Phall in Philadelphia

via Google Image Search

If you don't live in Philadelphia, you probably don't know this, but people here like to turn F's into Ph's. Sounds stupid to the outsider, but I have to admit it's kind of fun - I mean, phun. Anyway, after getting back from our honeymoon, it was straight to work on our department's biggest event of the year. It basically consists of a lot of logistics for the people flying in, all-day programming for our visitors (and all the materials and logistics that go along with that), and the cocktail reception to cap it all off with (my favorite part). It's kind of a rarity for people in our industry to throw receptions and actually decorate, but I wouldn't have it any other way (and luckily my director wouldn't either). So we spend a good couple of hours, with help from our facilities men and on-site caterers, setting up and decorating for a good ole time to be had by 150+ people. It's stressful, but I love it. I love seeing peoples' reactions to all the decorations, hearing the compliments, and secretly knowing that I didn't spend a fortune on decorating it. Not that it's my money, but still. It's fun getting creative with things you buy at the dollar store, or some other cheap place online, and seeing the result looking like you spent way more on it.

We used to do a theme not to be mentioned (I'm just so sick of it I don't even want to talk about it), but I finally got to nix it and we ended up just doing a fall theme this year, which I think turned out great. Even though we had a ton of dollar store decorations, I think it looked classy. I hope it looked classy. I'm pretty sure it looked classy. We cleared the area of all the furniture and brought in a ton of high tops. We rented antique gold shimmer linens for our food tables and high top cocktail tables. We hung spiral fall decorations from the ceiling, had leaf confetti, leaf garland, tissue paper leaves, and I made floral arrangements from ($ Tree) fake flowers, leaves, and fabric petals. They looked great, if I do say so myself. The final touch was the gold balloons. I loooove me some balloons for a cocktail party. Especially gold ones. I feel like they're fun but being gold they're classy. So they're classy fun. We had delicious food and I bought a ton of candy and bags for people to take it home in (they really liked that). Autumnal fare, candy, pretty decorations, and alcohol. Who needs anything else? We didn't even have music, but it was so loud no one noticed anyway.

via Google Image Search

Next up? I'm off to Arizona to see Former-Bridesmaid-Turned-New-Momma Lela to help her throw a Halloween party. I'm hoping she'll let me put up decorations and help make fun party stuff versus changing diapers. I'd like to think she knows better than to put ME in charge of a baby :) juusssst kidding (sort of)

Happy Halloween!! What's YOUR costume going to be? I'm going to be a Panda!

-C

xxx

U + Me = Us

I know my calculus.

Come on, you know you remember that song! Ok, if not, or if you lived in a hole for a year (ok, or if you were born before 1980 or after 1998), here's a little treat:



Who knew so much math was involved in wedding planning? I mean, sure, there's the budget (which is a major part, don't get me wrong), but if you're like me and planning an outside wedding where you have to rent everything A - there's all sorts of rental prices to compare, sizes to compare, etc. and B - square footage. What?! I have to calculate the square footage of not just the tent, but the tables inside as well as the dance floor? And I have to figure out how much "space" each person needs?? This is probably one time I wish everyone I knew was a close talker and didn't need much space :) BUT, alas, you have to account for like a foot and a half of the chair itself, plus at least 3 feet behind that chair, plus like an additional 3 feet between tables, plus I need to calculate how much room each person will need to dance? But some people flail their arms and need more space than others! And I have to guesstimate how many people will want to dance? Oy.

And we've already discussed not being able to accurately estimate how many people will attend your wedding. Yet another impossible equation to solve.

Right, and my trying to map out how to hang the lights in the tent? Not that I did the calculations, but I'm pretty sure (Bridesmaid Lela's husband) Brad did! And my Uncle Randy definitely tried to calculate the weight of the lanterns + lights, height of the poles, etc. without even being there.



So here's a heads-up to brides-to-be and someday-brides-to-be: remember how we all were like "We'll never have to use Calculus in the real world!"

False.

That is all.

