Friday Flowers: Sweet Pea

We’re closing out the week with the first of a new series of posts here at Elizabeth Anne Designs: Friday Flowers! I think there’s really nothing better than leaving for the weekend with a beautiful selection of flowers to look at, right? For our first edition, we’re going to be featuring the sweet and ruffly sweet pea! In pinks, whites, ...

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Mrs. SarahDarling - The MOVIE!!!

Before the wedding I posted about how we couldn't hire a videographer, but we did purchase a digital camera and was going to have a friend tape the night for us. Well...that didn't exactly go as planned. Instead of a couple hours of footage we ended up with 20 minutes. Yep. 20 minutes. Luckily a friend of my mom's had her camera and got some more footage for us and friends have been quite generous in sharing their pictures with us. I *just* finished editing this last night and though it's not as pretty as some as the gorgeous films out there it still makes me smile no matter how many times I watch it. The Highlights (in case you didn't want to watch the whole thing)
start - getting ready
2:15 - the big reveal
3:30 - the ceremony
4:50 - kiss and cocktail hour
6:40 - reception starts
7:40 - dancing

If we could do it all again we would have found the money for a different photographer (obviously because I still hate that man) and a professional videographer. I didn't realize how important it was to me until it was over. Ah well, c'est la vie!

Also, please let me know if anyone has troubles viewing it. THANKS!

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1 Week to go... - All Packed Up!

One week from now my bridesmaids will be showing up at my house to start hair and make up on my wedding day! Eek!

Now that practically everything is done I've packed up all my supplies into bankers boxes, ready to be dropped off at the venue. I've heard stories about things not being set up correctly so I included pictures of how I'd like things to look and lists of what's in each box to (hopefully) avoid confusion. Everyone makes fun of my organization, but I think it's awesome!

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Mrs. SarahDarling - Cocktail Hour + Reception

These are the last ones I swear. We were happy with the cocktail pictures because they were candid and what we had been asking for. And again, so many are in black and white because everything had a pinky haze around them. Looking at these makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

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(Immediately after the ceremony)

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(*LOVED* this!)

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(First Dance...all those lessons definitely paid off!)

So I guess all I have left to do is some vendor reviews and then my posting days will be over. I guess another countdown is on!

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Honeymoon - Jetting Off Tomorrow!

I'm sitting here at the airport hotel with my hubby watching MythBusters and anxiously awaiting 6am tomorrow morning when we board the flight to Houston...then Honolulu...and finally Hilo, Hawaii. It's been about 6 weeks since the wedding and this much awaited honeymoon feels so much more deserved now! We'll be gone for 2 weeks and although it's been tough to wait, it has given us something more to look forward to after the wedding. Stay well ladies and if I miss any of your weddings...HAVE A GREAT TIME!!!

*ALOHA*

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Mrs. SarahDarling - RECAP! (Part II)

Pictures:
So last I left you my girls and I were all dressed up and heading down to do the "first look". I hung back in the hallway trying to breath while the girls went ahead and made sure that Jeff and the photographer was ready for me and when I finally got the o.k. and started walking I all of a sudden switched into Dream Mode where I was just floating along. I came around the corner and there he was, with his back to me and blindfolded so he couldn't cheat. Deep breath and I removed the blindfold. He spun around so fast (he said later he couldn't wait any longer) and the smile on his face was absolutely priceless. I, of course, burst into tears and we hugged as I tried to pull it together for the pictures sake. Hosted by RockYouPhotos.com
After that moment we took all our pictures and looking back now, realize that we missed a bunch of shots that I really wanted. After about 2hrs of pictures we hopped into the limo and made our way to the venue to (finally get married) and start the party!

Venue & Pre-Ceremony:
We got to the venue a little late so a few guests were there whom I quickly hugged and ran upstairs to the bridal suite where there was a much needed cheese and fruit tray and champagne. Our officiant was there to sign all the legal bits and go over the final plan. Then Jeff and I said our goodbyes and him and the boys headed downstairs to seat and greet guests. It seemed like the girls and I were sitting in that room forever waiting for the ceremony to start and just when I was about to march down there and start things myself our maitre d' came and told us it was time to line up.

Ceremony:
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We had hired a guitar/sax duo for the ceremony and cocktail hour and it was a great decision! The girls made their way down the aisle to "Moonlight Serenade" and when everyone was in place they closed the doors and the music died. After a beat the first notes to "At Last" played and these giant double doors opened and my dad and I stepped through. The first thing I remember when we stepped through was a huge gasp by our guests when they saw me and I, of course, burst into tears. While walking down the aisle all I tried to do was keep my eyes on Jeff, but it was pretty hard through all the tears. But we made it to the front, my father gave me away and the ceremony started. Hosted by RockYouPhotos.com
The ceremony itself was beautiful. It was meaningful and fun and kept everyone's attention the entire time. We had one of our friends surprise us with a reading and he chose "Oh the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss and it was perfect. The vows were awesome and everything went smoothly with the ring exchange (we practiced beforehand). Before I knew it our officiant was saying that we were man and wife! We kissed, Jeff dipped me and we were married!!! Cocktail Hour:
Immediately after the ceremony everyone went into the lobby for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres where we did the receiving line and photo wall. As soon as our receiving line was done Jeff and I escaped upstairs to the bridal suite for just a few minutes alone. I remember sitting there on the couch and we just kept repeating, "we're married. we're married? we're married!"
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Entrances:
When our cocktail hour was over our ballroom had been completely transformed from the ceremony area to the reception area and our guests took their seats. After our bridal party made their entrances: Hosted by RockYouPhotos.com
We made our EXPLOSIVE entrance:
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(I think we gave some of our guests minor heart attacks, but it was totally worth it!)

