The Honeymoon!!!!

It's been 3 weeks since I posted my vendor review and I am so sorry. I tortured Bryan for honeymoon pictures for weeks! He was out of town for 2 weeks then there was Thanksgiving and time just got away from me! I actuallywrote what follows here on November 30th, so I was thinking of my readership. I picked 37 pictures of more than 300 that were taken on the honeymoon, so I hope you enjoy. If anyone wants any other information on St. Lucia, feel free to e-mail me at tomboybride2010@gmail.com. Here goes, my blog as it was written almost 2 weeks ago:

Well now that Greg Smeck has admitted to reading this blog, I may just go on and blog forever. Or maybe I had just consumed one too many beers at the St. Kevin's All-Class Reunion last weekend and fabricated that conversation in my head. In any event, it's been a busy two weeks complete with a fantastic visit to see my family in Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving (fantastic minus the 15 hour drives each way...oy...).

After my vendor review, I was ready and willing to close out the blog over the weekend when I realized I had not blogged the honeymoon. I've gotten easily a dozen requests to share pictures of St. Lucia and unfortunately, since Bryan swiped the memory card out of my camera about a year ago, the pictures have not been in my possession. (I know what you're thinking - why not just go get the card out of his camera? I would do that, if I knew where his camera was - Bryan is the type of person that can find things in the chaos of his dresser, bookbags, and car; I, on the other hand, need things out and readily accessible.)

Finally, after bugging him about this for a little over a week, I am proud to say I am the owner of our honeymoon pictures!

St. Lucia was, in a word, amazing. Bryan and I left on a 9am flight out of Atlanta the Sunday following our wedding. The flight was absolutely perfect (and this from a girl who hates to fly). I'll also mention that this particular installment of my blog may become a running advertisement for Dramamine. I don't consider myself someone who's overly prone to motion sickness, but Bryan had read online that the drive from the airport to the resort was going to be about 90 minutes and was very curvy with a lot of ups and downs. The last thing I wanted to do was kick off our honeymoon by yakking in a shuttle full of strangers (or, really, any vehicle for that matter). So yes, I bought 8 packs of Dramamine at the airport - and each and every one of them came in handy!

We landed at the tiny airport and went through customs immediately (my first time doing so - yes, I felt cool!). We stood in a line and were ushered to a shuttle where we rode to Sandals Regency St. Lucia with 3 other couples. This was also the day the Eagles were playing the Falcons in Philly and I happened to be stuck in the shuttle with a guy that loves dog murderers - oh, sorry, I meant an Eagles fan. It was an interesting ride to say the least!

It's a pine cone!!! At the St. Lucia airport!!

I have no idea why this pine cone was there, but I was pretty darn excited!

Below are some pictures that Bryan took on the car ride to the resort. The island was so lush and beautiful! The car ride was bearable thanks to Dramamine!!!

When we arrived at the resort, we were told the building we requested was recently painted and therefore, not ready. Instead we were placed in the main building where we had an amazing view of...a tree. Due to the fact that the location of the room overlooked the pool, Bryan also noted the noise level was not to his liking. We ended up requesting a much quieter room (this wish was granted the next day!).

While I managed to not get sick on the shuttle ride to the resort, I did happen to attempt to put my contacts in only to have the St. Lucian soap residue still on my hand (or so I think...) practically blind me. Great, five minutes into being at the resort and I had a eye that was as red and swollen as if I had cried for 3 days straight after getting punched in the face repeatedly. I looked HIDEOUS! But I did the best thing I could which was cry (I was in THAT much pain!!!) and finally exhausted myself and fell asleep. The redness subsided significantly after about 3 days and yes, those contacts ended up in the trash.

I woke up to the realization that we needed to eat dinner and watch the Phillies!!! If you've done the math on this, you know that the Phillies were in the National League Championship Series throughout out honeymoon. I am proud, yet slightly embarrassed, to say we did not miss a game!

Our first meal of the honeymoon was a restaurant called The Pitons - they served Caribbean food. Two words: Jerk Chicken. It was just plain delicious. After dinner we headed to a bar called Cricketers Pub to watch the game. I walked in the bar to find...DOZENS OF PHILLIES FANS!!! So we weren't the only newlyweds that wanted to keep up with the biggest games on the planet!!!

