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Checking in? I've moved over to my post-wedding blog, diagnosis: love.



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Grow Old Along With Me... the Best is Yet to Be(e)!

Well, it's about that time. Time for me to say goodbye. :(

You've allowed me to write about our wedding for over a year, and I am so incredibly thankful for this amazing opportunity. Your kind words, encouragement, feedback, and general awesomeness have been amazing. I can't imagine having planned our wedding without sharing it with the hive. Thank you so much for everything, it's been an absolute honor.

I've organized all of my posts on my Weddingbee Wiki for easy reference, if you're ever looking for something I wrote about!

Though my time here at the 'Bee is done, I've grown a little attached to this whole blogging thing. If you'd like to follow along as Dan and I move into the next phase of life - new degrees, new jobs, new cities, new homes, and maybe babies, I would be over the moon! Because even though this part of my life has been fun, I really do believe that
"the best is yet to be!"

I'm over at diagnosis: love - stop in and say hi!

xoxo,

Deanna

Grow Old Along With Me: The Indescribable Moments of Your Life

I know, I know, you thought these recaps were over. Just one more thing that I wanted to share - our Highlight Film from Open Iris by Quanti Studios!

The Wedding of Daniel and Deanna from Quanti Studios on Vimeo.

We chose to use "Tonight, Tonight" by The Smashing Pumpkins as it is one of Burger's favorite songs and has such amazing lyrics. My favorite are the lyrics at the end:


we'll make things right, we'll feel it all tonight (tonight)
we'll find a way to offer up the night (tonight)
the indescribable moments of your life (tonight)
the impossible is possible tonight (tonight)
believe in me as I believe in you (tonight)


How better to describe your wedding day than "the indescribable moments of your life?"

We are absolutely thrilled to have our indescribable moments captured on film, and it has been such an incredible honor to share them all with you.

Next up: my fond farewell!

Catch up!

• Grow Old Along With Me: We moved to Happy Valley!
• Grow Old Along With Me: The Good, Bad, & Ugly
• Grow Old Along With Me: The Girls Get Prettier
• Grow Old Along With Me: We Exchanged Gifts
• Grow Old Along With Me: Burger Got Dressed
• Grow Old Along With Me: Bridal Suite & Flowers Galore
• Grow Old Along With Me: I Became A Bride!
• Grow Old Along With Me: We Made it to the Church
• Grow Old Along With Me: Down the Aisle They Went!
• Grow Old Along With Me: We Got MARRIED!
• Grow Old Along With Me: It Was Picture Time
• Grow Old Along With Me: We Took a Trolley Ride
• Grow Old Along With Me: Burger and I had our Close Up
• Grow Old Along With Me: There Were Blessings and Speeches and Dances, too!
• Grow Old Along With Me: We had a Blast in Our Photobooth!
• Grow Old Along With Me: I Showed You Our Details!
• Grow Old Along With Me: We Danced Through Disaster
  
• Grow Old Along With Me: You Saw My Favorite Details
  
• Grow Old Along With Me: You Met Our People
• Grow Old Along With Me: We SHOUTED to Our Last Song!
  
• Grow Old Along With Me: We Partied On and Chowed Down!
  

How Planning a Wedding Makes You a Better Wedding Guest

Everyone is getting married! Or at least it seems that way, doesn't it? It's just that time in our lives, I suppose!


I think there are certain things about weddings you just simply cannot understand until you've planned one yourself, and now that I'm on the other side of things, I think it's made me a better wedding guest!

Here are just a few of the ways my behavior has changed since being a bride.

At the Bridal Shower

• Use Snail Mail: If I'm going to a shower where the bride will be coming in from out of town, I send the gift to her home ahead of time. I know, I know, but then she doesn't get to open anything at the shower! My remedy? I either print a picture of the gift and slip it into her card or purchase another, smaller gift that she can open on that day. For example, my aunt got us most of our towels, which she had sent to our apartment. When I opened her gift at the shower, she had reserved one washcloth for me to open.

