Our Wedding: The Gents

Mr. Wonderful stuck to the timeline {that I meticulously did}, and arrived, with his guys, at the venue two hours before the ceremony began in order to begin taking pictures. Pictures with his parents were to follow, and then time was allotted for our Officiant {who is also a mentor to us} to pray with us individually before the ceremony began.

Here are a few pictures of just the guys...

Mr. Wonderful with his Best Man...

I absolutely love the below shot. It's one of my fav's {and also gives you a sneak peek at our lounge area}...

all photos: Karen Nickel Photography

Our Wedding: Bouquets and Boutonnières

Approximately 40 days before the wedding, my florist and I parted ways {I will bite my tongue on the details}. I rebounded quickly. Remembering the saying "keep calm, and carry on", that's exactly what I did. The next day I met with another florist, who I had previously contacted in my initial research. I left the meeting feeling so confident that she truly understood my vision. I booked her.

When she arrived at the hotel the morning of the wedding, to deliver the bouquets, I couldn't wait to see them. I was sitting in the chair having my hair done when she came in and put the bouquet in front of me....I LOVED IT. It was made with a beautiful mixture of soft petals, combining a variety of different types and shades of roses with white ranunculus and white tulips, and also had a few orchids tucked "here and there". The bouquet was very opulent - just how I wanted it {you can go here to see the image of a bouquet that I wanted my florist to replicate - she couldn't have done any better}.

While I finished getting ready, the photographers took my bouquet out on a little stroll to snag some beautiful shots...

If you recall from this post, I was in search of a locket to place on the handle of my bouquet that would hold a picture of my father in it. I ended up purchasing this vintage locket from the 1800's...

Although it was quite heavy, I loved holding my bouquet. And while we all know that flowers die, it's sad coming to terms with the fact that your beautiful bouquet will only have its beauty for a few days.

Did I mention how much I loved my bouquet?

Onto the bridesmaids bouquets....

Oh.my.gosh. They were b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l {go here to see the original image that I passed onto our florist}; she impeccably replicated how I wanted the bridesmaids bouquets to look.

When the guys got to the venue, their boutonnières were pinned in place and they were then ready to beging taking their pictures.

First up...Mr. Wonderful's boutonnière {go here to see the orginal image that I passed onto our florist}. I loved how the photographers edited the below image to make it soft...

Then there was this post, about wrapping the stem of the boutonnières in black. The florist, once again, did a fabulous job. The guys looked great!!

all photos: Karen Nickel Photography

Up next...pictures of the Groom with his guys, and the Bride with her girls.

Our Wedding: Mr. Wonderful Getting Ready

While I was back at the hotel primping away, Mr. Wonderful was at our house {with his guys} getting spruced up...

I asked Mr. Wonderful what was going through his head the morning of our wedding. He told me that he was thinking how surreal it was that our wedding day was finally here, and was looking forward to finally marrying me. That would make two of us.

If you recall, there was this post about which watch Mr. Wonderful would wear on our wedding day. I ended up getting the below Kenneth Cole watch for Mr. Wonderful on Valentines Day, after he ended up changing his mind and wanted a black leather band watch {which I bought, with a charcoal face}. The watch was initially supposed to be one of his wedding day gifts but to ensure that he liked it, I had to give it to him early in case a return needed to be made. He ended up loving it.

The night before the wedding, after Mr. Wonderful hit the town with his guys, his best man stopped by the hotel to pick up the gifts that I had for my soon-to-be husband.

Remember this post about the card that I bought nearly a year ago, after we got engaged, to give to Mr. Wonderful on our wedding day? Here it is...in his hands...

The outside said:

You Were Made for Me.

When God made you I had no doubt that He knew exactly the time and place where you and I would meet.

The inside said:

When God made the two of us, He knew what was good for us. He already knew the deepest secrets between us: the way our hearts would beat, echoing each other’s hopes and dreams; the way our minds would merge, growing wiser and stronger; and the way our spirits would mingle, creating intimacy that lingers into every part of our lives.

The way we have connected goes beyond reason or season. It is a bond of truth and warmth, created on a foundation of love. It is a bond held together by sincere faith and hope, a relationship that lasts eternally at peace.

Every day, in every way, I am thankful for you because I know that you are a gift sent from heaven to touch my spirit and remind me what is truly real and genuine – love that is unconditional.

