Well kids… the day finally came, and this MOH is STILL recovering from the biggest party EVER. Most of you know that my ginger haired bestie got engaged, was showered upon, bacheloretted, and finally… got married a few weeks ago, and when I tell you it was the most amazing day, and THE most amazing wedding I have ever been to… that’s saying something.

Every single detail from the signature drink (The Madison- Sweet tea vodka and lemonade named after the couple’s precious pup, and their college alma mater) to the table linens, the flower arrangements, and her custom dress, were absolutely perfect, and perfectly unique to the bride and groom… just the way it should be. So enough of this chit chat… how about some eye candy.

Let’s start with the Rehearsal Dinner. This ginger bride wanted to give her Rehearsal Dinner a quick shot of Maryland charm. Navy blue linens, hammered steel centerpieces filled (personally by yours truly) with peonies and snap dragons. But here’s the best part, every place setting had their very own champagne splits (that’s a half bottle for you asking in your head what the hell a split is). So yes, champagne splits, wrapped in plastic with their very own red and white striped straw, and DIY tissue poms to tie it altogether. AMAZING. Good work on those  Liz, Jaime and Megs. And to top it all off… cookies in the shapes of crabs. Obviously.

Seriously… this is just the rehearsal.

And now… onto the main event.

WEDDING DAY!

The boys went shooting, and put together a bicycle, which was a much needed part of reception decor along with an antique window pane that this ginger bride painted the menu on, (6 hours later) monogrammed welcome bags for guests, vintage mason jars for signature drinks, vintage boating oars for guests to sign, and a DIY seating chart that’s way cooler than yours. Obviously while the men were off at the shooting range, and we were gettin’ pretty… and putting together flower arrangements in what else… mason jars.

and flowers, flowers and more flowers.

there was the getting ready part…

the getting dressed part…

And of course… the wedding part.

Groomsmen with matching socks…

And bridesmaids with cocktails…

Amazing.

There was also a cigar bar ( a surprise for the groom from the bride), DIY ribbon sticks for guests to wave after the ceremony was over, a bagpiper to lead them out, a cupcake truck, and a whole lot of dancing.

DIY Seating Chart

DIY Ribbon Sticks & Monogrammed Program Fans

This will have to do for now… But don’t worry, there’s more to come  from Rodney and the team at Aesthetic Life Studio.

I can’t even begin to explain how excited I am to share this BEAUTIFUL wedding with you all! I wish I could show you all the photos from this wedding, but instead, you get just the snapshot best of the best from the super talented Becky Hill. Caitlin is one of my most wonderful friends, and one of the most beautiful brides I have ever seen. And I’m not just saying that. You’ll see.

Seriously.

Right? And how about those bridesmaids… and the flowers!

I mean… beautiful. And even cuter together.

Seriously how cute are they?

It was a beautiful summer wedding, with clean, simple, classic decor to match.

And cake. There always must be cake.

Vendor Info:
Photography: Becky Hill
Dress: Pronovias
Bridesmaid dresses: Coren Moore
Men’s tuxes: Men’s Wearhouse
Venues: Sacred Heart Catholic Church (Winnetka, IL) and Chicago Botanic Gardens
Caterer: Calihan Catering

So I used to be pretty wholly against this idea. I’m a traditionalist and for a very long time my notion that the groom should see the bride for the first time as she makes her way down the aisle was pretty set in stone. The groom in no way shape or form should see his bride before that sacred moment. But times they are a changin’… and so are my views on this. Mostly, I blame all of the amazing photographers who have documented this in the last year or so. There’s something magical in that very first look. A moment between only two people without all of the eyes of a roomful of guests. A moment that’s yours and yours alone. That moment where the bride just reaches out and touches her groom’s shoulder and he turns around…

It’s magic.
See for yourself…

Laura and Mark’s first look…

Photo Courtesy of Randi Voss

Photo Courtesy of Randi Voss

Photo Courtesy of Randi Voss

Alison and Paul…

Photo Courtesy of Randi Voss

Photo courtesy of Randi Voss

Jessi & Benjamin…

Photo Courtesy of Randi Voss

Photo Courtesy of Randi Voss

What do you think?

