Under the Bridge

Which of these would make a good new year's card?!?!

Wordless Wednesday: Down by the River

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steppin' Out Saturday 10.29.11 Happy Halloween!

Last Halloween, Mike came up with this costume idea but it's really hard to find a dress for a man, last minute.  This year we planned ahead.

And let me just tell you, watching Mike try to put on hose (which unfortunately you don't even see in the pictures!), eyeliner (again, can't see) and lipstick made my night.  But Courtney Love doesn't need perfection.

At first I thought wearing baggy jeans, a sweater, and not doing anything with my hair was *awesome.*  But there's something to be said about dressing up.  It's fun.  However, Kurt Cobain doesn't "dress up."

We headed out to a friend's party, with The Most Interesting Man in the World (or George Clooney?)

No matter what persona you embody, be it a really ugly woman/drag queen/Courtney love or the Brawny Towel guy/lazy person or Kurt Cobain, may you have a fun night!

(what face am I making here?!)

Wordless Wednesday: Take My Breath Away

 

{edit: credit where, credit's due: From our Trash the Dress session by Studio Juno}

(Wedding Recap) The Hora!

During the post-wedding-feedback stage, several people told me the Hora stood out as their favorite part of our wedding. Comments varied from, "I've never seen a group of people so excited!" to "Twenty-five minutes of straight dancing without stopping was incredible."  Our band rocked it out and kept the party going, for what seemed like a great forever.

[Sidenote: around this point the bustle in my dress began failing & falling.  I stepped on the hem and got frustrated and started hated my dress.  Oh, the heat, too.  The temperature under 6 layers of fabric grew unbearable.]

But that did not stop me from dancing!

I showed off my roger-rabbit skillz.  for realz.

The guys and girls created their own circles.

 Mike flung me around in circles

And then came THE CHAIRS.

My word, the chairs.

The scary chairs, lifted up and down, all over the place.

Feeling like you're going to fall.

The chairs.

Scary and exhilarating.

(mostly scary)

Once back on the ground, my dad broke out the accordion!!!!

 

Look at him rocking out!

So awesome.

He's one talented Dad.

Speaking of talented, Mike & danced for each other

This goes down as one of my favorite moments in my life.

Seriously, the best Hora ever!

{Photo amahzingness: Studio Juno}

(Wedding Recap) Yichud & Our First Dance!

After the wedding ceremony it is customary, in Judaism, for the bride and groom to have time to themselves (yichud). They are escorted to the "yichud room" and left alone. We used this time to scarf down food & say "wow" about a million times.  Back in the day, this time together made the marriage official -- if ya' know what I mean. 
These moments of seclusion signify the couple's new status of living together as husband and wife.

Once we had enough to eat and drink I texted our wedding planner, eager to move on to the next moment!  We hoped to mingle with our guests, but had to use the time instead for family photos.  Honestly, this became my least favorite part.  We spent time prior to the ceremony taking some family shots, but didn't finish.  At this point I simply wanted to dance and celebrate with my friends.  I love my family but that flash bulb drove me crazy.... (and of course, I was in every picture).

Once the necessary family portraits finish the cocktail hour time sadly passed.  Next up: Our First Dance!
Mike & I long debated over which song to use for this moment. I wanted something timeless, that might play in the grocery store one day and make us remember back to that day.  He wanted something lively and fun.  We finally decided on one song, and then promptly changed it 3 days later to our final decision. 

We chose the Beatles, I Will

I absolutely love this shot!

(Also, do you see the little glimmer of white in the background that is my niece, the flower girl? adorbs.)

{all photos by Studio Juno}

(Wedding Recap) Details, Details

There are a couple things I need to point out, to validate my/our hard work and document the end results.

For the ceremony, my mom purchased a kit from Michael's craft stores and then made the layout with her fine Microsoft Office skills.  My dad then helped her print, arrange, and tie the bows. (Thanks Mom & Dad!)  We placed them on chairs for guests, prior to the ceremony.

I found some reserved seating cards on TheKnot.com. (Which reminds me, I need to sell them... anyone want them?)  These were perfect for the ceremony!

The kepot were passed out at the door, thanks to our dear friend, Eric.  We decided to go with a contrasting color to the bridesmaids dresses to change things up a bit.

Post ceremony, the guests were lead to the Board Room where one bar was located, or to the Portico, outside, where there were cabaret (high-top) tables and another bar.  And I have no picture of this. But it existed.

Before entering the cocktail hour area you came across a table with escort cards, decorated with floating candles, similar to some of the table arrangements.  I stupidly printed out all the cards myself, a few days before the wedding (with the help from amazing Lara!).  Turns out, when you do this task after midnight and when your husband is already away on his bachelor party, you will make mistakes... like forgetting a whole table.  whoops!

I found this gift box at Target, days prior to the wedding. I used the same ribbon as I did for my niece's flower girl basket and the escort card (to differentiate entree choices), for flair.

Each escort card led guests to their assigned table, named after a different zoo animals (a nod to Mike's proposal!)

At each seat lay menu cards and benchers (Jewish prayer books - which we forgot to use!) flanked each table. Sidenote: I also printed these menu cards out in the wee-hours of the morning.  Not advised.

As mentioned before, I made the cake topper (with that same ribbon).

The bridesmaid's flowers surrounded the cake table. 

And my bouquet graced our sweetheart table, along with my special clutch from Etsy!

These little elements all came together so nicely!

{all photos by the awesome Studio Juno}