Wedding Photos

As it's on my summer to do list, I've finally gotten around to figuring out the whole wedding photo situation. Does it take everyone over a year to actually get around to ordering and displaying their wedding pictures? Because that's how long it seems to be taking me. But now, I'm ready, and it's happening. Here's what I'm thinking in terms of displaying the pictures!

I ordered two of these from ModCloth. I think it is a simple, clean, and stylish way to display a lot of photos, and as any of you married folks know, it's difficult deciding on just a few wedding photos to put up. I'm thinking of putting these side by side up above our couch in the living room, but the nifty thing is the photos could be exchanged and these could be used anywhere in the house and painted (I don't imagine we'll display 18 wedding photos for ever)! And, the price seems pretty good at $39 a piece.

I also found these frames from West Elm, and I absolutely love them. They are perfect with the gold and linen, but to order all the ones I want it would cost over 200$ (including shipping), so I'm holding off to see what is out there and look into doing a DIY replication of these. I've spray painted frames gold before (for the wedding!), so I may do that again for a cheaper alternative. 

We also have frames about here and there, and decor from the wedding that has transitioned to household display. I'm working on getting the house more decorated in general (taking advantage of army stuff not being everywhere), so I will surely show you what I get done by the end of the summer! :) 

- From the desk of Mrs. M

A Few Wedding Tips

I had a wonderful, great time at the wedding last June, and from what I hear it was a big hit with our friends and family, too. To be honest, it's amazing how much I don't particularly care about weddings anymore, and likely won't until my friend gets engaged (yes you, Tracy), but it was a huge part of my 2011 and 2012, and as we have yet to figure out what photos to order, I feel like we are still in the very final stages of the wedding process. Also, our two year anniversary is coming up in a few weeks! :) Here are my tips from one "bride" to the next.

- Stand up for what you want or don't want, like and don't like. I didn't like my hair but couldn't do anything about it when the time came. I still don't believe I looked great, which is unfortunate because that is one day I think you should feel like you look amazing. Do whatever you can to feel like your most spectacular, comfortable self; you don't want to look back and not like seeing pictures of yourself.

- Keep in mind that as hard as it is planning a wedding, maintaining a happy marriage is harder.

- This is one occasion in which I am OK employing the utilitarian perspective of "the greatest good for the greatest number."  You can't cater your wedding to everyone, so just do your best with what you know about your guests and resources.

- Surround yourself with positive people. Whether you've known your bridesmaid for a year or ten, choose ladies who will tell you you're pretty, make you laugh and not get upset when you get frustrated.

- Have good music and good booze, whatever that looks like for you :)

- If you want special moments, plan for them.

- Organize your travel to the location. We probably should have hired a limo or something.

- Be in the moment(s). Or in the words of Amy Poehler: "No one looks stupid when they're having fun."

- I suppose I should say to remember to eat and drink, but I didn't do that much and I was fine. I should probably also say get some sleep the week leading up to the wedding, but I didn't do that either.

- Take some time to yourself the morning of, if you can, to casually check over things yourself, alone, and have some peace and quiet before the storm. I went out to the farm really early in the morning; it was cool and the goat came to visit me. It is a good opportunity to run through your check list without distraction.

- Pick vendors you can trust, and then trust them.

- Do something nice for someone else. The wedding was on the same day as my bridesmaid Abigail's birthday, so we surprised her with a cake and we all sang Happy Birthday. At my friend Kendall's wedding, she arranged for a special "first dance" for her brother and sister-in-law; who were not able to have a wedding when he got out of the Army. Your marriage is all about you and your husband, but the wedding is not (don't believe it when you hear it is, you will just be disappointed), and it feels good to shout out to others on your big day.

