Mrs. Alli_esq here (with non-pro pics)

[alli_esq]

Hi, everyone!

Finally back from our honeymoon in Italy--it was really amazing! I couldn''t have had such an awesome trip without the wonderful tips I got from you PSers...I am sorry I didn''t have a chance to write to each of you individually at that time to thank you all for your advice--the two weeks before the wedding, I thought I would pull my hair out! I have a renewed respect for all brides who plan their own weddings--it was so much little detail work, I never knew!

Okay, so before I talk about the details of the wedding, I''ll post some pictures. I know some of you hate having the pictures without faces, but I really don''t feel comfortable posting my face, so I am doing the next best thing. Although the dim lights were very romantic during the actual wedding, it made for pretty lousy lighting, so I apologize for the darkness of the photos from the ceremony and reception. I chose the ones where you could see the best...

So, let''s start from the beginning--the morning of the wedding. My best friend from high school is an aspiring pro photog, and he took some very nice looking photos, so I''ll post those first. Here''s me that morning--you can get an idea of the hair here. My SIL is a hairdresser and she so generously offered (actually insisted!) to do my hair for the wedding. I love what she did!

 

[alli_esq]

My mom got ready before I did--here''s a pic with my awesome mommy She looked beautiful!

 

[alli_esq]

Okay, so then I got dressed...One of my closest friends from childhood (who just got married in August!) had some heel stoppers for me. It never occurred to me that I would be going outside to take photos on November 20, but the weather was mild enough that we were able to be outside for at least an hour and a half to take pro shots! She had the foresight to bring the little rubber stoppers for the bottoms of my shoes, and she helped me to put them on. You can sort of see the bridesmaid dress here too..

 

[alli_esq]

My bff from high school and me

--you can see what the men wore here...

 

[alli_esq]

You can''t see how chocolate-y the vests and ties were up there...but oh well. They looked nice, I promise!

So, then we went outside--I was so hot all morning, running around and all, so going outside was awesome...for the first hour. Then the cold started gettin to me! My awesome man of honor (bff from high school) walked around with us the whole time and took photos with the pro photographer, along with helping the pro with the light. He is awesome. So is my maid of honor who followed me around with a scarf and hugged me with it every time I got cold!

 

[alli_esq]

DH and the guys ended up having a few drinks (surprise surprise) at the hotel while they were doing pictures with the pro there, so they were a little late. But it worked out just fine--we had left time in the day-of schedule for just that reason...I know my hubby!

(and his friends, haha)

 

[alli_esq]

We got a lot of photos outside, as I said, so I''m sort of dying to see the pro shots (more on that later)...but all good things come to those who wait, yes?

All the non-pro ceremony shots are very very dark, but here is one of the recessional...

 

[alli_esq]

You can sorta see the bouquet a little better (and the bling I wore!)

 

[alli_esq]

This is a decent picture of the bridesmaid dresses...this is my SIL and her hubby...

 

[alli_esq]

And my good childhood friend from above, with my brother...

 

[alli_esq]

And here''s a photo from when we were announced...I told myself not to lift my arms but they sort of did anyway on their own, haha!

 

[alli_esq]

First dancey...you can sort of see my bustle (which I loved! and it took like 5 seconds for three of my bridal party members to do it for me--I swear, they were ROCK STARS that day!)

 

[alli_esq]

Here''s a photo of the centerpiece...but it really looked nothing like that--it wasn''t NEARLY so green, and the roses weren''t pink like that either. The lighting was a problem for photos, obviously. I hope the pro got a great shot of them, because they really looked so fall-y and romantic with the candles...

 

[alli_esq]

Here was the cake. It was fine, nothing to write home about. I didn''t really like the ribbon, but then again, I told my florist just to do something, and she couldn''t have known I didn''t like the ribbon. The cake didn''t mean that much to me, since I figured I wouldn''t see much of it (and I didn''t!). The venue included a cake with the meal, so we picked one from a list and that was that.

