Posts Tagged ‘wedding planning’

Our Wedding: The Dance & After Party

Posted on December 16th, 2010 by Tonia No Comments

Please, don’t steal any photos off my blog!!!!  Just ask- I’ll share.

Phew!  This has been quite the journey, reliving our entire wedding weekend here on the blog!!  I hope you’ve enjoyed the stories and photos {and if you’re planning your own eco-friendly wedding, perhaps some of our ideas were useful to you.}

This next batch of pictures was taken during the dance, which was a total and complete blast.  My family and friends all have something in common…we like to eat good food, and we like to dance to good music.  Thankfully, we happen to have a lot of really ridiculously talented musician friends, who jumped at the chance to give us the gift of their music for our wedding.

And did I mention that my brother and I play the fiddle?  We grew up playing with our family-band called Roll Up the Rug at folk dances all over the Midwest.  We were quite the popular dance band back in the day!  But then college got in the way of playing regular gigs, and busy-grown-up-life followed shortly after college, so the fiddles don’t get taken out of their cases very often these days.  My brother got up there on the mic and played a beautiful waltz for Poppy and me to dance to, and it was pretty cool to see his fiddle skills have not waned.

And then Mike and I danced to “Don’t Be Shy”…because we fricken love that song and it deserved to be played twice at the wedding!!

Our reception band was Hip Pocket…the grooviest dance band on the planet, for real.  It was so, so cool to look around {in between pulling sweet moves and simultaneously making sure not to spill my mason jar of beer} at them groovin’ out with their instruments and think “hey, I know these guys!”  Someone should have given me an “I’m With the Band” t-shirt to wear over my dress.  Someone did give me a glow-stick necklace at one point, which of course I wore for the rest of the night.

Even the Grandmas were out on the dance floor!

Also take note of the shiny bocce medal around the neck of one of the formerly mentioned champions.

Yes, the groom is air-guitarring in the background here.  He is always air-guitarring.  It is his favorite, and he does it with immense concentration and skill.  You’d swear he was shredding a real guitar- it’s almost a trick of the eyes…which, as every good air-guitarist knows, is exactly the desired result.

At this point I’m going to switch over to photos taken by family and friends again, because there were some really entertaining moments captured, which I believe you will enjoy greatly…

Somehow the Photobooth costumes and props made their way from the gazebo to the dance floor…

I call this one “Fun Revolutionary”…My cousin John was channeling his inner Che Guevara…except, happier.

“Laura Ingalls Wilder Gone Wild”

Oh dear!

After the dance ended, the night was far from over…approximately five hours far from over, for some people:

A bonfire, several frozen pizzas, and a sexy Lady Gaga iPod playlist were warming up at Cabin 11 {which was later re-named “Club 11″ by its inhabitants.}  Mike and I joined the party and were instantly handed a cocktail and a slice of pizza.  I love my cousins.

Did someone spill something??

Just way too much fun, that’s what that is.  I didn’t want the night to end…but then again, we were exhausted and soooo ready for a tiny bit of peace and quiet.  Reluctantly, Mike and I snuck out of Club 11 together, leaving the cousins to party on.

My feet were K.I.L.L.I.N.G.ing me at this point {even though my shoes were very sensible, sweet vintage t-strap heels, found on Etsy} so Mike gave me a piggy-back-ride {pretty challenging while wearing a huge fluffy wedding dress!} and we made our way through the dark, quiet resort down to the lake where our private cabin was waiting.

It was a beautiful walk.  Mist was rising off the lake.  The moon was almost full and the stars were unbelievably bright in the clear, black sky.  The air had that crisp autumn bite to it, and it seemed like the earth was breathing in and out with us.  Everything was quiet, and we were alone- husband and wife.

Our cabin was filled with goodies that had been left for us by little elves.  :)  Champagne, chocolates, etc.  We just couldn’t believe the biggest and best day of our lives was OVER.  It felt sad and amazing at the same time.  Best of all, we were married & all filled up with the love that everyone had radiated out to us all weekend long.  It doesn’t get any better than this– thank you, everyone, who came and ate, danced, partied, and made our wedding all that it was.  We love you!!

Our Wedding: The Dinner

Posted on December 15th, 2010 by Tonia 1 Comment

Hey!  No need to steal these pretty photos taken by Generation Photography.  If you ask me, I’m sure I’ll be happy to share.  Thanks!  