Monday was our first full day at the resort and we took advantage of sleeping in. It ended up being the only day that we did so! We woke up to head down to breakfast (read: after 11am!) so we went to Neptune's - a Mediterranean restaurant for lunch. Neptune's became our lunchtime stop of choice. After lunch, we headed to the beach where I started reading my first book of the honeymoon "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein. Awesome book. I also did a heck of a lot of Sudokus. And to be honest, nothing could have made me more relaxed...until I tasted this delicious frozen drink called a "BBC" (which I think stands for bananas, Bailey's, and coconut). My response to this was: "Bananas??? It's healthy!" Reading and playing Sudoku in the Caribbean while drinking frozen alcoholic beverages - this was EXACTLY what I envisioned on our honeymoon!

The view from Neptune's and us enjoying our first Mimosas!

There was a beautiful gazebo overlooking the main pool that Bryan and I relaxed in during a light rain shower.

Monday evening, Bryan and I decided to take advantage of the fact that we could visit the other Sandals resorts on the island and headed over to the Sandals Grande for dinner.

Tuesday we decided to go for a little excursion. Bryan had signed us up prior to our arrival on the island. We were told to be in the lobby by 8:45am for pick-up. After a fast breakfast at Armando's (yet another restaurant at the resort), we were met by a driver who showed us to our private car. Bryan and I were both confused as the ziplining tour he had signed us up for most certainly involved an accompanying tour group. (At this point, you might be saying, "Uh, so why did you get in the car?" Yeah, I don't have a good answer to that. I've seen enough scary movies to know you don't get in the car!!!).

Luckily for us, the car took us to the rainforest. Our driver (unfortunately who's name I can not remember) was incredibly knowledgeable about the island and was more than happy to share tales of his upbringing and family with us. And thank goodness for the Dramamine!!! We arrived at the rainforest and were directed to a garage-like room where our tour guide put us in harnesses.

Tour Guide: "So, you signed up for the Treetop Challenge Course?"

Bryan: "Uh...did I?"

Me: "WHAT???"

Tour Guide: "Oh, it's fun! You'll like it, then afterwards, I'll take you ziplining."

Bryan: "OK"

Me: "Wait, wait, wait...what is a Treetop Challenge Course?"

Tour Guide: "An obstacle course about 300 feet above the ground in the trees"

Terror set in and I quickly began to threaten Bryan with the promise of an annulment if I had to do some kind of obstacle course 300 feet off the ground. "Oh, you'll be fine. I bet it's super easy - walking across bridges and stuff." Bryan said.

Did he learn NOTHING from our trip out West? I don't like hanging out on suspension bridges, thankyouverymuch.

We started the climb....

The first obstacle was...a tight rope that was suspended from tree-to-tree. I kid you not, my legs were shaking helplessly. And yes, I realize I had a harness and was clipped into a safety line above me, but it did not stop the fear.

There were 11 obstacles in all. Each had a little trick to it that the Guide demonstrated to help get oneself across. Very few, in my opinion, were anything resembling super easy.

The odd part is after we finished it we walked DOWN to get to the zip course. You want to see a girl that has no fear on a zip course? That was me. After my nerves were pushed to the brink, I felt absolutely nothing but exhilaration ziplining. It was absolutely amazing and in retrospect, I was really happy we did the Challenge Course. (Sidenote: Just two weeks ago, the Real World/Road Rules Challenge had an obstacle much like one of those featured in the course we did! And many of them were unable to complete it!)

Wednesday was another relaxation day complete with multiple BBCs (although in this picture I am drinking something blue that was made with entirely too much alcohol - I couldn't even finish it!). We also had reservations at the French restaurant at the resort, La Toc. This was one of my favorite meals of the trip.

More views from our room. The weather was SO perfect while we were there - not too hot by any means.

Below is where they had a "Chocolate Bar" - one of my favorite evenings of the trip!

Pictures of the "Cool Pool" - the one we hung out at ! It was less crowded and noisy, not to mention closer to our room.

Thursday, we went on a Land and Sea Excursion with Joe Knows. Enter more Dramamine!!! This was a blast. Our main tour guide was a guy named B.K. that just kept saying things like, "Yah Mon" and "Good vibes...good vibes." The sights were absolutely beautiful - the weather was stunning the whole time we were on the island, but perhaps Thursday was the most gorgeous day! We went to see The Pitons themselves (the mountain range, not the restaurant), we took a dip in a mud bath in the Sulfur Springs, we cooled off in a waterfall, and we went snorkeling!!! The day was capped off with an incredible meal at a local restaurant - this was my FAVORITE by far - seafood stew, fried breadfruit, dumplings. Simply amazing. Thursday evening we had reservations at the restaurant Kimono's - a Hibachi restaurant at the resort.

