As our guests moved from the cocktail hour on Pippin Hill’s patio back into the granary for dinner, my bridesmaids and I went up to the bridal loft for my dress change.
I wrote about having a second dress just after our wedding. At my first fitting with the Jorge Manuel gown I won, my seamstress made it sound like she was going to dismantle the gown to alter it and preserve the fabric flowers on the bodice. Worried about the outcome, I bought a sample dress at a deep discount to have as a backup. When I saw Jorge a few weeks before the wedding, he said that he liked it when brides change dresses and I decided to use both gowns.
Amsale’s Kennedy gown
Along with the dress change, I decided to change shoes. My ceremony shoes were simple, and I thought it’d be fun to wear some more sparkly shoes for the reception.
Jackie is selling a pair of Jimmy Choo heels. She is asking $180 for the size 37 Euro shoes.
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After a lovely week leading up to the wedding (you know, after that whole dry-heaving incident), it was finally the day before. Um. What? How did time go by so quickly?? But I was ready. Let the wedding activities commence!
That morning, I dragged the moms, bridesmaids, junior bridesmaid, and several aunties to one of my favorite salons (Spa Scotta, which has apparently since closed?! sad times) to get our nails done. I emailed all of the ladies that were coming ahead of time to make sure I knew which services would be required, and made reservations for everyone. Since there were so many of us, we essentially booked out the little nail part of the salon. My mom and I brought some food and some champagne (OK, really my mom brought those things) and we all just chilled, ate, and got our nails done. It was such a wonderful, relaxing time with my favorite ladies! No stress allowed.
Auntie, BMs G and M
My alarm was set for 8:00 AM, but I woke up before it went off. The sun was streaming through the window of my room. Across the way, I could see Mr. T’s hotel and a big smile came across my face. Today, I would marry my favorite person in the world.
I showered, dried my hair, and threw on my bridal robe.
At 9:00 AM, my friends arrived at the hotel. This was one of the best decisions I made regarding my wedding day. I have a small group of other close girlfriends, many of whom were involved in the wedding, but I didn’t ask any of them to be bridesmaids. On blogs, I always see brides getting ready with their big group of bridesmaids and it looks like so much fun. I was a little sad I wouldn’t get to have that because I chose not to include most of my girlfriends in the wedding party. But about a week before the wedding, I realized that just because my friends weren’t my bridesmaids didn’t mean I had to miss out on a big getting-ready party. So I invited five of my closest friends to the hotel to get ready with me.
Just in case you aren’t caught up: we’ve established that we’re skipping a wedding website, and we’ll be modifying the garter toss. Now for the next thing that we’re skipping: the programs.
Photo by: Carl Zoch on Bridal Guide via Lover.ly (From PaperMaids shop on Etsy)
I love the way the wedding party looks in these programs—such a fun way to personalize the programs to your own wedding party!
As soon as we walked back up the aisle, we beelined (see what I did there?) to the elevator. The plan was to usher the wedding party, parents, and grandparents into the church basement while our guests filed out of the church so we could sneak back in to take our photos at the altar after everyone had left. A couple guests tried to congratulate me in the vestibule, but they were rudely rebuffed. I was all “Bitch, please. I have wedding pictures to take!”
Photos by Jennifer Shaffer Photography
We waited down there for a little while, hugging our new family members…
H’OK, guys! Remember a couple of months back when I did a DIY makeup trial? Well, after reading everyone’s helpful comments and suggestions as to ways I could improve on my look, I’m back with an update!
Just as a refresher, here’s what I originally came up with:
Since my last trial, my skin has lightened to the color it’ll most likely be for the wedding (fall and winter months turn me pretty pale!), and I also ran out and bought a couple of new products: one was black liquid liner by Maybelline, and the other was some long-lasting coral-colored lipstick, also by Maybelline. The only things missing from my most recent trial are my falsies (so just imagine my lashes being just a bit more lush and dramatic than pictured) and a bit of brow filler. OK, enough talking! Here’s the new (and improved?) Miss A:
brunetti626 tries on her mom’s 1980 wedding dress.
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So a few months ago, FH told me about this free new app that was specifically designed for couples to privately communicate with each other on their smart phones. Instead of utilizing regular text messaging, you and your boo download the app, create a password, and from there have the ability to chat with each other in a private space. Since downloading, they’ve added some awesome features over the past few months like to-do lists (which you both can virtually create and add to at any time—very handy when grocery shopping), but the best new feature is the calendar.
