Grazie

We received Caitlin and Anthony's thank you in the mail! It's beautiful: all photos of them from the wedding with a typed note on it. I love that Caitlin never let's being blind get in her way: she found a great way to send thank yous out!

Shower Together

We received the invitation for Sophie and Erik's couples shower this week! It is being hosted by Erik's parents, Linda and Chris, not too far from us on December 28. However, that weekend Matt and I will be with my family celebrating Christmas, so we won't be able to attend. We're currently looking at their registries to pick something out to send to them for the party, though!

Katell Rundown

The Rundown

Ceremony
Venue: outdoor
Ceremony: non-denominational
Wedding colors: purple and white
Music: harp
Maid of Honor: Juliana (bride's best friend)
Best Man: Steve (groom's cousin)
Bridesmaids: 2 (purple dresses)
Groomsmen: 1
Flower Girl: 1 (white dress)
Ring Bearer: 1
Officiant: justice of the peace
Programs: no
Bouquets: floral
Boutonnieres: floral
Walk down the aisle: father of the bride
Bride & Groom position: standing in front of altar
First reading: "How Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog" by Taylor Mali
Second reading: "Thoughts in a Garden" by R. Gerhardt
Gospel: no
Vows: traditional

Reception
Venue: indoor
Attire: semi-formal
Music: DJ
Cocktail hour: yes
Open bar: yes
Guestbook: tree picture with leaves to sign
Escort cards: tented business cards
First dance: You and Me by Lifehouse
Father-Daughter dance: The Way You Look Tonight by Michael Bublé
Mother-Son dance: I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack
Bride & Groom table: sweetheart
Speeches: father and mother of the bride, maid of honor, best man, grandmother of the bride
Centerpieces: floral
Table labels: numbers
Menus: per table
Dinner: plated (maple dijon chicken, roasted wild salmon, char-grilled filet of beef)
Cake cutting: How Sweet It Is by James Taylor
Bouquet toss: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
Garter toss: no
Favors: pumpkins

Katell

We attended Emily and Jeremy's wedding today held at the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx in New York. It was a beautiful venue and Matt and I truly enjoyed seeing two of our friends get married. The ceremony started at around 11 30 and was held outside in a small courtyard. There were chairs on either side for guests with a rose petal-lined aisle for the bridal party to walk down. They had a harp as their only music which was beautiful (it's one of my favorite instruments) and a short, simple ceremony. One of my favorite parts of the ceremony was that, instead of traditional readings, the justice of the peace read two excerpts that related to the couple as well as a summary of their relationship together. After the vows and exchange of rings, they did a sand ceremony combining two different colors of sand (plum and white) in a single container. It was a short, but very meaningful ceremony that Matt and I greatly enjoyed.

Immediately after the ceremony they had their cocktail hour in a tented and heated patio. They had great food at a few different stations as well as passed hors d'oeuvres that were all delicious. After cocktail hour, we were ushered into a beautiful ballroom with the dance floor in the center. They had gorgeous floral centerpieces made of all different purple and white flowers surrounded by small candles. The couple entered to Bruno Mars' "Marry You" and went into their first dance, which they asked everyone to join them in after a minute or so. They spaced the three courses out starting with two different tapas one of which was shrimp. We had salad after that and a choice of three different plates for dinner. I had the salmon which was amazing and Matt got the beef which was so tender he could cut it with a butter knife. The couple cut their cake after that and the dance floor was opened up to everyone. Dessert was served as a slice of cake along with another type of cake with vanilla ice cream and strawberries, baked apples with sliced nuts, and a chocolate covered strawberry. It was honestly the best dessert I think I have ever had and I highly recommend every restaurant adopting this policy of several small dessert options on one plate. For favors, the couples had a small pumpkin with a cute tag tied around the stem in lieu of the season! After all of the food, the DJ announced the father-daughter dance and then the mother-son dance. Matt and I left shortly after since we had to drive back home, but they did do a bouquet toss which one of the girls at our table ended up with. The couple also had a photobooth at the reception that was a lot of fun. They had a lot of props and a large enough area to fit groups of people!

Congratulations to the newlyweds and we wish them a lifetime of love and happiness!

And, now, for the pictures:

escort card

photobooth card

favor tag

Garden Party

We got Emily and Jeremy's wedding invitation today! It matched their save the date and is absolutely beautiful! Here are two pictures of the whole package and I will update with the scanned photos of the contents later today!

Updated photos:

Mongillo Photos

Just added a few of Caitlin and Anthony's professional photos to my website! Check them out by clicking here: http://weddinglookingglass.weebly.com/professional7.html

Enjoy!

Thanks a Bunch

We received two wedding-related items in our mailbox today! The first was a thank you from Kevin and Kristen's wedding! They are really adorable, made with photos from their wedding! We also received an email from Kevin earlier today letting us know that their pictures were ready! I'm going to start going through them shortly!