Us covered in mud, above, one of my favorite things we did the whole time! And to the left, us under "Jake and Vienna's waterfall".

Friday we decided to hang out again by the pool all day. Above, there are pictures of us just relaxing in a hammock and kissing at sunset (I had to have one kissing picture - it was our honeymoon!)

Yes, by this point I had finished my first book and was well into my second "Baby Proof" by Emily Giffin. I realize the irony of reading such a book on our honeymoon which is part of the reason I did so! :-)

Friday evening, we attended a Carnivale-type event that the resort hosted. The entertainment was something to marvel at - people on stilts performing a routine, fire-breathers, lots of beautiful dancers and a great band playing the sounds of the Caribbean. So much fun.

On Saturday, we again chose to relax. Above you can see the Hawaiian shirt that Bryan insisted on wearing. I should've worn a solid dress though - eek! We were a vision standing next to each other! We ended our week with dinner at Armando's and a bottle of wine for just the two of us in our Oceanview room. Bliss.

Sunday afternoon, we made the trip back to Atlanta. As much as I was disappointed to see our honeymoon end, I was completely rejuvenated by the trip.

I know this blog has been long, but the summary is this: St. Lucia is incredible. The sights are breathtaking, the weather was PERFECT, the food is phenomenal, and the people are wonderful! BUT if we were to do it all over again, we would've picked a more secluded resort.

We had a GREAT time and we met many couples from all over the country, but because we were one pair of newlyweds out of HUNDREDS of pairs, it sort of felt too...commercial, if you will.

And the Sandals resorts don't try to hide how commercial they are. The logo is on everything from the hammocks to the sailboats to the umbrellas. Our take on it is that it would be a great place to go with another couple or even a group just to party. But in terms of romance, I don't know that I would consider the resort a romantic setting (We found out that any romantic-type packages required an additional $50-$300). Luckily, Bryan is plenty romantic on his own - things like lounging in the hammocks together and cuddling on poolside chairs was lovely in and of itself. And please know that this is just my opinion on this resort alone - I have never been to any of the Sandals on the other islands and only briefly went over to the Sandals Grande St. Lucia for dinner at an Italian restaurant. I am not the expert of all things Sandals, nor do I have any bad feelings towards our experience there (with the exception of one rude bartender who wanted to watch the REPLAY of a soccer game rather than put the Phillies game on...).

Would I go to St. Lucia again? In a heartbeat. But now I have the Caribbean bug and desperately want to explore some other islands as well - Antigua, anyone??

The closing of the blog is coming!!! I knew I could not wrap things up without a Honeymoon Blog and I knew my readers need to think warm thoughts right about now. But stay tuned! I am PROMISING a blog for the ages in the days ahead!

The Great Vendor Review

It's been an entire month since the wedding and while Bryan still is holding our honeymoon pictures from St. Lucia hostage, I figured I'd divert you all with a review of each of the vendors. The main reason I'm doing this is because if a bride-to-be is scouring the internet for information on a company or vendor, maybe she'll come across this blog and she can get the inside scoop!! This happened for me a lot during the planning process and I loved reading other people's wedding blogs!!

First a bit of good news: I am working hard on the Thank You cards! So yes, it took me a month to get started. I am sorry. But honestly, I was enjoying the gifts so much, time has just flown!!! I hope that my month-long hiatus from all things wedding (except for a blog here and there) doesn't dilute the meaning of the words of appreciation we'll be sending along to all of you. So expect those cards in the next few weeks!

Onto our vendors...I'm going to try to put this is some sort of order, but I don't know how to describe the order. You'll see what I mean...

Transportation: We went through Cooper Transportation for our 55-passenger Coach bus. This came on a recommendation from Bridesmaid Megan. They were the most reasonably priced of every place I had called. I thought the bus itself was extremely nice, spacious, and clean. The driver was professional and courteous. Aside from the minor problem of the bus getting stuck in a ditch, I really have no complaints. In fairness, although we lost an hour (while the bus was in the ditch), the driver stayed an extra hour free of charge at the end of the night to bring our wedding party and the remaining guests that were helping us with all of our things back to the hotel. So I would recommend Cooper, definitely. http://www.cooper-atlanta.com/

String Quartet: The Poulenc String Quartet provided our prelude, ceremony, and cocktail hour music. I had listened to many demos online of quartets in the area and thought they sounded the best. The shocking part? They were among the most reasonably priced! I received compliments all night on the quartet (and still am receiving them even after the wedding). I think they added extra elegance to atmosphere. Also, they were amazing at taking cues from the minister. During the lighting of the unity candle, they were on it! Bryan, myself, and our Moms had made a slight mistake - not only did Lynn (our minister) cover it, but the Quartet didn't bat an eye! They took their cues perfectly and I don't think anyone was the wiser (were you??). The music was gorgeous and I would 100% recommend them in a heartbeat to anyone. http://www.poulencstringquartet.com/

