For budgeting purposes and for the sake of my sanity we decided to do a website “invitation” for everyone and have them RSVP via email. Well, that idea was vetoed.

In a last minute scramble I scoured the internet for invitations that were us, matched our wedding style and didn’t cost loads of money.

I was so happy to find these invitations ...]]>

For budgeting purposes and for the sake of my sanity we decided to do a website “invitation” for everyone and have them RSVP via email. Well, that idea was vetoed.

In a last minute scramble I scoured the internet for invitations that were us, matched our wedding style and didn’t cost loads of money.

I was so happy to find these invitations on minted! They were simple, modern and really cool.  Luckily they only cost us $220! Do you like them?

We mailed out the invitations on June 4th from Ireland. I was so excited for everyone to receive them. A week went by, two weeks went by, a month went by and no invitations were to be seen in the United States. Luckily our guests in Ireland, Spain and England received them however, 47 of our guests from the US never did.

What was I going to do now? We are less then a month away and I couldn’t order more invitations. They would never get here in time. We tried to reach out to as many people as possible to let them know what was going on.

So my friends, if any of you are reading this blog, please forgive me if the invitation did not arrive. We did not forget about you.

Love,

Abby xoxo

© Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog, 2010 · Permalink · 2 comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: logistics, stationery

Follow Ami on Twitter · Join us at EAD Living too! · EAD on Facebook

There are many websites offering an easy DIY format where you insert your wedding ...]]> Having a wedding website was a must for us.  Most of our guests are in our age group and rather “fluent” with technology.  We want to keep our paper invitations simple and classy, so we decided to personalize our website with details about us and our wedding.

There are many websites offering an easy DIY format where you insert your wedding information for about $100.  We elected to build ours on the iWeb Mac program, which allows us to personalize the website with additional details/tools than the standard format offers, but also costs about $100/annually to host.

Here is a snapshot of our “Welcome” page with our wedding logo (the passport stamp), a map of Africa in the background (the continent that brought us together), and some photos of our travels.

Here is a snapshot of “Our Story” page.  (I cut off the top of our picture b/c the screen was too long). We are avid travelers so we included a list of countries we have visited together and added a poll that allows guests to vote for our honeymoon destination.  We added our story and some background info  so our family’s guests got a better idea of who we are.

The next page “June 12, 2010″ outlines the details of our day such as the Ceremony, Reception, Hotels, Registry, and map, and has a countdown timer at the top right-hand corner.

The “Wedding Party” page showcases our gorgeous friends and their relationships to us.

The “Photos” are home to 3 albums: Us, Family, and Friends.

And last but not least, the “Chicago” page lists our favorite places to go and visit in the city, hyperlinked, for all of our out-of-town guests (over 60%)!

This website has is a constant work in progress but the more I spend time procrastinating with it, the more personal it feels.

What website builders do you recommend?  What special items did you include on your website?

© Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog, 2010 · Permalink · 9 comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: logistics

Follow Ami on Twitter · Join us at EAD Living too! · EAD on Facebook

To start with, we now no longer have to be in Ireland a week prior to the wedding in order to register.  This means, more time for our honeymoon!  Additionally, I’ll be able to take my time in changing my last name and doing all of the necessary ...]]> Getting legally married prior to our main wedding has a lot of benefits.

To start with, we now no longer have to be in Ireland a week prior to the wedding in order to register.  This means, more time for our honeymoon!  Additionally, I’ll be able to take my time in changing my last name and doing all of the necessary paperwork involved.

Among the many other reasons, the main benefit is that Ger will be able to apply for his Green Card.  By doing it in advance, Ger will be legally able to enter back into the U.S. after the wedding!

Since we decided to have the legal ceremony over Christmas, we’ve had to put everything together rather quickly.  I immediately called up the local courthouse to see exactly what we needed to do.

via Ruby Press

Like many other states, there is a (3) day waiting period from the time you apply to when you actually can pick up your license.  I was able to get this waived due to our short time in Pennsylvania. Normally I would have had to send a letter to the court-house requesting a waiver and our reason why.  Luckily for us, they were able to approve this over the phone!

We’ll both need to present photo identification, such as a driver’s license, state ID, or passport. Social Security numbers will be requested.

Another formality I was concerned about was residency and being able to apply.  I found out that they don’t require us to be current residents of PA to get our marriage license at the court-house. Score!

via Duryea

For the county that I’m from, the cost will range between $40-$75 and they only accept cash.  Not a bad cost for freedom!

We’ve decided to get married by a justice of the peace that is a family friend.  It will be great to have someone there that is a familiar face.

