Honeymoon

After the wedding on Saturday and then all of the loading, packing and moving we did on Sunday, we were looking forward to the honeymoon. We left Mike's parents early in the morning and they dropped us off at Logan Airport. By 8:15 we were in the air and headed to the Dominican Republic.

The airport in Punta Cana was all open and looked like a bunch of huts grouped together.  It didn't take very long to find our luggage, but just as soon as we had it in our hands there were workers there to grab the bags and whiz around the airport looking for our transportation.  We just tried to keep up with the guy, as he wheeled our stuff to a bus that would take us to the resort.

Our room was not available upon arrival, so we tested out the buffet and lounged around for a few hours. It was of course very HOT, which I enjoyed (Mike not so much). That night, once it had cooled down, we walked around the resort a bit, tested out the train system, viewed the casino and then watched a magician show. When we got back, Mike tried to fix the alarm clock and accidentally tripped the power. We had some difficulty communicating that to the staff at the front desk - that we needed lights, they thought we needed towels. Unfortunately, they did not show up to fix the problem until the morning, so we spent the first night without AC.

Tuesday we enjoyed our first cocktail, while waiting for our meeting with the transportation Co.  They gave us info about the resort, the activities and of course the excursions available. We decided to book the ATV/Buggy experience. Later in the afternoon we headed to the beach for the first time. Mike of course spent time under the shade of the palm trees, while I soaked up the sun and the water was pretty warm.

On Wednesday was the excursion.  We were the first to be picked up, so we spent about an hour on the back of a pick-up truck, with not very comfortable seats.  When we got there they explained the safety guidelines and agenda for the day.  Unfortunately, we only had $5 with us, so we could not afford to buy the bandannas needed to cover our faces.  So, we resorted to using our t-shirts!  Our buggy was not very good and we ended up stalling 3 times.  The scariest part was when it happened, but the rest of the group kept driving.  Once we were started again, we had to try and catch up to them, while driving on the side of the road, with regular Dominican traffic whizzing by. 

On the buggies and ATV's we visited the beautiful Macao Beach and a cave with a swimming hole.  Then we returned to the ranch and had the opportunity to go horse back riding.  Mike of course ended up with the smallest horse and it refused to go anywhere.  One of the guides had to keep hitting the horse to get it to catch up with the rest of the group.  I thought my horse was going to be stubborn as well.  But, once the guides started going, my horse took off and at least stayed with the group.  It was quite the experience! 

For the rest of the honeymoon we spent time at the beach and in the pools. Again I spent my time in the sun, while Mike relaxed in the shade.  We of course took full advantage of the swim up bar.  We also experienced the flea market, which was quite stressful. The people would follow us around waiting for us to buy something.  However, we did not see anything we liked, so we bought all of our souvenirs at the local mall.  It did actually rain the very last night we were there, but it only lasted about 10 minutes.  

The food was the most difficult part of the whole trip.  Each night we had to call and make reservations at one of the restaurants.  The first few times Mike thought the staff had hung up on him, after finally getting through.  We realized later that he was just put on hold, so that they could get someone who could speak english to take our call.  We tried the Thai, International, French, American Grill, and the Italian restaurants.  We were certainly full each night, because of all of the different courses, but the food was not very impressive.  We would rather stick to the breakfast & lunch buffets.  Oh well.

Overall, we had an enjoyable, memorable, and relaxing time, but we were of course anxious to get home on Sunday. Phil and Jane picked 

us up and we headed back to Mike's parents. Sage was of course very excited to see us. We enjoyed a nice dinner, made a plan for the 

morning, and then went to bed. It was going to be another early morning - heading back to Scarborough to close on the house. 

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.