Hey there, hive. It’s certainly been a while since I dropped in. In fact, it’s been so long that I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t a single reader who actually remembered me or my wedding.
Why is that? Because believe it or not, over the weekend, Mr. Corn and I celebrated our five-year anniversary. Yup…way back in 2007, before photo booths, cupcake towers, and heavily customized themes were even a trend; back when there’d only been five generations of bees; before the WB boards were ever in existence (!)…I planned my DIY heavy, Coastal New England wedding on the water at a historic fort complete with winery rehearsal party, Revolutionary War reenactors, gale-force wind, an authentic Revere Cannon salute, and a traditional clambake reception with LOBSTAH!!
Since our 09-08-07 wedding, we welcomed our little “kernel,” Garrison, on 07-08-09…
A few weeks after our wedding, I ran into a high school classmate. She was interning for a company in the building where I work. I stopped her in the hallway to catch up. When she asked about my life, I told her about the recent wedding and a few other things. I then asked her what was going on with her. Her response was, “wel, I’m not getting married—I have too much I want to accomplish to even think about that.” She then told me she was in grad school and a few other details, but that first sentiment is what has stuck with me.
I haven’t seen her in close to a decade and once she knew I was married, I suddenly became someone less ambitious, less significant. This could also be in my head, but based on her tone, I think it’s a pretty accurate reading. She reminded me that you really shouldn’t generalize anything.
Although I didn’t care for her generalization, it did get me to reflect a bit on our relationship. I started wondering if being involved in a serious relationship had indeed held me back in any way.
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The Starfish Honeymoon was perfect. Not perfect in the way you look at photos of a couple at a 5-star resort in some exotic locale and think that honeymoon looks absolutely perfect, but more perfect in the way that Robin Williams explains love to Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting.
“You’re not perfect, sport. And let me save you the suspense. This girl you met, she isn’t perfect either. But the question is whether or not you’re perfect for each other.”
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No, I’m not leaving the hive yet; I haven’t quite finished sharing. This post is about our wedding weekend farewell brunch. I loved the idea of adding an extra event to our weekend, but I was a bit skeptical about choosing a brunch.
I didn’t know if it would be worth the money. Having a welcome dinner where you spend more time with guests sounds so much more exciting.
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As the night was nearing the end, we knew we didn’t want it to stop. We decided to extend our reception for an extra hour. Our DJ, Larry Tocci, played tons of high energy music to keep the party going and keep the dance floor packed. The night was definitely ending on a high note. We got to “jump around” to Kris Kross, Shout along with the Isley brothers, and Twist with Chubby Checker.
photos by David Bibeault
When it came time for the last song, Larry played a song we had requested in advance:
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We had a vision of our wedding right from the start. We wanted a laid-back atmosphere that invited our guests to have fun, but we also didn’t want to lose sight of the meaning of the day.
We included many personal touches to share our story. I started the DIY projects to save money, but these little projects ended up shaping the entire feel of our wedding day; from the very first DIY, our save the dates, all the way to the thank you notes we sent weeks after the wedding was over.
personal photos
The Starfish motif was on almost everything. It kind of came about by accident. When I was designing our wedding website, I liked the option with a starfish design best, then I just kind of continued to use it on everything else. I like that we had one element that tied everything together.
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Mr. Starfish and I were going to skip favors all together. We went all out for our nautical-themed welcome bags and planned a brunch for our guests. We thought those were the best ways to thank our guests for traveling to Rhode Island and celebrating with us. Then one day BIL Starfish came home with a Shuckie and we decided we needed to have them.
The morning of the wedding, the Starfish Girls asked me what song I’d be playing for the bouquet toss. I told them I wasn’t doing one. They seemed a bit surprised, especially since our wedding was on the traditional side. They kind of expected it, but what they didn’t know is I had something else planned for the bouquet.
The night of the wedding, I was dancing away when I heard my cue.
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My favorite part of the wedding was having all of our friends and family in the same place for just one day. Some couples are lucky and grow up in the same town and get to join their families for lots of fun events. Mr. Starfish and I grew up in different states, so the chances of ever having a day with everyone we love together again is not even a possibility.
personal photo
After the speeches and parent dances, we had a quick bite to eat and then began mingling with guests. We opted to skip the receiving line at the church and instead went around to all the tables during the dinner hour to greet our guests.
Once we said hello to every table, my bridesmaids grabbed me and I don’t think we left the dance floor all night. We spent the night dancing away to our favorite songs with our friends and family.As we were recently watching our wedding video, Starfish Mom pointed out that it looked like we only invited females to our wedding.
I love to bake, so it was no surprise that the wedding cake was kind of a big deal for me. We went with our favorite local bakery that Sister Starfish used for her wedding and our family has been going to for special occasions over the years. Even though the bakery is known for their intricate designs, we went with a simple design and let the flavors be the star.
As the reception began, I noticed the beautiful sunset. Mr. Starfish and I had stepped out on the balcony to chat with guests and enjoy the view. As we were overlooking the ocean, we noticed our photographer, Dave, had written our date in the sand and was taking some photos.
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The wedding toasts were the more sentimental part of the evening. My father kicked it off with a welcome to our guests and he thanked everyone for coming. He also went on to talk about the story of when Mr. Starfish and I began dating. My family often shares the story that I was ready to leave the school I now rave about, one month into my freshman year. I had transfer papers in and I was ready to leave. Then a few weeks after I gave them the first call, I called back to let them know I changed my mind.
I think a lot of dads can relate to George Banks in Father of the Bride. No matter how old I am, my dad still thinks I’m this little girl.
Father of the Bride 1991/Sand Dollar Productions/Touchstone Pictures
Over the course of planning, my dad brought up lots of old memories from my childhood and I could tell he really couldn’t believe his “baby” was getting married. I struggled with finding the perfect song for us.
Our guestbook is slowly being delivered…one postcard at a time. I was so in love with the idea of a postcard guestbook as you’ll see 