Well, what a wonderful wedding weekend we had! Even after all that planning, I couldn't have imagined a more perfect wedding day. The ceremony was beautiful, the timing on everything was almost perfect, and the dance floor was never empty. In the past two months since the wedding, I've heard so many compliments from so many folks (from those who were present at the wedding to random facebook friends and everyone in between)... I'm feeling like all that hard work of planning certainly paid off in the end. And a big thanks to everyone for the kind words. I'm just thrilled that everyone had a great time and that peeps are enjoying the photographs.
Speaking of photographs, you have to check them out! My brother over at Matt Ferrara Photography did just a phenomenal job capturing the fun, love, and emotions of the day. Here are just a few of our favorites (and photos of many of the details I've blogged about!):
My green shoes!
All of the pieces of the invitation and the save-the-date
Getting my make-up done at Creative Corner
The groom is all set and ready to go!
Putting in my veil
I didn't feel the butterflies yet. They arrived as I walked down the aisle!
Leaving home.
Right before we entered the church for the ceremony.
I LOVE the blue dresses and green flowers.
He probably doesn't like this picture, but it makes my heart melt.
He's trying to hold it together as he sees me for the first time on our wedding day.
Down the aisle with my dad
Joyfully singing the opening hymn, "Morning Has Broken"
My sister's bouquet
Our mothers sharing a happy glance while presenting the gifts
Love is in my eyes
The first kiss!
Excited to be married
Smiling for the crowd as we exit the church
The wedding party
Groom and groomsmen. The gray suits and navy & green ties looked wonderful!
Bride and bridesmaids. These were the gifts I purchased for them on etsy.
Each bmaid also received a unique key necklace. They're wearing them here.
Under the trees on the quad at the URI campus
We found this twisty blue sculpture on the URI campus and used it for
some great photographs.
Adventurers at the TF Green skybridge
Heading off on our next adventure. We got a round of applause when we entered the skybridge
from folks waiting in line for their rental cars.
The favors
Table numbers and centerpieces
Table numbers and centerpieces
The cake topper made by Kate Niemer!
A surprise from my parents!
The head table
The card box. This piece of luggage was actually used by my grandparents on their honeymoon!
The seating cards!
The seating cards!
Our tack-the-map guest book
Our tack-the-map guestbook
Our tack-the-map guestbook
Our first dance - "Darling I Do" by Landon Pigg & Lucy Schwartz
Father/bride dance - "Free Falling" by Tom Petty
We used to dance to this song before all father/daughter dances in elementary school..
Mother/groom dance - "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Iz
John's brother makes an awkward joke during his best man speech.
The reactions are priceless.
The back of my gown
Another shot of the cake topper, with me cleaning off Johnny's nose in the background
Singing "Is This Love?" by Bob Marley to my groom
Photobooth
[purchase photobooth photos at: http://mattferrara.zenfolio.com/p462233120
and use the password - radison (yes, spelled wrong)]
Dance party photos
Dance party photos
Dance party photos
Dance party photos - my grandfather Pop-Pop
Buck Sexington made a surprise appearance!
Perhaps the last dance?
There are about 300 more photos on facebook posted in my profile, so if you're interested in seeing more, head on over there.
In the end, what advice do I have to give about weddings and marriage? Let's see...
1. Everyone tells you it's going to fly by in the blink of an eye, and it does. I didn't really believe them, but I found myself, at 12am when the music wrapped up and we were walking around saying our goodbyes, thinking to myself, "Wait, is it really over?" As much as you want to make it last forever, you'll have such a blast that there's no way to avoid it speeding by. Just take in every moment and savor it the best you can.
2. Don't hold in all your emotions until they can't possibly be held in any longer. I made this rookie mistake. It resulted in me bawling my eyes out down the aisle. Now, I wouldn't change that for anything, but looking back, I know that it was a result of me just keeping all my nervousness and butterflies to myself through the whole morning. Let it out! That's what your bmaids and family are there for and it will make your memories of the morning getting ready even more meaningful and memorable.
3. Make sure you find a way to say hi to everyone who has made it to your wedding. We did a receiving line at the reception and then even made it around to half of the tables (wish we had had time for all the tables) during the dinner. Many of your guests have gone to great lengths to make it to your big day so make sure you don't miss anyone. Seriously, if our wedding day had been 10 hours longer, the extra time would have been spent just chilling and chatting with all our awesome friends and family. We wish we could have given everyone more of our attention!
4. Planning a wedding is a lot of work. Paying for a wedding is not easy either. So much work and so much money just for one day - we all must be crazy, right? I was feeling like that towards the last few months of the planning, but once you reach the big day, you'll see. It really is all worth it. There's nothing like seeing 9 months of hard work come together so beautifully. All the pieces of your never-quite-put-together vision, finally put together. Every last minute spent agonizing over flowers and seating charts, every last penny spent making sure the gown fits perfectly... all worth it.
5. Married life is AWESOME. After all is said and done, that's what you have after a wedding. A long, beautiful life of marriage. A forever buddy. Someone to be there with you through any and everything. There's nothing more beautiful or meaningful than that. 'Cept maybe having kids. But we're going to wait a while on that one. For right now, we're just enjoying our new life together and working our hardest to make everyday as love-filled and romantic as our wedding day. Here's to the many adventures ahead!
So I guess this is it. Since our schwedding has come and gone, there's not much left to blog about. Perhaps in the future I'll post some memories, random crazy stories about my gown fittings, or the priest who yelled at us, or the random appearance of Buck Sexington... but until then, I want to say a HUGE thanks to everyone who's followed my journey and supported the schwedding planning. It's been great to share all the experiences with each of you. And what a great "journal" this will be for me to look back on 20 years from now, right?
For now, I leave you with our wedding video by my younger brother, Jeff Ferrara. His first ever, and an amazing summary of our wedding day - John & Steph's Big Adventure.
