Wedded Bliss

Married for over three weeks now and we can't believe it. Just eight months ago we were newly engaged, just having returned from a wonderful trip to Thailand. And now the party is over, the dress is cleaned, and we are settling in to married life.

The week before the wedding was crazier than we could have imagined. We arrived at JFK the Saturday afternoon before the big day - a bit delayed because of the horrible weather, and still a bit tired and hungover from our respective hens and bucks nights the night before (though having business class seats certainly did help ease the discomfort!). Saturday night was the last night of peace before things started getting hectic. Everyday there was something to do - someone to meet, somewhere to go, something to buy. We were hoping to have at least one day to just relax - that turned into just a few hours, while I was getting scrubbed and polished at the spa on the Thursday before the wedding. At that point I was ready for the day, just so that I wouldn't have to worry about the details anymore - I wanted it to be too late for things to be done, if you can imagine it.

On Friday morning, the nerves finally started getting to me. I picked up Matt's mom from the house where they were staying on Dune Road, which was just a few miles down the road from where Matt and I were staying, to go to the spa, where my mom would meet us and where we would get our manicures and pedicures. I was so sick to my stomach with nerves and tension that I nearly had to pull over. Luckily a bagel saved the day and I got through the appointment without incident! After the appointments, we had very little time to get to the rehearsal lunch - though there was really no rehearsal as there was no bridal party, just a way to get the close fam together for a meal to relax and laugh. The venue was perfect - Dockers on Dune Road - but the wind was nuts - in fact, the wind had woken me up that morning, it was so loud. I, of course, worried a bit about what it would mean for our beach pics if it was this windy the next day...After lunch, we returned to the house, where all of our friends started to trickle in, and we recruited all of them to help us tie the tags onto our favors (bags of the famous Tate's chocolate chip cookies). That night we all gathered at another house being rented by our friends where we had a massive BBQ for 30 people - insane and so much fun. I stuck to glasses of water since no one likes a hungover bride.
Matt and I decided to forgo tradition and spend the last night together. I couldn't imagine being left alone in that house with all of my nerves, and it was so comforting being together before such a momentous day. I wouldn't want it any other way.
The next morning, there was no wind and we woke up to the most beautiful day. We drove together to get breakfast specials and the deli platter for lunch and champagne and flowers for the house, and ran into some of our friends at the supermarket - who were rather surprised to see us together, haha! Afterwards, Matt went for a run and I headed to my 11:30 hair and makeup appointment. My mom and Matt's mom met me there. I must say that the end product was exactly what I'd hoped - I looked like a more glammed up version of myself, and the flower in my hair was so stunning and so original. After receiving the star treatment, my mom and I were running late getting back to the house, where my friends were going to meet us starting at 1:30 and the photographers would arrive at 2pm. We hung out there, drinking champagne, eating sandwiches and chatting while the photographers took their photos, until I finally put my dress on at 3. My bouquet also arrived as I was getting dressed, and when I saw it I was spellbound - exactly what I pictured. We took some more photos of me in my dress at the house before the photographers left to take photos of Matt at the beach. About 20 minutes later, my mom drove me to the venue, and our maitre d' led me to the spot on the beach where the guys were taking photos. The photographer wouldn't let Matt look at me until I was right behind him, which I'm sure made a pretty cool photo. He hadn't seen my dress and his reaction was very satisfactory :-)
After some photos on the beach, we headed to the bridal suite at around 5:30 to relax a bit before the ceremony. Our families met us in there and helped calm our nerves. The arrangements were on the table, and again I was mystified - they were the most gorgeous flowers I had ever seen and the place looked majestic. Before we knew it, it was time to walk down the aisle. The moment my dad and I entered the tent, to the tune of Bittersweet Symphony, I was so captivated by it all - it's a moment I will never forget.
The ceremony was a fairy tale. The sun was setting, the waves were crashing on the beach and there were deer walking along the dunes. The tent was glowing with candles and the weather was perfect. I could not imagine a more perfect ceremony. I remember my mouth was very dry, and at times I thought I would get emotional, but I looked at Matt and he made me calm. Stacy gave a beautiful reading - her lovely voice really brought the words we chose to life - and it seemed like our guests really enjoyed our nonconventional choice, which was an excerpt from Love in the Time of Cholera.
After the recessional, we sat in the bridal suite for a few minutes to take some time to ourselves. The maitre d' brought us hors d'euvres and samples from our pad thai and pasta stations and glasses of champage. Lyla, our flower girl, sat with us for a bit - we were so impressed with the fantastic job she did! She was not nervous at all, which is so much more than could be said for the bride and groom! We finally made our way out to join the cocktail party, which was positively bumping to the sounds of our Brazilian bossa nova band. We had a long cocktail hour - 1.5 hours - and it was so nice having got the photos out of the way so we could enjoy time with our guests. Out of our 140 guests, I think we got the chance to chat with 95% them over the course of the night, and most of that is due to the cocktail hour.
The rest of the night was incredible. From the very first song after our first dance (to Something Stupid by Frank and Nancy Sinatra) our guests were on the dance floor boogeying down. I have never seen a wedding like that. Our guests were truly amazing. At 12:15, when the open bar closed up and the DJ wrapped it up, we invited our able guests to join us for an after party in another room. All our friends came, and this is when we really let our hair down. Matt and I were busy saying goodbye to the guests that had to leave, and by the time I entered the after party room it was already packed with our friends, drinks in hand, music playing, and everyone clapped when I strolled in - totally unexpected, and not something I think will happen again in my lifetime! At 2:15, we packed everyone into vans, and Matt and I were the last ones there.
The next morning we had post duty at the brunch. It was great to see everyone and thank them for coming before they headed off on their way home. When the lunch ended at noon, Matt and I headed back to Atlantica to pick up some things we had left behind the night before (including my bouquet!), then we joined our friends for an afternoon at the beach. The boys went in the freezing water while the girls sat with towels around our shoulders and chatted. Then we headed inside to watch the Giants game and eat leftover wedding cake (there was so much left).
On Tuesday was my "dress-thrashing" session with the photographer. TJ also did our wedding photos so by this point I was very comfortable with him. We met him at Robert Moses beach to take shots of me rolling around in my dress. My mom also came with 10 of our Wisconsin family that was still in town. So as TJ and his assistant took shots of me, so was my family snapping away behind them - a bit awkward, especially since these shots are supposed to be a bit sexy.

