Let the Professionals Handle It

If you haven't already checked them out, the professional photos are posted online!
http://www.pictage.com/350348
The event key is 4863.

We will get digital copies in the next week or so. Let us know if you want copies of certain photos! Also, thanks to everyone who sent their photos of the wedding, it's great to have so many memories in print. Hopefully soon we will have the wedding video as well. I am busy making a wedding scrapbook (I'll post some photos eventually) to help us remember our perfect day!

Rehearsal Dinner

Our rehearsal dinner was held on the eve of our our wedding at the Colonial Inn in Concord. We decided to fore go the actual rehearsal (and I think the ceremony went to plan regardless). It was a relaxing evening and a wonderful way to introduce our families to one another. Everyone wore nametags (except John and I) and by the end of the night, a certain table decided to switch around everyone's name tag! It was also especially gratifying to watch our wedding party and parents open the gifts we had chosen for them as a thank you for helping out with our wedding day. Here is a glimpse at the evening...

At the North Bridge

Before heading to the rehearsal dinner, we stopped at the North Bridge to see a piece of American history and take a few family photos.

I'm amazed that my brother doesn't have a goofy look on his face!

I look so short! Maybe we should have switched shoes....

A beautiful leaf my grandmother found. Amazing fall colors.

Salem on a Broomstick

The bridal party took shelter in Salem, MA. While touring the city, we were:

Bewitched by Samantha on her broomstick....


Overwhelmed with choices at the Boston Hot Dog Company (even a vegan option!)...



In awe of the early fall colors (can't see this in Texas)...


And a bit spooked by the Salem Ghost Tour. Do you see the spirits in this photo?

Flower Power

Come On In

Take a peek at the entry tables from the wedding. They were decorated with green fabric squares, soy candles, scattered orange orchids, rectangular vases filled with river stones and green cymbidium orchids, handmade signs, organic chocolate bars, as well as photos showing some of the places that John and I have visited together. I enjoyed reading everyone's comments in our guest book!

The Toss and a Bet

Here's John taking off my "garter" (actually an anklet that his sister made) for the traditional garter toss. Earlier in the evening, John and I stopped to chat at the table with all of his (and now mine, oh my!) nieces and nephews. He asked them to place their bets on which one of them would get married first. I believe he offered $500 to whoever guessed correctly. He scribbled their guesses on the back of one of our wedding coloring books that the younger kids were drawing in. In the end, the most votes went to Dillon, then Nick, then Melissa and Colby where next. I don't think I got a vote in!

Anyhow, you can see all excitement below in the garter tossing, especially those older guys! Nick ending up with the lucky catch.

No photos of the bouquet toss (not sure our photographer got any either!), Maybe I overthrew it a little, but the bouquet ended up on the floor between my sister and Melissa, with the later finally hesistating to pick it up. C'mon ladies, marriage ain't that bad!

Before and After

I am not really a do your hair and makeup everyday type of person. I usually show up at work with wet hair. But getting married is one of those special occasions where you want to look.... well, special. The top picture is before hair and makeup. Can you see the improvements in the bottom picture? Maybe that's because I was half asleep for the first, but I think all that teasing, hairspray, blush, and mascara may have helped too.

Bridesmaids

My sister, Jennifer, was my maid of honor and my longtime friend Susan was my other bridesmaid. Both flew to Boston from the west coast, they win for traveling the furthest. I actually let them pick out their dresses (just had to be black), how cool of a bride am I? :-) The green bows tie in with the flowers and they are also both wearing necklaces with various green stones that match mine. I enjoyed hanging out with both of them over the weekend and will always remember our time together.

Cake for Later

I was so excited to take home the top layer of our wedding cake! It was different from the two flavors that were served at the wedding. This one is a marble cake with chocolate frosting. Here is it after the plane ride home, I think it held up pretty well (except the vegan "buttercream" roses on top).

So in following with tradition, I decided to freeze half the cake. Not that it's going to make it to our one year anniversary (I was thinking 1,3, and 6 months). I googled instructions on how to freeze wedding cake. First I cut the cake, one 1/4 cake slice and two 1/8 cake slices. Then I put these in the freezer in a tupperware for about four hours to allow the frosting to set.


Then I removed the slices from the freezer and double wrapped them in plastic wrap, put them back in the tupperware, and made some room in the freezer.


I actually just finished the last slice of non-frozen cake last night. It was a bit stale, but the frosting still rocked. Let us know if you want to come by for some wedding cake and we'll get it defrosting for you!

Making it Official

Here we are with our Justice of the Peace, Carol Merletti. The ceremony went perfectly, just how I had imagined it. Once we get the professional photos of the ceremony, I'll post our vows and the other special moments of the ceremony, such as our moment of reflection and readings given by John's sister. We got our official certificate of marriage in the mail yesterday, so now it's time to get busy changing my name. Very weird (but nice) signing it for the first time!

The Wedding Party

Two bridesmaids, two groomsmen, two junior bridesmaids, and one usher. Each of them played a vital role in the ceremony and this whole wedding process. My bridesmaids helped calm me down when my nerves kicked in at the last minute (and I was doing so well!), made sure I was wasn't shiny and had plenty of lip gloss, held my bouquet when I took John's hands, and ran around to zillions of places when I couldn't be seen before the ceremony. The groomsmen got John to Misselwood on time, helped him set up all the speakers, kept track of our rings, and probably teased John a bit :-) My junior bridesmaids spread lots of orange rose petals down the aisle, entertained the crowds with their Russian dance, and handed out blow horns that produced a rather deafening noise. And our usher rounded up the crowds to get them in their seats, played mc and dj, and of course, had a good ole time on the dance floor. Thanks to all of you!

Mmmm, Chocolate

Here is the display of our wedding favors, chocolate bars! There were three different varieties of Endangered Species bars, including dark chocolate with cherries, dark chocolate with tangerine, and dark chocolate with blueberries. Each was wrapped in a different patterned green paper. On the back was a reminder of our other wedding gift honoring our guests, adopting Petunia. Adorable embossed pig stamps added the extra touch.

The MC

My brother Brian served as our usher, MC, DJ, and belly-flopping dance extraordinaire at our wedding. Here he is making an announcement during the reception. He kept the tunes coming from my pre-set iPod playlist (thanks to all those who left suggestions!). Thanks for the entertainment, B!