Wedding rubybeth''s recap & some photos

[rubybeth]

So, it''s been almost two weeks since our August 8th wedding, and when I think about the wedding day, I just have to smile. Everything went really well, and I''m glad we were able to have things just how we wanted. My parents were great about this; they agreed early on to our small wedding (50 guests) and happily wrote checks and handed over the credit card every time.

Since it was small, it kept things manageable and less stressful and expensive, since we''re both students (me in grad school; him for a teaching degree) and my parents are planning on retiring in a couple of years.

So, to begin, I just have to say that our photographer (a close friend) is still working on editing our photos (he shot in RAW and is great in Photoshop, and our e-pics were great, so I''m not concerned) but he posted some to flickr so I downloaded a few to add here. This may take me a bit, so bear with me.

First, my ''new'' earrings (from Colombia; we had an exchange student who lived with our family and her mom saw pictures of my dress/shoes/etc and sent these to me... it was awesome how perfect they were) along with one of my two ''something old'' items, a handkerchief that belonged to my great grandmother who died at age 96 when I was 11.

 

[rubybeth]

My groom, S, tying his windsor knot... getting ready before he went over to our reception site to do some setup--a restaurant close my parents house which was wonderful... family owned and operated, so they were great with all our details!

 

[rubybeth]

Our photographer, a close friend, went with for the restaurant set up to get some photos of the space before guests descended upon it. I like this shot of our ''head table'' where we sat with some out of town friends and my cousin who is like a sister to me. We didn''t have a wedding party, so it was nice to just sit with who we wanted to eat with and share dinner conversation!

 

[rubybeth]

Forgot to add one of my shoes/bridal hair piece/our rings in their ''pillow.'' I made the ring nest since my ring bearer--my 11 year old cousin--was not too keen on using an actual pillow. He loved the birds on the nest, however, and since I wore the flower with berries in my hair (made by Myra Kim via Etsy) instead of a veil, the nature theme kind of fit! I loved my red shoes, and so did every other woman at the wedding.

 

[rubybeth]

Don''t want to put too many family members up here, but my sister served as my witness since I didn''t have bridesmaids--she wasn''t too into the wedding planning, since she''s kind of young (only 21) and busy with work/school, but she was great on the wedding day, helping with details. She actually planned a surprise for me and had our photographer, who is her best friend, bring us champagne and juice for mimosas while we got ready! It was really cute, though my drink got cleared before I finished with it, so right before I put on my dress, she said, "hey, it''s your wedding day! just have some champagne!" and she poured me a glass.

Also, she chose her own dress, and I could not have picked a better one for her. My dress had a sash, and so did hers, and the green was lovely. My mom snapped this during our ''formal'' picture session on the front steps of the church.

 

[rubybeth]

We processed into the church together, which was kind of nerve-wracking but fun, since we got to hold hands all the way in. Our processional was the Cat Steven''s instrumental version of "Morning Has Broken"--hey, when you have a Catholic ceremony, you have to be creative within some limits!

A friend snapped some shots, and while they''re pretty low resolution, she caught some nice moments.

 

[rubybeth]

This is the view of the church (the lower level of the cathedral church, which is known as the crypt... oooh creepy... hehe) from the back row of seats. It was very intimate. I could see my friend grinning at me the whole time!

 

[rubybeth]

Listening to the priest just before the vows... I was glad we got to ''face'' the gathered guests.

 

[rubybeth]

Exchange of rings. The lovely lady on the left was S''s witness, since his best friend is teaching English in S. Korea. His next pick was his friend J from college... we got a bit of weirdness from our deacon re: having two female witnesses, but J did a great job, and she was very excited to do it! She read a speech from S''s best friend at the reception, so he was represented at the occasion.

 

[rubybeth]

Oy, this is long... bear with me. My friend''s boyfriend works for a VW dealership, so he borrowed a getaway car for us. The actual choice of car was left as a surprise for us--and he got us a Phaeton! It was sweet, super luxurious, just for two, and he helpfully served as our driver. We went to Starbucks before heading to the reception. Coffee addicts.

My friend decorated the car with wedding bells on the handles and a "Just Married" sign. So sweet!

 

[rubybeth]

The restaurant before anyone was in it...

 

[rubybeth]

And from the guest''s POV!

 

[rubybeth]

We went around to each table (there were only five tables besides ours) and toasted after the first toast. This shot just shows my hair--sister was great and did it for me--and earrings, hair flower, etc. My ''something blue'' was a ring of my grandmother''s birthstone (aquamarine) ''borrowed'' from my mom for the day--worn on my right index finger and semi-visible in this shot.