The second item was an invitation from Juliana, my maid of honor as well as Emily's, for Emily's bridal shower next month! I'm not going to be able to attend, but I'll be looking online for a gift to send to her! I LOVE that they included a recipe card, too! It's so cute and a wonderful idea to start a new life together! I just have to decide which recipe to give them...

Volunteer State

I've been talking to Natasha today, asking her about the wedding to help her plan as well as send her the Russell and Hazel planner. They have a date and a ceremony venue already: August 9, 2014 at Lars's homestead church in Bluff City, Tennessee! It's the first wedding that Matt and I will be traveling (further than a drive) for! That makes three weddings next year, with two in the summer! Thankfully, they're a little more spaced than the two we had this summer!

At Last!

One of my very best friends has finally proposed! Lars asked Natasha to marry him earlier today which has a kind of funny back story. Last weekend, Matt and I went to visit them in North Carolina, along with our other friend, Greg, and his girlfriend, Alanna. We spent quite a bit of the weekend ragging on Lars for not having proposed yet and asking him when he was. Meanwhile, he already has a ring and is planning on proposing! He played it completely cool!

I am so happy for these two, Natasha is a very lucky girl and Lars is lucky to have her! More details to come as soon as I know them!

Summer Blue

We got Erik and Sophie's save the date yesterday! It's so cute and I'm really excited for their wedding! We'll be heading Newport here in Rhode Island, probably for the weekend. Here's their save the date:

Mongillo Rundown

The Rundown

Ceremony
Venue: indoor
Ceremony: Catholic
Wedding colors: green
Music: string quartet
Maid of Honor: Megan (bride's sister)
Best Man: Chris (groom's friend)
Bridesmaids: 6 (green dresses)
Groomsmen: 6
Flower Girl: 1 (white dress)
Ring Bearer: no
Officiant: priest
Programs: yes
Bouquets: floral
Boutonnieres: floral
Walk down the aisle: father of the bride and guide dog
Bride & Groom position: seated on altar with maid of honor and best man
First reading: Book of Songs, Ch. 2, V. 8-14
Second reading: First Letter from Paul to the Corinthians, Ch. 13
Gospel: from the Book from Luke
Vows: traditional

Reception
Venue: outdoor/indoor
Attire: formal
Music: DJ with accompanying instruments
Cocktail hour: yes
Open bar: yes (with wine and beer)
Guestbook: no
Escort cards: tented business cards
First dance: The Prayer by Celine Dion and Josh Groban
Father-Daughter dance: My Girl by The Temptations
Mother-Son dance: Because Anthony's mother passed away, he and his sister danced to You Got a Friend by Carol King
Bride & Groom table: sweetheart
Speeches: father of the groom, father and mother of the bride, best man, and maid of honor
Centerpieces: floral
Table labels: numbers
Menus: per table
Dinner: plated (chateaubriand, grilled free-range chicken, blackened mahi-mahi)
Cake cutting: How Sweet It Is by James Taylor
Bouquet toss: no
Garter toss: no
Favors: donation

Mongillo

Caitlin and Anthony's wedding was another beautiful day! Their ceremony, held at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Smithtown, NY (on Long Island) was very beautiful. They had a full Catholic mass which was done by the church's priest. The church was really beautiful and the ceremony was wonderful. Caitlin was walked down the aisle by her father and her guide dog, Laser. I absolutely loved the songs that they walked down to: Simple Gifts (Obama's inaugural song) and Falling Slowly, both performed by a string quintet. Of course, one of their photographers was sitting in one of the pews in the back and started snoring.

The reception was held at the Timber Point Country Club, also on Long Island, and was also beautiful. They had a cocktail hour outside which started at 6:30 and featured some delicious hors d'oeuvres. They had a man singing classic Frank Sinatra tunes as background music which was great. The dinner was great, they took your order there from three options. (I had chicken and Matt had the steak which were both good.) Their DJ had accompanying instruments and played really good music which kept the dance floor pretty busy all night. Matt and I left around 10:15 since we were staying with one of my bridesmaids in Queens, so we weren't able to taste the cake, but it certainly looked delicious! On our way out, we saw that they had a pretzel vendor outside for guests, which  was really cute. I was really happy, too, that instead of a favor they donated to the guide dog foundation in Smithtown.

program front

program inside

prograg back

favor card

Here are a couple photos from the wedding:

MacLeod Rundown

The Rundown

Ceremony
Venue: outdoor

Ceremony: non-denominational

Wedding colors: purple
Music: bagpipe, recorded

Maid of Honor: Jenna (bride's sister)

Best Man: Alex (groom's brother)

Bridesmaids: 4 (purple dresses)

Groomsmen: 4

Flower Girl: no

Ring Bearer: no

Officiant: mininster
Programs: yes

Bouquets: floral

Boutonnieres: floral

Walk down the aisle: father of the bride

Bride & Groom position: standing in front of arch

First reading: Paul in Corinthians 13 (Adapted)

