A "Real Wedding" Special

As promised, I am here to deliver a quick recap of the wedding of two of our wedding party members this past weekend!

The Friday before the wedding, we met up with the bride and groom for their rehearsal dinner at a local steakhouse:

All photos by me or friends using my camera. Click to enlarge!

Top: Me and Mr. Lab with Brooke & Jimmy.
Bottom: Brooke's family enjoying the show.

After dinner, the boys and girls split up for a night out. Their wedding was at 7 pm the next day, so they could afford to stay out late.

Brooke looking adorable in her Audrey Hepburn-like outfit. Must point out the too-cute Kate Spade bag!

The day of the wedding, I was appointed the "provider of instant photos via Facebook"-photographer along with official make-up artist. I took both jobs very seriously (and I have over 200 photos to prove it!). Armed with my bag full of MAC and my point and shoot camera, I made my way over to the State Botanical Gardens in Athens, GA (after FINALLY picking up my e-ring from its month-long hiatus).

The day was absolutely gorgeous and the setting was simple stunning.

Entrance to the Botanical Gardens.

Top left: The path down to the day chapel.
Bottom left: The plaza outside the reception hall where the drinks were set up.
Right: The charming day chapel!

As soon as I arrived, I got to work making the girls look as gorgeous as possible. Brooke looked absolutely stunning in her Anya Bridal "April" gown. She switched out the ivory sash it came with for a black one that tied into her theme better. She's planning on selling her dress, so let me know if you want more information. The bridesmaids were allowed to pick out any black cocktail dress of their choice.

Top left: Doing makeup for my second wedding! I did Mr. Lab's sister's makeup for her wedding as well!
Top right: This is one of my favorite photos from the night. I love how Brooke's BMs are all fawning over her!
Bottom right: I made sure to stay out of the way of the professional photographers by hiding way back in the bushes and secretly stealing shots.

I made sure to capture some details from the day that I now know as a bride-to-be took a lot of thought and planning to make happen.

Top to bottom l-r: The bridal party gifts (my tote has my NEW initials on it!!!), Jimmy's motorcycle bout charm, Brooke's wedding gift from her new hubby, the BM's bouquets/centerpieces, the "guestbook" that had an etching pen (HUGE hit!), Brooke's one of a kind modern-inspired bouquet

Mr. Lab stopped by to say hi to the bride before getting ready for his photos with Jimmy. He was really upset because when he went to pick up his suit from the drycleaners, they had already closed....at 1 pm on a Saturday!!! But he threw together a quick black ensemble (all wedding party members wore black as a main color). Isn't he good looking? ;)

I apologize for the flash reflecting in the mirror and blinding you! You might recognize my dress from our engagement party. I resisted the urge to buy a new outfit! Yay me!!!

Finally, it was go-time! The ceremony site was absolutely breathtaking. Just the venue alone was enough decoration with all its gorgeous detail work, but Brooke had the florist add simple and complimentary flowers to the altar and first pews.

Top left: Jimmy's parents ready to go down the aisle (Mr. Lab and I were also greeters and in charge of opening the door for Brooke's grand entrance)
Middle: A view from the altar
Bottom right: A view from the entryway

After the "I do's", we moved over to the reception site for the cocktail hour while Brooke and Jimmy had their alone time and photos taken (they opted for the aisle first look, prompting Mr. Lab to beg for that again!). The food was AH-MAZ-ZZZZZZZZIIIIIINNNNGGG. It was catered by an Athens' favorite, Marti's at Midday.

Top row is the dinner served while the bottom row was the passed appetizers. Sorry about the shot of the half-eaten bruscetta. I kept forgetting to take a picture before munching down!

Equally amazing were the desserts! They had a candy buffet (featuring my fave: Sour Patch Kids), the wedding cake, and a cheesecake groom's cake. I did make myself a baggie full of the candy, but I somehow misplaced it before the end of the night. I woke up the next morning grateful for this because I'm supposed to be taking my own advice, remember?

Soon it was time for all the key moments of a wedding reception:

Top to bottom l-r: The first dance, best man toast, cake cutting, sparkler exit

But during all of that, we had some good times dancing (burning off that dinner!) and enjoying meeting and mingling with other guests. Not to mention with the bride and groom!

Bottom left: Overview of the centerpieces
Top right: Bridesmaid Ashley's introduction (she's one of my bridesmaids as well!)
Bottom right: Brooke in her totally cute "Marilyn Monroe"-esque reception dress

I had an absolute blast at Brooke and Jimmy's wedding and can't wait to return the favor at our wedding in November!

We have our photographer!!!

After much deliberation, Chris and I finally chose our wedding photographer. The winner is... *drumroll*...the fabulous Lindsi Jones! She was able to fit everything I wanted within my budget. Here's what I'm getting:

Engagement Session
Bridal Portrait Session
Rehearsal Dinner Coverage
Unlimited Wedding Day Coverage
2 Photographers
Images on DVD
Printing & Personal Use Privileges

We're currently setting up our engagement photo session which will be in Athens. We chose Athens because it's where our hearts will always live. If we weren't getting married in Savannah, it would definitely be Athens. I'm planning on making a yearbook style guestbook with our engagement photos for the wedding. This way we'll have a touch of the Classic City in our wedding! :)

I'm wrapping up this update quickly because I need to be out the door in 20 minutes. Chris and I are heading to the California Pizza Kitchen in Atlanta to eat dinner with one of his groomsmen, Dan, and Dan's wife. Brooke & Jimmy (who are also in the wedding party) will be joining us since they live in Atlanta as well. Can't wait to get on the road, I'm hungry! :D

Bridesmaids' Tea Party Luncheon

Bride Wars was SO much fun! I had a blast with Ashley, Brittany, and Amanda (except for the part when they kicked me out of the car so they could discuss secret things about me that I can only assume were ideas for the bachelorette party! :P). The movie was super cute and I identified so much with Kate Hudson's character, Liv. If you're thinking about seeing it, go! Especially if you're a soon-to-be bride! But I'll just say this: if I were in their situation, it would have never gotten that far. Someone, namely the wedding planner, would have gotten their butts sued BIG TIME. haha Oh, and Anne Hathaway's legs during the bachelorette party scene made me want to get my "cottage cheese" legs in the gym quick! ;)

I've slacked on updating the blog because I had so much to do this weekend. Besides the movie, I met up with old work friends and met Chris' best man, Don, for the first time. Don and his wife Meredith were so awesome. It felt as though we've known each other for years! They recently moved to Greenville, S.C. from Charlotte, N.C., so we should be able to see them more often now since it's only about 2 hours away. Now I just have to meet Dan, the only other groomsman I've never met. I already speak to him a lot on Facebook, so I know he and his wife will be awesome as well. I am loving making new friends, especially ones that are already Chris's friends and are married. I'll still love all my single friends, but there's something comforting about having married friends to go to for advice or to just hang out with as couples.

Back to wedding planning! I've realized how much my A.D.D. is interfering with my planning. I simply don't plan in a logical order because I'm at the mercy of ideas spasticly popping into my head at any time. The latest idea is for my bridesmaids luncheon. I want to do something really fun and girly. So I've decided that I'm going to treat my ladies to an old fashioned tea party!



I did some research and found a place in Savannah called the Savannah Tea Room. They have a variety of teas and sweets and lunch items and even wine and champagne. But to make this even more fun, I want the girls to dress in "tea party" dresses & hats (think Kentucky Derby style!). I told the girls about my idea for the luncheon this weekend and they love it! Now I just have to find a place that sells affordable hats for the tea party. Any ideas?

Good Lord. I just glanced at the clock and I need to go to bed.

Photo Source