Wedding Day: First Look

When we were both ready and dressed in our best, it was time for our “first look.” It was very important that we see each other before the wedding for a number of reasons. The main one being that we had fantastic photographers, and we wanted to take full advantage of them in the beautiful city of New Orleans. Another reason was, we thought it would be fun to hang out and have fun with our wedding party before the “big party.”

We had planned on meeting at a balcony overlooking the river, but American Idol was having auditions in our hotel the day of the wedding, so our initial first look location got blocked off. I’m not sure who found it or decided on it, but a beautiful courtyard became the new spot.
It was so much fun walking outside and seeing my groom’s back facing me, ready to turn around and see me for the first time as his bride. I know he must have heard me walk out, but he waited to turn around until I said his name. It was the sweetest thing… very surreal though. I think at that moment I realized it really was our wedding day. We talked and hugged for a quick minute (holding off on the kiss until the ceremony), and then we were on our way to meet the limos and our wedding party.

Wedding Day: Bride’s Preparation

Like so many days before, I woke up in the comfy, perfectly gorgeous Hilton bed wired and ready to go. Only today was different. It wasn’t run errands day, it wasn’t meet and greet the family day, it wasn’t bridesmaids brunch day, and it wasn’t rehearsal dinner day. It was WEDDING DAY!

We had so many beautiful days leading up to this day (like 50 days with no rain to be quite frank), so opening the curtains was probably one of the most tense times of the day. Silly, it may sound, but I completely planned the wedding around the best time of year for weather in NOLA. Not to mention the billion prayers I prayed for over a year. I told God so many times that all I wished for was no rain; I didn’t care if it was cloudy, ugly, windy, etc. just no rain… PLEASE NO RAIN! Well, the Lord went above and beyond on this day. Opening the curtains was blinding! The most beautiful blinding sight of sunlight I have ever seen. Not one cloud showed off on this day… they were nowhere to be seen. And there on the 20-something floor of The Hilton Riverside stood a joyous bride!

I cleaned up around the suite, getting it ready for the bridesmaids, family, friends, makeup artist, and hairstylist to come. All the while, I told myself to stay calm, be happy, and have the best day of my life! Around 11:00 am, the crew started pouring in. From that moment on, it was manes, makeup, and mimosas! It was imperative that we all start getting ready extra-early so we could be prepared to take pictures and take the 20 minute limo ride to Southern Oaks. The limo would be there to pick us all up at 3:00 pm, and 11:00 am and on, time started ticking!

I could not believe how quickly 3:00 pm came! And another thing I couldn’t believe… how drop-dead gorgeous me and all my girls looked! WOW, WOW, WOW! I have to say, I looked at my bridesmaids and couldn’t help but be proud of how beautiful all my friends are… they looked like they were getting ready to go pose for Martha Stewart’s Fall Wedding issue! And my hair and makeup… wowzers! My makeup and hair artists from Get Polished were beyond words… a perfect pick!!!! And if you don’t believe me, believe this: I DIDN’T EVEN HAVE A TRAIL RUN!!!!! Can you believe it?! I put my makeup and hair in these stylists hands the day of only, and they did a better job than any makeup and hair I’ve ever had done! They come highly recommended from this bride!

Yes, this is my baby dress and not just any dress but the one I was brought home from the hospital in!
Baby dress and Bride Dress!
Bridesmaid attire
Bridesmaid Bouquet
The crew getting ready
Makeup!
Veil!
Mommy approves!
Dress, shoes, and garter... almost ready!

Wedding Day: Groom’s Preparation

My gift to Tres... timeless and classic. Perfect for the big day and days to come

Sidenote: I PROMISED I WOULD FINALLY POST MY WEDDING BLOG ENTRIES WHEN PHOTOS CAME IN... HERE'S THE START OF MANY POSTS!

I have to say… calm would have NEVER been the word my friends or family would have used if I asked them to describe me on wedding day. I hate to admit it, but crazy, snappy, bossy, etc. would have been more like it. Sad enough, me under stress and pressure can be not-so-very pretty at times. To everyone’s surprise (including mine) I was the complete opposite. It was like someone had secretly slipped me a valium (as a matter of fact, I am still trying to figure which one of my crazy bridesmaids did… haha). My maid of honor Ginger actually said after the wedding, “What was WRONG with you on your wedding day? You were so…. Calm…?” All I could say was, “Everything went so perfect there was no reason to get upset or stressed. It was truly the perfect day.”

