E-Pics: The Outtakes

Something y'all should know about the Lions is that we are really REALLY into goofy pictures.  And I'm not just talking "tee hee, you stuck your tongue out!"  I'm talking full blown nerd.

Sometimes we're sober:

Sometimes...not so much:

Sometimes Lion Corgi even gets in on the fun!

{all personal photos}

So when we ended up with several classic outtakes from our e-pics shoots, I knew we had to do something fun with them at the wedding.  They're definitely going to make an appearance in our rehearsal dinner slideshow, but I'm not sure where else to put them.

 Yep, that's Mr. Lion looking at my booty...totes inappropski.  And in the photo on the right, I was flinching because he was sweaty and kissing me.

 Here we have Mr. Lion sticking his tongue out while I tried to kiss him.  Then he made fun of my pouty face.

 Apparently, I make this face a lot...especially when Mr. Lion booty dances during inappropriate times.

{professional photos from Weddings by Evan Hampton}

So what do y'all think?  Any suggestions as to where we should include these gems?

E-Pics: My Turn!

Y'all didn't think I'd let Mr. Lion get away with exclusively UCF e-pics, did you?  Of course, we had to stop by The Swamp too!  Now, Mr. Lion will tell you that the Gators mean nothing to him, but this is simply not true.  We first met in Gainesville, and we made many wonderful memories there during the first two years of our relationship.  That town will always hold a special place in our hearts.  So we left Orlando, headed up to Gainesville, and stopped to smile for a few more photos.

 Source: Disney via Magical Screencaps

Here are some of our favorites:

 {all photos courtesy of Weddings by Evan Hampton}

Have you incorporated your alma mater into your wedding plans?  How so?

E-Pics for Mr. Lion

Hive, I need to admit something to you.  I was really opposed to e-pics in the beginning.  I just didn't see the point!  We've been together for five years...surely by now we have enough pictures together.  Plus, every time I thought of e-pics, I imagined people smiling cheesily in matching outfits.  Not that there's ANYTHING wrong with that.  Engagement pictures in matching outfits can be adorable and classic, and I have lots of friends who have done similar photoshoots and been very pleased with the results.  It's just not us.  Besides, matching outfits make me think of this:

{Source} 10 points if you know where this is from!

So I decided that we weren't going to have e-pics taken.  Then one day, Mr. Lion and I had a random conversation about favorites.  You know, favorite ice cream flavors, favorite movie of all time, etc.  We knew most of the answers for each other, but it was a fun conversation nonetheless.  Then, I asked Mr. Lion where is favorite place in the world was.  He answered, "UCF's campus."  The University of Central Florida in Orlando has changed a lot since Mr. Lion graduated from there in 2007.  He loves going back there now just to see how it has evolved.  Then, he added, "I wish we had taken more pictures of that campus when I was there."  Sigh.  My heart melted a little.  Ooookaaaay, we can take e-pics at UCF's campus.

Fortunately, our photographer was a friend so he was happy to tag along on a weekend road trip to Florida.  Here are a few of our favorites:

{all photos courtesy of Weddings by Evan Hampton}

What inspired your e-pics shoot?

With a Little Help from my Friends

One of the easiest ways this budget bride has saved money is by recruiting help wherever possible. Fortunately, I happen to have some pretty talented friends! I love the concept of a "friendor" because I feel that it makes a wedding more personal and intimate. On our wedding day, I'm most looking forward to being surrounded by the people we love. Why not have that feeling extend to our vendors, too?

The first friend I hired was Sister Lioness. Though Sister Lioness is currently studying Teaching ASL as a Foreign Language at Columbia (bee tee dubs, their mascot is a lion...woot!), she does some pretty sweet graphic design on the side. It's more of a hobby for her, but she kind of rocks at it. I don't know much about graphic design, but I do know that I'm a sucker for fonts. Choosing fonts happens to be Sister Lioness' favorite part of graphic design, so it's been great to have her artistic eye around! She's designed our invitation suite, and I plan to collaborate with her for other paper projects like programs and menus.  Here's a sample of her work, a little diddy she came up with to give to family and friends when she moved from Gainesville to NYC:

 Ugh.  So sorry I had to censor that!

