Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Wedding Part 6: The Devil is in the Details

Oh, hello there!  Did you think that just because we'd covered the reception that my little wedding documentation journey might be over?  If so, you discounted the fact that I'm a type A accountant who slaved over details of the day for approximately 15 months... and I don't ever want to forget a single one of them.  So, today's post (which really is the last post surrounding July 9, 2011) will cover all of the little parts of the day that might have escaped some guests but were the real sweat and tears meat and potatoes of the production.

The Dress
Vendor: The Princess Bridal
I have been in love with this dress from day 1... more than I can say for the groom!  (Definitely kidding).  The only problem I could see from the get-go was that the sash it came with was champagne-colored which had nothing to do with my teal/purple color schematic.  After several failed attempts at finding an appropriate colored sash to replace it with at High Fashion fabrics, Joann's, etc I resorted to an internet find.  Bridal white is the way to go, FYI.

Not pictured: Sash

I love this hanger- ordered it on Etsy.  Thanks BlackScrapCat.

Had to get a picture of my bustle because the alterations lady at The Princess Bridal was so amazing.

 The Shoes
Vendor (Mine): Alfred Sung
Venor (Ryan): Al's Formal Wear
Any of you who know me well will recall (or at least have heard about) the high heeled incident of 2005.  For those of you who do not remember the fall heard round the world- basically I ripped the hems out of my jeans.  I wore heels.  I fell.  I broke bones.  Nothing like breaking both elbows and alternating a sling from arm to arm your 5th year of college to make you feel young again.  I had zero desire for a repeat performance on the biggest day of my life and so I decided that flats were probably the way to go. 

I searched for a while (read: on the internet on my lunch breaks during busy season) for flats that were cute AND the correct color- a very tall order, apparently.  As any good internet shopper knows, it's hard to discern colors on the computer screen.  I never found anything that really spoke to me, so I decided to order some ivory peeptoe flats I found and some accessories from the site our bridesmaid dresses came from and play arts & crafts.  They wound up working out perfectly... and I got to match the bridesmaids.  You know how I feel about matching, Melissa.

Save the elbows!

This is probably the first, and only, time you will see a blog where a bride mentions the groom's shoes.  My soulmate is a different sort of man, my friends.  Many of you close to the wedding have heard (probably on a near daily basis) that Ryan wanted to get married in a white tux.  I unequivocally put the kibosh on that from the very beginning.  When it came time to go to the tux store to pick out his tux and his groomsmen's tuxes, he behaved so well (only longingly touched the white tux on display twice)... that it tugged slightly at my heartstrings.  He felt very strongly about these shoes, and I just couldn't stand to squash another one of his dreams.  Truth be told- I actually love them. 

Next best thing to a white tux.

The Rings
Vendor (mine): Dickinson by Design
Vendor (hubs): James Avery
I absolutely love Ryan's ring.  Now, when he first insisted to me that his ring would come from James Avery it caused me to re-think this whole marriage thing... however, after seeing the one he picked, I think I'll concede defeat to him.  Oh yeah, I also love my ring too.  :c)

Rings-a-lings 

The Bridesmaid Dresses
Vendor: Alfred Sung
I thought I knew 2 things when I got engaged when it came to what I wanted for bridesmaid dresses:  I wanted each bridesmaid to pick her own style and that I wanted them to be a citrus-y green.  As you can tell by pictures, I actually only knew one thing.  After rifling through bridal magazine after bridal magazine, I absolutely fell in love with the Jade peau de soie that Alfred Sung carried, not to mention they had a plethora of pretty cuts to choose from.  I've said it a million times and I'll say it again- my bridesmaids are absolutely beautiful. 

Sassy ladies.

The Bride's Cake
Vendor: Edible Designs by Jessie
If you are planning a wedding, or really any event, do yourself a favor and go visit Jessie.  She's such a sweet lady and her cakes could not be more tasty.  I didn't know exactly what I wanted my cake to look like, so I mainly did a lot of pointing and saying, this top with this bottom, with this pattern... and voila!  Choose your own adventure cake.. don't mind if I do.  I love how it turned out.

I believe the first two layers were vanilla with almond creme filling and the top two are lemon with lemon creme filling.  I will let you know in one year if I remembered that correctly.

Close-up.

The Groom's Cake
Vendor: Edible Designs by Jessie
Long before Ryan told me that I was the one, he informed me that at his wedding he would have an X-box cake.  This is the detail of the wedding that Ryan felt the most strongly about.  Just to give you an idea, his conversation at Jessie's was about twice as long as mine.  He also may or may not have consulted JT on which games he should have on the cake.  JT is overseas serving our country, so obviously determining the most meaningful games for Ryan's cake was a high priority.

Final Verdict: Halo & Madden.

