Sunday, December 22, 2013
Post-Ceremony Celebratory Wine Hour: Our Wedding, Part 3
It's difficult to believe we've already been married for over three months! I apologize to our readers for taking so long to get these photos up. So much has been happening and changing in our lives! Finally, here is part three in our series of wedding posts.
Directly following our ceremony, guests convened near the gardens at Greendance Winery for an hour of wine and celebration preceding the reception. The wine from Greendance was a big hit, and many guests bought bottles to take home with them.
Along with the good wine and conversation, we were incredibly impressed with the music. A band was playing during our whole wine hour, but they were not involved with our wedding. They were there for the patrons of Greendance enjoying a Saturday afternoon in the gardens. However, we were set up near them, and everyone could hear the music. Amazingly, they spent a lot of time playing Led Zeppelin, which is my favorite band. They even played "Thank You," which Dave and I almost used as our first-dance song. It was hard to believe we were hearing it played live at our wine hour by a band we did not even purposely hire! It was definitely serendipitous.
The wine hour was a great way for Dave and I to mingle with our guests for a while before heading off for photos and arriving at the reception.
After telling the story of my wedding dress in our first wedding post, I realized I neglected to give due diligence to my groom's wedding attire. All of Dave's attire was also thrifted, something we were quite proud of. It was so much more fun to find his outfit over the course of our travels than to buy it all at once in a department store. His suspenders and hat came from Avalon Exchange consignment store in Squirrel Hill. His shirt was thrifted from one of the Volunteers of America stores in Ohio. (Ohio has the best thrift store anywhere.) His pants came from our Goodwill in Robinson, PA, and Dave added buttons for the suspenders himself. And finally, we bought his shoes, vintage Italian leather, for a couple of dollars at a thrift store in Newark, Delaware, near the college. The only thing we bought from a department store were his socks.
Miriam captured this great shot of Austin in mid-jump. This picture really captures his energy and spunk.
And this one captures his incredibly sweet personality.
My bouquet was made Elizabeths' mom at Nino's, which you'll hear more about in the coming posts about our reception. I didn't provide any photos or specifics for my bouquet; I just said I wanted it to be very colorful and fit with the Fall season. I was so happy with my flowers; Elizabeth's mom did a fantastic job.
Our good friends Deborah and Alex traveled from Florida to spend our wedding with us.
Dave and his step-father, Scott.
My beautiful grandmother.
We had hoped for Fall foliage during our wedding, and these trees were kind enough to change colors for our special day. In the end, though, I'm so glad we had our wedding when we did, because I realize the warmer weather and greenery made for a much better day and much better photos than later Fall foliage would have.
It was so neat to see friends of ours who had never even met enjoying each other's company.
Again, thanks to Miriam Lorenzi for the gorgeous photography.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Lavender Showers and I Do's: Our Wedding, Part 2
We got married at Greendance Winery in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania, which is in the scenic Laurel Highlands region, most know for its ski resorts, such as Seven Springs. Greendance was the perfect venue for us: along with wine, they have an apple orchard, a field full of sheep, free-roaming guinea hens, and gorgeous acres of green. My parents picked the location for Dave and I while we were in Florida, but the first time Dave and I visited in person, we fell in love. Everyone at Greendance was wonderful to work with, especially Amy. We would absolutely recommend Greendace to anyone in the area, even just as a place to spend a lazy summer afternoon. You can bring a picnic lunch to eat in the orchards, or enjoy a bottle of wine outdoors in the garden.
Again, all photography is by the talented Miriam Lorenzi, who can be found at https://www.facebook.com/Miriphoto?fref=ts.
Dave and my Dad handed the duty of ring bearer over to Dave's son, Austin.
Dave was so happy his parents were able to bring Austin down with them on the long drive from Connecticut. Dave explained what would happen and the importance of Austin's ring bearing duties.
Our musicians were Barb and John, who provided a lovely classical guitar and flute backdrop to the ceremony.
The anxiously waiting groom.
I waited in the back room of the winery until it was time to walk down the aisle, which was a good distance away. When it was finally time to start walking, it felt completely surreal: a flock of young guinea hens pecked beside where we walked, a chipmunk scampered across the path, and everything was completely quiet except for the sounds of nature. We could not hear the wedding music until we got much closer. In those few minutes of walking, it was hard to believe that the wedding was actually happening; months of planning were culminating, and everything was perfect.
Seeing the ceremony site decorated and filled with our friends and family was extraordinary; the moment finally arrived.
