The Official Wedding Post, Part II
Pictures will be behind a cut to spare my flist. All pictures can be found in the 12/29/2006 gallery of my Scrapbook.
I woke up around 7 on my wedding day because the phone was ringing, but promptly went back to sleep until about 8:30. Dawn, Mike, Dani, Brendan, Steven, and I finally mostly got our shit together and decided that breakfast was the order of the morning. We went to Bob's uptown since it's their favourite place and they have the best hash in Weymouth. I greatly enjoyed my hash which was good since we never had a chance to eat lunch because of all the craziness. I drank more coffee than humanly necessary, leading me to later tell Nicki that this wedding was 100% stimulated.
We headed home after that so Mike, Steven, and Brendan could get read to go get their tuxes and Dawn could start my nails.
Nicki arrived around 11:30 and Dawn set about tipping my nails and curling Nicki's hair while they dried. For my part, I sat in front of the computer and updated my LJ. I win like that. Dani went through my checklist of things and made sure all my items were in order and ready to head down to the car. Nicki's hair was done by 12:30, so we got ready to get our show on the road to get my hair done at A Cut Above the Rest.
The minute we got on the highway, though, we hit a crazy gawker blocker at exit 15. It wasn't even a good accident, just a fender bender on the opposite side, but it was enough to back us up a good 15 minutes. Dani called to let them know we were running late. The hair dresser booked me for an hour and a half, so she only had about an hour to do my hair when I got there. She didn't think she'd have enough time, but my hairstyle was almost totally down. She actually only needed about 6 pins to keep the style together and most of the time was spent curling the bottoms. I did have to convince her to use the smallest barrel on the front curls. She told me it would look to prom-y, but I told her my hair would relax into spirals as soon as she pulled the curler. I'm glad she listened because some of the curls started to come loose in the back.
We headed from the salon straight to the church. We arrived right around 2:30 and snuck into the back door to get our stuff set up in the ready room. Dawn headed to the bathroom to start curling her hair and I made my way to the snack table to stuff my face with goldfish crackers because I was starving. Most of this was done while walking around in my garters, my bra, and panties since I didn't want to get into my dress till the last minute.
The best example of me not wearing much was when Alex, the best man, came in to ask me a question for Steven. He had surgery on his eyes just a couple days before the wedding, so he couldn't see much of anything. He mentioned to me that he hoped he was talking to me since he couldn't see anything and I told him it was good he couldn't because I pretty much wasn't wearing anything. He immediately turned bright red and asked if I was kidding. Nope, I was walking around in my garters, bra, and panties. He fled.
I finally threw my petticoats on after that because I was starting to get chilly. After a quick time check, I started putting on my make-up so we could hopefully get a few pictures done. I'll happily let anyone who's interested know what I used. I waited till the last minute for lippie since I knew that could be a huge potential mess. We rallied the girls to hoist my dress and get it on. Dawn and her mum started pinning me in while I held very, very still.
We only got a few pictures in before the guests started arriving and it was time for me to disappear back into the ready room. The girls stayed out to take pictures so I had a couple minutes to myself. Bruce came back to ask if I wanted to put a 10 minute hold on the ceremony so our last reader could arrive and I okayed that. And then... we waited.
The way our church was set up, all of us girls had to walk around the outside of the church to make our entrance through the main door. We put all our hands in, had a quick moment, and then it was go time. We walked down the handicapped ramp, across the little lawn, and started our line. The boys were good enough to tulle the screen door so each girl could go in, remove their coat, and not be seen. Steven's entrance music (Raiders of the Lost Ark theme) kicked off and the wedding began. The girls made their way down the aisle, starting with Joy, Jenna, Nicki, and finally Dawn to the love theme from Somewhere in Time. Haille followed them up. Brendan rang his bell between songs. Then, my entrance to Ravel's Bolero. It wouldn't have me to come in to anything else.
Our ceremony was only about half an hour. Jenne did an amazing job as the officiant. I am so glad that she offered to do this for us because I can't think of anyone else would I would rather have had that day. She was so calming and wonderful, spending time with me before the ceremony and guiding us perfectly into our vows. She didn't even give me to hard a time when we were trying to decide where to hide the glass and I suggested next to Baby Jesus in the manager since it was the closest location.
