As of October 27, 2007, I am officially married! Hooray. After two (short) years of planning, Joe and I managed to finally have a wedding, and it was FABULOUS if I do say so myself, and I do. I’m not even sure where to begin. Our wedding was at the Gingerbread House in Savannah, GA, with the majority of the guest list from various places in the Northeast. I’d been telling everyone for weeks how warm it’d been down here, and that “last year at this time I was on the beach.” So clearly, it was sort of cold and dreary, and rainy for the majority of my wedding weekend. I joked with a friend that we had nothing to worry about weather-wise since GA had been in a drought for almost a year – HA! Who knew that the only thing holding the weather back all this time had been my nuptials. It will more than likely never rain again in GA after this past weekend; the whole state will actually dry up and fall off into the sea…but it had to be a monsoon wedding on my big weekend!
..It did manage to be fairly nice out for the actual day of the ceremony, so I was thrilled. Everything more or less went off without a hitch, which I think, is basically unheard of. All of the smooth sailing can be attributed to a number of factors, not the least of which is that the O’s other fabulous intern, Lindsay, graciously agreed to be by “Day of Coordinator.”
And may I just say she was fabulous. I haven’t the slightest idea how people go without one. I barely managed the planning of the wedding without any professional assistance, but attempting to run the whole show while actually being the one getting married is CRAZY. Lindsay was great. She showed up early to make sure that everything was going as planned: DJ arriving, things set up correctly, caterer getting there, the whole bit. She escorted guests to the courtyard when they arrived, and helped hide the groomsmen up stairs in their room until it was time for the ceremony to begin. She was kind enough to field my crazy phone calls all day, repeatedly asking about the status of everything. She even dealt with the police for me when some crazy (clearly parentless) teens decided to crash my wedding photo session! It was quite a scene.
Joe and I wrote our own vows which proved to be extremely scary on the day of the wedding, but I’m so happy that we did it. I think really thinking about what you want to say, and knowing that it’s coming from the heart made a big difference in the way our ceremony felt. We both incorporated references to our family and friends being at the wedding, and I think it made for a very personal, intimate feel.
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Thereafter, I wanted a very non-traditional all out party. We had heavy hors d’ouevres for dinner and no assigned seating which made for a very mingle-y relaxed feel. I really wanted to eliminate a lot of the traditional events (cake cutting, bouquet tossing, etc.) because I felt like all that shuffling people around to watch me smush cake into Joe’s face would take away from the party, and I wanted the party…and honey, we GOT the party. It was great – everyone drinking and dancing and chatting, and enjoying the food and our ice cream wedding cake.
Yes. I said ice cream cake. I hate wedding cake. So we opted for two ice-cream cakes from Coldstone Creamery. One (mine) had Sweet Cream Ice Cream, brownies, fudge, yellow cake, pecans and was covered in a layer of chocolate ganache. The other (Joe’s) was a Cookies and Cream cake complete with Oreo Ice Cream, yellow cake, and vanilla frosting. I am drooling on the keyboard just thinking about it. They were a HIT.
At the moment I’m going through a little post-partum-style depression now that all the planning for the big day is over. Thank goodness I got this gig with the O and can keep planning weddings for other people…I think I’m in love with it. Okay who’s next….?
Ok. That was a bit dramatic. But this will help you.
The laptop actually POPS . The screen goes white…then black and cuts completely off. What do, I, the genius do? Attempt to turn it back on. It acted like it wanted to work for a second and then cut off….and would not cut back on.
What did I get myself this year? 2 inches off my waist and 2 inches off my thighs!!
Happy Birthday, Liene! 
Just a little bridal humor to start your week! I have no idea where it came from, but Randi of 
Okay, so you always hear us talking about having signature drinks at your wedding. Well this just takes it to the next level of amazingness. They are martini Ice Luges. You choose your signature drink, then you can have different fruits, flowers, or really whatever you want frozen inside to match your theme. Your drink is poured in the top and runs through the ice, coming out into your glass. How “cool” is that?
If you are the bride with lots of dynamic and bold colors and textures, your food should reflect that style as well. I came across this awesome recipe for Tequila Lime Shrimp. It will awaken any palate and is also good for your bridal luncheon or dinner at home for your honey!
Ok, how much do you just LOVE the “Mommy, WHAT in the world are you doing?” look on his face!?