Huh, when I started this I only had one tip in mind, and then look what happened. Take them or leave them! Most of all, have a happy wedding!
- From the desk of Mrs. M

The Unusual Ceremony

It's been a little while since my last wedding post, and I think this will be the last. Unless I do a post on all the vendors and shops I used, I think I've pretty much covered everything. So- the ceremony! What do you do when you're already married, not religious or tied to any particular traditions, and want to have some sort of ceremony before your reception? Well, here's what I came up with. We took a casual and fun approach. We thought it would be a good idea to have some sort of ceremony, because it is a significant occasion and we wanted the meaning of why we were all getting together to be known, something I thought might be lost if we just had a big party. We had the bridesmaids and groomsmen walk down the aisle, followed by Kyle and I, ending at a simple ribbon backdrop. Then, we just had each bridesmaid and groomsmen share a story or ramble for a few minutes each, leading up to Kyle and I renewing our vows, of sorts. It was really awesome. There was a lot of laughter, some tears, and all around it was very sweet. We didn't now what everyone was going to say, so it was a surprise for everyone. This was a really fun, interactive, and personalized way to have a non-traditional ceremony of sorts! I thought it might be super awkward and not flow, but it really quite naturally! Our guests expressed that they really liked it, and I liked that everyone got to know the wedding party a bit, too, as well as their relationship to Kyle and I.  I only wish we had copies of what everyone said, or a video recording. Whoops!

Jr. Bridesmaids preparing to hand out programs to guests!

sweet cousin Sheridyn

my brother John and our cousin Edin

my brother Isaac and our cousin Vienna/ Christy, Toby and Tracy (Pitt crew!)

Brandon and Abigail/ Kyle's brother Sean and Emma

Kyle's brother Bryan and my sister Erica

My sister served as master of ceremonies, of sorts, and kicked things off, explaining what was happening.

tears! aw

Also- look at how green it was! Oh, Pennsylvania.
All photos by Jana Scott Photography.

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Wedding Surprises

Here's a look at some of the fun surprises we had at the wedding!

Ice Cream Truck-  What is better in the summer than surprise cold treats, delivered straight to you? Hardly anything. I thought it would be amazing to have an ice cream truck roll up during the party, and that's what happened! The Funky Freezer came, playing music, and stayed for cocktail hour.Guests could select any treat they wanted. Kyle and I went up first and got some flavored ice, which I proceeded to open and set down on a fence and never ate (photo time!), but I think the guests enjoyed it! The truck also made for some fun photos!

Bagpipes- I had no idea what sort of music we should have for the ceremony start and end, and I can't remember where the bagpipes idea came from, but my mom found a local professional to play for us! I don't think I saw or spoke to this guy on the actual day, but the bagpipes really added a lot as guests arrived and with the ceremony. (My husband is part Scottish. I mean- McPherson).

Caricature- I've mentioned this before, but I just love the caricature idea. It's such a great souvenir that guests can take with them, and it was a lot of fun to see guests' caricatures through the evening! :) You can see another post all about the caricatures here.

Cornhole- We had cornhole to entertain our guests during cocktail hour. I was oblivious to most of the going-ons of cocktail hour, as we were taking family/wedding party photos at that time, but I wanted to make sure there were some activities to entertain the guests (ice cream truck, cornhole, food, drinks, good company). Our photographer got some great shots of people playing.

Candy & Dessert Bar- I didn't want to just have one dessert option for guests, so we had a whole bunch instead! I set up a candy bar, using large glass jars, some milk glass vases I found on Etsy, and some burlap wrapped vases. I easily decorated some paper bags, decorated the table, and it was set! Aside from our amazing wedding cake, we had a fruit tart, chocolate cake, and carrot cake from Wegmans, to offer some variety. I think guests really enjoyed snacking on the candy through the evening.

Abigail's Birthday- The day of the festivities also happened to be my bridesmaid Abigail's birthday! So we surprised her with a cake (her favorite- red velvet, made by the same lady who made the wedding cake) and a round of "Happy Birthday." She was completely surprised, and it was awesome!

Fireworks- on the drive up to PA we stopped at a place in Tennessee and Kyle picked up some fireworks to set off at the end of the night!

All photos by Jana Scott Photography.

- From the desk of Mrs. M