Writing his sweet vows
Tres on the other hand… his groomsmen should have maybe slipped a calm pill in his sandwich at lunch or something. Crazy and snappy he was not (he doesn’t have it in him to be those things), but stressed and nervous he was. As I was getting ready in the suite, we had closed the door off to the bedroom of the suite so Tres could get ready in there (yes, we literally had a door between us as we got ready for the wedding). Every 30 minutes or so, his mom, a bridesmaid or my family would go in there to see him, and they kept coming back telling me how nervous and stressed he was. It never crossed my mind that he would ever get that way, but now that I think about it, Tres has a one-track-mind, and if he over thinks anything he will worry and stress himself sick, so I guess it makes sense that he felt that way on the biggest day of his life. Every time someone came back in and told me how stressed he was, I wished terribly I could be in the room with him to calm him, but I knew I would be seeing him soon!
We exchanged wedding gifts while getting ready. I had my family take his gift to him, and he had his mom bring me mine. Prior to the wedding, he had already bought me the blue Christian Louboutin heels I would wear on wedding day, so I didn’t expect another gift from him, but of course, he couldn’t resist. He passed me the absolute sweetest card I have ever read in my life, describing our love as “epic.” The last line read “today is the first day of the rest of our lives.” I melted. In the card, the gift was included with a note. It was a print out of our favorite engagement picture, and he wrote that he had gotten a canvas made of the picture. We had talked about it before, but the fact that he remembered was a gift all in itself! For Tres’ gift, I also got him a “something blue.” I gave him Tiffany and Co. cufflinks to wear the day of the wedding and included a note, “you gave me my something blue, now here’s yours.”

Going to Atlantic City… home of Boardwalk Empire!

Is anyone else as obsessed with the new hit series “Boardwalk Empire” as I am?! I mean… WOW! The husband and I don’t much consider ourselves TV lushes, but when it comes to HBO on Sunday nights, it’s another tale to be told… we are obsessed. I have to say, when “Boardwalk Empire” premiered in place of my precious and revered “True Blood,” “Hung” and “Entourage,” I was a little pessimistic. I didn’t think the show would do it for me, but my love of the 1920’s era, strong-minded women standing up for that they believe in, and overall intense excitement got the best of me with this show. From the fantastic screenplay to the remarkable acting, it’s a winner! I have a new respect for Steve Buscemi… I am now convinced that man can plan any role and have me in admiration.

So with a new favorite HBO hit wrapped up and a review underway, I am ready to go live the Boardwalk Life! Yes, the hubby and I are headed to Atlantic City this weekend, and my excitement cannot be expressed enough! We are going there for cheer reasons of course, but hopefully, we will find plenty of time to hit up the boardwalk and of course scope out the best eateries! I am already on a “Top Restaurants of Atlantic City” search!

Note: As much as it may not seem like it, I am on the edge of my seat to post about our wedding. I didn’t mean for it to get this far behind, but I decided to just wait on our final professional prints to come in the mail. I promise to share some this week and next (the posts are actually written, believe it or not, I am just waiting for photos)! Plus, a re-cap of Chicago is still in progress! I am trying to do this stuff in order, but it’s just not working for me! Haha! Have a good week, everyone!

Back to Chicago I Go… This Time with My Beau

I am happy to say, I am finally caught up on wedding updates for my blog! Yes, it's a month later, but I did it! There are still the wedding details to post, of course, but I am glad to finally have pre-wedding details up! Next week, I promise to work my little hiney off and get everything about the big day posted. I will include pre-wedding details of me and my girls getting ready, first look details of me and Tres seeing each other for the first time, the limo ride and picture taking, the ceremony, the reception, and my favorite details that happened that day! It will all be included! Oh yes, and then there’s the honeymoon… I almost forgot about that one, but I promise to include posts of that as well! Whew, I am wayyy behind!

