We arrived at the Rivermill and it was even more beautiful than I could have imagined. Everything was blooming, the chairs were set up perfectly for the ceremony, and it wasn't near as hot as it could have been. We were a little worried when we planned an outdoor wedding in Sacramento, in August, that it might be scorching. It was at this time that I got my gift from my groom. He gave me the most exquisite diamond earrings, from our favorite jeweler. The earrings matched the diamond necklace from my parents perfectly. Us girls arrived first and took some pictures before the guys arrived. I love the one of our flowers behind our backs. I found cards for my bridesmaids with a picture exactly like this on the front, and thought it was adorable, so we recreated it. After the guys arrived, and I was peaking out the window trying to catch a glimpse of my groom, we did our big reveal. We decided with our photographers, that we wanted to meet before the ceremony so that we could take a lot of our pictures and not miss so much of our cocktail hour with our guests. This was the best thing we could have done.
The photographers had Ben wait for me in the courtyard, and had me sneak up on him from behind. It was perfect. I got to give him a few kisses and hugs before we said our vows. It was fun to have a little time to ourselves before we committed our lives to one another in front of 200 friends and family members.
Some people asked if this took away from the walk down the aisle to meet at the alter. I can say wholeheartedly, that it was just as breathtaking. Both of us were pretty emotional...but we'll get to that part later.
The photo session with our photographers was fun, and we got a lot of fun candid photos with our own cameras as well.
Enjoy! If you'd like to see more photos, check out our photographer's blog, or go to their website and find us under the clients page.
It has been a crazy month since I last blogged. School is well under way, and us teachers are definitely in need of a break. October is the longest month of the school year.
In the last month, we rented out our condo, moved into a house with a huge backyard, had visits from family, and got my sister her wedding dress!
We had also gone without our internet for over a week, which meant no blogging. We are still in the process of moving into our new place, but I will have pictures up soon!
I will be back to blogging about life, the move, and our incredible wedding soon!
For one of my wedding gifts to Ben, I had boudoir photographs done. I'd heard of this company on a morning radio show I listen to on my way to work. They are called the Boudoir Divas, and are all women photographers, shooting women's boudoir. (I don't think there is such a thing as men's boudoir......that would be a little weird. Although Ben keeps joking he's going to do some for me.)
My photographer was Crystal. She was amazing. When I booked, I talked with their Client Concierge and she gave me the scoop on everything I might need for the shoot. She also sent an email with all sorts of tips and tricks for better photos.
I was to bring in 3 outfits to be photographed in, and choose 3 different types of backgrounds from the ones they offer.
My first outfit was my Mets jersey, paired with bright orange boyshort, undies that say "Property of Coach Gravenkamp" on the booty. I loved this outfit, and many of my best pictured are from these. The second was a racy, black lace, thong.
And the third was a gift from Sara and Nicole, and something I'd seen at Victoria's Secret, loved, and almost bought myself. What can I say? My friends know what I like! It was an adorable navy & cream, pinstripe bra and matching skirted thong w/garter. For this one I wore red high heels. It was very pin-up girl (something Ben really likes) *He keeps saying he wants another tattoo, and this one being an old-time pin-up girl.......and I keep saying NO!
I was really nervous the week leading up to the shoot. I watched what I ate, exfoliated, moisturized, and tried to look my very best. Sara offered to come with me, and help with my hair, and although we both thought it might be a little weird to see me half-naked, I was happy to have her there.
The day of the shoot, I went to the salon for Sara to do my hair, and then we rode over to the studio together. As I walked up the stairs to the studio, they had a cute little sign saying "Welcome Anna", and I was greeted the moment I walked in the door. We were taken into a little consultation room, where we talked about the shoot, and had a glass of champagne, before making our way to the studio.
We started in the first outfit, which was a little more coverage than the other 2. Within minutes I was perfectly comfortable. My photographer Crystal was talking to me so normally I could have been dressed in a ski jacket! She was great, and never said, "look sexy", or anything else that would have sounded cheesy.
She gave me easy tips on how take a picture without smiling (and not look mad or confused). I always smile in pictures and at first it was hard not to, but then started to happen a little easier. By the end of the shoot, I was loving it!
My favorite photo ended up being one in a traditional pin-up girl pose, with my pin-up girl outfit. Sara had added a few pin-curls to my hair in between outfit changes. Little did we know, that would inspire my wedding day hair style!
For any woman about to get married, this is a perfect gift for your soon-to-be husband. It also is kind of empowering. These photos highlight all of your best assets, and make you look incredible. Why not capture that in something fun, a little sexy, and a great reminder of how hot you really are!
