Wednesday, May 25, 2011

One Shell Of A Wedding! : Wave On Wave

In preparation for our first dance, Mr. Seashell and I signed up for dancing lessons. Part of the reason was because we chose a song that we, frankly, had no clue how to dance to.

Assuming you've come to learn a little about me, it should surprise you that our first dance was to an upbeat country song. It should be even more surprising that I suggested it. But sometime early into dating Mr. Seashell I came to learn that he was a bit of a country music fan. On occasion I'd tolerate it, but more often than not I'd roll my eyes and request a change of tune. But one evening he put a CD in our car and told me to give this artist a chance. Halfway into a certain song I admitted that I actually liked it.

Then, months later, we went to a Pat Green concert. When the song came on that slowly had become "our song" Mr. Seashell pulled me close. Pat sang, "And it came upon me wave on wave, You're the reason I'm still here, Am I the one you were sent to save?..." and he said in my ear, "You know it's true". In that moment I knew it was the song we had to dance to at our wedding.


Mile upon mile got no direction
We're all playing the same game
We're all looking for redemption
We’re just afraid to say the name
So caught up now in pretending
What we're seeking is the truth
I'm just looking for a happy ending
All I'm looking for is you


And it came upon me wave on wave
You're the reason I'm still here
Am I the one you were sent to save
And it came upon me wave on wave



I wondered out into the water
And I thought that I might drown
I don’t know what I was after
Just know I was going down
That's when she found me
Not afraid anymore
She said you know I always had you baby
Just waiting for you to find what you were looking for


Wave on wave, wave on wave…



The clouds broke and the angels cried
You ain't gotta walk alone
That's why they put me in your way
And it came upon me wave on wave




(Here's a video my uncle captured of our first dance. It doesn't show in the pictures, but the video shows how nervous we were! But I treasure it.)


First Dance from Seashell on Vimeo.

Previously in the Seashell Wedding:
Posted by Amanda @ The Fix-Its at 9:16 PM

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

One Shell Of A Wedding! : Cocktails, Toasts, Dinner & Cake


We kicked off cocktail hour with champagne all around.

Our cocktail hour was exactly what we had hoped. The weather at Glen Manor House was ten degrees cooler than in the city (so, about 76) and our guests mingled, nibbled, and explored the gorgeous property. We spent a significant portion of cocktail hour taking photos, but also managed to have time to chat with guests and get a few bites of food. Great tip: The venue coordinator asked us in advance which hors d'oeuvres we wanted to try.  While we were greeting our guests a tray was brought to us so we could enjoy our time and also sneak in a nosh!



Appetizers included "uncommon stuffed mushrooms" which had a hint of a spinach and artichoke dip, clam cakes and chowder (chowda for you fellow Rhode Islanders), and lots and lots of other treats - mini burgers, spinach pies, lamb chops, and plates of breads and cheeses.




We greeted as many guests as possible, and also got silly for a few more photos.




As dusk was settling in we called our guests into the ballroom to formally welcome them and also begin dinner. I was pretty intent on two things - I did not want the bridal party introduced in the traditional wedding style, nor did I really want a big introduction myself. However, as we were called inside we were shuffled behind a set of double doors.

By no means did I want to slight our wedding party, but I felt strongly that I wanted something that felt more "us". I also joked that I had no desire to have photos of us with my bouquet in the air and my mouth hanging open.

In the end we did more of an entrance than I was envisioning, but it made for a nice moment in the day.  Our guests seemed to enjoy it!



My Dad took hold of the mic and warmly welcomed our guests. He acknowledged the love and hard work my Mom and I had put into the day, and then shared the story of how Mr. Seashell and I met at Northwestern.




Everyone toasted, and wished us well.


While gathered at the front of the ballroom, my sister got excited to give her Maid of Honor toast. It wasn't exactly as we planned to time it, but once she gets an idea in her head it's worth going with the flow. Plus, I imagine she was a bit nervous and wanted to get her speech over with.

(Secret fact: After the wedding I discovered that she'd taken a special trip to the Glen Manor House days before to see the ballroom and practice her speech. So sweet!)


She wished us congratulations, said she loved us, and expressed her excitement over having a brother. She was perfect.


...and so proud!



I'm including this photo as well because when we were looking through our wedding photos at Christmas she announced, "See? I cried!". I adore this. Sister Seashell doesn't cry for much, with the exception of a sappy animal movie.


I think this was the crowd's reaction to Sister Seashell's speech.


Next up was Best Man Mike. He spoke about growing up with Mr. Seashell, and how touched he was when Mr. Seashell "followed him" to college. He talked about how they have always felt like brothers, and offered a warm congratulations.



Last, my godfather told the crowd he was the only thing that stood between them and dinner. He offered a blessing, and then it was time to eat!


Hive, that meal was uh-maaaay-zing. I don't have any photos of the food because it was due time for our photographers to take a break and enjoy dinner. But let me tell you, every morsel was delicious.



