2 years ago

2 years ago, we threw a pretty epic party. 2 years later, we are still as crazy as ever. Happy anniversary to us!

Btdubs, Kim Kardashian, our party was better than yours. *neener-neener*

Boston Wedding Films

(Click on the image and you will be redirected to our wedding video. The password is BWF.)


*Previously blogged about here

The Knot and other wedding write ups

I've been dragging my feet about adding a page that links to our wedding. The plan was to create the page when I started posting about the details of our wedding. But as you know, it's been over a year and there is still no signs of recaps. 

My new goal is to complete the recaps in 2013. I want to do it for us. So that we can remember our thoughts and feelings and also the reactions of our family and friends. My memory isn't so great these days and is only fading as time goes on. So, I definitely need to get on it. Huh, that reminds me, I need to get crack-a-lackin' on picking out photos for our wedding album; HA!

So while I've been dragging my feet, other people have done an amazing job sharing our wedding. Folks like our awesome wedding planner, our amazeballs photographer, AND The Knot! That's right, we are in The Knot Boston magazine (spring/summer 2013 edition)!!! Can you believe it? Hop over to the new page and check it out.

June 2012

I probably say this every time, but seriously, how on earth is it mid July already?!?!?!?!

June was another whirlwind of a month. I kick started it with a little International travel/partying. OK, so Canada isn't the most exotic place to visit, but I had a blast during a joint bachelor/bachelorette weekend extravaganza in Montreal. It was fun hanging out and getting to know the wedding party, trying poutine, searching for the bars, and exploring the train museum. Oh yea, there's a pretty epic train museum just outside of the city.

Counter-clockwise from top left: Group deciding on what to do next, Smoked meat on a salad (I managed to stick to my dairy free and gluten free diet the entire weekend), Train ride in the train museum, 950 ml of beer.

I'm still not sure why they received straws in their beers.

September couldn't come around soon enough. I was planning to bring my mom's old sewing machine back with me, but I'm not sure if I could do it logistically. I got ansy and bought my own. Thank you Craigslist and a sweet quilter on the North Shore for fueling my need for instant gratification. Within 48 hours of obtaining Bessy (that's right, I named my machine),  I started my first quilt. I should probably finish that.

I will call her Bessy.

We hosted a joint Bday party for Jake and our good friend A. A was a few weeks out from his wedding, and I figured it would be one less thing for C, the fiance, to stress out about, I put something together quickly. It was meant to just be friends, games, and food. By the time I pulled all the random party stuff out of the closet and had collected mylar balloons from work, we had a fully decorated party.

There were two different games going.

I went home with 18 balloons! Free!

I FINALLY got my lazy ass to sit down and design post wedding thank you cards. I'll show them to you in another post, some day.



Done and ready to be mailed.

Last but not least, I rounded the month out with a jack-and-jill baby shower for our friends E and G. They are expecting a baby boy! The parents-to-be surprised everyone with gender reveal cupcakes made by me. I've said it time and time again, I am truly blessed to have such amazing people trust and share these milestones with me. I have to tell you about the onsie painting party that took place during the shower. I can't even begin to tell you how much fun it was. People are crazy creative when given the opportunity. I wish I had taken pictures of the other onsies. 

Cupcake onsie designed and painted by moi!

**All photos taken by me via Instagram or dSLR.

What happened in Vegas, never happened

We have all heard the saying "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." But, a wise cabbie told me, "What happens in Vegas, never happened." So I guess I have nothing to share with you. KIDDING. In fact, there are a couple of mini adventures that I experienced during my epic bachelorette weekend last June that I want to share with you.

My friend C and I went out a day early. Being that we are a) on East coast time and b) early risers, we though thtat an extra day would help get us acclimated before the rest of the girls (mostly West coasters) joined us. [Random side story - the b-party was originally planned for early May to coincide with celebrating not only my 30th, but my maid of honors 30th as well.] Jake made good use of the timing and schemed to arrange my surprise birthday present.

Jake mentioned that he had gotten me a birthday present, but that I could not have it until I was in Vegas. I had no idea what it was. In fact, so much time had passed that I had completely forgotten about it. I had more exciting things in the forefront of my brain, like my first trip to Las Vegas!

Working in cahoots with C and our hotel (Aria), they schemed and kept it all under wraps. C even tried to keep it completely secret until we arrived at our destination.

We were picked up in a limo. Both of us were oddly confused and caught off guard by it. So much so that I did not even notice the sign on the front windshield. The driver mentioned that we had 2 stops to make first. I still had no idea what we were doing...until a few minutes later. We pulled up to another hotel and scooched over to another part of the limo. That's when I caught the sign in the window, "Sundance Helicopters."

WHOOOHOOO we are getting a helicopter ride! Not just any helicopter ride, a ride at sunset over the strip.

You haven't seen Vegas until......you have seen it from a helicopter!

A second adventure I want to share with you is of when I decided to take a photo walk of the strip...at 5 or 6AM! I was amped up after dancing all night and into the early morning. After getting back to the hotel, I decided it would be more fun to take pictures than to sleep. This is probably not one of my brightest moments (especially since I was sick the entire week after), but I have great pictures to show for it.

Sunrise over the strip...look how quiet it is.

Random dude that jumped into my shot. His name was David Nakamura.

Drunk guys who wanted me to chest bump one of them.
I declined, but offered to take pictures of them doing it.
I never did send them the stop motion video of the drunken chest bump.