Second reading: "I Love You" by Unknown

Gospel: no

Vows: traditional

Reception
Venue: indoor

Attire: semi-formal

Music: DJ

Cocktail hour: yes

Open bar: yes (with signature drinks, beer, and wine)

Guestbook: photo book/advice coasters

Escort cards: tented business cards

First dance: Everything by Michael Bublé

Father-Daughter dance: I Loved Her First by Heartland

Mother-son dance: A Mother's Son by T. Carter

Bride & Groom table: sweetheart

Speeches: maid of honor and best man

Centerpieces: floral

Table labels: things about the bride and groom
Menus: per table

Dinner: plated (grilled filet mignon, chicken oscar, seafood en veloute, roasted vegetable tower)

Cake cutting: You Make Me Smile by Uncle Kracker

Bouquet toss: no

Garter toss: no

Favors: glass coasters

MacLeod

Kevin and Kristen's wedding was wonderful! They had some really great personal touches, but we'll start with the basics. The ceremony and reception were held at The Riverview in Simsbury, CT. It lived up to its name with a view of the river and the whole venue was gorgeous. The ceremony was was held outside underneath a tent, which was beautiful. It was a smaller wedding, about 100 people. However, it was scorching outside in the humidity with only a small breeze. Obviously not their fault, but everyone was dripping buckets after the 20 minute ceremony ended. While people were finding seats, there was a bagpiper (since Kevin's family is Scottish). The ceremony was non-denominational, presided over by a minister from the church where Kevin's mother volunteers. They had two   readings, one adapted from the Bible and the second a poem read by Kevin's dad. The wedding party looked absolutely gorgeous: the men wore gray suits with purple vests and ties (Kevin wore a white vest and tie) while the girls had floor length purple chiffon dresses.

The cocktail hour started immediately after the ceremony, while the wedding party and immediate family took pictures around the outside of the venue. There were served hors d'oeuvres as well as two stations of food during the cocktail hour. The favorite, by far, was the mashed potato bar! They had delicious mashed potatoes that you could top with cheese, broccoli, bacon, sour cream, or gravy! It was awesome! The cocktail hour was in a small section of what would be the dining room for the reception. It was very spacious, though, and had small tables for people to sit at. They opened up the dining room and everyone was seated. The grandparents were announced, though they were sitting at their tables, then the parents were announced and seated. The bridal party came in pairs and then the bride and groom were announced. They entered, throwing a football which was really cute. The tables were labeled by both numbers and a name. The names were things about the bride and groom (for instance, we sat at the rock-climbing table which included a photo of them rock climbing and a back story to the name). After their entrance, the bride and groom had their first dance to one of my favorite songs! Everyone was seated and the maid of honor and best man gave their speeches. Dinner was delicious, with a selection of one of four entrees. The had a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert which was wonderful! After dinner, the guests were asked to surround the dance floor for the father-daughter and mother-son dances. They recorded personalized messages over the beginnings of their songs which I really liked! They also did a couples dance like we did, even using the one of the same songs, where couples are eliminated by how long they've been married. My great-grandparents (Kevin's grandparents) were the winners, having been married for 62 years!

Overall it was a wonderful wedding, despite the heat, and we had a great time!

I really liked Kevin and Kristen's programs for the ceremony:

front (brochure style)

inside

outside

Here is a picture of Matt and I with the bride and groom, but for more pictures click here to go to our website!

Many Thanks

Well now that our printer is functioning again, I can post the beautiful thank yous that we got from CJ and Andrea as well as from Kristen for her bridal shower gift:

CJ & Andrea

Kristen's shower

I also received an email thank you from Caitlin for her bridal shower gift. I love that she's using email as a way for accessibility for all.

I have officially figured out what I'm wearing for the both of the upcoming June weddings. I also found nail polish and jewelry for them!

Accessories for Kevin and Kristen's wedding:

Etsy

New York & Co.

Nicole "One Voice" (fingers)

Essie "Where's My Chauffeur" (toes)

And for Caitlin and Anthony's wedding:

New York & Co.

China Glaze "Concrete Catwalk" (fingers)

Essie "Where's My Chauffeur" (toes)

That's all I have so far. Next weekend I'll be posting the rundown of Kevin and Kristen's wedding! Stay tuned!

Perfectly Plantable

We got Caitlin and Anthony's invitation today! They are beautiful and very eco-friendly! The actual invitation is made of paper infused with wildflower seeds. You can plant it and the paper with disintegrate so the flowers can grow! I've seen them before and love the idea, although I don't now if we'll plant ours. I'm very sentimental and like to hold onto keepsakes like invitations. Going along with the green theme, their RSVP is simply an email response. Here are some pictures:

Invitation

Reception Card

RSVP Card

I got my dress for their wedding in the mail yesterday, too! I was going to wear the orange one, but I'm going with a mint green dress, also from ModCloth, since it kind of fits with their theme: 

Now I just need to find some shoes...