(Wedding Recap) Exchanging Gifts

September 7, 2011 6 Comments

After the bridal party shots, we headed back to The Carnegie Institution to cool down, take some family portraits, exchange gifts and sign the ketubah (Jewish marriage contract).

 
 Oh, and kick our heels up, apprently.
The first thing I gave Mike were his cufflinks & personalized handkerchief. In the hotel room where he got ready, I left these gifts on display for him to find.  
The handkerchief reads, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine” in Hebrew.
The cufflinks have our wedding date on the back-side.

 A year before our wedding date, I framed the article about our engagement at the zoo.  I then stored the finished product in my trunk for a long while, then wised up and hid it at a fellow-teacher’s house.  I was beyond excited to give him this gift after having it so long!
I think he liked it (and I do too!!).
(We still need to hang it in our house…)
Mike added on to my Pandora bracelet with a wedding cake charm! It’s so sweet and cute and makes me smile every time I look at it. One of those “aww” moments.
I love it!
But then Mike shared something with me he worked on for over a year.  When he first launched into the explanation, my excitement and shock looked like this:
Then this:

and this too:

because he turned my blog into a book!
But because he wanted to get every last post included, right up to the wedding, he told me we would actually create it together.  And we did. It came in the mail recently and I LOVE it.
Best. gift. ever.
Oh, and this is my favorite wedding picture. ever.
so romantic.
so fabulous.
{all fab photos by Studio Juno}
Filed Under: awesomeness, BlogBook, Carnegie Institute, details, eat your heart out, Mike, proposal, recap, wedding

Today is My Wedding Day.

June 19, 2011 12 Comments

Today.
Today is my wedding day.

As a little girl I dreamed about this day.  I idealized, I pretended, I dressed up.  I fantasized about what sort of man might complete me, stand next to me, say “I do.”

Today I wear a white (ok, ivory) beautiful gown, the most expensive gown ever purchased for myself.  Makeup artists and hair stylists will dote on me.  My friends & family will all come to see and celebrate me, us.

Beneath all the anxiety of details falling in place, fear of the weather holding out, and desire for everything to be just right, there is one major focal point that brings me peace: Mike.

He makes water bottle labels and rain clouds disappear.  Knowing that starting today I get to have him to hold in sickness and health, richer or poorer, better or worse, makes my heart swell with joy.  I don’t call it luck.  I call it meant to be.  It just makes sense.

And that makes today more than a dream come true.
Today is my reality.
And it looks pretty good to me.

Filed Under: awesomeness, BlogBook, love, Mike, shut the front door, the big day, wedding, winner

Checking In

June 18, 2011 7 Comments

I seem to wake up earlier than my alarm, every morning, these days.  No matter how much valium lulls me to sleep, I open my eyes to see that the clock has yet to even hit the hour of my rise-and-shine time.
That’s ok, though, because I can use that precious time to blog!
And take it all in.

A huge thank you goes out to Lara, who stayed with me while her man gallivanted with Mike and company on his bachelor party.  Having a cool headed, creative, meanwhile easy going and not related person with you leading up to your wedding is clutch.  Lara was just that. and then some.  This girls deserves a “putting up with a bride just before her wedding” medal, award, and recognition. 
So thank you, Lara!
(btw, I also plan on saying this in real life)

My good friend Ali was the first to arrive.  In the lobby of the hotel we stifled squee’s and our giddy excitement.  We enjoy happy hour, briefly, but long enough to reminisce and get some good stories out there.

Then my mom, dad, sister, brother in-law, and sweet nieces arrived. I about died of excitement then!  I took my mom, sis, and  4yo niece to get their nails done.  Let me just tell you: sparkle mani/pedis are the cutest things evah.

Meanwhile, trying to catch up with friends who flew all the way from London, we grabbed a bite and some drinks. 

OH oh, and what they say about eating: that you’ll have no time?  totally true.
Also my stomach goes from being in knots to non-existent, so there’s that too.