-C
xxx

Tip 'O The Week - You Can Never Plan Enough For...

via Wedding Photojournalist Association

Rain. I suppose it's mostly in regards to outdoor weddings, but even indoor weddings need to have some special rain considerations. Like how the bride will get from the car to the inside of the church/venue/wherever, if they'll do cutsey umbrella pics with the wedding party or keep it inside. Ok so yeah it's MAJORLY geared towards outdoor weddings that need to be prepared, but I was one of those weddings so I have to tell you it's crazy important.

"But rain is good luck on your wedding day!" Whatever. Doesn't mean I want it! Lol

I knew from day 1 I'd need a tent. If I didn't rent a tent, it would torrential downpour. I have terrible luck, so trust me on this, it would have happened. The tent can only do so much, though. I mean, they errect it a few days in advance, which is great because that will keep the ground dry(-ish) underneath the tent if it is raining. If it starts to POUR though, there's not going to be much you can do unless you want to rent a floor for the entire tent. And even then there will be wet feet stepping onto the floor creating a mess and potential slipping hazards. Plus, it costs big $$$ to rent a floor for the entire tent AND it's not really an outdoor wedding if you make it seem too much like the indoors is it?? You really can't plan enough for rain. No matter what you do, if it rains, something will get wet and mud will be present. It's really hard when you plan everything for a year (or more) and the one thing you can't control decides to happen.

I have to admit that there are tons of cute wedding pics out there with the bride in rainboots and the bridal party under umbrellas and fun stuff like that. I am all FOR making light of the situation.

via Elizabeth Anne Designs

We had a tent for the reception and reserved a back up smaller tent for the ceremony just in case we needed it. Luckily, we could do that because we worked with a small company and they told us we didn't need to officially reserve the back up one because they'd have plenty on hand. So that was helpful since we didn't have to actually pay for it. One thing I didn't think about? A tent for the rehearsal dinner or brunch. Those were also to be held in MOB's back yard. I don't know why I thought it just wouldn't rain on either of those days? See, if it weren't so costly to reserve a tent (I'm pretty sure the company would have drawn a line if I tried to rent multiple tents without deposits), I probably would have, but when you have to put down a decent amount of a deposit when you rent such a big ticket item, it makes you think harder about these things. Like is the rehearsal dinner/brunch really that important to me? Or can we easily have a contingency plan for that? My personal view was that I was fine with whatever contingency plan had to happen, even if it was something we had to come up with last minute. For the wedding? Not so much. I wanted it in the backyard, and if I had to have a tent to do it, I was getting one.

When the 10 day weather report finally included my date I wasn't too shocked. Unhappy? Yes. Shocked? No. It said "showers" (60% chance precipitation) for the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner and "scattered showers" for the big day. Yup, just my luck. Yes, I did rent a tent, but was I still hoping it would be a beautiful sunny warm day? Of course! What bride wouldn't wish for that?!

So what happened to me?

The 10 day weather report watch was in full effect right up to the wedding day, and every day the percentage chance of precipitation went down! The night of the rehearsal dinner it was chilly. Like, borderline cold. There were only a few troopers who stayed outside and enjoyed the karaoke and beer pong. The rest huddled in our (totally unprepared) family room. The big day? I'm so happy to report that although it was a bit chilly, it was a beautiful, rainless day. The evening was warmer than the night before, although some said they were cold, I wasn't in the least. I think we kind of had perfect weather, though. It could have been swealtering! Or raining! But neither were the case, gladly. Oh, and the weather was even NICER on Sunday for the brunch. Gorgeous and sunny. I got lucky (for once).

Your day could be beautiful as well, but you should definitely still plan for rain. I say if you're having an outdoor wedding, get a tent. You may not be able to see the stars from your dinner table, but you can still feel the grass beneath your feet (and if you step outside the tent you can see the stars)! Plus if you get tent walls it keeps the chill out.