We decided to not wander table to table during dinner. I preferred to enjoy dinner with my new husband and not interrupt while our guests dined. At one point while we were eating I leaned over to Mr. Seashell and said, "We're eating dinner at our wedding. Let's remember this moment forever".


After everyone had wined and dined, we welcomed everyone to join us again in the ballroom. It was time to cut the cake!

While wedding planning, I asked Mr. Seashell if he had any ideas for our cake cutting song. He looked at me like I was a crazy lady. "You know, one of those songs like 'Sugar, Sugar' or 'How Sweet It Is'. Don't you know what a cake cutting song is?". He had no clue. Then, days before our wedding it dawned on me - "That's Amore!" - perfect. My favorite part was that the band encouraged the crowd to sing along. "...when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, That's Amore!"



I was supposedly really exited about the cake.




Mama Seashell calls this my "mommy feeding face". Hear that, future babies? I will give you this goofy grin when I feed you.


It was official - the cake was cut, and it was time for our first dance!

 

{All photos from the fabulous Blink of an Eye Photography}

Previously in the Seashell Wedding:

Posted by Amanda @ The Fix-Its at 10:27 PM

Thursday, May 05, 2011

One Shell Of A Wedding! : All The Small Things

My absolute, absolute favorite Weddingbee posts are recaps, and specifically the wedding detail posts. I just adore the sweet, subtle, thoughtful things that make a wedding feel unique. Creating a vision for our wedding and then finding all the small things to make it come together was one of my favorite parts of the planning process.

First, way, way, way back when, I created a vision board. Originally wanting an ivory and gold wedding, it soon became clear that some touches of purple would liven things up. I posted this ages ago with the hope to recreate the vibe and feel of this board - not an exact literal translation.


As the look and feel started to come together I wasn't exactly sure what to call the style I was hoping to achieve. "Classic elegant romance", "Regal and romantic", "Sentimental"? One of the front runners for my recaps was "Happy Tears and Chandeliers". You get the idea, and I was going for something I couldn't quite name. Maybe you'll know the perfect description.

There were a few elements I tried to keep consistent throughout: ivory, gold, deep purple, leaves and chandeliers.


For flowers, I opted for a more traditional look and went for bold color with my bridesmaids.


The chapel was adorned with leafy greens and hydrangeas picked from my godmother's garden!




A wonderful family friend asked if she could help in any way, and I outsourced our "wedding sign" to her. It was probably the only element of our wedding that could be classified as rustic, but it blended beautifully.

You've already seen the vintage Rolls Royce, a fantastic touch if you ask me or Mama Seashell.

Here's the stuff I've been holding out on sharing: the reception venue! In many ways, the feel of our wedding was inspired by the venue itself. Sure, modern elements or a bold color scheme could have worked, but it seemed so much more fitting to enhance what was already there - a french chateau built in the 1920s with elegance, charm, and a more classic appeal.





Remember the chandeliers Mama Seashell found? Our florist perfectly executed the vision.


Just before the wedding, I was told that the "Just Married" sign couldn't connect our chairs because the sweetheart table always had the chairs set across from each other. I asked the coordinator to "make it work" and was thrilled when the sign was set the way I'd intended!


There really is a reason brides love them - there is something beautiful about chavari chairs. The fact that they came in gold simply made my day.


The table numbers and leaves on the olive oil favors were the product of becoming good friends with the Cricut.

A really sentimental and beautiful element of the wedding was the "family tree" with the favors set below it. Of all our wedding photos, I think this is the only one that doesn't to a detail justice. It was quite striking as guests entered.



Oh, and those smaller leaves on the olive oil favors? They're from family in Greece!
For all of our paper products, font consistency was especially important to me. We used 3 fonts for everything. Chopin Script was the "header" font, Abermarle Swash was for "details" and Garamond was used for any "descriptions". One tip I can share is to never over-use a swirly font. It looks cluttered and busy, so always add a more straightforward font like Garamond, Helvetica, or Times to balance out the swirls.



Our saxophone player rocked the cocktail hour. He gets his own photo because I'm counting it as a detail too.

Our cake was beautiful in its simplicity. Honestly, I thought it would mimic my dress a bit more but it still was wonderful.

We had a small station with our guestbook and slideshow playing throughout the night. I loved that people who weren't at our rehearsal dinner could get a glimpse of the slideshow I'd worked so hard on, yet it did not distract from the main event.



The mantles were decorated with simple floral arrangements and soft, glowing candles.



After dinner we opened up a dessert bar, filled with traditional Italian goodies and candy (in ivory, gold, and purple of course).


The last detail of the night were our sparkly wands. I'm not sharing pictures of our send-off just yet, but they were a perfect touch in working around the no-sparkler rule.

And finally, candles and our "A" and "B" monogrammed floral letters greeted guests as they entered the reception.

And there you have the Seashell wedding details! Are you a detail lover too?
{All photos from the fabulous Blink of an Eye Photography}
Previously in the Seashell Wedding:
Secret Fact: One photo in this bunch is a non-pro pic. I snapped it after the wedding when I realized this detail had been missed. Can you find it?
Posted by Amanda @ The Fix-Its at 10:22 AM
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