is it bad...

...if i kind of want to listen to charlie brown christmas album already?

:)

on another note, today we are celebrating pat's 30th birthday on this beautiful, sunny san francisco day.  i threw him a surprise party last weekend and last night we went out full blast in our halloween gear (he was a fat hairy tourist guy and i was antoine dodson - i guess i'm not one of those girls who wears the sexy pirate costume, haha)

pat walking in to our apartment with no idea that 15 people were there waiting to celebrate his birthday

pat realizing what was really happening

everyone enjoying themselves :)

happy birthday patty!

i don't know how to do the twitter

any tips? 

i'm slowly but surely converting... my facebook page is up too, check it out friends :)

but seriously - twitter tips accepted!  i'll even throw in an extra entry for you for the giveaway!  :)  thanks all :)

wedding recap part 4 - cocktail hour!

*disclaimer - i am so sorry to be posting these separately and sporadically, but there are so many photos that i want to focus on each aspect of the day in it's own post.  and PS - HAPPY FRIDAY!!*

so we're all caught up now, we've discussed the rehearsal, the morning-of, and the ceremony, which brings us now to cocktail hour!

after arriving at the yacht club, i was able to walk in to the venue before anyone else arrived and really see all of my details all put together.  my table numbers, my menus, the rock place"cards", the blue mason jars (love!), the guestbook, the cake, the pretty stripey straws, the puff balls!, and, and, and...  there were SO many details and i was thrilled to see them all come to life.  it was one of my favorite moments of the day.  but the cake is what really took my breath away.  i literally gave my venue a tiny little picture (see below), and their resident cake guy was able to replicate it - to a T!  it was amazing.  i could have looked at that thing all day long.

photo i gave cake guy:

photo of our cake that cake guy mastered:

(c) scobey photography

seriously - i was OBSESSED with this cake.  i only got the bite that pat gave me (and no, we didn't smash it in each other's faces), but it was a red velvet cake and it was freaking amazing.  luckily my venue guy remembered to save the top portion so it now resides in my parents freezer waiting to be eaten on september 25, 2011 :)

ok so i totally went out of order here so i'll get back to the story.  so we arrive at the yacht club, i go crazy over the details, and then it's time to take the rest of our photos.  we head out on the lawn overlooking the water and took a bunch of pictures on the docks, and i almost fell in the water about 5 times.  my heels kept getting stuck in between the wood boards on the docks and it was comical (because i didn't fall in - if i did fall in, it would not have been comical.)  my biggest regret of the day (i'll post more on this later) is that i didn't give my photographer a list of "must have" pics.  seriously - i was like, ok, ok, take the pictures, i want to go party!  our photographers did an AMAZING job, trust me, but it was my fault that i didn't make the stupid list.  i had so many little details i wanted pictures of but just never even thought to make a list, and even with the urging from my photographers "are you sure you don't want any other specific pictures?", i still missed some things.  my fault!

(c) scobey photography

(c) scobey photography

(c) scobey photography

and here's some pics to give you a feel of our cocktail hour - another favorite part of my day.  i had two friends, one who i have known for more years than i can count, we worked at the hardware store together and he's been one of my good friends forever, play acoustic guitars for our cocktail hour and sing music to the likes of dave matthews, ray lamontagne, coldplay, and all the laid back tunes you could think of.  jon and aaron (of JA2M) were outstanding.  they made the cocktail hour so perfectly laid back and relaxed, but still with an elegant feel.  i loved them!  in fact i love them so much i was talking them up to fellow bride and blogger erin from sparkle & hay, that she ended up booking them for her wedding too!  love it!

during cocktail hour we had our signature cocktail that i labored for so long about what to serve - and they were a hit (with my little handmade cards to remind of the ingredients)!  this is where the pretty stripey straws came in to play, and my photographers took an amazing shot of the straws for one of our ring pics :)

(c) scobey photography

and here's a few more pics of my little details brought to life:

(c) scobey photography

and then, before we knew it, it was already time to line up for our announcements and the beginning of the reception!

i PROMISE to finish up next week but there are so many pics i want to share that putting all in one post would be the world's longest post ever known to man.  thank you for your patience (and for continuing to read :))

don't forget to enter the giveaway for the etsy travel tote!  winner will be drawn on monday :)

guest blogger ashley from Green Eyed Monster!

please please please go check out this amazing blog, green eyed monster, that i stumbled upon a few months ago - i've been a loyal reader ever since!!  thanks so much to ashley for doing today's guest post after i came across her amazing pumpkins yesterday and immediately contacted her to see if she could do a re-post on my blog!  october brides, wouldn't the lace pumpkins be amazing to add to your wedding decor?

thanks ashley!!