Respondez s'il vous plait!

• Send it ASAP: If you've already started getting back your R.S.V.P's, then you know that how AWESOME it is - seriously the best feeling in the world, right? Now when we get an invitation to a wedding, I make sure to do one of two things: if I know for sure that we can or can't come, I send the RSVP back IMMEDIATELY - I never want to be that straggler RSVPer that the bride has to call. If I'm not sure on the date and likely won't be for awhile, I call/email the bride to fill her in and ask if she'd like me to send in the card as a 'yes' knowing we may cancel vs. hold on to it until we know for sure.
• Send My Love: Another thing I picked up from some of our amazing guests? I send a little note along, usually on the back of the RSVP. I always let them know how much I love their invitation and how excited and honored we are to have been invited.

On the Big Day

• Notice the Details: I always make sure to notice all the bride's special details and take pictures of them when I can. Then I compliment, compliment, and compliment some more, especially regarding the dress, the decor and the little things - things I know brides put a lot of thought, time and effort into!
• Watch What I Wear: I don't wear white - I know that this is a controversial topic for some of you, but in my opinion it's better to be safe than sorry. I also stay away from the color of the bridesmaid dresses (unless they are black, I love LBDs too much), and flashy "look at me" colors like hot pink or bright red.
  
• Say Hello: I try to approach the Bride and Groom (unless they are already swarmed with people) instead of waiting for them to come to us, since I know how overwhelming it can be to try to visit everyone.
  
• Dance, Dance: Another thing? Burger and I dance as much as possible. We love dancing, so this isn't hard, but I had the absolute best time at our wedding with our friends that were on the dance floor and like to return the favor when I can!
• Remember That My Wedding is Over: This is the most important - I try my hardest to avoid bridejacking (like mommyjacking)! This can be hard for me at times, since I just got married/planned a wedding and it is still fresh in my mind. The last thing anyone wants to hear about on their own or another person's wedding day is my wedding! :)

Wedding Gifts

• Cash? : Just like with shower gifts, if the couple lives out of town, I will send the gift ahead of time so that they don't have to worry about lugging it home or losing it in the post-wedding shuffle. Another option? Give MONEY. I was always brought up to believe that money was an impersonal gift. I don't know about you guys, but we loved opening cards with cash, so we are more likely to give it as a gift in the future. Maybe we are greedy or something, but our kitchen and bedroom and bathroom were pretty much pimped out after our showers, and you can really only use so many crystal bowls, vases, and candle holders.
  
• Something Special: Another option if we want to give an actual gift? We go rogue - aka we don't use the registry! Some of our most cherished wedding gifts came in the form of PSU paraphernalia (wine goblets, cookie cutters, chips & dip dish), and other personalized things, like these gorgeous mugs (from Jesso! notice the D+D '10 on the tree?!) and this amazing sundial of our very own, complete with our unofficial wedding quote:

After the Wedding

• Post With Caution: I am one of those brides who absolutely loved seeing pictures on Facebook the day after the wedding - it was such instant gratification! One friend posted over 300 pics - every hour was like Christmas! My only rule? I don't post unflattering pictures of the wedding party, and I'm not offended if they remove the tag or ask me to take one down.
• Say Thank You!: After our wedding, we experienced something so incredible I can't even explain it to you... people thanked us for inviting them to our wedding. They called, sent emails, texts, and one special lady even sent a hand-written thank you note! I cannot explain to you how lovely it was to receive a note like that a few weeks after the big day. It was amazing. And it's a tradition I hope to steal from her and pass on to all of you! So consider sending your friends and family a thank you for letting you share in their joy - they will absolutely love you for it!
  

What has planning a wedding or being a bride taught you about being a good wedding guest?

Mrs. Cheeseburger: Then and Now

This "looking back" series really got me thinking - what did I used to be like in life and love, and how have I changed to be the person I am today?