How amazing is Jessie?

The Invitations
Vendor: Amanda Lamb
Amanda is my amazing former co-worker who's sadly left Houston to live and work in Austin.  She made the mistake of mentioning one time in training that she makes wedding invitations for fun.  I emailed her to see if she was still in the business or would be interested in doing ours- thus began a whirlwind of romantic email exchanges regarding fonts, colors, serifs vs. san-serifs and just in general me getting to witness Amanda's creative process at work.  She is truly amazing and I absolutely loved our invitations.  Thank you so much Amanda!  If you are interested in contacting her, let me know and I can get you her email address.  Please pardon the quality of these pictures- I took them on my camera phone.  I am clearly not a photographer!

Front of the envelope

Invitation front.  (P.S. This offer has expired).

The enclosures were in a pocket on the opposite side of the invitation.  Amanda is brilliant.


RSVP postcard.

The Programs
Vendor: Amanda Lamb
After doing such a stellar job on the invitations, we decided that we needed Amanda's touch on as many wedding-related items as we could manage.  I told Amanda I wanted to do something kind of fun and different for our programs and she came up with this idea completely on her own.  I loved it immediately.  I think, judging by the pics below, that it was a hit.

Forgot your lipstick?  No problem, grab a program.

Nothing accessorizes a suit quite like a fake stache.

The true use of the program.

Brendan laughing in the face of gender roles.

The Table Numbers
Vendor: Hobby Lobby
It took me forever to come up with a cute, semi-original idea for table numbers.  After hours of wandering aimlessly in Hobby Lobby and Michaels, I finally decided I wanted to use chalkboards.  We bought chalkboards, wooden numbers and had a few paint parties to get them the color they needed to be.  Of course, we had no idea what we wanted to write on them.  On the way to the lake one day my inner accountant reared its ugly head when I found myself suggesting to Ryan that we write sayings including each of the table numbers.  That, dollfaces, is how these came to be.  Ryan & I had an awesome time coming up with sayings for each of the numbers.  Some of my favs were: 3 Times a Lady, 6 on the Beach and Dressed to the 9's.

If you were having trouble remembering the date, table 11 was for you.

Table number action shot.

The Table Overlays
Vendor: Internet Site that I can't Remember + Boarman Family Project Team
This is another of my wedding ideas that evolved over time.  I was originally set on having chair sashes.  I combed the internet for HOURS trying to find chair sashes that looked like they were the right color.  After approximately 20-25 hours of doing so I decided that it was a lost cause and it was time to go back to the drawing board. 

My next idea: table overlays.  I spent another 5 hours (learned my lesson the first time) looking for the right color table overlays to no avail.  My Mom & I decided, after much consternation, that we could just order fabric and cut it ourselves.  After searching every Joann's and Hobby Lobby we could find, we wound up deciding that this lace-y aqua colored fabric we found on the internet would probably match... kind of... if you squinted your eyes and had a few glasses of adult beverage.  Clearly this exercise had worn us down because we purchased all they had left of it- which is definitely the biggest risk either Caddy or I has ever taken in life.

One night up at the lake my Dad, Mom, Ryan and I spent hours upon hours in the garage assembly-line style cutting this bolt of fabric into overlays on the ping pong table while drinking wine.  So, while the lines may not have been that straight- those overlays sure made for a lot of laughs and a night I'll never forget.  As a bonus, I actually think they turned out wonderfully.  Thank you so much Team Boarman... I'm so blessed to have a family who will spend an evening with me wielding a wine glass and scissors.

Made in Conroe, with wine love.

The Escort Cards/Favor Bags
Vendor: Amanda Lamb
Much like table numbers, I spent FOREVER trying to come up with a fun idea for escort cards.  My friend Ashley had adorable apples and Justin & Lindsey had horseshoes... so I felt like I had some big shoes to fill.  One day while surfing the internet I found a picture of some bags with fun patterns and I decided that we could roll the escort cards and favors all into one.  I consulted Amanda on this and she agreed it was definitely a possibility.  Amanda MADE beautiful bags with escort cards that perfectly mirrored the theme of the invitations.  Have I mentioned she's amazing?

Next line of business: what do we fill them with?  I knew that some of my guests didn't like, and/or were allergic, to chocolate- so that was out of the questions.  I wandered around CostCo for about an hour on the phone with my Mom.  We finally decided that toffee popcorn was a fabulously universal selection.  After sending her a phone picture of the size of the cannister, she and I did some mental math and decided that we probably needed about 17 of these cannisters.  I paid and went on my merry way.

A few days later when we were assembling the escort card/favor bags we learned that we really only needed... wait for it... 5 cannisters.  So if my parents give you a canniester of toffee popcorn for Christmas, now you know why.  You also know where my understanding of spacial concepts and mental math comes from.

