Pro Pics are In

Pro pics are in, so I wanted to share a few of our favorites!

Sneak Preview Pics

My dad's friend is a photographer and he worked our wedding as a favor to my dad.  However, my dad is also a photographer and couldn't resist taking MANY pictures himself.  I'm still waiting on the ones from the official photographer of the day, but I did get a few sneak peaks from my dad.

That's All Folks

After tomorrow, I will have been married for 2 weeks!  With the wedding and honeymoon over, I decided to recap a little on the day.  (More on the honeymoon later).

Things about the big day:

1)  I gave myself lots of "extra time" in the schedule and was extremely thankful that I did.  I used all of it!  Here's the schedule that  my bridesmaids and I used and I think it was the perfect amount of time (I had 5 bridesmaids and 2 people doing hair and make-up).  

6 AM- Everyone showering

7 AM- Breakfast at hotel

7:30 AM - Hair and make-up in bridal suite

9:15 AM - Getting dressed

10:15 AM – Dads first look pics

10:30 AM - First look pics

11:30 AM - Bridal party pics

12:15 PM - Family pics

1:00 PM – Light snacks

1:30 PM- Get ready for ceremony 

2 PM - Ceremony

2) I'm crazy and I made a day of binder - I put my MOH in charge of it for the big day.   Here's what it included:  

• Contact info for all immediate family and wedding party members (in case someone was missing for pictures, etc.)
• Day of schedule for everyone with a few extra copies in case anyone lost theirs (I gave them out at rehearsal dinner)
• Contact info for each vendor with notes on when they should arrive, what they needed to do and if they were owed anything or if they were paid in full
• Envelope for each vendor that was still owed money with money inside it (for MOH to distribute as needed)
• Section for each vendor - each section included the contract/proof of payment and any forms or important info vendor might need (copy of ceremony for reverend, song choices for DJ, hair/make-up pic for stylist, etc.)  I pulled several things from these sections throughout the day.  

3) I made a hanger for my dress (Mrs. ______) and hangers for my bridesmaids dresses with their names on it.  I LOVED this for the pictures and so did the photographer.  She said it really pulled it together.

4) My bridesmaids and I shared a room the night before the wedding and stayed up almost all night chatting (especially me and my MOH).  It kept me relaxed.  

5) We did a first look and I am SO glad that we did.  It was literally the best part of the entire day (husband agrees). We did out first look pictures, exchanged gifts and then just sat together and talked.  It helped us both to relax.  

6) I didn't get nervous until the ceremony started  and I realized that everyone was watching us.  After a few minutes though and my fiance grabbing my hand, I was relaxed again.  (Also, I definitely cried and did not care at all).  

7) We tried to see everyone during the cocktail hour (that way we didn't have to "visit" every table during the reception).  

8) We did the hora (since husband is Jewish) - it was a great way to open up the dance floor and everyone loved it.  

9) We had a photo booth which everyone loved and we got a flashdrive and scrapbook with all of the pictures in it afterwards which we really enjoyed looking at.

10) After going back and forth, I did end up doing bathroom baskets.  It turns out they were well-used and we received several compliments on them.

11) My dress had a corseted back (instead of a zipper) which I became more and more thankful for as the day went on.  I was able to tighten and loosen it as necessary (which was great for after I ate way to much during cocktail hour and then for when I wanted to dance and not have my dress fall down).  

12) Things went wrong - dresses didn't fit right, buttons popped off jackets, we had no idea how to cut the cake, the reverend used the wrong version of the ceremony, we forgot to do pics with just the groomsmen during the wedding party pics, and I'm sure there was more.  But it really just doesn't matter.  Have fun and celebrate!

13) The one thing that really surprised me was how fast everything went - the day was over so quickly.  I was both sad (because we were having such a great time) and relieved (because we were SO tired) when it was over.  

5 Days

I don't know where the time is going, but we only have 5 days left until the wedding.  Fortunately, almost everything is done.  Our list of things left to do is almost finished!

·                     Find/buy lip color

·                     Gift card for sister

·                     Assemble welcome bags

·                     Write thank you cards for wedding party/family

·                     Wrap gifts

·                     Decide on underwear

·                     Get mimosa supplies

Oh and get ready for the honeymoon of course!!  In exactly one week from today, we'll be in Jamaica sipping delicious drinks on the beach.  Time can't go fast enough.  

So Many Signs

Not really, but it sure feels that way.  We made up signs for our signature drinks (2 copies - one for cocktail hour and one for the reception) and then we made this sign to go at our guestbook table.  I just wanted something small and cute to go there.  We printed all of our signs on cream colored cardstock and put them in silver frames.  I wanted to share a picture of how they turned out, but they're already at the venue.

Signature Drinks

              After thinking long and hard, we were finally able to come up with our signature drinks.  Here's what we're having.  Wedding Bells if my fiances go to drink and I have a feeling that there won't be too many people ordering that one, but had to add it!  Dreaming of You is a drink that my fiance made up for me one day when we were out at the bar.  And Wedding Cake is just something I found that sounded absolutely delicious and we had to add it.

The Final Countdown!

Exactly 1 week until the wedding.   We have our final meeting with our venue tomorrow, so we have to get everything ready to drop off.  With that being said, it's crunch time - so much to get done today!

I'll update later.  :-)