Charmed, I'm Sure

One last detail before I launch into my pre-wedding parties. I've got to recap my bridal shower, bachelorette party, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, and of course, both my weddings. But before that... Charms!

I got my bee charms in the mail from Mrs. Seal. She sent them to me in December. I was not as punctual getting my charms to Miss Warbler (I'm Sorry!). I opened the package with delight.

Personal Photo: A sweet note from one bride to another.

Personal Photo: My bees peeking through their gauzy bag.

But there were other charms too! Following the lead of other bees before me, I went to Etsy and asked a seller to make a Kettle especially for me. Sweet and Savory Trinkets saved the day.

Making a kettle in miniature version is no small task. Apparently, the handle gave her some trouble, but she managed it. Finding a hardworking seller who will try their darndest to get you exactly what you want is apparently commonplace on Etsy. If you're looking for another route to what you want outside a physical store, I highly recommend Etsy.

After I sent her a pic of my moniker for Weddingbee, she sent me back a picture of the charm she'd created. It was perfection. I purchased it and an additional charm for one of my bridesmaids, BM Law, who loves red velvet cake.

Personal Photo: A perfect kettle!

Personal Photo: a sweet red velvet cupcake!

Ideas Borrowed From Weddingbee

I've gotten a lot of great ideas from Weddingbee over the months. I know it's my job to put out inspiration and give the details of my plans for others to read, but I've gotten as much out of it as I've put it.

I decided to put in a sampling of some of my favorite posts that have given me some amazing ideas for my wedding, for posts, or hell just for everyday life. These are my top 9. I guess I could have found one more, but I figured I'd just stick with the ones I've been saving up for months now. If you're new to the hive, I suggest you read these. They may give you inspiration anew!

Mrs. Hyena's idea to put the garter on the football was genius. We have a ton of young un-married people coming to our wedding (at least 50 on the guest list). I am looking forward to the garter and bouquet tosses. But most weddings I've been to feature reluctant catchers. If he puts my garter on a football, they guys will actually want to catch it. Plus, it's a great reminder of the day we moved into together and an inside jokes amongst all our friends that our football belongs to me and not Mr. Kettle.

Mrs. Macarons idea to use Nailtiques for nail growth changed my life. If you've read any of my posts, you can tell I have a flair for, ahem, dramatic language But seriously, the Nailtiques was amazing. Seriously, read my post about it. And it turns out Mr. Kettle loves long nails. Like, really really loves them. So I'll be using Nailtiques long after my wedding to give my man what he wants.

Mrs. Swan's Natural Hair information is super useful. My locs aren't as long as hers were when she got married, but if you are looking for unique hairstyles or natural hairstyles, check out this post. They can be done even with hair that isn't locked, and they're just so pretty!

Mrs. Eggs Benedict gave me a great idea for doing the same wedding vows even though we've written our own. Mr. Kettle wants us to write our own vows, but I'm not so comfortable with that huge display of affection coming from me in front of all of those people. Somehow, the thought that we'd be saying the same thing makes me more comfortable. I hadn't thought of it until I read her post.

Mrs. Hyena's name change suggestion. One thing about getting married I'm dreading (I know, I know, there should be nothing to dread) is all the paperwork involved in changing my name. If you have a ton of things your name is on (license, bank account, insurance, credit cards, cell phone bill, lease, etc.), check out this post for a tip on how to make the process go easier.

Miss Cannon's post on trends was dead on for the summer. If you want to know what was all the rage in the summer, check out this post. It's interesting to see which trends are still popping up and which ones aren't. Are you embracing or shunning any of her mentioned trends?

The comments on Miss Sunhat's post about the guest book had amazing ideas! I've already done a guestbook post myself, but the comments on this post were some of the most unique ideas I've heard.

Mrs. Waffle's illustrations inspiring me to pick up a sketchbook and colored pencils. I've put a couple of comic strip thingees that I've drawn in posts. They're meant to be funny or cute. I don't know if I've accomplished my goal, but the idea came from Mrs. Waffle. How cute is that pic of her in the bee costume?

Miss Fox and her great idea about wedding bands influenced my rings. I just linked to this in a post yesterday, but in case you missed it, here it is again. There are a lot of halo engagement rings in the hive, and if you're looking for the options for your ring, this post covers most of them.

Have you found any great ideas on Weddingbee you'd love to share with someone who may have missed it?

Bee Meet-Up

A small handful of us Chicagoans met this past Sunday.