We took a big chance by having the wedding outdoors without a backup indoor location available, and the weather could not have been better. It was an ideal 73 degree early Fall day with plenty of sunshine. We were so grateful!
Dave later told me he was so relieved when I made it to the bottom of the stone steps; I'm often known for being clumsy, and I was really concentrating on making it down the stairs. I hadn't anticipated how difficult it would be in my long dress.
I was so glad my Dad was there to walk me down the aisle and help me down the stairs.
Sam and Ev were my official dress-fixing crew for the day, and they did a fantastic job.
Our wedding officiant was Anne Marie Toccket. Thinking back, I cannot recall how or from what wedding website we found Anne Marie, but I'm so glad we did. She was easy going and great to work with. She co-owns the local Big Idea Bookstore in Bloomfield, which we now happily frequent. She sent some samples of other ceremonies she had preformed, and I drew from those as well as my own research and original ideas to entirely write our ceremony and vows.
Dave's good friends Kristin and Andrew came to our wedding from Vermont with their daughter, Jolie. Jolie brought us the red roses we gave to our mothers in the beginning of the ceremony.
We each presented our mom with a rose, a tradition my mom and dad also did at their wedding nearly 30 years ago. (As a funny side note, we nearly forgot the roses; Dad and Dave had to buy them on their way to the wedding. Thankfully, there was a florist in between the hotel and winery!)
Though we proofread them many times, we did not rehearse our ceremony or vows. I'm so glad we opted for that; hearing them at the wedding felt fresh and new, and not at all routine or practiced.
Anne Marie did a fantastic job: she lightheartedly chatted with Dave during the anxious waiting period before my Dad escorted me down the aisle, helped carry the train of my dress when we gave flowers to our moms, something we hadn't pre-planned, and read our ceremony and vows perfectly. Many people commented on how much they liked the ceremony, which we took as a great compliment; our goal was not to have a boring and generic ceremony, but one that was personal and meaningful to us. I believe that intention shone through on our wedding day.
We decided to have a tree planting ceremony, where we finished "planting" a tree together to symbolize the roots of our love. We got Dave's brothers involved by having Dave's older brother, Chris, carry our tree to us.
Dave's younger brother, Jesse, carried the pot of soil and the watering can.
The tree we planted was a young oak started in my Nana's yard. Nana passed away last year, so using the tree from her yard was also a way to bring her memory to the wedding.
The tree was already mostly planted, and Dave and I added a small amount of soil and water to go along with the reading given by Anne Marie.
I'm so glad we chose the tree planting ceremony; it fit perfectly with our love of nature and gardening. When we find our new home, we will plant the tree in the yard there.
Austin was an excellent ring bearer! He took his job seriously and delivered our rings safe and sound.
This adorable one knee delivery was completely his own ad-libbed moment.
In our concern about the rings falling off the pillow, we tied them on the twine a bit too tightly, and I struggled to get my ring untied, which was a nice moment of laughter in the ceremony.
"You may now seal your vows with a kiss."
Presented for the first time as husband and wife.
Again, I couldn't have done it without my dress crew.
As we walked out, our guests showered us with fragrant lavender petals I ordered from a small organic farm in Wisconsin. Walking through them was lovely, and suited us much better than rice.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Mimosas, Wombats, and Best Girlfriends (Our Wedding, Pt. 1)
It's been nearly two months since Dave and I got married! We are so excited to share our photos here with everyone. I haven't had time to post recently, but for a good reason; I finally got a job! I am working in the Office of Admissions at Carnegie Mellon University. I'm very grateful.
I will post our favorite wedding photos over the course of several posts, and will share the story of our wedding along with the pictures. Our amazing photographer was Miriam Lorenzi, who flew all the way from Florida to capture our special day! We met Miriam at our friend Alan's annual Labor Day party, where she took a photo of Dave and I that we loved. A few months later, when we got engaged, Miriam was the first person I thought of to take our engagement photos. We were so delighted with the photos and how easy and natural Miriam was to work with that we decided to ask her to come to Pennsylvania for our wedding, and she agreed. We couldn't have been happier; Miriam did an amazing job, as you'll see by the photos, and we so enjoyed having her at the wedding to celebrate with us. She was a friend, who just happened to be taking our photos. Thank you Miriam!