I had an awesome time in high school. I had a great group of friends, most of whom I'm still close with today (the bridesmaids in my wedding!), and I was always either dating or crushing on some boy. I played volleyball and softball and was involved in a lot of extracurricular activities - very Type A.

sophomore year

High school was also when I had my first real relationship. We were together for 5 years, and I was totally the girl who went to college still dating her high school boyfriend. Not to imply that high school relationships can't work out (we've got plenty of high school sweethearts in the hive!), but I think we can all agree that the odds are certainly stacked against you.

ah, senior prom - that's A, one of my bridesmaids!

There were certainly some good things about that first relationship, but now, as an adult, I can see how flawed it was. For starters, our goals in life were completely different. He was they type of guy who was uncomfortable with the fact that some day I might make more money than him. He discouraged me from advancing my career, and tried to talk me out of applying to medical school on more than one occasion. He also hated the idea of college (hey, it's not for everyone - that's fine), but I had to continually hide things from him - he hated that I went out and had fun, it made him incredibly jealous and angry when he'd find out.

senior awards banquet

so excited and ready to go to PSU!

On top of that, I was not really "friends" with his friends, and he flat out didn't like most of my friends (other than a few rare exceptions). Don't get me wrong, we were cordial with each other, but not really friendly.

Between the incessant jealousy and general lack of support, I eventually grew tired and became a really bad girlfriend - I keep even more from him, started really enjoying myself while out without feeling guilty (a bad sign), and just plain old fell out of love with him.

It was difficult at the time, but I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. I was able to be single for awhile and have fun in college, and eventually, I met the man who is now my husband.

So what is different about my view on love and relationships?

Well, I now realize the importance of friendship and trust in a lasting relationship.

When Burger and I met in college, we became study partners, close friends, and confidants. His relationship with a long-time girlfriend had ended around the same time mine did, so we talked a lot about our failed relationships and what went wrong. Our friendship blossomed into crush, then into like, and quickly after into love, and I think that is what makes our bond so strong today. I always say that even if I am angry at him as my husband, our relationship is always still bound by our strong friendship - which means that I never stay angry very long, and that we are very good at discussing our problems when they arise.

In addition, our relationship is supported by the amazing people in our lives. As I mentioned during my recaps, his friends and family are a huge part of my life, as mine are of his. Our friends even get along with each other! It's incredible. It seems so simple, but when you've never experienced it before, it really is the best feeling.

Finally, Burger is the antithesis of jealous. He is so NOT jealous, that for the first year of our relationship I had doubts about his feelings for me! I continually thought he didn't like enough me because he wasn't jealous if I wore a short skirt or danced with a guy friend at a party. That's how messed up my head was from my other relationship - I thought jealousy = love. Now that I'm a mature adult, I can see that security in your relationship = love, and jealousy is just a catalyst for arguments!

I've also changed in life. I'm embarrassed to say it, but I was kind of awful in high school. The current me probably would have really disliked the former me. I thought that my group of friends and I were the best things since sliced bread. I still think my friends are the best people ever (!), but I mean I acted the part back then. We lived in a small town, and I let the fact that I was smart and decent at sports and involved in a lot of activities go to my head.

Once I got to college, I realized how ridiculous I had been. Everywhere I looked people were better than me at EVERYTHING (duh!). It was an incredibly humbling experience, and my personality changed really quickly. I am still proud of my accomplishments, but I am very, very in touch with all of my many flaws, and I feel really badly for ever acting snobby in high school!

How have you changed in life and in love?

Secret Life of Bees: Cheeseburger Edition

I thought about what secrets I could spill to you all for days, and I was only able to come up with 2 things. I am seriously just that boring. They're kind of entertaining, I guess - enjoy these two random facts about me :)

1. I wanted to be Indiana Jones, for real.

source

This all started in the second grade. The boys in my class started teasing me calling me "Indiana Jones" (because my name is Deanna, and they were idiots). As a 7 year old girl, I had no clue who this person was, but I knew he was a boy, and this made me super mad. I went home and told my parents about it, and I remember my Dad laughing (of course). He said, "Indiana Jones is actually a really cool guy!" and then he rented the movies for me that weekend.