My try at street photography. I later ran into this guy on the other side
of the strip and we proceeded to talk cameras for a good 15-20 minutes.

Deserted...everyone must be sleeping.

This was my first trip to Vegas. I had a fantastic time and will always treasure the memories and antics we had.


We stayed at:

 • Aria Resort and Casino

Bubbles wall display - Aria

We ate at:

 • Jean Philippe Patisserie - Aria
 • Strip Burger

 • Café Vettro - Aria

 • Social House - CityCenter (O.M.G. incredible sushi)

 • Mon Ami Gabi

 • Wicked Spoon - The Cosmopolitan

 • The Buffet Restaurant - Wynn

Opera Cake - Jean Philippe Patisserie

Red Champagne (hibiscus flower) - Social House

Blueberry French Toast - Mon Ami Gabi

We partied at:

 • Haze Nighclub (eh, not so great, but the girls saw one of the Celtics players while we were there)

 • XS Nighclub (AWESOME, go there. You can dance while standing ankle deep in the pool.)
 • Unmentioned - ask privately and I will tell you ☺

We saw:
 • Sundance Helicopter Tours
 • Hoover Dam


*All photos are personal photos*
**Note to self, post pictures to FB with captions and blog about those photos later**

White Dress: The One!

I had tried on some 27 dresses (oooh I fit in a movie reference!) and I was feeling pretty confident about my original pick, Maeve. On a last whim, in late May, I checked my favorite designer's website one last time. What would you know, Pronovias had just launched their 2011 line. I'm not lying when I say that, because the new collection was not there the week before. I may or may not have been an avid visitor to their site.

Anyways, Farnes from the 2011 Fashion collection took my breathe away. She really did. I gasped outloud at my desk, good thing no one was around or paying attention. I can't remember which came first, I either immediately started sending out pictures of Farnes to my bridesmaids and members of the wedding club, or I started looking for bridal salons that had it in their store. Seriously, this dress and I were just meant to be. The bridal salon down the street from me had just gotten it in the week I called! 

People say you just know when you find your dress. It's true! I didn't have tears streaming down my face, like the women on SYTTD. I was a little shaky, flushed, and smiled from ear to ear. It was it!

The big drama: The store offers 10% off if you order withing 24 hours of your first visit. I didn't have the guts to pull the trigger right then and there. I used the excuse that I needed to talk to my mom and wedding planner, first. I called back later that day and asked if I could have more time, the consultant agreed. I went out of town for a bit and the next appointment I could get was 2 weeks later. Guess what? The consultant had magically dissappeared by then and didn't mention to anyone that she gave me an extension.

These are actually photos from my second appointment.
They were the only salon that didn't allow photos unless you were purchasing a gown.

Yeah...so the train wasn't that much shorter. My seamstress was only able to
shorten the hem in the front because of the zipper placement in the back.

Now that I think about it, I don't know if my photography got a shot of the flowers on the shoulder strap.

I LOVE my dress. Farnes hangs from my closet door. I check on her from time to time. I just want to make sure she's doing alright. Although, I probably should look into getting her cleaned. I've been avoiding it because I'm afraid the "petals" will fray. They had already started a little bit.

Previously:

White Dress: The Search Begins

White Dress: The Search, part 2

White Dress: The Search, part 3

White Dress: The Search, part 3

I picked this third shop because they carried many dresses from the Watters collection. The following images are all screen captures from my presentations. I may add some additional commentary in the captions or at the end, but we'll stick with what was written at the time for the most part.

*Stock model photos are from Watters. All photos of me taken by the fabulous Natalie.*

Previously:

White Dress: The Search Begins
White Dress: The Search, part 2

White Dress: The Search, part 2

Part 2 takes us to Vows Bridal Outlet. The following images are all screen captures from my presentations. I may add some additional commentary in the captions or at the end, but we'll stick with what was written at the time for the most part.

Model photo from what used to be Priscilla of Boston.

I think the middle photos are from Vows.

Model photo found via Google, and most likely originally from Pronovias.

I was smittened with the Ulla. It was so modern and flowy. But I came to the sad realization that by the time the dressed was hemmed to my height, it would lose all the details that make it what it is.

*All photos of me taken by the fabulous Natalie.*

Previously:

White Dress: The Search Begins

White Dress: The Search Begins

*Alright, let's get these recaps started [and consistently posted]*

So you remember how the members of the bridal party and our family are scattered across the country? I wanted to find a way for them to be involved in the process of finding my wedding dress. I recruited our groomswoman, Natalie, to be my right hand woman. She blew me away with her awesome photography and note taking skills. I was able to take all the documentation and put together PowerPoint presentations. That's right, I made PowerPoint slides for wedding stuff. Hey, don't knock it. It was a great way to summarize and share things. 

The following images are all screen captures from my presentations. I may add some additional commentary in the captions or at the end, but we'll stick with what was written at the time for the most part. First stop, Priscilla of Boston. It's a shame they closed shop.

Look familiar? It's our friend, Victoria's dress!

Sorry Val!

I fell in love (I mean IN.LOVE) with this dress long before I tried it on.
I was pretty sure it was it, but wasn't willing to pull the trigger since it was
a) the very first dress I tried on, and b) I wanted to see what else was out there.
Also...this dress started popping up EVERYWHERE in the wedding blogosphere at the time.

*All model photos taken from what used to be the Priscilla of Boston website. All other photos taken by Natalie.*