Image via Avocado.io
You know what I’m talking about, my wedding dress. My wedding dress fits and she fits well.
This is a big.deal. Last time I tried on my dress I had a meltdown. Needless to say, I had some nerves going into this appointment. Fortunately, the whole atmosphere of this appointment was different. We have a family friend doing the alterations (we’ll call her L) and she takes appointments in her home. A home I used to play in as a kid. It was relaxed, casual, and took place in the late evening. My other appointment was fast, impersonal, and took place at the end of a Friday when everyone (understandably) just wants to go home.
Plus, I had a new bra. The main reason my dress didn’t fit the first time was due to the bra they sold me when I purchased my gown. I really did LOVE my consultant from the Wedding Shoppe, Inc. but she didn’t know bras at all, and I was sorely misguided.
So this time I went to a bra specialist at a store called {intimacy} in Chicago. This place was amazing! I scheduled an appointment and explained to the girl exactly what I was searching for and she brought me two options, one of which was perfect. Going this route was a bit pricier than buying from a department store or even a bridal salon, but I’ll be able to wear the strapless bra again, and it’s worth the price to avoid pulling up the top of my dress all night. Plus, because it fits tight to my body instead of adding unnecessary bulk, it makes my dress fit even better and that’s priceless to me.
My modesty left me long ago so for those interested, here is my miracle bra.
But a good bra wasn’t the only reason my dress fit better. Below is the face of relief. It’s not a pretty face, but it’s a real face.
I have yet to share what we’ll be doing the day before our wedding day. Mostly because that had been up in the air until recently. When Mr. Ly and I first started to think about what to do for our rehearsal dinner, we looked at restaurants in both Philadelphia and South Jersey. We knew we definitely wanted to have it the day before and not on Thursday or Friday, because there would be too much space between that and the wedding, and we wanted to be able to include as many of our out of town guests as we could. Add in the factor that we’re not actually having a rehearsal until about an hour before the ceremony with a quick walk through so people know where to stand, so there was no real need for a rehearsal dinner.
We wanted to have a meal, though, with family and friends—those people coming in from far distances who we might not get to spend a ton of time with on the wedding day. And also to thank our bridal party and parents for all they’ve done for us. We ran into a few problems right off the bat. First, being a Saturday night in Philadelphia it was very difficult to get a reasonable price for a large group (we were expecting about 50 people originally), and it was looking more like a mini-wedding rather than just a nice dinner in the city. So we expanded our search to New Jersey. Since most people are local, and we could arrange for rides over the bridge, we thought dinner in New Jersey might be a more affordable option. We stuck mostly to BYO restaurants, but did consider a few restaurants with full service bars as well. The BYOs wanted us to buy out the restaurant for the entire night, which was going to be over our budget. We found some reasonable restaurants, but to add on the open bar, again was going to cost us too much.
Finally, one of the BYOs we were considering came up with a better option for us. They could open specially for lunch, when they are not open to the public, and we could have the entire space for half the price. This was perfect for us, and since we weren’t having a rehearsal that night anyway, the time was flexible. So, we decided on Bistro di Marino, a BYO Italian restaurant in Collingswood, NJ. It’s so close to the city, very easy for all our guests to get to, and we’ll have the whole place to ourselves. The food there is delicious, and one of my bridesmaids had her rehearsal dinner years ago when she got married, so I already have an idea as to what it will be like.
Bridesmaids Debbie & Alissa with me at Alissa’s rehearsal dinner at the same spot we will be having ours.
While we were wrapping up family photos, the first of our guests started to arrive. Remember how we were really behind on hair and make-up, since the stylists were running late from another wedding? That threw off our timeline a little bit, so I snuck inside the Oak Tree Manor house as soon as the photos were done so I could hide from the guests. I figured that running into them before the ceremony would be pretty anti-climactic.
Outside, our two ushers, sweet family friends, were greeting the new arrivals and handing out programs.
Now that my omgmyweddingisover rambling is out of the way, it’s time to jump right in to photo recaps!