The coolest part? In the middle of our vows, the church bells began to ring. I think we both started laughing.
Steven broke the glass, Jenne read the peace, and then said he could kiss the bride. I'll have to say all I could think of at that moment was "Church Tongue". Jenne later said she was thinking the same thing. We made our recessional (The Throne Room/End Credits) and formed our receiving line. Things were good!
We had our final round of pictures right after the receiving line and then we got ready to pile into Mum and Bruce's car to be taken to the reception. It was great because it was my first chance to really sit down all day. Steven and I chitchatted during the ride from church to reception and it was so great to be able to relax. I was so pumped on adrenaline that I wasn't even tired at that point, just very hungry. We arrived at the reception almost exactly on time (6:30ish), but had a little bit of time organizing and getting my toss garter on and getting info to the DJ.
We made our grand entrance and I had just enough time to sneak out of my cloak before we started our first dance. If I had it to do over, I would have had dinner first and then done our first dance later. Still, it was awesome to lose sight of everything and have that quiet moment to ourselves while our song played. By the time we were done and sat back down, our salads were ready and waiting. Our caterers were awesome. They were worth every dime we paid for them and probably then some. The food was amazing and they had it literally ready and waiting when we sat our heinies down. The directed the tables to get up and eat and were ready and waiting with the coffee for us. The only thing I wish I had arranged was for Steven and I to have plates brought to us. Steven got my plate because once I was down, it was almost impossible for me to get up and going again.
In between dinner and cake, our friend Sam bellydanced. I am so incredibly glad that Steven asked her to do that. It was a really cool way to break up the monotony of dinner and I'm pretty sure 90% of our guests really enjoyed it. After that, our DJ played Happy Birthday for my nephew, who turned 5 that day, and then we pulled out the last stop. We were married on my grandparents' 61st wedding anniversary. I spent a couple weeks tracking their song down on the internet so that Steven and I could play it for them. While we were playing it, I presented my grandmother with a bouquet made from the flowers in mine. That moment, right there, was the highlight of the wedding for me. Making my grandparents that happy was the reason we did the whole formal shebang. Steven and I had a chance to dance to their song, as well.
We meandered our way over to the cake after that so we could get dessert going and then get down to business: dancing. Unfortunately, our cake was a MESS. Literally half of the decorations were missing, the frosting was diveted, and the piping was uneven and poorly applied. I was literally almost in tears when I saw it. The place we went to is supposed to be the best of the best and I've had better looking cakes from Stop & Shop. When we cut into the cake, there was over an inch of buttercream on the outside and almost no cake on the inside. It was predominantly filling and frosting. Because of the lack of actual cake in the middle, the layers were starting to sink inbetween the dowels. It was mostly bland and not nearly as good as the one we had during the tasting. That was the one big culinary disappointment at the reception. What was worse was that quite a few people noticed and asked what was wrong with the cake.
The dancing started off slow, which is why I say I wish we had saved our first dance till after the cake cutting. I don't think anyone had any idea of when to start dancing. Chad's little sister and her fiance did get up and dance for a while, which was very nice because they are both professional dancers. A lot of the older guests left right around the beginning of the dancing, so there was a lot of confusion. What mattered, though, is that the dancing kicked off and a great deal of fun was had.
I threw my bouquet shortly after. Our friend, Amanda, who caught it, was actually planning on leaving when we announced we were going to throw it. Steven dragged her back in. It took me three tries to get it to someone, but she was the lucky winner. We opted to do the garter right after and it took Steven quite a bit of effort for find it under my three crinolines, but he did. Of course, he had the same issue as I did. Brendan caught it straight out TWICE. Steven finally had him throw it and one of his college buddies, Gerry, caught it.
Gerry put on quite a show, dancing around Amanda before he got on on her leg. I have a couple pictures of it, but oh man, I wish I had a video camera. It was so amazingly funny. He put the Chippendales to shame. It was a magical moment.
We actually had a far better time dancing once a few of the people there had left. Our DJ cranked the music and we really kicked things off. I wish we had spent more time dancing, but I think when you're the bride, you never get to do everything you want. I came pretty close. We had scheduled the reception to end around 11, so everyone pulled in for the last dance, which was to U2's Beautiful Day. After it was over, Steven and I made our final toast to our amazing friends and family who had stood by us till the end and took a last group picture. I got into my cloak and we got ready to make our final getaway. We ended up standing outside chatting with a few of our friends till just about midnight. Then, we piled into the Accord and headed to...
