The Wedding Day: August 18, 2007 Preparations ~ Promises ~ Portraits ~ Party Preparations It's my wedding day, and I'm very excited about it! My poor dog, banished to the outdoors all day while we got ready Cousin/bridesmaid Molly popping bottle of champagne #1 The bridesmaids all signed the cork for me My fancy BRIDE glass Our Save-the-Date magnet hanging on my dad's fridge...it's holding up the letter I received the Monday before the wedding telling me I passed my Masters program Comprehensive Exam, and so therefore had been awarded my Masters Degree! Talk about icing on the cake - any week where getting your graduate degree is the second best thing to happen to you is a pretty great week. Bridesmaids hanging out in the pajamas I got them as part of their gifts Part of my wedding gift from Molly...she made a whole scrapbook like this, using parts of letters I wrote to her about Eric when we first started dating (at the age of 15!). She gave me a new page each day the week before the wedding. This was the last page, which she framed for me and is now hanging in our apartment. Eric had his Best Man deliver a card and single red rose for me. The card was really beautiful. My hair brooch My earrings, resting on my great-grandmother's handkerchief that would've been my something borrowed, if I hadn't forgotten it My wedding gift from Eric, and my something blue Eric's ring - both of our rings are engraved with 'My Favorite 8.18.07' Our rings My keepsake garter Toss garter - GO GATORS! College roommate/bridesmaid Kristina getting her hair done My mom looking lovely The dress! This picture amazes me - it looks so quiet and peaceful there. Really, this was taken in the central busy area of the house. I love this picture of the rose Eric gave me and my dress in the background Getting my hair done Molly and my mom, just enjoying the day My beautiful shoes! My dog Achilles (left) and dad's dog Lucy (right) barking ferociously at the photographer as he takes pictures of my shoes Sister/maid of honor Heather having her makeup done My mom opening her gift from me, a MyPublisher album of pics of her and I throughout the years My dad looking through the MyPublisher album I gave him as well TIP: Have food sitting out to munch on during the day. It's easy to get so caught up in the preparations that you forget to eat, so having the food out helps encourage snacking as the day goes on. Meanwhile, in a hotel across town... The boys were getting ready! John, Ryan and Jeff...Jeff was pretty excited to wear a tux. Jeff helping Eric with his tie John helping Eric with his jacket...although Eric actually took this picture with each one of the groomsmen. Funny. Studly boys! Back to the ladies... More hair-doing Another shot of my oh-so-ferocious pooch My mom and sister practicing bustling my dress Molly and my rose from Eric Getting excited now! Heather and Megan looking on My paparazzi Makeup time My dad getting dressed. His tie was our family tartan, which I loved and he was so proud to wear it. I also pinned a swatch of our tartan inside my dress. It's very important to choose bridesmaids who understand the importance of fresh breath! (kidding, of course.....well, sort of.) Awesome shot of my cousin taking my picture as I came out in my dress! My mom lacing me up Putting my earrings on I always used to see pictures like this one in people's bios and think, 'how ridiculous! Why wouldn't you just put your garters on before the dress so you don't have to make someone do it for you?' But, then I forgot to put them on before the dress, so poor bridesmaid Megan had to step up to the plate! She's a good friend. Garters are ready to go! I like this shot because the pictures in the background are pics of my family dating back to the 1800s...it reminds me how nice it was to get ready for such an important day in my dad's house, where we have some family history. Putting on the veil, which was my mother's and my 'something old.' At this point I was really antsy to leave. The limo was there already, and we were running late much to my dismay. Last shot of my unmarried hands! DIY bridesmaids' bouquets, ready to go Because we were running late, I only had about 5 seconds to check myself out all bride-ed up! TIP: Add extra time into your day-of schedule. My day was planned down to the minute, but I wish I would've added in an extra half hour or so - it could have served as a buffer if we were running late, or even if we had been on time it would have given me some down time to reflect on the day, take pictures with my bridesmaids and parents at the house, etc. Instead I basically threw on my veil and ran out the door. I would