-C
xxx

Recap Time: The Morning-Of Craziness

Yeah, it was crazy. I got a decent sleep the night before, and knew I wouldn't want to get up at an absurd hour (like 6am) because I knew I didn't want to look like death on my wedding day and I don't do mornings. Really, I'm like the poster, ask the hubby. Or anyone else I've ever known, for that matter. If there ever was a person who didn't do mornings, it would be me.

Anyway, I got up at 8am, and by the time I got out of the shower we already had helpers arriving (yay!). We got straight to work on getting stuff together. I feel bad because I didn't actually have a chance to get my hands on that many projects because I was so busy instructing everyone else! But I guess I'm the one with the vision, so it had to be done. I was running around like crazy though, don't think I was sitting around like a bum or anything!

Want a taste of what it's like to DIY your own wedding? Here are just the tasks I can remember that we did the morning of (there are no pictures because it was all hands on deck and none of those hands were holding cameras):

• Stringing and hanging of Chinese lanterns
• Christmas lights to hang
• Men coming up with a way to hang windows between two trees for the ceremony
• My SIL filling a hole in the "aisle"
• Chairs and tables to set up/arrange for both ceremony and reception
• Linens to steam
• Napkins "folded" (we knotted them, but it still had to be done)
• Kegs to be picked up
• Candy bar/buffet to be set up
• Centerpieces, seating chart, memorial, programs, signs, cardbox, placecards, and favors to put out
• Sangria made
• Drinks put out
• Desserts made/put out
• Cake decorated (by a family friend, but still a task)

Oh yeah, and I had to leave at 12:45pm to go get my nails done. I thought we were doing well with getting everything done, but time was all of a sudden UP and it was time for me to go! I was going to treat all my bridesmaids to a mani/pedi as well, but two of them ended up not getting to go, which I feel terrible about, but I know that it all wouldn't have gotten done without them staying. :( I was on the phone with Bridesmaid Amanda every 30 seconds while we were there, either she was calling and asking me something or I was calling to tell her something else that needed to be done. It was not a relaxing thing for me! I would rather have been there!

Me & MOB getting our hair did.

We then went straight to the hairdresser, 25 minutes late (not my fault for once)... Luckily it's the same hairdresser I've had since I was like 13 or something so she didn't kill us. They weren't HAPPY about how late we were, but she didn't kill us, so that's good. Love you Hair2Please!

I think it's safe to say I was freaking at this point. FREA-KING. I had my trusty green binder and to-do lists on my lap the entire time while I was getting my hair done.

No seriously, I really did. All those looking down pics? I was looking at my notes.

When we got back to the house I had to walk around and look at things, even though the photographer was already there. I needed it. It was my stress reliever. I had to see all that had been done while I was gone and make a couple of last minute adjustments. Brad was amazing then, too, because he was following me around going, "Tell me what to do and I'll do it." So, thanks Bridesmaid Lela for marrying such a good guy! After my stress relieving walk through it was time to get my makeup done, put my dress on, and head out for pictures. I still had my binder with me in the car on the way to pictures. I really thought we'd have some time when we got back to go over a couple things with the vendors. Nope! Next up - First Look shot recap!

The awesomeness that is my friend Millie, doing my makeup.

How many girls does it take to zip me in? Apparently the answer is 5.

In case you can't tell, I was not an all-smiles-morning-of-my-wedding kind of bride. I was all business (read: too stressed). There was too much to do. But that's how I am; I'm not sad about it. I got to let it all go later, as soon as I walked down the aisle. From then on it was all smiles! :)

Except when I thought our ferret died. Lol. (He didn't, but sure as hell was sleeping pretty hard...)

-C

xxx

Pictures with the word "Proof" on them are via our fantastic photographers Hughes Fioretti, all others are candids from friends.

Tip 'O The Week - Wedding Fund

Here's my tip to you, my friends: SET UP A SEPARATE ACCOUNT FOR ALL WEDDING MONIES.

Do it.

Seriously.

