Thanks to our hoppin’ after party, waking up the next day was a bit difficult for a few of us. I think the only motivation people had was the fact that we had to be up and out by 11:00am, as well as the fact that a nice hot breakfast was out and ready, and only being served until 10:00am—just the cure for a full night and day of drinking and wedding shenanigans!
This was about the point where everything just sort of hit me. We were officially married. It was so weird to be able to say that. And this wedding…the one I spent over two years of my life planning…was over. All the flowers were sitting on a lonely table in the empty dining room. The mason jars were collected, cleaned and boxed. My chalkboard signs, cake topper and toasting flutes were jumbled together inside another box.
It might be deemed weird by a few, but I totally teared up a bit. But I already wrote a whole post about that.
And then I remembered that I just married my other half. He’s my husband. What an awesome word! That, and the fact that we were leaving for Mexico in the next 36 hours. Frown=upside down!
So once everything was all packed up and most of our friends and family had left, Foxy and I said one last goodbye to the Vandiver, and to one of the greatest weekends we’ve had on record.
All photos personal.
Bonus: my hair and makeup were still pretty intact! (And that is why you should do airbrush!)
We ended up leaving our lanterns up in the pavilion for the next wedding (per their request), and I gave the photo booth backdrop and frame to our coordinator, Jamie, who wanted to use it for an upcoming family wedding. Hey, if things could be repurposed, I was all for it! I even managed to convince some guests to take boxes of mason jars and vases of baby’s breath home with them. To say we had extras is an understatement.
When people ask what my favorite part of the wedding was, the first thing that always comes out of my mouth is the after party.
All photos personal.
Before I knew it, and before I was really even ready for it, Frank the DJ announced and started playing the last song of the night.
I don’t know about you, but I’m obsessed with Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist. And I’m obsessed with this song. And from the moment I first heard it, I wanted it as the final song played at our wedding. (Never mind the fact that we weren’t even engaged yet.) So no, not everyone knew it, and not everyone knew if they should dance to it or not, but once they saw Foxy and I take over the dance floor, the sentiment caught on.
All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.
Somewhere in the middle of all the dancing, cake happened. Nom.
All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.
Before we go forward, several things about said cake:
1. Since we opted for buttercream icing, I was told that if it happened to be exceptionally hot the day of our wedding, the cake tiers would need to be separated and on three different cake stands. Long story short, I hated all the ones the cake place had, I attempted to find my own, then attempted to make my own, then gave up. Then we lucked out with the weather and they didn’t need to be separated after all. Huzzah!
When it came to the wedding, I had a tendency to tell pretty much anyone all they wanted to know (and more) about the food, details, ceremony, attire, etc. Not much was unknown.
However, I did mange to keep at least one thing relatively quiet. Any ideas…?!
All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.
If you guessed “personalized temporary tattoos”, then you win a prize!!*
About two and a half weeks out from the wedding, I read Mrs. Funnel Cake’s post about the temporary tattoos she had made for her wedding, and I absolutely fell in love with the idea.
For one, it’s awesome and unexpected, and two, Foxy and I already have real matching tattoos. Needless to say, this idea went from inspiration to reality in about an hour (well, a few days if you count delivery time). I whipped up a quick design on my computer (with some elements borrowed from Mrs. FC, since we’re both lucky enough to share initial’s with our husbands), put my order in with Tattoo Manufacturing, and got 150 of these bad boys delivered about four days before the wedding.
Yes, we had one!! And I’m so excited to share it with you!
Personal photos
I was rather silent about this during our planning, largely because I wasn’t sure it was actually going to happen. There came a point a few weeks before the wedding where Foxy gave me an option: we could either have a stationary veggie tray during cocktail hour (in addition to our passed hors d’oeuvres…don’t ask, I really wanted one), or we could have a DIY photo booth. Both would equal out to about $300 when all was said and done.
The one thing I wanted to do at our wedding was dance. Dance to good music, to be more precise. This was probably the only occasion in my life that I would be able to have complete control over the playlist, so I was more than ready to go when the lines at the food stations started to wind down and the “dinner music” switched over to Rhythm of Love by Plain White T’s (aka, the official start).
All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.
So no, I didn’t really dance to that song, per say…but I sure was singing along and swaying my hips like it was my business. I think Frank the DJ caught on, because the dancin’ music kicked up right after!
(Can’t get much more clever with a title, can you??)
One thing I’ve mentioned briefly in previous posts is how Foxy and I were shooting for a cocktail-esque reception. The two of us have always agreed that cocktail hour is consistently our favorite part of the weddings we’ve attended, so we figured…why not just have our whole wedding be like that?! (In all honesty, we really just wanted a fun wedding without a formal sit-down dinner, so cocktail style seemed to be the way to go.) We worked with the Vandiver during our two-year planning period to figure out how to make the reception different enough from cocktail hour to be discernible, but also to still keep it relatively casual and cocktail-y.
The result was a nice mix of high-top tables spread throughout the pavilion and surrounding property, with five large round tables in the middle for folks to sit at should they want to (with a few reserved specifically for family).
All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.
I’m still obsessed with our linens. I also never thought I would utter those words.
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.
After we got a sneak peek of the fabulousness in the pavilion that served as our reception space, our photog Laura snuck us away for a hot second to get a few more “official” couple pictures—ones that I’d been dying to get since that morning. Much thanks to our -awesome venue.
