Get Me To The Church On Time!

It was time to get to the church!  (All photos in this post courtesy of Jessica Morrisy or from family and friends!)

Well, by some miracle even though we were all running late, and even though it had just started to snow, our group still made it to the church and our ceremony started on time!  I like to take the credit for this, since everyone was shuttled to the church on our ultra-glam school bus!  Ok, maybe it wasn’t that glam, but what it lacked in glamour, it made up for in cuteness!

Of course, as much as I wanted to join everyone, J. and I also wanted to keep with tradition and wait until the ceremony to see each other.  So I went to the ceremony with my sister and dad, who had pre-parked our getaway car in front of the church.  Isn’t it gorgeous?  I didn’t want a traditional white car (not that there’s anything wrong with them but I wanted something a little more interesting) and since antique cars are totally my father’s “thing” we decided on his 1937 Packard limo.  My dad trailered this car all the way from Ohio just so we could have it there!  I especially love how this car has been a member of our family for a while now– and has driven around some famous people!

When I got to the church, I was shuttled into a top secret preschool classroom to wait with my ladies, but soon after, my bridesmaids were whisked off to line up for the ceremony.  At this point, all I felt were butterflies and excitement!

And with that, the prelude began!  J.’s parents and then my mother and stepfather made their walks down the aisle and lit the candle to Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring.  It was gorgeous!

And check out that gorgeous unity candle I made!  It wasn’t a huge element of the wedding, but I was glad I had found an inexpensive way to make it personal.  And I love the contrast of the mossy base with the smooth wood of the altar!

And then, the men lined up for the processional (Water Music, Air, by Handel- one of my all time favorites)!

J.’s two close cousins laid down the aisle runner at this point.  Remember that project? Well, given the snow outside, I was sure glad I’d listened to my mother and made one!

And with that, my girls did their thing.

And my flower girl did her thing too!  I can’t wait to share with you more of the video recaps, because what this photo doesn’t tell you, is how she was throwing the petals high in the air like fireworks!

Remember my DIY poms?  La-la-love them.

But where was the ring bearer you ask?  I think he was a little intimidated by all the people- he just didn’t have it in him that day.  Which I understand and respect.  I wish I had the fortitude to say “no” sometimes when I need to!  And anyhow, he was so cute it did not matter a bit!!

And then… the big moment!  Time for my grand entrance!  To Trumpet Voluntary by Clarke.  I wish I could find the words to express the way the organ sounded- the whole room was vibrant with song, and the moment felt exactly as it should have!  It didn’t take long for J. and I to lock eyes, and it was perfect perfect perfect.

Up next, the ceremony!!

And how did we get here?  Checking In;  Practice Makes Perfect: The Rehearsal!; The Rehearsal Dinner!; The Rehearsal Dinner Slide Show; Girls Gone Wild!; Got Mah Hairs Did; The Guys Get Groomed; The Girls Get Glammed!

The Girls Get Glammed!

Warning: photo heavy post ahead.  Not sure if you’ll appreciate it or not, so just a heads up now!  And of course, all the a-maz-ing images below are from Jessica Morrisy!

To make up for all the photos, I’ll try to keep my narrative to a minimum.  Really, all that needs to be said is that when I returned from the salon, most of my ladies were already dressed, and they looked outrageously stunning.  I immediately started to get misty when I saw them, they were so beautiful!  And then, I saw my flowers, and was so relieved that they weren’t ugly!  It was, after all, my biggest irrational wedding fear (I’m pretty sure every bride has one).

When I walked in the door, my bridesmaids got me a mimosa right away, followed by a Power Bar (I forgot to eat!  which NEVER happens…), while my mother and sisters finished themselves getting ready.  To pass the time, I visited with my cousins and danced with my flower girl… and then it was my turn to get dressed!  And yes, there were more tears, but we enjoyed every moment.  It was perfection!

Sadly, we were running behind schedule pretty badly at this point, so we had to hustle to get portraits done.  But you really can’t tell in the photos.  Reason #10,000 why I heart Jessica!

See, there, I kept the words brief.  Enjoy!