Wedding Favors: Our wedding favors were 4-oz. jars of peach preserves (I revealed in a blog awhile back that it was something that screamed Georgia! Georgia peaches!!). We ordered our favors through Serenity Gardens. I was extremely happy with how they turned out. The personalization of our favors was included. I was able to send them a .jpg file of the image I wanted on the favors. I'm sure everyone was SHOCKED it was a pine cone!!! The preserves themselves are quite tasty, so I hope you've all been enjoying them! And if you were wondering who printed the escort cards and tied them so masterfully onto the lids of the favors - that was your's truly :-) http://www.serenitygardens.com/

Table Cards: The pearl-bordered frames on the tables were purchased from TJ Maxx and Home Goods. The city-themed table cards I created in Photoshop then printed out at Kinko's. For info on how to do this, you can e-mail me at tomboybride2010@gmail.com. And yes, I am a Photoshop master!

Invitations, cocktail napkins, linens, and wedding programs: One of the places I've been plugging through the whole engagement is La Belle Weddings in Duluth. I love this place!! It's easy to explain why I love it: I was on the search for the perfect wedding invitations. After visiting a few places and finding the process a bore (and the selection sincerely lacking), I turned to the internet. I was going to order through a website, when I came across La Belle's website. Hmmm...well, it wasn't too far from where I tutor, so I thought I'd stop in one day. I met Tanya and Jennifer, sisters that co-own and operate the business. I described what I wanted and I was pointed to the invitation that you all received in the mail. That invitation is this Tomboy Bride to a T. Bryan wanted the monogram, he got it. I wanted the inserts in a cute little flap and a champagne-hunter green theme, I got it.

The hunter green personalized pine cone cocktail napkins with gold foil detailing was ordered through La Belle as well - I LOVED these!

For the programs, I wanted to stay with the motif of the invitations - the champagne card stock with hunter green font (and the SAME fonts as the invitations!!! Did you notice?...Lie to me....), so it only made sense to order through La Belle. I knew I could also use the pine cone emblem on the invitations. So if you looked closely enough, everything matched :-) Finally, I knew they could coordinate renting the champagne overlay that I wanted on our tables - so I did that through them as well. A perfect one-stop shop that I'd highly recommend!!! http://www.labelleweddings.com/

Bridal Party Outfitting: If you've been reading the blog through our engagement, you know I have a serious love-hate relationship with David's Bridal and Men's Wearhouse. In the end, I would do everything the same (with the exception of trusting our first salesgirl at David's to know what she was doing...). The color of the dresses and groomsmen vests was the perfect hunter green (or Holly, if you're David's/MW). And for all the drama, the prices are unbeatable. I didn't want to choose an overly expensive dress that, in all likelihood, the girls would never wear again. At the end of the day, it all worked out and everyone looked absolutely amazing! http://www.davidsbridal.com/HomeView

Hair and Make-up: Mary Beth is a beauty sensei. Go see her and Vicki at Hair Europa in the Cobb Galleria if you're getting married. Well, you might want to go see them anyways because they'll make you even more beautiful regardless. But this wedding hair and make-up - across the board - for me, the girls, the M.O.B., my cousins...everyone looked stunning. http://www.galleriaspecialtymall.com/services_haireuropa1.html

Flowers and ceremony lighting: As if I haven't bragged about her enough, Abby's Floral Designs in Suwanee did an incredible job on our bouquets, boutinneires, centerpieces, accent flowers around the Payne-Corley House and on the gazebo, accent flowers on the cake, the Wishing Tree and on the candlelighting up the aisle for the ceremony. I could not be happier. I was absolutely over the moon when I saw the pearls and pine cones Abby had incorporated into absolutely everything!!! Initially I think she thought I was a little neurotic since I kept asking, "Can we get pine cones in there?" But she made it happen. And on top of it all, she was a pleasure to work with. Infinitely patient.