First Dance:
Jeff and I were both soooo nervous for our first dance, even though we had practiced and practiced. Luckily, automode took over and it went fairly smoothly. I almost tripped on it at the end, but recovered at the last minute. We danced a foxtrot to "Ain't That a Kick in the Head" and it was a perfect choice for the evening. Hosted by RockYouPhotos.com

(to be continued)

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Mrs. SarahDarling - RECAP! (Part III)

Reception:
Our awesome M.C. let guests know about our kissing game. If any guest wanted Jeff and I to kiss then they had to come up and kiss any member of our bridal party! It was a lot of fun with boyfriends running up to kiss their bridesmaid girlfriends and my mom's friends kissing our groomsmen on the cheek. Hilarious!
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Dinner:
Then we settled in for dinner. The food itself was delicious...as much as I ate of it. My stomache was still in knots over the excitement of the whole day so I had to pretty much force myself to eat. Hosted by RockYouPhotos.com
(I was worried about an all-black head table but it turned out super elegant and chic and I loved it!)

Guest Tables:
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The cootie catchers were a HUGE hit and I am so happy that we did them. People came up to me all night telling me how fun they were and such a unique touch!
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Speeches:
In between courses we had our Maid of Honour, Best Man and fathers give their speeches and I have to tell you ladies about my dad's amazing speech. First of all, he was so nervous about it and had been practicing constantly. He started by mentioning my grandparents (who have all passed) and how they would love Jeff and much as my family does (which got me crying). Then he talked a bit about how proud he was of me (still crying) and then he asked Jeff to join him at the podium and tells the story that when I was born he got a whole bunch of the tiny bottle of Seagram's Whisky and tied little pink ribbons around the neck so him and all his friends could do a shot to celebrate my birth. Then he pulls out 2 bottles that he saved and asks Jeff if he would like to do a shot to celebrate our marriage. I had NO IDEA that he had this planned! It was so sweet and touching and probably one of my favourite memories of the night.
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(and yes, we kept those bottles)

Shoe Game:
During dessert we played the shoe game which is where you sit back-to-back in the centre of the dance floor and hold one of your shoes and one of your hubby's. Your M.C. asks you questions like, "who's the bigger flirt? who's the better cook?" and you hold up the shoe of who better fits the question. It was a lot of fun and we laughed a lot!
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Father/Daughter Dance:
The father/daughter dance followed and to get through it we just talked about anything and everything that didn't have to do with the wedding. It was just soooo much easier to not listen to the song ("I Loved Her First" by Heartland) and talk about the weather and work. Hosted by RockYouPhotos.com

Dance:
Our DJ was awesome and stuck very closely to our play/do not play list. The dance floor was full all night...and I mean FULL! My biggest fear was that no one would dance and after 2 songs I knew I had nothing to worry about because that floor was a-rockin!
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(best dance of the night goes to my friend Kyle who did the "Single Ladies" dance to perfection!)

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(taking a breather from dancing)

Midnight Buffet:
At around midnight the venue rolled out homemade Italian style pizza (too delicious) and our cupcakes were finally allowed to be eaten! Ps. note my awesome caketopper that I DIYd. It was perfect and I still love my little robot bride and groom.
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In our venue there were actually 3 weddings that night and not only did we have people from the other weddings come over and ask if they could have cupcakes, but we actually had people CRASH OUR WEDDING because they had heard how much fun it was! At that point we didn't really care and figured, the more the merrier! I just hope the other brides weren't too upset we were stealing their guests!

The End:
They kicked us out at 1am and we could have kept going for hours. We still had about 100 guests dancing and eating and having fun! So we took it back to the hotel. We had over 50 guests staying at a nearby hotel and even more came and crashed. Jeff and I went up to our room because we were both exhausted, but our guests kept partying in their PJ's with kegs and bottles popping up out of nowhere! Hosted by RockYouPhotos.com
(our fathers at who-knows-what time!)


Morning After Breakfast:
My generous Father in Law invited everyone staying at the hotel from our wedding to breakfast the next morning and it was such a great idea. We got to sit and chat with our guests one more time, laugh about things that happened the night before and check out how exhausted everyone was because they didn't go to sleep until 5am the night before!
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(soo sleepy at breakfast)

I can honestly say that my wedding was a dream come true. Next week sometime I'm going to post some vendor reviews for Brides in the GTA and some tips and tricks I learnt from planning and enjoying my wedding day. Thanks again to all the girls who have been with me throughout this planning process. I honestly don't think my wedding would have been the same without WBC. Thanks!!!

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Real Wedding from Justine Johnson Photography

Jenny and Josh planned a bright and colorful wedding at Zukas Hiltop Barn in Spencer, MA. They had a group of wonderful vendors and Jenny made all of the paper details herself. The day went off without a hitch!  Justine Johnson Photography sent us some of the beautiful photos from their day… Enjoy!
Congratulations Jenny & [...]

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