Wedding Wednesday Linky Party!

I saw this over at Fabulous but Evil and I thought it would be something fun since the hubby and I just celebrated our third wedding anniversary on May 24th!   Warning: I had a little too much fun with this post, sorry for the picture overload!

**Scroll to the bottom of my post to link up and share some fun details of your wedding day!**

Here are our Wedding ABCs...(Sorry in advance for the poor quality, my photog didn't provide high resolution images for us!)

Attending:

We invited a little over 200 guests and I think we ended up having around 175-180.

Bridesmaids:

I had 4 bridesmaids....3 close friends and my wonderful little sis was my maid of honor!

Catering:

I LOVED our food!  We went with a family owned Italian restaurant/catering company.  They were SO easy to work with and acted like we were a part of their family!  We had a buffet because of our budget!

Our cake was made by a bakery in the Short North area and I loved it, it was exactly what I asked for and super yummy!  Nick's grandparents also made us pizzelles for the wedding (we both grew up eating those things)!  I had dinner mints to remember my grandma.  She *always* had these in her pantry cabinet and every time I see them, I think of her. :)

 

I also got a groom's cake from a lady who had a bakery in Dublin (she has since moved south).  She was amazing, I'm so sad she moved!  This was served at our rehearsal dinner. 

Dress:

I wanted something simple with a LITTLE bit of bling.  This was the first dress I tried on and it worked.  I can't say I LOVE it (sad, I know), but it was in my budget at the time.  I loved my chapel train :)

Engagement:

We were engaged for 1 year and 5 months.  It sounds like a long time but it was either that OR 5 months.  Since I wanted a spring wedding, we decided a longer engagement would give us more time to save $ and book vendors! 

Before the proposal....going out to a romantic dinner :)

After our walk on the beach: ENGAGED!

Professional engagement session.

Flowers:

Our florist was awesome with my budget!  My must was lilies - stargazers for me and white asiatics for my girls.  I had dendrobium orchids for the guys and the centerpieces were mostly lilies.  I had a mix of tall and short centerpieces and I loved the variation. 

Groomsmen:

Nick had 4 groomsmen (all friends since neither he or I have brothers)!  

Honeymoon:

Hawaii!  We were fortunate enough to be able to visit Kauai and Maui.  Kauai is by far the prettiest place I've ever been and I'm dying to go back!  The island was so natural and not overly commercialized and there was so much to do! 

Our resort.  We had the same view (minus the pool) from our room!

Open air helicopter tour!  Scary!

Waimea Canyon.

Super windy but this was our last day....how perfect!  [Hana]

Amazing!  This is during our helicopter tour. [Napali Coast]

Invitations:

Our invites were actually picked out by my hubby.  We were able to get a discount through my uncle's company and the hubby picked out a sophisticated translucent invite with intertwined hearts engraved in silver.  Here is a pic I found online:

Justice of the Peace:

This was supposed to be our regular priest from church. The night of our wedding rehearsal, we fond out that Father Rod had injured his knee pretty bad and wouldn't be able to perform our ceremony (insert panic)!  Luckily, there was a man willing to stand in and do the job.  He was..........entertaining.  My friends frequently see him downtown at bars these days.  'nuff said.

Keepsakes:

We made a photo book with pictures of us as our guest book.  We were also able to keep our cake topper as a decor piece with our wedding date on it.  I also have our wedding album (obviously) and a scrapbook that I made on my own.  Our favors were custom M&M's with our names and wedding date.  I love M&M's!

Ladies Night:

I had my bachelorette party in downtown Columbus (Arena District) with a ton of my wonderful girlfriends!  I also had a separate dinner date and sleepover night so that we could include my little sis! <3

Music:

I walked down the aisle to Pachelbel's Canon.  We entered our reception as husband and wife to 'Bittersweet Symphony' by The Verve.  Our first dance was 'You and Me' by Lifehouse.  We had a DJ at our reception and he was great.....not too chatty and obeyed our "do not play" list!  :)

Newlyweds:

I don't know what this is asking but people still say "Awww, newlyweds!" after I tell them that we've been married 3 years.  That's fine with me but when does that status drop?! 

Old, new, borrowed, blue:

I'm had a few things for each.  My something old was a sapphire ring that Nick bought me for our second Christmas together (back in '03!)  It was also my something blue!    My something borrowed was beautiful floral handkerchief that my girlfriend Lindsey brought for me.  It also had blue in it "just in case" I forgot.  Ha, Lindsey is a planner like me!  My something new was my wedding gown, shoes, tiara, veil, etc.  My something blue was the ring, the handkerchief, and some undergarments. ;)  Let's just say I had my bases covered on this superstitious tradition!

Photography:

We love our wedding photos but didn't love the customer service we got from our photographer after the wedding.  It's very unfortunate that we couldn't predict what would happen before we signed our contract.  I can't even remember when we ended up getting our wedding album.  I'm pretty sure it was close to 2 years.  Very sad but I'm glad to have it and be done with that photographer!  She's a nice lady but not so great with time management!  

Question popping:

Nick proposed on one of our favorite beaches (Fort Myers Beach) on December 16, 2006 after a romantic dinner.  I seriously had NO idea it was coming.  It was during a walk on the beach at night and the ring box LIT UP, it was beyond perfect <3  We didn't go shopping for rings at all so I was baffled how he knew EXACTLY what I wanted.  Seriously, exactly.  He was on our computer and was browsing through files and found a picture of the dream engagement ring I designed online.  He took that picture to a jeweler and had the ring made.  I know, sickeningly perfect! :)

Reception:

We were on a budget so I found a nice church hall that had some of the features I was hoping to have at my wedding (wooden dance floor, chandeliers, high ceilings, etc.)  They were very accommodating and sweet!

Shoes:

I chose 3.5" open toe shoes.  I loved my shoes but my narrow foot kept slipping out of them :(  I wish I would have done peep toes instead but I felt like these were more summery!

Trash the Dress:

Nope...it's still hanging in my guest room at home.....

Unique:

Both my mom and my dad walked me down the aisle. :)  My mom raised me and I am extremely close with her so I *had* to include her in this part!  She was also a reader during our ceremony. <3

Vows:

We recited traditional vows in the Catholic church where my husband attended grade school.

Wedding Woes:

Our officiant dropped out last minute due to an injury.  Our budget was a big stress since we basically paid for the entire wedding on our own (I was still in college)!  We did it and I think it turned out pretty great for the amount we spent!  I still hope someday to be able to renew my vows on a beach.  <3

X-rated:

I don't understand this one........

Young kids:

Unfortunately, we didn't have any friends/relatives at the right age to have a flower girl or ring bearer.  We did have kids at our wedding though and it was very fun!  I made coloring books to help entertain the younger kiddos.

Zzzzz:

We woke up around 5am the day after our wedding to fly to Hawaii.  We were exhausted when we go there, but somehow it was worth it!  ;)