It’s a wrap. Chris and Jill’s beautiful wedding day arrived with fanfare, friends and was…  simply fabulous. This is the way that weddings should be. Simple, unique to you, with all the wonderful details that make it the most memorable of days. Much, much more to come on this wonderful lakeside wedding. Here’s just a little bit to check out in the meantime…

Yes… there are more.  I just couldn’t narrow them down. They’re just too beautiful. Here are some more FABULOUS photos from Rocco & Larah’s San Juan del Sur Nicaragua, wedding reception from Cindy Johnson! 

From the lovely bride…“Eventually we all went down to the restaurant for the reception, which featured seafood pasta, beef tenderloin, and grilled mahi-mahi.  We heard great speeches over both a champagne and tequila toast.”

From the bride…“Then it was time for dancing!  I danced with my father to Guns N Roses Sweet Child Of Mine.  We topped off the night with non-stop dancing until finally I donned a white bikini, stripped down the groom, and most of the wedding party found themselves in the pool. 

“Overall, the wedding was a complete fairy-tale for us and our guests.  We were skeptical about a destination wedding in a developing country, but in the end we could never have done better in the US.  It was more magical and the staff at the resort did a better job than we ever imagined.  I would do it again in a heartbeat, and feel that our entire wedding was one of the highlight of my life so far!”

Thank you again to Cindy Johnson for her AMAZING Photos! To check out more of her beautiful work check out her website!

Here are some more beautiful photos from Rocco & Larah’s San Juan del Sur Nicaragua paradise wedding, courtesy of the very talented Cindy Johnson! 

From the beautiful bride… “At 5:00, it was time for the sunset ceremony on a deck overlooking the bay.  Our close mutual friends married us in a beautiful ceremony and then we all posed for group pictures as a guitar and violin duo serenaded us.  This was followed by cocktails as night fell.”

This Real Wedding was sent to me from fabulous wedding photographer Cindy Johnson!   These are just some of the amazing photos from Rocco and Larah’s beautiful paradise wedding in San Juan, del Sur Nicaragua. Cindy also did up a killer video that I’m going to share with you too!

Rocco and Larah met in optometry school. So cute. While they were there, they took several trips to Nicaragua together for medical missions. Once they got engaged, they decided to return to the resort where they had spent so much time in the past, to get married!

From the lovely bride… “Our wedding in San Juan del Sur Nicaragua was hailed by most guests as truly the “best wedding ever.”  One guest even commented that it seemed as though we were all in a movie. The week of  February 14,  71 guests, including ourselves traveled to a small fishing town in Southwest Nicaragua, near the Costa Rican border.  Most of us stayed at Piedras y Olas Resort, one of nicest resorts in the entire country.  The resort features private villas built into a hill, overlooking the entire town and the bay.”

From the bride… “The festivities began with a welcome dinner at a local restaurant on the beach on Friday night. On Saturday morning I hosted a spa luncheon and both mothers,  my sister in-laws and matron of honor had fun getting mani/pedis and our hair done while sipping mimosas. In the afternoon, Rocco and I spent an hour on the beach with our photographer taking fun photos on the beach and in the local streets.”

More photo’s to come!

After seeing their photos, I had to feature Anthony and Emily’s beautifully, whimsical Nashville wedding! The attention to detail is impeccable and Michael Howard’s photos are incredible. See for yourself.

These are the first pictures from photographer Christopher Record, the photographer from Steph & George’s wedding.  They are featured on his blog Foto Record. He’s in the blogroll now under photographers, and if you happen to live in the Davidson, NC area….I highly recommend this wonderful photographer. You’ll see for yourself but the pictures from “THE BEST WEDDING EVER” are just incredible. And these are just a few!
Enjoy! Thanks again Chris!

That’s what I told my friend Stephanie who married my friend George this past weekend at one of the most wonderful, beautiful, loving, perfect Carolina weddings I have ever witnessed.

This post is going to be a bit more unconventional, in that I’m going to let you all in on a more personal part of my world instead of critiquing and revealing the planning and the details. There’s a little bit of that here, but mostly it’s just me saying how happy I am that I was able to travel to North Carolina to see two of my favorite people get married with the most important people in their lives in attendance.

To be honest, I have never really been around in the days leading up to a wedding unless I was working or planning it. You’re not nearly as emotionally invested as you are when it’s your best friends trying to make everything perfect in time for the rehearsal dinner. I have to say it was a very stressful and chaotic experience for everyone involved (Not me, I just showed up and observed the chaos… by that time there was nothing left for me to do but watch). But people don’t do things like that if they don’t love you, and these two had a whole lot of love in the air and a whole lot of help too.

