Weddingbee

Mr. Magnolia and his Best Man, BIL Magnolia:

(In these pictures, BIL Magnolia looks IDENTICAL to his father on his wedding day…right down to the haircut. It’s kind of scary.)

My handsome guy:

Hey, hey, the gang’s all here… since the boys got ready at the Four Seasons in Midtown Atlanta, they literally just stepped outside the front doors of the hotel to take pictures.

One of my favorites…even though Mr. Mags hates having his picture taken, clearly he had a little bit of fun that day!

Normally, I’m not a big fan of the fisheye lens, but to capture the Midtown highrises (Symphony Tower on the left, Four Seasons on the right), it totally worked!

This one was taken a little later, at the church…I like to call it “STRONG LIKE BULL!”

All pictures by 35Atlanta.
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Mr. Peppermint and I both asked a special friend to pass out programs and petal cones to guests as they arrived:

I won’t bore you with our processional (set to Canadian Brass’s instrumental version of “All You Need Is Love”). The music changed to “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” to cue my entrance…

Mr. Peppermint waits…

It’s really happening….

For much of the ceremony, Mr. Peppermint and I held hands (at the minister’s suggestion). It was so nice to feel his comforting touch:

You may now kiss the bride…

(All photos credited to Michael Graham)

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When we visited a week before the wedding, the gallery was highlighting huge black-and-white paintings that were graphically striking but not at all in harmony with our wedding style. Luckily, the day before our wedding, they switched to charming, slightly-vintage-y botanical paintings.

I was in love with our aisle runner, an “art-silk” sari I purchased through eBay for $25 (after shipping from India). The ends were unfinished, but I just folded them under and stuck them down with double-sided carpet tape. The sari fabric was attached to the floor at each end with the same tape.

(Now, to figure out what to do with all that beautiful fabric! Tablecloth? Throw pillows? Any suggestions?)

I’m a wedding cryer, so I have a fascination with the whole Tears of Joy concept. But Kleenex = eh. And these handkerchiefs have a vintage feel that went beautifully with our wedding style. I wasn’t sure how to word the accompanying sign, but Mr. T provided a winner: “In the event of tears….”

Next to the hankies: a photo celebrating the memory of my father’s parents (at their own “vintage” wedding).

(All photos by Punam Bean.)
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This last picture was almost the last picture Travis ever took! EVER! He was shooting us telephoto from across the street and almost got hit by this Muni Bus. He happened to snap the picture right as the front glass door of the bus passed him by. Oh, the lengths photogs go to to get a great shot….

All photos by Travis Hoehne Photography.
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Mr. Peppermint, his Dad & his Brother (& Best Man):

Mr. Peppermint & our ring bearers (my twin cousins). We did have a “normal” photo, too, but this one is just too funny!

And now for the ladies…

Here I am with my bridesmaids. I love this photo! It’s fun, fresh and festive:

Now, here I am with my sister (and Maid of Honor):

My Mother-in-law, me and my Mom:

My mom, sister & me:

And last but not least, my flower girl and me. This one makes me laugh because I remember the photographer telling us to get closer together. When we weren’t close enough, he said to push our cheeks together. This was the result:

Stay tuned: more photos of our big day to come!!
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To start, the weather was perfect. I was so afraid that our April date would be too cold, or even rain. However, it was sunny and bright with a high of 83 degrees…the warmest day in NYC yet!

The ceremony was amazing. There was a collective gasp as I entered the chapel, and when I finally met Mr. Peony at the altar, I was surprised to see tears of joy streaming down his face. “You look so beautiful and I’m just so happy,” he said. Our pastor then proceeded to give a great sermon which even made me choke up a bit, and then we were pronounced man and wife!

We started the reception with a choreographed dance to Michael Buble’s “For Once in My Life.” (I originally wanted the Stevie Wonder version which is more fun and more “us,” but the beat was too fast for me to boogie down in my poofy dress and 4.5″ heels.)

So many people came up to us during the reception to let us know that this was the best wedding they’d ever attended. I think a friend summarized it well when she exclaimed, “it is so elegant without being stuffy at all!” The food at the Fountainhead was delicious (again, many commented that it was the best wedding food ever), our DJ kept the crowd dancing all night long, and all service provided by our vendors was top-notch. Even all the elder guests got up to shake their booties with the younger crowd!

The only thing that went wrong was the traffic, which no one had control over. See, the Pope was visiting NYC that day, so there were numerous road blocks, extra security, as well as extra traffic. In addition to the Pope, the president of South Korea was also in town, as well as the British Prime Minister, and both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. My mother said having all these VIPs in town on the day of the wedding had to be a blessing.

Due to the traffic, the charter bus was 30 minutes late in picking up the guests (driving into the city), and 30 minutes late in arriving at the destination (driving out of the city). Since almost 50 guests were on this bus, I decided to push back the ceremony start time. I felt sorry for the rest of the guests who had arrived separately, on time, and had to wait for the rest of the guests to arrive.

The only other thing that was affected by the late start was the quartet: we had only booked them for two hours (1 for the ceremony, 1 for the cocktail hour). I had the choice of having them stay and paying them overtime, but we decided not to… and the staff at the Fountainhead accommodated the change by streaming classical music into the atrium, where the cocktail hour was held.

Other than those two problems caused by the traffic, everything else was PERFECT. I can’t express just how smoothly and beautifully everything played out. It really felt like a fairy tale wedding.

