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!

Escaping During Sunset

Our photographer grabbed us after dinner to take some photos with the amazing sunset as the backdrop. Afterwards, we escaped over to the site of the ceremony for a few moments and wandered the grounds together. I picked up a beautiful leaf that had changed color from the ground and a few of the orange rose petals that were thrown on the ground before I walked down the aisle to marry John. Of course, I think I lost them sometime over the course of the evening. But, it was a nice, quiet moment for John and I during the reception.

Mother Son Dance

John's second dance of the evening, with his mom. I had actually promised him that I would drag my brother or his dad out on the dancefloor half way through the song so he wouldn't have to be the center of attention for that long. But I was chatting with my mom and lost track of time, before I knew it the song was over! It turned out fine though, it looks like they were having a good time out there dancing to "At Last" by Etta James. How sweet!

Wedding Food

Our caterer (from Celebrations Gourmet) came up to John and I during the reception and congratulated us for being one of the few couples she has seen actually sit down and eat dinner! I even went back for seconds, but unfortunately never got around to eating them that night. But how could we pass up all that yummy food? I was especially impressed that the waiters brought over hor d'oeuvres for us while we were taking pictures. I tasted the veggie sushi (my fave), samosas, and falafel but missed the spring rolls. The salad course was mixed greens with sauteed apples, dried cranberries, toasted pumpkin seeds, and a harvest vinaigrette. Here is the one picture I actually took during the reception, my dinner plate:



A piece of the Wild Mushroom Tart with shitake, crimini, and oyster mushrooms (many people liked this one)....



Roasted asparagus....



And roasted sweet potato wedges....



For dessert we had a fruit display (I missed out on this as well, too busy dancing I guess!)....



And of course cake! Funny, I know I had a piece of cake that night, but I honestly can't remember if it was the chocolate or pumpkin. Doesn't matter I guess, I loved them both!

There were plenty of leftovers at the end of the evening. Our caterer sent home lots of food with the Mariano's and packed us a lunch for the next day (which we ate on the plane ride home). Plus, we got to take home the top layer of our cake. More on what we did with that in another post!

Mother of the Bride

There is no way I could have gotten this wedding together in such a short amount of time if it wasn't for my mom. She was there the whole way; helping me look for a dress, picking out paper for the programs, arranging details with the musicians, designing the cover for the candy bars, and basically staying on top of every detail! She found her dress while we were visiting the Boston area back in July, not far from Misselwood in Beverly Farms. I think it looks beautiful on her. Her jewelry also matches mine. I know that on Sunday she was running around taking care of so many things I didn't even know about. If there were any disasters, I sure didn't realize it! Can't thank you enough mom....

Dancing with my Dad

For the traditional father-daughter dance, my dad led me on the dancefloor to the tune of "Daughters" by John Mayer. During the song, he talked to me about how happy he was for John and I. He also mentioned that one of the readings during the ceremony was important to keep in mind; love changes, it is not always the same. It was a special moment to share with him. When we were getting ready to walk down the aisle together, he helped calm me down and keep me focused. Just as we were about to walk out, a beautiful butterfly flew by, surely a good sign :-)

Raise Your Glasses

Here we are looking a little serious, I think we were both at a loss for words! My dad, John's brother Tony, and my sister Jennifer all gave very memorable toasts that we will always remember. My dad thanked everyone for coming and especially to those whoe traveled, reminesced about my passions growing up, and welcomed John into our family. Tony welcomed me to the Mariano family, spoke of the end of an era, and said that good things come to those who wait. And my sister used words like choices and compromise to describe our relationship and the journey we have made together thus far. Cheers!