WEDDING: Reception

Walking in to the reception to "Party like a Rockstar"

I feel like I have done this post already. Am I losing my mind? We had yummy bbq chicken, vegetarian lasagna, linguine with marinara, mashed potatoes, Cesar salad, rolls, veggies, yum!

I really think I did this post already. Where is it? Best man (aka brother of Hubby) making his toast.

Matron of Honor (aka cousin of me) making her toast.


Everybody toasting.

Cutting the cake! So pretty.

Feeding each other tiny pieces because the cake just crumbled.

Getting the garter.

Tossing the bouquet.

WEDDING: After the ceremony

He's on one knee. You can't really tell.

We used the close up of this for our Christmas cards and wedding album cover.


One of my favorite pictures.


I love this one too because I haven't ever seen this done before. Turned out really cute!

WEDDING: The ceremony

My Dad walking me down the aisle.



He said he almost cried when he saw me. I wanted to take his breath away.



Kiss on the cheek from Dad.




Shaking my Dad's hand.

Getting his ring from my MOH. See how I turned toward the audience. I impressed the wedding planner at the rehearsal because I already knew to turn that way. I told him, "I'm a professional bride". Kind of sounds bad but I meant I had been in a lot of weddings as a bridesmaid and have stage training. But it made people laugh at the rehearsal.

Laughing because I didn't know which hand was his left. As a dancer and choreographer I should have known and thought of it before. But it was a funny and memorable moment.

You can go here for a picture of our palm ceremony and the words we said to each other.

Praying.

The kiss!



I love this picture because of the ecstatic looks on our faces.

WEDDING: the boys before the ceremony

I want to do a post that answers some of the questions I got on the rehearsal post. I was thinking about doing it Friday but my mom is coming in to town so I probably won't have time. Maybe tomorrow.
Before the wedding when Hubby and I were at Target I suggested we buy each other cards to give each other on the day of the wedding. It was super funny because there were two cards made for giving to your spouse on your wedding day. So he bought one and I bought the other. There was a mix up when he dropped me off at my parents' house and his card to me was in one of my bags. He was supposed to get the card at the rehearsal, but he was in drunk town. So the day of the wedding he was all concerned about his card. Here is is writing it.

Hubby and his brother.



The Spartans. That is what our amazing and hilarious videographer kept calling them.

Wedding Music

Ceremony Music
While guests are waiting- slow love songs

Processional Music- Canon in D

Bridal March- Bridal Chorus

Recessional- Mendlesson’s Wedding March

Reception Music
Background Music- Slow love songs
Special requests- Taylor Swift, The Fray, Gavin Degraw

Announcement of Bridal Party- Party like a rockstar by Shop Boys

Cake Cutting- I can’t help myself by Four Tops

Bouquet Toss- Single Ladies by Beyonce

Garter Toss- Macho Man by Village People

Father Daughter Dance- You Don’t Have to Let go by Jessica Simpson

Mother Son Dance- Fly Me to the moon by Frank Sinatra

Anniversary Dance- Love will keep us alive by Eagles

Couple’s First Dance- Steady as we go by Dave Matthews

First Dance song- Love shack by B52s
Don’t Stop Believing by Journey
1st hour songs by artists like Jimmy Buffet, Tom Petty, Paula Abdul, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, etc. The Macarena
Songs we do NOT want- Chicken Dance, Shout by the Isley Brothers, YMCA
The rest of the night more current dance songs
I got it from my mama by will.i.am

WEDDING: Girls before the ceremony

I like this picture because you can see my engagement ring!

Mom and MOH helping me put on my dress.

Fixing my hair.

MOH putting my garter on.

Future SIL bringing my card from Hubby it says "Bridey" because I wrote "Groomie".

Reading the card from my groomie.

Looking out the window.

WEDDING: The rehearsal!

My dad walking me down the aisle!
Love my rehearsal dress!
Notice everyone is happy and relaxed. I think it was this way the whole weekend! Very little stress!
After rehearsing at the wedding site we went to my parent's ranch. Hubby's parents and god parents cooked up a delicious meal. We had a wonderful time. Hubby and all the boys wanted to party all night long. I just wanted him sober and well rested.

