It's the last day of our two week wedding week link up! Today I'm sharing some of "The Details" and linking up with Amy from
Fresh and Fancy. I have to say, it has been so much fun to go back and look through ALL of my wedding pictures. It's hard to believe that I've almost been married 3 years....it's crazy how time flies!
The Invitations...
Unfortunately, the only picture of our invitations is of the one in the wedding shadow box that my mom made when we were honeymooning in Cabo. I went the more practical route and made my own using one of the kits found at Michaels. Since we didn't have an unlimited budget, I opted to save some money on the paper goods and make my own, so we were able to put some of the saved cash towards food, spirits, and catering which was much more important to me.
Getting ready...
I had a couple strict requirements when it came to my dress: I didn't want anything big and poufy {I've worn enough tutus in my life with all my years of dance}, I wanted to be able to pee by myself {okay, maybe a little TMI, but I get bladder shy!}, and I didn't want strapless. Oh, and I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg...sure, I wanted it to be beautiful, but it was soooo not worth it to me to spend thousands of dollars on a dress that I will wear for ONE day.
The dress that I got was not the first dress I tried on; I didn't even pick it off the rack. The lady helping us brought it in for me, I tried it on, I kind of liked it, then I tried a bunch of other ones on. It wasn't until a few months later when I went back and tried it on again that I realized it was THE DRESS. I never cried or even got teary-eyed, but I knew it was the one. When I went back for my fitting, it was perfect, and I still loved it. It was me.
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| my garters |
For jewelry, I wore a a blue topaz bracelet that TJ got me for Christmas a couple years ago {my something blue} and diamond earrings from one of my aunts {something borrowed and something old}, and obviously my engagement ring.
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| my "something blue:" a blue topaz bracelet that TJ got me for Christmas a couple years ago {matches a blue topaz ring I have from my grandmother} |
We bought our rings {including my engagement ring} from a local custom jeweler in Zionsville. The ladies at Kristeen's are awesome and found the perfect ring for me. TJ and I had looked at rings several months before
we got engaged, so I picked out the setting, but he was on his own for the center stone. I think he did an amazing job. :) My wedding band matches the sides of my engagement ring, and says
EM + TJ 6.13.09 on the inside. TJ's band is titanium and says "
born to be my baby 6.13.09" on the inside.
The Ceremony...
For our ceremony, we were able to incorporate some of the green by having a fabric banner behind the altar. We also had the ivory bunting from the ceiling which was really beautiful. The bunting isn't up all the time, but it's used for special liturgical seasons like Easter. It definitely helped that my mom runs the arts and environment committee at church, so she is the one decorating the church all year!
For flower arrangements, we had a larger arrangement on the stand behind the altar {the pic above was taken before the flowers were there} and arrangements on the ends of every other pew. We also had a ribbon blocking the aisle prior to the start of the ceremony, so people just entered the pews from the outer aisles.
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| fleur de lis to tie in the New Orleans theme |
Unfortunately, we didn't get close-up pictures of the programs, but I did take pictures after I was done making them. They were a little longer than the traditional program because I wanted the full readings, prayers, and responses that were in our ceremony. Some people can get overwhelmed if they aren't familiar with some of the Catholic traditions, and my goal was to give our guests as much information as possible so they would feel comfortable. It was certainly a labor of love and took a lot of time, but I loved how they turned out!
I made our guest book using iPhoto and incorporating a ton of pictures from our 4 years of dating and our engagement pictures. Our guests could sign their name or write a personal message on the pages, and now it's in our living room so we can look through it any time. And it's a fun photo album too!
The Cocktail Hour...
Like I said in my
Reception post, we had a two hour cocktail hour with hurricanes, appetizers, and a jazz band while the wedding party took pictures. I was worried about having a longer cocktail hour, but everyone had a blast and really enjoyed themselves, so I guess it all worked out fine!
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| we hung little green spiral ornaments from the trees... |
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| green candles and fleur de lis confetti on the tables... |
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| plastic "throw" cups for the hurricanes {plastic cups are a typical "throw" during Mardi Gras parades} |
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| we had to have Mardi Gras beads for our New Orleans theme! |
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| bride and groom beads for the wedding party |
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| mini BLTs that were delicious! |
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| mini crabcakes with remoulade sauce...also delicious! |
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| fruit, cheese, and crackers |
The Reception...
We had our reception in the Parish Hall at our church, and it was so nice having everything in the same location. It made it very easy for everyone! We had a plated salad and buffet dinner while listening to the tunes of Harry Connick, Jr. before dancing the night away.
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| Walking into the reception hall...this was before all the flowers and everything was set up |
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| we moved our guest book and pictures honoring those that couldn't be with us to the reception hall after the ceremony |
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| I designed and printed all the place cards |
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| couldn't forget about some of the bathroom essentials! lotion, hairspray, bandaids, tampons, and mouthwash |
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| pillows my mom made for the pews that were right inside the doors |
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| all of our table names were different places in New Orleans with a little description of each one |
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| delicious salad with strawberries, pecans, and feta |
Our DJ did a very nice job of sticking to our "must play" and "do not play" list, plus adding some of his own. The DJ was one of the big things I was kind of nervous about, but everything ended up being fine. It was definitely a party!
I loved our cake. Back in the early stages of planning, I had found a bunch of pictures on The Knot of various cakes that I liked. I didn't think our caterer would go for half of them, but she got super excited when she saw the pic of the striped cake and wanted to make it for us! I think it looked fantastic and tasted even better...white chocolate strawberry! It was still tasty one year later too!
And last but not least...
For our flowers, I wanted whites, blues, greens, and yellows I wanted simple flowers with little pops of green. I love how our photographer brought some more color in with the Mardi Gras beads.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something...this was almost 3 years ago, and I've slept a lot since then. I guess my biggest advice when it comes to wedding planning is to do something that makes it you, and don't stress out about making everything the best. There are ways to do things without them costing a fortune, but still be wonderful just the same. Remember, whether you paid $10,000 for your wedding or $100,000, the end result is the same: you're married to your best friend and love of your life!
emily
