The Details, Part 1

Before we get into the ceremony, I decided to show a little love to the details that were shot in the beginning of the day.  We all love the little details, right?  Good, me too. (It also means I get to show some of the pictures that I absolutely loved to no end but didn't fit anywhere in our wedding album. Boo!)

Oh my gosh, our photographer Jake took outside pictures before he even came up & still arrived on time.  That's dedication.  

you had to take this special elevator to get to me on the 34th floor! :) 

I'm still in awe of this ring.

thank you Marc Jacobs for making the best wedding perfume. Don't discontinue it!

 

A girl needs her shoes! :)  I'd also like to point out here that I didn't have the whole something borrowed, blue, old & new.  Obviously I had the blue shoes and a new dress (amongst a whole slew of new things) but nothing old or borrowed.  I'm a little sad that I didn't but worse things could have happened.  Besides, I'm not really superstitious to begin with.  We're doing fine so far! :)

And a few details of my best friend that started it all...

Do you remember when Carrie Bradshaw referred to NY as her boyfriend?  "If you can only have one great love, then the city just may be mine. And I don't want nobody talkin' shit about my boyfriend."  That's how I feel about Chicago.  

Ceremony recap up next! Get excited because it's one of the best Catholic ceremonies I've ever been to and it was ours! :)  

xoxo!

In this case, we do need to turn around.

We all pile into the limo and we're ready to go.  With me are my parents, my brother Joe (aka, bro of honor), my cousins jr bridesmaid and flower girl and Jake.  We pull away from the hotel and I play with the radio station, as my dad is talking up a storm to Jake.  Jr bridesmaid is looking out the window and flower girl is taking in the sights of her first limo.  

 this is such a cool picture. I saw it, loved it and knew that Jake got us.

I look at my mom who is sitting next to me and I ask "you have the rings, right?"  Can you guess her answer?

She gasps like a deer just ran out in front of her while she was driving and her hands fly up over her face.  Everyone snaps their heads in her direction.  Joe fills them in and the adults are shocked.  As for me, I'm perfectly fine.  I don't think I could be that calm on a normal day but nothing could really freak me out that day.  We tell the driver to turn around and I text Richard to tell him my mom forgot the rings.  I still have his response: "Yikes. Ok no worries.  It'll all start on time."

Joe says he fufilled his duties as bro of honor by running up to the hotel room to get the rings.  He was just as calm as me, but he usually is anyway.

We made it to the church in time, thankfully.  We were the ones with the programs, flowers...and the bride!

We gathered in the bride's room where we met with our priest a couple times.  MIL & SIL were already in the room when we got there.  Our florist Patty was there as well to give flower girl her flower basket.  Snag #2...she wanted a bouquet and literally threw the basket down with all the force she could muster.  My dad, standing next to me said, I told you that you shouldn't have involved her.  My only bridezilla moment was when I looked at him and told him that it was my decision and he needs to stay out of it.  Glad Jake was taking pictures of the church at this time.  


A few minutes later, the woman making sure our ceremony came in the room and said it was time.  Everyone lined up and I was about to make my way through a doorway from the rectory to the church but someone said the name Richard and I immediately backed up and hid behind a tall set of filing cabinets.  When we were given the all clear, we lined up by the door.  I was arm in arm with my parents already, watching everyone walk down the aisle.  Nicole was standing there next to us and she saw my mom starting to get emotional.  She handed her a little package of tissues so she had something to cry into when she reached the pew.  That girl thought of everything.  I was in awe of her all day.


I couldn't wait to walk down that aisle to my groom.


xoxo

Getting ready!

I woke up a few minutes before my alarm that morning and I could not wipe the smile off my face.  Very good sign.  :)

Looking back, I'm kind of glad that I stayed in that suite alone the night before.  I was able to just relax and be alone with my thoughts.  (That big bathtub in the morning wasn't too bad either!)  I was cool, calm, collected and ready to get the show on the road!


Our hair and makeup team was supposed to get to the room at around quarter to nine, so my junior bridesmaid & flower girl joined me in the room pretty early.  We had some cereal together like it was a normal day (again, a good thing) and then they went off to the bedroom to watch some of the Disney channel...or sleep.

flower girl sleeping. 

And then the day started.  I elected not to have our photog come until after the whole getting ready thing was over.  (Well, when I thought it would be over.)  I only took a few pictures myself but I think there would be a few people who would kill me if I posted them. :)  Groomsgirl and my mom went first on hair and makeup.  I think groomsgirl was the first to be done.  Then when I started on hair with Renee, she kept commenting on how calm I was.  I don't know why, but that really took me by surprise.  I guess looking back, it is a little weird for a bride to be calm when it's snowing on her wedding day when she didn't expect it.  I asked if that was uncommon, to have a calm bride. She and Wendy filled me in on some pretty crazy stories.

Unfortunately, we hit a snag at that point.  The flower girl was refusing to come into the living area and have her hair done.  Our junior bridesmaid and the flower girl's older sister went while we let her be alone for a while to get it out.  

