Wed Recap: Some twists on the garter and bouquet toss

I have honestly despised the moments when the DJ calls all the 'single ladies and gents' out onto the dance floor to have the bride and groom toss the bouquet and garter away to see who will 'get married' next.  Yeah, right?  Does it really ever happen that the people who catch these things get married next?  Doubtful.

However, I knew I wanted to somehow have a toss and of course, it had to be unexpected.  Originally, I had the fabulous idea that I would surprise the girls I tossed my bouquet* to by having the bouquet break up into 4 smaller bouquets so that more than one girl gets to catch it.  :)  But as I evaluated our guest list, I realized there weren't as many single ladies as I had expected there to be. 

Instead, I had read on some blogs about how some brides were choosing to 'hand' their bouquet off to someone specific rather than just toss it away.  I loved this idea and here is how I incorporated this into our own wedding for a very special lady in my life:

As for Mr Fix It and the garter toss, he wanted to do this for sure.  But mostly just because he is a perv who wanted to get up my dress.  He decided he wanted to be 'covert' about it and worked with the DJ to surprise me with the song selection that would play while he slithered across the dance floor to remove my garter.  Here are some great pics and video of his little display:

As you can see, Mr Fix It tricked the guys they called on to the dance floor by acting like he was going to toss the garter, but then he decided to intentionally place it into the hands of one of his groomsmen that he calls a 'playa who needs to settle down finally.'  :)  I love how the DJ made the comment "If that isn't someone saying 'tag you're it' I don't know what is!"

Unless otherwise noted, all photos by Robert Mullins Photography
Raw video footage courtesy of Video Keepsakes of Beverly Hills

Wed Recap: The planner and the wing-it guy

I'm still following up with ceremony recaps - but there's only a few more to go.  However, today is again, one that is sort of a favorite...because it is the only time during our ceremony that I actually got choked up (though briefly). 

In my post last week about our pastor talking about both me and Mr Fix It and why he 'likes us,' he mentioned that I am a planner and that Mr Fix It is a surfer.  Well, in today's post, I am sharing with you our personally written messages to each other. 

And as you'll see in the video, Mr Fix It just 'wings it' and didn't have anything specific prepared or written down.  This is exactly why I didn't involve him in the writing of the traditional vows I shared last week, because he really just waits until he is in the moment to make decisions and share thoughts.  :)

The funny thing is, me being the planner, I knew one day Mr Fix It and I would get married.  And so early on in our six year relationship, I started keeping a journal that every once in a very great while, I would write a note or reminder about something he did or said or something I thought about him.  Basically, as soon as we got engaged, I went back through those old journal entries to gain inspiration and then wrote out this letter to Mr Fix It.  It was written probably a good 9 to 12 months before our wedding and I didn't look at it again until it was time to print it out when we were going over the ceremony with our pastor.  So yes, it was well planned in advance - at least mine was.

So here it is, the video of our messages to each other.

I just absolutely love how our pastor knew how to put us at ease and lighten a mood with a simple statement like when he tells Mr Fix It 'he's not going to top' my message. :)

Share Time:  Did/Will you include a personally written note or message to each other in addition to the vows you recite?  Or will you maybe write your vows as the written notes to one another?  How much time did you put into writing them out?  Did you wait until the last minute or have them prepared very early on?

Raw video footage courtesy of Video Keepsakes of Beverly Hills
Unless otherwise indicated, photos by Robert Mullins

Wed Recap: Traditions and Crazies

Today's video recap is one of my faves.  Mostly because it just shows me and the girls being ourselves and being silly while getting me ready and taking some photos.  I warn you that the video is shaky in some parts and may seem incoherent since it is a few pieced together clips.  :)  But I have to thank Gary Freedline of Video Keepsakes of Beverly Hills for the wonderful footage.  I love seeing the raw footage because it truly does take me right back to the moments of the day.

So, this post is all about the traditions...the something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.  I'll let you watch the video then I'll share some pics and a brief recap of the different items and their meaning to me:

Something Old

All of my jewelry became my something old for the day.  My earrings were a gift from my bridesmaid Lauren when I served as the Maid of Honor at her wedding 9 years earlier.  They were one of my favorite pairs of earrings and I loved being able to wear them on my special day as a reminder of the special place we've both held in each other's lives (I introduced her to her husband through mutual friends).

