Holy wow, what a whirlwind the past week has been. I can't believe that August 11 has already come and gone - but it was by far the best and most fun party of my life.
Thursday we got our marriage license at city hall and then we parted ways to the spa. For the first time ever I fell asleep during a massage. I had dinner with my parents and sister at home and then snuggled up with Rosie until FH got home.
Friday I was stressed and running all over. I had to pick up our rings at the jeweler, accidentally stopped into gap with their 40% off (oops) and had our rehersal and rehersal dinner. It was so much fun to see all of our family at dinner - especially all of the members who came from out of town. I was gifted a beautiful pin from FH's grandmother and my sister also gave me a sapphire ring so that we can start our own traditions. My sister spent the night with me on Friday and we watched some say yes to the dress before hitting the hay.
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| Wedding day polish color - Hippo to be square |
Saturday - the big day! As an early morning prep my sister, bridesmaids, and mom got our nails done. From there we headed straight to the venue for hair and makeup. By 3PM the photographers were there and soon I was in my dress. And then the day just flew.
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| My grandpa's pocket watch that Dave carried |
Dave and I decided to do a first look to get some of the nerves out of the way but also to give us ample time to take photos and I'm so glad we did. It was incredibly emotional - all of our family was watching from a floor below us and just to hug him was amazing. We took lots of photos with our wedding party and then took some around our venue just the two of us. We even jumped on a cable car that stopped for us.
The ceremony flew by and was extremely emotional as well. I became a teary blobby mess when we mentioned our grandparents who had passed on. After DH stepped on the glass we high fived and everyone told us that's so Laura and Dave after. We danced until 11, hit the hotel after party with some family and friends, and then got to bed around 1AM. And yes, I stayed in my dress until it was bedtime!
Sunday was family brunch and visiting with family and later that evening we headed down to Carmel for two nights (thanks mom & dad!). Since we aren't going on our honeymoon right away it was great to have two days to ourselves. We went wine tasting, went on lots of walks, had a picnic, walked the beach, checked out a car show, and had the most amazing Greek food I've ever had in my life.
And now... life is slowly returning to normal: pre-wedding planning normal. I'm not going to lie - Sunday and Monday I was a little sad to think that this huge event we had been planning for months was now over. But I'm still happy that everyone had fun and that it went off with just a few minor hitches.
My advice? Decide what's important to you - for us it was the venue and photographer. Also, look for ways to save money. I made all of the escort cards myself with pre-cut cards from Paper Source and silver pens. The total cost for 203? 58.00. I also used a lot of vendors off etsy for jewelry, wedding gifts, and our cake topper.
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| Bottom of our cake topper |
Make sure you take a few minutes every so often on your big day to just take a breath and look around because it does go by SO fast. But have fun. :)
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| Engagement ring & wedding band |
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| My little decorated car |
Some of my etsy picks (not endorsed by any of them, just LOVE what they created for my big day!)
Cake topper:
Dances with Clay
Thank you cards for bridesmaids, my parents, & card for Dave:
MD Cards & Gifts
Baseball cufflinks for grooms gift:
Sports Cufflinks
Necklaces for bridal party:
Three Black Cats
Hand stamped cake forks:
Whimsical Heartstrings
Ring dish:
Promise Pottery
Embroidered hankerchiefs for mom & dad:
Inspired Stitches
Bridal hanger:
Rachel Walter
More pics to come!