And how did we get here?  Checking In;  Practice Makes Perfect: The Rehearsal!; The Rehearsal Dinner!; The Rehearsal Dinner Slide Show; Girls Gone Wild!; Got Mah Hairs Did; The Guys Get Groomed

Avoiding the Middle School Sway

When I first told J. that I wanted to take dancing lessons for our wedding, this basically sums up the image I had in my head.

click image for source...

Only kidding.  I love me some Jennifer Gray and Patrick Swayze, but what I really was hoping was to simply avoid reliving the middle school sway during our first dance.  You know the one.

click image for source

J. on the other hand, reacted negatively to the idea at first.  He wanted the moment of our first dance to be personal and romantic, and was afraid of showboating.  I maintained that showboating was highly appropriate given that it was, um, our wedding.  But since he wasn’t feeling it, I didn’t really push it.  I just focused on the fact that my dad and I were taking dance lessons (something I was already psyched about) and figured J. and I would be fine.

This may be what J. wanted to avoid (click for source)

So imagine how happy I was when J. surprised me on my 30th birthday with… dancing lessons!  We went to Arthur Murray in Ridgewood, New Jersey, where we took a private lesson taught by a very pleasant and patient teacher.  And we were both shocked by how much easier it was than we thought it would be.  For me, dancing isn’t too hard because I took years of lessons growing up.  But when J., who has no dancing background, also figured it out quickly, we were especially happy!  J. has always been an accomplished athlete (having wrested in high school and college, and he holds a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) so I guess the same technique for memorizing moves and combinations there was helping him remember the moves with dancing.  And when all was said and done, not only did we have better stage presence, we also had a really nice time!

I highly recommend these dancing lessons to everyone!  I think what made our experience so successful was the following:

- We kept it simple with just three dance steps and a turn which could be done in any order we wanted, so long as we communicated.  That was nice because it left lots of wiggle room when we got to the dance floor, and also helped us hide mistakes– and the ability to hide mistakes was good for the nerves!

-At the end of our dance we did a dip.  One – and only one- signature move that required some practice and concentration.  We did not let things get over-complicated and it worked out well for us.

- We took two lessons and then practiced for 5 minutes a night at home, just to any music that happened to be on the radio.  J. would try to trick me, so that I’d really pay attention to his movement and allow him to lead.  And when all else failed, he’d just tell me “ok I’m about to do a turn.”  Being able to talk may not fly in ballroom competition, but people at the wedding just thought we were whispering sweet nothings into one another’s ears.

- Having the dance to concentrate on also helped take some of the pressure off of us- I know, it is ironic that doing something like that actually made it easier to have so many eyes on us.  But when you’re thinking about all the dance moves, it leaves less time to think about the fact that so many people are watching, or how nervous you are.  And after some practicing, it wasn’t even very hard, which meant there was still space in our brains to absorb the magic of the moment.

- We had fun with it at home!  We goofed off and laughed a lot, and it became it’s own memory.

At the end of the day, our dance wasn’t at all showboat-y.  It was simple, romantic, and to top it all off, looked nice in photos.  J. and I still talk about how much we enjoyed it!  I’m still working on recaps with pro pics but in the mean time, check out these lovely first dance shots taken by friends and family!  Are you sold yet?  Would you try dance lessons?

And by the way, if you are thinking of taking lessons and live in NYC, NJ, or Long Island, be sure to check out today’s Groupon: $45 for four weeks of lessons at Dance with Me!

Starting out and working through the nervousness...

Starting to relax and enjoy the moment!

"ok now I'm going to turn you..."

The big finish!

The Guys Get Groomed

* note, all recaps going forward feature the photography of Jessica Morrisy!  *

While the ladies and I were getting all gussied up, the men were… relaxing.  Eating sandwiches and drinking beer, and eventually, putting on their tuxes.  J. in particular looked pretty dapper, so Jessica pulled him aside to capture his look.

Jessica also took some time to show John his wedding present- an album of boudoir photos of yours truly!  I absolutely love how they came out and had such a hard time keeping them a secret from John, so it was great that she could be there to capture the moment he opened his book!

Of course, little M. was unimpressed by all the commotion.  He was busy pretending to be a ninja and avoiding hugs from all the bridesmaids.  It’s tough being so cute.

But the rest of the men were in excellent spirits.  I love how great the tuxedos looked with the handmade bout’s!

It probably didn’t hurt that I sent some cigars over either…

Eventually the guys rallied for some official portraits, and first came a key shot: J. with his best man and brother, D.