No photos this time! Those are just for my husband!
Wedding pictures are finally in!! I'm so excited, although very anxious to see the video which will come a little later. Our photographers were wonderful! Most of the time, you had no idea they were there. I love all the candid shots from the wedding. We had an amazing time, and it was so much fun reliving the moments through the pictures.
Now I'll pick back up on the blogging for the day of the wedding!
Last I blogged, we were leaving the house (around noon) and heading to the hotel to finish getting ready.
When we arrived at the hotel, we checked in and saw some friends who were checking in at the same time, and our photographers! Us girls went up to the room, and we found out the boys were busy playing whiffle ball, and not getting ready at this point. Sara started doing my hair, and it went super smooth. She took one time to pin everything in place, and it was perfect! Of my wedding day look, my favorite was my hair. It was slightly traditional with a funky edge to it! I had two hair pieces. One was a rhinestone comb that we paired with the veil for the ceremony. It was perfect! And Sara is amazing! Not only did she finish my hair, and her own, she also did our flower girl, Shea's, hair.Then we had lunch delivered by Sara's boyfriend, and Nicole's husband. *Ben was the lunch guy the day of Nicole's wedding, so these boys were returning the favor.
After a quick lunch, which I forced myself to eat, because of the butterflies in my stomach, we started the process of getting into the dress. The photographers stepped outside for a moment, while I slipped the dress on. Then the photos started as my mom began the slow process of lacing up the dress. Nicole helped my mom out, and had her hands up the back of my dressed straightening the lining, when she poked me right in the butt.......of course photographers were right there for it all! Lauren helped my with my jewelry, Nicole with my shoes and garter. Like I blogged before, I had 2 pairs of shoes for the wedding. The first was a delicate white pair, for the ceremony. I was so happy they finally got my size in. Although beautiful, I was so thankful I had my other pair. But we'll come back to that!Krista did the honor of delivering my wedding gifts to Ben, while we were finishing up at the room. The first of my wedding gifts to Ben, was something I bought almost 2 months before we were even engaged. Ben is a huge New York Mets baseball fan. The month before the wedding we even made the trip out to see a game at the new stadium (Citi Field). Ben had been to a game in the old Shea stadium and was pretty bummed to see it torn down. So, I found cuff links that were made out of seats from Shea stadium. It gave the exact section and seat number. Now he will forever have a piece of Shea Stadium, and the team he loves so much! My second gift was boudoir photos that I had taken back in June. I had an album made, and with the album, the place also gives you a greeting card, with one of your images on the front. I loved them. I'll blog about my fun experience with the photos a little later. So Ben opens the card (I heard this from him, and my sister), and thinks it's awesome. The pic on the front was just the cleavage of a girl in a Mets jersey, with an engagement ring that looked a whole lot like mine. Ben proceeded to show it to all his groomsmen, thinking it was so cool that I was able to find something like that. So then he starts to open the cover of the album, when Krista reminds him he might want to open it in private, and he sees a pic and realizes that that card was ME!! He immediately takes the card back from his groomsmen (who have now all seen a little bit more of me) and puts the album away to take a look at later!
**On a side note; When we were in NY, I made him leave a Mets store we were in, so I could buy something. So he thought it was that card, in actuality it was a #1 Husband Mets keychain.
At this point the boys are finishing getting ready, with the photographers and the girls and dad are heading down to the limo to be transported to The Rivermill. On our way to the limo, we stopped in the lobby to wait for Krista. The lobby was crowded with beep ball players from all over the world. They were in town for a huge annual Beep Ball tournament. (*Beep ball is baseball for the blind. The ball beeps so they know when the pitch is coming.)
Our limo driver came in and was telling us that the beep ball players from Taiwan were outside and fascinated with how big the car was. They'd never seen (or felt) a car that big before, and wondered who was riding in it. The limo driver told them it was for a wedding, and that the bride would be coming out soon. Krista finally made it to the lobby and we started making our way out. As the lobby doors opened, the beep ball players had lined up on both sides of the door and were singing da-dun-da-da, da-dun-da-da. It was awesome! I couldn't help but laugh. They all crowded around for a picture before we jumped in the limo.Everything was super smooth and no stress......I just wish our videographer had been downstairs to capture the beep ball player serenade.
The photographers had Ben wait for me in the courtyard, and had me sneak up on him from behind. It was perfect. I got to give him a few kisses and hugs before we said our vows. It was fun to have a little time to ourselves before we committed our lives to one another in front of 200 friends and family members.
