Wednesday, August 25, 2010

A Thousand Forevers

When we booked our videographer, Dustin, we were nothing short of excited for what he would come up with for our wedding video. He is an incredible cinematic artist who really breaks the mold of your standard 'wedding video'. (Which, by the way, we did not want.) When we met our videographer we were ecstatic at the professionalism, creative ideas, and adventures that we all encountered together in our short 24 hours. (We climbed rusty fire escapes, romped in fields of wild flowers, almost ran out of gas, found cool sites around downtown Columbus, and traversed an old fallen log, in addition to everything else we did to get ready for our day!)

We still are a ways away from receiving our final product (editing and perfection of wedding videos is a long process...a long process that we were aware of before we booked with Indy, plus we like to think that we've got so much cool footage!! :) ), but Dustin has posted our trailer! And, as we suspected, it is incredible: A Thousand Forevers

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The Big Day

On July 25, 2009, Brian and I got engaged. Shortly thereafter, we started this blog to document all of our adventures in our quest to plan our perfect wedding. And when I say that all of our hard work, all of our late night planning and preparation, all of our discussions led us to our perfect day, I am not kidding. It was nothing short of perfect!

From the weather, to the dress, to the flowers, to the hair and make-up, to the cupcakes, to the people, to the music, to the excitement, to the photobooth, to the love, it was all so perfect, and we really could not have asked for anything more.

We held our wedding on Friday night, August 6, 2010. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning of that same week we found ourselves drenched in rain with threatening thunder clouds looming low overhead. On Thursday around 10 am the clouds cleared, leaving behind a wonderfully beautiful sunny day with a nice, warm temperature. Because it had just rained the for the past couple days, we were surrounded by lovely lush greenery everywhere. Goodale Park looked fantastic!

THE REHEARSAL

We had our rehearsal on Thursday afternoon, which went unmistakeably well, and then we all headed over to our rehearsal dinner location: Due Amici. It was beautiful. Everything was set up perfectly. There were candles and beautiful white tables. The exposed brick on the walls of the room made us all feel so cozy, and the food. The food! Delicious! Marvelous! Absolutely wonderful! We had a few additional guests that were not part of our wedding party join us for our rehearsal dinner. We had a slideshow of pictures of Brian and I growing up, we had lovely individual dessert cakes with the letters 'B & E' written on them, and we had such a fantastic time! (This perfect night was a precursor to our perfect day!) We all headed out to Bar Louie for a quick drink after our rehearsal dinner where even more of our out of town guests met up with us. We could already feel the love and excitement! It was all just so perfect.

Thursday night found Brian staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites in downtown Columbus, OH (along with many of our out of town guests), and I headed back to the homestead with my Mom and my sister, Amy. The next time we say each other we'd be saying our 'I do's'!

THE WEDDING DAY

Erin's Morning

I woke up at 6:12 am. There was no going back to sleep. I immediately checked my eyeball. (Jack poked my eye out the night before when we were rough housing.) It was still swollen and red. So, after Amy and I went to CVS and Walgreen's in search of something to clear my eye up, we were headed back home to pick up Mom. The three of us traveled to the eye doctor. The nurses were so sympathetic. They fit us in an emergency appointment because it was my wedding day. Fortunately, it felt much worse than it actually was. Jack had scratched the inside, white part of my eye, and the doc gave me some eye drops and a prescription for ointment and I was out the door. At this point, the morning itinerary had already been scratched. (No pun intended.)

Jack initially was invited to the ceremony, but after the night before, we decided that he would spend the day and night at puppy camp. Mom and Amy dropped Jack off while I gathered everything I needed for the hotel and the wedding night. When Mom and Amy returned, we headed to the hotel to get ready.


Once we got to the hotel, I got really excited! Brandi had already gotten her hair done, Tamara was in the process of getting her make-up done, and Shanna was next in line for hair. There was so much excitement! I layed on the couch with frozen blueberries on my eye to help reduce the swelling (and pain) while the hustle and bustle went on around me. I felt calm. I was excited, but I was just so happy to have everyone that meant so much to me around, and all in the same room.

I got my hair done first, and then my makeup, and all of a sudden, it felt like we were all running behind. We kept getting little updates on where Brian was, and it started to get a bit rushed. I was ready and whisked off to the park with our photographer, Kim, our videographers Dustin and Devin, and Brian's Mom, Mary, by Scott, my stepdad. I just couldn't wait to see Brian!

Brian's Morning
I woke up in the morn and showered. I went to the complimentary breakfast that was offered at the hotel, and then headed to Phoenix Links Golf Course to play golf with the wedding party, extended family, and friends. (Yes, there were nearly 30 people! And yes, we showed up all together ready to tee off on hole 1. The starter was not too pleased with us, but we convinced him to allow us to start on any hole. This ended up being the most unorganized method of golfing. My group of six got through about four holes...if that.) After 'golf' we went to Bar Louie for lunch, and headed back to the hotel to get ready.