McDonald's!
There was a miscommunication, so our two meals never made it to our car. We were both starving, so we went through the drive-thru. The woman working there gave us free apple pies and then we headed to the Rockland Radisson, where we were spending our wedding night. We checked in, cranked the heat, and started running water in the jacuzzi tub for ourselves. We scarfed some of our McD's, although both burgers were pink in the middle, and then just relaxed. The jacuzzi was the smartest thing ever. My feet were killing me, even though I had eventually switched to my awesome sneakers before the end of the wedding.
We finally crashed around 3am. It took forever to wind down. We slept straight through until the next morning, when Dawn called us. It was an awesome, but very, very long day.
I put make-up on.
I couldn't fit in the bathroom, so I put makeup on in my little corner as Haille and Jenna watched.
I finally lose it.
Two years of wedding planning and my mind finally snaps with I apply eyeliner.
Steven waits.
My husband to be waits and greets friends in the back of the church.
Our chuppah
Steven finally got his light-up chuppah.
More Makeup
I hide in a corner with Jenna and Nicki to finish doing my makeup.
Smile!
I smile as I put the finishing touches on my makeup.
Haille
Our flowergirl smiles for a picture with the bouquets in the background.
The Dress goes on
The Dress goes on very, very carefully while Dawn's mum pins me shut.
Nicki's boob looked lonely
I let Nicki get in on the awesome boob grabbing action.
Getting me ready to roll.
Dawn, her mum, Dani, and Joy tie me in so I can make my trip down the aisle.
Sisters
Dawn and I share a mirror to put on the finishing touches of our make-up.
Garter time!
Dawn gets under my skirt to get the garter on.
The new Mr. and Mrs.!
Steven and I make our grand entrance into the reception.
First Dance
Our first dance to U2's Electrical Storm.
Cutting the cake
Cutting our very poorly assembled cake.
Steven feeds me a piece
We were nice, there was no smashing.
Steven Goes for the Garter
There was a garter somewhere under those three crinolines.
Still trying to find it
It took him a good 5 minutes to locate the garter.
Steven tosses the garter
Steven throws my garter.
Gerry makes the catch
Gerry for the win!
Amanda caught the bouquet
Amanda caught my toss bouquet.
Steven and Mike
Mike takes advantage of the groom during a dance.
Nicki and I dance
I figured I owed Nicki a dance after grabbing her boob while we were getting ready.
Steven and I dance
We share a moment dancing.
Steven and I share another moment
It's nice to be a newlywed.
Dawn and the baby bump
Dawn has the cutest baby belly ever.
Sam teaches our friends to belly dance
Our belly dancer goes above and beyond the call of duty.
Dancing
Dancing and a good shot of my pretty bustle.
Steven and I dancing
Steven tries to get close to me in the dress of doom.
Steven gets it on with my dress
Or at least he tries.
Sisters
Dawn and I pose. Another picture that's the same from her wedding.
Dawn and I grind
Well, as much as you can with a huge dress and a baby in the way.
Dawn shows off my silver shoes
I click three times to go home.
Something is funny
I think we were laughing about how many pictures we have that are identical to ones at Dawn's wedding.
West Coast, yo
West Coast fo'EVAH!
More boobs
Dawn and I grab discuss how our boobs just don't fit in these dresses.
Dani and me
Dani, a friend cum wedding coordinator, me, and Steven's unattended Scotch.
Mum finally dances with me
My mum, who doesn't dance, is dragged onto the floor. You'd never know she has cancer just by looking at her.
I dance with Bruce
I finally get a chance to dance with Bruce.
Mum looks so happy
My mum finally relaxes and enjoys the moment.
Church tongue!
Not really, but we kiss during the last song, U2's Beautiful Day.
Last moments as bride and groom
Two years of planning for this moment.
Toasting our friends
I toast our friends who made everything possible. I start crying because Dawn looked at me.
The Group in the End
Back Row: Bruce, Mum, Nicki, Steven, Chris, Mike, Dani
Middle Row: Me, Dawn
Front Row: James the DJ, Kim, Gerry, Haille, Sam the Belly Dancer
Snow Queen
I have my hands fully inside my very warm muff.
