lulu's PRO PICS

[lulu66]

the DVD has landed!! all photos (c) Tony Lopez Photography

i'll start w/the pics, then do a little recap at the end.

first up: CEREMONY

 

[lulu66]

more CEREMONY

 

[lulu66]

BRIDE & BRIDESMAIDS

 

[lulu66]

GROOM & GROOMSMEN

 

[lulu66]

MR & MRS

 

[lulu66]

CHURCH DETAILS & MORE

 

[lulu66]

FIRST DANCE

 

[lulu66]

(am i posting too many? it's really hard to narrow down...sorry, guys!)

FATHER/DAUGHTER & MOTHER/SON DANCES

(i intro'd the father/daughter dance & it's the only time anyone cried during the entire wedding)

 

[lulu66]

RECEPTION DETAILS

 

[lulu66]

MORE RECEPTION

 

[lulu66]

RECEPTION (we had some fun)

 

[sillyberry]

Not too many pictures AT ALL!!! You all look gorgeous and happy and I love the details, especially the guest book!

 

[lulu66]

congrats, if you made it through all those. but, jeez, it's really hard to narrow down all the photos.

all in all we had a beautiful wedding surrounded by so many loved ones. we started the day at 8am w/my hair appointment & bms starting on hair & makeup in their cabin. (my bff/co-maid of honor did everyone's makeup!) we had kinda crunch time because our ceremony was at 11am. so, we didn't do any "getting ready" or "first look" photos. no time. but 11 was the latest time slot for a saturday wedding at our church, so whatcha gonna do? the rings got left in the car. it was hilarious & our friend sprinted out to her car to get them. (now why none of the guys thought, "huh, shouldn't the ring bearer have rings?" is beyond me but...) after the ceremony, we did family portraits in the 80+ degree heat. (we had a huge break between our late morning ceremony & dinner reception.) so, after that we all took a few hour break. i got out of my dress, ate a sandwich. the men went to the bar for a bit. the girls took naps. then we reconvened for bridal party pics. note to future brides: do not plan on bridal party pics outdoors at 1pm without a cloud in the sky. it was brutal; we were all soooo hot & had the sun in our eyes no matter which way we turned. not great planning on my part but we survived. then onto the reception to party the night away. i'll retell the story of my father/daughter dance. i had picked "into the mystic" by van morrision for our dance (my dad had no idea). since it's a pretty non-traditional choice, i thought i'd preface it with the story of why i chose it. i got on the mic & explained the significance, i was fighting back tears & apparently everyone else was crying. instead of a groom's cake, we had a birthday cake b/c 3 of our guests had birthdays that weekend & 4 more had birthdays in the coming week. so i recognized them all & everyone sang "happy birthday." the mantle over the fireplace was decorated with our parents & grandparents wedding photos & our guest book also featured their photos.

i'll give you the highs & lows of our wedding vendors too. let's start w/the lows: our florist (who i debated back & forth between going w/her or DIY route). when we got to the church our bouquets were waiting. ummm, she got the flowers right. i wanted all ivory garden rose bouquets for me & the bms. however, i don't think she'd ever worked with those flowers before (during our consultation she kept insisting that garden roses were simply full bloom roses) because the stems weren't wired & were too heavy & were limpy. they were just poor looking all around. but that's ok; our florist bill was so small (really, really cheap) & the reception centerpieces were exactly what i wanted. so after the ceremony we ditched our bouquets & just used our clutches for pictures. next up: the DJ, ugh, where to start....he let the best man karoake, he started to play my "must play" list in order after dinner ("cowboy" by kid rock came on first thing after dinner & our priest & deacon promptly made their leave.), 1/2 way through the reception he told me we owed him for overtime, even though our reception did not go any longer than we originally told him & he had never mentioned this "overtime charge" before. he wore an hawaiian shirt & shorts & drank on our tab all night, and he was generally annoying to some of our guests but everyone danced and we all really did have a great time.

the highs: our cake was exactly what i wanted. when i showed our cake lady, she has only been doing cakes on the side for about a year & had never done one exactly like it, i was a little worried but it really was perfect. our venue went above & beyond. we had our reception at a local restaurant after our other venue double booked us. it was very last minute but everything turned out perfectly; the service was excellent, the food was superb (all the guest are still raving about it & said hands down it was the best meal they had while visiting)!! our friends & family were so great, most traveled across the country to be with us & stayed extra days to spend time with us. i have never felt more loved in all my life!!!

ok, that's all the novel....thanks again for looking!!

 

[lulu66]

Not too many pictures AT ALL!!! You all look gorgeous and happy and I love the details, especially the guest book!

thanks, sillyberry!! i got so many positive comments on the guest book; everyone really loved it! and i was happy with how it turned out, we had our parents & all our grandparents photos on every other page. and now, instead of being crammed up in the closet, it's on a bookshelf with all our other photo albums.

 

[yssie]

Definitely not too many pics - everything looks wonderful!!

I especially like the reception series, everyone looks like they're having so much fun - and *gorgeous* venue!

 

[Miss Sparkly]

Love all your photos! You look stunning

 

[lulu66]

thanks yssie & sparklyblonde!!

 

[oddoneout]

Everything is beautiful and you both look very happy.

 

[Supers]

Congrats!
I love the coloured shoes - and the way your husband looks at you adoringly in every photo.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Wonderful pictures! Loved your dress and everything was beautiful!

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Wonderful pictures! Loved your dress and everything was beautiful!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Beautiful pictures, I loved everything, but I really loved the different colored shoes, the BM's dresses, your dress and veil and the cake. Everyone looked like they were having a great time.

 

[Future Mrs. Sterling]

Thanks for posting! I love your hairpiece! And you look fabulous in that dress. The neckline perfect on you!

 

[calibali]

Your wedding looks so beautiful! My favorite picture was of the different colored shoes - what a great idea! Thanks for sharing!

 

[violet3]

Gorgeous Lulu! congrats on your marriage - you make a beautiful couple!

 

[lulu66]

thanks so much oddoneout, supers, diamondseeker2006, calibali, & violet3!!

ltlfirecracker, i just let all the bms pick their own colored shoes & they ordered their dresses from target.com for $40! i made my veil for less than $30. and my dress & cake were two of my favorite things thanks for looking & taking time to comment!

future mrs. sterling, my hair flower is from forever 21--$3!!! it ended up working perfectly! thanks for your lovely remarks!

 

[Bleed Burnt Orange]

You two look so happy and adorable! Congrats to you both. I love your bridesmaids dresses and the different colour shoes! Also...your husband's wedding band is really cool with the wood grain, is it?

 

[lulu66]

You two look so happy and adorable! Congrats to you both. I love your bridesmaids dresses and the different colour shoes! Also...your husband's wedding band is really cool with the wood grain, is it?

thanks bleedburntorange!! yep, his band has a wood grain inlay. i purchased from etsy, sellers robandlean, & my DH loves it!

 

[StonieGrl]

Definitely not too many pics, what a story they told!!!

It looked like a great event, one to always remember!

I especially loved that shot of all the colorful shoes the girls were wearing, HOW COOL was that?!?!?!

Best to you!

 

[CurlySue]

Love the pictures!!! You and your husband are adorable together.

Like most others, I love the different colored shoes... and those dresses are from Target? Awesome!

I absolutely love the pictures of your reception details - the photos, the books, the flowers (gorgeous!). I have to ask - what is written on the paper wrapped around your cake topper?