And if the last tangent didn’t illustrate such, there’s a heavy case of “wedding brain” going on right now.  It’s like ADD with a veil. 
Start this.
Walk over to work on this.
Remember that you need a check for this.
Go back to the first thing,
only to remember that there was something else about the other thing….

Right.
Someone told me to enjoy the craziness.
Because that’s exactly what it is: PURE exhilarated joy.
And I rather like it.

Now off to synagogue for our Auf Ruf!
(No post on that, no time, just go here: Aufruf)

I’m getting married tomorrow!

(please excuse anything wrong about this post. I checked for squiggly red lines under words. I clearly didn’t even re-read it.  There’s no time for anything! Only fun!!!!)
{image}

Filed Under: awesomeness, besties, BlogBook, family, Judaism, Mike, party, update

To the Mikvah!

June 15, 2011 7 Comments

No, the mikvah isn’t a fancy batmobile for brides, but rather a small pool.  Normally one goes to the mikvah when they seek cleansing, be it after your “time of the month,” childbirth, or to prepare for some holidays or something like your wedding!  It can be used by either gender, but before you enter you must be scrupulously clean.

In Jewish tradition and observance, today Mike and I will go, separately, to the mikvah to immerse and prepare ourselves for our upcoming wedding.  We will shower & brush our teeth before we leave the house. I will remove the nail polish from my toes.  There will be no jewelry worn, or even bandages covering any part of us.  The reason for this can be interpreted as needing the water to touch every single part of your body.  If you have on lotion or any barrier, the water cannot completely envelope you.

This ritual bathing serves the purpose of cleansing and preparing us for our union. 
“In many ways mikvah is the threshold separating the unholy from the holy, but it is even more. Simply put, immersion in a mikvah signals a change in status — more correctly, an elevation in status. Its unparalleled function lies in its power of transformation, its ability to effect metamorphosis.” -Chabad.org

It’s not holy water, in fact it’s not even blessed.  There is, however, a certain ratio of rain water to other water, to signify a connection to the earth.  But it’s a special place where you go to transform yourself.  With each submersion there is a prayer to recite (and it’s laminated, so if the paper gets wet no one worries). The first prayer for the mikvah translates into: Blessed are You, Lord, our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning immersion.  The second prayer is often a silent one which comes from  your heart.  The third prayer is one my favorites because it serves as a catch all and used often: Blessed are You, our God, Creator of time and space,who has supported us, protected us, and brought us to this moment.

And then, poof! You’re all spiritually clean and sparkly.  And Mike and I cannot “touch” each other until the wedding night!  
Which actually won’t be a problem since he’s going on his bachelor party immediately after, coming back on Friday.  Don’t ask me how I feel about that.


But back to the Mikvah: it’s a very unique, little known tradition.  It’s personal yet follows with you for days after.  The submersion in the mivkah centers, clears your mind, and renews. 

 Oh and visiting the mikvah is not required, but rather Mike and I chose to do it. 

4 days until the wedding!!!
Filed Under: BlogBook, Judaism, Mike, the big day, traditions

Floral Staging

June 14, 2011 1 Comment

Without giving too much away to our guests, I will share a select photo of our floral staging.  Our florist arranged one of the table centerpieces for us to see.  Seeing the arrangement allowed us to talk about ways to improve it, or even love it as is.  For example, I dislike light green roses…they look un-ripe to me; also I want to see more blue in my bridal bouquet to differentiate it from the centerpieces.  We also discussed an alternate centerpiece idea to offset the low, lush centerpieces that he created for the showing.  It was a great time to talk things over.  Plus he’s a vendor that just doesn’t do email.  It’s amazing how far a real conversation in real life can take you!

So, here’s sneak peek! 

5 days!!!
Filed Under: BlogBook, flowers, wedding

Water Bottle Labels: Tutorial

June 13, 2011 4 Comments

Thanks to Emily’s inspiration, my detail-prone-self, and the help of bridesmaid Kathryn & fiance Mike, we replaced 140 water bottle labels with custom, personalized ones!