I woke up around 7 on my wedding day because the phone was ringing, but promptly went back to sleep until about 8:30. Dawn, Mike, Dani, Brendan, Steven, and I finally mostly got our shit together and decided that breakfast was the order of the morning. We went to Bob's uptown since it's their favourite place and they have the best hash in Weymouth. I greatly enjoyed my hash which was good since we never had a chance to eat lunch because of all the craziness. I drank more coffee than humanly necessary, leading me to later tell Nicki that this wedding was 100% stimulated.
We headed home after that so Mike, Steven, and Brendan could get read to go get their tuxes and Dawn could start my nails.
Nicki arrived around 11:30 and Dawn set about tipping my nails and curling Nicki's hair while they dried. For my part, I sat in front of the computer and updated my LJ. I win like that. Dani went through my checklist of things and made sure all my items were in order and ready to head down to the car. Nicki's hair was done by 12:30, so we got ready to get our show on the road to get my hair done at A Cut Above the Rest.
The minute we got on the highway, though, we hit a crazy gawker blocker at exit 15. It wasn't even a good accident, just a fender bender on the opposite side, but it was enough to back us up a good 15 minutes. Dani called to let them know we were running late. The hair dresser booked me for an hour and a half, so she only had about an hour to do my hair when I got there. She didn't think she'd have enough time, but my hairstyle was almost totally down. She actually only needed about 6 pins to keep the style together and most of the time was spent curling the bottoms. I did have to convince her to use the smallest barrel on the front curls. She told me it would look to prom-y, but I told her my hair would relax into spirals as soon as she pulled the curler. I'm glad she listened because some of the curls started to come loose in the back.
We headed from the salon straight to the church. We arrived right around 2:30 and snuck into the back door to get our stuff set up in the ready room. Dawn headed to the bathroom to start curling her hair and I made my way to the snack table to stuff my face with goldfish crackers because I was starving. Most of this was done while walking around in my garters, my bra, and panties since I didn't want to get into my dress till the last minute.
The best example of me not wearing much was when Alex, the best man, came in to ask me a question for Steven. He had surgery on his eyes just a couple days before the wedding, so he couldn't see much of anything. He mentioned to me that he hoped he was talking to me since he couldn't see anything and I told him it was good he couldn't because I pretty much wasn't wearing anything. He immediately turned bright red and asked if I was kidding. Nope, I was walking around in my garters, bra, and panties. He fled.
I finally threw my petticoats on after that because I was starting to get chilly. After a quick time check, I started putting on my make-up so we could hopefully get a few pictures done. I'll happily let anyone who's interested know what I used. I waited till the last minute for lippie since I knew that could be a huge potential mess. We rallied the girls to hoist my dress and get it on. Dawn and her mum started pinning me in while I held very, very still.
We only got a few pictures in before the guests started arriving and it was time for me to disappear back into the ready room. The girls stayed out to take pictures so I had a couple minutes to myself. Bruce came back to ask if I wanted to put a 10 minute hold on the ceremony so our last reader could arrive and I okayed that. And then... we waited.
The way our church was set up, all of us girls had to walk around the outside of the church to make our entrance through the main door. We put all our hands in, had a quick moment, and then it was go time. We walked down the handicapped ramp, across the little lawn, and started our line. The boys were good enough to tulle the screen door so each girl could go in, remove their coat, and not be seen. Steven's entrance music (Raiders of the Lost Ark theme) kicked off and the wedding began. The girls made their way down the aisle, starting with Joy, Jenna, Nicki, and finally Dawn to the love theme from Somewhere in Time. Haille followed them up. Brendan rang his bell between songs. Then, my entrance to Ravel's Bolero. It wouldn't have me to come in to anything else.
Our ceremony was only about half an hour. Jenne did an amazing job as the officiant. I am so glad that she offered to do this for us because I can't think of anyone else would I would rather have had that day. She was so calming and wonderful, spending time with me before the ceremony and guiding us perfectly into our vows. She didn't even give me to hard a time when we were trying to decide where to hide the glass and I suggested next to Baby Jesus in the manager since it was the closest location.
The coolest part? In the middle of our vows, the church bells began to ring. I think we both started laughing.
