Time flies when you are having fun, doesn't it?
September was a whirlwind of activity...and it started with a wedding!
Actually it started with a lobster. ;)
I have been waiting for this for a while now, and spoiler alert - everything was perfect. That's not to say there weren't hiccups, but more on that later.
It was challenging coordinating all the flights for everyone, making sure we had cars and could fit all of our luggage and people. Rob and I each had 3 bags - I have never traveled with so much! Of course we had to carry on my gown (stuffed into a carry on bag) and Rob's wedding suit. And we had one bag of clothes for the week, a small bag for toiletries, and then 2 suitcases of additional wedding items - think wedding party gifts and decor. It was a lot.
And I had only reserved 2 Jettas for us! Luckily we were able to upgrade to SUVs upon arrival...because our car alone was full of baggage.
Zach arrived at the car rental terminal just before us. From there we headed over to the international terminal to pick up my girls Chrissy and Julia. Chase was also meeting us there so we could use his car for extra baggage. We thought we arrived at the gate just before the girls but it turned out they were already there and waiting for us! Lots of hugs and then we loaded up cars. Then headed to go pick up Xander who had just landed.
I mean really, there was little to no waiting for anyone. I couldn't have timed it better if I tried.
Once we all were loaded we instructed the kids to meet us at Lobster in The Rough. Rob was in Maine now - he needed his lobster.
There were more hugs and maybe tears...I cannot put into words how much it meant to me to have the girls there. They traveled all the way from Germany just to be there for our wedding.
We decided to spend the first couple of days doing fun stuff before diving into wedding mode. We took the kids (sorry but you will always be my kids) to some of our favorite places - even though it was raining a lot and slightly chilly. We went to Perkins Cove and Short Sands...and even made a quick stop at Nubble Lighthouse but everyone was a little miserable from the weather.
Jana and Savreet joined us on Tuesday and I had all my girls with me! Then Duncan (and now all my boys) and Matt joined on Wednesday. We did a lot of running around - looking for flowers, lights, and any other last minute things I could think of.
I tried so hard to plan it so we would be able to relax the week before and we still ended up running around.
Picked up our marriage license on Thursday morning and had the rehearsal that afternoon. We had our rehearsal dinner as planned at When Pigs Fly but it was a bit cooler than I had anticipated it being when planning so not everyone stayed outside the whole time. But it was still fun and we got to talk to and hug a lot of people we love.
Before leaving for Maine, I had my hair color updated and a fresh new haircut. But here's the surprise - it isn't a pixie cut anymore! My hair is probably the longest it has been in 20 years. It is just below my ears now...and I have no idea what to do with it. So I made a last minute appointment to have my hair done on Friday morning and I am so glad I did!
She curled and styled my hair and it was so pretty I wish it could always look like this:
I wish I could remember the name of the salon to give proper credit for the hairstyle. I felt so pretty!
My appointment was at 9 and I think I was back at the Lodge by 10:30. And I just had to sit and wait...trying to relax and not worry about everything that I knew needed to be done.
I don't remember when Magan came over but she quickly confiscated my phone. I had my makeup done. But mostly we just sat and waited.
One thing I did do was finish that lovely bouquet pictured behind me. The flowers are fake but I added Hosta leaves from around the property and a pretty ribbon and I have to say I was very pleased with the final result.
Then it was finally time for our first look! We took as many photos as we could ahead of time so in theory we could enjoy more of the happy hour after.
Next thing you know, it was showtime! Matt hit it out of the park with his beautiful, hilarious, completely us ceremony. If you were unable to attend, or just want to relive it, you can watch it here.
And if you watched it - or were there - you may have noticed an abundance of photographers. Mel had recently injured her back and was therefore unsure if she'd be able to last the entire evening so she hired a couple of back ups. She told me she had 5000 raw images! She was able to edit it down to roughly 1200.
And they are so good! I'll be sharing some of my favorites - I think the best way will be for me to do a blog post for each grouping because I also want to talk about them. ;)
We did our first dance (middle school style) before dinner so we wouldn't have to think about it anymore. After dinner we went down to the beach for a quick moon photo session - the pictures are worth it. Then it was time for toasts.
What is my biggest wedding day regret? That I didn't ask anyone to record the toasts. Duncan floored everyone - and had almost everyone in tears. Magan made us laugh and actually let me hug her. Then Mark made a heartfelt toast as well.
I know I have a good man based on how much his friend's love him.
Rob said a few words to thank everyone for coming...and almost everyone had traveled. We had nearly 60 people at our wedding and probably close to 50 of them had to travel!
When we first started planning the wedding we could not have anticipated such a turnout. We felt so loved.
All that was left to do now was dance and sing the night away. Which we did! Before anyone was ready, it was time to call it a night. I finally decided (the day before) on a sparkler exit. But what we did was a sparkler PARADE down to the beach with a few fireworks! It was a magical ending to a wonderful day.
I'll share more details in upcoming posts so fair warning.
TLDR: it was a beautiful day and I couldn't be happier.