We’ll be driving back to Pennsylvania on the 23rd, getting our marriage license on the 24th and then have our ceremony on the 27th!  It’s going to be a quick process, especially with the holidays in-between.

Did your state’s marriage license regulations create a challenge for you or was it smooth sailing and stress free?

© Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog, 2009 · Permalink · 5 comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: logistics

Follow Ami on Twitter · Join us at EAD Living too! · EAD on Facebook

If Bradley could talk, I’m sure this is what he would be asking me.  With all of the Wedding plans, it’s easy to forget about our little guy and what we plan on doing with him during the wedding.

We would love to have Bradley be a part of the big day.  It really wouldn’t be complete without ...]]>
{via My Own Collection}

If Bradley could talk, I’m sure this is what he would be asking me.  With all of the Wedding plans, it’s easy to forget about our little guy and what we plan on doing with him during the wedding.

We would love to have Bradley be a part of the big day.  It really wouldn’t be complete without him there however, it is turning out to be quite a challenge.  Although our venue is dog friendly, the hard part will be to get him over to Ireland.

Imagine Bradley in a little bow tie running around on our big day!  He would be such a gentleman.  However, this brings up another point, in the midst of all of the last minute details and events, would we really be able to give him all of the love an attention he needs? Would we be too distracted to watch after him? What about when it’s time to go on our honeymoon.  Does he stay in Ireland while we are in Japan?

One of the other side of the coin, could we really go 3+ weeks without this guy? Where in the world would he go? I’m sure the cost of puppy hotel’s aren’t cheap.  This plan doesn’t seem any better!

I need your help!  For those of you who have special guys at home, how are you incorporating them into your wedding plans?

© Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog, 2009 · Permalink · 4 comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: logistics, the planning process

Follow Ami on Twitter · Join us at EAD Living too! · EAD on Facebook

Our out of town family and friends took a bus from the hotel to the venue. And, yes, it was raining when they arrived.

{photo credit to wedding guests}

After they climbed off of the bus, they ...]]> Before our guests reached the Sunken Garden and its storybook setting, they were greeted by attendants on horseback. Lauxmont Farms is a horse farm, after all.

Our out of town family and friends took a bus from the hotel to the venue. And, yes, it was raining when they arrived.

{photo credit to wedding guests}

After they climbed off of the bus, they followed the barn wood sign that said “Wedding.” They walked the (muddy) trail and reached the stairs to the pool house. And this is where our plans changed.

Rather than taking a bottle of water and a ceremony program fan and sitting in a white wooden chair around the fountain as the sun set behind them, guests sought shelter from the rain under the reception tent. Yes, this means they saw the decor before they were supposed to, but I heard they had a pretty good time under the warm white canopy.

Our ceremony guitarist, Susan Savia, played a selection of rain songs, like Bobbie’s Song by John Denver — “I’ll walk in the rain by your side.” A few guests even took the unexpected opportunity to get a drink from the bar. And then they waited. Patiently.

Meanwhile, I had returned indoors after taking formal photos with my bridesmaids and parents. As I said in my previous post, the girls blocked my view of the raindrops hitting the window and poured me another glass of champagne.

{photo credit to bridesmaids}

While we were toasting inside, the boys were hanging out in the pool house.

They were checking the radar …

… and monitoring the conditions outside.

I later learned that Coordinator Betsy (more about her brilliance to come!) had approached Nick to tell him that they were moving the ceremony under the tent. Nick said, “Oh, Emily is not going to be happy about that.” And he admitted that he wasn’t all too happy either. He asked Betsy if they could postpone the start time in hopes that we’d have a window of dry weather. Thank you, Nick! And thank you, Betsy, for obliging.

Betsy closely monitored the satellite on her iPhone and saw a 30-minute window. So she called on a crew of farm hands, seriously, who emerged from the field in pick up trucks to dry the seats with paper towels.

Of course, all of this was unbeknown to me at the time. I made my way, along with my bridesmaids and parents, from the stone house to our cars in accordance with the schedule. My dad held the big red umbrella over me as I hoisted myself and my dress into the car. And then I looked down … and saw blood on my dress! Yes, blood. Apparently, I had cut my toe just below the nail, and the blood managed to make its way onto my ivory gown. Bridesmaid Kristen to the rescue! She emerged from her car with the emergency kit and helped me to clean my dress with a wet wipe and put a bandaid on my big toe.

Our caravan of cars then drove up the road to the VIP parking spots outside of the entrance to the Sunken Garden. We had been instructed by Betsy the previous day to wait until the golf cart arrived to pick us up.