As for now… me and the hubs are headed to Chicago! I am overly excited about this trip because I haven’t been since I went with the girls for the bachelorette party! It’s going to be cold, but our suitcases are packed to the airplane weight limit with sweaters, coats, scarves – you name it! This Southern gal can’t walk outdoors unprepared for ice needles to hit my skin! I have also prepared myself for this trip by border-line committing suicide on the treadmill everyday this week. I plan to eat everything in sight in that city, and I mean everything! The food is amazing, and I've said it once, and I'll say it again: I PRIMARILY TRAVEL FOR THE FOOD!!! Always! :) I have this theory that I could easily take Adam from Man vs. Food on in any challenge. HA - at least I would try. I promise I would not be scared to attempt that at least once! I will bring updates of this trip soon! Have a great weekend everyone!
Photo from tripadvisor.com

Wedding Week: Rehearsal Dinner

Saturday, October 16

To pick up from the post below, Tres and I walked into the rehearsal dinner about 20 minutes late with everyone waiting on us, but I don’t think anyone was a bit surprised. We are never on time for anything… it’s awful! I mean, I always thought I was bad, and now I have a husband who is even worse than I am. That is the only way we’re not good for each other :) Ok, so back to the story… The rehearsal dinner was better than we could have ever been imagined. The closest people in our lives were all there to celebrate our marriage the day before it happened, and we had a blast with everyone! The food… ok, this is another story all in itself. Seriously, when we went for a tasting back in July, we were blown away and chose the place solely on how wonderful the food was. But when we ate dinner that night, a number of items we had not tasted were added to the spread, and OH. MY. GOSH.! No joke, this place has some of the best New Orleans food you will ever eat! It’s called Oceana Grill. It’s on the corner of Bourbon and Conti. If you are ever in New Orleans… GO THERE! I am a doing you all a favor by telling you that. Our wedding party and family were all completely blown away by the food. I made about three plates and still insisted that I had not had enough, so I consumed about half the dish of bread pudding! I cannot say enough words about this food… DELISH!
We didn’t do the typical rehearsal dinner slideshow, but we wanted something to entertain everyone after dinner and before the speeches. Why we decided against the slideshow… 1) We just waited until the last minute and 2) We didn’t really want to do the “typical.” So instead, we decided to play a game. We had a card placed at each table setting that said “How well do you know the Bride and Groom?” We had everyone fill it out, and then we got one of the groomsmen to be the “announcer” and call out all the correct answers. We bought $100 in casino chips, and gave the top three winners money to go gamble! It was lots of fun, and everyone got really into it! The winner was our good friend Lori and my mom was a runner-up!

After the game was speech time. The speeches were amazing. I have been to at least a hundred rehearsal dinners and weddings and always wondered what it felt like to have so many people that you love speak their true feelings about you. One after another, it is compliment after compliment, congrats after congrats, and best wishes after best wishes… it’s a great feeling. It makes you feel so blessed to have so many people in your life who love you, think so highly of you, and believe in you. And the best one, in my opinion, came from my groom. What he said about me, my family, his family, and friends, confirmed what a genuine, wonderful husband he would be. I already knew it, but his words that night made it even more special. Finally, I have to mention what my girls did for me. They presented me a scrapbook. Each of my close girlfriends who were in the wedding got together on the idea and each made a scrapbook page to go in the book. Each page included the past, present, and future of my fun times with them! Throughout the book, they also included wedding invitations, memories from the bachelorette party, and pictures from the bridal shower. It was the most thoughtful, wonderful gift my best girlfriends could have ever given me! I mean… there were pictures in there from high school and college - memories that I had completely forgotten about, and afterward, it was fun sharing those distant memories with my groom. I love my girls! Thank ya’ll again!


The rehearsal dinner was three hours, and time flew as it always does when you’re having fun. We didn’t want the party to end, so we headed back to the hotel to hang out in Tres’ dad’s suite. He had a party going on for everyone in town for the wedding. It was nice to get to visit more, but when I say I was exhausted, I mean… I was the most tired I have ever been in my entire life. I felt like I had been run over by a train. Combine that with several glasses of wine and the 100 things I had on my mind, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I said goodnight to my family, friends, and groom and headed to bed. I went to the suite, shut all the doors, and though I had considered having some of the girls stay the night with me, I decided I just wanted to be by myself the rest of the night. It didn’t take long to go to sleep, and soon enough, it was Wedding Day!