I told her she had the artistic license to remove pine cones from things on the wedding day itself if she didn't like the way they looked, but the baby pine cones she used were tasteful and elegant. She did literally a perfect job. A++++++ for Abby. And the pricing was so reasonable for all of the things she did!!! http://www.abbysfloraldesigns.com/

Wedding Cake: About 2 months ago, I was sitting at book club when one of our members was talking about the wedding cake of her dreams. "Oh, I know exactly who's going to bake it...Celso's Cakes in Norcross" she said. "Hey, that's who's doing OUR wedding cake!!!!" I exclaimed. "They are the BEST," she responded. Of course, I had already been through the tasting, so I knew their cakes were incredible tasting. But it was also so beautiful!!!! Poor Chef Celso dealt with Bryan and I through -

Me: "I want an ivory cake with hunter green ribbon, pearls, flowers, and pine cones"

Bryan: "I want two hearts coming together as one - like us! - on the cake"

Me: "No, that's cheesy"

Bryan: "But it's what I want"

Me: "Goofy-looking. With all of the things I want on it, the hearts are too much"

Bryan: "No, it'll be fine"

So Chef Celso diplomatically suggested the hearts go on the top tier only - and that's exactly what he did. Even though I still could've done without the hearts, all parties were happy. And the cake was AWESOME!!! To top it all off, we didn't freeze the top tier. Why? Because Celso's Cakes will give us a fresh cake next October 15 for our anniversary :-) http://www.celsoscakesgallery.com/

The entertainment: Black Tie Events provided our D.J. for the evening. I thought the D.J. was solid. Everyone was dancing and having a great time. The dinner music was superb, in my opinion. The only thing I was a little cross with the D.J. for? The microphone wasn't loud enough during the ceremony...so you may or may not have heard the vows being said. I HATE when I go to a wedding and there's no microphone. So if I were to give a grade on this, the D.J. would get a B from me. I did get many compliments on the music, so because everyone had a great time, I really can't complain. The timing of the music was good, people knew the songs, and the D.J. was extremely attentive when I had any sort of specific request. But...grrr, that mic.... www.blacktieevents.com

Before we get to the crown jewels of them all, some of the smaller details that you may not have gotten a chance to take a look at :

Our cake serving set was the Vera Wang Wedgwood "With Love" design. The M.O.B. purchased this for us as a gift at Macy's (www.macys.com). The M.O.B. had this engraved at Things Remembered.

We also went with Vera (because, you know, we're friends now that I have her stuff all over our apartment) on our toasting flutes which were the "Love Knots" design - also purchased at Macy's for us (a lovely gift from my M.I.L. and the Schallmo ladies!).

The cake topper was the Opal Innocence topper by Lenox (at www.lenox.com or www.exclusivelyweddings.com - this website is AWESOME).

Finally, our unity candle set was ordered from www.myspiritualwedding.com. We found the perfect candle for us - a personalized Claddagh unity candle. I love it!

Photography: I am mentioning our photographers, One Six Photography, second-to-last because out of all of our vendors, they went above and beyond our expectations. Caroline and Matt got to know us and were willing to photograph literally whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, whereever we wanted. There was literally no limit to their willingness to make us happy. When I began this process, I said this was the service on which I was willing to spend some serious money. To be honest, for what we received from Caroline and Matt for the price, I view them as a serious value!!! Besides the amazing 8-hour, 1000+ photo engagement session that took us to 3 locations all over the city (and various wardrobe changes), they were with us the ENTIRE day of the wedding - from morning until after the guests had left the venue. They also threw in the live photo booth for us - from which I know many of you are dying to see the photos!!! We have only seen 64 of the photos so far from the big day, but I bet the rest of the photos are equally as gorgeous!!! I can not wait to share them with you all! If you are a bride reading this, you're insane to go with anyone else - I'm just saying!!! http://www.onesixphotography.com/

Onto the place where it all happened, the ceremony and reception venue: What can I even say about The Payne-Corley House? The words used to describe the venue included: "Beautiful" "Gorgeous" "Elegant" but the one word that sums it up for me was in a statement from Groomsman Tony, "This place is perfect," he said. I knew from the November day I first set foot on the property in the rain last year that it was perfect. Aside from the fact that the venue itself just feels magical to me, the practical points are this: the food is nothing short of absolutely outstanding, the bang for your buck is ridiculous, and I mean that in the best way possible, - they have a variety of packages that include food, alcohol, D.J., the bride's bouquet (from Abby!) and groom's boutonniere, the wedding cake (from Celso's!) for a great price. And you can customize absolutely everything down to the last detail with them. At the end of the day, the whole planning process was straightforward with them. I could call or e-mail Krista any time with any question. The entire staff was so flexible with us and friendly. Bryan and I would get hugs when we would visit just to bring our parents or friends by if we were in the area. We were destined to get married, there. I genuinely believe that. It was perfect. http://www.paynecorleyhouse.com/

Wow, after writing all that (and shedding a few tears of nostalgia), who wants to do it all again!? One-year vow renewal party, anyone??