You might be wondering, Why spend valuable time changing water bottle labels?  What’s wrong with the labels they came with? or even, Are you crazy?
The answer?  Spiff.
A virtual friend of mine pointed out that no one wants a copy-cat wedding.  Everyone needs their own spiffy details that set your shin-dig apart from others.  And I have to say, when all these water bottles are set up they look pretty darn spiffy.  That’s my kind of detail.

(Sidenote: Emily’s tutorial is waaaayyy more helpful, instructions-wise.  I was too tired and wanted to get the labeling over with, to stop and take proper pictures to document our endeavors.  PlusAlso I decided sleep was more valuable. I’m sure you understand!)

First: remove the label from one water bottle.  Measure (or eyeball, as I did) the width and length of the old label.  Then cut scrapbook paper, or card-stock, to the same size as the old labels.  Using a paper cutter is very helpful here.

Next print out labels with your picture & words.  Apply to pieces of pre-cut paper.

Lastly hot-glue or use a glue stick to affix the labels to the naked water bottles (previous labels removed).

And there you have it! 140 bottles took approximately 2 hours to complete.  They will go in our welcome bags and be handed out at the end of the reception.

 Voila!
spiffy.
Filed Under: BlogBook, crafty, details, reception, wedding

One Week Update

June 12, 2011 5 Comments

Oh holy hell.
One WEEK!
Seven DAYS!
Excitement, anxiety, nervous energy, anticipation…it’s all there.  

Yesterday we had our final meeting with the caterer and wedding planner.  It simultaneously calmed me & gave me a minor panic attack, while we plotted out every detail & my to-do list grew ten-fold.

Friday night bridesmaid and all-around-awesome lifesaver/friend/confidant Kathryn came over and helped label water bottles.  Post to come.  and Sidenote: I am way too detail oriented.

I recently made our cake topper.  Another post to come. (again, detail obsessed)

Mike applied for, and picked up, our wedding license all without me even showing up to the courthouse once.  Hooray for proof of identification and a signature to “prove” I exist.

Still to do:
-get Mike a mani/pedi today! (hehe)
-finish writing my vows
-practice our first dance
-buy 5 more frames for the table numbers
-print out table numbers
-print out escort cards
-put said escort cards in alphabetical order
-print menu for each place setting
-pick up ketuba (which may or may not be ready by Thursday…)
-pick up borrowed earrings from jeweler
-pick up steamed dress & veil
-drop off the fifteen-bagillion things at the venue on Friday
-get my car washed
-get nails done with bridesmaids
-get one last spray tan
-pack for the honeymoon
-hope it doesn’t rain on June 19th
-try to remember everything else I’m forgetting…

The part I’m most excited about? (Aside from marrying my love) — Seeing all my friends and family together in one place, to celebrate us.  How cool is that?  It’s going to be a blast!!

Filed Under: BlogBook, the big day, update, wedding

As Mike Sees It (3)

June 9, 2011 6 Comments

Hello again faithful readers of Crowning Victoria! It’s been about 3 months or so since I last put together some thoughts for you all and now that we’re less than two weeks away from the big day (still a bit surreal to type) Vicki and I figured it was a good time for me to do one last post from the groom-to-be’s perspective.

Over the last few weeks, and particularly the last few days, after I tell people how close we are to the wedding date, they almost invariably ask the same thing: “Are you ready?” Three little words that seem like an innocuous question but are often anything but. Because if the question is asking whether I’m ready to actually be married to Vicki then the answer is “absolutely.” I know a lot of people get nervous about whether their relationship will change after making it all official, but honestly Vicki and I have been dating for about 7 years and living together for about 6 years (the last 3 or so with just the two of us in a home we jointly own), so while I’m sure on an intrinsic level things will change, on a day to day level I know what I’m getting in to and thrilled about it. Vicki and I work very well together and I don’t doubt my love for her or my certainty about marrying her for one second.