Who am I to tell you to do this? I am the person who is right now trying to figure out how much to reimburse myself for for everything I ever purchased for the wedding. Like, it's a damn good thing I save all my receipts. Basically I took it upon myself to pay for everything for the wedding out of my pocket, while keeping our contributions (and family contributions) in a savings account until I absolutely had to pay myself back for things. I wanted it to gain interest! I had good intentions, and had no idea how difficult it would be to figure it all out. So at the moment I am calculating up all my wedding-related receipts for the past year, going through credit card statements to see what I paid for on there, adding up checks I wrote to vendors... and totally second-guessing myself through the entire process. It's stupid because basically I could screw myself over if I don't pay myself back for something big, you know? I tried to keep track of the things I've already reimbursed myself for, but, again, I keep second-guessing myself. I'll figure it all out eventually, but this is not really a fun process, not gonna lie. So take a tip from my mistake! Put all your wedding funds into a separate account, and write checks and make payments from that account only. It will make your life soooo sooo much easier.

-C
xxx

Recap Time: The Night Before

'Twas the night before wedding, when all through the house

Lots of creatures were stirring, but not one on the couch
All were tucked under Chinese lanterns with care

In the hopes that taking pictures, no one would dare

After the karaoke machine and the beer pong were iced, the men were sent on their merry way and us girls sat around for some last minute project doing. Some of my "crew" sat on the floor of MOB's living room and helped me assemble Chinese lanterns until we couldn't assemble no more. (It was a good thing the cat and dog were kenneled for the weekend because there were lanterns everywhere! And they would have been destroyed come morning!)

(Me with Bridesmaid Amanda and MOH Cassie. Bonnie was there, too, but she hates pictures.)

Bridesmaid Amanda put together the kids' bags for me and we also poured 800 lbs of candy into candy containers for the candy bar/buffet (we put plastic wrap on top, don't worry). I knew there was still a lot left to do, but there wasn't any energy left in me to do it.

So I kicked everyone out, we attempted to blow up the air mattress for *then FH* to sleep on, failed, and then I had to sleep in bed with MOB so he could have my bed. Emotion Alert - It was nice sleeping in bed with my mom the night before I got married. Don't tell anybody I said that. I have a reputation to keep up.

-C
xxx

I'm Back!

via Google Images

For real this time. Did you miss me? Gee, I hope so. I hope people will still read this now that I'm married and no longer a bride-to-be. I've got plenty of recaps to post on here still. Plenty of ideas to share with you, plenty of rants to go on, plenty of sarcasm to confuse people with, and *now* enough time to do it! Work has been crazy busy for a few weeks, and on top of that I was deathly ill. Ok maybe not deathly, but I was ill and it wasn't fun, so I was too busy trying to breathe. I hope you'll forgive me and still read me. Please? Pretty please?

Well I'll just keep typing anyway. :) Stay tuned!

-C
xxx

Recap Time: Rehearsal Dinner Part II

Ok now for just a couple details from the night. First of all, I guess I should mention that all of the weekend's festivities (rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception, brunch) were held in my mom's backyard. We rented banquet tables and chairs for the wedding, which arrived on Thursday (score), so we set those up around the pool with green and white tablecloths, and white lanterns graciously loaned to me by a friend of a friend (I got SO many compliments on them - and they weren't even mine!). I wanted to do some cute decorations for the RD, but just ran out of time (reoccuring theme of the weekend). The tablecloths, lanterns, and christmas lights worked well with the beauty of nature (and the pool) in the backyard, though, so we were all set.

Loved these tablecloths! Yes, they're plastic, but they're also kelly green and white. And awesome. And $1.99 from our party rental store, Party Planet. We put them on the banquet tables for the RD and on some of the tables for the wedding itself. (Don't worry, they weren't on the dinner tables at the wedding!)

This is what the lanterns looked like (the white ones). These are from Target, but for some reason I think she got them from Ikea? Either way, they were damn cute.

Sorry, like I said, I haven't seen many rehearsal dinner pics yet! I'll have to do an update when I get some. Here is a pic of the tables and our back deck during the RD.