 

[alli_esq]

And here''s just one with me showin off my pockets! I loved that

 

[Clairitek]

You looked stunning Alli!!! I just love your gown. So sophisticated!

What ended up happening with your ring situation? Did you get a replacement before the wedding?

 

[alli_esq]

That''s all that''s worth showing so far. So here''s what happened with my photographers...

Some of you might remember that I agonized over spending so much money with my photographers, but I loved their work so I just bit the bullet and booked them about a year ago. They are a husband and wife team...and in around April, they let me know that the wife was pregnant--due November 11. Haha, that''s what I get for booking them so early, right?

So obviously she wouldn''t be able to do the wedding (on November 20), so the husband found a secondary photographer to replace her. (new photographer) His work seemed really beautiful, so I agreed to it. He said he would find another photographer too for an additional backup on the VERY TINY possibility that the husband wouldn''t be able to make it either.

Normally, I can see where I''d get upset about something like this, but these photographers I booked are SO nice, and I really did think that I''d be doing well with this secondary photographer--his work really did seem beautiful. And really--it''s a baby! It''s not like they did this intentionally or is something that could have been prevented (you know what I mean)...plus, I thought that with the husband and this other great photographer, my pictures might end up being even better than I thought...

Well, of course, November 11 comes and goes...they scheduled the wife to be induced on November 21...and I think you all know where this is going. The morning of my wedding, the new photographer called me and said, "so I don''t know if you heard, but [the wife photographer] went into labor late last night...so I''ll be your primary today!"

The new photographer was awesome--he was so professional, really made me feel comfortable, and he was very funny and cool. He was extremely creative, and I am very hopeful about the photos he shot, especially given the photos he has on his blog.

I was not as happy with the second photographer, however--I realized in retrospect that I should have approved the second photographer prior to the wedding, and I am usually EXTREMELY thorough like that, but I just had way too much to be dealing with during the weeks before the wedding, and I trusted the photographer I hired to choose someone comparable. I won''t say anything until I see the actually photographs, but the second guy (NOT THE PHOTOGRAPHER I LINKED TO) was totally unprofessional, IMO. He was running around like a lunatic, making everyone anxious, making stupid gestures that were attracting people''s attention (think "stuffed animals for babies at Sears"), and telling people to pose in the opposite ways that the primary photographer was telling them to face...repeatedly.

Other than that, though, everything went smoothly! All that I regret is that I didn''t feel like it was real. I was so tired for weeks leading up to the wedding--I was able to push through and got through everything, but just the whole day didn''t feel like it was actually happening.

I feel so lucky to be married to my best friend, and the day was beautiful (and I think people had a lot of fun too!)...I just wish I had felt more present that day. I just remember walking down the stairs right before we were going to walk down the aisle, and I just kept saying, "oh, I guess I''m getting married now!"

Anyway, back to real life now! As my MIL (whom we call "Debbie Downer") said to DH when we got back from Italy, "Honeymoon''s over. Now get back to work."

 

[doodle]

Aw, Alli, you look so beautiful (and that''s an impressive accomplishment without a face, haha)! I adore your dress! Can''t wait to see more. Glad you enjoyed Italy; we honeymooned there as well, and I''d LOOOOOVE to go back!

 

[alli_esq]

Claritek: Thank you so much! Yes, thank you for remembering about my ring! I did end up getting a replacement in time, thank goodness--and all thanks to Mark T. at ERD. I was so busy leading up to the wedding so I didn''t have a chance to take pictures of it, and I figured I would wait until after I got married to show my whole set (I actually have 3 different wedding bands, haha)...but I left my e-ring and my diamond wedding bands at my parents'' house when we went to Italy (I just wore a plain WF ring), so I don''t have them on my person at the moment. I am going back there today to pick them up, and I will take some pictures and post them when I can. I LOVE my new ring--even though I am still very sad about losing the one my DH gave to me!


doodle: that''s very sweet of you! thank you

 

[purselover]

You were so beautiful, I really love your dress and the pockets are a great touch! Sorry about the photographer drama but at least there was one that worked out well. Congratulaions

 

[jcarlylew]

love

your dress! cannot wait to see more pictures!