Thank you for being who you are, my once-in-a-lifetime wish upon a star, the one who knows who I am and loves me without limits.

I will love you forever.

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After reading the card, Mr. Wonderful dug deeper into the bag to discover that I had a little somethin' just for his eyes only...

A month before our wedding, I hired the talented Heidi Geldhauser of Our Labor of Love to shoot me for a boudoir session! I couldn't believe that I mustered up the courage to go before a camera lens in such a sultry way, but I did! Heidi was a-m-a-z-i-n-g to work with {more on her, and a little photo showcase, to come!}.

I created a 40 page blurb album using the images from my boudoir session. When Mr. Wonderful first unwrapped the bow, and took a look at the cover, he thought it was a sex book! Ha!! He actually walked away from it, but for whatever reason, went back to it and had a closer look...at which time he discovered it was ME on the cover!

He looooved the book. As did I!

I also purchased some cufflinks for Mr. Wonderful and had them engraved with his initials.

Since Mr. Wonderful is known to perspire, I also enclosed a hankie {that was stitched with the word "Groom" on it} - I also bought the same type of hankies for my mother, and my mother-in-law that said "Mother of the Bride" and "Mother of the Groom", which I gave to them before our ceremony began.

As you recall from this post, Mr. Wonderful and I chose to write our own vows. Another {easy} DIY project that I did was make "vow holders" {that you will see better pictures of in a post soon to follow}; we printed off our personalized sentiments and placed them within. Before departing the house, Mr. Wonderful looked at the vows that he would soon speak to me...


Once all the guys were dressed, they headed out to the venue, where their boutonnières were ready and waiting for them, and where their group shots began.

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How do ya like the large images in this post? I thought that in doing my wedding recap posts, I would increase the size of the images, so that you can see them in all their beauty : )

Our Wedding: Getting Ready

As organized as I was, the days leading up to the wedding were just flying by – as were the hours in those days. Most nights I didn’t go to bed until 2 a.m., trying to keep time on my side. My goal was to wrap everything up at least two weeks before the wedding to ensure that I didn’t have any last minute things to tend to. I wanted to enjoy family {some who I was meeting for the first time} and friends who came to Atlanta to share our special day with us and didn’t want to teeter-totter between visiting with them and tying up loose ends. I ended up having to balance both. But I did so pretty well. And without any stress.

So many people kept telling me how amazingly calm I was for a girl getting married in a few short days. I really was relaxed. I completely let go of “wedding overanalyzation” {that has to be a disorder in medical books, right} and chose to have a blast hanging out with family and friends who were all staying at the same hotel as I was.

When everyone departed our room late, the night before the wedding, I changed into ivory silk pajamas and made my way into my comfy bed. Mom got in with me and we had some quiet time all to ourselves. It was a memory I’ll never forget. Before going to bed, I hung a little pillow outside of my bedroom door that said "Cherish Yesterday. Dream About Tomorrow. Live Today"...

I know a bride should get a good nights rest the day before her wedding, but for me, it just didn’t happen. I couldn’t sleep. At all. It was 1:00 a.m. So much was going through my head {mostly memories of my dad}. I couldn’t drift to sleep {where are those darn sheep that jump those fences when you need them?}. I got up at around 3 am to find that my mom was still up as well. That day, I picked mom up a beautiful shade of nail polish; since we were both up, I painted her toesies at 3 am. Then I attempted to go back to sleep. It didn’t work. I watched the sun come up. And when I saw it, I knew what it meant…it was my wedding day.

That morning, we ordered room service. I could only stomach a few bites of food. My nerves were shot. I could, however, drink my OJ {I love orange juice}…

My sister’s friend, who came to Atlanta for my wedding, is a professional hairstylist. She was staying at the same hotel as we were and graciously did my hair the morning of the wedding…

Just like I wanted, only my mom and I were in the room while I was getting dressed. She zipped me up...

And fastened me in!

My cousin then came in the room {we needed her for "something" - what it was, I don't remember}. The black box in my hand was an inexpensive tiara that I bought just a few days prior to the wedding {I kept debating if I thought I should have one}. I had to be in my gown before placing it on my head and deciding if I wanted to wear it. I opted not to.