I will post our favorite wedding photos over the course of several posts, and will share the story of our wedding along with the pictures. Our amazing photographer was Miriam Lorenzi, who flew all the way from Florida to capture our special day! We met Miriam at our friend Alan's annual Labor Day party, where she took a photo of Dave and I that we loved. A few months later, when we got engaged, Miriam was the first person I thought of to take our engagement photos. We were so delighted with the photos and how easy and natural Miriam was to work with that we decided to ask her to come to Pennsylvania for our wedding, and she agreed. We couldn't have been happier; Miriam did an amazing job, as you'll see by the photos, and we so enjoyed having her at the wedding to celebrate with us. She was a friend, who just happened to be taking our photos. Thank you Miriam!
Our friends and family came from all over the country to share our wedding with us. The night before the wedding, we all went out for a celebratory dinner. Usually sleepy Donegal, PA was alive with the annual Glass and Culture Festival; we had to park several blocks away from the restaurant. The energy was fantastic; it felt like the whole town was celebrating with us.
Friends and family came from Florida, North Dakota, Maryland, North Carolina, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Kentucky, and Maine! We're awfully lucky.
Most everyone stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, and the next morning, the girls came to my room to help me get ready. First, we poured mimosas...
and Sam gave an impromptu toast that made me tear up for the first time of the day. Sam and I have been friends for something like 7 years.
I never wear makeup and usually opt for hair in a ponytail, so thinking about my hair and makeup was one of the most stressful parts of planning the wedding, especially after repeatedly failing to get my hair right while practicing. However, like always, my worrying turned out to be wasted energy; the girls did everything for me, and did an amazing job. Deborah, Gwen, Ev, Miriam, and Sam all helped.
Getting ready turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the day. It was so personal and just fun, like the best girls day out, ever.
Ev and Sam both did a beautiful job on my makeup. It turned out just how I had wanted.
Miriam did such an excellent job of making our messy and whirlwind hotel room look great. She even managed to make the bed into a fantastic background for shots like these.
Our trusty wombat, Ted, has been with Dave and I since our very first trip to Pittsburgh together, which was Thanksgiving 2010. Since then, he's been traveling nearly everywhere with us, making an appearance at beaches, bars, museums, and just about anywhere we've gone. He's accompanied us on long road trips, made our friends laugh, and attained the status of cult wombat. Naturally, he found his way to the wedding. We were delighted to discover Miriam took photos of Ted holding our rings!
I wasn't about to wear uncomfortable shoes on my wedding day, when I knew I would be on my feet for hours. I went with my trusty cowboy boots, which my Mom gave me for Christmas last year. I made wonderful memories in them as I wore them all around the country on our road trip; they were the perfect footwear for my wedding.
My wedding dress involves the story of Dave's proposal. One day last December, after finishing college and just before my birthday, a box arrived in the mail. Dave wouldn't tell me what it was, nor did he open it. It sat in the sunroom for days, piquing my curiosity. One night, Dave told me I could open the box. He was folding laundry and was completely nonchalant. I opened the box, and wasn't sure what to think. The dress was wadded up, and at first I thought it was a set of lacy curtains, a strange gift. Dave prompted me to continue pulling it out of the box. Soon, it became clear that it was not curtains, but a dress. A wedding dress. Of course, I was speechless and just started crying.
Dave's unique proposal perfectly suited us and our relationship. Better yet, Dave ordered the dress from Ebay. It is vintage, circa the 1960's, my favorite era. Unbelievably, when I went to the seamstress a few weeks later in Pennsylvania to see about getting it cleaned and altered, we realized the dress fit me like a glove, as if it was custom made. It needed only a bit of length removed, a bustle added, and a good cleaning and stain removal. Dave picking the dress for me was especially perfect because I hate shopping. I can imagine that shopping for a wedding dress possibly would have caused me so much stress that I may have called the whole wedding off. Also, I never would have thought to pick this out for myself, but it was truly perfect, and it just felt "right." I lovingly named the dress Joan after Joan Baez, the lovely singer who began her career in the 60's. Joan was magic, the most perfect dress possible, with the most perfect story.
My Mom and the girls helped me get into Joan.
Even after instructions from the seamstress, the train of this dress was really something to figure out.
My Mamaw and I.
After I got into my dress, I realized I could not bend down to get my socks and shoes on. Sam came to my rescue, and made everyone laugh. "I've never put socks or shoes on another adult human being before," she said.
Last minute touchups to my hair and floral crown.
Somehow, we made it to the winery where we were to be married on time. My mom and I shared a hug before she left to mingle with the guests and take her seat. Meanwhile, I waited with my dad in the back room of Greendance Winery.
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