The facebook comment I put describes it all, "On his way to drunk town".

Palm Ceremony

An excerpt from our wedding ceremony. I saw the palm ceremony on a wedding tv show and had to have it in my wedding. There is another version for people who aren't planning to have kids. Google it.

My fil noticed there was a lot of talk about babies. I guess the groomsmen should have brought their flasks and took shots every time babies were mentioned. Hubby is still waiting for the massages promised.

"Meagan, please hold Hubby's hands palms up, so you may see the gift that they are to you. These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and vibrant with love, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as he promises to passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness. These are the hands that will work along side yours, as together you build your future, as you laugh and cry, as you share your innermost secrets and dreams. These are the hands you will someday place with expectant joy upon your stomach, until he too, feels his child stir within you. These are the hands that look so large and strong, yet will be so gentle as he holds your baby for the first time. These are the hands that will work long hours for you and your new family. These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow and tears of joy. These are the hands that will comfort you in illness, and hold you when fear or grief engulfs your heart. These are the hands that will tenderly lift your chin and brush your cheek as they raise your face to look into his eyes: eyes that are filled completely with his overwhelming love and desire for you.

Hubby, please hold Meagan's hands palms up, so you may see the gift that they are to you. These are the hands of your best friend, smooth, young, and carefree, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as she promises to passionately love you and cherish you through the years, for a lifetime of happiness. These are the hands that will hold each child in tender love, soothing them through illness and hurt, supporting and encouraging them along the way, knowing when it is time to let go. These are the hands that will massage tension from your neck and back in the evening after you've both had a long hard day. These are the hands that will hold you tight as you struggle through difficult times. These are the hands that will give you support as she encourages you to chase down your dreams. Together as a team, everything you wish for can be realized.

God, bless these hands that you see before you this day. May they always be held by one another. Give them strength to hold on during the storms of stress and the dark of disillusionment. Keep them tender and gentle as they nurture each other in their wondrous love. Help these hands to continue building a relationship founded in your grace, rich in caring, and devoted in reaching for your perfection. May Hubby and Meagan see their four hands as healer, protector, shelter, and guide.

Bridal Dress Review

I like this picture because the skirt of my dress looks pretty.

Since I was talking about bridesmaids and dresses the other day, I thought I would review the place where I got my dress and bridesmaid dresses for my future bride frogs.

I was never one of those little girls that dreamed about her wedding. I didn't think marriage was in the cards for me until I met my hubby. Even after we had been dating for awhile I didn't know if he would ever propose. Took him 5 years! What dress I would wear or pick out for my bridesmaids was something I had not thought about.

The girl in the red satin dress was a bridesmaid. Didn't ask anyone if I could post their picture. Best pic of the dress. Most of the pictures they are holding their bouquets and you can't see the black band around the waist.

There have been other pictures on here of my dress if you want to see better pics. Anyways, on with the buying of the dresses experience:

When talk of marriage was going on my parents asked that we get married close to where they live. It is the best location for the majority of both families. I agreed but told my mom that she would need to help out a lot. I also chose my cousin that lives nearby my mom as my matron of honor so she could be there to help when needed. My mom and I emailed back and forth a lot about dresses for everyone in the bridal party. The bridesmaids that lived in the area and one that was visiting all went shopping one day and sent me pictures. WARNING TO ALL FUTURE BRIDES: the colors of bridesmaid dresses online are not the actual color. ANOTHER WARNING: Alfred Angelo never had the dress we liked in their store for my bridesmaids to try on. I didn't realize there was black tubing at the top of the dress. I ordered the wine colored straps for the dresses because they came with black and I thought it would look weird. It probably would have been fine with black. My mom and bridesmaids said they liked the color when they saw it in person. Then I saw the color in person and since everyone liked it I went with it and told three of my bridesmaids to order the dress in that color. It was a little more red than the dress we ended up with. I couldn't sleep all night because I didn't like the color. The next day I changed the color. Alfred Angelo where we ordered the dresses made me feel like a psycho for changing the color and told me they never change the color. Our opinion was that it was the day after the dresses were ordered, the dresses hadn't been made yet, don't make me feel like a bridezilla.