Once I applied my make-up, it was time to reach for my veil, and put it in place…

And then it happened. I became a bride.

With bouquet in hand, my sister and I took the elevator downstairs to begin taking pre-ceremony shots with the Bridesmaids.

photo credit: Karen Nickel Photography

While although I am just getting into posting recaps of our wedding, the pictures to come will show how absolutely amazing our wedding was. Every aspect of it was stunning. It was lively. It was delicious. It was romantic, and it was memorable. The atmosphere was filled with laughter, love, and happiness that was immeasurable. It was more than I ever dreamed it being. Ever.

With that said, every bride-to-be should know that it’s true that something will go wrong – or perhaps I should say: not everything will go as you planned {I'm sure every bride who has gone before us will agree}. Personally, I really didn’t pay attention to any of the mishaps on the actual wedding day. I ended up analyzing everything afterwards {for me, the mishaps were nothing that guests would even notice – only things that the perfectionist in me would}. Even with this said, the day far exceeded my expectations. We, and our guests, were in awe at how beautifully every aspect came together. Mr. Wonderful and I took everything in, and truly relished in the overwhleming happiness we were feeling. If you are a bride-to-be who is still planning your wedding, I advise you to do the same when your special day rolls around. Just be in the moment.

There’s so much to share with you in the upcoming posts!

Our Wedding: Our Out-of-Town Guest Boxes

Early on in my wedding planning process, I started to think about the welcome boxes that would be given to our family and friends who traveled great distances to share our wedding day with us.

Wanting the boxes to be metallic gold, I scoured the internet and came across a company that had them in the perfect size, and for the perfect price {less than $1 each}. I ordered a sample to make sure the color was what I was envisioning. It was perfect. About a month and half before the wedding, I ordered one case of fifty boxes. The total cost was around $50 including shipping. They arrived in about three days.

Mom and I assembled them over a few nights {they came flat}. We taped the bottom of the boxes really good with hefty tape to ensure that they wouldn't bust once we placed the contents within.

Two weeks before the wedding, Mr. Wonderful and I headed to Costco to buy the goodies in bulk.

Several months prior, we came across Coca-Cola glasses {at the Dollar Store}. Thinking ahead about our OOT gift boxes, we purchased as many as there were on the shelves {around 25}. I later found more at another Dollar Store and bought enough so that each box would include one glass. We thought the Coca-Cola glass would be a nice souvenir to include in the boxes, being as the Coca-Cola Factory is here in Atlanta.

Inside of the Coke glass we placed info about the Coca-Cola factory, which notes the location {which was just blocks from the host hotels} and the tour times {we were glad to hear that some of guests visited the World of Coca-Cola; it really is a neat place!}.

Also included in the boxes were brochures {that I picked up from a nearby hotel} so that guests had an idea of what was in the city to see and do...

Also enclosed was information on the shuttle service that we offered our guests, as well as post-wedding brunch details...

As I mentioned in this post, I designed the enclosure cards, and the outward "Welcome to Atlanta" card {that I placed on the top of each box}. I used an ivory satin ribbon on the outside of each box to secure it shut {I overlapped the cut edges of the ribbon, hot-glued them in place, and then placed the "Welcome to Atlanta" Card over it to give it a seamless look}.

It took mom and me a few days to finish fifty boxes. This was the finished product {our guests loved them, and the contents within!}...


ADDITIONAL INFO:

• Each box, filled with goodies, ended up costing us around $3. That's it.
  
• Using boxes, that had a lid, ensured that the contents would stay secure inside. There was no worry with transporting them to the hotel, having the hotel staff pass them onto guests, etc. {I purchased the boxes from Retail Packaging}.
  
• If you are doing OOT guest boxes and like the look of a ribbon on the outside of a box, don't worry if you can't find the same ribbon all at one store. Your guests will not be going door-to-door to compare the shade of ivory {or whichever color you choose} that is on their box to another guest's box. You simply have to make certain things easy on yourself. Rather than driving all over town going to ten different Michael's, I ended up getting ribbon from Michaels, Joanne's, and Target...same width, but in slightly different shades of ivory since one store didn't have the total amount of spools that I needed.
  
• Doing OOT guest boxes yourself can be quite a project. Think ahead, and start doing them early.
  
• If you can, it's nice to give your guests a token that they can remember the city by.