But there’s another aspect of the question that I have been tending to think about first when this question gets asked: are we ready to actually have this wedding? Because whenever I hear the words “are you ready?” my mind immediately drifts to the many items on my to-do list, the e-mails in my inbox, and all the other details that need to be taken care of. Whenever we’ve felt like we’ve accomplished most of what needed to get done there’s a new bunch of action items coming at us. I was under no illusions that making this happen would be simple, but I have consistently been amazed by the amount of time and effort required to pull this thing off.

With that being said, now that we count the time to go in days instead of months or weeks, I feel like I can honestly answer the question of if we’re ready with a solid yes. That doesn’t mean that we’ve gotten everything taken care of (not by a long shot as my still crowded to-do list can attest). But at this point I know that no matter what happens, Sunday June 19th is going to be an awesome day, one that I will look back on fondly for the rest of my life. All my closest friends and family together in the same room, there to celebrate me and the love of my life; what more can a person ask for? Inevitably something will get forgotten or overlooked but really, whatever it is I’m cool with it. As long as when it’s all said and done I get to call the beautiful woman behind this blog my wife then all the rest is just water under the bridge.

That being said the band has been a pain in my a** so they better be worth it. :)

So let’s break out those dancing shoes, squeeze into our formal wear, and get hitched. Because not only am I ready; the 19th can’t come soon enough!

Filed Under: awesomeness, BlogBook, Mike's Posts, the big day

Flower Girl Basket Tutorial

June 7, 2011 4 Comments

Sure, this is a tutorial… of sorts.

Here’s the way I decorate my eldest niece’s flower girl basket, to match our wedding colors.

I started off with a plain, white basket, from Michael’s Craft Store, intended for flower girls.

I purchased ribbon, in our wedding colors:
Using a hot-glue-gun & binder clips (to hold my spot), I attached inch wide purple ribbon  to the top of the basket:
 
 I was careful to tuck the ribbon over itself so as not to bunch:
After, I attached the .5 inch ribbon to the bottom boarder of the basket:
Lastly I added an apple green accent stripe of ribbon:

And ta-da! A personalized flower girl basket!
PS: hot glue gun stringies drive me craaaazy!
Filed Under: awesomeness, BlogBook, crafty, family, flowers

Waistline Woes

June 4, 2011 6 Comments

Any bride who tells you she’s not dieting is lying. 
Just throwing that out there.

So for myself?
Sure, I cut back on my food intake.  Nothing drastic, or anything. I like food. Food and me? We have a great relationship. It tastes goooood. Case-in-point. 
But who doesn’t want to look even better? With the proper motivation, like ahem, your wedding, you can go far, right?
Wrrrrrong.

I mean you can, and sure I’ve come far, but comfort food is so darn yuuuummmmy.

So here’s how it goes for me:

About 6 months out from my wedding I gave more money than I care to admit to hired a personal trainer.  I know me.  I will purchase a gym membership, plan on going religiously, do that for about a week, and then taper off and still end up paying for it when not going at all.  That money lost is now body image gained with my personal trainer.  And bonus: she’s someone I enjoy working with, centers me emotionally during my rants, and will continue to work with post-nuptials.  Super bonus: my biceps rock.

The hypoallergenic, doctor prescribed diet back in October taught me a lot about food: quality, quantity and preservatives. While there’s no way in hell I still eat what or how I did on that diet, I know how certain foods affect me and try to make concerted effort to eat better.  Now consistency is my problem.  I’ll eat whole, good foods for about 2 days, then fall off the wagon at a bbq and gorge on those hotdogs I try to deprive myself of otherwise.  But a few hotdogs/bruchetta/macaroni salad here and there is not bad!  I try to be realistic.  Reality is harsh when you want a flat belly, though.