I don’t know anyone else in the world who could have dealt with the last minute stress that developed along with some very uncooperative weather as well. Plus, as long as I have known George, being prompt has never really been his strong suite. But there were other factors, and they dealt with everything so calmly that it made my head start to spin a little.

The reason this was one of the most wonderful weddings I’ve ever been to because it was so authentic and wonderful. These two have been dating for something over 6 years now. Steph you can correct me if I’m wrong… because to me it seems like you have always been together.

The bridal luncheon was so sweet, and very new for me- a southern soul stuck in a Yankee upbringing. I had never been to a bridal luncheon- different from the shower and bachelorette- where the bride thanks all those women close to her who helped in planning and participating in the wedding day. We had the beautiful back courtyard at Toast Cafe in Davidson, NC to ourselves where we laughed and cried and exchanged gifts before getting back to the craziness of the day. I think it was a much needed break for everyone.

Later that night a rehearsal dinner was given at the Harbor Club in Davidson, NC which was wonderful and full of laughter, reminiscing and speech after speech from friends and family toasting the bride and groom-to-be. I am a crier. I’m not afraid to say it, and I was waterworks that night, all night. Of course it didn’t help that a friend of ours who lives in Japan flew in and surprised the groom. Stephanie and a few others knew all about it, but I was conveniently kept in the dark, and therefore proceeded to cry in public for the next 20 minutes. Awesome. Thanks guys.

There was drinking and dancing later and it was just so wonderful to be in the company of my favorite people in the world.

The wedding was beautiful. George was literally giddy. He had the goofiest smile on his face as Steph walked down the aisle and she was actually bouncing down the aisle, she was so excited.

The brunch on Sunday was fantastic and a wonderful way to say goodbye to the huge amount of family and friends that were in town. Plus who doesn’t love to have a little helping of cheese grits before hopping on a plane back to LaGuardia…

A little rain never hurt anyone, and despite the very wet conditions at the reception, everyone made the best of it, and by the middle of dinner the sky cleared, the stars and lightning bugs came out, and it was the perfect Carolina night. Here are some highlights I’d like to share.

1. No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem -It started with people loosing their shoes early in the night and by midnight, three groomsmen lost their shirts to the theme of New York, New York. What’s a little wedding strip show? Only in the south. Or maybe in Maine… I have a funny feeling we might see a repeat of this in July…

2. Make It Rain - Yes, the dance floor was wet, there were buckets catching water at every corner of the outdoor tents, the hanging lanterns were full of water and the poor place cards were covered with garbage bags in an effort to stay dry. But no one seemed to notice. We just ditched our shoes and walked around barefoot, ordering Blue Moons from the bar and eating Grit cakes waiting for the rain to stop. And when the bride and groom were announced they came strutting in under a huge black umbrella. How cute is that?

3. Don’t Stop Believin‘- When the dj makes a mistake and plays Don’t Stop Believing by Journey instead of the song you picked out to dance with your mama to…just improvise. This was incredible. Steph danced to My Girl with her dad, and then George and his mom took the floor to some serious hootin’ and hollerin’ from the tent perimeter. By the end of the song everyone was out on the dance floor fist pumping to Journey. How great is that? It was seriously the best thing ever. Let’s get this party started!

4. Best Man speeches are really important ( And it will probably never be as good as this one)- Why not go out of the box a bit? Regular speeches are boring. My best friend, and george’s best man made the best man speech of the year. In this toast/roast to George he literally hit on everything we love about George in the most hilarious way possible. In song… I apologize for the side video…tilt your head. It won’t kill you.

5. Other Treats- The cake was visually beautiful and delicious. There was an ice cream sundae bar with do it yourself toppings, amazing appetizers traditional to the south, a delicious dinner buffet with roasted vegetables and chicken cakes and salmon and sides that just kept coming. The flowers were absolutely incredible and the pictures do not do them justice.

In short, this was the best wedding I’ve ever been to because of how much I love George & Steph and it was an incredible treat for me to be able to participate and attend in this wonderful wedding with my incredible family of friends. I am so blessed by having the unique privilege of having an incredible extended family of friends who have been, and will continue to be a major part of my life, by letting me be a part of there’s. Cheers to you guys. I love you!