Um, hello? INDIE IS AWESOME (and hot too, though I doubt I realized that at 7). Those boys in my class were in for it, because I was armed with new information and I absolutely loved my new nickname - which of course made them stop using it. It didn't matter, though - I was hooked. I watched the movies incessantly (Temple of Doom is my favorite, though Raiders has a special place in my heart!), and eventually assumed the identity completely. I made idols and staffs and maps out of paper and anything else I found laying around the house. I forced my 5 year old brother to be my sidekick - often playing the role of 'person in distress who needed rescued.'

Fast-forward a few years. At age 12 I still secretly loved the idea of being Indiana Jones as a grown up. But what was an Indiana Jones? An anthropologist/archaeologist/adventuring superhero! Right. Well, I stuck with the Archaeologist part and had the opportunity to go on an amazing trip to Western Canada (so beautiful - you should absolutely go if you get the chance!). I went all over Alberta (to Calgary, Lake Louise, etc.), and finally to the Badlands of Drumheller to dig for dinosaur fossils and other artifacts! I also ate grass and bugs and pet buffalo and just generally had a fantastic time.

The Badlands - gorgeous, no?

I did this! It was amazing!

source

Though my time being Indie was fun, it didn't work out for me in the end. I guess 2 year old me really taught 7-12 year old me a lesson in first instincts:

that's me doctoring my baby brother (reflex hammer to the stomach? sure!)

2. I have a talent for recognizing obscure actors and actresses.

I'm boring remember? Hear me out. I have a thing for faces and voices. I remember people really, really well, though I don't always remember their name or how I know them. This is a largely useless talent, but I find it entertaining to use on actors and actresses. It's hard to explain (and probably not all that cool to you guys), but we will be watching TV or a Movie, and I can usually tell you the other works the actors have been in (assuming I've seen it). Here are some of my more recent favorite recognitions:

Remember Timmy from Jurassic Park? Me too. He's also from The River Wild. Hadn't seen him in quite a few years.

let's go climb this electric fence!

During the first episode of HBO's The Pacific, I took one look at this guy, and was like "Oh look, it's Timmy!" It's him, I promise.

source

A less exciting spotting occurred while watching old reruns of SVU (you know you do it too). This guy look like anyone to you?

source

He actually looks alarmingly the same. It's Smalls from The Sandlot!

source

Not that exciting, but it's all I've got :)


Anyone else obsessed with Indie or good at spotting obscure actors? Anyone? Bueller? ;)

Pittsburgh/Central PA Vendor Reviews & Budget Breakdown

Our wedding day was amazing thanks to months of planning, help from friends and family, and our amazing vendors. For any of you planning a Pittsburgh or Central PA wedding, I hope you find these vendor reviews helpful! I've also included approximate costs which I hope will help with your budgets!

The Dress - Anne Gregory For the Bride (Pittsburgh, PA)
Cannot Recommend Highly Enough!

To say that our experience at Anne Gregory was amazing would be a huge understatement. I will admit, being a bride on a budget initially deterred me from visiting their store, but I am so glad that I did. They were able to work within our price range, and made my dreams come true - I absolutely adore my wedding dress. The alterations staff was also wonderful, making last minute changes to my bustle and week-of-wedding alterations as I needed them. They also helped re-work my mothers Juliet-cap veil into the gorgeous mantilla veil that I wore on the big day. I refer all of my friends to Anne Gregory, and my mother told my sister that she pretty much has no choice but to get her wedding dress there! They are truly like family to us.
Cost: $750 (dress) + $350 (alterations) = $1100


Bridesmaid Dresses - Alfred Angelo (Pittsburgh, PA)
Very Highly Recommended

We had an excellent experience with Alfred Angelo. The dresses are of good quality, colors are true to samples (and there are A LOT of colors, the main thing that sold me!), the dresses come in within a reasonable amount of time, and there were no problems with any of the dresses except that they could never find my name in their computer system. None of my girls had their dresses altered at the stores, so I can't speak to that, but overall we were very happy and the girls looked fantastic!