I always said I wouldn't get a wedding dress at Davids Bridal. Once I started looking I thought some of their dresses might be ok, so we went there first for the dress search. I swear this was not some sub conscious thing. I tried on probably 20 dresses and a few of them were ok, but none of them were the dress. All of them had something weird about them. Now I know lots of girls that have gotten perfectly fine dresses there. The girls (two because I was there for so long) that helped me were wonderful. I wish they hadn't sold my name and phone number to a bunch of companies that called me telling me I had won stuff.

The next day we went to Alfred Angelo. I probably tried on 10 dresses. This time they were all beautiful. I tried many different styles and the decision was difficult. My aunt and cousin and the women in the store liked one of the dresses but my mom cried when I tried on a different one. If you watch say yes to the dress (amazing show) you have seen girls who loved a dress but their mom didn't love it so they left with nothing. I wanted my mom to love my dress. So I put the one myself and everybody else liked on and my aunt started crying and then me and my cousin started crying and we knew it was the dress. It is the dress in all the pictures. I love my dress.

The dresses were affordable. Comment with your email if you want to know how affordable. The alterations were way over priced! I also had to pay $30 for the dress to be 3 inches longer because I am 5'10. I almost had another bridezilla moment over the alterations lady that messed stuff up. The straps I have on the dress were supposed to be removable. The bustle was supposed to be just one hook. I only paid for one hook but she put five. That was kind of lucky. Even though the bustle kept falling down every time I sat. All brides I have talked to had bustles that wouldn't stay unless they were sewn. If you decide to buy a dress at the Alfred Angleo in Roseville, CA I will give you the name of the lady that messed stuff up. She also pricked herself and got blood on my dress but she was able to get it out. The dress was pressed for free twice. It was so big it was hard to have in a closet without getting wrinkled. I wish the bodice had been smoother.

Hope all this helps!

Wedding Advice

Sorry I was mia yesterday. They have got me working like crazy over here. We also have some big news going on at home. More on that tomorrow. Here is a blog I wrote with some advice. Take it or leave it.

The first mistake we made was inviting too many people. We believed those wedding websites that say 30% of the people you invite will RSVP no. Our wedding was on a Sunday too! I figured during the school year people wouldn’t be able to come to a wedding Sunday evening. I think 1% of the people RSVPed no.

The other problem with our guest list was not sticking to a strict number. If you are having your reception indoors find out what the maximum capacity is before sending out invitations. We also had a parent, not going to say who, that kept adding and adding to the list. I suggest telling your parents and the future-in-laws a specific number of people they are allowed to invite and don’t let them add.

We had people come to the wedding that weren’t in the original rsvp. But we also had people who rsvped yes cancel all the way up to the day of the wedding. So it all worked out in the end.

Get a layout of how the room will be set up before time if you are doing assigned seating. I did not do this and the day of the wedding my aunt was labeling tables and we realized where the groom sat and where the bride sat were opposite of the families. She switched the tables right by us to match, but everyone else was on opposite sides. I don’t know if they noticed, everything seemed to go fine.

I put a lot of thought and time into the seating arrangements. I was so thrilled to hear that our group of people that are our friends from so cal loved their table. They even want to hang out with the new friends they made! The only awkward thing was my step uncle’s step daughter. Did you follow that one? My grandfather remarried about 25 years ago and his wife has a son. My step uncle. He married a woman that has a daughter. His step daughter. Our tables had 10 seats. There was a table with my parents, my aunt and uncle, my two cousin-in-laws, my grandparents, and the step uncle and his wife. There was no room for his step daughter. I think she is a freshman in high school. I put her at a table with my very sweet cousin and her husband, my cousin that I thought she knew, and some other young, nice people. Apparently she was not ok with this. I walk into my wedding and am looking around the tables and I see some older woman sitting at amongst these younger adults. I was like who is that? I realized as the night went on and my step uncle went and sat at the table for awhile, that she was making her mom and step dad sit there. What is more awkward? You politely sitting until everyone gets up and dances and then you can go sit by your mommy or having your step dad sit with people he has nothing in common with? I think she needs to grow up! So annoyed by that!

This was all the advice I could think of at the time. Please add more for the readers or ask me questions if you have any.