The Journey To "We": A Bee's Life: Elephant Edition

Keepin' this series alive! It helped me out, so hopefully I can return the favor for another reader.

How I found Wedding Bee:

I actually stumbled across the Bee back in 2009 thanks to a bride on the Dallas Knot boards who posted about her feature in Real Weddings. I started reading and could not stop! I read all that I could: archives, current bee blogs, the boards. I was so fascinated with all the Bees (although it took me a little bit to figure out exactly what those icons meant) and the community I decided to join in on the fun times.

Applying to Weddingbee:

Truth be told, I was not a huge blogger. In fact I had never really heard of or read blogs until the Bee (with the exception of one friend who kept a live journal back in college). Once I caught onto this site, I thought that it would be so amazing to blog for it. I started my own blog to keep my out of town bridesmaids up to date on the wedding plans, but secretly with the intent to apply for the Bee in the back of my head. Our engagement was long, so I blogged for a good 13 months before I hit that magical eight month mark—the earliest you can apply.

I was scared to apply. Boy, was I ever! While I believed that my writing had developed over that 13 month period, I have a huge fear of rejection and didn't know if I could handle the 5% acceptance odds. I really have to thank Mama E, Mr. E and BM Philly for giving me that little push to take the chance. I applied on the 2nd day of the 8th month (technically 8 months and 3 weeks before our wedding), and waited. And waited. And waited a little more. In that waiting time the new Safari generation was announced and I was even more anxious. Those icons were too cute! 3 weeks went by, and I started to wonder. I knew it took time to review the applications, but I was so ready for the news - good or bad. I went back and re-read the Bee's Life series to see how long it took for bees to get their acceptance email. (I'm a reporting nerd, and even made an excel spreadsheet that showed how many times each bee had applied.) Finally on that fateful Friday afternoon I checked my email and could not believe that there was an email from Pengy saying I would make a great addition to the weddingbee team. I actually read through that email a dozen times before I made any calls, just in case my eyes were playing tricks on me.

Blogging for the ‘Bee:

Blogging for the 'Bee is something you have to love and want to do, as it is definitely a time commitment. Thanks to many months of blogging prior to applying, I had more than a handful of archives that would post before I was current. Whenever an idea for a blog would come to me (at work, out shopping, watching tv) I would start a draft & write down my thoughts. I would finish it off and then re-read it 2 or 3 times prior to posting. I tried to take my camera wherever I went, and made sure to document any DIY projects because I always have more fun reading about projects and seeing the steps. It is always so exciting to see that little elephant icon pop up on the Bee, and even more exciting to get comments!

Tips for Becoming a Bee:

Don't try and write what you think people want to read, write what is true for you. I was afraid that my wedding wasn't original, unique or special enough to be a bee, but I wrote what was true. I love that each bee (just like every bride) has a wedding that is unique and special to them.

Find your voice. I know it's been mentioned before, but it never hurts to say it again. Write how you normally talk. If you tell jokes, or talk with a little sarcasm, then write like that. If you don't, don't try and write as if you do. Trust me, it will come more naturally if you are just yourself.

If at first you don't succeed - try, try again. While I was waiting to hear back on my application, I read through all of the prior Bee's Life posts and noted how many of the bees did not get accepted on their first try. I mentally prepared myself for rejection and made a deal with myself that I would at least apply one more time. I was very lucky to get it on my first try, but there are several bees that we never would have enjoyed if they stopped after that first try.

And because I LOVE photos in posts...(with random links to wedding planning)