 

[rubybeth]

Flower girl, also with a hair adornment by Myra Kim from Etsy. Myra rocks!

 

[rubybeth]

We used books as 'table numbers,' since there were so few tables. We chose books that were meaningful to us (i.e. we read them as children) and put them at tables where the guests would enjoy them most. Our friends got "Where the Wild Things Are" while his mom's table got "The Giving Tree" while my parents were at the table with "the Sneetches" (a favorite of mine since age 5). Here, I'm showing my new ring (simple 2mm white gold comfort fit band) off to the "wild things" table.

My other 'something old' is my grandmother's tank watch (on black ribbon on my wrist).

ETA: I am getting my MLIS to become a librarian, and S is becoming a teacher, so the book theme made sense to us somehow.

 

[rubybeth]

All right, last one! Phew! Hope you enjoyed this little re-cap of the wedding day and the photos. Me holding my bouquet for its closeup.

Note: I made the centerpieces and my bouquet with flowers from Growers Box and Fifty Flowers, and my DH and mom helped immensely with all the de-thorning, cutting, and getting them onto the tables at the reception. All in all, I''d recommend it if you''ve got the time and energy to deal with masses of flowers just before your wedding! I wanted a small-ish bouquet, since I have some early-stage carpal tunnel and didn''t want a huge heavy thing. The hypericum berries served as greenery and to tie in my slight ''red'' theme even with ivory roses.

 

[WishfulThinking]

SO beautiful! I was stalking the post waiting until all of your fantastic pictures were posted. You looked great, as did your new hubby.

All of the details are so special. I especially love the idea about the books on the tables... I loved those books when I was a kid! Congratulations!

 

[rubybeth]

Aww, thanks, WishfulThinking! I''m kind of a ''details'' person (hence the librarian thing) and since we kept it small, we were able to pay attention to those kinds of things. I don''t know how I would have done it without lots of supportive and helpful family and friends!

 

[Haven]

So beautiful. What elegance; your wedding should have been in a magazine.

I love your gown, and your groom has the best cleft in his chin!

 

[KimberlyH]

What a gorgeous bride you were, rubybeth. Your wedding photographs reflect an intimate, elegant affair and you and your DH both look so wonderful! Congratulations!

 

[rubybeth]

Thank you, KimberlyH, and oh, Haven, what a compliment! I think we were just really lucky all around, and all the credit goes to the people who helped us in so many ways.

And, I loved my gown, too! It was a J.Crew final sale item that I bought before we were officially engaged.

With some help from DH''s fabulous aunt, it was even better (not enough ''train'' to bustle, hence the ribbon for carrying it off the floor, etc.)

Re: DH''s chin: have you ever seen "Charade" with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant? I love the part when she touches his chin and says, "How do you shave in there?" I''ve often asked DH this myself, though most of the time he''s had a full beard.

 

[kama_s]

Lovely pictures - you looked gorgeous, as did your hubby! I especially love your pretty red shoes!

 

[anchor31]

I LOVE intimate weddings (we had 50 guests too)!! Everything is so beautiful and elegant! Congrats!

 

[kittybean]

Your wedding looks like it was such a lovely, elegant affair. You look beautiful in your dress; the simple lines of the gown suit you perfectly.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

I have to agree with everyone else here..your wedding was so elegant. Intimate weddings are always so special. Also, I especially

your shoes!! Gorgeous! Your friend took beautiful photos! Best wishes to you and your DH!

 

[akmiss]

Congratulations! We must have alot in common because I love Cat Stevens, etsy, your shoes, the hair decorations, and everything else about your wedding!

as Mary Poppins would say, "Practically perfect in everyway.."

 

[jewelerman]

The tables looked great and I liked your use of red in your shoes and his tie(and your hair)...Thanks for sharing your day with us.

 

[swimmer]

Gorgeous, very elegant.
Thank you for sharing!

 

[HollyS]

You had my favorite kind of wedding: small, simple, elegant w/o being over-the-top, with special details and ideas that made it truly your own day. It looked like an absolutely lovely wedding!

 

[rubybeth]

Oh, wow, thanks for all the compliments, kama_s, anchor, kittybean, Sarah, akmiss, jewelerman, swimmer and HollyS! That means a lot to me! I didn''t post a lot on PS while we were engaged, but I definitely lurked around trolling threads for ideas.

Both DH and I are really happy with how the wedding turned out, and the best part is how nice it is to actually be married.