have liked to have a few extra moments to let it all sink in. Out of the house at last! Happy to finally be in the limo! Let's go get married! Back To Top Promises The church Eric's mother and my mother getting their corsages Groomsman John getting his boutonneire Program basket at the entrance to the sanctuary Our beautiful programs, a true labor of love! To see the inner text of our programs: ~ Click HERE for the center pages (including ceremony order and bridal party list) ~ Click HERE for the first and last pages (including 'Thank you' and 'In Memory of' sections) TIP: You don't need programs for everyone! Not everyone will take them. I had heard this tidbit before making mine but didn't buy it, because I am sentimental about stuff like this and ALWAYS take programs, so I figured everyone else was the same. Not so. We had 95 guests, made a program for each, and were left with 45. So sad to throw away all that hard work! The sanctuary Our pew decorations: a single red rose tied on every other pew with a pink satin ribbon My sister sang 'Panis Angelicus' as the parents and grandparents were seated, in honor of my grandparents (it was sung at their wedding as well) My grandmother being escorted in Groomsman Jeff escorting my mother Me listening intently to Heather's solo from my little side room! She sang beautifully. Kristina processing Megan, and my handsome groom to the left! Molly Heather Here I go! My husband seeing me for the first time as I come down the aisle. This picture makes me tear up every time I see it. TIP: Just have to throw my two cents into the whole 'Pictures beforehand' debate...The absolute most memorable moments of this day for me were the last minutes before I saw him and coming down the aisle and finally locking eyes with him. As soon as my bridesmaids started processing in ahead of me, the anticipation was so great I started to cry. Then as I stepped into the church and saw his face, it was like we were the only two people in the room. I locked eyes with him and would not look away for anything. There was so much more to that moment than simply being the first time we saw each other. The gravity of the entire situation was overwhelming - here we were, in a church, surrounded by our family and friends, about to commit our lives to each other. It was such an incredible feeling, and I can still feel the excitement and love of that moment whenever I think about it. I absolutely would not have wanted it any other way. My sister was also pretty emotional as I came down the aisle Such an amazing moment. We held hands throughout the entire ceremony Smiling at my husband Going up to the altar for the actual marriage part of the ceremony (the best part!) From the back of the church Saying our vows. Our vows were completely traditional, which I loved: In the presence of God and this community, I, [name], take you, [name], to be my wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse,for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live. This is my solemn vow. Eric placing my ring on my finger Giving Eric his ring Wiping my tears First kiss! We really did it! The happy couple TIP: Practice walking in your dress! This may sound like common sense, but I didn't do it. I only walked in it very briefly at fittings, and I held it up the whole time while walking. Practice walking without holding it! When I was standing, the length was fine...but as soon as I would walk, I would start tripping on the front of the hem as you can see here. So, I nearly tripped my way up and down the aisle. Not fun! I love this shot of Eric expressing his excitement after the ceremony! Maid of honor and Best Man signing the marriage certificate Having my dress bustled My beautiful DIY prayer book bouquet...I decorated a small Bible with gardenias and roses, and tied stephanotis to the bottoms of long hanging ribbons. I carried this as a tribute to my grandmother, who passed away several years ago. She also carried a prayer book at her wedding. Then, Eric and I recreated her wedding picture outside the church: If Eric and I have half as loving and wonderful a marriage as my grandparents did, we'll consider ourselves very blessed. Ready to go celebrate! It was drizzling a little bit...couldn't get the dress wet! Also a good shot of my adorable shoes. Loved them. Couldn't be happier! Bridesmaids in the limo on the way to the reception Groom, bride, and groomsmen in the limo Good shot of my prayer book bouquet, and my sister being the best maid of honor ever! Back To Top Portraits TIP: For posed family portraits, give your photographer a list of definite must-have pictures, but try to keep it to