We also have to give a special thank you to our officiant, Reverend Lynn Brown-Conklin. If you remember, we had some slight drama with our first officiant which had me extremely stressed out. Mary Beth led us to Lynn and we're so happy that she did because she did an AMAZING job! She is based in Charleston, SC if anyone up there is reading!!!

I don't think I forgot anything...if I did, I will make a note in the next blog. Darn it, now I want some wedding cake! I'll be back at the end of the week to conclude the blog. Until next time, go eat your preserves!!!

Final Wedding Re-cap: The ceremony and reception!

I know you're feeling spoiled - two blogs in just a few days of each other! This is how it used to be! Well, I am doing laundry at home rather than at work due to the fact that I have no socks to wear. And I feel zero guilt since I have promised to stay at work until later tonight to help out one of my TAs. So let's have some fun talking about the ceremony and reception!

The pictures that are included in this blog are a mix of pictures from our photographers, One Six Photography, and pictures that our family and friends took. I have to give a special thank you to the Melissa Zaccarelli and Nicole McMullin for the pictures they put on Facebook. They left virtually NO detail unphotographed!! There will be some things I'll have to describe and then once I get all of the pictures from One Six I'll finish up on the details.

Here is the calm before the storm. In this first picture, the string quartet is ready to go, my Aunt Barbara is going over her reading, and the gazebo is lit up!

Next, you can see the fluted vases that lined the aisles with floating candles. I wanted a soft, elegant look to the wedding and that for me included candle light. You can also see there are pearls at the bottom of this vase! A girl can never have enough pearls. While I loved how these looked, I had this horrible fear of catching on fire. Or knocking over one of these and setting the entire lawn on fire (I know it's illogical, but I was worried, I'm sorry!). Regardless, I LOVED the way this looked!!

Below is our unity candle. It was ivory with gold trim and had a Claddagh on it with our names and wedding date. When I saw the Claddagh candle, I knew it was perfect for Bryan and I because it's the symbol for friendship, love, and loyalty. Bryan's first Christmas present to me 3 years ago was a decorative ivory plate with a Claddagh on it (I collect plates - best Christmas gift EVER!). So the Claddagh became a major symbol of our relationship.

To the left, my father and I approaching the aisle. All was well at this point. We were talking and pretty relaxed. Although my Dad kept saying to himself, "Her mother and I...my mother and I? No, her mother and I." Because he wanted to remember the response to the "Who gives this woman?" question. Then he was humming which, although is something my Dad's done forever and I love, was making me really emotional. I thought I could keep the emotions in check but I ultimately failed at this once I rounded the corner and saw Bryan.

Here are the ladies waiting. I love this picture, I think they look amazing, the dresses, the flowers...I love it!!!

My Dad and I approaching the gazebo. You can tell I'm starting to lose it a little. And I did NOT want to turn into a sobbing mess. I was horrified of that because I'm NOT dainty when I cry. It's not cute. I don't cry often, but when I do, I can not stop. And no one needs to see that. There were some tears and then I started laughing? Yes, it was bizarre. But I thought it was so ridiculous and embarrassing that I was crying. Once we got to Bryan, I pulled it together. I was also trying to listen to and appreciate the string quartet, but it was like I couldn't even focus. How odd. But it was a lovely walk down the aisle. I tried to look at as many of our friends and family as I could because I hate when brides don't even acknowledge the people that have come to celebrate with them as they walk by them. Luckily, I haven't seen that much - but it has happened before. And you get a pass on your wedding day because when people do ignore everyone around them, it's because they're staring at their soon-to-be husband. But not me, I wanted to look at everyone and take in who was there.

This next picture was taken by our friend Holly Reynolds. It was the first picture that made it up on Facebook and I saw it the day after the wedding. I love the lighting of it! It looks exactly like I pictured!!! This looks like when Bryan and I read our vows to each other. We wrote our own vows. I had written mine months prior to the wedding and Bryan...well, there's a picture of him writing his vows in the groom's house. He had stayed up all night a few nights prior to the wedding trying to write his vows. He told me he was having the hardest time. "How long should they be? What should I say?" He wanted to know.

My answers: However long it is when you write it, shorten it 5 paragraphs (Bryan tends to be endearingly long-winded). But say what you want to say. What do you promise to do in our marriage?