Dinner was a delicious buffet catered by my Nonno’s {nickname for “grandpa” in Italian} favorite local restaurant, Pine Baron.  They were so flexible with us- allowing Poppy to customize the menu with his own recipes, even though they normally only allow wedding groups to choose from a set catering menu.  It was so cool to eat familiar and much-loved recipes that evening, and added to the comfortable and laid back feeling of the wedding.  

Pine Baron even prepared a separate gluten free version of the meal for a few of our guests who are allergic to gluten, and a vegan version for our veggie friends and fam.  I can’t rave enough about how accommodating they were.  They even helped us with things like the tent rental, deciding where/how to arrange the tables, and what color napkins to go with!   

Check out those cute, mis-matched vintage plates, baby!!  I loved this element of the wedding…they were all different and all from thrift-shops.  My mom and a few of our friends collected them all summer long, washed them, and brought them to the wedding.  Anyone want to avoid plate-rental fees at their wedding?  I’ve got plates.  Lots and lots of plates.  Holla’ at me, I’ll hook ya up.  

My Poppy is kinda famous for his salads.  He and my mom have a huge garden and make the most delicious salads from the greens they grow.  I was so happy that salad was such a large part of our wedding meal.  Crisp, spicy, nutty, yummy greens!!!  

 

My favorite photos of the whole wedding were taken during the toasts.  Joe and Tony captured our reactions and emotions during every single one of the speeches.  So many people got up during dinner to share stories and give us their blessing…and one brave {and slightly crazy-in-a-good-way} group of friends even performed a song and dance for us!  The toasts had us laughing and crying at the same time, it was a wild mix of emotions, to say the least.  

          

My brother made a sideshow/movie for us and played it after dinner while we all drank coffe and ate the delicious bunt-cakes made by Mike’s mom.  He did a great job on it…so many happy memories flashed on the tent wall.  It was fun to look around and see everyone’s faces as they watched.  

“That was so crazy when Jesus showed up.” -My cousin Jim [in the foreground holding the Bud Lite, which he brought from his own cabin– we definitely did NOT serve Bud Lite to our guests! This was a classy wedding!! Come on now…] when he saw this photo.

 

And with that, we move on to the dancing…

Our Wedding: Antipasti & Decor

Posted on December 15th, 2010 by Tonia 2 Comments

You won’t steal these beautiful photos that Generation Photography took if you know what’s good for you!!!!!

After the ceremony, our guests went up the hill to the reception tent where they had antipasto and prosecco served to them.  Meanwhile, Mike and I snuck off with Joe and Tony to snap a few shots with our wedding party.

Left to Right: Jen {married to Mike’s brother}, Courtney {my “big sister” bff}, Laura {Mike’s sister}, Libby {my cousin}, me {bride}, Emma {Mike’s cousin & flower girl}, Clare {my cousin}, Caitlyn {matron of honor & bff}, and Caroline {my “little sister” bff}

Danny was in cahoots with the photogs to ruin as many nice photos of the girls as possible.  Thanks a lot, brother!!  Just wait until you get married…

That shrug I’m wearing was knitted by my mom!!!!  It was so soft and warm, and best of all I get to wear it again and again.  I was pretty bummed about that fact that I’ll never get to wear my wedding dress again, so to have at least part of my wedding outfit be re-wearable is super nice!

Mike’s pocket watch was a gift from his great uncle who lives in Switzerland.  He gave it to Mike on the morning of the wedding- a tradition among the men in his family.  Mike has been looking forward to getting that watch his whole life.

 My veil was made by a woman in our town for $25!!  She whipped it up in about 20 min.  My mom and I found the tulle and the lace for it at Hancock Fabric.  I have no ideas why these things usually cost hundreds of dollars, but I’m sure glad I didn’t spend that on it!  It was so beautiful regardless of the lack of brand-name…plus, you wear it for one hour of your life, so…

Great group shot in the beautiful old boat house down by the lake.

Our brothers sign our marriage license, and then it’s time to rejoin our guests up at the tent for some antipasti.  Mike is feelin’ good…

The antipasti were made by friends and family and were brought to the wedding pot-luck style {it simply would not have been a true WI/MN party without a pot-luck.}  The cheeses and prosecco were selected by Poppy, who {being rather zealous about his Italian heritage} is particular about these things.

Mike with his Grandma– one of my fave photos!  Our “photobooth” was a beautiful gazebo that just happened to be located right next to where we put the tent!  We filled it with costumes {thankfully our parents hung on to all our old “dress-up clothes” from childhood!} and cameras for our guests to use for funny pictures.