Last week I asked a thin friend of mine how he does it.  He asked if I wanted the truth.  Um, yes. (Hindsight: no no no.)  Enemas and not eating.  Ok so that first part is out the window.  Nothing too extreme for me, please.  But not eating?!  We’ve established my love affair with food.  Sure you eat less you should weigh less.  You eat right you should also weigh less.  For the record, this friend does eat.
Moving on, I asked another friend who happens to be a nutritionist at a certain government run health organization that same question.  Disclaimer, this was at her birthday party and she was definitely enjoying herself.  Her response: Don’t eat.  What?! Wait, wasn’t that the skinny friend’s advice?!  Now things are wonky.  She went on to explain that smaller meals are better, not totally restricting calories.  Oh, and she also advised that if I plan on drinking any alcohol, then I should really not eat. Like, at all. 
Last stop on the bad-advice train, with a happy twist, my personal trainer.  I recounted the pointers given above and she nodded and agreed.  If you don’t eat you will loose weight.  But of course you shouldn’t do that.  Whew.  Finally, someone who sees the reality to this bad guidance.  Then she shared how she prepared for a body building contest by basically not eating for the remaining days leading up to the show.  ARG!  She supports eating.

For the love of all things tasty, people must eat!
I’m going to write a book called “You have to eat to loose weight!” 
Not that I have any credentials on the topic. 
Just random advice from others.

And no worries, I’m eating.  And I’m working out.  And Mike and I are running a 5K together tomorrow.  And we eat really well.
Food is meant to be enjoyed.
But the jellybeans & candy cane oreos are hidden from sight.

Sidenote: I fear the google searches that will land people on this post!

Filed Under: BlogBook, diet, shut the front door

The Way It Is

June 4, 2011 2 Comments

This is the story of The Way It Is. 

While I open my heart and pour out these seemingly “crazy” bride-to-be thoughts rolling around in my head, I’m honestly, simply sharing.  Support of how everything will turn out great, the day will be lovely, and the party phenomenal, are welcomed.  But I’m not complement fishing, here. (albeit they are nice to hear)

I  need to vent. 
Need to just be heard.
Need to use this here blog as an outlet.

Because in truth and my heart-of-hearts I know everything will turn out fine.
I know I’ll be beautiful in my white dress, because there is no such thing as an ugly bride.  Wait, hold that, I’m sure there’s a Google search out there to prove me wrong.  Still, it, I, will be grand.

For as much nervous energy I spend waste over-thinking worst case scenarios, the wedding, the every-little-detail will be fine.
I know that.
Doesn’t stop me from thinking about it, though.

I’m hella excited.
But I wouldn’t be normal if I didn’t worry.
That’s the way it is.

Now don’t go reading too far into this post, or any other post, dear (virtual or otherwise) friends of mine.  I can tell you with full certainty that all is well.  Just making sure this blog remains a place for me to be open and honest.

Filed Under: awesomeness, BlogBook

Just Dance

June 3, 2011 4 Comments

Mike and I chose a first dance song.  Then we nixed the first one and chose a different song.  Then we registered for dance classes!

While a seemingly good move and use of money, we now know we don’t want a structured dance.  The class was fine, well taught, and covered good moves, but it was more of the “do it this way or it’s not right” appeal that didn’t sit right.  We’re not those kind of dancers. 

So we learned the box step, the fox trot, and waltz.  We learned how to hold you arms up and elbows out.  We even mastered walking. Turning corners, not so much “mastered,” but instead we’ll dance back and forth.
At least we won’t be doing the 7th grade sway.

Having said all that, our practicing schedule lacks attention. 
As in: we still need to do that.
So dear friends and family, when we grace the dance floor for the first time as husband and wife, try not to stare at our awkward footsteps. In fact, just look away.  Because it’s enough that you’re there with us.  We understand if you turn your head, refill your drink, or otherwise use that time to your advantage.  The photographer only needs to see us through her lens.
What I’m getting at here is this sweet, tender moment is riddled with nervous energy of all-eyes-on-you.  We want that lovey-dovey moment… on our honeymoon, or in our apartment, or in our back parking lot where we practice dancing alone. 
I’m so glad we invited you to share our day & so glad you came, just don’t judge our dancing.
Then bring us both a drink.
(We’ll need it!)

(not us)
Filed Under: BlogBook, details, Mike, the big day

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