a minimum. This was tough for us as both of our parents are divorced so we needed lots of separate pictures, so we ended up giving our photographer much too long of a list. As a result, he had to sort of pick and choose who to put in what pics to maximize time. We got most of what we wanted, but there were a couple pictures we would've done differently if we had really thought it through. So, my advice is to put some time into thinking about what pictures you want and the best way to prioritize them. With our parents at the church With my Mom and sister Heather Love this one of me and my dad, when we thought we weren't being photographed My husband and his mom With Eric and his grandmother With the bridal party in front of our reception venue Hooray! With my beautiful bridesmaids...they were the best! Dashing young men, if I do say so (I especially like the middle one) Out for a stroll! Me in all my bridal glory Ready for our close-ups! Artsy shot There's lots of kissing at weddings, which I can't say I mind! TIP: Don't panic if things don't go just as you planned! I am a firm believer in the idea that everything will work out as it should. For example, I was DETERMINED that the wedding would start ON TIME. Well, we ended up running 15 minutes late. But, it ended up pouring rain during our ceremony. It cleared up by the end of it, but if we had been on time, our guests would've had to leave in the middle of a downpour. Plus, we had planned to take pictures in a park afterwards but nixed that idea because of the idea of wet grass and puddles. So instead we ended up in front of our reception venue, which I am so thankful for now after looking at our pictures. The background was so gorgeous, I can't imagine having done our pictures anywhere else! So the moral of the story is, go with the flow and trust that all will be well, and it will! Back To Top Party Let's start with some detail shots! Our guestbook table, which was setup in the cocktail room and then moved into the reception ballroom Our guestbook was a MyPublisher album featuring pictures of us over the 9 years we dated, and quotes from children about love. People signed around the pictures like a yearbook. It was a hit! To see the text of our 'Guestbook' sign, click HERE TIP: Have your DJ remind people to sign the guestbook! We had a lot of people tell us they went to sign it but the line was too long so they thought they'd come back later, but then forgot. So, we're missing a lot of signatures - like all of our parents and almost the entire bridal party! A reminder might have helped. Placecard table Close-up of the placecards, which I wrote by hand with a calligraphy pen Sweetheart table set-up...the gardenias smelled divine. TIP: A sweetheart table is a great way to go! I had really wanted a head table, but ended up deciding on a sweetheart table because we wanted our bridal party to be able to sit with their dates...and I'm glad that's what we did! The bridal party appreciated it, and Eric and I were able to enjoy our dinner together. We even got to eat! Guest table centerpieces: votive candles surrounded by red and pink freeze-dried rose petals on a pink table runner, plus my DIY table numbers (the graphic was also on our invitations!). They were simple and elegant, just what I was looking for. We also had a red rose folded into every napkin, which added a great touch. The full table set-up I had flip flops waiting on each of the bridesmaids' chairs with a DIY personalized tag...they loved it! Last Call/Cab sign on the bar Once the placecards were gone, the placecard table turned into the favor/digital picture sign table We set up a group album at Shutterfly.com for guests to upload their digital pictures, then made business cards through Vistaprint with the web address on them for guests to take as a reminder. To see the text of the Digital Pictures sign, click HERE To see the text of the business cards, click HERE Our favors were small glassine bags filled with gummy lobsters, tied with a red ribbon and a tag with this quote from 'Friends' on it. 