Photo Teaser

So, our wedding day?  Best. Day. Ever. We had so much fun.  It was absolutely perfect.  It's true, you know.  What they say.  That it goes by so fast.  It really does.  In the moment, that day, it didn't seem like it was.  But the next morning, when I woke up, I was like..."Wait.  No.  That can't be it!"  I just wanted to do it all over again.

We literally had the perfect day.  The weather was gorgeous.  There were no major issues (at least none that we knew of).  Our coordinator, David, from Weddings by JDK, handled everything.  Our bridal party stepped in when we needed them.  Our friends and family laughed and smiled and cried with us.  Best of all?  We glowed.  We both just glowed.  All day long.  I've never felt so happy, and Matt's never looked so happy.  I plan to hold onto that forever.

The day after the wedding, we went over to my parents' house.  My stepdad had recorded several things throughout the day, and we watched the videos.  We got to watch our ceremony.  And it was perfect, just as we remembered it.  Jeff (my stepdad) ran out to pick up a flash drive so he could copy them for us to take along.  I'll admit, I've already watched it a few times.  Friends were posting pictures to facebook (everyone waited, just as we'd asked).  On Tuesday, we left for our honeymoon.  Just a few days after we arrived in St. Lucia for our honeymoon, we checked our emails and facebook.  Everlasting Images had put some pictures up on facebook... 

Aren't they gorgeous?!  We also got an email the day before we got home that all of our pictures were up on their website.  I don't have full access to them, yet, so I can't post them.  But as soon as we pick the photos for our album, we'll get a disc with all of the images.  And I'll start some recaps.  But it'll be a while.  There are a lot of pictures, and I have no idea how we'll choose among all of them!

*all photos courtesy of the fab-tastic Everlasting Images

Slow Down!

My best friend got married a couple months ago, and though we were at his wedding, we barely had a chance to see him all night. So a couple weeks ago, we met up with him and his new wife for dinner and drinks. The first thing they said to us about their wedding day - "It goes by so quickly!" That's what we've been hearing from absolutely everyone. Liz told me that she basically remembers saying I do, messing up the end of her vows, waiting to come into the reception, and their first dance. Otherwise, the whole day is a total blur.

Seems to be a pretty common thing. Months and months of planning, thousands of dollars, and it's all over in the blink of an eye.

So I'm making a vow - right here, right now - to try to mentally (and photographically) document every single moment of the day.

I want to remember what I feel like while I'm sitting in the chair at the salon, getting my hair done, surrounded by the 6 most important women in my life (my mom and my bridal party).

I want to remember how I feel the first time I step into my dress, pick up my bouquet, and look in the mirror - finally, actually, really a bride.

I want to remember the emotion of standing in the back of the church with my dad, waiting to walk down the aisle and see Matt standing at the front, waiting to become husband and wife.

I want to remember seeing Matt for the first time, all handsome in his tux.

I want to hold on forever to the feeling of kissing my husband for the first time and being announced as Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Iacavone.

I want to never forget swaying on the dance floor to our song, "Chasing Cars," feeling like we're the only two people in the whole wide world.

I want to remember dancing with my father, knowing that even though I'm not his little girl anymore, I'll always be his daughter, and there is nothing more special than that in the world.

I want to savor the moment of dancing with my girls to our special song, reveling in the fact that these girls have been with me through the best and worse times of my life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I want to take a moment and look around at all the people there to celebrate with us and remember how loved we are.

Every single moment, every single smile, every single tear... I want to remember all of it. I have been looking forward to this day for months, if not years, and I refuse to let it just slip through my fingers. I will hold on to anything and everything, and I will lock it all away in a corner of my brain that I can run to when times get tough and I need a pick-me-up. Because what better pick-me-up could possibly exist than looking back at the happiest day of your life?

Holy. Crap.

You guys. There's only 100 days left until our wedding day! *squeee!*

I feel pretty good about our progress. We have finished a lot of our DIY projects, which is hugely awesome. The absolute last thing I want to do is save things for the very last minute. We still have to print, cut out, and assemble the programs; copy the maps for the Out-of-Town bags; print the labels for the Out-of-Town bags; and purchase/assemble the items for the Out-of-Town bags. We should easily be able to get those done by the time the wedding arrives. I have faith.

The boys' clothing is taken care of. My outfit is nearly complete, with the exception of the dreaded shoes. The girls are dressed and have been instructed to accessorize however they choose (within reason, of course - no tiaras, ladies!). Moms have been outfitted, as well. They both found great dresses at killer prices, all without our input. Just picked something off the rack and loved it!

All important vendors are booked. We have our tasting scheduled with David and JDK in August. We have to finalize the ceremony music with the organist, and go over the ceremony details with our Pastor. We have to provide a bit more guidance to the DJ, and schedule a meeting with our photographer to go over the schedule and must-have (and must-leave-out) shots of the day. I have my hair and makeup trial scheduled at the salon. Our bachelor/ette parties are scheduled, although not exactly planned yet.

Everything is really coming together. And it's been so much fun. I keep wondering if I'm missing something. Everyone says that wedding planning is so stressful but...I'm not really feelin it. Maybe because Matt is involved and helpful and supportive. Maybe because my mom is awesome. Or maybe it's just because planning the day that I get to marry my very best friend in the world is just so exciting, I can't get stressed over it. At the end of the day, all I know is that I am marrying the love of my life, and celebrating that marriage with all of our favorite people in the world. And I. Can't. WAIT.