Weddingbee Boards

Andrew & I met and started dating in college at Notre Dame (my junior year, his sophomore year). After college, I moved to MA for law school, while Andrew was still back at Notre Dame. He came to visit for our two year anniversary. After a nice dinner, he took me for a walk around Harvard's campus. We ended up at the music hall, where he said he wanted to play me a new song he had written (he plays piano & sings, and composes songs often). He began playing a song entitled "Forever," and I knew pretty quickly where it was going - the last line was a proposal!

Of course, I said yes! And I love my three stone ring, it's perfect for me.

We took our engagement pictures in Boston (where we currently live) with Lisa Liu of Pigmentia Photography (Boston, MA). We took them in Boston Common, the Public Garden, and along the Charles River. (Note: All wedding pictures should be credited to Leah Powell Photography, Jacksonville, FL). Here's just a few favorites:

My bridesmaids wore a Badgley Mischka halter floor length gown (BM #950019) in Dusty Rose, I thought it was a flattering color & style on all the girls. I loved it! Their jewelry was from Wedding Factory Direct, and their shoes are from DSW (Caparros brand).

 

The groomsmen wore a three button Calvin Klein tux with a black vest & tie, and a pink calla lily.  

   

Yes, I bought two dresses; but I have to say, it was one of the best wedding decisions I made. I bought my dress for the ceremony/the beginning of the reception at Michael's Formalwear St. John's Town Center in Jacksonville, FL - I loved them! It is Allure Style # 8462.

 

My 2nd dress I bought on E-bay, but it also sold on the Nordstrom's site. It is by JS Boutique, and I was so glad i bought it, it was so comfy, and this way I wasn't taking up half the dance floor with my dress!

 

Our flower girls were a last minute addition to the wedding, and so, I just told them to wear anything they wanted. The girls are sisters, and were given matching pink dresses for Easter, so it was very easy for me - I didn't do anything at all!

We weren't allowed to throw petals (a pretty standard Catholic church rule) so the flower girls handed out individual pink roses to guests sitting at the edge of the pews.

Andrew wore a pinstripe suit from Joseph Abood and an ivory vest and tie.

I knew I wanted my hair half-up, half-down, and I looked at a lot of inspiration pics before settling on this one: 

And this was my hair the day of the wedding (hair by Cheryl Newton, Changes Salon, Amelia Island, FL - my regular stylist, who is totally awesome - my hair for the wedding was only $35!)

 

Oh, and the hair barrette is from Wal-Mart, I couldn't find my original hair barrette on the day of, so I got this one last-minute. For $3, I thought it looked pretty nice! 

My makeup was done by Sunshine Jones (Jacksonville, FL) - she was great - she also has packages for bridal parties, which we took advantage of. Here's a pic from the salon so you can see my makeup up close (she did fake eyelashes just on the edges, I love them!). Next to me is my MOH, Sunshine did her makeup as well.

And here's my makeup in the pro pics:

My necklace & bracelet were from Kohl's 1928 collection.

 

 

I knew I needed flats, since I didn't want to be taller than Andrew. Man, were they hard to find! I wanted something ivory, satin and with a little bling. I never expected to spend this much, but these Benjamin Adams Renee flats (from www.myglassslipper.com) ended up being perfect - and SO comfortable!

My bouquet was all pink cymbidium orchids. I was glad I went with pink instead of white, so it stood out against my dress

 

The bridesmaid bouquets were copied from this inspiration picture from The Knot - they included cool water roses, pink calla lilies, white cymbidium orchids, and campunela.

The actual bouquets are below:

 

This was our inspiration for our centerpieces: a tall cylinder case with a stem of pink cymbidium orchids, surrounded by gems, single cymbidium orchids in water, and votive candles:

We copied this exactly, except we did clear stones instead of black:

 

 

   

The box the invites came in, and the pocketfold with ribbon and the hang tag, which had the guests' informal name on the inside.

 

The main invitation as well as the inserts

Karissa from Kiss & Tell Cards made my programs, and I loved them! They had this gorgeous flocked paper that had such a cool texture, and included our monogram theme too!

DIY OOT Bags (see info on how I made them & what I put inside here - http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/some-tips-for-diying-oot-bags)

Starfish Escort Cards (calligraphy by Pen & Ink Calligraphy, the rest was DIY)

Menus with wraparound name cards (made by Karissa, Kiss n' Tell Cards, Etsy)

 

DIY Flower Initials (made these with supplies from JoAnn's)

Table #'s - Each table was named after a place at the Notre Dame campus (where FI and I met/went to college). Made by karissa, Kiss n' Tell Cards, Etsy.

  

 

 

 

 

 Our bride & groom pics were taken at our ceremony site (Immaculate Conception Catholic Church - Jacksonville, FL) as well as our reception site (The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, FL)

Reception:

Our first dance was John Legend "Stay With You"

My dad & I danced a two-step to Roy Orbison's "You Got It"

Andrew & his mom danced to Elvis, "The Wonder of You"

I knew from the beginning I wanted a cake with beautiful scrolling as well as ribbon separating the layers. The Ritz' pastry chef made exactly what I wanted, and even topped it with pink cymbidium orchids!

  

The cake cutter set is from Things Remembered, a gift from my MOH - one had our names & wedding date, the other said "The Sweetest Thing."

 

The biggest hit of the wedding, food-wise, was definitely the "chocolate lantern trio" we served for dessert. They dimmed all the lights, and then the servers brought out the dessert, which included an edible wafer cookie with candle inside. It was pretty cool:

I bought this parasol from I Do Original to use for Thank You Cards:

I used the pic as part of a photo collage, and printed the cards through Wedding Paper Divas:

 

Ceremony Site - Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Jacksonville, FL

Ceremony Music - Adonai Trio, Orlando, FL

Reception Site/Cake & Catering/Decor/Flowers - Ritz Carlton Amelia Island

DJ - Will Deaton, Resort Talent

Photographer - Leah Powell Photography

Hair - Cheryl Newton, Changes Salon, Amelia Island, FL

Makeup - Makeup by Sunshine, Jacksonville, FL

Videographer - October Sky Media

Invites/Table #'s/Programs/Menus - Kiss n' Tell Cards, Etsy

Wedding Dress/Tuxes - Michael's Formalwear, Jacksonville, FL

 

 

 

We went to ResortQuest Islander at the Beach in Kauai, Hawaii for our honeymoon. We got a great deal on the accomodations through my grandparent's timeshare. We loved the island - I'd recommend it if you're looking to relax on the beach, and do some active/nature-related activities - ziplining, kayaking, etc. If you're looking for lots of fancy restaurants, nightclubs, etc., then I'd say probably another part of Hawaii would be better for you.

Things I'd Recommend in Kauai:

Princeville Ranch - we did ziplining there, and it was SO fun! They also do horseback riding, hikes, etc.

Captain Andy's Boat Tours - we did a dinner boat cruise, and it was really cool, b/c we got to see the Napali Coast, something you can really only see by boat. We also spotted some whales!

Hukilau Lani Restaurant - This was one of the best restaurants I have ever been to, and definitely the best I went to in Kauai.