Best Man Speech

Dad's turn!

My sweet groom's speech to me Bride to GroomTHE BOOK from my girls!!!

Looking through the book at our fun memories together
"The Girls"
Tres being silly with "the girls"
One of our favorite couples! The crew and our men!

Wedding Week: Bridesmaid Brunch

SUN, SUN, SUN…. LUCK, LUCK, LUCK!!!! Just call me and Tres leprechauns!!! We had more luck and joy than two people could ever experience in the amount of four days, and Saturday got even better! That morning, we both woke up with little 8am headaches from the 3am evening the night before, but it was nothing a Starbucks Pumpkin Latte and a few mimosas couldn’t cure! I was off with my family to the Bridesmaids Brunch, which my exceptional Mom, my wonderful Nenne, and my magnificent Aunt Gina threw for me and my bridesmaids. We also invited all the close women on Tres’ side of the family, so it was just a big girl-fest!

The best women in the world... Aunt Gina, Cousin Melissa, Mom, and Nenne I have to say, the place we had the brunch was further away from the hotel than expected, and we were all starting to get a little antsy in the taxi ride there, but pulling up made it all the better. 1) ALL my girls (the college friends) were standing outside to greet us! I promise, nothing can put words on what these girls mean to me. We never get to see each other, and every time we do, it’s exciting and emotional enough to nearly bring tears to all our eyes! And 2) we walked into the place, which I had blindly booked, and it was PERFECT in every way! Perfect meaning we had the entire upstairs with lavish décor throughout, perfect place settings with personalized menus, and a private door that lead outside to enjoy the beautiful day – it was a southern gal’s dream brunch. I could see women in the 1920’s having tea in this room… it was so beautiful! Not to mention, I booked the place completely blind. There were no pictures on the website, and I only talked to the event planner a few times on email and maybe once on the phone. I have to say, I was scared going into it, but the planner could not have done a better job!! As a matter of fact, if you ever go to New Orleans or you need to plan a private party there, call Rachael at Café Atchafalaya… she will set you up! I have to add this to the “all the things that went perfect this weekend” list because the brunch was a hit! Wonderful food, mimosas galore, and more fun than a group of girls could ever have! We reminisced about old times, talked about new times, planned the wedding day schedule, and laughed until we couldn’t breathe! I also gave my nine bridesmaids their final presents - gold vintage necklaces to wear with their gold BCBG Maxazria shoes I gave them before the wedding. I knew then, they would be the hottest pack of bridesmaids anyone had ever seen, and they WERE!

All my bridesmaids in front of "The Skillet"! I love my gals! After the brunch, I went with my mom, my Nenne, my aunt, my cousin, and Tres’ mom and sister to get our nails done. We pretty much took over the nail salon located in the mall connected to our hotel – it was loads of fun, but about halfway in, I hit a wall. Maybe it was the mimosas, maybe it was lack of sleep, maybe it was visiting with 100 people in less than a full day, or maybe it was because I was already 30 minutes late to my hair and makeup appointment for the rehearsal dinner – whatever it was… I had a feeling I would not be able to carry on normally through the rest of the night. It was unreal how it all just hit me at once like that. All I could think was… ‘I still have a rehearsal dinner and wedding to go. I’ve got to dig for some energy because I am not ruining all this by being tired.’ So after nails, I picked up a coke and got moving again: running to my hair appointment (luckily the salon was in the hotel). I rushed the stylist through and ran (literally) to my makeup appointment. It was at Sacks in the mall across the street, and I was dashing through the busy traffic all while trying to keep my hair fixed. The makeup artist almost didn’t take me because I was so late, but I talked her into it, and she rushed me through. Needless to say, Tres and I were late to our own rehearsal dinner (umm…. Duh! It wouldn’t be me and Tres if we weren’t late!) TO BE CONTINUED IN REHEARSAL DINNER POST……………..

Mimiosas galore!

One of the yummy brunch dishes! I had Bread Pudding French Toast and wish I'd taken a pic!

Mom-in-Law and me

My sweet cousin after reading the letter I wrote her. She couldn't stop crying :)

Two of my very favorite friends!
Two more of my very favorite friends!

Lori and me clowning! Love her dearly!