 

[lulu66]

everything looks so beautiful so far! congrats. keeping my fingers crossed that your pro pics turn out fantastic (i''m sure they will!)!!

 

[Clairitek]

Date: 12/9/2009 10:10:57 AM
Author: alli_esq
Claritek: Thank you so much! Yes, thank you for remembering about my ring! I did end up getting a replacement in time, thank goodness--and all thanks to Mark T. at ERD. I was so busy leading up to the wedding so I didn''t have a chance to take pictures of it, and I figured I would wait until after I got married to show my whole set (I actually have 3 different wedding bands, haha)...but I left my e-ring and my diamond wedding bands at my parents'' house when we went to Italy (I just wore a plain WF ring), so I don''t have them on my person at the moment. I am going back there today to pick them up, and I will take some pictures and post them when I can. I LOVE my new ring--even though I am still very sad about losing the one my DH gave to me!


doodle: that''s very sweet of you! thank you

Glad to hear you love the new ring! I can''t imagine its easy to think about the fact that the one he proposed with is gone but just think about how the one you got married with is here to stay! THREE WEDDING BANDS! Lucky you! Looking forward to seeing pictures of your 4 ring set! Smart of you to leave them with the parents when you were away. Less to worry about! I wore mine on my honeymoon to the COok Islands and was totally paranoid about losing it while swimming since it was a 1/4 size too big. I would switch hands to my bigger ring finger while swimming. After reading your story you inspired me to get my ring resized ASAP so now it fits more snuggly and takes a lot more effort to get it off my finger.

Looking forward to your pro pics as well!

 

[sunnyd]

Congrats Alli!! You look absolutely gorgeous and your wedding looked fab. Sorry about the photog drama, but I''m sure you''ll have some amazing pics!

 

[alli_esq]

purselover: oh thank you!! aren''t the pockets fun? I think I fell in love with the dress because of the pockets

jcarlylew: thanks so much!!

lulu66: I appreciate the fingers being crossed, trust me!

claritek: well, first of all, I am SO happy that you got your rings resized. It''s so sad to lose your original ring

But if someone can take better care of their rings because of my loss, then perhaps it wasn''t in vain!!! secondly--haha, no, it''s not exactly a 4-ring set...I have a small diamond bezel band that I will wear with my e-ring usually...then my grandmother''s thick YG ring with diagonal channel-set diamonds that I might wear as a change once in a while by itself, and just a small plain WG band that was perfect for traveling...I''ll post them all soon

sunnyd: I loved your non-pro pics--your GORGEOUS lace gown is one of my favorites on PS...that neckline was TDF! Did you get your pro pics back yet? I am so looking forward to seeing them!

 

[kama_s]

Gorgeous pictures!! Your dress is so beautiful, your hair looked amazing too! Sooo glad to know you got a new ring! I also want to see what you ended up deciding on with your jewelry (I think it looks like the pear pendant that you were leaning towards, but I''m not sure). Everything looks absolutely fantastic! Congrats!

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

Alli, you wedding looked awesome, awesome! You''re such a trooper for putting up with the photog debacle. I hope sooo much that there''s nothing to worry about and your photos will be stunning.

I knew that I had ordered the same BM dresses as another PSer, but thought it was Sunny (

not sure why!)... But after I saw her wedding photos I realized I was mistaken. But NOW I know- You''re my BM dress twin, even the same color! They looked fabulous!

 

[FrekeChild]

Yay Alli! You looked (well what we can see anyway) BEAUTIFUL!!!! I can''t wait to see pro pics and some new ring pics (I haven''t been wearing my "real" ering because of your story and because it''s about 3/4-1 size too big right now and I don''t want to risk losing it. Anyway, I love all of your details and it looks like you guys just had a blast!

 

[joelly]

I love your dress, your shoes, your veil, and your cake.

 

[MagsyMay]

Everything looked gorgeous! Congratulations! I love those pockets too!