Pumpkins don't necessarily mean that one has to muck up their nails with pumpkin guts, and subsequently carve a cliched face into the skin. Pumpkins can be, dare I say, glamorous, and a brilliant means of decorating for special occasions or just sprucing up a home with a unique perspective. Here are two DIY projects that take pumpkin decor to the next level. One of the designs requires all of a 5 minute time commitment, while the other is for those with the patience of a saint or some compulsive tendencies.

For more pumpkin decor ideas, check out this post, complete with inspiration board for the project. For weekly DIY projects, and for daily giveaways of handmade goods by independent artists and designers, drop on by Green Eyed Monster where Ash & Kimmy serve up the greatest in enviable living, 365.

Lady Gaga Pumpkins

 

Materials:
Pumpkins
Stockings/tights with interesting pattern or designs
Elastic for tying

Directions:
1. Stuff pumpkin in toe of stocking and stretch the stocking around the pumpkin.
2. Cut stocking at tip of stem.
3. Use elastic to tie off stocking at the base of the stem.
4. You now have pumpkins fit for a lady!

For the Love of Cinderella
(inspired by Damien Hirst's For the Love of God)

Materials:
Small, smooth pumpkin
Tiny white crystals
Glue gun
Tweezers
Paint brush
Adhesive wet glue
Glitter

Directions:
1. Fire up the glue gun and begin slowly but surely using the tweezers to hold the crystals, apply glue, and stick to the pumpkin, starting at the stem and working outward in a circular motion.
2. I gave up aspirations of covering the entire pumpkin in crystals after 5 hours of gluing, so I tried to make the crystals look like a leafy base around the stem. If you make it all the way, KUDOS TO YOU!
3. To cover up the remaining pumpkin skin (for those of us lacking the patience or time), use a paint brush to apply wet glue adhesive (Modge Podge) to the non-bedazzled pieces of the pumpkin.
4. Then dump lots and lots of glitter onto the wet glue and allow to dry.
5. Enjoy your pumpkin BLING BLING!

Photo: Courtesy of Green Eyed Monster®

what to be for halloween?

totally non-wedding related, but i'm running short on ideas for costumes.  pat's 30th birthday is halloween so we will be heading out on the town :)

in the past i've shown up as veronica corningstone only to find out that a real news anchor was at the halloween party, i was nicole richie one year, and have been a giraffe the past few years because i keep forgetting to think of something good before the day arrives :)  last year i was a giraffe jets fan who happened to run in to the best costumes i've seen in a while!

me and the celebrity jeopardy costumes!

what's everyone else thinking?

wedding recap part 3 - the ceremony

so far we've gone over the rehearsal & rehearsal dinner, the morning-of, and now we're up to the big event.  why am i doing this in pieces?  well, i am limited in the number of photos i can use as i now have to wait 6-months for rights to ALL of my photographer's pics, and i want to be able to show you the best ones to depict the moments!!

so as soon as the doors opened i felt this overwhelming feeling of everything just happening at once.  i remember looking at pat first thing and then around at people and it was all kind of a blur.  i feel like i had this weird look on my face because my mouth wasn't quite sure what to do, i was so nervous and not crying, but emotional and just all these feelings at once!  i didn't even notice my little canning jars that lined the aisles until i went to give the sign of peace to my bridesmaids and i was like  - OOHH!  MY CANNING JARS!  haha :)

the hand-off

our priest was amazing.  you might remember, we didn't even meet him until the day before the wedding because my church went through a "change of hands" between our engagement and our wedding.  but he was great and really made the ceremony special and meaningful.  my favorite part was when  he did the irish blessing at the end (he loved the fact that i was marrying an irishman).