Steven broke the glass, Jenne read the peace, and then said he could kiss the bride. I'll have to say all I could think of at that moment was "Church Tongue". Jenne later said she was thinking the same thing. We made our recessional (The Throne Room/End Credits) and formed our receiving line. Things were good!
We had our final round of pictures right after the receiving line and then we got ready to pile into Mum and Bruce's car to be taken to the reception. It was great because it was my first chance to really sit down all day. Steven and I chitchatted during the ride from church to reception and it was so great to be able to relax. I was so pumped on adrenaline that I wasn't even tired at that point, just very hungry. We arrived at the reception almost exactly on time (6:30ish), but had a little bit of time organizing and getting my toss garter on and getting info to the DJ.
We made our grand entrance and I had just enough time to sneak out of my cloak before we started our first dance. If I had it to do over, I would have had dinner first and then done our first dance later. Still, it was awesome to lose sight of everything and have that quiet moment to ourselves while our song played. By the time we were done and sat back down, our salads were ready and waiting. Our caterers were awesome. They were worth every dime we paid for them and probably then some. The food was amazing and they had it literally ready and waiting when we sat our heinies down. The directed the tables to get up and eat and were ready and waiting with the coffee for us. The only thing I wish I had arranged was for Steven and I to have plates brought to us. Steven got my plate because once I was down, it was almost impossible for me to get up and going again.
In between dinner and cake, our friend Sam bellydanced. I am so incredibly glad that Steven asked her to do that. It was a really cool way to break up the monotony of dinner and I'm pretty sure 90% of our guests really enjoyed it. After that, our DJ played Happy Birthday for my nephew, who turned 5 that day, and then we pulled out the last stop. We were married on my grandparents' 61st wedding anniversary. I spent a couple weeks tracking their song down on the internet so that Steven and I could play it for them. While we were playing it, I presented my grandmother with a bouquet made from the flowers in mine. That moment, right there, was the highlight of the wedding for me. Making my grandparents that happy was the reason we did the whole formal shebang. Steven and I had a chance to dance to their song, as well.
We meandered our way over to the cake after that so we could get dessert going and then get down to business: dancing. Unfortunately, our cake was a MESS. Literally half of the decorations were missing, the frosting was diveted, and the piping was uneven and poorly applied. I was literally almost in tears when I saw it. The place we went to is supposed to be the best of the best and I've had better looking cakes from Stop & Shop. When we cut into the cake, there was over an inch of buttercream on the outside and almost no cake on the inside. It was predominantly filling and frosting. Because of the lack of actual cake in the middle, the layers were starting to sink inbetween the dowels. It was mostly bland and not nearly as good as the one we had during the tasting. That was the one big culinary disappointment at the reception. What was worse was that quite a few people noticed and asked what was wrong with the cake.
The dancing started off slow, which is why I say I wish we had saved our first dance till after the cake cutting. I don't think anyone had any idea of when to start dancing. Chad's little sister and her fiance did get up and dance for a while, which was very nice because they are both professional dancers. A lot of the older guests left right around the beginning of the dancing, so there was a lot of confusion. What mattered, though, is that the dancing kicked off and a great deal of fun was had.
I threw my bouquet shortly after. Our friend, Amanda, who caught it, was actually planning on leaving when we announced we were going to throw it. Steven dragged her back in. It took me three tries to get it to someone, but she was the lucky winner. We opted to do the garter right after and it took Steven quite a bit of effort for find it under my three crinolines, but he did. Of course, he had the same issue as I did. Brendan caught it straight out TWICE. Steven finally had him throw it and one of his college buddies, Gerry, caught it.
Gerry put on quite a show, dancing around Amanda before he got on on her leg. I have a couple pictures of it, but oh man, I wish I had a video camera. It was so amazingly funny. He put the Chippendales to shame. It was a magical moment.
We actually had a far better time dancing once a few of the people there had left. Our DJ cranked the music and we really kicked things off. I wish we had spent more time dancing, but I think when you're the bride, you never get to do everything you want. I came pretty close. We had scheduled the reception to end around 11, so everyone pulled in for the last dance, which was to U2's Beautiful Day. After it was over, Steven and I made our final toast to our amazing friends and family who had stood by us till the end and took a last group picture. I got into my cloak and we got ready to make our final getaway. We ended up standing outside chatting with a few of our friends till just about midnight. Then, we piled into the Accord and headed to...
