I know this is long, long, loooooong over due... but better late than never! We kicked off the wedding weekend with a Casino Cruise. It was a great way for all of our guests to get to know each other & have a blast before the big day.
Everything turned out great with the wedding. Of course "behind the scenes" was a little bit of a different story. I had a horrible time with the event planner I hired at the last minute. She canceled my "preview" appointment. I never saw a linen, table centerpiece, chair, flower... nothing before the wedding. To be honest she never even returned my phones calls and I had no idea if she was even going to show up.
But, she did, with her attitude in tow as though she was paying me. The flowers were all wrong, the colors, the quality (I actually had petals with brown on them!). However to the naked eye (the non-brides there), everything appeared more than perfect. That's the kicker with expectations, right? The cake was completely different than it was supposed to be, the band was minus one player during the ceremony (the saxophone which was my ONE request). However they made up for it during the reception and they were great.
Our ceremony site was great. It was held at a gorgeous estate, Palm Valley Gardens. Dark wood floors, stone walls, reclaimed wood beams. You can't beat it. Our photographers, Lynnell & Andy Hayes, from Hayes Photography were awesome. Can't wait to have that album in hand! We blew up a few of our engagements photos and had those displayed throughout the house.
Our other saviors, Rachel and Michael Deremer from The Perfect Pear, really did an amazing job. The food was unbelievable and the service even more fantastic. Rachel was the one calming my nerves and reassuring me everything would turn out great. And lighting my million tea lights!
For our fun touches we created a make shift "photo-booth" in one of the walk-in closets using a backdrop, stool and a MAC computer with the photo-booth application. Those are by far the best photos (and the most blog-inappropriate!). The mustache bar pulled out all the stops & really got the party started.
It all flew by in a flash like everyone warns you about. Which is very, very sad (there wasn't a dry eye either). All that work and it feels like very little play! By the time we were finished with our "after ceremony portraits" it felt like the night was already almost over. I wish you were able to have it as your wedding, yet be there as a guest too.
At least we have the pictures and the amazing memories of having all of our loved ones under the same roof. Which, by far, was the most mind blowing part of it all. If you know me, I have moved all over these united states of ours. To have my different friend groups from different places all together, all finally meeting each other, I felt truly grateful for my amazing friendships that have held strong over the years.
More details to follow! We are awaiting the photography CD which should be here in the next few days.
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