The “keg canoe” was filled with delicious mico-brew beer and root-beer, both made in WI {yes, an actual canoe, filled with ice and kegs.}  Mmmmm!  Check out the Cutest Family of the Year Award {Mike’s sister, her husband Chris, and their adorable daughter Amelia}. Seriously, how did this photo happen?? It’s so awesome:

Wedding photos of our parents and grandparents lined the welcome table inside the tent where guests could sign the guestbook and pick up their seating card.

The tablecloth on the head table belonged to a close friend’s great-grandmother.  It was so beautiful, and meant so much to us that she let us use it.

The table names were places that are meaningful to either Mike or me.  I painted them with watercolors and my dad made the stands for them from small cross-cut logs and copper wire.

The burlap and doily table runners were sewed by my mom and her five sisters.  Our guests collected doilies from garage sales all summer and mailed them to us to use!!

The maple syrup favors were a big hit with our guests.  My family is known for the delicious homemade syrup we make every spring.  This particular batch was made in April 2010.  Mike’s mom and dad came and helped us tap, collect, boil, and can.  Mike designed the “logo” for the bottles.

Our wedding cake was made by my bridesmaid Caroline, who has a real talent for fondant.  There is a healthy rivalry between Mike’s Minnesotan family and my Cheesehead family, as you can see… :)  The cake stand was made by my dad and brother.  They made about 8 of these stands.  The other ones, not pictured, had four different flavors of bunt-cakes on them {made by Mike’s mom!}.  They were all delicious and had that fresh homemade taste.

Time to eat!!….Stay tuned for dinner & dancing pictures coming up next.

Our Wedding: The Ceremony

Posted on December 14th, 2010 by Tonia 4 Comments

All photos were taken by Joe Dickie of Generation Photography and should not be stolen off my blog!!  I will hunt you down!!!

Leading up to the wedding, I will admit that I was mostly excited about the party aspect of the whole deal.  In our planning, we focused heavily on the reception and left some of the ceremony details until the last minute {it was still very thought out & came together perfectly, though.}  We’re party people, it’s in our blood, I’m sorry!  However, as it turned out, the ceremony was actually my favorite part of the day. 

It was a fairly chilly day at first, but at exactly 2:30 PM when the ceremony was scheduled to start, the wind died down, the clouds rolled away, and the sun became warm and delightful.  It sounds crazy, but literally the change in weather happened the minute I walked out my cabin door with my dad to head down to the ceremony!

I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was outside…after weeks of obsessively checking weather.com, it was such a relief to know Grandma wasn’t going to freeze!  If you’re thinking the sunshine was Divine intervention, I’d have to say I completely agree.

Babes!!!  Their different colored tights and shoes make me happy.

Look at Mike’s mom’s beautiful dark red hair.  Fingers crossed that our kids get that.  Mike’s dad is an artist and he drew a beautiful oak tree on our programs, which our Junior Bridesmaids Clare and Libby {two of my younger cousins} handed out as people arrived.  Their pretty silk dresses were made by Clare’s mom!

My cousin Maggie played her flute as people were being seated by the ushers {two long-time friends of ours who both traveled from very far away for our wedding.}

Emma needed a little encouragement to get down the aisle due to some last-minute shyness, so Libby walked with her.  Emma remembered her job to toss the rose petals {collected and dried by my mom and her three close friends} and totally stole the show with her crazy cuteness.

Poppy looked amazing.  He walked me down the aisle to “Don’t Be Shy” by Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam, played and sung by some very close friends of ours.  I’m definitely one of those girls who has been dreaming of this exact moment for years.  And it was better than I ever imagined it would be.

Whether you’re a spiritual person or not, and no matter what religion you identify with, there’s no denying the powerful feeling of love- human and Divine- that encompassed us all during that hour.  God, nature, our guests…we were all connected…united in the emotion of the moment.  I’m usually a person of easy, plentiful words…but there’s no way to describe what happened there.  I feel so blessed, humbled, and grateful that of all the people in the world, God chose Mike and I to be together, and surrounded us with this amazing support system of wonderful people.  Neither of us deserved this perfect day, or His authentic and holy love…but we were given it anyway.

Our long-time Pastor and friend, Tim, married us.  Because he knows both Mike and me very well, the words he spoke had deep and intimate meaning to us.  He told the story of the upper room, which teaches of loyalty, friendship, and selflessness {three elements we wish our marriage to have}, while we washed each others feet.  The pitcher we kept the water in was handmade by close friends.

Look at our beautiful friends and family…everyone has that end-of-summer glow.

WE DID IT!!!!  Woooooah!!!  Married!!!!  Time to hug everyone…

And now on to the party!!!  If I can just stop crying long enough to continue…