Love is Where We Are: My Girls

The boys were all done with their photo shoot, and now it was our turn. Let me just say, posing for photos prior to your ceremony is one of the most awkward but hilarious parts of your day (the other awkward moments for me were the first dance and the cake cutting, but we'll get to that later). At this point, guests were starting to arrive, and we were in a very visible location. It's weird because you want to go say hello, but you also want to stay focused and present for the photographer! Additionally, eeeveryone who sees you makes this guilty face like, "Oh crap! Was I not supposed to see this? Was I not supposed to see her until the ceremony?!" Um, no, doofus. Unless you're the groom, I don't care. Yes, awkward but hilarious.

Despite the awkwardness, posing with the girls was one of the first moments of the day that I was really looking forward to. I always love seeing each bee's recap post that features "the girls' shoot." I couldn't wait to create girls photos of my own. Plus, my girls looked gorgeous.

Our photographer is all about perspective and spacing (which I LOVE), but I wanted something a little less artsy and a little more intimate so I had everyone squeeze in for one more.

That photo was one of my favorites from the whole day. The lesson: if you have an idea for a photo, don't hesitate to ask your photog to make it happen! Now, don't take that to the extreme and boss them around the whole time. Let the expert lead, but try to make it a creative process together.

I then posed for a few photos by myself.

Then, something really cool happened. Hive, this is Favorite Wedding Memory #1! Please note, throughout the Lioness Recaps, I will be listing off my favorite wedding memories, as indicated by obnoxious bold and italicized font.

As I was posing for photos, I noticed someone standing there out of the corner of my eye. It was my dad. "Oh my goodness!" he exclaimed. "I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to interrupt your --- no, actually I'm glad. This is really cool. You girls just look...I'm so proud of...this is awesome."

My dad, who is usually a profound speaker, proceeded to be a bumbling mess up through the moment he walked me down the aisle.

What was your coolest pre-ceremony moment?

Catch up on the Lioness Recaps here!

• First, we got ready at my apartment.
• Then, we finished getting ready at the venue.
• The boys got ready and posed for pictures.
• We exchanged gifts.

*All photos by H.Photography unless otherwise noted.

Love is Where We Are: Gift Exchange

Now that both the boys and the girls were dressed and ready to go, it was time for Mr. Lion and I to exchange gifts. We chose not to do a first look, so Sister Lioness and Lion Best Man had to play messenger.

As I heard a knock at the door, I realized I was apparently first. Lion Best Man entered, and knelt down beside me. I thought this was wonderfully gentlemanly, but really it's probably just because he's about three feet taller than I am and this is the only way photos would have worked.

I unwrapped the present to find a little gray box, which I recognized from the jeweler who made our wedding bands. I then opened up that box to find delicate little diamond studs.

Though I didn't wear those earrings on our wedding day, I think I've worn them every day since!

Sister Lioness then made her way over to the boys' room.

Mr. Lion was pretty surprised when he discovered the novel of a card I had written to him.

Ha! That's what you get for marrying a blogger!

Do you remember what I got him for his present? I said before that it was Yankees-themed, since he's such a big Yankees fan and because I had to make up for the Red Sox garter that I'd be wearing.

I got him a baseball signed by Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. The ball was signed to commemorate his 500th save. Not only is Rivera Mr. Lion's favorite player of all time, he wears the number 42, which is symbolic of our wedding date.

Now, I wasn't there, but I'm guessing that's a picture of him showing it off to his groomsmen.

Are you and your significant other planning to exchange wedding day gifts? What are you planning to get them?

Catch up on the Lioness Recaps here!

• First, we got ready at my apartment.
• Then, we finished getting ready at our venue.
• The boys got ready and posed for pictures.

*All photos by H.Photography unless otherwise noted.

Love is Where We Are: The Boys Get Ready

Now that the girls were ready, our photographer/friend ventured over to the boys' room to see what they were up to. Mr. Lion was putting on the finishing touches, as he was getting pinned with his fiddlehead fern boutonniere.

