This month’s real wedding feature comes from A Girl with Pearls & A Boy with Toys.  Jen, take it away!

From Jen:

The morning of the wedding, the girls all woke up a little before 8 a.m. to head to the salon. The sun was shining and we all knew it’d be a beautiful day! With 8 girls (myself, my mom and six bridesmaids), we needed the extra (wo)man power! While waiting, the girls snacked on coffee and mini cereal packs. We were out of the salon by 11-11:30 a.m., went back to my mom’s house and she had a friend/caterer there to make us all sandwiches. After that, the girls got dressed, then they helped me get dressed.

My dress was a few thousand dollars with a fully beaded strapless top and a silk handkerchief-style bottom…Wow; that sounds snobby huh? Well…not really…I only paid $499! That’s right, ladies; I got my dress at Filene’s semi-annual Running of the Brides in Boston! (And it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life!) I absolutely loved my gown; but trust me, it didn’t always look as good as it did on my wedding day. So, the dress I ended up loving and picking was about 8 sizes too big! Luckily, I found a fabulous seamstress in town who worked pure magic on it to transform it to the perfectly fitting beauty it ended up being.

Our ceremony was held in the church I grew up attending, in Warren RI. It was incredibly special to have our ceremony in the same church in which I was baptized. We had a Catholic ceremony without mass, and had our parents each do a reading. Our florist placed a large arrangement on the altar, and decorated the pews with flowers and pink ribbons. After the ceremony, we had baskets of bubbles that were handed out to guests for our exit. Each of the containers were attached to tags I made that said “Love is in the Air. Jen & Jay 9-5-09”.

On the tables, we had white linens with light pink napkins. The napkins were neatly wrapped around the menus I created. The centerpieces (half tall, half short) were also a DIY project. Each centerpiece had mini candles around it to give them a nice spotlight. For table numbers, I had bought clear and silver frames and made the numbers in pink and red and mounted them on cardstock. I created all of the place cards using actual place cards and covering them with scrapbook paper in different shades of pink.

Our reception venue served strawberry and cream layer cake, which came with the package we chose, so it seemed silly for us to go out and order another cake. Instead, we ordered a mad hatter “dummy” cake. It was 4 tilted layers of hot pink, light pink and white fondant over styrofoam. Our baker also made a small cake in the same style that Jay and I could cut and feed each other.

All images courtesy of Zenobia Photography Studios

Since Jay is a DJ, music was incredibly important to us at our reception. To kick things off right, we had every member of the bridal party walk in to the reception to a different 1 minute cut song. They each made up their own little cute dances and it was SUCH a hit! For our first dance (which we took dance lessons for) we chose “Thank You for Loving Me” by Bon Jovi. For our parent dances, I danced with my Dad to Rascal Flatt’s “My Wish,” and Jay danced with his step-mom to Leanne Womack’s “I Hope You Dance. And, the best part about the dance party? Jay got to DJ! He spun about 4 songs and the dance floor was PACKED! It was such a fun, unique part of the night!

Vendors:
Reception: Quidnessett Country Club; Photographer: Zenobia Photography Studios; Videographer: Wedding Stories; DJ: All 4 You; Florist: Flowerthyme; Makeup Artist: Kristin Greene; Hair Salon: Vanity Salon;  Limo: Prestige Limo;  Rehearsal Dinner: Jacky’s Galaxie; Rehearsal Dinner Dessert: Holly’s Cookies; Cake: Something Different Cake Couture; Tuxedos: Carl Anthony Tuxedo; Bridesmaids Dresses: David’s Bridal; Wedding Dress: Filene’s Running of the Brides; Seamstress: Rosa Medeiros; Music Video: Kevin Lee Studios

Images courtesy of Lemongrass Photography

Image courtesy of Anna Page Photography

Image courtesy of Orange Girl Photographs

Image courtesy of Courtney Brooke Photography

BUT, that doesn’t mean you still cannot entertain your guests with a little fun during the cocktail hour or reception.

This particular bride, Jenny, created a wedding “I Spy” game, encouraging guests to take pictures (there were disposable cameras on the tables).  Not only would this get your guests going, but it’ll provide you and your significant other with some interesting and entertaining photos from the evening.

Image courtesy of Jennifer Dery Photography via Polka Dot Bride

Image courtesy of Jenna Walker Photography

Image courtesy of Brandi Brown Photography

See this gorgeous bouquet?

It ties in nicely with these pillows featured on the bride and groom’s chairs at the reception (the wheat).

And, work great with the place card holders (pine cone).

All images courtesy of Clary Pfeiffer Photography

While most guests won’t outright notice each minor detail, they will notice personality and cohesiveness. And, I’m definitely not suggesting spending a fortune on your wedding, because, at the end of the day, you don’t truly need to.Just  take the time to plan out the details – make sure they make sense for the wedding, and for you and your significant other, as a couple.