Birds

An amazing photo by Elizabeth Messina.

Popcorn

Favor Idea: Popcorn! 'From Ritzy Bee and here.

Thank You

Thank you, readers, for following this long journey with me (don't worry, I'll still be blogging now that my wedding is over!) I would also like to thank my amazing photographer, Joel Greenberg (from Joel Greenberg and Wendy Stewart Photography), and videographer, Wilson Fontaine. I am blessed to have been able to have such an extraordinary wedding day.

One Last Detail: The Fans

At the ceremony, fans were placed on each pew with a favorite passage from the Bible.

Bridesmaids' Gift Surprise

Friday afternoon before the rehearsal dinner, I surprised my bridesmaids by taking them for a private jewelry-making class at this AMAZING boutique called Lunessa in Soho. NYC brides, seriously this is the most amazing place! For an affordable fee per girl, Elise, the owner, set up a wonderful lunch and she and her co-workers taught us how to make silver bracelets with beautiful gems in my wedding colors (yellows, whites, golds, etc.). They came out looking super-expensive, and everyone had the most amazing time! It was a great way for my bridesmaids to socialize and get to know each other beforehand, if they didn't already, and also everyone got to take home a special bracelet they made themselves. We also got the chance to shop the boutique afterward with a discount!

My Grandmothers

Both of my grandmothers were sent to the hospital only a month before the wedding, one with a brain aneurysm and another who was diagnosed with cancer. Miraculously, both were released from the hospital only a week before the wedding.

Bellocchio

Ooh, I wish I had known about this California shop before my wedding! Bell'occhio (featured in Martha Stewart Weddings this past issue) seels ephemera and unique objects--but you can order online. Seriously, seriously check this out!

The Rings

A few months before our wedding, my husband was visiting his grandfather in Kansas. He gave him his wedding ring and told him he wanted Will to have it (he had been married over 60 years). A few weeks later, he sadly passed away. Will used the ring as his wedding ring.

Wedding Photographer

I owe a HUGE thank you to our amazing photographers from Joel Greenberg and Wendy Stewart Photography--they were so invested in making our day beautiful, and were both affordable and wonderful to work with!

Bow

Loving this Martha idea: Tie napkins into a bow.

Top Gun

Will's friends called me over and serenaded me with "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling" from Top Gun!

The Dancing

I had an truly amazing DJ, from Trevor Davison Orchestras, who played vintage classics from the 1940s-1970s.

The Menu

I made the menu cards in a typewriter font and used library pockets to model them after vintage library cards. The champagne and wine was generously provided by my husband's father, from his private collection. We used a sword to cut the cake.

first course:harvard club crab cake with pommery mustard sauce

entrée:minnesota wild rice and sour cherry stuffed rock cornish hen with cranberry sauce orgrilled filet mignon with truffle sauce

[both accompanied by: warm popovers, william potato and steamed asparagus with roasted tomato confit]

dessert:individual key lime pie with mango coulis and

vanilla and chocolate grand marnier wedding cake with passion fruit and hazelnut praline cream fillings

The Cupcakes

During dancing, cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery (my favorite!) were brought out for guests to enjoy or take home as favors.

The First Dance

Our first dance was to The Andy Johnson Explosion's "The Wedding Song". We took three private dance lessons in Mississippi before the wedding to choreograph our dance. My dad and I danced to "Unforgettable" (as a gift before the wedding, I gave him a music box that played this song); and my husband danced with his mother to "Here I Am" by Mary Chapin Carpenter.

The Entrances

Whereas we wanted our ceremony to feel sacred and reverent, we wanted our reception to feel elegant but fun. To help achieve this, we asked our DJ to play the Top Gun theme song as the bridal party entered the reception!

Melangerie

The amazing company Melangerie, Inc. created our "genealogy" chart, displayed during the cocktail hour, which showed all of our guests and how they were related to us.

Braids

Hairstyle Idea: Braids--they look so chic if done right! Image from Wedding Style Guide.

Doves

Bridesmaid Gift Idea: Simple little porcelain doves. Found here. I kind of want to buy these for myself...

The Music

Because we wanted the first part of our reception to feel like a real dinner, we did not start dancing until after dinner. Instead, a pianist played softly.

Cocktail Hour

Cocktail Hour was held in Harvard Hall, adjacent to the dining room. We had 6 passed hord'orves, ranging from lobster in a Japanese spoon to mini hamburgers and hotdogs and shrimp tempura. We also had three food stations: Spanish, Italian, and Chinese. A jazz trio from Hire Julliard Musicians played during the cocktail hour.

The Painting

As a surprise for Will, I hired an artist, Leeanna Chipana, to do an oil painting of our wedding reception.

Photographs

By our guest books, photographs in a variety of frames displayed the weddings of our grandparents and great-grandparents. Nearby, vintage bridal magazines purchased on Ebay.

The Venue

Our reception was held at The Harvard Club of New York City, in the main dining hall.

Table Numbers

Our "table numbers" were photographs of vintage airplanes. Table 1 was, of course, the Super hornet, the plane my husband flies!

Affordable Wedding Invitations!

I am SO excited to share this site with you--affordable, beautiful and great quality wedding invitations by V.P. Invitations! I love this company, and the simple elegance of their products. Here are three of my favorites:

1. White lettering on black card--so creative (and only $1 or less per set of invitation/response card)

2. The flourish and vibrant colors of this invitation.

3. The black edges on this invitation are so classic.

Another favorite idea: V.P. Invitations offers a variety of hand-drawn invitations!

Facebook

Sponsor News: Beau-coup is hosting a new Facebook contest--they will be offering a $50 gift card every month to one lucky fan on Facebook! Here’s how it works:
• Become a fan on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/beaucoupfavors?ref=ts) if you’re not already (click on the button at the top of the page!)
• Visit their site, http://www.beau-coup.com/ and select a favorite product
• Then post a comment on their Facebook Wall letting them know which product you picked and why

Uggs

A seriously great maid of honor gift: a pair of Ugg boots! Whooga Ugg Boots is giving away a FREE PAIR every month! Just go to this link to enter!

Mrs Forever

This great new site called Mrs Forever provides free info and name change forms online, to make your transition into marriage much easier!

Centerpieces

Our beautiful centerpieces were yellow and white roses, by Anthony Brownie. The tables were also adorned with old books that belonged to my late grandfather. Tables were covered with white lace overlays and dishes inscribed with The Harvard Club logo.

The Favors

Our favors were cds (burned onto cds modeled after vintage records), packaged in brown paper and tied with yellow ribbon and vintage airplane cigarette cards from the 1920s-1940s that I purchased on ebay. The cd covers were printe with a quote from French aviator and writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupery: "And now here is my secret: it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

The Cocktail

Besides having an open bar, our signature cocktail was The Aviation Cocktail--an old classic from the 1930s that has recently been revived (it was actually just featured in this month's Gourmet Magazine).

The Photobooth

Our vintage-inspired photobooth was from NYC Photobooths--they gave half of the 6 photos to the guest, and kept the other half in a scrapbook for my husband and I.

Guest Book

Our "guest book" was a vintage typewriter that instructed guests to write us a note to open on our 5th anniversary. They sealed notes in vintage airmail envelopes that had been decorated with vintage stamps, all thematically having to do with my husband or I (airplanes, writers, etc.). Envelopes were then placed in an old pencil case that had belonged to my father as a child.