Wedding Day ♥ Part I

The day was absolutely AMAZING and went by so quickly! It was gorgeous outside - the sun was shining and it was not too hot! As I mentioned in another post we started the day by decorating for the reception at the Wyndham. Then Katie, Sarah, Ashlea, Meg and I headed back to Mike's apartment in Scarborough to start getting ready. We managed to sneak in a quick drive by the house and a DD stop beforehand.

Tasha arrived around 10:00 to start styling our hair. Sarah was up first, so that she could work on Ashlea's hair afterwards. Katie made a quick trip to the store to try and find some flowers to accessorize our hair. Then we mixed up some mimosas and just enjoyed the early afternoon. Clare stopped by around 11:00, but decided to head over to the Wyndham to get some before shots of the reception decor. Then she came back to get some snapshots of getting ready, the dress, the shoes, etc.

Around 1:15 Sherri stopped by with all of the bouquets and my mom's corsage.  She left us with very strict instructions not to set the bouquets down flat.  Then she headed to the church to deliver the rest of the flowers and help with boutonnieres.  

We were a very efficient group!  We had make-up, shoes, jewelry and the dresses on and were outside ready to go by 1:45 at the latest.  It worked out perfectly, so that Clare had enough time to take photos of the girls together.  Dad and Jon arrived in style by 2:00, so we were also able to take the Ireland family photos.  The limo pulled up just in time as it started to sprinkle a tiny bit (a little good luck).  We decided to take advantage of being ready early and drove to the church to watch as the guests arrived.

The ceremony went by so fast.  One minute we were listening to the readings and the next we were being announced as Mr. and Mrs!!!  Deacon Roger did forget to say "you may now kiss the bride", but we took care of that on our own (with some whispered reminders from the girls).  It was wonderful to have family and friends be there and to take part in the actual ceremony through readings, music, candle lighting and as part of the bridal party.  

Then it was time for photos, while the guests enjoyed some hors d'oeuvres and drinks during the cocktail hour at the Wyndham.  We were introduced right away and Mike and I went right into our first dance.  Then we had the toasts and blessing, so that dinner could be served. During dinner Mike and I visited each of the tables, so that we could talk to all of the guests and thank them for coming.  We of course went through all of the traditional dances, rituals, etc and then we danced the night away (including the hokey pokey, chicken dance, cupid shuffle and the cha cha slide)!  It was so much fun and the day/night went by so quickly.  It was an amazing day and I am thankful for all of my friends and family that were able to attend and help make the day even more special!

There are plenty more photos to share.  Hopefully I will be able to put together a slideshow soon and add it to the blog post!  Enjoy!

* MRS. OSLIN

Rehearsal, Dinner & Decorating

We had the rehearsal at the church at 4:15. Michael was running a little behind, because he accidentally put his bag of clothes in storage. That's what happens when you decide to get married & move out of your apartment in the same weekend!! We also had a little problem with the lights - the key didn't work to get into the room with all of the light switches. So, we went through the details of the ceremony with limited light. Then once we started to do a walk through someone was able to come and get the door open, so we could have some light.

Then we all headed to Anjon's, an italian restaurant on route one in Scarborough. We enjoyed some delicious food, heard a few speeches and wonderful stories. Then Mike and I thanked everyone for their help and support (the speech of course was very brief). Then we gave out some gifts, took a few photos and then headed to the Best Western for some poker and snacks. The girls and I packed up some stuff for the night and stopped by the hotel briefly. Then we drove to Yarmouth to Katie's moms house to get some much needed rest! Surprisingly I was able to sleep better than the night before.

Then the next morning Kim (Katie's mom) had tons of food ready for breakfast. She made the most delicious bacon & egg sandwiches! YUM. Then we packed the car up and headed to the Wyndham to decorate for the reception. Fortunately, Ashlea remembered the daisies we needed for the centerpieces were still sitting in the windowsill at Kim's. We ALMOST forgot them!

The rest of the crew met us there to get all of the decorations and favors in place for the reception. It was the bridesmaids, Gram, Mom, Dad, and Aunt Laura. Thanks for all of your help everyone, it looked beautiful!

Wedding Festivities

It has certainly been AWHILE since I have updated. The last few weeks have, of course, been very busy - from the weeks leading up to the wedding & taking are of preparations up through this week and moving into the house. There will be many blog updates in the next few days.

July 11th we had the bachelorette party in Boston. We stayed at Jessica's apartment, had a bbq, a few drinks, and then headed to Tequila Rain. The girls made me a lollipop bouquet and we made $100 selling them, which we used to buy more drinks. There was a groom getting married on the same day that kept stealing the bouquet - Sarah was annoyed by him. The girls compiled a list of tasks for me to take care of (I completed 10/25?). Then there was lots and lots of dancing! The night ended with a downpour and some dancing in the rain. It was so much fun!

July 15th-17th I took a much needed break from wedding plans and preparations and headed to the vineyard. Katie, Danielle, Sarah and I left Wednesday night and enjoyed the beach and the sunshine for two days! It was very relaxing and refreshing, which is exactly what I needed before heading back to do more plans. Then that weekend Mike had his weekend with the boys. He went with his father & brothers to a Fenway Fan day and then did some other fun things.

     The week of the wedding was extremely busy. My mom came on Tuesday and we worked on many different last minute projects. Then Wednesday I went to Tasha's salon - Studio 41 in Kennebunk for a trail run for my hair style. Tasha had three different styles based on some pictures I had sent her. Then Katie, my mom and I stopped for lunch before meeting Sarah in Eliot for my final dress fitting. 

     On Friday we dropped Sage off at Doggie Cottage for the weekend. In the morning the girls and I headed to Portland to get manicures and pedicures. I had a meeting in the afternoon at the Wyndham and the girls went to pick up the reception daisies. We had a few other errands in the afternoon and then we went back to the apartment to start getting ready for the Rehearsal Dinner.

Sage's New Friend

Sage made a new friend on Saturday. Unfortunately for Sage, but fortunately for the hungry guests - the friendship didn't last very long! The lobster was delicious!

Reading Challenge

Summer is when I feel like I can really enjoy reading! During the school year I don't feel like I have enough time and/or focus to get into a book. Unless of course I am driving in the car (audiobooks are the best)! Now that summer vacation is here, I thought about possibly joining a book group and trying to branch out from the books that I typically read. Instead I joined goodreads.com, which keeps track of all of the books I have read or would like to read. Which I think is great, because I always forget about books that I want to read when it comes time to choosing a new book. From this website I then joined a group, which doesn't really discuss the books, but instead poses different challenges. Here is the July challenge with my book choices.

1. J for July (book)............................Jeremy Fink and Meaning of Life
2. Group B-Day Book (Jes)...................................Someone Like You
3. Character/Setting in UK.........................................Remember Me?
4. Summer Heat (in title)............................A Thousand Splendid Suns
5. Where want to vacation................................The Last Summer
6. Western........................................The Man from Stone Creek
7. Title involving food..........................................Comfort Food
8. Reread..........................................Twilight
9. Young Adult.................................Inkheart

10. From the Group Shelf.................................The Devil Wears Prada

I am currently listening to Remember Me?, which is hilarious, especially since it is read with the English accent. Lots of reading and new books to look forward to! I am not really looking forward to the Western, but you never know?!