Hi ladies!
I know it's been three weeks since the wedding, but I'm just now getting around to the recap. Oops! Without further ado . . .
The day before the wedding, I went to brunch with MIL and FIL and my then-fiance at this cute little French bistro in Center City Philly. We had champagne, talked, I gave them their hand-embroidered handkerchief gifts. Afterwards, we met up with some friends who were already in the city for the wedding and just generally got excited. It was a great start to the weekend. That evening, the Rehearsal went off without a hitch, except for the fact that my brother didn't bring my RD dress into the city until literally 10 min before we had to leave for the church! He said he was "hanging out" at home and then hit traffic. Ugh. But all was fine.
After the rehearsal, we walked over to the steakhouse for our RD, hosted by my husband's family. They rented out the penthouse of the steakhouse, along with the wraparound terrace, which was gorgeous and had a beautiful view of Philly. There were two photographers, two violinists, open bar, the food was AMAZING and the decor was gorgeous (as you might recall, MIL had my same florist do the centerpieces - with PEONIES, which my florist said she wouldn't be able to get for my wedding! WTF?) and MIL put up these massive cardboard cutouts of African animals at the entrance because our HM was in Africa. She's nuts but she means well.
The best part was the Groom's Cake! I had ordered a surprise Bengals cake for my husband because he's from Cincinnati. I have never received so many compliments in my life from his whole family and from all of his friends. Here's a picture:
Afterwards, we met all of the friends who were in town at this awesome rooftop bar in Philly. I stayed past midnight and got in trouble (not really, lol) because I was supposed to be home at the stroke of 12 according to my mother!
I spent the night in the Logan Suite at the Four Seasons with my mom and could barely sleep the whole night. I honestly think I tossed and turned the whole time, which was the whole reason I drank wine -- so I would sleep! Anyway.
The next morning, I got up and it was POURING. I mean, torrential downpour raining. Oh well, what was I going to do? I was disappointed but it was our wedding day, so I dealt with it. We started our hair and makeup in the Logan Suite. I had brunch and mimosas for all of the girls in the suite and we all hung out and got excited. It was really fun.
Miraculously, at 2pm, right after I put on my dress and right as the boys were leaving for the church for the ceremony (which started at 3pm) the rain STOPPED ENTIRELY. I like to think my Dad made that happen from heaven.
The rest of the night, it was overcast, but with no humidity, and was probably mid-to-high 70s. Perfect.
The ceremony was perfect, except one of my husband's friends knocked over the hosts during Communion and the priest had to scramble to pick them all up and EAT ALL OF THEM OFF THE FLOOR BECAUSE YOU CANNOT WASTE THE BODY OF CHRIST OMG. hahaha everyone was laughing hysterically. Here's a picture of me right after that happened:
Only pic I have so far of inside the church during the ceremony by my wedding planner:
After the ceremony, we skipped the receiving line and decided to say hi to everyone at the reception instead. We took a few photos around Philly then headed out to the reception. We bused all of the guests out there because it was probably a 20ish min ride to the venue from the church. One of the buses got lost, but only for like 10 min. hahahaha oh well. One vendor who will be receiving a bad review? Bus company.
Anyway, our limo ride was also noteworthy. Our bridal party GOT.SMASHED. I mean, Maker's Mark straight from the bottle. I stuck with (one) champagne and just giggled incessantly at them. I'm glad they had fun and they ended up being fine with the entrance to the reception, so I wasn't mad at all. I was just glad they were having fun!
Us in the limo:
Some BMs in the limo:
Our entrance at the reception was to "Lawyers in Love" by Jackson Browne, which was hysterical and the people who got it, loved it.
After we were introduced, we had our first dance surrounded by all of the guests in the Great Hall at Cairnwood. It was amazing and we felt like we were the only ones there.
The toasts were AMAZING. My MOH did the best job of everyone I've ever heard and my mom kept it short and simple. The Best Man did a good job and nearly started crying, which was adorable. I love this picture of during my MOH's speech:
After toasts, everyone was ushered into the tent on the terrace outside for the plated dinner. The food was out of this world. We did our hellos during dinner, so I only got a little bit of food, but that was totally fine. People were raving about the food and still tell me it was the best food they've ever had at a wedding. After dinner, we cut the cake inside and the dance party started! Everyone stayed till the bitter end (and by bitter, I mean drunken). Even my grandmother and my husband's grandfather danced until midnight! The band was phenomenal and the midnight cheesesteaks were a massive hit
In sum, it was the most amazing day of my life and I wish we could do it all over again.
Here are some extra photos from my photographers:
And some misc. ones . . .
I gave sunglasses to the whole bridal party:
Dancing with my mom:
During pictures:
Tables:
Our directional sign with locations we've visited together, set up outside the tent on the terrace to the estate house:
I think that's enough photos for now. I can't wait to get the video back from the videographer and the rest of the photos from our photographers!
Hope you enjoyed these
xoxoxox
Mrs. B2B