We actually dubbed it a rehearsal bbq so that it was as casual as could be. Bridesmaid Ryann's boyfriend Jason grilled for us (thanks again Jason!), and there were beers to be had. I'm pretty sure it was less than an hour into the evening when Tim's best man came up to me and asked if I was opposed to them starting up a game of beer pong. Nope! The only thing I said was maybe they should wait until after food. So impromptu beer pong took place at my rehearsal dinner, and people loved it. Did you catch the part that it wasn't even one of the American men who suggested it? It was a Brit? Am I the only one who finds it that much funnier because of that?? Oh well.


Karaoke was planned, actually. MOB had this karaoke machine for forever that she'd never used so I decided to use it! My pampie, the karaoke master, loaned us some of his cds for the occasion.

Only picture I've seen so far of me in my rehearsal dinner dress, prior to adding the hoodie. I think I was mid speech! Yikes.

The only thing I wish we could have changed? The weather! I mean, don't get me wrong, I am so grateful it didn't rain, but it was so cold that just about everyone (except us few tough guys) ended up going inside - which was not supposed to happen! I was pretty scared that it was going to be just as cold the next night at the wedding...

-C
xxx

Foto Friday - YOUR First Look

Our proofs are up! They've been up for a few days, so a lot of you probably saw them already, but I just thought I'd post a couple of my faves for the blog world. Hope you love them as much as I do! Happy Friday!

All pics below courtesy of our fabulous photographers,

Hughes Fioretti Photography.

My Pampie and Grandude walking me down the aisle

Super sweet shot of the groomsmen

(we had tiki torches lit - that's where the smokey look comes from!)

Us with MOB

Our first dance

And my absolute favorite?
This one, where my now FIL threw confetti over us after the ceremony!

Also, shamless plug here, for every 10 comments we get on our photographers' blog post about us, we get a free 8x10 print! Pretty please go and comment?? :) Thanks!

-C
xxx

Recap Time: Rehearsal Dinner Part I

I guess as most probably are, our rehearsal dinner was less rehearsal and more dinner. Truth be told, it was actually more karaoke and beer pong. That's right, there was beer pong at our rehearsal dinner, and it was impromptu.

Firstly I need to admit I broke a cardinal rule when planning any event you actually want people to attend - I didn't check a real calendar before picking a date. Long story short, we knew we were going to get married in September for work and visa reasons. Plus it's a pretty awesome month, weather wise (so many people I told we were getting married in September said what a great month it was to get married!). I opted to not go the "wedding on a holiday weekend route" (not because I don't agree with it, and not because I do, just wanted to avoid the issue altogether), so skipped labor day, didn't particularly want to get married on September 11th, so the 18th it was. I think the only "calendar" I looked at to pick the 18th was on my cell phone, hence no holidays or observances were looked at. May-ja mistake on my part.

Why is this relevant to the rehearsal dinner recap? Well, Tim and I had decided we wanted to ask my friend and boss, now called Minister Mol, to officiate at our wedding. I looked up all the information to make sure it was legal and all to get someone ordained on the internet to perform your ceremony in NJ (it is), had all the information ready to give her for it, and one day (before asking her) she just comes out and says "You didn't book your wedding on, like, a Jewish holiday or anything did you?" My jaw must've fallen to the floor. That's right folks, I just so happened to pick our wedding date on not just any Jewish holiday, but the biggest Jewish holiday - Yom Kippur. For those who don't know, there tend to be varying degrees of observance for Jewish holidays. Basically some people take the "rules" more seriously than others. Our officiant just so happens to fall under the "very jewish" category - so from sundown Friday (rehearsal dinner) to sundown Saturday (wedding) she was not supposed to drive, eat, drink, handle money... you get the picture.

