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...

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!

Gifted

Our house has become wedding central again, except that this time it isn't for our wedding. We're becoming overrun with wedding and shower gifts! Here's what we have so far:

All the wrapped gifts, plus the box with the DIY wine glasses in it

Cuisinart Griddler for CJ & Andrea's wedding

B. Smith Multi Server for Kristen's shower

Libbey Dessert Set for Caitlin's shower

I also bought several small things for Caitlin's shower as they are donating to the foundation that she got her guide dog, Laser, from. (They need sample size travel items for the students that stay there.) I'm really happy to help with this! (That's what the small bag in the first picture is.)

Back At It

I have been DIYing again, even after everything that I did for our wedding. On Pinterest I saw a cute, simple project of spray painting glass vases with frosted glass spray paint. I did a couple of vases that I had leftover from the wedding and they came out great! I bought a set of 12 wine glasses and decided I'd do a pair for each of the weddings we're going to this year (and next) as well as a set for ourselves. They came out really nice. The front of the glass has a monogram of sorts comprised of their last initial in the center and their first initials on each side of it. The bottom of the stem has their names, one name per glass. And the back has their date in a simple numeric style.

Mine & Matt's

(MDA, 6-16-12)

CJ & Andrea's

(CHA, 4-6-13)

Kevin & Kristen's

(KMK, 6-1-13)

Caitlin & Anthony's

(AMC, 6-8-13)

Emily & Jeremy's

(JKE, 10-26-13)

Erik & Sophie's

(EDS, 6-7-14)

 



We're going to give CJ and Andrea's to them as part of their wedding gift. For Kevin and Kristen and Caitlin and Anthony it will also be a wedding gift along with money. (I'm thinking a $50 or $100 bill in each glass.) I haven't decided if the others will be shower or wedding gifts, but I'm leaning towards wedding for those as well. Now to find a place for ours among the rest of our wedding paraphernalia.

April Showers

I got Kristen's bridal shower invitation Saturday! Adorable invitations for a morning shower thrown by her sister, Jenna:

And today I got the invitation to Caitlin's bridal shower which is, of course, on the same day as Kristen's:

Unfortunately I will not be able to attend either shower, but I have bought gifts and cards that I'll be sending their way.

Ribbon Dancing

We got the invitation to my cousin's wedding today! It is absolutely goregous! Here are some pictures:

 The inner envelope with handwritten calligraphy and a shiny purple inside.

Gorgeous invitation: the ribbon wove through the paper and around the back.

The RSVP card which opens to reveal this:

The meal choices for the guests! Matt is going with the filet mignon and I'm going to have the seafood enveloute.

I have also already chosen my dress, which I ordered originally as an option for CJ and Andrea's wedding. (Plus I just absolutely adored it!) I ordered shoes to go with it yesterday and Matt has picked out his tie.

Speaking of Matt and his clothing; we bought him a new suit for the upcoming weddings last week. He has two others, but I wanted to get him something new for two reasons: first, his other two fit okay but are slightly big on him and, second, I got new dresses so it's only fair. Here are the pictures from the website:

It's part of their Photographer suit collection and looks AMAZING on him. I'm so excited for him to wear it with the new French cuff shirt we got him!

Again, now I need to find more jewelry for this dress as well as deciding what I'm wearing for CJ and Andrea's as well!

Let the Parties Begin

We officially began our wedding escapades on November 23, 2012 with Andrea and CJ's engagement party. We traveled almost three hours to CJ's parents home in western Connecticut to celebrate with the bride and groom's families and friends. It was beautiful, very laid-back with great food (my favorite part). Matt had a great time catching up with fellow PC graduates that he hadn't seen in a while. We're especially excited for their wedding because their ceremony is being held at St. Dominic Chapel on the Providence College campus; the same chapel Matt and I got married in!

Less than a month later, on December 22, 2012, we attended Kevin and Kristen's engagement party. The party was held in western Massachusetts, where Matt and I both hail from, at my aunt and uncle's house. We had a great time and enjoyed being surrounded by my family. We left the party minus one gift for the future bride and groom but with two miniature bottles of champagne as favors!

Our fridge is currently adorned with three save the dates (as well as a million magnets, coupons, and pictures). I love that they are all different from one another and beautifully orginal. I've scanned them onto my computer so I can upload them here (edited, of course) along with the invitation that we received for Kevin and Kristen's engagement party.

The Beginning

We've hit that age: the age when all of your friends get engaged and you spend large amounts of money on gifts, hotels, clothing, and parties. Don't get me wrong, though, I'm wicked excited to attend these weddings and witness the beginning of the next stage of our friends' lives especially after own wedding in June of 2012. That's the "looking glass" part of my blog; seeing a wedding from the observational side rather than being one of the main participants.

So far we have three weddings this year, possibly four. In addition, we have a wedding in 2014 with the potential of another. So I'll start with the engagements:
  -My friend from college, Caitlin, and her boyfriend, Anthony, got engaged in July of 2011. Their wedding will be held in New York on June 8 of this year.
  -My cousin, Kevin, and his girlfriend of 8 years, Kristen, got engaged in February of last year. They have planned their wedding for June 1 this year in Connecticut.
  -One of Matt's friends from college, CJ, proposed to his girlfriend of about 3 years, Andrea, only a few months after catching the garter at my wedding! Their wedding will take place here in Providence, Rhode Island on April 6. Their ceremony will be held at St. Dominic Chapel on the Providence College campus; the same place Matt and I had ours!
  -Another of my friends from College, Emily, and her boyfriend of about 5 years, Jeremy, got engaged in July of last year. Their wedding is planned for October 26 of this year in New York.
  -My friend that I used to dance with, Margaret, and her boyfriend, Chris, got engaged in November of last year.
  -Matt's friend, Erik, (an usher in our wedding) and his girlfriend, Sophie, got engaged in early December of last year. Their wedding is set for June 7 of 2014 in Newport, Rhode Island.