest of our wedding, introducing an old world Parisian kind of style. (This totally fits us too,  considering that I'm an Art History major and Mr. Turtle studies Classics.)

I could have stuck to the pretty Rococo detailing and Baroque borders on our invitations. But of course I couldn't stare at Laduree pictures all day long without incorporating some of those delicious looking French macarons! And of course I couldn't just buy them from a bakery. I love baking! I bake different cakes, cookies, and things of that sort all the time... and I never mess up.

So... I paid a little visit to Whole Foods to pick up everything I needed, spent hours in preparation, only to come up with these:

Wait... aren't they supposed to look like these?

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I followed all the steps. How come mine turned out like this?

It's okay to laugh! I did! (After sulking around my house for a couple of days...) But if at first you don't succeed, try again... right? So here's the result of my second attempt at French macarons:

They're definitely not on the same caliber as Laduree, but they improved my self esteem a little bit! After coming this close, I decided to give it another try on Saturday night. This time, I've got to be honest... I'm pretty thrilled with the results! :)

Well it's about time!! I couldn't stop smiling at these results! (I also couldn't stop eating them.) I was proud to take my little plate of Easter goodies to Mr. Turtle's parents' house on Easter Sunday. I could not have ever succeeded at making French macarons without trial and error combined with Mrs. Perfume's amazing recipe.  Unlike Mrs. Perfume, I don't think I can handle the stress of making these for my own wedding, but I'm definitely proud of my new skill! 

Has wedding planning inspired you to try something new?  What skills have you gained that you would have never attempted before?

Engagement Pictures, Turtle Style

About three weeks ago, we met up with our wonderful photographer (and new friend) Chloe Murdoch, with Mike Larson Photography Inc., to take our engagement pictures. We had such a wonderful time getting to know Chloe and learning to be ourselves in front of the camera. As excited as I was about our shoot, both Mr. Turtle and I found ourselves pretty nervous that day since we'd never done anything like that before.  We incorporated all three of our outfit choices (with some minor adjustments) and a few great props. We started out at our favorite ice cream parlor, followed by a swinging bridge, and ended the day in a beautiful field. Chloe posted a sneak preview of our pictures, and I'd love to share them with you!

We both are so thrilled with our pictures, because we feel like they really capture us. I can't imagine how we're going to narrow them down to our favorites! I'm already brainstorming up uses for them. Our photography package comes with one canvas that we'll display at the wedding.  I'm also thinking about using some for our guestbook.  Have you found any fun ways to share and enjoy your engagement pictures both at the wedding and afterward? I'd love to hear your ideas!