My wedding planning binder went everywhere with me. In the initial months of the engagement, I didn't use it much outside of having a contained area to throw samples of invitations and ideas for my dress or reception decor. The two months before the wedding, the planning and assembling of the binder was well worth it. My binder included everything from ceremony details, timelines, gifts, notes, vendors, attire, and any other detail that crossed my path. Thankfully, it was the perfect size for my purse, making it easy to always bring my binder along!
Later in the month, my mom and I met with the music director at Queen of All Saints Basilica. We were able to enjoy this gorgeous, unique view of the church while choosing songs for the ceremony. Queen of All Saints is known for their unusually long aisle, making the music selections extra important. Our families were seated to Fireworks Overture Suite, while my bridesmaids and I walked to Canon in D. I always loved Canon in D, and while the organ version of the typical Bridal March was striking and overpowering, it didn't feel right for me.
My final fitting. The designer was Demetrio's. See more about it here. My veil was very light and simple, with a triangular shape at the bottom to mirror the back of my dress. I wore Blue by Bestey Johnson heels in ivory.
I purchased my dress eleven months before the wedding, and actually selected the first dress I tried on (don't worry, I did try on others as well!). While eleven months wasn't a huge amount of time in advance, it could have been a risky move. Many brides are more trendy, or unsure of what they want. For me, I tried on two kinds of dresses: satin A-lines and lace fit-and-flare styles. If you check my Pinterest wedding boards, you will see lace gowns with specific details repeated throughout. I adore button detailing on the back and while I did want a train, I wasn't looking for anything too grand. I wanted the dress to be totally me and totally comfortable.
The two weeks before the wedding were all about preparing for the move and finalizing wedding details. Some things went smoothly: my final meeting with the florist took eight minutes. Some tasks went not so smoothly: seating charts. I'm not going to lie, I was dreading doing the seating for some time. You think you have everyone figured out and then you realize you totally don't. We did have last minute additions and subtractions based on changing family circumstances, but honestly that didn't phase me whatsoever. Once that initial seating chart is in place, it is quite easy to swap things around.
Although I wasn't working, I woke up by seven and didn't go to bed until after midnight or one. Between our late night of packing, cutting out escort cards, hand trimming programs, and assembling welcome bags, there was always a task keeping me up at night. Two days before the wedding, I finally had everything done. Our venue, The Hilton Orrington, had the cake toppers, escort cards, and card box. The hotel staff had the welcome bags. Our bridal party gifts were assembled. Plus, most importantly, I had my dress and Tom had his tux (which looked perfect). I felt such relief to look around and realize everything was done. There is no greater feeling.
While I was constantly busy, I never felt stressed. So many people talk about brides becoming Bridezillas and often women seem to think they must have some sort of wedding melt down because they are entitled to do so, it is their day after all! False. Yes, this is your wedding day and when marrying the right person you do only get one in a lifetime. But I never wanted to look back at my planning and have stressful or unhappy memories accompany those times. There were absolutely moments that did not pan out smoothly, but you have your reaction and move on. Weddings are about so much more than trivial matters.
The day before, I scheduled mani/pedi's at my favorite nail salon for my bridesmaids, the moms, my grandmother, and myself. I ended up choosing a no chip french manicure for my nails, you can't go wrong with a classic! I did a light pink on my toes and all of the girls stayed in the light pink or purple range as well. Some of my girls traveled in for the wedding from California or Indiana, and even the ones in the city I didn't get to see as often as I liked. The nail salon was a nice way for us all to chill together before the weekend really kicked off. After a small lunch and checking into the hotel, we headed to the rehearsal. The walk through was an hour, the standard amount of time, but I could not believe how quickly the hour flew by! Thankfully, I felt as though I did get any questions resolved.
Our rehearsal dinner was at Monastero's, an Italian restaurant just down the road from Queen of All Saints. Guests were waiting for us to arrive and the waitstaff promptly asked what we would like to drink, always a nice way to begin the evening! After a delicious dinner, my MOH, bridesmaids, family, and I headed to the hotel while Tom stayed at our apartment the night before. While I wasn't nervous, I wasn't able to fall asleep until after midnight and was awoken during the wee morning hours by a lovely, drunken rendition of "Fat Bottomed Girls" being sung in the neighboring hotel room. Turns out, my room that night was next to some of Tom's fraternity brothers. The whole thing was truly hilarious and very fitting, as if my life were really coming full circle: from college fraternity and sorority kids to grown adults getting married.
The big day came. I got up at 5:30 am and didn't have enough time to finish my last cup of coffee before putting on my dress, people got stuck in traffic, there was a torrential downpour with flooding between the ceremony and reception. Did any of that matter? Absolutely not. Everything was perfect and exactly as it should have been. We partied until after midnight, singing, drinking, and dancing for hours. I didn't stop smiling the entire time.
This guy was well worth the wait.
Did you survive that entire post? Awesome. High five.
Our super awesome, now lost, cake toppers.
WHAAAAAAAT????? You lost the cake topper????
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