Wedding Highlights Video!

You might remember we debated hiring a videographer.
But if we didn't, then you'd miss out on the awesome details of our wedding, me sighing dreamily during my husband's vows, our first dance as we muddled through it, us on chairs for the Horah, and even some Rogge-Rabbit dancing action.

Need a pick me up and to smile all dopey-like?
Then there's this (only 4.30 min long!):


which I love, love, love!
Also? I love my sister's speech and am so glad he opened with it.

Wordless Wednesday: MORE Day After Photos !

Day After Photoshoot: Up on a Fire Escape

And then our photographer said she always wanted to do a shoot on a fire escape.
So we asked a random building to do just that.
On a random Wednesday afternoon, the staff happily obliged.

By the way, I hate heights.

 These pictures were so worth the adventure!

{Studio Juno photography}

Day After Photoshoot: Downtown Georgetown

Forgive my brevity, I'm only using 9 fingers to type thanks to a silly bread knife injury & trip to Urgent Care on Halloween night.
Right.

After returning from our honeymoon, we met up with our fav photog, Leah of Studio Juno.  We intended to finish our hour (honestly 3 hour long) session with a Trash the Dress romp.

First up:  Georgetown cityscape shots

 I love these shots!
Bee Tee Dubs, lovely locks sculpted by David Beck & exquisite make-up crafted by Andrea, both of Salon Rouge.

(Wedding Recap) The Dollar Dance!

Immediately after the Hora we moved into another fun family tradition: the dollar dance (older post on the Polish history of the dollar dance).  It was completely exhausting going from the 25 minute hora to a 15 minute polka, and simultaneously fun. 

See, you pay a dollar to dance with the bride.
And then we use that money for the honeymoon (or to start the couple's life -- same diff).

My mom and sister collected the money for me while the dancers lined up and waited their turns.

My brother-in-law actually knows how to polka and totally whisked me around the dance floor!

My cousin is also amazing.

(so is my whooshing dress in this pic!)

My girl friends, in on the fun!

My dad, rocking the accordion again, with my aunt & uncle.

Because he's also amah-zing.

And of course my niece enjoyed the fun dancing too!

This great tradition really captured my Polish side & allowed me some individual time with friends and relatives.  (I especially loved when cousin Steve brought me a glass of water!)

(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) Father/Daughter & Mother/Son Dances

I cried more dancing with my father than any other time during the wedding. (Sorry husband).  Even though my dad and I only practiced once, about 5 minutes before we took the floor, he managed to swing, twirl and promenade me all over that dance floor. That man can lead (he and my mom ballroom dance <-- cute!).  During the dance he whispered complements to me, telling me how beautiful I looked, how amazing everything came together, and how lucky he was. Cue the waterworks.  We shared a great Father's Day moment right there.

You might recall the emails exchanged between he and I, where I wondered if he could guess my favorite Disney movie song?  and BAM without prompting, he knew what our song would be:
Candle on the Water, by Helen Reedy, from Pete's Dragon.

I'll be your candle on the water
This flame inside of me will grow
Keep holding on you'll make it
Here's my hand so take it

Look for me reaching out to show
As sure as rivers flow
I'll never let you go

I'll never let you go

Mike and his mom danced to Barbra Streisand's If I Could.

If I could
I would try to shield your innocence from time
but the part of life I gave you isn't mine

I've watched you grow
so I could let you go

but I know that I can never cry your tears
but I would
If I could
yes I would

I love that Mike's Grandparents began to dance and are in the back of this shot! So sweet!

What were your father/daughter or mother/son dance songs?


{pictures courtesy 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}