Invitations - Momental Designs
Very Highly Recommended

I originally intended to DIY our wedding invitations, but after falling in love with Momental's Big Bloom collection, there was no turning back. These were a splurge, but they were absolutely stunning - coordinated to our exact (very specific) color scheme and including custom drawings of Penn State's amazing sundial, they were perfectly "us." The invitations were completed on time, delivered to us in wonderful packaging, and without any errors in design, print, or count. The online design process was frustrating to me at times (LOTS of emails back and forth), but that is more my problem than theirs! Overall, we were so, so happy with our invitations, and many of our guests commented that they were the most beautiful invitations they had ever seen.
Cost: $1500 (165 invitations, insert cards, response cards, printed response envelopes, outer envelopes, custom design, individual hand-painting)


Flowers - Woodrings Floral Gardens (State College, PA)
Cannot Recommend Highly Enough!

Though I originally doubted that our flower budget would allow us to have the gorgeous, full arrangements I had been lusting over, Stephanie of Woodrings was an absolute CHAMP at proving me wrong. I went to her with a price and a list of flowers and colors in mind, and she gave me EXACTLY what I wanted - including my beloved amnesia roses that other florists in town told me didn't exist. She even made last-minute adjustments to my bouquet the day before the wedding to make it just right. The reception decor was flawless. Our arrangements were stunning and varried but all beautiful. When I look through our photographs, I see little floral arrangements everywhere - she was a floral ninja, I swear. If I could send Stephanie every bride in Central PA I would. Use Woodrings and request Stephanie - you will NOT be disappointed!
Cost: $1900 (10 bouquets, 2 bouts, 25 centerpieces, accent table decorations, price also includes all candles and glass wear on tables!)


Linens - Mosiac (Pittsburgh, PA)
Cannot Recommend Highly Enough!

One of the easiest wedding planning experiences for us, Jill at Mosaic was outstanding to work with. She made excellent suggestions and gave me an unending supply of our linen fabric (I used it to match everything from flowers to the girls' dresses). She worked with us to wave the delivery fee in lieu of us picking up and dropping off the linens ourselves. Since we had an out of town wedding, she gave us the linens from Thursday - Monday with a one day rental fee, so that transporting them ourselves didn't cost extra! The linens were perfectly pressed and looking gorgeous on the big day.
Cost: $300 (26 90" rounds, 4 8' rectangles, $10/tablecloth)


Cake - Delectable Delights by Heather Luse (State College, PA)
Very Highly Recommended

Heather is an absolute delight to work with. She is kind and down to earth, and made all of my requests a fantastic reality. Her prices are extremely reasonable, and her execution is stunning. Oh, and the cake was outrageous - SO delicious. People had upwards of 5 pieces (not kidding). We also had an entire tier left over (her portions are nice and big!) in addition to our anniversary tier, which people were chowing down on for breakfast the next morning. Our guests LOVED her cake, and we did too - we can't wait to eat it again (5 more months)! My only critique was that the colors of the gumpaste flowers weren't exactly what I had envisioned, but this was probably my fault. I should have just gone with actual flowers (it's hard to match the beauty of an amnesia rose in gumpaste!).
Cost: $350 (3 tiers + full sheet cake - enough to feed 300 people)


Transportation - Fullington Tours - VIP Limosine (State College, PA)
Very Highly Recommended

