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I’ve been putting this off, but with my recaps finished the time has come for me to step aside. To say I’ve enjoyed being a part of the Weddingbee community is an understatement; I’ve delighted in writing every post, I’ve appreciated how much fun we’ve had together, and I’m humbled by all that I’ve learned from you. Aside from the photos and video (which I promise to post once we have the final product), we have a couple other tangible mementos of our wedding day that I’d like to share with you before I go. The first is a magnificent keepsake by artist Betty Gjesdal of CurlyArt, where she preserved the flowers from my wedding bouquet and transformed them into a set of six canvas paintings. Four of these now grace the wall of our new home, while the other two will be given to our parents as a post-wedding gift.
{Personal Photo; Paintings by CurlyArt}
Betty did an exquisite job of translating elements of our wedding onto canvas, even painting the vines in the style of the font I so loved for our invitations and embellishing the pressed scented geranium leaves with an antique gold finish.
Now that the cake is long gone, the bouquets have dried, and I’ve had time to reflect on our wedding day, a few things come to mind that fall into the categories of “things I absolutely wouldn’t change” and “things I wish I had done differently.” It was a daring adventure planning a wedding from beginning to end, and although I’m still walking on sunshine over how the day went, I’m a strong believer in everything being a learning experience. Without further ado…
Five things I would have done differently:
1. Paid for the extra hours of photography and videography coverage
As the wedding approached, I was borderline obsessed with the numbers in our bank accounts. While some might consider that kind of financial consciousness responsible, I wish I had relented a little and spent the money to have them stay the entire night. There were so many great moments after our contracts ended at 10:30 PM that exist only in our memories: after Mr. Tartlet read this post by Mrs. Elephant, he immediately latched onto the idea of having a private last dance. That night, Mary Ann Ross deftly assessed the mood and ended up inviting everyone to share in “one last dance.” Marry Me by Train sounded through the speakers, and all around us people were swaying back and forth singing along to the music, some in pairs, others in groups with their arms flung around each others shoulders. It was an incredible display of love, friendship, and camaraderie. While the Twofoot Creative team broke down the Conservatory, a group of us meandered out to the garden where we busted out the cigars that I had gifted Mr. Tartlet earlier in the day. We spent a good 30 minutes quietly chatting and mellowing out, and I desperately wish we had tangible reminders of those moments.
I’m exceedingly thankful for my mom’s snap-happy trigger finger so I didn’t miss out on all the memorable moments of our dance party, some of which you’ve already seen, and others that are almost too embarrassing to post. Almost.
Read more…
mr. Tartlet and I bolted through the hotel back to the bridal suite, gaily chatting as I yanked my heels off and barefoot finished the race to our room. Unbeknownst to all but a handful of our guests, in addition to the private lessons for our first dance, we also took lessons for a second dance to the tune of Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny). While receiving instruction, we quickly realized that if we were going to pull this number off, a costume change was in order. I flew out of my wedding attire and into a flouncy dress, Mr. Tartlet discarded his suit jacket, loosened his tie, and not ten minutes later we returned to the Conservatory where our day-of-coordinator signaled to our DJ that we were ready.
{Photo by Aruna B. Photography}
We were energized by the lights, the crowd, and still riding the high of the day’s adventures. For the first time we felt like we were performing instead of practicing.
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After all had been sufficiently wined and dined, the dance floor was opened on a sentimental note with the father-daughters dance. The plural isn’t a typo: my sister didn’t have a traditional wedding reception, and as such never had the opportunity to dance with our dad. She had voiced this as a deep regret, so this tradition had a special purpose in my heart from the very beginning. If memory serves me right, after screaming into the phone to her that I was engaged, my next shriek as a soon-to-be-married woman was to declare that she was getting her father-daughter dance. My dad chose this song of his own accord, and I’m still brought to tears whenever I hear the hauntingly beautiful lyrics.
{Photo by Aruna B. Photography}
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Hive, I’m afraid I haven’t been entirely forthright with you. Although it’s true that for the majority of our wedding day Mr. Tartlet and I lived in that coveted world of “sunshine and rainbows,” there was a dark little cloud hovering over our marriage that I haven’t spoken of until now, mostly because I was conflicted about how to approach the topic on such a public forum. Plainly speaking, I seriously considered glossing over the whole affair. Upon reflecting on my years of reading Weddingbee, though, I realized that part of what makes this community special is the open acknowledgement of the ups and downs that accompany engagement, marriage, and life after the wedding. At any rate, I digress. The springboard for this post is the following nugget of wisdom that my sister shared during her toast, and later wrote in our guest book:
{Personal Photo}
There is someone (let’s call this person “Sue,” because no one wants to be a Sue) who became increasingly antagonistic towards our relationship over the last couple of years, especially with how we chose to execute our wedding. Sue’s first act on our wedding day was to mock my appearance, and her last was to try and drag Mr. Tartlet away as we shared our last dance.
Read more…
Dusk had fallen, and everything inside the Conservatory was bathed in romantic candlelight. As we dined to the soundtrack of murmured conversations, tinkling silverware, and the occasional outburst of merriment, I surveyed our guests from the vantage point of our sweetheart table and in a moment of uncertainty nervously asked Mr. Tartlet whether or not he thought people were having a good time. Through a mouthful of steak he brusquely mumbled something along the lines of: “Woman, are you crazy? Eat your food.” He moved on to attack his pile of dauphinois potatoes, and I once again let my eyes run over the scene, giving a small nod as if to reaffirm that all was well.
{Photo by Aruna B. Photography}
No matter what breed of wedding—big or small, rustic or modern—we can all appreciate what an investment it is of time, money, and emotion. I found myself profoundly worried that our guests were bored.