(c) scobey photography

we chose not to have a singer and instead had the responsorial read by pat's brother, and we had the prayer of the faithful include those loved ones who were not with us which was a special moment for all.  pat's nephews brought us the wine and bread (the gifts) and it was cute to get them involved and give them a special role.  during the communion pat and i turned around so we could see everyone :)

(c) scobey photography

overall it was a really lovely ceremony (and i'm not just saying it!) and went by so fast!  we couldn't believe when the priest announced us as husband and wife that it was already time!

(c) scobey photography

(c) scobey photography

after the ceremony, we headed straight out and across the town green to my family hardware store for some photos.  on the way we took some family pics as well.  our photographers loved the vintage feel of the store and came up with some really fun shots.  i worked at page's with 3 of my bridesmaids and it was a special spot for us especially, as we had always had our prom photos taken there as well back in the day :)

(c) scobey photography

(c) scobey photography

(c) scobey photography

after taking some pics it was time for the buses to pick us up.  we had school buses come to get us at the store and bring everyone to the reception in branford, the town over from us.  there's a tradition in guilford, though, so before we left the green we had to drive around it once and then we were on our way (in guilford you drive around the green 3 times in your life - high school graduation, when you get married, and when you pass on - it's an old town tradition we couldn't break!)

(c) scobey photography

the buses were SO much fun and my cousin breanne got hot pink beer coozies for everyone that said "to have and to hold and to keep your beer cold" on one side and our names and wedding date on the other.  they were AWESOME!!  thanks, bre :)

we took the scenic route along the shoreline and marshes to branford so the ride was really pretty.  the entire bridal party and my parents rode in one bus and the rest of pat's family rode in the other.  it was just so much fun and nice to have everyone together for a short while before the madness began.  did i mention how fun it was?  :)

next thing we knew, we were at the pine orchard yacht club and it was time to get our photos taken... but first i got to get my first glimpse of the reception ballroom and dining room, with all of my little details put in place.  that was one of my favorite moments to see it all come together - i was so happy!!

next up, the reception!!!

(5 days left to enter to win the cute little travel garment bag :))

another fabulous giveaway featuring temre from etsy!

remember the amazing laundry travel bags that i had custom made through etsy for my bridesmaids?  if you don't, click here :)

temre from plum cozy cottage (how adorable is that name!) has graciously offered up one of these custom bags as this week's giveaway!!  so exciting :)

here's a quick glimpse at the lovely tote, which is perfect for traveling and keeping the laundry and clean clothes separate:

look at all the little details!

thank you temre for sending this to me to share!!  click here to check out plum cozy cottage's etsy site!!! 

to enter the giveaway, you just have to be a follower of the blog and put a comment below :)  *double entry if you subscribe to my examiner.com wedding column, just let me know in your comment below and i'll put your name in twice.*

good luck and happy monday!!

other people's perceptions of the big day

i received the following email after the wedding but just today finally got back to my computer and was sorting out emails and found it again.  it's so fun to hear what other people thought about the big day, because it helps me remember it all over again from a different point of view (and i can tell that people really did notice the little details as i'd hoped :))

here's an excerpt:

I had a wonderful, wonderful time at the wedding.  Some highlights for me:

• Dance Dance Dance Senora
• The bottoms of Jacin's shoes
• The bus!!  The bus was Hi-larious.  Three people to a seat and more.  Laughs and songs.  Truly a riot. Too much.
• Seeing you all outside of Page Hardware

• The shrimp appetizer
• The salted caramels - which the boys LOVED.  Perfect treat from the wedding.
• Ann's dress
• Stephen and Jacin's dance
• Pretending to be back up dancers with Caitlin, Jocelyn, Christine and others who joined us.  Any shots of that?
• FAMILY!!!! 

Jacin and Pat looked stunning and so did everyone.  The location was amazing and being out by the water with the little lights and islands was just incredible.

