Wed Recap: The little ones

One thing we knew for sure was that there would be lots of kids at our wedding.  Out of a guest list of about 190 people in attendance, at least 15 to 20 of those were kids ranging from 6 months to 16 years in age. 

Our 2 little nephew ring bearers hanging out pre-ceremony

By Grant Sharp

Now everyone knows how hard it is to keep kids entertained at a wedding, at least during the ceremony portion.  So I had lots of ideas to keep them busy and active.  And it had to start with our four ring bearers (3 of which were Mr Fix It's nephews and 1 was my nephew) and our flower girl (my little cousin). 

Our Junior Groomsmen (nephew) keeping some of the ring bearers entertained

Besides the favor boxes that were specific to the younger aged children that I blogged about here, and the little kids corner area that we set up with portable DVD players, lollipops, craft kits, coloring books and two paid babysitters, we had a few things that I didn't share previously.  Oh, and that kids corner with the babysitters?   Yeah, there were at least a couple kids in that room the entire night!  So it was definitely a good idea and money well spent!

Of course, the kids had fun with the ribbon wands that we left on the ceremony chairs for all the guests to wave as we walked back down the aisle:

By Kathleen Wolsfeld

And they loved the flashing sunglasses and mouthguards that we gave them for the reception (though the flashing didn't really show up well in these pictures)

By Kathleen Wolsfeld

By Chad Beever

A big hit were the table top bowling pin sets.  And the older ones danced the night away.

You can imagine how many fun shots the younger ones took in the photobooth (there were at least SIXTY photo strips of my flower girl, junior groomsmen and younger cousins alone in the booth!).

They adored the chocolate fountain...Yum!

By Heather Hughes

And these two would not stop bothering our magician...he was so great with them!

My sister said my little 3 year old nephew is still playing with his favor box toys even today four months later!  But probably the best investment I made for the ring bearers was for the ceremony portion of our day.  When they made their way to the end of the aisle as seen here:

A little bribery goes a long way:

I told their mothers that they could just gather them in the front row to sit down so they didn't have to stand on the altar for a good 45 minutes to an hour.  And waiting on their chairs in the front row, I had these little goodies:

Silent and yummy and entertaining!

I got these little mini travel sized magna doodles at Target for like $10 each and they kept the boys busy during the ceremony.  And you can't go wrong with a sucker!  Especially the ones that last for hours.

By Grant Sharp

But for some reason, my sister's in-laws felt the need to also have a bag of Reese's Pieces waiting for my little nephew.  That was something we had not planned on and right at the beginning of the ceremony he dropped the bag and the little candies spilled everywhere in the front and into the aisle.   Now I did not see them as they tried to quickly pick them up but apparently several of the wedding party and family members at the front of the altar saw all this go down and started laughing thinking it was just hilarious.  Good thing I had the sucker there for him so that he wasn't in tears about losing all of his candies!

And for added convenience for the guests with the youngest kids...these precious babies:

I even had our rental company swap out 4 of the chivari chairs for highchairs....which my family profusely thanked us for!  And as a special treat for these super young ones who can't really play with toys, we gifted them these fun little personalized bibs:

By Heather Hughes

By Chad Beever

Unless otherwise noted, all photos by Robert Mullins Photography
All raw video footage provided courtesty Video Keepsakes of Beverly Hills

It's not fair...

...that weddings typically only last 4 to 6 hours! Truly not enough time for a bride and groom to spend time with their 190 guests (in our case).

Briefly trying to mingle with *everyone* at the cocktail hour

My friend Shelley who I basically only got to say good bye to at the end of the night :(

...that even the best laid plans and attention to detail end up somehow falling apart when you are all caught up in the moment of everything going on around you.

...that the animals didn't come out while we were down by their cages to take pictures with us in front of them.

Although my cousin snapped this one while she was walking around before the wedding

By Amber Marquez

...that we (or I should say our photographer) totally forgot to go get pics by the fish pond, llamas, orange orchard, old antique car, barn silo, zebras, fountains, fountain pool, bridges and bird cages...oh, and didn't get any twilight or night time shots with pretty soft lights glowing**

...that I was too wrapped up in everything going on to feel relaxed enough to have some different shots with Mr Fix It like sexy, romantic, laughing type shots.

...that I felt like I barely got to see or spend much time laughing with my bridesmaids before the wedding.

Yeah, that's me in the back getting ready while they are all hanging out

Photo by Amber Marquez

...that I barely had enough time to get into the photobooth and when I did I couldn't think straight to come up with crazier, funnier poses!

Cheesy Photobooths

...that I totally forgot about the chocolate fountain until the end of the night when almost all the guests were gone and I stood there by myself scarfing down strawberries and blue chocolate.

...that I never really felt like I was 'in the moment' throughout any part of the day.

...that I was feeling like I was going to pass out through half of the ceremony because my dress was strangling me...and that I didn't feel like wearing my dress through more of the reception because it was too damn heavy!

By Amber Marquez

...that I barely danced with any of our guests...though when I did, it was sure fun!

...that I didn't even get to see the escort cards, the gift table, the memorial table and half the other little details that were set up before all the guests arrived.

...that either the caterer forgot the right linen for our memorial table or someone messed up and didn't read the design layout correctly so it was in a lame cream linen cloth instead of a cranberry satin cloth (I know that's trivial, but it still bothered me).