So we had to have everyone get together and rehearse by sundown Friday - oh and did I mention due to travel issues and such , the groomsmen weren't able to get there until after 6, like maybe even closer to 6:30-6:45? Sundown was at 7 by the way. Needless to say, we ended up rehearsing for like 5 minutes right around 7. And it was a bit of a jumbled up mess. Honestly, I wasn't worried or bothered by it, though. It was a mess, that's for sure, but, I mean, I got married in my mom's backyard. There's no need for anything to be too formal. I'm so glad I did get married there because order and perfection were not necessary and, truth be told, the more giggles and less order there was seemed to make it more comfortable, charming, and casual. At least that's what I think! We all made it down the aisle in one piece, that's all that matters!

I have yet to see any pictures from the rehearsal, and there are very few from the rehearsal dinner as a whole (I have a sneaking suspicion Bridesmaid Lela's husband has some, but they're kind of a little bit busy right now!), so I apologize for the lack of visual stimulation in this post.

To be continued...

-C

xxx

Tip 'O The Week - You CAN Do It All By Yourself

via Google Images

But you probably shouldn't. Take all the help you can get. Don't be ashamed to ASK* for it, and don't be ashamed to TAKE it should it be offered. I have always been one for doing things on my own, especially when it comes to money. I hate taking "handouts" (if you will), so I'll admit that at first it was hard for me to take free help and services from friends and family. Then I realized, shoot, this isn't a handout. This is an offer, a gift, a present, and people actually might even be OFFENDED if I don't take it (I am not saying you have to take all offers. I realize some you may not want!). And most would be honored if you asked them to help, knowing they'd have a little role in making your wedding so perfect! Then I started to realize that having help offered to you wasn't a bad thing. At all. I also had Bridesmaid Amanda's wedding before mine so realized, basically, that that's what friends are for!

Shoot - would you rather pay for a ridiculously expensive cake, or have a family friend (WITH EXPERIENCE) do it for you when she offers? I chose door #2! And I loved my cake. Loved. Wouldn't have changed anything about it. Oh, and did I mention I basically just designed it myself and she made it happen? Even better!

(It could have been multiple layers, but we had homemade mini cheesecakes for everyone else for dessert so we opted for just one simple layer for our wedding cake.)

Besides lowering your stress level as a bride, it can also change the feel of the wedding. It's more of a - "Wow, all of my friends came together and did this FOR ME," bursting with pride sort of feel. It also makes you realize how loved you are and how good of friends you have. And, yeah, it also saves $$$. Just be prepared to pay it forward! I'm totally ready for that part. Like, itching out of my skin ready. I've said it before, I'll say it again - I love this sh1t.

-C

xxx

*Just a disclaimer - I'm talking about asking for reasonable things. Like, "Hey, friend, I know you have mad calligraphy skills. How would you feel about callig-ing my invitation envelopes for me as a wedding gift?"

Well Would Ya Look At That...

Remember Lela, my bridesmaid who was preggers? Some were skeptical, saying (others just thinking), "There's no way she's going to be able to make it to your wedding." I had to mentally prepare myself for her not being there as well. I knew she'd be there if she could, but you can't exactly control nature! And guess what - she made it, and TWO WEEKS to the day after my wedding, she had her baby! She wasn't due for another week or so, but low and behold... little baby Kirk joined the world this past Saturday. Congrats to her and hubby Brad!!

Everyone keeps commenting on how amazed they were by all that she did at both the wedding and bachelorette party. For the latter, she and I were like the last ones still dancing at the end of the night! Both she and Brad helped me out tremendously at the wedding. If she was experiencing any discomfort at all, she definitely didn't show it.

I know so many people who would have said they couldn't come because they wouldn't want to be on their feet that whole time, would be too tired... basically their excuse would be "I'm pregnant". But Lela never even thought twice. She was appalled that people thought she wouldn't be at my wedding. And she was - while 9+months pregnant!! She amazes me. I keep describing her as a nonpregnant woman in a pregnant woman's body (well, not any more!), because that's how she acts. She acts like her normal self, right down to dancing all night, just with a little human being in her tummy.

Brad, Lela, and baby Kirk the day of the wedding.

So welcome to the world, baby Kirk. Your momma's a trooper!

-C
xxx

PS Her MIL altered her bridesmaid dress and it looked awesome!