Gradually my fears were assuaged as I took note of people engaged in cheerful discourse…
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
After our fleeting, 15-minute-and-change ceremony, family portraits, and signing our marriage license, we were at last ready to commence our reception. We had planned for our entire wedding party to participate in the grand entrance, but after noting that all members were deep in earnest conversations, we decided there was no sense disrupting the flow to pull them away. The idea was thus canned on the spot, and our unflappable DJ, Mary Ann Ross, simply asked our guests to rise and give a hearty welcome to the newlyweds.
{Photo by Aruna B. Photography}
Before we transition to our reception in earnest, I thought we’d take a wee virtual tour of our wedding to see how the various elements came together. Imagine yourself in the shoes of a guest, and let’s start at the very beginning with our beloved invitations!
{Photo by Aruna B. Photography}
I wrote about the inspiration, design, and crafting process for these precious bundles—and we couldn’t be happier with how they turned out. They truly set the tone for our event, and every time we went to someone’s home and saw our invitation displayed on the refrigerator or carefully set aside on the counter it made our hearts swell with pride that our hard work didn’t go unnoticed.
Read more…
“Dance first. Think later. It’s the natural order.”
-Samuel Beckett
After being introduced for the first time as “husband and wife,” Mr. Tartlet and I made our way down the aisle to the tune of Bruno Mars’ Marry You. My feet started striding to the beat, and before I knew it my shoulders were shimmying, Mr. Tartlet gave his hips a little Ricky Martin shake, and we were prancing and singing down the aisle.
{Photo by Aruna B. Photography}
After our declarations of intent, Mr. Tartlet gave my hands a squeeze and delivered the personal vows he had composed in the weeks prior to our marriage:
“Every single day with you is special, because it gives me another chance to learn from your kindness, your empathy and selflessness. I look forward to the rest of our lives together, to wake up next to you knowing that I’m fortunate enough to come home to you. I look forward to the late night bubble tea runs…”
{Photo by Aruna B. Photography}
After a heartfelt welcome and a brief opening benediction, Reverend Tuttle transitioned into the reading we had selected to kick off the ceremony.
{The Promise}
Eileen Rafter
{Photo by Aruna B. Photography}
The sun danced on the snow with a glittering smile,
As two lovers sat quietly, alone for a while.
Then he turned and said, with a casual air,
(though he blushed from his chin to the tips of his hair)
“I think I’d quite like to get married to you.”
“Well then,” she said, “Well there’s a thought,
But what if we can’t promise to be all that we ought?
After a whirlwind photo session with our wedding party, hand-in-hand Mr. Tartlet and I stepped inside the sun-drenched Conservatory to soak in the transformation that had taken place over the last few hours. The Parsonage truly outdid themselves to design centerpieces that were both airy and lush, and in concert with Twofoot Creative perfected the tablescapes.
{Photo by Aruna B. Photography}
Happy tears from our emotional first look soon dissolved into peals of laughter when the rest of our wedding party joined us on the meticulously groomed grounds at the Royal Park. To quote Carrie Bradshaw, “they say nothing lasts forever; dreams change, trends come and go, but friendships never go out of style.” These incredible people are a handful of those who make our brightest days brighter, always have our backs, and whom we love unconditionally.
{Photo by Aruna B. Photography}
Our relationships with friends and family defined our wedding celebration, and we couldn’t help but get caught up in the gaiety of having so many of our nearest and dearest together.
The placid atmosphere of the morning and early afternoon followed me as I gathered up my train and headed down the elevator for our first look. Aside from feeling slightly tingly with anticipation, my nerves remained calm even as I was instructed to wait alone, hidden in the hallway while they finished staging the scene. I stood quietly with my hands clasped in front of me, a tranquil smile on my face as I reflected on what thus far had been an enchanted day until Ryan, our videographer from Epic Motion, appeared by my side and signaled that it was time. As I turned the corner and saw Mr. Tartlet’s back through the double glass doors, I experienced what can only be described as an upheaval of emotion–the kind that feels like hundreds of butterflies are fluttering their way from your stomach into your heart. I heard myself emit a strangled sob/laugh (that was captured so well on film), and there wasn’t a coherent thought in my mind.
Well, almost. As I approached the exit, heels clicking rhythmically on the marbled floors, one thought kept interjecting itself into my reverie: “Hold the door open for Ryan, hold the door open for Ryan.”
{Photos by Aruna B. Photography}
After my sister and I had finished ogling our statuesque mother, I slipped into the adjacent room to take down my dress that had been carefully hung on a padded dupioni silk hanger, purchased from Etsy seller tokyoblues.
{Photo by Aruna B. Photography}
As I draped the delicate alencon lace dress and veil over my arms and turned to walk out into the sitting area of our suite, a thought struck that made me stop dead in my tracks: “…am I going to have to show my…boobs…to everyone?” Stunned, I couldn’t believe that the thought had never crossed my mind that in order to get dressed (and have pictures taken), I would first have to get un-dressed.
Read more…
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Mrs. Tartlet, Rochester, MI Age and Occupation: Age & Occupation: 27, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Medical Student Engagement Date: May 2, 2009 Wedding Date: May 2011 Venue: The Royal Park Hotel About Me: I'm an exuberant gal from the Midwest with a penchant for Neuroscience and anything sparkly. I'm not afraid to poke fun at myself, and I'm a believer that given the right pair of shoes, a girl can conquer the world. While an interest in the sciences threw Mr. Tartlet and me together (again, and again, until it finally stuck), we share a love for many things---food, video games, car dancing, food, bad puns, travel, did I mention food?---that ultimately led us to where we are now, less than five months from becoming Mr. and Mrs. We're planning a laid-back, romantic, garden-inspired affair with organic and quirky touches that reflect our love for the unexpected!
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