Dear Internet -

I’m sorry I have not written in such a long time. You see, there was the wedding, then the honeymoon, then the Holidays. Life has just been one big roller-coaster lately. However, I’m here to give you the run-down of all that you have missed.

The Wedding – November 18th, 2006

Everything was perfect! The flowers were gorgeous, the choir was outstanding, and the friends and family that attended warmed our hearts.  However, in true “knottie” fashion, here is my vendor report card:

1) Flowers – SPEND THE MONEY on them, if you love them. They flowers were one of my most favorite parts. My bouquet was Hydrangea, Roses and Green bells of Ireland. The colors matched everything and I have to give a shout-out to our florist. Christi from Flowers On the Green did an outstanding job. A+

2) Ceremony Music -  We decided to have a choir w/ the organist.  It really was spectacular.  However, organizing all of it was difficult.  It was totally worth it.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.  As a friend of mine (musician as well) said that night regarding the ceremony music “when you leave it up to us, it might be disorganized getting us together, but the end result will be FAB-U-LOUS”.  A

3) Dresses – The bridal suite did a great job with my dress.  However, I had a bridesmaid that measured herself wrong, and the seamstress at the shop (nyma) took in a dress from size 14 to a 6.  Amazing work.  Well done, and on time. A

4) DJ – The only part of my wedding I was extremely disappointed with.  We decided to go with a friend of the family, since we knew him, and I knew he would be able to keep the crowd happy.  However, 2 days before the wedding he calls to tell me that his wife was in a car accident.  Of course I was shocked and disappointed (worried about his wife as well!).  I did not expect that this might have happened 2-3 weeks ago and he just needed the weekend off.  This was completely unprofessional.  The DJ’s he sent in his absence sucked.  They mispronounced most of the names, and in fact said the wrong name of a groomsman.  Also they screwed up the songs, and really did not lead the crowd, or encourage dancing.  I could have done a better job.  D-

5) Reception Site/Caterer – The Guilford Yacht Club was gorgeous.  Everything fell into place and I didn’t have to worry about a thing.  Marissa was excellent and a sweetheart to work with.  However, we should have had our meal boxed up, we hardly ate two bites.  From what I have heard the food was awesome.  A-

6)  Limos – SEL – great service, and they fluffed my dress before I walked down the aisle.  A+

7) Hair/Make-up – Dana Bartone did a fantastic job.  My hair and makeup were perfect.  A++

Photographer – Lennard Leffand did a great job.  So far the pictures look awesome, just waiting to get the rest back.  My piece of advise here, is to take as many pictures prior to the reception as possible.  Once you get to the reception, only do the combined mother/father/in-law shots.  We spent so much time taking pictures with all the family that we ended up being 45mins late for our entrance.

9) Videographer – Breaking Branches Pictures also did a great job.  He blended into the background, and I barely noticed him.  We haven’t seen the video yet, but I’m sure it will be awesome.

I’ll provide a grade for the last two once I see more of the pictures.  If you want to check out the pictures (that guests took) from our wedding, see them here.

I’ve been very focused on losing a few lbs before our wedding in November.  Since it takes me a really long time to lose weight, I have already started my Wedding bootcamp. It’s an insane workout regimen and I don’t intend to keep it up past November 18th.

Anyway, last night we lost power for almost 12 hours.  It was 9pm, hot, and we were all on edge.  There are not too many excuses I listen to while I’m training.  However, during  state-of-emergencies calories don’t really count.  I had reasoned with myself that due to the hot weather, and no AC, the amount of energy I was expending would cover the 150 calorie cookie I was about to consume.  As I took my first small bite (because cookies are a luxury, and this one was really soft and chewy) the electricity came back on.  No, I am not kidding, I know I can exaggerate at times but this isn’t one of them.

Perhaps that was divine intervention, keeping me on track.  Whatever it was, it worked, I only ate half of the cookie. Come on, that’s only 75 calories.  However, if the power went out we saved the other half just in case we needed some cookie-luck.

As some of you know I'm getting married this fall. Also what some of you might not know is that I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing. So it's now time for me to order the invitations and I'm thoroughly confused about all that is involved. You have your invitation, response card, reception card, directions, hotel accommodations, and that little piece of tissue paper that I never understood exactly what it was meant for. I mean couldn't I do just an evite? My mother about died when I said that, so I take that as a No.

Anyway I've been pouring over invitation books and they are all looking the same to me. I've chosen this one ….(to my faithful stalkers that is false information in there, so don't think that is my real info).