Our vintage trolley was one of the highlights of our day. There was so much ROOM for us to spread out (20 adults), even stand up if we wanted to, huge windows that made for a beautiful ride around campus and lots of gorgeous light (resulting in fabulous photos). Though this ended up being another splurge, we were happy that we had it in the end. Our bridal party was so large, and the idea of driving in separate cars to photo locations or squeezing into a traditional limo just didn't appeal to me. It was perfect. Our driver was polite and fun, on-time, knew his way around the area, and followed our picture route like a champ. Definitely consider them if you are a Central PA bride!
Cost: $850 (5 hours including tax and tip)


Coordinator - Events By Hart (State College, PA)
Cannot Recommend Highly Enough!

Holy Moly. Christine Hart is a Godsend. At 8 (8!) months pregnant, she executed our 13-hour wedding day to perfection. She ran our rehearsal with our priest incredibly smoothly - once through and done! She arrived at the hotel in the morning to set up the cookie table/candy buffet, our family table, and our memory table exactly as I had specified. She went to the church and hung our aisle decorations, arranged the programs, handkerchiefs, unity candle, and kiddie bags. She coordinated our arrival at the church so that Burger wouldn't see us. She lined us up for the processional. She hung around the ceremony until our pretzels were delivered. She finished setting up at the reception site while we got our pictures taken and coordinated our entrance and the speeches with the DJ. She helped clean up while saving mementos from the day she knew I would want. Lastly, when our pizza wasn't delivered at 11:45 as expected, she called and went and got it herself! AMEN. Christine is a motivated, organized, sweetheart who gave me peace of mind on my wedding day. THANK YOU CHRISTINE, you are amazing. Central PA brides, call her TODAY - you will thank me later!
Cost: $600 (rehearsal and all day coverage)


Photography - Jessica Ames Photography (State College, PA)
Cannot Recommend Highly Enough!

If you've been following along with my recaps, you know that this review is completely unnecessary - Jessica is amazing. Her work truly speaks volumes for itself. Her photographs are ridiculously fab, and we are absolutely thrilled with her documentation of our wedding day. She and her husband/assistant Lucas also put in many hours on our wedding day, and although they considered leaving the reception early, I am so, so, so incredibly thankful that she stayed to document our last dance and pizza party. Thank you, Jess! They also provided the photobooth for us, which captured some of my favorite photos of the evening. She is a complete professional and just a genuinely amazing person whom I now consider a friend. Central PA brides are so lucky that they have an option outside of traditional wedding photography in Jess! I felt like I hit the jackpot when we found her. We received our pictures in an online gallery and on DVD within 3 months of the wedding. When we ordered our large wall prints we had them in hand within one week - seeing them on our walls makes me so incredibly happy every day!
Cost: $2500 (engagement session, full wedding day coverage, $500 toward products) + $250 engagement album/prints = $2750


Videography - Open Iris (by Quanti Studios) (Pittsburgh, PA)
Very Highly Recommended

Phil and Chad are known to us through my brother, and we were incredibly lucky that they agreed to film our wedding day. From the footage we've seen thus far, they did an absolutely outstanding job capturing the moments of our big day and cutting them to reflect the modern wedding films I love so much. The clips bring my mom and I to tears instantly. The moments are there - on film. You see the emotion real time (even my gum chewing! ladies do not chew gum while getting ready! ;) ) But do you want to know the best part? I remember many moments - during the ceremony, our photo session, the special dances, speeches, and while getting down on the dance floor - where I would glance around the area and catch them out of the corner of my eye. Not that they were overbearing or in the way by any means, just silently present, getting everything on film. It was so unbelievably (and kind of oddly, I guess) comforting in a way. They have officially launched their wedding business and have dedicated staff to wedding videography (because other arms of their company film things like awesome music videos). Pittsburgh brides are so lucky to have these smart and savvy guys with great eyes for capturing emotion on film in their back yard!
Cost: $600 (full wedding day coverage) + $200 travel/hotel expenses