I was excited, anxious, and could not wait to see my beautiful bride.

Once I was ready, I headed over to Goodale Park where I was to meet Erin. It was an absolutely amazing day!

Our Wedding Day
We met at the gazebo at Goodale Park. We decided to meet beforehand to take our photos since our ceremony was going to be a bit later in the evening. Our bridal party was to be picked up by the trolley at the hotel. We were all going to hit a few locations around Columbus to take pictures. Strangely enough, our bridal party arrived in two taxi vans. The trolley was a no show, and because we've always been told that, 'when life hands you lemons, make lemonade,' we decided that the bridal party would remain at the park and wait for the 'new' trolley, and Brian and I would pack in our photographers car with our videographer and his assistant and go take some photos and shoot some video. (This was one of the best periods of time throughout the day!) We went to Whetstone Park of Roses and shot some incredible photographs in the wild flower area. We then scouted a few industrial locations around Columbus and did some more modern wedding photos. We even climbed a rusty old fire escape (yes, in my wedding gown and shoes!) to get the perfect shot. Troopers we are, I tell ya! (Channeling my inner Yoda.) When we finally met up with the bridal party, they had been partying in the trolley at the park, and we were nearly 45 minutes from show time!

The bagpiper met us on the trolley and started warming up. This really was the only time I was nervous throughout the entire day. The bagpipes just invoked so much emotion! Everything was pretty much going as planned. The videographers put a mic on Brian, Scott (our pastor) and Scott (my stepdad) both met us at the shelter house, our day of coordinator, Terri, assured us that all was going as planned and we were ready to go, and off the trolley went.


Our ceremony went off without a hitch. It was beautiful. It was short and sweet, and I remember thinking, 'I can't believe were actually getting married right now!' (I was paying attention to the pastor, too...I think...) It was so exciting to be there with Brian. It was so exciting to offer our love to each other in front of so many loving family and friends. It was just an absolutely incredible day!

After the ceremony and group photos at the park, we headed to the reception. Once again, the place was just impeccable. I felt so loved. I felt so excited. I felt so happy to be there with my true love. The reception looked even more fantastic than we had envisioned, and we had a fantastic time! I think everyone had a fantastic time, and that is exactly what we wanted! It's true that the day and night pass by very quickly, but not once did I feel like it was going by too fast. I distinctly remember thinking at one point, 'we have so much time left for our reception!'

I never was one to have my wedding already figured out, but this day, that Brian and I created, was exactly what we wanted.

It was perfect.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Lunamieleros

Mexico.

Stunning. Beautiful. Paradise.

We returned from our seven night, eight day honeymoon in the Riviera Maya region of Mexico on Sunday night. We stayed at the Secrets Maroma Beach resort. It was a fantastic resort! It was extremely top notch, state-of-the-art, had impeccable attention to some of the most gorgeous details we've ever seen, and was so accommodating.

Upon our arrival, there was a sash on our door that said, 'Honeymooners'! We noticed quite a few of these sashes around the entire resort, and being in Mexico, a few were in Spanish: 'Lunamieleros'... (hence the post title)! (Clearly these were saved for the Spanish speaking guests that were staying at the resort. There wasn't a random lottery for a select few of the English speaking guests to start their honeymoon with a mind-numbing word challenge.) Our personal concierge (yes, I said personal - there was one for each building) escorted us to our room and showed us all the amenities the room offered. He showed us how everything worked, when cleaning services and turn down services were offered, where all the light switches were, the secret box where room service can place your food and not disturb you (this was truly amazing), and even where the bottle opener was. (Thank goodness for our concierge. It was conveniently attached to the wall next to the sink. We would've hung a towel on that little metal contraption had we not known...and we would've had a few chipped teeth since nearly all the bottles in our little mini fridge needed to be opened via the bottle opener.) We had a lovely view, two swan towel sculptures kissing each other with rose petals scattered about them, a chilled bottle of champagne (awaiting our arrival), and two perfectly set champagne glasses (awaiting the sparkling bubbly).

The A/C was set so low that the Mexican heat outside felt good after you had been inside for a few minutes, and we were informed that if we stepped out onto the balcony (aka: opened our balcony door), there was a sensor that automatically turned the A/C off. (The energy efficient thought has got to count, but the jacuzzi tub in every room, and additional balcony jacuzzi tub in select rooms may have just cancelled that thought out!) There were separate coves within the bathroom area for the shower and the toilet, each equipped with their own door. There was a platter of delicious, endless chocolate chip cookies loaded at the lobby. There were pools, and fountains, and details that just blew our mind away. The entire room, the entire resort was just so posh!

The beach was absolutely perfect. The clear water was made up of the most beautiful combinations of turquoise and blue, the temperature had the perfect amount of warmth that still felt so refreshing, and the sand! The sand!! It was so smooth, and white, and soft that rubbing your feet in it felt like you were rubbing your feet in silk. The waves lapped up so serenely onto the shore, and they offered the perfect touch as they gently rolled over our toes and feet when we walked along the beach.