Followed by some cute, cheesy, and traditional hand shake shots.  The top two, and bottom right shots are of J. with my brothers.  I really like how amused they look (you know they are thinking “joke’s on you buddy!”)  But hey, they looked great!  And PS, the bottom left photo is J. with our brother in law, S!

With all this serious portraiture going on, the men did not let it get to them… J. had plenty of folks around to make sure he didn’t take himself too seriously enjoyed himself.

Including J.’s dad of course!  (Where was my dad, you ask?  Taking the vintage Packard to church, so we’d have it in case of snow… more on that later).

With that, a few more photos of the dudes in action… what a handsome group!

And then they were whisked back to their hotel rooms for a while, so we ladies could come do pictures too!

And how did we get here?  Checking In;  Practice Makes Perfect: The Rehearsal!; The Rehearsal Dinner!; The Rehearsal Dinner Slide Show; Girls Gone Wild!; Got Mah Hairs Did

Got Mah Hairs Did

On our wedding day, I woke bright and early (due to an unfortunately noisy heating unit in my hotel room) and excitedly threw on my special “getting ready outfit”- a juicy couture track suit (got it on sale of course, thanks Bloomingdale’s!) with a “Bride” tank top I’d scored on sale from the Wedding Chicks in my favorite color- pink!  Armed with my most comfortable duds, I met up with my ladies and got ready to get my hair and makeup done!

For hair and makeup, I told the ladies that I would be getting myself made up at Panico salon in Oradell, NJ.  I told the girls they could do their own hair and makeup or join me- and most of the bridesmaids did.  Those who didn’t actually had hair that was easy to style, so I was perfectly content to let folks choose for themselves, and in the end everyone looked lovely!

We got to Panico at 9 am and I was there until a little after noon- so yes, it was a long morning.  But as you can see, it was fun girl time!  One lesson I did learn in the process, however, was that I should  have built in more time.  We had a very tight schedule, and because we didn’t stick to it very well, I ended up feeling rushed when I got dressed.  Did it matter?    Not really, no– but if you’re planning your wedding, take note!

The most important thing was that we all bonded, and we all really loved the way we looked when we walked out of there.  You’ll see even more once I start posting the recaps with pro pics, but suffice it to say, Panico rocked it out!

Pre-'Do

Taming my mane into submission

Look how cute my girls are, even pre-polish!

Makeup time!

We were all smiles as our looks came together

A couple of final poses before we were on our way!

And how did we get here?  Checking In;  Practice Makes Perfect: The Rehearsal!; The Rehearsal Dinner!; The Rehearsal Dinner Slide Show; Girls Gone Wild!

Girls Gone Wild: Post Rehearsal Fun!

After the rehearsal dinner, we were all pretty beat.  But that didn’t mean we went to bed like the responsible adults we’re not.  Nooooo.  My ladies and I stayed up, drank a little wine (or fancy bottled waters) and visited.  After all, so many good friends were here from out of town, and I knew our wedding day would be nuts, so it was a good time to get some visiting in.  And so those who had a little energy left headed back to the big suite for some fun… in the form of goofing off, as all good friends do!

C. shows off the water, bottled with love by J. and I.

J. and B. unwind and laugh at the rest of the foolishness.

M., B. and I smile and try to look like grown ups for the camera!

E. and C. work on their goddess poses.

Note, that at this point, there actually were quite a few guys in the room.  But they were sitting and talking and catching up like normal people.  Unlike we ladies, who are clearly NOT afraid to look stupid in front of boys.

S. and I channel our inner Carlton Banks by recreating the scene from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air where Tom Jones sang "It's Not Unusual." I know you know what I'm talking about.

C. and I show off our matching shirts; and later I show off my new pearls from J!

Meanwhile, lil sis B. tried to keep her big sis in line.

While other bridesmaids finished opening up their swag bags... and felt just a little sad to have destroyed the wrappings.

But eventually the time came for me to say goodnight to J... and so I did so via interpretive dance. As you can see, he was not taking my dance seriously. So we said goodnight- and didn't see each other until I walked into that aisle the next morning!

It probably does not come as a surprise to you to hear that the next morning, despite our good intentions to get up and get a work out in, we did not do so. Oh but it was worth it!  A little silliness goes a long way to easing pre-wedding nervousness!

