I'm taking a second to post pictures - we had an absolutely gorgeous day! I'll do full reviews later. Plenty went wrong, and it truly didn't matter at all. My philosophy all day was, "I don't care" whenever something went wrong. It wasn't forced - I really just was happy, cool, calm and collected. And it was just wonderful - it was the best weekend of my life!
DH (!!!!) and I stayed at the Mermaid Inn in Mystic. We had a glorious rehearsal dinner at Koto Japanese Restaurant - the quick run-through in the garden in front, then everyone laughed a ton at dinner and my friend did a slideshow projection on the wall.
We woke up at 6am and couldn't go back to sleep, so we cuddled for a bit, went downstairs in the B&B and had a nice cup of coffee on the porch, and went for a stroll down by the water. Then we had a glorious breakfast on the patio before my parents arrived - DH left to get ready with his guys, and I had a lovely morning getting ready with my Mom and my brother's girlfriend. Waking up with DH made things so much better, calmer, easier. The makeup artist, Ariana, from Sara Faella Glam Squad was awesome - she made everyone look beautiful and glowing. My Mom looked incredible, and that was so important to me! I cannot say enough wonderful things about our photographers - Alexis Stein Photography. It felt like there was another friend hanging out while we got ready (Ariana felt like that, too). And even DH (!!!) said that about her husband, Keith, who was there with the guys as they got ready. I can't WAIT to see all their photographs! The videographers (DL Video Production / Epic Video) were likewise great and overall unobtrusive - the second shooter who was with my husband and his guys was apparently a bit pushy with posed shots, which he hates, so he wasn't a big fan of "contemplating out the window" for extended periods of time. But really, I think I'll love the video, so I'm glad she pushed him just a bit!
Our first look was incredible - it was emotional, he cried, and we just couldn't have been happier or more excited. I am SO glad we did that!
Our ceremony at the Branford House was really windy, so some of the sound systems didn't work so well, so I hope everyone could hear - I'm told they could but I know people would lie to me to keep me happy haha! The videographers did put a mic on my husband's uniform, so hopefully that captured the ceremony for us.
I did eat - I chowed down on appetizers during the photo sessions and had 2 plates during dinner, and even sat down and relaxed a bit and chatted with our siblings (we did a sibling table, which was an awesome idea). Emily's Catering did a phenomenol job and all our friends and family were raving about it - over-the-top in every single way. The service was awesome - they kept bringing us all the appetizers and drinks while we took pictures. Really, I can't say enough about them - they just exceeded every expectation.
I did get a chance to talk to every single guest, and I danced a lot! The dance floor & tend from Connecticut Rental were a dream come true - I got to dance outside! DJae Melee is just as fabulous as eveyone says. He kept the dance floor packed, and every single song was awesome. His lighting on the tent was so cool, too! Oh, and though I was initially disappointed we didn't get a chance to do dance lessons, I'm so glad we didn't. We danced beautifully together, and it wasn't rehearsed or stiff - it was just happy and relaxed, as we sang the song to each other. I LOVED it!
It was magical... I felt like a princess, my husband (!!!!!!!) was so darned handsome, and everything was just incredible.