Purple, teal & geometric all over.  Makes my heart smile. 

We definitely forgot to pick those up prior to seating ourselves.  Faux pas.

Floral
Vendor: Darryl & Co
There's really not too much of a story to tell when it comes to the floral except that I loved all of it.  I highly recommend Darryl & Co if you're planning an event, particularly if it's at the Bell Tower because they're about 2 minutes away. 
My gorgeous shakeweight for the evening.  White roses, lillies & hydrangea.

Can't tell you enough how much I loved these - Picasso calla lillies & purple hydrangea.


White pomander balls that lined the aisle.

More ceremony decor.

Snippet of the head table.

Flower girl's ammo- white rose petals.  The basket is from Etsy, of course.

The candelabra centerpiece. White lillies, cream roses & purple hydrangea.

The twiggy centerpiece.  That is in fact the technical name.

Pretty shot.
PHEW!  And now I have finally finished blogging about the day I became Mrs. Martin.  It's a toss up as to whether documenting this or passing the CPA was more difficult.  Stay tuned for tales from the honeymoon and lots of other fun wedding festivities for the ladies in my life.

Boom- married.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Wedding Part 5: The Dance Party

Pardon my delay in blogging- one of my clients shifted quarter work and MY BFF GOT MARRIED!  So, I've been a busy lady.  Okay, so today's story... our dance party, more familiarly known as a reception.  Hallelujah!

Our first few seconds as Mr & Mrs Martin.  This may have actually been the most emotional moment of the day.

Since it had been a solid 45 minutes since we had smiled for any pictures (the longest I'd gone all day), it was time to get our mugs back on camera.  We took some pictures with our beautiful familias while the rest of the guests went to get their cocktail hour on in the reception ballroom. 

Ryan & I with Pastor Thomasson

The Brady (my Mom's side) portion of the family - Kyle, Natalie, Uncle Tom, Aunt Jan, Brian, Miranda, Aunt Jean, Travis, Ashleigh, Matt, Me, Hubs, Ava, Grandpa Brady, Kara, Daddio, Mamacita, Julie, Taylor & Paul

My side of the family - Jules, Matt, Me, Ryno, Mom & Dad

With the amazing people who raised us.  Daddy B, Mama B, Me, Ryan, Mom M & Dad M.

Ryan's side of the family - Tiff, Me, Ryan, Melanie & Mike

Ryan's extended family - Bryce, Jace, Sandy, Kevin, Jenny, Bob, Grandpa Workman, Pam, Tiff & Kylie, Ryan E, Me, Hubs, Melanie, Larry, Mike, Meemaw Brown, Lori, Stan, Connor & Taylor.

My lady gang.  Court, Jenn, Caitlin P, Chelsea, Melissa, Tiffany, Me, Ryan, Jules, Dena, Caitlin B, Shawna & Jen.

Ryan's man-terage: Jimmer, Matt, Brendan, David, Uriel, Me, the Mr,  Austin, Jonathan, Blake, Ramon & Ryan E

After Ryan and I's mouths reached a level of twitching that impaired our ability to smile for photographs and the wall of windows caused the sun to fully blind us- we decided it was probably time to get to the party.  The bridal party, Ryan & I all got to make our grand entrance down the beautiful staircase at the Bell Tower.  Upon reaching the bottom, it was so heartwarming to see all of our friends, family and loved ones in the room, faces a glow with the warmth of cabernet sauvignon.  It was particularly heartwarming to be greeted with the guest of honor at the reception - cardboard Amy & Ryan!  You all may remember cardboard Amy & Ryan from one year prior, at our -1 year anniversary.  It was so nice to be reunited with this old friend.  I think my parents were particularly excited that it made it out of their attic.

My what a fabulous dress/cover up.  Who makes that?  Photoshop by Shawna Florida?


Heeeeeeeey.  Fancy seeing ya'll here.

Ryan and I had our first dance as husband and wife, which may or may not have happened to be our first slow dance ever?  I am not sure really when else we'd have danced.  Did we dance at your wedding?  If so, you likely had wine there because I do not recall it.  Anywho, we danced to "Crazy Love" - the Michael Buble version rather than Aaron Neville because it's shorter.  And if I hadn't married Ryan, I'd have married Michael Buble.  That felt like the longest 3 minutes of the entire evening.  If you're not accustomed to dancing in front of 165 of your closest friends, then it is a pretty uncomfortable feeling. 

So... how's your day been?

Signaling for drinks to the bartender.  This is somewhere near the 1.5 minute mark of our 3 minutes of dancing.

After everyone got their grub dined on beef tenderloin, chicken florentine and pasta with spicy marinara, it was time for cake cutting.  I told Ryan that if he shoved any cake on my face that it would mean HGTV on non-stop until September.  It turns out all I really needed to tell him was how much it costs to get your make up done. 

