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Weddingbee Blog
Recently, Mr. Bruschetta and I met with our celebrant, Father David, to continue preparing for our ceremony — and, more specifically, our marriage.
He’d asked us to come with the names and phone numbers of two “witnesses” each, family or friends who we’d be calling together to conduct a brief “interview” about us. We were uncertain what to expect, but selected four family members — Daddy and Sister Bruschetta, and FMIL and FBIL Bruschetta — who agreed to converse with Father David.
After catching up, we started our phone calls. Mr. Bruschetta and I dialed our family members, and then passed the phone to Father David, who walked them through a series of questions. (Let me clarify: These weren’t questions Father David had prepared himself. They were part of the materials we needed to complete in order to marry in the St. Thomas of Villanova parish.) All the queries were pretty serious in nature, and dealt with our preparedness to marry. At the end of the “interview” — which really only did last for about five minutes each! — Father David asked each person if he/she swore what he/she said was the truth, since the yes/no answers would, at the conclusion of the call, constitute a legal document.
Once the four family interviews were complete, Father David spoke individually (and in private) with me, and then with Mr. Bruschetta.
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A little over a month ago, Mr. Deviled Egg and I had our engagement photo session with our photographer, Ticia Mangino of Ticia Mangino Photography. We decided to take our photos in Pittsburgh, because that’s where we met. We also thought it would be nice to have the photos taken there, since the wedding photos will be taken in New Castle, PA.
We wanted to use the Pittsburgh skyline as a backdrop, so Station Square seemed like a great location because of its views of the city and its interesting layout of old train cars and newer brick exteriors.
About two weeks after our session, Ticia posted about 50 images from our session on her website for us to view, and we had a very difficult time narrowing down favorites for our guest book (included in our photography package) and to frame for display at our reception. There were so many that we loved!
Here are some of my favorites from the session. (All photos are courtesy or Ticia Mangino Photography)
Today’s photo of the day was uploaded by bee-side herself. Having a destination wedding didn’t stop her from having a fun and festive candy buffet!
Keep on loading your inspirational wedding pics to the gallery to see them featured live on the blog! Remember, your images must be under 5MB in size, or they won’t load.
This is a very special week in the Apple Cider household. Mr. AC graduated from graduate school this weekend. He has been in his masters program for the last 3 years. It has been an incredible process for him and for us. We have now lived apart for over 4 years, and this graduation marks the beginning of our “new” life together. Because I am recovering from surgery still, I couldn’t be with him, but I sent him my positive energy and couldn’t be prouder of him.
His graduation symbolizes so much for us. In a few weeks he will move from New Hampshire to New York City. For the first time since 2005 we will live in the same place. We will get to see each other regularly, and we won’t have to say goodbye. I wrote about ways that we tried to make our distance seem minimal in the last few years a few months ago. The truth is that having distance between us was incredibly tough.
(I got Mr. AC a card with this image on it. For the last 4 years, I have been taking the train up 6 hours to see him on weekends. This card was so fitting for us!)I will admit that we are both nervous about living in the same city… but we are both so excited. His graduation kicks off a chain of events leading right up to our wedding.
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Featured on Weddingbee
All-Inclusion Invitation Suites
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Whazzz up, hive?!!! How are you all?
I know I am going to sound like a broken record, but I was literally out of my mind when I got the “call” to be a bee. I was sitting at my desk, eating lunch at 3:30 (I know you’ve all had one of THOSE days at some point), and there it was… that fateful email in my inbox. I almost cried at my desk out of happiness, and complete humility. I’d been reading Weddingbee waaaaayyyyy before I even got engaged, have learned so much, and have admired this community for a very long time. I’m thoroughly excited to be able to share some of my thoughts and the things I’ve learned so far in this wedding planning process.
So here’s the low-down of some of the many things you can expect from me:
I picked Miss Swan because it reminded me a lot of dancing and our wedding, things that make me happy (don’t worry, I’m going somewhere with this I promise). I’ve danced a lot in my past (not very much now, except for in my apartment…boo!!). Dancing is a way for me to have fun, makes me feel strong, beautiful, and graceful… like a swan! I think that weddings can be simple, beautiful and understated, too… like a swan! I think you get the picture now, right?
For the first part of last week, I wasn’t in a wedding mood. Most of my friends let me know they wouldn’t be able to make it to the wedding. I totally understood their reasons, but it didn’t make their absence hurt less.
I took a few days off and didn’t really do many wedding related things besides answering emails. I just needed a few moments to get over the initial disappointment and move on.
Lucky for me, a few friends and one great vendor helped me out. I found out on Thursday that 2 friends I didn’t expect to come to Seattle will in fact be making the journey out West. I am so EXCITED!! I can’t wait to see them — it’s been so long.
The other great piece of news is that we’ve decided on our rehearsal dinner vendor. We’re definitely going with Lynn at Lake Street Catering. Amazing!! She brought over a tasting on Friday and we went to look at the dinner site on Saturday morning. It’s going to be perfect.
The food was delicious, and there was so much of it! Wait until you see the menu. I think we’re all set. We’ve got a deposit for the dinner going out this week.
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Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
On my continued search for a Wedding Dress, Mama Frenchie, Sister Frenchie Bridesmaid F (she has an English Bulldog), and I all went to La Soie Bridal in the Tustin Market Place.