Reception Site - The Days Inn Penn State (State College, PA)
Highly Recommended

We worked with Barbara and Heather at The Days Inn for over a year, and they were always extremely accommodating with every request I made. It was a big deal for us to bring our entire guest list in from out of town - we wanted the wedding weekend to be worth their trip. There were a few issues: the hotel was under construction when we arrived on Thursday - visible signs of work being done in the hallways and outside, and the back wall (which faced the parking lot) was covered in scaffolding. This, as you might imagine, resulted in a major meltdown and a bit more yelling then I wanted to do on my wedding weekend. But, they had the entire inside of the hotel cleaned as promised by Friday morning (with no work done over the weekend), the scaffolding did not affect our guests ability to park (a major concern), and they allowed every. single. guest to check in early on Saturday before the ceremony (many hours prior to check in - and we had over 100 rooms in the hotel). So, while there were some problems initially that were out of their immediate control (corporate dictated the terms of the remodel), they did everything within their power to set things straight. Our suites were brand new and gorgeous as was the ballroom. The service was excellent and the food was delicious. The bars were perfectly stocked with our favorite drinks and stayed open until 11:50 at my request. Heather and the servers worked tirelessly to serve our guests 3 courses in a timely fashion - we were the largest event ever held at their facility, and they did an outstanding job. Everything was set up beautifully. We also had a breakfast the following morning, which was decorated with our floral arrangements, a nice touch. They also put out the candy, cookies and left over cake to accompany breakfast, and people were back for more! I honestly think that they did a fantastic job responding to our concerns and executing an absolutely fantastic event for us. It was a wonderful weekend, and all of our guests were comfortable and taken care of!
Cost: $50 per person for 7 hour reception, 3 courses and hot & cold appetizers + $4500 bar bill (we chose to do consumption-based open bar, which ended up being less than the per person open bar option)


DJ - Recommend Conditionally (State College, PA)
Our DJ was very good at most things. He was polite and personable at our pre-wedding meetings, quick with communication by phone and email, and respectful of some of our off-beat wishes. He coordinated the reception entrances wonderfully - correctly pronouncing all the names and getting the timing perfect. He played our first dance song correctly, which was one of my favorite moments of our wedding. He played the cake cutting song that I wanted, even though only 60 seconds of the song could be played, warning me that it would be tough - we got it done in that time, and I'm glad we did it (we used the beginning of Journey's Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' - LOVE IT). We were originally going to go straight into our parent dances, but because the bar line was so long and spilling onto the dance floor, we waited. When I saw an open moment, I asked if we could do them on the fly, and he accommodated that request as well (even though he was about to eat his dinner) - I really appreciated this, as I wanted to maximize post-dinner time for dancing. The wireless mics were amazing for speeches. He approached me about some of the song requests he got to confirm that I was alright with playing them. He played almost all of the songs on our must-play list. He did not play anything from our Do Not Play List. He was not overbearing, he didn't speak at all when not necessary or embarrass us or our guests with odd dances and stunts. BUT, there was this whole thing which was disappointing and frustrating to me. I think if it had been JUST the last song mess up OR the early, inappropriate rap, I would have been ok. But BOTH things, back to back, plus rudely yelling at me really makes it difficult for me to recommend him with enthusiasm. In addition to the incidents you know about, there were also technical difficulties - the speaker kept cutting out during one song (didn't really care since it was Ja Rule and I was pissed it was on in the first place), and he brought colored strobe lights which I specifically asked him to leave at home (they make your face and skin all sorts of crazy colors in pictures). While he "apologized" after the reception by saying "Everybody makes mistakes, let's hug this out" (NOT kidding), I think an email, note, or phone call after the wedding would have gone a long way. If you are a Central PA bride who is laid back and wants a DJ that is generally nice and reasonably priced, I think this company would work for you. If you are crazy-specific and have a lot riding on the music of your wedding day (like I did!), I don't think I could recommend this DJ for you. Message me or feel free to dig through my posts if you're interested in their contact information!
Cost: $850


Disclaimer: many of these prices are from 2008-2009 and no longer available today. I can assure you, however, that the prices many of these folks now charge is absolutely worth it! We just lucked out and caught some of them as they were newer to the biz. :)

A Cheeseburger's Vision

With my 1 year anniversary of writing for Weddingbee fast-approaching, I was looking back through some of my old posts. It's funny to see how my writing style has changed and how a lot of my inspiration for our wedding, well, didn't!

