Dinner & mingling

I was so ready for dinner, I'm not going to lie.  I really only had a couple bites of some corner bakery that Nicole picked up for me while I was getting ready and by that time, I was kind of starving.  Good thing there was some yummy steak coming my way. :)  

So while everyone was enjoying their dinner, we rushed through to take a few bites.  Since we didn't have a receiving line, we wanted to go to every table and say hey and that we hoped everyone was having fun.  Yeah...that took a lot longer than I had expected.  (And don't worry, our food didn't go to waste!  Our wonderful & nice personal waiter made sure our leftovers were wrapped up and sent to our room.)



We had the best intentions of heading around to everyone's table, greeting them all and then leaving in a timely fashion to the next table.  I should have known though...people just want to talk to you on your wedding day.  I wasn't ready for that, that's for sure.  I still saw myself as just me and everyone else saw me as a bride...go figure!  I'm definitely not the best conversationalist, nor am I good at getting out of conversations because I just don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.  Even though things were slow moving, we made it through absolutely everyone.  We got to see everyone, hug practically everyone, talk to everyone and I wouldn't trade that for anything.  Don't underestimate greeting everyone.  After all, they came there to support you and your groom!

I love that last picture.  My new husband is talking with his pals since childhood and I'm talking to one of his friends with my knee up on the chair as if I'm not wearing a wedding gown.

And while we were visiting with our guests, plates of cake and dessert trays went out to every table.  I'm glad my mom had the idea of dessert trays.  It added just a little something. 

I'm glad that we got some candid pictures as well.  It's like our photographer was in two places at once!

my cousin looks so cute!!

I'll leave you with one last one.  Just because I think it's kind of romantic.  :)

Until next time! 

xoxo

 

Speech!

Once we sat at our sweetheart table that was on a riser and spotlights on it (neither of those things were chosen by me, by the way), it was time for speeches to begin.  I'll be honest.  I was a little bit nervous.  There were only boys speaking!  How could they possibly get away with not saying anything completely embarrassing?  

First up, was the best man...

It was very sweet and I know that George knows how to make the people laugh.  I do remember him talking about how Richard took him in after he moved to America from India in the third grade.  Isn't it amazing to have friends that you've been friends with forever, literally?  I don't remember most of it, sadly but I do believe my groom has the paper that he is reading off of so we have that at least.  Someone's speech that we don't have is this guy's:

Yeah, that would be my brother.  His speech was also very nice but he opened with something I'll never forget.  It was one of my favorite parts of our entire wedding day.  "Now I know what they mean when they say, always a bridesmaid, never a bride."

That's my brother.  Pulling the best things out of nowhere.  He went on to say that I've always been more introverted, having him make phone calls to radio stations to hear my favorite songs but that once I let someone in, they're with me forever.  Now my brother and I don't usually get mushy about the brother and sister stuff but he did wear that pink tie for me, got his pants hemmed the day of the wedding because he thought they were too long, froze outside, stepped into this role when things got messy with the person who originated the maid of honor roll and always smiled about it.  I may have told my parents to take him back to the hospital because I wanted a sister but knowing what I know now, I'm glad they didn't.  (Don't tell him that though, he'll never let me live it down.)

After the bro of honor speech, the groomsgirl read a prayer of grace before we ate.  

Wait...did someone say something about food?  I get to eat?!  Bring it out, I'm starving!


Next time, I promise.


xoxo

Breaking tradition

Immediately after we walked down the aisle, we were in a little corner of the church where people couldn't stop and see us.  Nope, we didn't get a send off.  Our church didn't allow that.  I was going to do ribbon wands just to break the rules but when it came down to it, I just didn't do it.  I'm ok that we didn't have it.  I knew people were happy for us.

And so the madness of pictures began.  We did the traditional portraits in the church.  While they weren't something that I needed personally, they turned out pretty well.  Don't get me wrong, I wanted pictures with my family but I don't like the traditional kind of thing.  I'm much more of a candid shot picture kind of girl.

While Richard was taking pictures either with his family or by himself, my mom said we should bustle my dress.  Good idea.  We tried to do so but my mom couldn't find the loop.  Nicole took a look and we discovered that the loop had mysteriously disappeared.  Thankfully, Nicole had a sewing kit on her so we were able to fix it!

After a few traditional pictures, we decided to get a little goofy & call out boy band poses...these are some of my favorites of the entire day.

punch! 

point!

dance break.

things get serious...or confusing.

Good thing we did all that warming up because this is what we were going out into immediately afterward...

xoxo

Accessories...hair edition

We interrupt your normally scheduled TuesdayShoesday with real life wedding inspiration.

Yesterday, I did some marathon Christmas shopping. Meaning I was sitting at a computer pretty much all day looking for gifts for the people that made the cut this year. (We are paying for a wedding after all...) Anywho, I ended up looking for some Taylor Swift stuff for my junior bridesmaid because it's now my goal to keep her away from all things Miley. That's right Katelyn, write mean songs about boys...don't touch that bong!

While hunting around, I found that she is selling headbands from ban.do! Um...hello...I'm so looking for a headband for the wedding!

so sweet and simple


reception look

Can't I have both?? The thing that makes me nervous is I really just want to wear my hair down. Can I still do that with a headband?

Oh, the things brides think of...

xoxo

Wedding Rings

Last night we went to see The Lion King at the Cadillac Palace. It was so amazing. I have seen it before, but it's been years. Make fun all you want but it's always been one of my favorite movies. I will admit that when I was younger, I was absolutely obsessed with it because at the time I was convinced that I was going to marry Jonathan Taylor Thomas. (Come on, you know you only watched Home Improvement for JTT too.) Now that I'm all grown up, I'm still a Disney girl. The music is one of the most moving in all of the movies. Now in my adult life, I find the person I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. Luckily, he was obsessed with the Lion King too. Thankfully, JTT had no power over him but the music did. It was a fun thing to share together. It also makes me very excited to see the Lion King show in Animal Kingdom in December.

So, moving on to what this post is really about. Wedding bands. As you know, we have found Richard's on etsy.

you just couldn't find this in a store

Just a little background...Richard's favorite animal has always been beavers. He likes how hard working they are. They always need something to do and it's just their life's purpose to work. I just think they're cute. :) So imagine my delight when I found a ring that looks like it's been gnawed by a beaver! I didn't think he'd want it but he was very excited so we are in the process of ordering it. Thanks, Etsy!

Now my ring... :) I've been searching all over the internets, trying to find that one ring that jumped out at me like my engagement ring does. I knew I wanted diamonds on the band but I wanted color too. There have been a few but they were outside the budget. So we went to the jeweler where he bought my engagement ring. They pulled out tons of rings for me to look at and try on at will. That's dangerous, people. It came down to 3 for me. Sapphires, rubies or a green gemstone. Here's what I chose:

do you like our cookie jar?

I chose the rubies, obvs. It's beautiful, unique and fun. I get to wear it in almost 5 months when I say I do to the wonderful RP. :) I'm excited!!

xoxo

Emmys 2010

So while all the crazy skinny girls were walking down the red carpet I was eating a not healthy dinner with my awesome fiance. Yay!

Wow..looks gorgeous.

people didn't like the length but I think it's interesting

she's so cute and I'm loving the bangs.

I loved how thick and flowy this dress was

I don't usually dig lace but this is really elegant

It's obvious I'm an absolute gleek, isn't it? Ok. I'm fine with that. I totally am.

So do you think my future in-laws could afford Lea's Oscar de la Renta dress? I think it would look really great in the wedding party. :)

xoxo