McDonald's!
There was a miscommunication, so our two meals never made it to our car. We were both starving, so we went through the drive-thru. The woman working there gave us free apple pies and then we headed to the Rockland Radisson, where we were spending our wedding night. We checked in, cranked the heat, and started running water in the jacuzzi tub for ourselves. We scarfed some of our McD's, although both burgers were pink in the middle, and then just relaxed. The jacuzzi was the smartest thing ever. My feet were killing me, even though I had eventually switched to my awesome sneakers before the end of the wedding.
We finally crashed around 3am. It took forever to wind down. We slept straight through until the next morning, when Dawn called us. It was an awesome, but very, very long day.
I put make-up on.
I couldn't fit in the bathroom, so I put makeup on in my little corner as Haille and Jenna watched.
I finally lose it.
Two years of wedding planning and my mind finally snaps with I apply eyeliner.
Steven waits.
My husband to be waits and greets friends in the back of the church.
Our chuppah
Steven finally got his light-up chuppah.
More Makeup
I hide in a corner with Jenna and Nicki to finish doing my makeup.
Smile!
I smile as I put the finishing touches on my makeup.
Haille
Our flowergirl smiles for a picture with the bouquets in the background.
The Dress goes on
The Dress goes on very, very carefully while Dawn's mum pins me shut.
Nicki's boob looked lonely
I let Nicki get in on the awesome boob grabbing action.
Getting me ready to roll.
Dawn, her mum, Dani, and Joy tie me in so I can make my trip down the aisle.
Sisters
Dawn and I share a mirror to put on the finishing touches of our make-up.
Garter time!
Dawn gets under my skirt to get the garter on.
The new Mr. and Mrs.!
Steven and I make our grand entrance into the reception.
First Dance
Our first dance to U2's Electrical Storm.
Cutting the cake
Cutting our very poorly assembled cake.
Steven feeds me a piece
We were nice, there was no smashing.
Steven Goes for the Garter
There was a garter somewhere under those three crinolines.
Still trying to find it
It took him a good 5 minutes to locate the garter.
Steven tosses the garter
Steven throws my garter.
Gerry makes the catch
Gerry for the win!
Amanda caught the bouquet
Amanda caught my toss bouquet.
Steven and Mike
Mike takes advantage of the groom during a dance.
Nicki and I dance
I figured I owed Nicki a dance after grabbing her boob while we were getting ready.
Steven and I dance
We share a moment dancing.
Steven and I share another moment
It's nice to be a newlywed.
Dawn and the baby bump
Dawn has the cutest baby belly ever.
Sam teaches our friends to belly dance
Our belly dancer goes above and beyond the call of duty.
Dancing
Dancing and a good shot of my pretty bustle.
Steven and I dancing
Steven tries to get close to me in the dress of doom.
Steven gets it on with my dress
Or at least he tries.
Sisters
Dawn and I pose. Another picture that's the same from her wedding.
Dawn and I grind
Well, as much as you can with a huge dress and a baby in the way.
Dawn shows off my silver shoes
I click three times to go home.
Something is funny
I think we were laughing about how many pictures we have that are identical to ones at Dawn's wedding.
West Coast, yo
West Coast fo'EVAH!
More boobs
Dawn and I grab discuss how our boobs just don't fit in these dresses.
Dani and me
Dani, a friend cum wedding coordinator, me, and Steven's unattended Scotch.
Mum finally dances with me
My mum, who doesn't dance, is dragged onto the floor. You'd never know she has cancer just by looking at her.
I dance with Bruce
I finally get a chance to dance with Bruce.
Mum looks so happy
My mum finally relaxes and enjoys the moment.
Church tongue!
Not really, but we kiss during the last song, U2's Beautiful Day.
Last moments as bride and groom
Two years of planning for this moment.
Toasting our friends
I toast our friends who made everything possible. I start crying because Dawn looked at me.
The Group in the End
Back Row: Bruce, Mum, Nicki, Steven, Chris, Mike, Dani
Middle Row: Me, Dawn
Front Row: James the DJ, Kim, Gerry, Haille, Sam the Belly Dancer
Snow Queen
I have my hands fully inside my very warm muff.