And speaking of silliness, that last picture, dear friends, is rock solid evidence of how much I love you all.  I look like a total nerd

And how did we get here?  Checking In;  Practice Makes Perfect: The Rehearsal!; The Rehearsal Dinner!; The Rehearsal Dinner Slide Show

The Brooklyn Bridge and My Bridal Shoot!

One of the things that kept me busy this past Sunday, other than making cake truffles for J., was that I met up with our photographer, the always mind-blowingly talented Jessica Morrisy, and we had a bridal photo shoot.  On none other than the Brooklyn bridge!  I had heard of doing “trash the dress” sessions before, but given my intense love for my own dress, hadn’t considered it an option for myself.  But when Jessica offered to do a bridal session- a session where you have fun but don’t ruin your dress- well, I was all for it!  I mean, who gets to wear their wedding dress two times?  Joy!

Given that it is winter, we had limited daylight on our actual wedding day for portraits- not to mention I was perhaps a tad emotional and overwhelmed by it all.  So doing a post-wedding photo shoot was really an excellent way for us to beef up some of the portraiture and have some fun playing with props, ideas, and backgrounds.  Jessica brought her boyfriend along (who was a great helper and super-cute) and we had the best time running around in the snow.  A huge, huge thanks to Jessica for yet another amazing set of photos!

And now for a teaser, courtesy of Jessica of course!

The Rehearsal Dinner Slide Show

As promised, a post devoted solely to the highlight of the rehearsal dinner- a slide show of J. and I through the years.  I promise not to make you sit through 15 minutes of photos of the two of us as babies, toddlers, kids, teens, and later as a couple… but it was gosh darn cute.  J.’s brother D., our best man, put the show together so that photos of us were shown back to back in the same context- the “Sears baby photo”, the “bathtub photo” and so forth.  And he set the whole thing to music.  I have seen slide shows of photos before, but never like this- even my brother A. got misty and it is nearly impossible to make that guy cry!

As an extra-special touch, D. made DVD’s for our parents and for us, with a copy of the slide show on it to keep.  I cannot possibly emphasize enough what a great touch this was for our rehearsal dinner.  As an added bonus, it filled up some time so J. and I didn’t have to give a long, boring speech (everyone hates wedding rehearsals with too much speeching, am I right?)  We just let the slide show do the talking.  I think everyone should do this.  I mean, look how cute we were!!

... as chubby babies!

... dressed up and old enough to sit up too!

... at the beach!

... tub time!

... with grandparents!

... me just generally looking cute

... let's talk about how much HAIR J. has in this photo!

Did you or will you plan anything special for your own rehearsal dinner?

And how did we get here?  Checking In;  Practice Makes Perfect: The Rehearsal!; The Rehearsal Dinner!

The Rehearsal Dinner!

Well, we’re back from Hawaii and it’s time for more recaps!  Yipee!  When I last left off, we had just finished our rehearsal at the church…

So after church, we all scooted as quickly as we could to the Cornerstone to get our post-rehearsal eat on!  We were so excited when we booked the Cornerstone because it had a nicely sized private room (harder to find in our area than you might think) and wonderful details like original ceiling tiles and exposed brick walls.  Vintage character but approachable, pretty but not stuffy!  It was so much fun to get to the restaurant and see everything set up- the seating cards were passed out so folks could reserve their spots, and the 3-sided menus were on all the tables, looking lovely!  Even the presents for our bridal party had been dropped off early and set up on a table.  It was so meaningful and fun to see it all come together!

One of the first things I did after grabbing a glass of wine, was give flower girl A. and ring bearer M. their presents.  I had gotten them lots of little goodies that I thought would entertain them during dinner, and probably through the wedding reception the next day too.  I picked up a sticker book, 3 Christmas story books (2 with CD’s), and green bear beanie babies on super-sale during the year, so those went into the bags first.  I also made them personalized coloring books and bought crayons and markers at the dollar store to go with them.  The kids also got bubbles, slinky’s (thanks Target dollar bins!), play dough, silly putty, and magnets.  Oh, and don’t forget, candy (I’m sure their parents loved me after that)!  A. also got a pair of white gloves and M. got a boutonniere.  They were happy campers!

