Harlen

Today (rather tonight) was Marge and Chris's wedding! Both the ceremony and reception took place at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA) in North Adams. It was a beautiful venue, fitting of the bride and groom. The ceremony, which started at 7:15PM, was short but unique to the couple. They wrote their own vows which made me tear up (of course). They also performed a ribbon ceremony which is a Chinese wedding tradition akin to exchanging vows in our culture. They both hold ends of a ribbon and face three different places and bow three times in each position. First they face the east, then their parents, and then each other. Margaret's dress was beautiful: it was a calf-length lace dress that she wore with green heels for the ceremony. The bridesmaids wore green cocktail length dresses and carried bouquets made of ribbon that Marge's mother made. To tie in with Chris's Scottish heritage, Margaret's mom used some plain ribbons.

After the ceremony, we were all ushered into the lobby for the reception. Because it was so late at night, they served hors d'oeuvres but no dinner. The couple had their first dance and then the maid of honor and bridesmaid made a speech as well as the best man and the Marge's dad. Margaret's father's speech was one of the best I have ever heard. Matt and I danced for a few songs to the band that Marge and Chris had hired, but ended up leaving early. (I wasn't feeling well.)

It was a wonderful night, though, that celebrated the love of two amazing people. Congratulations Marge and Chris!

program (front)

program (inside)

program (back)

temporary tattoos

Book of Love

We got Margaret and Chris's save the date today! It's really cute and fits them perfectly! One of my favorite things is that they aren't doing a formal invitation, but using their website to collect RSVPs.

Here's their postcard save the date:

front

back

Two for 2014

And we now have two weddings next year! Margaret and Chris have set their date for October 12 and are planning to have it at Mass MoCA in North Adams. (It's a modern art museum near in the Berkshires where we're from.) I can't wait! It definitely fits their style and it's going to be beautiful!

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.