Here was the initial Inspiration Board I made a few months after getting engaged:


I was loving Lia, all about rich purple bridesmaid dresses, lush, organic floral arrangements, candles, and our long head table for our family.

Here is our Reality Board:


You all know my dress story, and how I ended up with a dress similar to Lia but easier on the wallet, my girls wore the exact color by the exact designer (Alfred Angelo) pictured in my original board, our flowers were gorgeous pale pinks and purples with sage and ivory mixed in, and many of the other details I originally loved stayed true to form as well!

I absolutely loved planning our wedding and writing about it for Weddingbee, and now it's so much fun to look back and see how all of that planning worked out!

Did any of you stick with most of your original plan or did you mix it up as you went?!

Grow Old Along With Me: After the Show it's the After Party

Oh, I'm sorry - did you think these recaps were over? You're not rid of me just yet!

After our very emotional last dance, we emerged from the ballroom where a stack of piping hot Canyon Pizzas were waiting!

As I had predicted, I was hungry. Burger was hungry. All of our guests were hungry. They swarmed around me as I went all Italian Mom on the pizza and started passing out slices on plates.

Eventually, our photographer reminded me to actually grab a slice for myself - and I did!

Perfection? I think so.

My mom likes to call the picture below "I told you so." She and others doubted how this idea would be received, but I knew it would be a crowd pleaser!

In fact, for some of our friends, one slice wasn't enough, they grabbed a whole box :).

A groom, a coke and his pizza. It's the simple things in life, no?

We went through 15 pizzas in 5 minutes. Booyah - I love it!

But we weren't done yet! My night was not complete until I stepped into my favorite State College bar in my wedding dress. I brought some friends along for the ride :).

(are those flip flops I spy?!)

Granted, it was definitely more chill than the dance party we had just come from, but I loved the atmosphere and spending even more time with friends, family, and this guy:

Just before last call, we decided to call it a night. We said goodbye to Mad Mex and all of our loved ones, and made our way to our suite. To say it was the best day of my life would be the understatement of the century.

Did you have an after party? Or even an after after party?

Catch up!

• Grow Old Along With Me: We moved to Happy Valley!
• Grow Old Along With Me: The Good, Bad, & Ugly
• Grow Old Along With Me: The Girls Get Prettier
• Grow Old Along With Me: We Exchanged Gifts
• Grow Old Along With Me: Burger Got Dressed
• Grow Old Along With Me: Bridal Suite & Flowers Galore
• Grow Old Along With Me: I Became A Bride!
• Grow Old Along With Me: We Made it to the Church
• Grow Old Along With Me: Down the Aisle They Went!
• Grow Old Along With Me: We Got MARRIED!
• Grow Old Along With Me: It Was Picture Time
• Grow Old Along With Me: We Took a Trolley Ride
• Grow Old Along With Me: Burger and I had our Close Up
• Grow Old Along With Me: There Were Blessings and Speeches and Dances, too!
• Grow Old Along With Me: We had a Blast in Our Photobooth!
• Grow Old Along With Me: I Showed You Our Details!
• Grow Old Along With Me: We Danced Through Disaster
  
• Grow Old Along With Me: You Saw My Favorite Details
  
• Grow Old Along With Me: You Met Our People
• Grow Old Along With Me: We SHOUTED to Our Last Song!
  

pizza photographs by the lovely and talented Jessica Ames