Light Speed. February 9, 2010

During the course of your wedding planning, you’ll hear it 100 times:

“Remember, no matter how much you plan, the big day will just rush by; savor every minute and just relax and enjoy yourself.”

Well, friends, I have to say, this couldn’t be spoken wiser. I loved November 21, 2009 and will always remember it – but boy, were they right when they said it would go fast; and it all started with the ceremony.

I entered the Town Center building at 3 o’clock sharp. That’s when the ceremony was gonna start, and I could peek through the windows from the reception hall through to the adjoining lawn and see our guests waiting. I hid in the hallway and talked with my dad, and he asked if I was ready; ad for the first time, I was getting a little nervous. When I gave the okay, it was time to start, and they sent my hubby-to-be out to start the whole thing.

Now, cue the beginning of the selected ceremony music:

So then, came the mamas…first the Mother of the Groom, and Scott, the Groomsman.

Then, the Mother of the Bride, with Matthew, the Best Man.

As you can see, your ‘aisle’ was quite long and grassy. Everyone was doing great with it, though!

Next up, bridesmaids.

First, Ali – my lovely almost-sister-in-law.

Then Liz…bff since forever.

Then, Jenni, the Maid of Honor (and, of course, my fantabulous sister).

Yipes. Everyone was poised, waiting, and they were waiting for…me! Cue next song…

Yes, in fact, the world did feel black and white! It was a surreal feeling for everything to be actually happening, after months of visualizing, guessing and planning. And though the music was all instrumental, I could hear the lyrics to my processional in my head:

We were strangers, starting out on a journey
Never dreaming, what we’d have to go through
Now here we are and I’m suddenly standing
At the beginning with you

No one told me I was going to find you
Unexpected
What you did to my heart, when I lost hope
You were there to remind me…this is the start

And Life is a road and I want to keep going
Love is a river I want to keep flowing
Life is a road now and forever
A Wonderful journey

I’ll be there when the world stops turning
I’ll be there whenthe storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

As I walked toward the gazebo, I could see all the wonderful friends, family and loved ones that had traveled from near and far to witness this special day. And this is, literally, when everything came into focus, and splashed into color. But nothing was brighter then the sun that shone on my gorgeous almost-hubby

It was unreal. And wonderful.

We were strangers on a crazy adventure
Never dreaming how our dreams would come true
Now here we stand unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you

Sigh.

All photos by Amanda McMahon.

Crisis (averted) February 7, 2010

Suggested Listening Material for this post:

Let’s roll!

Soooo…when we last left off, we were shoving money in the hand of the make-up artist, and jumping in the car; but not before confirming with Amanda that we, in fact, were going to have to skip the first look; of course, I was a little miffed about it, but what can ya do?  The time was ticking!

Liz channeled her inner Danica Patrick and we zipping down the 417, en route to Lake Nona.  We made some good time and one of the moments I will probably remember forever was the expression on the gate guard’s face when she asked for I.D. to get in, before she noticed that I, the bride, was in the backseat!

Eric was a little concerned about where we were, but his steady voice reminded me that everything was fine.  Sure, we had to change things around, but now, it was down to the important part: we were about to get married!

Pics courtesy Liz; and yes, I picked BTTF music – hey, I was feeling pretty epic! =)

Gettin’ Purdy. February 2, 2010

Wow, where does the time go?  Nevermind, let the show go on…

Suggested Listening Material for this post:

When we left off, I was rising to the sweet aroma of cinnamon, as my lovely bridesmaid Liz was baking us a cluster of sweet, sticky cinnamon buns..

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Sooo yummers…yeah…*wipes drool off face* but yeah, it was a nice way to wake up!  I was all clean and smelling ever-so-’Daisy’ and pulled on my burgundy Puma track jacket over my grey cami and charcoal yoga pants, then slipped my feet into my worn-in black and pink Fit-Flops.  Emerging from my room, I stepped out into the suite’s living area and opened up my MacBook, pulling up iTunes and checking some last minute Facebook.

(self photo)

Sitting around the table, Liz and I chatted casually about the day ahead, and entertained ourselves by flipping through different favorite songs of our past, while taking nibbles of the tasty pastries and long swigs of Tropicana Orange Juice – out of the tiny cartons, of course!  Before long, however, we were sensing the time, and I exchanged a few texts with the Best Man, Matthew, who we convinced to bring us some bagels and coffee, in exchange for a peak of our ‘penthouse’ digs.  There was a pretty neat view from up there, after all!

(photo courtesy Matthew Muehlberger)

By this time, it was getting closer to GRT (get-ready-time!) and Amanda showed up, without a hitch!  Minutes later, her assistant also appeared; now we were just waiting for my hair and make-up girl, and so Amanda took advantage of the time by getting some really nice detail shots:

While she was snapping away, I started to do a 1/2 freak out, as my beauty girl had still not arrived.  She did call, a little after my initial wave of concern, and I handed the phone to Matthew, who would then become the Human Mapquest.  He steered her through, and finally, about an hour late, she arrived so we had to get crackin’.  I didn’t let the ire show, though =)

The time was a tickin’, and Matthew had to go on his merry way to continue his duties, but I was getting dolled up, so that’s all that was on my mind!  Liz snapped a few pics herself before she retreated into her room to start her prettying-up process as well…and about 1 1/2 later, the transformation was complete!  It was time to get in that dress!

Step 1: step into dress, making slight attempt at modesty – notice lovely strapless bra and blue slip on display!

Step 2: Hold dress up, while bridesmaid wrangles dress.

Step 3: Suck it in, just a little, so bridesmaid can lace you in, creating a lovely silhouette, (lol).

Step 4: Stay standing straight, so laces can get that extra special attention, before the bow is tied =)

Step 5: Admire the full effect in the mirror!