At La Soie we meet with Stephany, a totally sweet girl. Stephany pointed us toward the A-line dresses, let us go through the racks and pull out anything to try on. I pretty much decided to try on anything the entourage showed me. One thing I noticed when going through their racks was how reasonable the dresses were priced, all around $700-$1000.
Once in the dressing room (yes, this time it was big enough to call a room, AND it had mirrors! I forgot to mention that DB does not have mirrors in their boxes) I tried on the first dress Stephany had picked out for me and really liked it. Plus, I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that I fit in their sample size - YAY! I walked out to show Sister Frenchie and BM F. Everyone kinda liked it, but like me, there were things about it they didn’t like - mainly the corset/lace-up back. I also didn’t like the weird fabric under the boobs.
Isn’t this cake beautiful?
Can you believe it’s made of cheese??? Miss D’orsay mentioned these in her post a couple of weeks ago. The trend started a few years ago in England, and is becoming quite popular in the U.S.
In February, we had an e-shoot with the lovely Dacia Lamb. We chose to shoot at our home and on a walk down to the ever-cool Sunset Junction shopping area (home to the famous indie-rock festival) to keep the pictures homey and nostalgic for ourselves. We live in a rad part of LA with loads of artsy influence and cool urban landscapes mixed with soaring views of the city and mountains.
Having photo shoots before the wedding is a great source of practice for those of us who are (ahem) not the most naturally photogenic of people. This shoot really helped me identify some photo-flubs I regularly make. It also helped us understand that Mr. M’s afro needed a trimming! Since I’m his personal stylist, it’s good to see when afro-puff becomes afro-overload!
Here are some favorites, and a bit of context for ya!
In front of the door at a local Indian eatery, Tantraz.
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Just a little sneak peek at what happened this weekend:
I’ve mentioned a few times that photography is one of my hobbies. I’m not a professional by any means, but I do enjoy taking pictures and learning new techniques. One of the techniques shared by most (if not all) photographers who shoot digitally is post-processing. They use photo editing programs (commonly Photoshop) to enhance, touch up, and play with images. I’ve been tinkering with photo editing since before I even became interested in photography.
What does this have to do with makeup? Well, stick with me and you’ll find out.
I’m terrible at putting on makeup. For one thing, I only use oil-free makeup. And while it’s better for my very sensitive skin, it is not known for the smooth coverage or all-day wear that “normal” makeup can give. For another thing, I just suck at it. I missed out on the makeup-putting-on gene that some girls are born with. I’m bad with eye makeup and foundation, my concealer is always splotchy, and I rarely ever wear mascara (it flakes off) or gloss/lipstick (it gets on my coffee cup). I also touch my face a lot, which smears whatever makeup I do wear.
So basically, I fail at makeup. Which would be OK if I were one of those lucky women who is blessed with perfect, creamy skin. But I’m not. Remember my acne issue? It’s better than it used to be, but I’m still scarred and uneven, and I usually have at least one problem zone.
“But Miss Mary Jane,” you’re saying right about now, “You’ve shown us photos of your face, and you look just fine!” Haha! That, my friends, is where my opening paragraph ties in. Throughout years of photo manipulation, I’ve learned a few tips that have helped me to feel much more comfortable about having my own picture taken. I’d like to share a few of them with you.
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When we started planning our wedding, Mr. Bruschetta and I set up a joint email account. We hadn’t previously shared an email address, nor did we have any combined finances (and still don’t).
Thanks to Gmail, we’ve been able to stay organized (for the most part) throughout the planning process. We’ve diligently labeled (and, when appropriate, archived) email conversations, created Google Docs to track vendor research and guest mailing addresses, and synched our calendars so one knows when the other is available.
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After the toasts have been made, the cake has been cut, and the garter has been tossed, the bride and groom make their way to the nuptial bed. I mean, wasn’t that the point? Okay, we obviously haven’t exactly saved ourselves for marriage*, but yeah, after the party is over, I’m guessing he’s going to expect a little party of our own, and probably wants his present wrapped in a pretty package.
The pretty package is causing some serious stress around here.
(source)
Why?
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Good morning hive! Join me in welcoming our newest New York bee, and last of the bird generation. Say hello to Miss Swan!
Miss Swan, New York City
Age and Occupation: 31, Legislative Representative
Fiance’s Age and Occupation: 33, Finance Guy
Engagement Date: August 9, 2008
Wedding Date: August 2009
Venue: Battery Gardens
About Me: I am an un-crafty but resourceful, Caribbean-born but New York-raised woman who’s been known to analyze “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance”, buy stinky cheese, and use way too many parentheses. I keep lists for fun, am constantly daydreaming of my next international travel adventure (four continents down, three to go), debating sports (let’s go Mets/Giants!) and dancing around my apartment to stay sane. I am excited to share our wedding planning journey as I hope to plan a streamlined, personal, and fun wedding with the greatest life partner I could ever imagine, Mr. Swan.
Our ceremony room has two sets of double doors at the entrance. These doors are huge, heavy, dark wood doors that need a little femininity to make them a little more wedding-friendly.
Remember my unity candle floral arrangement? Well, I took the flowers I had left over from that project, along with some other flowers I bought last summer when the spring flowers were all on clearance at Jo-Ann’s and Michaels, and attached them with a glue gun to a grapevine wreath. Here is the final result:
(Please excuse the little pieces of flower stems and wreath all over my floor. This project got a little messy and I’m a carpet crafter. I vacuumed when I was finished with everything, promise!)
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