Before Hurricane Sandy brought her wrath to the East Coast, my family celebrated this weekend the wedding of my little brother and my now sister-in-law! I am using the time while we still have power to blog, as Mr. Ly is using this time to battle a bear in Skyrim. I hope everyone who is in the path of Sandy is safe and sound, and mostly dry. I am particularly freaked out by the severity of the storm, but as long as I have power, I am going to use my time wisely and I need something to keep my mind busy! Recapping our last unmarried wedding as guests is the perfect distraction.
As Miss Gray Wolf recently blogged about, when you attend a wedding close to your own, you notice things that you might not take notice of otherwise. The details that, as brides, we spend hours obsessing over go unnoticed by many a wedding guest—unless you are planning your own wedding! My sister-in-law and I are very different types of brides (for one, I don’t think she’s ever been on the ’Bee) and had very different visions for our weddings from the start. I have tried not to compare our weddings, but as you can imagine, when you have two family members getting married just three months apart, it’s hard not to. My brother’s wedding was more of your rustic/barnyard feel with lots of Mason jars and wooden touches. The venue was spectacular and my sister-in-law did a really excellent job putting her vision together!
(all photos personal)
A good shot of the venue, Pomme, set up for the ceremony, which was later transformed info the reception space
Seating chart made with an old wooden frame & chicken wire, mini clothespins holding them
Centerpieces and table numbers—Mason jars with daisies on wood that was burned by the bride
Our wedding is not rustic at all, but despite our different visions, we will have some similarities at our wedding. For one, we are using the chuppah that my sister-in-law’s father made for their wedding. How’s that for something borrowed? It’s a gorgeous structure made out wood that came from the town that my sister-in-law was named after, and covered in a tallis (Jewish prayer shawl) from my dad’s cousin. It’s a beautiful blending of families, and I will proudly marry Mr. Ly underneath it. We will be adding more flowers to the front and draping it with white fabric, but being married under the same chuppah as my brother is a great honor that I am not going to pass up!
My brother breaking the glass at the end of their ceremony
Also, some of our vendors are the same. We are using the same florist and the same DJ company. My brother had a different DJ than we do, but he still did a great job of keeping the dance floor packed all night!
Oh, and cake. What would a Lyre event be without an amazing cake? Yes, MOH Diane made my brother’s wedding cake, which was, as always, gorgeous and delicious (chocolate cake with peanut butter buttercream).
Finally, as you might guess, my brother’s guest list and ours look fairly similar (at least our half of the list) and most, if not all, of our family members will be attending both of our weddings. Mr. Ly and I had a prediction of how many times we would hear “You’re next…” from our relatives and family friends. My prediction was 40 times, and Mr. Ly predicted 30. We both overshot it, but we think we heard it about 25 times, and if you count the variations or people asking us “Are you all set?” it probably would be closer to my 40. Seriously, all set? We have almost three months left, people! I just smiled and said things are coming along nicely, and tried to change the conversation. While I usually enjoy talking about our wedding plans, this weekend was neither the time or place for that. I wanted to focus this weekend on my brother and his wife, and their marriage.
We had an amazing time at my brother’s wedding—and if our wedding is even half as fun as my brother’s, we’ll be set! Let’s just hope we don’t follow suit with the natural disasters surrounding the wedding weekend—no blizzards, please!
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We’re next!
Now that the weekend is over, it really has started to hit me that we are next! I had my first anxiety dream last night, which coupled with the anxiety I was already feeling about the hurricane didn’t provide the best night’s sleep. Now we’ll just have to weather the storm and see what the next few days bring. Please stay safe, bees!
Anyone else go to a wedding this weekend? Married brides—do you still compare weddings to your own after you are married?
oh i love the lanterns in the aisle! what a beautiful detail. and that chuppah…wow.
@lechevalnoir & Merelymere: It’s from Target! Here’s a link, but at my local store it was on clearance – 30% off! http://www.target.com/p/merona-women-s-sequined-artist-cardigan-sweater-assorted-colors/-/A-14063892#prodSlot=large_2_16
I totally understand the trying not to compare but it happens because it’s your family and the weddings are so close together! Just like me and my sis. Glad to see you are “shrendoring” like us! And I also heard all the ” you’re next” comments at the recent weddings I’ve been to! I think that’s a hilarious idea, I’m gonna have my sister count how many she gets at mine, haha! Also, sharing the chuppah is such a sweet idea!
Congrats to your brother and SIL, they had a beautiful wedding! I think it is so sweet you are getting married under the same chuppah.
Your brother’s wedding looked beautiful! Very sweet and intimate!
I am a Philly bride-to-be and still looking for a DJ- which DJ did he/will you use? Having everyone on the dance floor seems like a great sign!
I like the meaning behind the chuppah, both families adding something.
We went to the first and LAST wedding as a couple at the beginning of October– I was able to look around and say, “Yep, I can do this!”. And also– it eased some of my anxiety because I realize that I *really* have to remember exactly what those flowers looked like, and whether the tables had overlays, etc. and I was actually paying attention to that stuff.
Yay weddings! And yay for almost having ours!
That’s so sweet that you’ll be married under the same chuppah as your brother and SIL 
We just went to our last wedding as an engaged couple this past weekend, and with ours in two weeks, we tried to be as observant as possible. We even tried to visually measure the dance floor, since we haven’t ordered ours yet hahah.
We went to the wedding of close friends just two weeks after our own and I was quite relieved that I didn’t spend the whole time comparing with ours and was just able to relax and enjoy it – but I think that was mainly down to it being in different town, very different venue, largely different guest list. If it had been a family member’s wedding in the same town, I think the temptation would have been to note “So that’s how they’re doing that, etc.” constantly. But then it’s only natural I think and, as long as there are no unkind comparisons, it’s inevitable to compare.
Stay safe, Lyres!
Also – can’t believe you’ve made it this far without an anxiety dream! Super impressed. Mine started about 1.5-2 months ago, and I’m currently 7 months out. . .but I was THRILLED to have them.
your sister in law looks amazing! Her and I wore the same dress!!
Flowers are beautiful ,thank you for sharing these pics with us.
Aww that Chuppah is gorgeous! Wow so meaningful! Your brother and sister in law’s wedding looks amazing!
Mrs. Lyre, Philadelphia Age and Occupation: 31, Librarian Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Government Employee Engagement Date: November 11, 2011 Wedding Date: January 2013 Venue: Atrium at the Curtis Center About Me: I’m a book loving, photography obsessed, artsy/crafty bride to be, who was dating all the wrong men, until I met the right one, and where one story ended - our new life together began. He’s a video game loving, quirky t-shirt wearing, movie quoting geek who stole my heart, and welcomed me into his. Together we are a happily co-habitating couple, who live in South Jersey, and are planning a wedding in Philadelphia in January 2013. We love to cook, share a bottle of wine, and watch way too much TV; we laugh all the time, don’t sleep nearly enough, and cannot wait to begin our lives as husband and wife!
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