I only took one picture, and that was on my Blackberry. I'm still trying to find my camera.

We went to Panera. I walked in, late as I always seem to be, and looked around with no idea of how to find the other women.

Luckily, they spotted me. I'm so glad I have my picture up on Weddingbee because I'm not very comfortable approaching people I don't know.

We had lunch and chatted about Ms. Snax' honeymoon. She already had her wedding photos up. While we were looking at them, we noticed the next pictures right after hers were the engagement photos for Anne, who was also at the meet!

I must admit that most days, I feel incredibly jaded about this whole wedding planning thing. I just want it to be over. I want the big decisions finally hammered out so I can spend all my time on my DIY projects. I will get it together hive, I promise.

Personal Image: Yay for Chicago!

Hopefully at our next meet, more people can show up. We figure because it was such an unexpectedly nice day, things came up. It happens.

Have you been to a meet in your area? If not, you should set one up!

Put On The Kettle!

Hello hive!

I'm Miss Kettle. Miss Kettle! Yay! I'm so excited I get to finally say that!

I'm so excited be here. I wish there was a way to convey through words the extent of my joy. I could try, but I'm not a writer, I'm a scientist. My grasp of spelling and grammar is no small feat in itself, so I will accept that proper word choice is just outside my grasp.

That, my new friends, is why God made Google. It's my best buddy on the Internet. There's nothing Google can't do. Well, that's not true. But there are no Internet needs of mine that it can't meet. The best example of this was when Mr. Kettle went to Europe for a month last winter and we were able to talk on the phone and video chat -- for free-- through Google (technically gmail, but it's the same thing). But I digress... 

Through Google, I can find pictures to try and express my joy.

Image via BitStorm



Nah, that's not really it. But I am having fond memories of my childhood while also wondering why in the world my parents let me watch that show!


Image via Ravesque Tarot

Yeah, now that's more like it. This joy is not mine alone because Mr. Kettle is really excited too. He was very supportive of my plan to be a Bee and almost submitted the application for me. Thank goodness it was still too soon to apply because I wanted to go over my application myself and have my voice shine through.


Now that I've done my very best to express how happy I am to be a Bee, let's talk about how I got here. Mr. Kettle and I first discussed marriage very early on in what was a short courtship. It was the night of Mardi Gras that we decided we'd be married by that time the following year. Almost immediately after that, I started looking at wedding websites and Google sent me to Weddingbee. I fell in love instantly and had dreams of being a Bee myself one day.

Mr. Kettle and I overshare, so I told him of my new obsession with wedding websites and surprisingly, he didn't back off the discussion of marriage or the development of our relationship. Possible "crazy" label avoided. Winning!

When we were officially engaged (he liked it so he put a ring on it), I realized there was only a short amount of time before we were at the 8-months-out-mark and I could apply to Weddingbee. Well, they rejected my first application pretty quickly. I was sad, very sad.

personal drawing on my PC

I didn't cry, but I was wondering why I couldn't be fascinating enough to catch their attention. I took another look at my blog and tried to figure out what to do. I began tailoring my blog posts as if I were actually a weddingbee blogger, which meant more pictures, more details of how I arrived at decisions, projects, and feelings.

As soon as four weeks passed (technically a few days before..) I submitted a second application. Then it was all wedding blogging every day. My personal blog became wedding central. Mr. Kettle spoke of how I "better be a Bee blogger this time after all this". He is very passionate you see.

But it paid off! I got the e-mail from Pengy (I call her that 'cause everyone else does) and I was over-joyed. I was at work when I read it so I had to do my best to contain my glee. It was hard. Real hard.

I called Mr. Kettle and after a bit of phone tag, he got the good news. He was just as happy as I was. Then we hashed out what my icon would be. Knowing that he would have to be Mr.______, he wanted something that was manly. He didn't say that outright, but I got that vibe after he ruled out both bracelet and petit four.

He wanted ticket, But I really wanted sunhat. He probably frowned (we were over the phone so I can't be sure) and then we played a game we're very good at. This game is called compromise. We decided on an icon that fit us as a couple and one that both of us would be proud to be the Mr.______ and Miss ______. Ultimately, kettle it was.

We drink a lot of tea, so I think it fits. We're very warm, we like bright colors, and with all the music we constantly have around us, the tea kettle whistle fits us too.

I look forward to months of blogging and having you all go with me through this planning process. I've already done some DIY projects and I will be glad to share those with you.

Here are the Kettles (and our cat Belle). These are both personal photos.