Our car service came to pick us up right from Robert Moses to take us into NYC. We both passed out during the drive, and at 6pm we were unloading our bags at the Hudson Hotel. We went to the hotel "library" for some spirits, then out for Mexican and off to the (evidently) new NYC hotspot Socialista. We went with Danny's girlfriend Caitlin who, due to her part-time work as an internet scenester, was able to get us table service with bottles of vodka and carafes of tonic and cranberry juice. The next day we scored tickets to Wicked at the Gershwin, and it was really cute. We rode the subway down to Little Italy (which appears to be being overtaken by Chinatown) and had a nice quiet dinner at Positano. On Thursday we met my mom and her friend Reisa at the South Street pier to catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. We were so lucky with the weather - after some early am showers, it cleared up to be a gorgeous day. We stopped off at a Brazilian restaurant for drinks and a bite, then Matt and I bid them farewell to continue with some more shopping and touring around. That night we got sushi for dinner, complete with lychee martinis for me, and I continued the martini binge at Whiskey Park. On our last day - a very sad day - we took some Dunkin Donuts coffee to Central Park and walked around for a few hours until we had to go back to catch our cab to the airport.


Everytime I think back to those two wonderful weeks, I can't help but smile. New York is a magical place, and our wedding was nothing short of magical itself. Thanks everyone that came out to celebrate with us - it wouldn't have been as wonderful without our amazing guests. No professional pics yet, but I will share them with you in a few weeks when they come in - can't wait for them!