When the golf cart did arrive, he pulled up to my dad’s car window. He said Betsy was moving guests under the tent. And I said, “No, can we please wait until the rain stops and move them back into the garden?” (See, Nick and I were definitely reading each other’s minds.) He sped off and returned a few minutes later to say that’s what they would do.

And so we waited. Me, my dad, and my sister in one car. My mom and a few bridesmaids in another car. And a third car with the remaining girls.

After about 20 minutes of sitting and waiting (not to mention my sister scanning the radio for upbeat songs and my dad saying, “We better start soon; who knows when it’s going to let loose again”), the golf cart returned to take my mom and the first group of girls. Then the second. And, finally, it was time for the bride the and father of the bride.

We rode along the bumpy, muddy path to the stairs to the pool house. By the time we arrived, the guests had returned to the garden.

{photos credit to wedding guests}

And the wedding party was lining up.

Once Nick and the groomsmen were out of sight, it was safe for my dad and I to step into the pool house. Slowly, the bridesmaids made their way down the stairs and into the garden. Dad and I stepped up, just behind the stone column of the gate and out of view of the groom and guests. And we waited for our cue. I was damp from the rain, but giddy with excitement.

{photos credit to Robert Winton, unless otherwise noted}

Next: Ceremony Details

© Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog, 2009 · Permalink · 2 comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: logistics

Follow Ami on Twitter · Join us at EAD Living too! · EAD on Facebook

We were greeted in the garden by our coordinator, Betsy, who instructed us where to put the mason jars, the bird cage, ...]]> What a picturesque evening we had on Thursday, the night before our wedding. There was a slight breeze and a pleasant orange glow as the sun set over the River. (I was reminded of why we chose this location.)

We were greeted in the garden by our coordinator, Betsy, who instructed us where to put the mason jars, the bird cage, the signs, the water bottles, and the galvanized tubs. She offered to store all of the paper products — the table names, the escort cards, and the favors — in her car until the following day. Yeah, she’s awesome.

Slowly, our Bridesmaids and Groomsmen arrived. There was such excitement in everyone’s faces. And they all looked so lovely. Betsy got right to work lining us up around the fountain.

Nick and I decided to have our Maid of Honor and Best Man stand on either side of us at the bottom of the stairs and complete the circle with the rest of our wedding party. Our guitarist, the sweet Susan Savia, set up between the guys and the girls. And our officiants (yes, we had two … more about that to come) stood a few steps above us. Guests would sit to the left and right of us. Not a traditional arrangement, but it works beautifully in this setting.

(All photos from my personal collection.)

After we rehearsed the ceremony (without actually saying the words), we walked back up the stairs, and then practiced walking down.

And Dad pretended to give me away. Next time would be the real thing.

Did I already say how beautiful the evening was? The forecast for Friday, however, called for much different conditions. And so I asked Betsy if we could please run through the ceremony under the reception tent. It was our alternate plan, and I just could not envision the set up. She said she didn’t typically do that, but she would if it gave me peace of mind.

Betsy said that guests would sit at their tables under the tent during the ceremony, and I said that I really preferred a more intimate arrangement. Again, she was so accommodating and said she’d do that for me if it came to it. (Note to Brides: Don’t be afraid to speak up! Oh, and hire a day of coordinator. You’ll thank me later.)

Of course, I hoped and prayed we would have our ceremony in the garden. In fact, I think I am actually praying in this photo.

Rehearsing under the tent took an additional 30 minutes, but it was well worth it in my opinion. We quickly piled into our cars and headed to Eagles Nest in York for a delicious dinner hosted by the Mother and Father of the Groom. Good thing because I had realized about half way through our rehearsal that I had only eaten part of a blueberry muffin and a few bites of pasta salad all day. So very uncharacteristic of me. But Brides-to-Be, take note. It really is possible to forget to eat when you have so much running through your mind!

So on to dinner. I love the rustic vibes of the second floor that was reserved just for us. And look how thoughtfully my in-laws decorated the space.

We enjoyed cocktails and appetizers before ordering our dinners. Entrée choices included crab cake, filet mignon, and chicken chesapeake. The crab cakes are really, really amazing. And I should know; I’ve eaten my share of crab cakes. And the dessert trays from Providence (also the baker of my bridal shower cake and our wedding cupcakes) were heavenly!

How do you plan to spend the night before your wedding?

Next: We give (and receive) gifts!

© Elizabeth Anne Designs: The Wedding Blog, 2009 · Permalink · Comments · StumbleUpon It!
Posted in: logistics, rehearsal dinner

Follow Ami on Twitter · Join us at EAD Living too! · EAD on Facebook