I decided to start off with some of my favorite guest photos that I wanted to share with you guys, mostly because I was somewhat anti-guest photos before the wedding. I know that unplugged weddings have become a pretty big topic of discussion; I’ve seen it pop up on the boards, and I know other bees have talked about their stances before (there’s a few Offbeat Bride articles on the topic if you’re unsure what I’m talking about). If you would’ve asked me a month before the wedding how I felt about guests taking photos, I would’ve told you I was not a fan, and I was planning to somehow ask them not to. Fast forward to the week before the wedding, where I realized it was too late to add a paragraph to the programs and there wasn’t a place with high visibility at our venue to frame a sign asking everyone to turn their cameras off. Now, what? Well, because I couldn’t keep guests from taking photos (I could’ve asked our officiant to make an announcement, but I thought that was a little too in your face), I set my Facebook setting to where I had to approve photos I was tagged in and tried to forget about it.
And I did forget about it, until I checked my phone the morning after the wedding (bad honeymooner!) and saw a few photos I had been tagged in. Rather than feel upset that there had been photos posted, I was actually overjoyed! I quickly flipped through the pictures and immediately wanted to see more. Given, there were a few I wasn’t crazy about the angle or how I looked, and a few were just too blurry, but they were all fun to look at and enjoy with Mr. C. I approved the ones I like, hid the ones I didn’t, and that was that. Of course the photos are only hidden from my actual Facebook, but it was the best solution for me, and one that I was happy with. I also noticed that most of the guests took photos during the reception, with only a few snapping some shots during the ceremony. It seemed like most everyone was pretty in the moment during the ceremony, which is most brides’ main worry anyway.
So, long story short, you might not actually hate having guest take photos as much as you thought, and you might be surprised that a lot of people put down their cameras on their own and just enjoy the day—I was! Although, I still totally support those of you who ask guests no to take pictures—some people just need to be reminded!
Now, back to the photos! This first photo is actually one taken on my iPhone the morning of the wedding. I had planned to leave my dress in my vehicle until we got to the Piazza because there was no reason to drag it up to the hotel room we got ready in, just to carry it back out to the car…Except for photos. Oops—forgot about those. So, MOH L and I ran out to my car in freeeeezing weather (okay, it was only in the 40’s that morning, but a cold front had come through and we were unprepared!) and took turns lugging that thing back up to the top floor. She was such a great help the entire day, and I just love this photo as a fun memory with her:
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| MOH L taking her turn carrying the heaaaavy dress |
Momma Coach took this photo while I was getting my makeup done, but the main reason I liked it was because you’ll notice our wonderful videographer Vanessa filming over in the corner. I’m so, SO excited to see what was being filmed on her side of the lens (obviously my mom in this pic) throughout the day. Many people told me she captured them doing something throughout the day (including MIL & FIL Coach in the photo booth—too cute!!), and I am just dying to see it all come together in our video.
Sorry for the brief hiatus over the holidays, but I am back to share the last few posts about our big day!
There is one tradition, or cluster of traditions I suppose, that I have not addressed. The tosses! As in, of the bouquet and the garter of course. Mr. Dalmatian and I agreed from the beginning that we would only be including one of these in our wedding day. The toss that got the axe was the garter toss. There is just something about them I find awkward and uncomfortable (call me crazy but I did not have an overwhelming desire for Mr. D to stick his head or hands up my dress in front of my extended family). Again, this is not to say that they can never be fun or funny, it was just simply not for us. The bouquet toss on the other hand I do think is quite fun!
I have already shared how much I adored my beautiful bouquet. Luckily, when the time came for the bouquet toss, I was equipped with a smaller tossing bouquet so I did not have to part ways with my lovely blooms.
I don’t think this is really the normal flow of things at most weddings, but we figured that doing toasts right after the first dance was a good route to go. You know, get all of the necessary stuff out of the way before the real party started. Plus, it seemed to help MOH Copper feel better about her stage fright, since I told her no one would be judging her speech too much since they’re all just going to want to get their grub on. Hey, it worked. 
So immediately following our first dance, DJ Frank made the announcement for guests to head to the bar and refill their drinks. This prompted a slight, awkward pause throughout the pavilion—guests were indeed going to get their drinks, but no announcement about toasts was actually made, nor was there any background music. It was weird.
Frank picked up on this after a few minutes and decided to just go ahead with the toasts as a few guests were still getting their drinks from the bar—fortunately, no one seemed to mind too much!