All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.
I mean, screw creating our own monogram—we had our names spelled out in big, splashy red letters for the whole town to see! We were kiiinda a big deal (for a day, at least). Hey, it’s the little things in life!
Anyway, back in the pavilion, our guests and DJ were gearing up for our reappearance, which we were all too ready for. Once we heard “Shake It” by Metro Station start playing, we made our way out while being announced as the new Mr. & Mrs. Foxy!
Yes, the guestbook gets its own post. From start to end, this thing took a lot of time, a lot of love, and it absolutely had it’s fair share of frustrating moments. So I have to do it justice.
Plus, I’m kind of obsessed with the way it turned out!
All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.
If you recall from wayyy long ago, I started out with my bum traced drawing of the UP house, with the intention of having it eventually be turned into a fingerprint guestbook. It was fairly decent on it’s own, but not perfect by any means. As luck would have it, once I turned to the ’bee for advice, fabulous hive member Miss.E helped a sista out and was able to vectorize the image for me. And it was perfection.
I wish I could tell you that we walked down the aisle as husband and wife amid a sea of bubbles, and then show you lots of pictures that you could go pin on Pinterest as “superawesomeOMG bubble recessional at wedding!!”
However, this is all I’ve got for you:
All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.
I truly loved our ceremony (despite being a bit fuzzy about it). Officiant Em did an amazing job of taking all the aspects we wanted, creating a template, and letting us add/change/adjust things as we saw fit. The whole thing was really so very personal for us, but something our guests really seemed to enjoy and relate to, as well. (Admission: we also totally used the book The Wedding Ceremony Planner for much of the layout and actual phrasing—I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to somewhat develop their own ceremony like we did!) Anyway, for these reasons, I’ve decided to go ahead and share the entire thing with you. (I also know that I, personally, found written-out ceremonies here on the ’bee to be an incredible help when trying to create our own.) So get ready…it’s a doozy of a post! (On the plus side, there’s tons of pictures. Woot!)
All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.
{Welcome}
Officiant Em: Welcome everyone! Please be seated. On behalf of Stephanie and Scot, thank you for joining us on this beautiful afternoon. We have been invited here today to share with Stephanie and Scot a very important moment in their lives. In the years they have been together, they have become more than a couple – they have become each other’s other half, they have become soul mates. They have been strengthened by their ever growing love and understanding of each other. They have learned that they can depend on each other and on the power of their love, and that through each other, they are becoming better people. As they stand before us and unite in marriage, they are declaring to each other and to all of us present that they will be by each other’s side, no matter what life brings their way, from this day forward.
(Side note: As I mentioned in an earlier post, our wedding day was sunny as frick. If you haven’t noticed, Foxy and I are pretty fair-skinned. And despite asking Officiant Em at the last minute to bring her sunscreen so I could use it on our wedding day (since I forgot mine), I forgot to put it on. Just…keep that in mind.)
As the Vitamin String Quartet finished drifting through the speakers, Officiant Em, Foxy, and Best Man Carkey made their way down the aisle.
All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.
After a slight pause in the music, stepdad JCC and stepbro CJ started up with their guitars, playing and singing their arrangement of one of mine and Foxy’s most favorite songs—All I Want Is You (originally by Barry Louis Polisar). Enter: the rest of the wedding party!
Hit play to listen along!
You’ll have to bare with me, as much of the ceremony is a complete and utter blur to me. Thank batman we had Officiant Em’s hubs record it for us, otherwise I’d probably need to skip over these posts entirely. (Sorta kinda kidding…?!) Fortunately for us the video, as well as our amazing pictures, do a wonderful job at telling the story for me, so we at least have that!
I do remember that one of our last-minute decisions—and surprisingly, one that I didn’t really over-think too much—was what to have playing while our guests arrived at the Vandiver and took a seat by the gazebo for the ceremony. We ultimately chose a little medley by the Vitamin String Quartet, including “Hey There, Delilah” (by Plain White T’s), “Stolen” (by Dashboard Confessional), and “Wonderwall” (by Oasis). Of course I never actually heard the songs play myself, but I have it on good authority that they could indeed be heard in the background!
So while guests filtered in with music in the air, Stepsis Mac took care of handing out programs and directing everyone to their seats.
All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted
Personal photo by Foxy Mama
Mrs. Fox, Washington DC/Havre de Grace, MD Age and Occupation: 26, Massage Therapist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Field Support Engineer Engagement Date: April 18, 2010 Wedding Date: June 2012 Venue: Vandiver Inn About Me: I’m a dancer turned massage therapist who was born and raised in New York. Alas, true love has brought me “south” where I still maintain my penchants for pretty shoes, wine, crossword puzzles, cherry blossoms, and the Mets. I own more sunglasses than a normal person should and don’t eat red meat (though I make up for it by eating my weight in sushi). I tend to be a big planner who likes to get things started early, but generally end up being indecisive and procrastinating when it comes down to it. I have a (not so) secret crush on Chris Carrabba, but my loyalty and love ultimately goes to the future hubs, of course! Together, my Foxy man and I love to discuss (read: debate) politics and current events, have Mario Kart and Scrabble duels, and just laugh. A lot. We’re hoping and planning for a laid back, fun, summery, rustic vibe to our June wedding that will be genuinely “us” – that is, if we finally make some decisions. Huzzah!