'Friends' is my favorite show (as all our family and friends know), and this quote was from my favorite episode. All but 3 of the 90 favors we made were taken at the end of the night! So, TIP: Edible favors are the way to go! Now let's get to the party! Kristina and Ryan being introduced into the reception...in keeping with my 'Friends' obsession, they came in to the 'Friends' theme song! Megan and John Molly and Jeff Maid of Honor Heather and Best Man Ronnie, dancing it up! And now for us...we were introduced to the 'Jaws' music and Gators fight song, the same introduction the Florida Gators run onto the football field to! It was AWESOME! Groomsman and fellow Gator alum Jeff hears the music and has started chomping! And here we are! Chomping away! GO GATORS! TIP: Make it personal! The little touches of 'you' that you incorporate won't go unnoticed. For example, everyone laughed when the 'Friends' theme song started for bridal party introductions, because it was very 'me.' Everyone (with the exception of our Ohio State fan guests!) LOVED the Gators introduction, etc. Those personal touches make the whole event more fun both for you and for your guests. My uncle Mark saying the blessing...we went straight into dinner after being introduced, and saved the toasts/dances for later. We wanted to eat! More of that kissing I mentioned earlier... Our cake and cake table, with us at our sweetheart table in the background 'Promise' Willow Tree figurine nxt to the cake Gators grooms cake, of course! We had our sweetheart table set up in the center of the room, with the groom's cake on its own table behind Eric and the wedding cake on a table behind me. It looked great! I surprised Eric with the Gator cake topper next to his groom's cake Best Man's toast, and us enjoying it thoroughly! My sister giving her toast Cheers! Our first dance, to 'Feels Like Home' by Chantal Kreviazuk Laughing at his jokes while we danced Sharing an emotional moment Dancing with my dad to 'Unforgettable' by Natalie and Nat King Cole I absolutely love this picture of my dad hugging me after we danced. He looks like one proud papa, that's for sure. Eric dancing with his mother to 'The Perfect Fan' by the Backstreet Boys Cutting the cake Teasing! See? I was nice... ...now you better be, too! (and he was) Kiss for luck before the bouquet toss Toss! Cousin/bridesmaid Molly caught it! Garter removal Where is that thing??? Success! Checking out the garter...he was mad he had to throw the Gators garter instead of the monogrammed one! The toss Molly's boyfriend Arturo caught it! Gee, what are the odds? (wink wink, nudge nudge) Putting the garter on Conga line time! How much do I love that my 85-year-old grandfather did not only the conga line, but also the chicken dance? TIP: Don't automatically discount the 'cheesy'/'tacky' stuff! I was 100% opposed to any organized dances at my wedding because I generally dislike them, and I know Knotties are usually pretty quick to back that up and dismiss them as tacky. However, I was drastically outvoted on that by my family and husband (my mom nearly cried when I told her I didn't want the Electric Slide), so I agreed to allow them. I'm SO GLAD that I did! Those dances got EVERYONE on the dance floor and really got the dancing started. I mean, just see above: even my grandfather was out on the dance floor! Of course you know your crowd best and what will go over well and what won't, but just consider everything before you put it on your 'do not play' list! And, in the spirit of this tip, I bring you....the YMCA! Again, even though DJ props are often considered cheesy, our guests absolutely LOVED THIS. Groomsman Jeff during YMCA Having a blast! And this is the point where my mother went nuts. From this point on, she was an out-of-control, dancing machine. I don't think I've ever seen her have so much fun! You can see her in this picture to the left, pointing to her rear end and instructing our Village People to 'SHAKE IT!!!' Let the dancing begin! Dancing with my new brother-in-law My mom loving the organized dancing Bridesmaids, my cousin Sarah, and my mom getting down! I had to throw in this picture of my cousin Jacob, because he surprised me by coming all the way from Budapest for the wedding! I was so touched. Whoa! Our college friends getting crazy! My mom tried to take a break from dancing to mingle, but she just ended up dancing with my Uncle Mark at the table! Is that a happy mother-of-the-bride or what? Mmmmm! That cake is GOOD! Dancing with my husband Mid-dance smooch 'A little bit softer now' during 'Shout' Careful...if you get too much 'softer' in a giant dress, you might need help getting 'louder' again! We really brought out the good moves for the occasion! Towards the end of the night, my mom even asked my sister to teach her to 'booty dance!' She was out of control! Love the look on my sister's face! Come to mention it, I love her face in this one too! TIP: If you can't afford a videographer, have someone just set up a video camera on a tripod for the ceremony and reception! That's what we did and are so glad we did. You never know what moments you might want to re-watch someday. For example, in this picture, my sister and I are realizing that by doing a 'polka