One More For the Road

I wanted to start a series of posts about the honeymoon, but I realized I forgot one of my favorite parts of the wedding: all the details!  Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration: my favorite parts truly were spending time with family and friends, dancing the night away, and of course marrying Jeff.  But these details took up hours upon hours during the planning process, so darn it I want to showcase them.  Here are some of my favorites:

 My earrings (something new), garter (something blue: on a picture of kissy-face horses in the bridal suite), bracelet (something borrowed--from my mom) and ring (something old, my great-grandma's), and wedding rings (on our invitation)

The much-debated s h o e s, finally on display

My bouquet

The sign pointing guests toward our venue

Our ceremony set-up

The reception

The tables

 

The cupcake favors

Our cocktail tables

The cocktail table decor: kusudama balls that took FOREVER to make (but I think they were worth it!)

The buffet setup

The gift table: not my labor of love, but gorgeous and very much appreciated!

Coloring books I made for the kids--but I saw just as many adults sneaking them out at the end of the night!

And there you have it: all the details that consumed me in the months leading up to the wedding.  Maybe nobody else noticed them--that's what everyone says, right?--but I think that, all together, they really added something to the wedding.  I enjoyed working on (most of) them and they gave me a tangible way to prepare for the wedding during those days when it seemed so far away.

I hate for these posts to be over, but I'm so happy I've had the chance to share everything here about the big day.  I can honestly say without any sense of irony that it really was the best day of my life.  I used to hate it when girls said that.  Was there no more to their lives than planning this one big party?  But that's just the thing: it was that party aspect of it that made it so perfect.  Yes, it was about a lifelong commitment, and about celebrating the love that Jeff and I share.  But on top of that, it was a day full of everyone we loved.  It was a time to do the electric slide with my Nana and toss the bouquet in the direction of my twelve-year-old cousin.  There was so much happiness, so much love, surrounding us all day, and no matter what misgivings I had about tablecloth selection or seating charts, that love, that joy, made the whole thing worth it.