snogged | Wedding Day And (Slightly) Beyond!

Let's see, I was out of bed at 6:30 am courtesy of my nerves and excitement. I had breakfast with my dad, mom, and Mary Ann and then all the ladies headed to the salon for our hair appointments. My stylist was surprised that I didn't do a trial run before the wedding day, but I will tell you that bobby pins and hairspray can go a long way. :P I was very pleased with how my hair turned out. She also did my make-up and I thought she did a wonderful job.

We headed to Madison shortly after the appointments and had lunch at Mary Ann's house. Nick's sister (and my other bridesmaid) joined us there with her daughter, Della, who was one of our flower girls.

We hung out for awhile and then headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Our photographer met up with me there and we discussed her ideas and what not. Since Nick and I were seeing each other before the ceremony, our photographer coordinated the reveal to occur on the glass staircase in the museum. I thought it turned out awesome. Nick was also super cute when he saw me in the dress. In order to avoid seeing all of our guests before the wedding, Nick and I got to sneak through the kitchen and ride down to the art classroom that was our holding grounds.

When it came time for the ceremony, I felt like I'd lost all my brain cells. The song my dad and I were supposed to walk into started and I remember frantically trying to remember if that was my song or not. Dad remembered and we started moving. We got up the gardens and I hugged dad before Nick took my hand. My cousin Missy and friend Angie did a beautiful job with their readings and I remember feeling so overwhelmed that all I wanted to do was hold Nick's hands. He was pretty obliging. :P

After the ceremony, we stayed on the roof for more pictures and then we headed down to the lobby to meet up with our guests.

I was absolutely thrilled to see

angelskuuipo and her husband as well as

secondmezzanine and her man. I also got to see my friend Catherine who had hosted me when I went to New York City a few years ago.

We went back up to the roof for dinner and the food was absolutely awesome. My favorite was the ricotta-stuffed gnocchi. My sister Mary Ann and our best man Kit handled their speeches with aplomb. Mary Ann read a letter that I wrote back in 2004 when she was still in Africa for the Peace Corps where I had told her about Nick. Kit opened with the "Mawwiage" speech from The Princess Bride.

We ended the night with dancing. Nick and I had designed most of our playlist and my dad (a radio engineer) and his friend, Rob, helped make it possible for us to have the songs we wanted. I loved my first dance, cried during my dance with my dad, and had a blast teaching my guests how to Zumba. I also loved the conga line that formed for Megan Trainor's "All About That Bass," the pure joy that developed during Robin Sparkles "Let's Go To the Mall," and the fact that Kit and Catherine lifted me up so I could be levitated during the "Shake Senora Remix."

Other pluses:
~The TARDIS card box that my dad built. 86 individual pieces and it lit up blue during the dance.
~The bouquets made of gorgeous flowers, including my favorite: celosia.
~The weather.
~The almost full moon.
~Howling at said moon with Loki and

angelskuuipo.
~The kids and adults wearing glow bracelets and necklaces.

The negative:
~Not getting the chance to talk to everyone. There were just so many people and it was impossible getting to see and hug them all.

Day after:

We had a gift opening in our hotel suite. My mom, dad, Mary Ann, Kit, Thomas, and

angelskuuipo joined us and it was a lovely way to start the day.

We got lots of wine, a electronic corkscrew, picture frames, memory foam pillows, bath towels, a cute wall hanging, a penguin cookie cutter, and loads of cards.

In a post to come, I'll talk about the honeymoon.

Until then: