We had not planned on a bouquet toss, mostly because Mr. Genie was appalled at the thought of the garter toss. I didn’t even purchase a garter, because what else is it for? But after some dancing, Mr. Genie came up to me and said that a certain someone was really hoping for a bouquet toss. I had a lot of single friends and family at the party, so I asked Matt, our DJ, to put on “Single Ladies” and call the girls to the dance floor. I asked one of the bridesmaids if I could toss their bouquet, because there was no way mine was going away. Sara and Margaret had left by this time, but luckily my sister nabbed some photos of the event.
I picked out my target. She made it easy by being right up front. I gave a good toss…and it hit the ceiling. *womp womp*
Being the type-A person that I am, I of course had to plan in advance a kick-ass playlist that the girls and I can listen to as we get our hair and makeup done the morning of the wedding. Mr. M and I booked the penthouse for the day before and the day of the wedding, giving us ladies and the stylists plenty of room to spread out.
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We’ll be getting our makeup professionally done! / Image via The Knot
With that in mind, how could I not create the perfect getting-ready playlist? Most of you know by now how music-obsessed I am (if you remember my intro post), but I’d categorize my favorite genre as indie rock. But for this, I wanted to make a playlist with some fun pop music that us ladies could sing along to. This includes songs by the “divas” (Madonna, Whitney, Britney, Gaga, Beyonce) as well as some awesome ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s jams. Feel free to steal this playlist!
Getting-Ready Playlist:
After opening gifts, Mr. O and I proceeded in separate cars to the venue.
While I was waiting in the car, I saw them walking him down to where we would later say our vows, and I was once again overwhelmed with emotion. There he was, my soon-to-be husband. And he was about to finally see my dress, which I had managed to keep secret for SO. LONG. (An impressive feat for me, because I do not do a good job of keeping things from Mr. O!)
And now I’ll let the photos speak for themselves!
(All photos by Stacy Able Photography)
I strongly believe that life shouldn’t go “back to normal” immediately following a wedding. I couldn’t imagine spending a year of my life planning one day, only to go back home after the reception and return to work on Monday.
Of course, this all comes down to budget. And time off work, but I just want to focus on the budget element of this right now.
We’re incredibly fortunate to be able to go away for three weeks the day after we get married, but before the option of Disney became available, we threw around some lower-budget ideas. Although I have to admit, I found it near impossible to find something “honeymoon-worthy” for around £500.
A couple of weeks ago, a colleague of mine was taken on a surprise birthday trip by his girlfriend. When he returned he sent me a link to the place he stayed, and Oh.My.God why hadn’t I known about this site before?!
If you live in the UK and want a mini getaway for less than £500 (or even less in some cases) then I want to let you in on this little secret…
Canopy & Stars is a site that lists rural retreats across the UK, Spain, France, and Portugal. Some of these cabins are to die for.
My colleague stayed at The Wriggly Tin in Hampshire.
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Image via Canopy & Stars
There are two of these little huts in a secluded meadow—one at each end. With a shabby-chic interior, this hut also has a wood-burning stove, hurricane lamps, and candles. No electric here—you are completely cut off from the world in your own little romantic bubble.
FutureMrsHuneyBee shares a photo of her brightly colored DIY tulle flower girl skirts.
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Last November Sparky and I went to a charity wedding event. We’d gone to a couple of events, but this was the first one that was entirely for charity. This was something we were really excited about—getting wedding vendors we needed AND donating money was kind of wonderful.
Sparky with a mighty fine mustache / Personal photo
Get Hitched Give Hope (also mentioned two times by Mrs. Cherry Pie!) was part silent auction and part live auction. The proceeds for this event went to the Dream Foundation, which is like the Make a Wish but for adults. The beautiful thing about the evening was that the founder for the charity was there and he told a moving story about his husband who passed away and how he wanted to make his last months super meaningful.
One of my rationales for having an insanely long engagement was the idea that I could do many DIY projects and not be rushing to do them at the last minute.
I didn’t really take into account that I am a bit of a procrastinator and thus would still leave projects to do at the last minute anyways, but oh well, live and learn. It seems like I’m not the only one with this problem!
Here are a couple of projects that I’ve put together recently. I wanted to share them with you guys since I’m really proud of how they turned out, but they really aren’t big enough for their own post, so random projects in a row!
1) Thank you banner. Pbear thinks making a gigantic prop for one picture for our thank you cards is silly, but I kind of like it.
I have no idea why the peach photographs so orangey. *sigh*
It’s hard to tell from afar, but the letters have this gorgeous watercolor look to them.
And now you get to hear all about the Unicorns’ rehearsal…or lack thereof.
You see, after all my careful planning, Mr. Unicorn managed to derail my idea of how the rehearsal dinner ought to go.
Allow me to explain.
I’m sure y’all remember my diagrams detailing the EXACT order in which the bridesmaids and groomsmen were to walk up and down the aisle for the wedding. My original plan was to have them do a couple run-throughs before the rehearsal dinner. Sounds perfectly reasonable, right?
Apparently, Mr. Unicorn disagreed. For whatever reason, he got it into his head that he wanted to make a huge production of it. He wanted us to wait until all the guests arrived before calling our bridesmaids and groomsmen down one by one, in no particular order, to receive their thank you gifts.
Rather miffed that my very specific plans for the rehearsal were falling to pieces, I reluctantly agreed. Though, if looks could kill, there is a very good chance Mr. Unicorn would not have made it to the wedding day.
Once the guests arrived, Mr. Uni gave a little speech thanking everyone for coming. He thanked our parents, and we presented them with thank you gifts. Then he explained that food would be served after he introduced each bridesmaid and groomsman. Let me do the math for you: that’s 13 introductions.
Needless to say, by the end of it, everyone was eyeballing the barbecue with hungry looks. As soon as Mr. Unicorn finished his presentation, the horde descended upon the buffet line like locusts, and any attempt to divert their attention was in vain.
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Some of the groomsmen trying on their new hats! / Personal photo
After my recent dramatic post, I’ve decided to regale you all with hilarity in the form of my past. I’ve mentioned once or twice that I was kind of a bitch in high school, but this time there are PICTURES.
all photos personal
THEN:
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Sophomore year of high school. Oh yeah, guys, this is real—except, I didn’t say any of that. One of my classmates was on the yearbook committee and they needed a filler, so they used me. One of my first claims to fame. 
In high school, I was such an affected, miserable girl. I felt like I had no place in the world. Don’t get me wrong, I had fun for a lot of it and I wasn’t, like, pushing people into lockers or anything. I was mostly just a bit of a know-it-all with a chip on my shoulder. I think my attitude was basically, “Yeah, well, my life is tough and I’m better than this high school and I CAN’T WAIT TO LEAVE and never come back, so THERE.” You know.
Before Mr. Palm Tree and I started dating, I was all “I don’t want to find a boyfriend in high school. Why do I want to be tied down? There’s no one here for me, anyway.” I was serious, too. I remember hanging out with BM Tiny Dancer one night shortly after Mr. Palm Tree and I started dating and her saying, “I can’t believe this is all coming out of your mouth. You didn’t want any of this but you seem so much…happier.”
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