The verdict? Although apparently no one heard these vows, Bryan did an incredible job. He titled the vows, "From this day forward" and he touched on us building our lives together and raising a family as well as all of the things he promised to continue to bring to our relationship as a partner. As he read (he went first), I thought, "Geez, my vows stink compared to this." But onwards I went with my vows. I went a little lighter at the beginning and touched on how we met (Bryan wearing a Brett Favre jersey because he's a Packers fan. Brett Favre is no longer in Bryan's good graces.), I brought up some of the many things I love about him, and then I talked about his good qualities and the things I admire about him and what I promised to bring to our marriage. Although my vows were shorter, I think they took me longer because in between I had to will myself not to start sobbing. The ceremony would've had to have taken a recess if the sobbing began, so I took it slow and caught my breath where I needed to.

Bryan and I exchanging our rings. Is there anything that makes a girl happier than getting the diamond-and-sapphire wedding band she's been waiting for???

Yes, there is - kissing her husband for the first time!!!!

Here is our amazing string quartet, the Poulenc String Quartet. The info for them will be in my vendor review next time.

To the left and above with each of my parents afterwards.

Dear Cake, I love you!!! The hunter green ribbon, the Lenox cake topper, the pearl accents, the pine cones!!! The...hearts on the top tier?? If you read the blog I posted months ago about selecting the design of our cake, Bryan was having a fixation with "two hearts coming together as one". He wanted two linked hearts everywhere. To appease him, the baker agreed to put hearts on the top tier of the cake. Our cake serving set also has the emblem. engraved.

One of the many centerpieces...we had three vases at each table with calla lilies, hydrangeas, and other flowers I'd probably have to look up. The vases had pearls in the base with a "votive" (one of the battery-operated ones you can switch on so it can sit in the vase with the flowers). I wanted that extra glow. We also had votives on the tables and pearl and baby pine cone accents. Abby rocks!

After Bryan and I were introduced, we went right into our first dance. Bryan and I had taken a dance class the week before the wedding and I couldn't remember a THING! Our first song is a song I've loved for about 10 years called "Thin Air" by Pearl Jam. I know everyone was absolutely shocked that our first dance was a Pearl Jam song. The selections that rounded out our top three songs in addition to "Thin Air" were "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters (Bryan's pick) and "Only a Fool" by The Black Crowes.

I had agreed to dance to an acoustic version of "Everlong" (Fun fact: That was Monica and Chandler's song on "Friends"!). But our instructor thought it was too hard to dance to and that "Thin Air" was a much more romantic song (He's right on both counts in my humble opinion).

But Bryan and I ended up swaying back and forth like everyone else does - sorry, there was no fancy stuff to our dance at all. But it was fun and it was still the perfect wedding song. "How to be happy and true is the quest we're taking on together"...so perfect!

Then it was time for the Father-Daughter Dance. I was shaking in my boots about this. Here is the history: My father wanted to dance to a song he used to play me when I was a kid (he plays the viola). The song is called 'Estrellita' (I think I spelled that right?). This song was particularly special to my father as the larger meaning of the song is about the love between parent and child.

In September, when I was home for my final fitting, we took a dance class with the instructor my parents see once a week. The instructor wasn't into the song and tried to convince my Dad to pick something else. My Dad wouldn't hear of it. As a result, the instructor gave us (what I'd call) a 'mediocre' routine. It didn't really go with the music in my opinion and it didn't capture what my Dad was thinking at all.

Fast-forward to Wednesday night before the wedding, my Dad and I went to see Atlanta-based dance instructor, Wayne Abbey for a crash course in trying to make this routine a little snazzier. Wayne LOVED the song and immediately injected some life and emotion into our dance.

The problem for me was there was no routine to it anymore and anything I had learned went out the window. But my Dad was pumped about this dance now. He knew exactly how he wanted to lead me around the dance floor.

Overall, I think it went really well. I had not a darn clue what I was doing, but I was told it looked ok. The crowd went wild for us as we spun around and did grapevines across the floor. My Dad was FOCUSED and really had fun with the performance aspect. We even had a cute little ending where my Dad rolled me out, rolled me in - at which point I gave him a kiss, then he pulled me across his body, rolled me back out, then gently kissed my hand.

Once this dance was over though, I relaxed (I was terrified of disappointing my Dad on this with all of his excitement about it).

One other cool thing? He framed the music of the song and even wrote up a paragraph about the story of the song and what it means to him. Both were displayed on the table in the foyer where our Wishing Tree was displayed.

Bryan and his Mom danced to "A Song for My Son on His Wedding Day". He told me afterwards that she didn't want to follow my Dad and I, but they looked great!!!