Seriously.  Til September.

I am 100% certain you are not supposed to do what Ryan is doing in this photograph.  He has clearly not  read much on the Knot.

Cutting into the Xbox was painful for Ryan.

Again- get a room.

While people were eating their cake, they were treated to the speech stylings of my proud papa, my incredible co-MOHs, Jen & Julie, and Ryan's BFF, Austin.  We made it clear that we were not responsible for any cake lost due to laughing or crying during said speeches.  All 4 of these people did an amazing job and were individually complimented multiple times for the remainder of the evening.  I wish I could play all of their speeches here for you because they were so awesome.  However, in the interest of space I will give you a brief summation of what we learned from all of them.
  • Daddio:  I make excellent choices.  Except when I allowed Jen to become my friend, to gift me with a Bath & Bodyworks candle and then to use that candle to roast marshmallows in my room.
  • Jen:  I am an okay accountant.  If Ryan did not appreciate Whataburger's seasonal HBBQCSS, she may not have approved our marriage.
  • Julie:  Thankfully she wrote  her name down on the piece of paper or she may have forgotten it with her 30 second crying prelude.  Also, I made her ask my parents what "scr0tum" meant.  I had kind of forgotten that. 
  • Austin:  Ryan hit 2 homeruns one time that Austin did not forgive him for and Ryan may have been on steroids as a youth?
Seriously though, all of these speeches were the most touching things that anyone has ever said to or about either Ryan or I and we can't thank each of you enough for taking the time to put your thoughts into such well-crafted words.  We love you.

Ryan looks like he's re-thinking his decision.

1.  This is the only picture in the series from Jen's speech where we are in the same frame as her.  She clearly was leary of coming near us.  2.  It kind of looks like cardboard Ryan is trying to make a Jen sandwich.

Crying.  Not just for Julie anymore.

Ryan toasting his homeruns.

After the speeches, I clearly hadn't cried enough for one day.  So to further induce waterworks, Daddio & I had our father/daughter dance and Ryan & his Mom had their mother/son dance.  Dad & I danced to My Girl and Ryan & his Mom danced to Meaning by Gavin DeGraw. 

I love you, Dad.

Sweet moment.

Because we danced so well, everyone was inspired to get their groove on and this is when the party REALLY got started.  However, I'm going to fast forward to the bouquet/garter toss pictures so that all of you party animals can close out the picture segment of this post with your mad dance skills. 

So I did the bouquet toss... appropriately to "Scrubs" by TLC.  I only want what's best for my friends.  Duh.  Proving myself to already be an amazing wife, I provided Ryan with a little surprise as he went up my dress in the form of a UT garter.  I can't believe I kept this a secret from everyone except Julie, Jen and my Mom for so long.  High five to me!  My cousin Taylor caught the garter and his girlfriend Natalie caught the bouquet- 4 weddings in one year on this side of the family?  Let's make it happen!

Natalie = winning.

Awwwwwkward.

Getting hook em'ed is the new iced.

Okay, and finally the verbiage comes to an end.  After the garter and bouquet tosses were over, so were Ryan and I's responsibilities for the evening.  We promptly headed to the dance floor and celebrated to the utmost with all of our party people.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words, I think that one of your friends doing the cupid shuffle is worth at least five thousand.  Thank you ALL for coming, thank you ALL for eating, drinking and watching us be married!  We adore you.


Jenny & her Grandpa and my Mom & her Dad

Sinders family pic (minus Tripp)

Tiffany & Mr. Sumerlin showing people how to get down.  Both literally & figuratively.

Rachel & MoJo gettin' it.
The gorgeous Wilsons

I believe the Cupid Shuffling has commenced.  Dena is beckoning to her off camera fan club.

Blake's just a twist & shout man in a sea of cupid shufflers.

Both Dena & Willow Smith whip their hair back & forth.

Ramon doing a little jig?

Melissa looking surprised that she ended up in the middle of the circle.

Ash & Ava breaking it down

Wowsa.

Jersey Shore fist pumping Missouri-style.

Grandpa & Rachel.  Dingo fo life!

Love this pic.  Morgan, Grandpa Brady & Rachel.

Ryan teaching Taylor what her first HS dance will be like.  Only hopefully her partner is not holding a beer.

Miranda & Trav: May 2012!

Group hug.

 Pretty ladies.

Awwwww.  They look so nice when not wearing Yaga shirts.

Ash & Kyle: October 2011!  Miranda will not be marrying them. :c)

Melissa & Blake: September 2011!  Uncle Blake wants YOU.

So many moves.

Pippa.  Raging.

Haha.

It's closing time.

That's a wrap!