Photo courtesy Yan Freedline (Video Keepsakes of Beverly Hills)

My necklace and bracelet were custom designed by a jewelry maker, Jeanette Readinger here in Orange County.  I told her I wanted a brooch for a necklace and something smaller for a bracelet.  She sent me off to a local vintage swap meet where I found a brooch and a pair of clip on earrings.  I showed her some inspiration pictures of necklaces and bracelets I found on Etsy and she created a 'new' necklace and bracelet from the old vintage brooch and one of the clip on earrings.  I LOVED them and though I had doubts that the necklace would be too much with my extravagant gown, I absolutely loved how it all came together on the big day.  So many people complimented my necklace that I have decided to keep it to share with future ladies in our family so they can use it as their something old or borrowed.  Jeanette even said it was the prettiest bridal necklace she's ever made! :)

Something New

My Sabelle gown by Maggie Sottero and fabulous Jeanette red shoes by Me Too were my somethings new.  No need to say more...they were gorgeous and I loved them!

Photo courtesy Yan Freedline (Video Keepsakes of Beverly Hills)

Something Borrowed

I did not want to wear a veil on my big day.  Mostly because I didn't want to pay for one (they are ridiculously expensive) and because I knew that I did not want them in most of my pictures.  Unlike a lot of brides, I didn't plan on wearing a veil throughout the entire day and into the reception.  Not my thing.  But I did love the look of them in some photos and I also had my sister tell me that she regretted not wearing a veil at her wedding because it truly does make you feel like a bride.

So I came up with a wonderful idea...two of my girlfriends had gotten married in the 2 years before our engagement.  They were from the bible study that I lead and hold a special place in my heart.  I asked both of them if either would have any problem with me borrowing their veil for our ceremony and to serve as my 'something borrowed.'  One of them said she had unfortunately packed hers away and had it preserved, but the other one still had access to hers and was honored to share it with me.  And it was so perfect because it totally matched my gown with it's color and simple beading along the edges and it was the perfect length.  God has a funny way of working things out like that. 

Photo courtesy Yan Freedline (Video Keepsakes of Beverly Hills)

Since I only wore the veil for the ceremony, there was another super special item that I incorporated as an additional something borrowed.   This was passed on to me by my grandmother who just passed away this past Friday :(  It belonged to her sister, my great Aunt Geraldine.  It is a gold bracelet that was worn by my sister at her wedding and my cousin at her wedding.  When my Aunt asked me if I wanted to wear it as my something borrowed, I told her of course!  Then she mentioned that it was gold and didn't sound like it would go with my attire since everything was kind of silvery or white and sparkly.  But I remembered that the dress I switched into for the reception was ivory with gold embellishments!  Perfect match!  I wore the bracelet at the reception as seen here in our first dance and while giving my toast :)

And just for fun, here's a pic of it on my sister at her wedding almost 4 years ago courtesy of Eric Cotter of Jim Kennedy Photography:

Something Blue

This was the most special of all the things to me on our day.  Most girls go for the traditional garter as their something blue or perhaps a hanky with blue trim or a tag that can be sewn into your gown with your name(s) and/or wedding date in blue thread.  These are all great ideas and perfect ways to incorporate the 'blue' item.  But I didn't like the commonly done things.  So when Mr Fix It pulled out a bunch of his mother's old costume jewelry and asked me if I wanted to keep any of it, I was thrilled when I saw this pretty little blue brooch.  Mr Fix It's mother passed away when she was 49 and of course was not there on our day with us.  But I knew I wanted to find a way to honor her memory.  I had my florist, Allison of Flower Allie place the brooch on my bouquet and it was the perfect accent for the flowers and also went along with our decor and theme since our colors were a turquoise/aqua blue and cranberry red :)  I loved it!

Share time:  Did you follow this tradition?  And what were your 'somethings'?

Unlise otherwise indicated, all photos by Robert Mullins Photography