Mannequin is MARRIED!

[Mannequin]

My hubby and I had a beautiful wedding on Saturday! The day went better than planned and our friends and family had a blast celebrating the beginning of our new married life with us. I felt like a movie star in the gown my mother made me - truly a highlight of the day. We are getting non pro pics through FB right now, so I have a few to post. Will be back with more soon! Enjoy!

 

[getting excited]

Congratulations!!! Looks like a wonderful day! What an awesome venue!!

 

[Autumnovember]

Beautiful!!! Your venue looks absolutely AWESOME!

 

[sillyberry]

Congrats!!! You look so happy and beautiful! And I agree with the others - that venue looks so awesomely unique!

 

[yssie]

Congrats Mannequin!!


You look beautiful and what a *cool* venue!!

 

[missy]

You look gorgeous Mannequin and I love the dress your mother made for you. Just beautiful!
Best wishes for all the happiness in your new married life!

 

[vc10um]

Fabulous, Mannequin! Just FABULOUS!

Your dress was just stunningly perfect...your mother did a fabulous job, and what a special and wonderful gift!

I love your venue as well! I have never seen anything quite like it and I just love the concept of the tiers surrounding the dance floor. No jostling for a good view during all the night's events!

Congratulations to you and Mr. Mannequin!!!

 

[Future Mrs. Sterling]

Congratulations! You look so happy! Thanks for sharing.

+1 to all the venue comments!

 

[lulu66]

oh, congrats!!! i love the pic of you looking at your hubby walking back down the aisle. the love in your eyes is bursting through the photo

 

[Supers]

Your mother did an amazing job on the dress - you look gorgeous!
Congratulations on your special day.

 

[Blackpaw]

You look so beautiful, and it looked like a lovely evening congrats on your marriage

 

[Mannequin]

Thank you all so much for the comments!

One of my favorite comments about our wedding so far from pur friends and family was that we did not "over do" it at the hall - everything was elegant and tastefully done, without having a lot of the extra wedding "fluff" pushed by the bridal industry. I tried to focus on the things that mattered the most - good food and great music - and the things that would make the day go smoothly so that my guests and my hubby and I could enjoy the day.

At my reception, my guests were listed alphabetically on a seating poster rather than have the little cards or objects with everyone's names. That was a hit, looked really classy, and really inexpensive to do - $2.39 at the local Fed Ex Office store for printing. I also put together a family photo board with an engagement picture of me and my hubby and wedding photos of our parents and our grandparents. It made a memorable conversation piece. We served a late night snack at our reception - little french bread pizzas! No one went home hungry, between those and the sugar cookie favors I baked for everyone.

I had a few fun things planned,too. When the new hubs and I were introduced into the hall, we went right into our first dance while we still held everyone's attention. That went VERY well, and made room in the evening later to get the guests dancing sooner. I had our bridal party open the floor with the first fast song after the traditional dances, and I allowed the bridal party to dance with their dates/spouses instead of each other. I also did a family shoutout to my extended cousins by grabbing the mike and dedicating a Kid Rock song to them during the evening. One of my cousins had been teased via FB for a year that he was not invited. He wore one of those pairs of glasses with the fake nose and mustache attached to the ceremony! LOL Those glasses ended up on my sweetheart table up front and they were passed around to everyone throughout the night. There are even pics of my mother wearing them.

Fun fact- This venue is the same one that PSer mimzy used a few years ago for her wedding. I had a different ballroom in the same building! The balcony and tiered seating in this room was conducive to mingling our guests and keeping the dance floor going all night long! I absolutely loved it. I will post more details when I get my pro pics.

Here are a few more non pros I just received. One of my bouquet (heavy, fragrant, and fabulous ), two of me and my HUBBY, and one of our first dance that shows off my neat bustle!

 

[DearBuddha]

You looked beautiful! Congratulations on your wedding!

I love love love LOVE your venue! It reminds me of something straight out of the movie "Swing Kids", with a big brass band on stage and cigarette girls all over. I want to start jitterbugging just looking at it!

 

[junebug17]

You looked beautiful! Congratulations on your wedding!

I love love love LOVE your venue! It reminds me of something straight out of the movie "Swing Kids", with a big brass band on stage and cigarette girls all over. I want to start jitterbugging just looking at it!

Yes! This is what I thought the second I saw your venue! It is just, well, so cool! Love it! And you made a beautiful bride, you're gorgeous! And of course dh looks so dapper, terrific pics!

 

[bee*]

Congratulations!!! I'm absolutely thrilled for you (although I still can't get used to your new name on PS).

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

Congrats Mannequin!! So glad to see these! That venue is so cool. Everyone has a great view!

Can't wait to see your pro pics! Must post as soon as you get them!

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

Congratulations!! You guys look so happy!

Your dress looks so beautiful! (your mum made it right?) She did a wonderful job.

 

[manderz]

Your venue is so beautiful! I love it, it reminds me of an old-style big band club.

 

[lucyandroger]

Congrats Mannequin! What a beautiful bride and a cool venue! I adore your dress.

 

[Mannequin]

I know, bee*. Security concerns, though, especially with being a public school teacher.

Thanks everyone for the comments. I definitely chose the hall for the "Swing Kids" look - this building is a Masonic temple built in the 1920s and there was an actual Masons meeting going on in this hall the night before our wedding. The "grand poobah" for the WHOLE STATE was here. The whole building is really a blast from the past, such a great family-owned business to work with as well.

A few more non pros to add here: one of me and my lovely redheaded BM that shows off her bouquet and my faux fur shrug, and one of the whole wedding party! The girls chose dresses from two different companies, and the color difference was really only noticeable in these outdoor pics, and even then not by much.

 

[zoebartlett]

I'm really happy for you, Mannequin! Congratulations!

Like Bee said, it's hard to get used to your new name, but I understand why you changed it.

 

[artdecogirl]

Mannequin, everything is just gorgeous!! I love the little jackets and your shrug, you are all just beautiful! Congratulations.

 

[Mannequin]

Zoe - I know, sorry... At least the new moniker has part of my old name in it! MannEQuin <--- See?

Thanks again for all the positive comments. I heard that at Deer Camp 2010, the boys from my daddy's family were raving about how much fun they had at our reception! DH's family did their Thanksgiving dinner/get-together yesterday, and I was able to return my something borrowed - a 1930s gold Whiting and Davis mesh evening bag - to DH's grandma. She is in her early 80s and is such a doll. She gushed about how wonderful everything was and how they called it a "Hollywood wedding" when describing the event to their friends. So sweet. I am so glad that after the fact, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and everyone had a good time.

It's been nice to have our honeymoon to look forward to after going back to work. DH and I are taking our HM cruise over the upcoming Christmas/New Year's break from school. Had we gone immediately following our wedding day, we would have been sooooo tired and unable to really enjoy our first few days on the ship. I ordered a TON of bathing suit possibilities from Newport News today - SOMETHING has to fit, right?

 

[Skippy123]

Mannequin what a gorgeous bride. Beautiful wedding

 

[AustenNut]

Congratulations Mannequin! You and your husband looked great at your fabulous venue, and that is one heck of a bouquet to boot! My husband and I are both public schoolteachers too and we're doing our honeymoon over the coming break too. Small world, eh? Anyway, looking forward to seeing your pro pics!

 

[Tuckins1]

Congratulations to you both! Everything looked wonderful!