First up, we had Best Man Carkey—one of Foxy’s best friends since college. We intentionally picked him to go first, since we were counting on a fair amount of humor and/or roasting. He ended up being the perfect amount of funny and sentimental, if you ask me!
All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.
Good evening, everybody—my name is Adam and it is my honor to be Scot’s best man on this awesome day for the two of you. I first met Scot at Fredonia where we were on the lacrosse team together. I would like to say that we had lots of the same interests and we were best friends right off the bat, but realistically, I needed a fourth roommate and he needed someone who could buy beer. So that’s how we started to live together, and it was a great three years that we had as roommates, and I learned a lot from him and he learned a lot from me.
One of the things that I thought about the first time you said “will you be the best man” was.. are you sure? Cause I’m gonna roast you. Well I mean, like talk about the time you lit my car on fire. Or the time you filled my car with snow. Or, you know, the time you took every. single. thing. I owned and turned it upside down. Why? Because he was bored.
But the more I started thinking about what I wanted to talk about today, I didn’t think about and I didn’t remember that Scot anymore. Because the Scot that I think about and remember is the one who’s standing with us today and the one who just married this amazing woman. The man who my kids run up to and love like an uncle, the man who tries and steal my dog every time he comes over. The man who we are all tremendously, tremendously proud of, and the first one we’ll call if there’s a zombie apocalypse.
Congratulations, you are a wonderful friend, and I know you guys are going to have the best life together. Could everyone please raise their glasses to Steph and Scot!
Next up was MOH Blondie. We wanted her to go second because I wasn’t sure what to expect—I could totally see her going either super sweet or super sassy. I mean, Blondie was my soul sister all through college and after, and was there in my life when all those important becoming-an-adult things happened. She was also there to see mine and Foxy’s relationship grow over our first year together. She ended up giving one hell of a speech—I had no idea that the girl had such an amazing way with words!
Good evening everyone, I’m Ashley and I’ve known the lovely Stephanie since we were in college together in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia is one of the two main settings of the beginning of this love story between Stephanie and Scot—the other setting was Baltimore, where Scot lived. Countless trips were taken between Pennsylvania and Maryland during their first year dating. In that one year, thousands of miles were driven on I-95, never-ending traffic was endured, and a few car issues were encountered. They both traveled, though, just so they could see each other. All that mileage and time was worth it, because someone was eagerly awaiting the other’s arrival with open arms. It is with this dedication and commitment to one another that is a keystone for their relationship.
So Steph and Scot, this is my wish for you: that you never lose sight of one another. That you remember those early trips, and how far you both have come, and how close you are together now. Enjoy the ride—the journey is better and easier with someone you adore riding beside you. Your love and trust has brought you this far—continue, don’t stop, move forward. And should any car malfunctions try to delay the trip, pull over and enjoy the view. Be thankful for all you have, because with one another, you have it all.
Cheers!
(Also, ALL the tears.)
Last but not least, we had MOH Copper. I very much wanted her to go last, because I knew the tears would come out at some point. That is, if her Sweet 16 candle dedication to me was any indication (FYI, it was a sobfest). I mean, can you blame me? She’s my longest friend, someone I shared most of my life with, someone who played a key role in Foxy and I meeting in the first place.
And as for her toast? She nailed it. I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more.
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Jessica and I am one of Steph’s Maids of Honor. I want to preface my speech by saying that the LAST time I had to give a speech in Steph’s honor was at my Sweet Sixteen—and we both cried throughout the whole thing. So here’s hoping that today goes a little differently.
Steph and I have been friends since the awkward days of seventh grade. Looking back, it is curious that we became as close as we did, because, back then, we were oh so different. I was loud and outspoken while Steph was shy and sweet. I was much more interested in socializing than schoolwork, while Steph was in honors classes and actually doing her homework at home. It wasn’t until we both made the middle school dance team that we realized just how similar we are—and from there, our friendship blossomed. Once we hit high school, we became pretty much inseparable.
Photo by Mrs. Guinea Pig
We bonded over our mutual love for microwaved s’mores, Good Charlotte, and Harry Potter. We worked together and poured our blood, sweat, and tears in choreographing our folk dance for Sportsnite. We worked together at the Gap for two weeks until one of us had minor misunderstanding of the employee discount policy and may have gotten fired. We were runners up to the runners up of Class Duo for our senior yearbook. Even within our group of friends, it was always evident that we had a bond unlike anyone else.