By this time, I was starting to sweat it a little, as it occured to me that we were going to miss our first look, a decision I had been hemming and hawing over through the planning process (evidenced here and here) but I just thought of it as a way of the heavens telling me it was not meant to be.  So, we piled into our vehicles and made the 15-ish mile journey over to Lake Nona, where the fun (and the guests, bridal party, and of course, my groom!!!! were waiting).  Oh boy.

Did anything trigger a rapid course of events on your wedding day?

(All beautiful images from the artistic genius of Amanda McMahon)

Big news! January 26, 2010

We’ve been blogged!

This is so exciting!  Amanda, our fantastic photographer, e-mailed me last night and said that she submitted our wedding to the Wedding Chicks blog and it was approved; thusly, we are the featured DIY wedding!

Go check it out, here (if you haven’t already clicked above) and leave some comments to let Amanda feel the love!

More Updates are Coming (but this first)!! January 26, 2010

Look what we got in the mail today!

Yay!  I had almost kind of forgot about the invite we sent to them, many many moons ago!

Here’s where to write to, if you are planning a wedding and feel so inclined:

Mickey and Minnie Mouse
The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, California 91521

Don’t you just love surprises?

This just in. January 23, 2010

I interrupt my EPIC wedding recaps to bring you, this:

Saw this featured on another blog, and wanted to share this amazing “Save the Date” wedding video for all!

(Will resume previously scheduled recaps ASAP)

The Morning Begins. January 18, 2010

I apologize in advance, because this is probably the most boring post of the bunch.

Suggested listening material for this post:

Of course, we didn’t have photography start until noontime-ish, so the morning was decidedly photo-less.  But, allow me to bring you back in my time machine to the morning of November 21, which started for me at around 5 in the morning.

It was not that the (amazing!! king size!!) bed was uncomfortable, but I suppose I was just a little too excited to sleep.  So, I did what I do whenever I cannot get back to sleep – I take a walk.

(source)

Yup, it was still pretty dark out, so I just took the elevator down, then strolled around the pool area and breathed in the quiet stillness of the morning.  It was perfect out, probably 70 degrees, no humidity, and this reflective silence filled the air, interrupted every few seconds by the flip-flop of my footwear.  I walked around the building, by the pool, then back inside again – just enough to get my blood pumping a little, and make me a little tired.

Returning to the room, I decided a bath might do the trick in getting me a little sleepier.  So, I enlisted the help of my good friend, Mr. Bubbles!

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So, into the whirlpool tub did I pour the ENTIRE bottle of bubble bath..haha!  I always wanted to do that, and whenever would I have a better excuse than “it’s my wedding day?”

I read a magazine and laid back for about 1/2 an hour, then shaved my legs and got into the shower, all clean and bubble-gum smelling then combed my hair and slathered on some of my scented body lotion before drifting back off into a two-hour nap…ahh, relaxation.

Before I knew it, my 8 AM alarm was going off, and Liz was popping her head through the slightly-ajar door, “time to wake up!”

All photos without source credit in the post, (C) me.

…and with that*… January 18, 2010

THE RECAPS are officially beginning!  Wahoo =)

(source)

I am planning on breaking up the day into sections, which will include insight & comments, as well as visual and audio aids, as necessary.  Loosely, the schedule will be presented as follows, and hopefully, once they’re completed in full, they will be linked here:

I.  The morning begins.

II. Gettin’ purdy.

III. Crisis (averted).

IV. Light speed.

V. We do.

VI. Effervescent.

VII. Dance, dance.

VIII. In the Books.

IX. Whew.

X. Details, Schmetails.

XI. With a little help from my friends.

When these recaps are complete, I may also attempt a Honeymoon version of recaps, although those photographs will not be nearly as shiny and pretty, lol.  Let me know if there is any particular subject you’d like to hear see blogged about regarding our wedding recaps and YOU NEVER KNOW, I may feature it in the upcoming days, weeks or years…however long it takes me to complete this journaling expedition!

* = pro pics.

Worth a…lot of words! January 18, 2010

(credit)

If a picture’s worth a thousand words…there’s about to be tons of babbling going on from me, because our WEDDING PHOTOS are in!  All 500+ of them!

www.Collages.net

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Username:Krissy and Eric
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Hostess with the Most-est! January 14, 2010

Remember this post?

So, this is how they turned out:

(pic via my iPhone)

What I did was really simple, and took only a few materials:

• Three glass jars – one was a Ball jar (from cabinet), two from the Barilla marinara sauce from the night before’s lasagna — FREE.
• Assorted ribbon, on sale @ Michael’s for 2 for 1 - $4
• Bag of river pebbles - $5
• Three bunches of assorted flowers from grocery store – 3/$10

So…yup!  Less than $20 for three small centerpieces  All I did was wash out the jars, wrap ribbon around and secured with hot glue, split up the pebbles and distributed evenly, filled the jars 3/4 with water, then ‘cleaned’ the flowers (removing leaves and randomness) and cut the stems short to arrange in the jars.

(The flowers were green mums, yellow carnations and *can’t see in this picture* white gerber daisies)

To make it more fun, I also personalized a $1 frame with ribbon, random magnets I had laying around from the dollar section and the couples’ picture, and then arranged it on an Ikea small display easel (unused leftover from our wedding decorations)

(Ironically, their initials are the same as me and hubs’!)

I decided on that pic from her Facebook album of e-pics – I knew she would to have a piece showcasing their little ‘family’

(This is how they looked together)

I was happy with the way they turned out, and they looked cute on our 12-top table at Mimi’s Cafe!  Bonus?  Bridal shower guests liked them and took the flowers home, which is always the best compliment!