...that Mr Fix It and I (nor our photographer - blech!) thought to put our wedding rings on for all of our photos before the ceremony so they are not in the pictures we have of us.

Notice - no  rings on either of our hands!!!

...that my officiant didn't show up until almost an hour into our rehearsal so we didn't get to plan out and walk through a lot of things that I would have done differently had I been able to see them in the rehearsal.  Like I wouldn't have staggered our bridal party on the stairs of the altar and I would have realized that me and my girls basically sprinted down the aisle!  :(

I wasn't feeling this staggered look at all!  You can't even see my sister who had to stand

behind the tulip arrangement and pillar on the top of the stairs. 

...that after it is all said and done, I totally want to do it all again!  :)  Can you say '5 year anniversary vow renewal' anyone?

** Though we did get a lot of shots at these locations in our post wedding shoot this week! :)

Unless otherwise indicated, all photos by Robert Mullins Photography

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: Why teenagers are annoying

I have mentioned many times how I have a 15 year old daughter from a previous relationship.  Well, today, she is taking her driver's permit test!  Pray for me! 

She and Mr Fix It have been a part of each other's lives since she was 9 years old.  It's kind of crazy...but they love each other and get along great.  Too great...in fact, they sometimes annoy me.  And since Mr Fix It is truly still a big kid himself, the two of them together usually causes me grief.

That said, we definitely wanted to include Little Miss in our wedding ceremony and our vows. 

As you may remember in this post, Mr Fix It made a vow to be a patient and caring step-father to Little Miss.  Well, we wanted her to take some responsibility in our newly formed family as well. 

And so we created a special little part of the ceremony in which she stepped forward and the pastor asked her a brief question about whether she will love and support the two of us in our marriage.  She then was to respond with "I will" after which, Mr Fix It was to place a ring on her finger as well...sort of a little promise ring uniting our entire family. 

Of course, we didn't run through this at the rehearsal and so no one knew what the heck was going on. It's kind of silly and we laughed our way through most of it.  Little Miss wasn't sure where to stand or how to walk around me to join us.  In addition, as you'll see, she totally held true to herself as me and Mr Fix It did with her little 'unplanned' response.  Check it:

I could have killed her!  Little twerp.  Teenagers are so cocky and annoying...they just can't hold to traditions and rules of any type.  Oh well...everyone laughed, and I did, too at the time, but afterwards I told her she was a pain! 

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

Wed Recap: Oh, let me just do that for you!

Mr Fix It and I are control freaks.  Shocking, I know, right?  I mean what would ever make you think that I think I can do it all?  As my sister, MOH J so brilliantly put it in her toast at our reception, neither Mr Fix It nor I are perfect...and that *is* in fact hard for both of us to hear.

We are both perfectionists and though I am a little more humble in realizing that I don't 'know it all,' Mr Fix It believes he is a contractor, electrician, plumber, lawyer, doctor, mechanic, teacher, gardener, etc.  Now granted, he does in fact know a lot about a lot of those things, but he definitely can't do it all.  Though he'd like to think he could.

Anyway, our personalities once again flared up during our ceremony when it came time to partake in the Unity Cross.  I wanted to incorporate something that we could keep as a memorable item to display in our home from our ceremony.  A lot of people will participate in the lighting of a unity candle or in a sand pouring ceremony and then keep the vase in their home.  I wasn't super excited about either of those ideas.  So I was super thrilled when I found the Unity Cross on the GetMarried.com web site. 

It's not cheap at $99 but my small group of girls that I lead in a bible study asked if there was anything special they could all pitch in to get me for my shower and I instantly thought of this cross.  So it not only was a great keepsake from our ceremony, but it also was a special gift from some very important friends in my life.

Basically, the cross is put together by the bride and groom during the ceremony to represent the uniting of the two different beings (man and woman) on the foundation of our faith. 

I loved the symbolism of this.  Although I wish the pastor would have spent a little more time and thought on how he explained this to our guests as part of the ceremony.  It comes with a great little story about how the man's cross is strong and sturdy and yet somewhat empty inside.  And the woman's cross is intricate, beautiful and perfectly suited to fill the man's cross.  But instead he described the woman's cross as 'curvy'.  Really?  Whatever, Pastor Lyle is awesome at rolling with it and I love how he made everyone laugh with his comment about me breaking a nail.  It was still a cool idea.  However, when it came time to put together the cross, well, let's just say that I commented to Mr Fix It that we probably should have practiced putting it together before the actual ceremony which we in fact, did *NOT* do as you'll see in the clip:

Did you listen carefully to how Mr Fix It and I make a perverted comment about 'finding the hole?'  Yeah, not one of my finer moments...I was obviously nervous.  :)

Starts off great working together.

Mr Fix It is having some problems.

And I try to take over...unsuccessfully.

Share time:  Did you have any little mishaps that occurred during your wedding?

TODAY'S WEDDING TIP:  While it's not necessary to practice every single thing that you will be doing at your ceremony or reception, it is a good idea to at least talk about how you'll do certain things.  We should have definitely practiced putting together the cross before the ceremony.  And though you can't do that with a sand pouring, you can at least remind each other that you want to pour the sand slowly so it mixes together well.  My sister and her hubby didn't do this and she poured her sand into the vase super fast while her groom took his time.  It didn't merge quite as well as they wanted though it was a funny story.  Remember to try on your rings before the big day to make sure they fit okay. 

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