Right next to the resort was an unfinished mansion. We're still unsure what happened there. Still, we dubbed these our 'ruins'. We were able to explore and photograph some sweet shots and views of the ocean. We even ordered a few prints from the photo session we had. We both loved the ruins. It was an incredible sight to happen upon on our walk down the beach.

We ate, we drank, we rested beneath a palapa on the beach, we ate, we read books, we read magazines, we went kayaking, we went snorkeling in the ocean, we went snorkeling in a cenote, we went snorkeling in a cave, we saw one stingray, two sea turtles, and one monkey, we took a ride on the Hobie, we slept, we did a little bit of shopping, we ate, we got massages, we got facials, we enjoyed being married, and we enjoyed our time in Mexico. It was our honeymoon...what did you expect?!



Monday, August 16, 2010

Sneak Peak!

(We may have checked our photographer's blog once or twice while we were in Mexico to see if they had posted any preview pictures from our lovely wedding day. Even though we were confident that they would text or email us before they did, or while they were doing it to let us know it was happening, we figured we'd still check...just to make sure!)

Our photographers were absolutely amazing, and that's putting it lightly. Kim and Eric are a dynamic duo. They are extremely professional, extremely talented and creative, and they are just so awesome to work with. Kim mainly worked with me, and Eric mainly worked with Brian (at least while we were getting ready), so it was just lovely to have another awesome woman to laugh with, joke with, and capture our special day! (I'm sure Brian thinks it was awesome to have another guy to bond with, too...well, maybe!) Anyway, Picture the Love completely outdid themselves with their photographic expertise. They surprised us both by having a preview ready for us to view only 10 days after our wedding. Incredible!

Check out the love below:

Wedding Photo Sneak Peak!

Friday, August 6, 2010

BLAST OFF!!!

...to the future!

(As many of you know, I will always be a cornball at heart.)

TODAY IS OUR WEDDING DAY!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

1...

It's the day before our wedding! We've got tuxes to pick up, and hair to have done! We've got nails to have done, dresses to have pressed, friends to be dropped off at Zoombezi Bay, a dog and a bunny to be fed, and our rehearsal dinner items to be dropped off! We've got a ton of people arriving today! We've got a minimum of five separate airport pick ups, and one short Columbus tour (for our videographers!), AND we've got our rehearsal and rehearsal dinner tonight! We've got a lot on our plate, but we also have a lot of empty plates around just to help!

The sky is starting to rid itself of the ominous clouds that have been looming over for the last two days! I feel absolutely wonderful, and excited, and overwhelmed with the love, laughter and emotion that I am engulfed with from all my close friends and family! Nothing matters at this point!

The excitement in the air is indescribable, and I still have not stopped smiling!

We are getting married tomorrow!!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

2...

Two dollar bill...

Two of hearts...

Two x four...

Two year molar...

Two ante meridiem... (um, that's 2:00 am for all of us non-latin speakers...)

Two birds of a feather...

Two buck chuck...

Two cents...

Two halves...

Two inch heels...

Two if by sea...


Two spa services...(attended by the Bride today!)

Two kisses...

Two of a kind...

Two more people arrived from Scotland!

Two step...

Two turtle doves...


Two peas in a pod...

TWO DAYS LEFT!!!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

3...

THREE DAYS!!! It's unbelievable!

Today we dropped all our items off at our venue, paid our venue bill, and had our first guest arrive in town from Scotland! Our day is truly here! It's here, and there's no turning back now! (Neither Brian nor I are interested in turning back anyway!)

Today was also the last official day of work for both of us (at least until we return from our honeymoon!), and we know that if we blink at all in the next 36 hours we will miss something spectacular! We are extremely excited for our special day!!!

Monday, August 2, 2010

4...

"I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you
Yes, there's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you

I've seen the paths that your eyes wander down
I want to come too

I think that possibly,
Maybe I'm falling for you

No one understands me quite like you do
Through all of the shadowy corners of me

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew
All of the while it was you..."

My Grammie put it perfectly this morning, 'I can't stop smiling'! I'm in the same boat, Gram, I can't stop either!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

5...

It's Sunday! Our wedding week is here! T-minus 5 days and we will be walking down that aisle, hand in hand, with two shiny rings on our fingers. What an incredible feeling!

Brian and I have had so much fun planning our wedding! It's going to be incredible to see all the different elements all come together. We are just so fortunate to have had the help that we did. Our families helped us make our wedding the special, most incredible day that we will both cherish for the rest of our lives. We are just so fortunate that so many family members and friends will be able to attend our wedding. We've got people traveling from Scotland, Germany, Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii, Georgia, New York, Florida, Philadelphia, (Ohio), and I'm sure plenty of other places that I've not listed. And we are both just so fortunate to have found one another.

We are overwhelmed with the love and support and emotion that we have in our lives. We are very lucky, and we are so thankful.

So, if the countdown wasn't on before...it is seriously on now!