Photo by Mrs. Guinea Pig
(And yes, the crying had already started.)
Steph was really like a sister to me. When I look back on those years, I am filled with the happiest memories because I had her there by my side. It is those years that built the foundation of the friendship that we have today.
And it is because of that strong foundation that I felt I could ask Steph, one fateful day in July of 2007, to make the 120 mile drive from Philly to Long Island to accompany me to my new boyfriend Matt’s birthday celebration. Little did she know, I had an ulterior motive. At the time, Steph wasn’t dating anyone and I knew that Matt had a friend from college that would be perfect for her. Little did you all know, that person I had in mind wasn’t Scot.
(Cue: a crap ton of laughter from everyone.)
Now, to be fair, I had yet to meet the infamous “Scotty McReach,” so how was I to know that they would be the perfect match? Needless to say, the guy that I had in mind for Steph was forgotten basically the second Steph was introduced to Scot. And we all know how the rest of the story goes.
Over the past four years, I have had the joy of watching Steph and Scot’s relationship grow. I have seen them celebrate successes, work through difficult times, move their lives to Maryland and firmly plant roots that will no doubt support a lifetime of love. Through all of the changes, what has remained constant is the love and support for each other.
I have never had a friend touch my life the way that Steph has. All I could ever wish for is her happiness, and Scot, you truly deliver. I have never seen her so comfortable and blissfully content in a relationship, and I thank you for that. It is an absolute honor to stand up here for you on your wedding day. I wish you nothing but a lifetime of happiness, laughter, and love.
Cheers to Steph and Scot!
Needless to say, Foxy and I were both so touched by all three toasts—I still get emotional when I watch the recording we have of them!
Who all will be giving a toast at your wedding? Are you anticipating sappy or sassy?
Miss a recap? Catch yourself up!
It’s Wedding Week! – The week of the wedding started out pretty hectic, but we made it through (relatively) unscathed.
We’re Cool People (who had to deal with a slight change of plans) – On Friday, we made our way to the venue, had a relatable moment on the radio, and learned about some last minute changes that we made an effort to take in stride.
Practice Makes Perfect.. And Crabs Don’t Hurt, Either – After most everyone was settled in on Friday evening, we had our rehearsal followed by the best dinner ever – a Maryland crab feast!
Rise and Shine! – Wedding morning was soon upon us, and I woke up at the crack of dawn ready to get prettified.
Pretty Women – Over the course of the next several hours, myself and the girls hung out, got our hair and makeup done, had a photo shoot, and drank champagne.
Dressing Up – Soon enough, it was time for me to slip into my dress!
Dapper Dudes – At the same time, Foxy and his guys were ironing and getting into their suites – and Foxy was opening his wedding day gift!
The First of Many Looks – We had our first look, and both felt so much better after being able to see each other for the first time that day.
A School Bus Photoshoot – Our vehicle of choice for the day was a school bus, which we turned into a photo op both inside and out!
Smiles and Sun – The photos continued by the lighthouse and pier.. with sunglasses and a few funny stories along the way.
ALL The Family – We then met up with family at the lock house for even more pictures, and I started getting a bit antsy and having problems with my dress.
And Then There’s Us – I kinda-sorta-maybe forgot all about couple and bridal pictures. Thank goodness for our amazing photog reminding us!
Final Touches – Slight chaos then ensued in the minutes before the ceremony started, consisting of me getting sewn into my dress and the boys getting their bouts pinned on at the last minute.
And So It Begins – The guests arrive, the wedding party lines up, and the ceremony space is revealed – complete with programs, white knots, and bubbles!
All I Want Is You, Will You Be My Bride? – The time had finally come – we all made our way down the aisle while my stepdad and stepbro played and sang a beautiful, acoustic version of “All I Want Is You”.
Take Me By The Hand and Stand By My Side – In other words.. the ceremony!
Bubbles and Bustles and Beverages, Oh My! – Bubbles are blown, my bustle is tied in, and cocktail hour commences with lots of love, hugs, and drinks.
The Guestbook – The final version & reveal of our fingerprint guestbook – and some tips, should you want them!
I’d Do Anything For You – The reception kicked off with our oh-so-intricate first dance sway to Wake Up by Coheed and Cambria, which our guests joined in on halfway through.