My friend Kealoha used to be a make up artist. Though she has now chosen a different career path, she still does a few gigs on the side. A recent gig was our mutual friend's wedding. She did the make up for the bride, as well as all of the bridesmaids and the mothers. Best of all, she gifted this to the bride as her wedding present. Naturally, I asked her nicely to grant me the same favor and I was psyched when she gladly obliged...though not nearly as psyched as Mama Lioness was. What can I say?! The woman likes the be pampered!

 Personal photo: The artist on the right, with her lovely work to her left and further left...aaand the groom and I just chillin.

Next, we have my cousin Chris.  Chris is my age, and he and Mr. Lion became good buddies one day at Disney World.  It was only their first time meeting face-to-face, but by the end of the day they were yelling wookie noises back and forth to each other on Star Tours (male bonding is so strange, is it not?).  Chris happens to be an ordained minister in the state of California.  When two nonreligious lions started to put a ceremony together, there was only one name that came to mind.  Of course, Chris was happy to look into the requirements to transfer his ordainment to Georgia and we're all really looking forward to having him in such an important role on the big day.

Personal photo: Chris on HIS big day

Lastly, we have our friend Evan.  Evan is engaged to my PT school friend Christina, and together they form some of the greatest couple friends these Lions could ask for!  Evan also happens to be a wedding photographer...a good one too!  They recently moved to Jacksonville, but Evan still happily agreed to shoot our wedding.  And our engagement pictures.  And some random pictures for our OOT bags.  Here's a sample of his work, from a photoshoot he did for our graduation:

Source: Weddings by Evan Hampton

Have you recruited any friendors?

An Introduction to Etsy

Before I found the 'Bee, I had never even heard of Etsy.  These days, I don't know how I ever lived without it!  For those of you just joining us in the Etsy craze, Etsy is an online store and community where artisans sell handmade crafts and where collectors sell rare vintage items.  On Etsy, you can find unique items that you would not normally find in stores, which is what makes it such an excellent wedding resource.  In fact, Etsy even has its own wedding category on its site!  The availability of such unique items allows brides to add a little more personality to their weddings.  Etsy is also a great place for budget brides to find a great deal.  Can't find what you're looking for?  Use the Alchemy function, which you can learn about here with Miss Hippo!

To show y'all the variety that Etsy provides, I decided to conduct a search for something simple.  Let's try "lion" and see what pops up, shall we? :)

Place Cards by cuddlecreature

This is a great example of the kind of wedding item you could DIY, or you could create a shortcut for yourself and find it on Etsy.  What if you had your heart set on a unique shape like this?  I'm all for DIY, but this is definitely not the kind of project I would want to take on.  Could you imagine cutting out all of those little lions?!  Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of patience.

Cake Topper by kikuike

How cute is that little birdcage veil on the lioness?!  Obsessed.

Cufflinks by PlasticParadox

Ah yes, the other reason why I'm in love with my moniker (the first reason is the Disney reference, of course).  A few months ago, I was explaining to Mr. Lion why Etsy is so awesome.  He agreed that it sounded pretty cool, but said that he "couldn't really get into it because it was just a bunch of girly stuff."  I proved him wrong, and surprised him with a pair of Etsy-made Zelda Tri-Force cufflinks.  His nerdy side thanked me.

Garter by gmarasa

So vintagey and elegant!  I love the soft ivory color too.

Custom Wedding Invitations by leahfelicity

Graphic design is definitely one of my favorite things to look through on Etsy.  Sometimes, I'll just glance around for inspiration.  This suite is no different.  If you were having a whimsical, carnival-themed wedding, this could definitely be that specific something you were looking for.

What kinds of treasures have you found for your wedding on Etsy?

