

Kicking off the party right.

[Please ignore the plastic cups. The caterer provided the wrong ones. However, I didn’t end up caring much since most guests really didn’t notice, especially after a drink or two or more.]
I’ve always loved taking pictures. I’m not particularly good at taking them, but I’m very good about pressing the snap button…A LOT. So you can imagine my delight when I discovered photography blogs! Jessica Claire, Susan Stripling, Chenin Boutwell…OH MY! Yes, these names are second nature to me now, it’s quite pathetic. I’m a super photography blogstalker, LOOK OUT!
Naturally, the first vendor we booked was our photographer and the search was quite difficult for us. For one, we had a budget and the photographers I had been drooling over were well beyond it. I will admit that I was skeptical I would find someone with great talent at a low cost, but after much diligent searching and cost comparisons I found one. His name is Jason Angelini. Jason is great for a lot of reasons. He and his wife, Lucia give me tons of feedback on vendors and random questions. They are my wedding analysts. Most importantly though, he was very reasonably priced. For two graduate students, that was essential.

In honor of Miss Cupcake’s post from yesterday, here are a few Parent Dance pics. We didn’t have anything special — just a song and a quartet of parents (we switched halfway). But I enthusiastically recommend a Parent Dance to everyone — a few minutes out of the reception can mean a lifetime’s worth of bonding moments all around.
After the hair and makeup, we were slightly behind schedule upon return to the hotel. My fabulous youngest brother had gotten myself and the other ladies sandwiches, and my mom and a dear friend (from Germany!) were waiting for us in the bridal suite. My original thought had been to eat lunch together, but people grabbed their lunch to go, and my mom went to make sure that my she and my dad would also have something to eat.
So I got a chance to eat, and Ken took some pictures.

Yes, that is me, eating a sandwich.
I wish I got to spend more time with the husband and wife team of Teresa and Tedd of Lucid Eyes during Scott Robert’s workshop. It doesn’t surprise me that they are from Texas, cuz they are smoking hot! And I am totally digging their style. Check it out!
The night before the wedding, I stayed in the bridal suite (which the fabulous hotel coordinator, Marisa Gindi, upgraded me to.) Not wanting to spend the night totally by myself, I asked my youngest brother if he wanted to crash on the pullout sofa.
Tip: if you are looking for a place to get ready in downtown Cleveland, I highly recommend the bridal suites at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. The suite was easily bigger than our 750 sq. ft. apartment, and the bathroom? Let’s just say that you could very easily have a dance party for 20 in it. It was amazing.
The day began at the very pleasant hour of around 7:30am. Hair and makeup wasn’t scheduled until 10:45, so I took my time getting ready and enjoyed a bit of room service breakfast.
It’s been an awesome week for me…. I just celebrated my birthday with the hubs and friends, and then (quite patiently) photog stalker mode came on and I discovered these awwwwwesome photos on Bandele Zuberi’s website.
Scott Robert has such a great team of photogs, that he brought two to our wedding! And I just discovered these amazing shots that Bandele posted. I shrieked with pure excitement last night and Mr. CB had to force me to sleep, literally. But first thing in the morning, I was emailing Bandele to let him know the pure joy he gave me and the lack of sleep it caused since I could only lay there smiling. It’s only some teasers but still… WOW.
I had to wait to ask permission for screen shotting his website but here’s a few he put up - what an honour it is to be showcased! WOWEE!