in addition to all the little things in life that make me happy, this is one of them.  when someone takes a moment out of their day to reach out to you and share a thought or memory is so special.  thank you for helping me re-live the big day through you!  :)

little things make me happy

...like when i post my comments on people's blogs and they don't make me do the spam thing by taking another minute to decipher the random text in order to post!  seriously blogger pals, come on, there's no need to make us do that!  :)

happy saturday!  :)

from inspiration to reality

i am so honored to be doing a post for erin over at sparkle & hay while she's on hiatus for her wedding, and i decided to put it up on mine today as well :).  it's been so much fun getting to know her throughout this whole process and it's so funny to say it but i feel we've become friends throughout it all!  and the best part is, we got to know each other through a blog competition through weddingchannel.com, and i am so glad it brought us together (although i'm sure we would have found each other sooner than later anyways, as we are both from the same area of connecticut and even used some of the same wedding vendors!)  congrats to you erin and i can't wait to see all the little details come together, as we all know they will.  it's going to be gorgeous and YOU, little lady, will be the most beautiful bride :)

so now down to my guest post!  so exciting :)

when erin first asked me i thought - wow - a post for sparkle & hay?  talk about pressure!  but i am happy to oblige! 

when i was planning my own wedding which took place almost a month ago, wow, i had SO many ideas in my head.  and with so much inspiration floating around from all the other bloggers out there and on the web and in the magazines and, and, and... it just got so overwhelming!  i had to put a stop to the madness and sit down to collect my thoughts in to one place, which is how i ended up creating an inspiration board.  for those who haven't yet done this, the inspiration board is just that - a place to take all of those pictures you've been saving, all of those ideas you've had, and tie them together in one place.  it helps you to determine your color scheme, your "little details" and really just helps you pull all of your ideas in to one place and really focus on a vision for your big day.  i created mine at dessy.com but you can also make them on circle.stylemepretty.com and even powerpoint is a great and easy method.

for my wedding, i came up with two - one for the overall theme and one for the flowers, because i was totally and completely obsessed with the flowers.  just ask my florist :)

new england shoreline wedding

flowers

as you can see, the blue canning jars and ranunculus played a huge part in both - i knew i wanted them involved somehow to keep my wedding rustic and beach chic, but elegant.

now the next thing i did was send the boards to my vendors (as appropriate).  this really helped give everyone (my photographer, venue manager and florist) an idea of my theme for the day, and made sure we were all on the same page.

fast forward to the wedding day, and taking those pieces and turning them in to reality.

i couldn't believe our venue pulled off the cake!  source

and the flowers?  spot on!  source

as for the shoes?  well, i promised my husband i'd wear them every day for the rest of my life in order to convince him that they were worth the purchase (that, or i promised i'd sell them on eBay after, hehe) :) source

for the overall color scheme we stuck with slate blue, khaki and pink - which to me gave a quintessential new england beachy feel :)  source

while we didn't end up doing the lanterns, we found the tissue paper puff balls to be just as pretty, in a light, fluffy way.  we hung them from the ceiling using light blue and white baker's twine.  (see more mason jars on the mantle!)

and the canning jars...  i could talk about these babies all day long.  this pic ties together all of my little DIY details that came together in the end  source

on top of all that, we used beach stones as our placecards, and had a gorgeous burlap runner on our guest table to showcase the pretty placecards, along with a nickel & nickel wine box for our cards and a great little vintage guestbook.

after all my rambling it really comes down to this - if you have a vision, no matter the budget, you can make it happen.  all it takes is a few pretty ideas and an inspiration board to get yourself going...

happy wedding erin!!

xo - jacin :)

we have a winner! jessica from heart on a homestead :)

congrats jessica!!  contact me and i'll send you the gift certificate to CSN stores :)

if you haven't checked out jessica's blog, heart on a homestead - GO NOW!  it's adorable!

and just so you all know i was fair and square... here's the tool i used to randomly generate the lucky winner!

thanks to all who entered - and, i have a surprise.... i have another, different giveaway in store so check back in on monday :)

so long, farewell...

you were there for me on the best day of my life.  your red heel showed in all of my pictures (well, i made you do that), and you were just glamourous overall.

but now it's time for another bride to enjoy you just as much as i did.

no, i'm not going anywhere but yes, i sold my louboutins...

why?

well i'd rather not tell you how much i paid for them, you might pass out.  and part of my purchase was convincing pat that i would definitely be able to sell them... so i took the plunge and listed them on eBay and now i must say goodbye (and work on getting another pair, closer in my price range that goes with everything, of course)  :)

call me crazy, call me what you want, but i enjoyed every moment i had with them and now it's time to share the joy with someone else :)


so goodbye, lovely louboutins!  enjoy your next wedding!

(c) scobey photography