Oh I Just Can't Wait to Be a Bee!

Yay!  I can't believe I'm here!  These past few weeks have just been crazy...but wonderful!  Mr. Lion and I both graduated from law school and grad school, respectively, in May.  After seven years of school, we're just now starting our grown-up jobs.  I work in a large hospital's trauma unit and I'm just starting to get the hang of it.  This afternoon, I finished up with my last patient, headed down to my desk, and took a quick glance at my email.  MRS. PENGUIN?!?!  WHAAAAT?!?!?!?!  This was my face:

Source: Disney via Magical Screencaps

This would probably be an appropriate time to mention that I'm a huge Disney geek and with a name like Miss Lioness, I will be subjecting y'all to lots and lots of horrible Lion King puns.  I apologize in advance.

You'd probably like to know a little about who Mr. Lion and I are.  Well, we're from the same suburb of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and we went to rival high schools.  It was only a matter of time before we met through mutual friends.  Our paths finally crossed during our freshman year of college.  Mr. Lion was attending the University of Central Florida in Orlando, and I was attending the University of Florida in Gainesville...yes, just like Mr. & Mrs. Dolphin!  We became long-distance friends, which evolved over a couple of years into a long-distance relationship.  Our first date was actually a "Heroes and Villains" themed sorority grab-a-date.  We, along with two friends who ended up being in our wedding party, dressed as the characters from Scooby Doo.

 Personal photo: Wearing a blonde wig and an ascot for me...what a good sport!

We were fortunate enough to both get into schools in Atlanta for our continued education, and we bid the long-distance part of our relationship adieu.  Now, after 5 years of dating, we're one year into a 19-month engagement and planning a big wedding on a small budget!

Sometimes we're sweet.

Personal photo: Our Engagement Party

Sometimes we're silly.

Personal photo: Making a Monty Python reference at a store in Savannah

Also, we have a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, who basically serves as the mascot of our relationship.  She suits us well, as she is short, awkward, sweet, and full of personality.

Personal photo: I think she was barking, but it looks like she's talking!

I have dreamed of sharing my wedding plans with you from the day I first found Weddingbee.  I have found all kinds of inspiration on the Bee...and it has been such an excellent resource because of all of the creative, intelligent, fun women who blog and post on here!  It's an honor to be here.  Thanks for having me, Hive!

Disney/Pixar's Up Inspiration

As I've mentioned before, Sr Groom's hot air balloon proposal was inspired by the film "Up" by Disney and Pixar.  I am an absolute sucker for Disney, and not just because I'm from Florida.  Sr Groom grew up in Florida as well, and he thought Disney was nothing but silly kid stuff...until I dragged him to Walt Disney World early on in our relationship and successfully convinced him otherwise.  My cousins have always been really into Disney, and I grew up looking up to my cousins as I would look up to older siblings.  We've always been close, and our memories growing up at Walt Disney World are among my most cherished.  Basically, they're to blame.

EPCOT with some of my favorite people in 2003

How could a Disney freak plan a wedding without a few subtle nods towards the mouse?  It's so whimsical, so romantic, so MAGICAL.  Everything about Disney just screams wedding to me.  Let's start where our engagement began: with Disney and Pixar's "Up."

The Wedding Chicks recently featured an "Up" inspired engagement shoot.  Of course, I just had to share with y'all!

All photos by Wildflowers Photography via Wedding Chicks

How adorable are the little grape soda buttons?!  You can get your very own Ellie badge on Etsy, here.  The Wedding Chicks loved this couple so much (and can you blame them?) that they documented their wedding day too.

All photos by Wildflowers Photography via Wedding Chicks

To make things even more adorable, the writer and producer of "Up" saw the e-pics on Wedding Chicks and sent the bride and groom a copy of "The Art of Up," complete with personalized hand drawing!

Wildflowers Photography via Wedding Chicks

Too cute.  Have you incorporated inspiration from a favorite movie into your wedding theme?  How so?