I love how A. is such an expert with her sweet smile for the camera.  Meanwhile M. is going to kick your butt if you try to steal his candy!

After saying my special thank you to the kids, I found J. and we mixed and mingled with all of our family and friends!  Having our entire family there was such a treat, especially since I have 5 sibs and J. has 3.  Getting us all in one place isn’t easy!

Before long, it was time to get down to business: dinner time!  We could have served a seated meal, but we thought the group might appreciate the informality (and amount of food!) of a buffet.  Dinner included rolls, salad, penne a la vodka, chicken piccata, beef medallions, rice and veggies.  J.’s mom also made big trays of cookies for dessert which everyone promptly devoured.  Yum!

After dinner, J. and I got up and said a few words of thanks to everyone for being there with us.  And then J.’s brother presented a slide show of the two of us through the years.  I’ll be doing a separate post on this because it was downright incredible seeing each of us as babies, toddlers, school kids, highschoolers, and eventually through our time as a couple.  He even chose coordinating music for the various parts of the show.  I think more than a few of us got a little misty!

Finally, it was time to distribute presents, followed by more visiting!  I should note that I mostly only had family photos to share- the photos of most of my friends were either too dark, or were never sent to me (ahem, you know who you are!)  But if you are one of those friends who is wondering where your photo is, know that it is not for lack of love, just lack of photos!

Oh but you know the party didn’t stop after dinner.  Next up, we kick back in the suite and get pumped for the big day!

And how did we get here?  Checking In;  Practice Makes Perfect: The Rehearsal!

Practice Makes Perfect: The Rehearsal!

Alright friends, I have one last recap for you before I leave for my honeymoon, but I promise many more upon my return!  In the mean time I’ve lined up some wonderful guest bloggers who are sure to educate and entertain you in my absence.  Plus, I’m bringing my laptop to Hawaii (to watch movies and play YoVille of course) so I’ll try to check in with you while I’m there!  Keep reading and I’ll see you all again in two weeks!

. . .

Once checked in and settled, the ladies who stayed in my suite and I decided to start getting ready.  I was psyched to put on my crazy platform peeps (which the group affectionately called “hooker shoes”) and yes, they were harder to walk in than I expected.  We all wore hats, headbands, flowers or fascinators in honor of the occasion- below you can see that my little sister and MOH B. ended up wearing my hair flower, while I ended up wearing a headband belonging to bridesmaid C., and C. wore a sparkly headband I had purchased as “backup.”  After all that work on my hair flower, it just was not jiving with my dress.  But somehow it all worked out!  Of course, B. and I had to take a few goofy photos (our signature look) before we left the hotel!

Once we started for the church, it was like “Holy Traffic Batman!”  With all the traffic, of course I was the last person to get to the church.  Go figure.  I arrived flustered and worried, but the church coordinator Carol had already started getting everyone up to speed, parents and friends had made their introductions, so I got a few hugs and then hopped to!  Carol and the Reverend immediately went through the order of the ceremony.  Meanwhile, our ring bearer and flower girl sat quietly and absorbed the commotion.

After the first walk-through, we all recessed down the aisle.  I had encouraged everyone to work it down the aisle backwards (in the style of Juvenile’s Back That Azz Up) but nobody else thought that was a good idea so we just went normally.

And then we lined up and did it again!  This time I got an official walk down the aisle from my dad.

There were tiny blue stickers on the floor telling the bridal party where to stand.  They even received instructions on how and when to pivot toward the alter (which, if you’re wondering, should be done when the bride and groom walk up the stairs and start their vows).  The parents were also instructed on how to present us for marriage, at which point my father started laughing and said “well buddy, good luck with her!”

We even practiced the vows- thankfully the Reverendjust said “do you?  and do you?” which was helpful.  If he had gone through them, J. and I both might have cried.  J. claims he doesn’t cry but he’s actually a very sensitive dude; and me, I’m like water works when I get going.  We also practiced lighting our unity candle, at which point I remembered how much I loved my DIY unity candle (I have a short attention span).

After that, just one more recessional and we were done!

The final step was to sign our marriage license with our witnesses, and then we headed to the Cornerstone for the big dinner!

Up next, party time at the Rehearsal Dinner!

And how did we get here?  Checking In.