step' we learned in ballet class as kids to 'Cotton Eyed Joe', we somehow started a spontaneous line dance! We had just looked behind us and realized everyone had picked up on the step and was doing it with us! It's awesome to watch on video, I gotta say! Exhausted! Good bustle shot Love this shot...both my mom and sister are being crazy, I'm in the middle of it, and my poor husband is just thinking, 'what did I sign up for here?' Last dance to 'My Wish' by Rascal Flatts Leaving the reception...we closed the place down Outside the Mahaffey Theater at the end of the night The end of the most wonderful night! Other miscellaneous tips... Stay organized as you get ready on the wedding day. Keep everything you'll need for getting dressed in one place. Put anything you need to remember to take with you by the door. If you end up rushed at all, you will be VERY glad you did this. We ended up running behind and my accessories were scattered all over the place, so my poor bridesmaids were scurrying around trying to gather everything as we tried to run out the door. We ended up forgetting my 'something borrowed' because of it. It will definitely give you better peace of mind if everything is organized. Consider getting married in the off-season. Unless you have your heart set on a certain time of year for your wedding, give some thought to what the off-season for weddings is in your area and consider getting married at that time. Our schedules happened to leave us with no options except August for our wedding, which is the off-season in Florida (beastly hot and hurricane season). Getting married at that time did cause us some hurricane-related stress and worry, BUT we were able to basically have our pick of vendors and were able to get lower rates for some (such as the DJ, hotel blocks, etc). I was able to get my first choice vendor every time with no trouble. It is definitely worth considering! Go with your gut when hiring vendors. If you don't get a great feeling from a vendor, keep looking. Go with the people that you feel the most comfortable with. In the end, it will greatly reduce your stress because as the wedding nears, you can sit back and have faith in the people you hired. To be honest, I have no idea how our wedding all came together so flawlessly. I largely credit that to the fact that I hired people I knew I could count on, and they really pulled it together for me. Seriously consider hiring a day-of coordinator. It really meant a lot to me that I didn't have to lift a finger for the whole week leading up to my wedding - I didn't have to call one vendor, confirm one detail, decorate one pew or table, nothing. What's even better, is that none of my friends or family had to do it either. My guests were able to be just that - GUESTS. Because I didn't have to rely on my mom or bridesmaids or other relatives/friends to do set-up on the wedding day, I was able to spend a relaxed day at home getting pampered with my nearest and dearest. In my opinion, this was DEFINITELY the way to go! Make it meaningful. The little details that you incorporate that mean something to you - even if nobody else knows about it - are things you will remember, and they will make the day that much more special. For example, very few people knew that my prayer book bouquet was decorated with gardenias because they were my late grandmother's favorite flower...but it made me feel like she was there with me as I smelled them throughout the ceremony. Things like that will be meaningful and something to remember! Try to get away afterwards. I know this isn't always feasible, but try to honeymoon as soon after your wedding as possible, even if it's just for a day or two in a hotel nearby. I really believe it's important to get away for a bit with your new husband rather than going right back to the routine of regular life. Take some time away from family, friends, your house, the gifts, the pictures, work, pets, everything - just be together, enjoy each other, reflect on the commitment you just made, relive wedding details ad nauseum, whatever. There's plenty of time for regular life - so take the time to enjoy your new husband before you get back to it. HAVE FUN! Surround yourself with low-stress, fun loved ones. Relax. Enjoy the moment. Step back and take it in. Just have fun throughout the whole day! I never expected how much FUN my wedding would be. Of course I expected it to be nice, beautiful, emotional, etc., but I never would've thought how completely FUN the entire day was! I had an absolute blast! If you can relax and enjoy yourself, your guests will also see that and have more fun as well. So party on! Back To Top