All pictures are courtesy of our photographer, Danny Weiss… these are part of the sneak peak that he sent us earlier this week. As soon as we receive the rest, I’ll do my vendor reviews!
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The bridesmaids were next to arrive. I really love this picture of two of my close friends, my Gram and me taking it all in:

Knowing that is was going to be a long day, I had arranged with the caterer (Le Vallauris) to provide lunch for us girls. They brought up delicious Chicken Caesar salads in Parmesan baskets! This is also when I decided to give the girls their bridesmaids gifts.

Our flowergirl and her mom were the next to arrive. Our flowergirl needed a bit of help getting ready…

Here are some of the girls getting ready…

I want to preface these next few pictures with the fact that I had managed (all three times) to put my dress on at the dress shop (Claire Pettibone) all by myself. When it came time for the big day, I thought that I should enlist the help of my bridesmaids. For whatever reason, it was a quite hilarious and difficult event. These pictures are just a hint of the struggle it was to get it on…

My Mom helps me put on my shoes…

My Mom & Mother-In-Law proudly look on…

Almost showtime…

(All photos credited to Michael Graham)

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Loved its vintage style and eBay price ($225), but the ease of wear was almost even better. The train was manageable, I could sit, walk, and dance without trouble, and not once did I have to suck in my stomach, adjust the neckline, or otherwise worry about my dress in any way…. I was free to just enjoy myself and be a bride!

Red Shoes: No-Name Brand from eBay

Originally, I considered wearing beribboned ivory pumps for the ceremony and switching to these flats for the reception. But I don’t wear heels often, and after suffering through the rehearsal dinner in 3″ heels, I swore it would be flats for the wedding day. Turns out it was a great decision — not only was I extremely comfortable, but my cheerful red shoes made me happy all day. And the guests loved them too — I got so many comments on my “ruby slippers.”

And, in a funny coincidence, my mother showed up wearing the same shoes in gold!

Veil: Veilsbylana on eBay

I knew that I wanted a veil because wearing one made me feel “like a bride.” In fact, as soon as we put it on, my bridesmaids remarked that “wow, you were a bride before, but now you look like a BRIDE!!”

Beautifully crafted veils can run hundreds of dollars. But you certainly don’t have to shell out that much. My version was $35 (including shipping) on eBay. In fact, it was the most expensive version in the seller’s whole store. And it did the trick just fine.

Parasol:

I love the look of parasols in wedding photos, so I picked up a few red parasols for the bridesmaids from the Paper Lantern Store. For myself, I bought a beautiful vintage Japanese parasol off eBay … but as I opened it to show it to my MOH during our dressing hour, it EXPLODED! Apparently, seven-decades-old paper = very fragile. So, back to red!

Shawl:

In my mind, our late-March wedding would enjoy beautiful, sunny, spring-like weather. Sadly, the reality was much colder. Thank heavens I panicked and picked up a shawl (a peacock, which I love, in red and turquoise like our wedding colors) from eBay a couple of weeks before the wedding.

Other Accessories:

I did carry a small clutch, which I purchased off eBay for less than $10. I’m glad it was inexpensive, because in the end it just sat in a corner all day. It would have been far easier to ask my MOH to carry my lipstick and handkerchief.

My ruby earrings were originally for sale in my own small eBay store, but I always loved them and wished I could keep them for my own. It was so exciting when I realized they were red and perfect for my dress! Sadly, I don’t have much of a photo.

The shawl wasn’t entirely warm enough, so I also resorted to an ivory wool coat that I already owned. (From eBay, of course! $40 from seller evaluebrands, which sells Bloomingdales catalog returns.) And it looked fine, even over my dress. Because, when in doubt, it’s better to be warm than to suffer for fashion! (Though, even growing up in Wisconsin in below-zero winters, I’m afraid it took me a while to learn that particular fashion philosophy….)

How will you accessorize your wedding day?
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The view of Saint Patrick’s from the solarium.

Our other flower girl kept asking me why I was changing my dress.

The music was playing.

Guests were really intrigued by the coasters.

Our groomsman’s baby girl.

Attack of the baby.

Mrs. Bee attended our wedding and just got done telling me to get ready because this is going to be “the most photographed day of your life!” Mr. Snow Pea and I were just talking and then suddenly everyone began snapping photos. I said, “Wow, now I know what Britney Spears must feel like…except I’m wearing underwear.”

Our paparazzi

The lambchops were soooooooo good.

Hey, are you going to finish that?

We went back to my room and I changed back into my wedding gown.

I laid on my side so that I wouldn’t wrinkle my bustle, but doesn’t it look like I was just relaxin’ and calling out orders to my bridesmaids? kekeke

The guests began to assemble into the Grand Ballroom for the reception.

to bee continued…
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But my hair did need help — major help. Pieces started falling within an hour of my leaving the salon. Thank heavens my MOH came pre-armed with extra bobby pins just in case!

Even more than the help, I appreciated having the special “girl time” together before the festivities began.

Love this shot of the bridesmaids’ red shoes.

After one last coat of lipstick, we were out the door. But not to the ceremony site just yet — we had a bit of time for photos in the Hotel Monaco’s colorful lobby.

(Amazingly, the girls’ wraps were not planned in any way! Like the shoes and the dresses themselves, they were slightly different but coordinated so beautifully.)

(All photos by Punam Bean.)

Finally, it was time to walk the 3 blocks to the ceremony site, where we sequestered ourselves in the basement, had a bit to eat (literally, a single bite in my case — so many things to attend to!), and I enjoyed the final moments of singledom….
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