One of the most special parts of the night - Aunt Nonie giving the blessing before dinner with a prayer she prepared especially for the wedding.

The food was spectacular! I've heard that the bacon-wrapped scallops were otherworldly - those were served during cocktail hour. Or for me, "picture hour". We also had chicken satay and goat-cheese profiterole served for hors d'oeuvres as well. There was a Fruit and cheese display by the bar. Bryan told me later the goat cheese was fantastic. Why didn't he get me any??

When I did sit down to eat, we started with a beautiful salad. Then the main courses: to the left, pecan-crused chicken and below, roasted salmon.

I had the salmon and Bryan had the chicken. As much as I LOVE that chicken, I actually enjoyed the salmon even more!!! But both were outstanding. We did have a vegetable strudel served for our vegetarians, but I have not gotten a review on that dish. If everything else was an indicator, it was superb.

To the left, further evidence that my brother and Bridesmaid Melissa never take a bad picture.

Below, Mom and Aunt Claire. (Ooh, and another centerpiece!!!)

To the left, Aunt Barbara and Aunt Nonie

And below, my Dad and Aunt Nonie dancing. I love this picture - she looks SO happy!

Above and to the left is me and Mrs. Zaccarelli. Note that I'm also holding one of our signature cocktails - Captain Morgan and Apple Cider. Bryan originally called the drink a "Be Hoey" (also as in, B. Hoey). But now he calls it a "B.S. Hoey"! Directly above is my Mom with my cousin Damien and his son (my cousin) D.J.

To the left is my brother and Aunt Barbara dancing. And Sonia might be dancing or not, but either way she just looks like she's having a great time!

Below, the Zaccarelli girls and I. We are always happy when they don't have to Photoshop me into a picture! And to the right of that is my Mom, Damien, and cousin (Damien's wife) Cathleen.

This cake definitely tasted as good as it looked! The compliments I received all night on the food were: "Best salad EVER" "The salmon is amazing" "The chicken is amazing" "Can we find the dude with the scallops?" and "Best wedding cake EVER"

The cake flavors were: on the bottom and top tiers, a vanilla cake with Bailey's Irish Cream and in the middle tier, chocolate cake with Grand Marnier.

For the record, Bailey's is one of Bryan's favorite things ever. So that one was a no-brainer. Grand Mariner on the other hand induce memories of getting kicked out of the Pink Pony years ago (don't ask - and no I wasn't doing anything inappropriate! I was just passed out on one of my friends. The Eagles had just beaten the Vikings in a divisional playoff game and were headed to the NFC Championship against the Falcons. See, I remember!). My only experience with Grand Marnier ended with me needing to wash my car the next day after I was driven home by my friend Heather. Not good times.

Fast forward to the present day and this cake was just delightful! I was stunned at how subtle the GrandMa flavor was, but how much depth it added to the cake!

And that, my friends, is how we got our cake flavors. Probably more about me than you ever wanted to know. But the cake was AWESOME! Thanks, Celso's!

Yes, I have to brag about my hair a little more. This is a really good side view. You can see the rhinestones that Mary Beth flat-ironed into my hair on the side. And then, there is that gorgeous pearl accessory that I showed a close-up of in the last blog. I LOVE that thing. If I have a daughter, I'd love for her to wear it in her hair on her wedding day.

From the back, you can really see my hair and the rhinestone pins that Mary Beth added to give a little extra "wow". Seriously, the woman's a genius.

Some of the last pictures of the night. Bryan and I dancing surrounded by friends and family. And finally, making our grand exit through sparklers. Again - fire hazard, people! I'm just happy my fear isn't apparent on my face and I instead look elated.

The morning after: I call this picture "A Tale of Two Families".

We are missing the large majority of both families, but I love that the family members from both sides that were in the lobby all got together in one big picture!

Overall, the wedding was everything I dreamed it would be. I was so happy to be surrounded by so many people that we love and care about so much. It truly was awesome. From what I've heard everyone had a good time (I know no one would tell me even if they didn't...) but my ultimate goal in planning this celebration was that every single person would feel appreciated, acknowledged and would just have fun!

The ceremony will forever be etched in my mind. I don't know if it's like that for everyone. I felt like it was the perfect length for us, I thought the readings were perfect for us, the vows were just SO us, the setting was perfect for us. And that's just it: everything was so US.

I'm going to close out the blog over the next week with a vendor review (I was always happening upon wedding blogs during my crazy internet searches). And then finally, my final blog will include some thoughts of Thanksgiving with respect to this past year.