Oh, fun fact of the morning: every girl in the wedding party but our flower girl got their bangs cut.  Groomsgirl just had a little cut so it was just a longer side swipe, mine were lightened and jr bridesmaid got bangs for the first time ever!

yay for bangs!

The morning went pretty smoothly.  Major thanks to Nicole for urging me to eat that day and going out to get something for me.  I definitely would not have been so calm if it weren't for her, my family and a few of our awesome vendors.

Speaking of awesome vendors, Renee closed herself in the bedroom with our flower girl and just talked to her about her favorite princesses.  By doing so, she coaxed her into letting her do her hair so she could look just like Cinderella, her favorite for the day.  Talk about going above and beyond.

her cuteness is definitely her saving grace.

So, what about the bride, you're wondering?  Well, I was pretty shocked when I looked at myself in the mirror.  We had my friend Hilary on hand for a few of those photos of everyone getting the finishing touches.  She insisted that there should be at least something from that moment in the day and you know what?  She was right.

can you hear me saying holy crap, I'm a bride?

I thought the day started a bit too early but soon it was after two, Jake our photographer for the day was in the room and no one but my mom was dressed!  There was the five minute period in the entire day when I got freaked out.  I just sort of paced a little bit and then when I got into my dress, I was totally fine.  

Can you believe I didn't open my wedding present from my to be husband until we were almost out the door?  And in case you were wondering, what I'm holding is a framed copy of the rare first Hanson cd. :)

And with that we were out the door!  I was so ready to be out the door and on my way to the church but there's a story that involves turning around that I will fill you in on next time. :) 

this is one of my favorites!

xoxo!

PS, thank you to my family, Richard, Nicole, Hilary and Jake! I wouldn't have kept my cool without you!

Let the recapping begin!

But where in the world to start?? I guess we will begin with the rehearsal if that's ok with you. :)
(Also, this is a picture heavy post...which I suppose is what recaps really are, right?)


We were very lucky to have a short rehearsal at the church. It wasn't completely drama free though. We had some car trouble after the rehearsal (in the rain, no less) but we got to Portillo's eventually to have a great time with everyone.


I knew from the beginning that I wanted our rehearsal dinner at Portillo's. Not only because Richard & I go there any chance we get but because it holds a special place in his family's hearts. I'm still so grateful that we were able to have our rehearsal dinner there with our nearest and dearest. We were also lucky to get some pretty good pictures of the party from my friend Hilary of Hope Photography as well.

speaking of Hilary, here she is with her husband and us. We both married engineers! :)

In this next picture, you will see a person who was a huge, gigantic help to us during the days leading up to and day of our wedding. I'm 150% sure that things would have gone wrong and I would have had a breakdown if not for Nicole from Niche White! :) (and of course, her husband who was awesome too!) She kept me in check when I needed to be reeled back in, she made sure that everything went smoothly...she did everything she could for us and I think she is an amazing person.

it's amazing what twitter can do. :)

bride & groom

best shot of me with my bffs ever.

the groom with his future in laws. I adore this picture because I can feel the love.

Richard made a really good speech. (for real, everyone said aw a lot and even his best man said "I need to use that!")

After Richard spoke about how grateful we were that everyone was there with us, we passed out some presents to our bridal party.

I always wrap my brother's gifts with VS bags

I got her books too but...I'm so glad we have this picture. :)

Of course, we took a moment to practice and take some family pictures as well.

bro of honor, bride & parents of the bride

groomsgirl, fog, bride, groom & mog

It was a really fun time, as you can tell by now I'm sure. After the party, Richard & I hung out in my hotel suite, in amazement that the day was almost here. We talked and at about 11:58pm, he left to go to our apartment. I'll be honest with you...I totally cried when he left.

He called when he got home and we talked for a while. We decided after one that we should try to get at least some sleep. We happened to sleep pretty well that night, luckily. I think that's a good sign, don't you?? :)

xoxo

Recapping?

So I'm definitely playing with the idea of recapping right now. I mean, the wedding happened only five months ago. Even if the only person who reads it is my husband, I think that would be worth it, wouldn't it? :)

I don't know when the official recapping will begin, but keep your eyes peeled! Until then...

room with a view!

You thought I was going to leave you with a nice, professional wedding shot? Nope! Not my style. :)

What do you think? Would you like to see more of the Peachy wedding?

xoxo

Tuesday Shoesday

These shoes need no introduction.

perfect

See, I told ya. Oscar is amazing. I definitely need these. Need. Those gemstones and color are killer.

xoxo

Thursday Purseday

If it's spring, where is the nice weather? I'll admit it was a sunny 45 yesterday but come on...I have a new spring coat Mother Nature! I want to use it. Ok, on to purse prettiness...

cute, cheap and yellow!

How great would this cute bag go with those shoes from this Tuesday shoesday? Ah themes...bride brain through and through. :)

xoxo