Fortunately, the weather was gorgeous. So, the boys headed outside for a photo shoot.

How cute are they?!

I'm not sure what was going on there, but I'm guessing there was a story to it!

I was so happy with how the gray suits turned out. What are your boys wearing on your wedding day?


Catch up on the Lioness Recaps here!

• First, we got ready at my apartment.
• Then, we finished getting ready at our venue.

*All photos by H.Photography unless otherwise noted.

Love is Where We Are: Change Your Scene

Where we last left off, our wedding day had gotten off to a rocky start. As we got ready at my apartment, a rushed feeling of panic set in. Whose idea was it to have an 11:00 AM wedding anyway?! As we ran out of time, we had no choice but to head to the venue. Fortunately, at least I was ready.

{guest photo} 

As we arrived at the venue, everything set in. The altar and the ballroom both looked amazing (more on that later). I stepped down into the wine celler, our bridal getting ready room, and took a look around.

{guest photo}

My bridesmaids looked so beautiful. Even the ones who had done their own make-up looked absolutely stunning. More importantly, they were all smiling at me. Everyone was happy, everyone was calm, everyone was ready.

Before I could continue savoring this incredible moment, my photographer/friendor announced that it was time to put on my dress.*

I believe at the time, Lioness Bmaid Emily was saying, "Can you believe this moment is actually happening?!" But really it looks like she's saying, "We can't find her underneath all that dress!" Also, please note Sister Lioness' Toms. Awesome.

That right there, Hive, is one of my favorite photos of the entire day.

I looked in the mirror and saw, at long last, a bride.

It was an emotional moment for everyone. So, naturally, Lioness Bmaid Emily cried...

{guest photo}

...and Lioness Bmaid Laura fed the baby.

{guest photo}

Please note that Lioness Bmaid Laura not only has her own wedding band on her left hand; she also put on mine (on her pinky) and Mr. Lion's (on her thumb). When that little boy gets older, we're gonna tell him he was our ring bearer.

Sister Lioness was done with her job of getting the dress on. Now, it was Lioness Bmaid Sara's turn to help me put on my veil.

Last but not least, Sister Lioness put on my Something New: a necklace that she and Mama Lioness had given to me.

By the way, my Something Old was the stone in my engagement ring. My Something Borrowed and my Something Blue both appeared on my bouquet:

My Something Borrowed were the bee charms that Mrs. Meerket mentioned in her post! My Something Blue was the blue on my sorority badge. I guess that Freekware charm was just my Something Awesome ;)

I was so relieved that everything was magically coming together. Did you have a turning point on your wedding day?

Catch up on the Lioness Recaps here!

• First, we got ready at my apartment.

*All photos by H.Photography unless otherwise noted.

Love is Where We Are: The Beginning

Alright, Hive, I think I've kept y'all waiting long enough. Of course, I've blabbed about my wedding plans for months. Then, you patiently read through my all of my last-minute events. Then, you read all about the rehearsal, the rehearsal dinner, and that lovely slideshow full of embarrassing baby pictures. Then, like a total jerk, I skipped the wedding and starting talking about our minimoon...but not before venting about our venue drama. I feel like I've put you through enough at this point. So whatdya say? Shall we finally get started with the Lioness recaps?!

I think yes.

Our wedding ceremony started at 11:00 AM. We were initially told that we could arrive at our venue as early as we wanted to get ready. They'd even throw in a fruit tray and some champagne for some ridiculous price! Well, apparently "as early as you want" means 9:00 AM. I don't know about you ladies, but two hours wasn't reeeeally enough time to get a bride, five bridesmaids, and two mamas ready. So, we decided to meet at my apartment. At 5:45. Wow, they must really love me, huh?

Ashley, my hair stylist, and Kealoha, a friend who just happens to do make-up got to work right away. I got into curlers first.

I should mention a few things about that photo because there are a few stories there. First of all, Papa Lioness brought me that Starbucks. At 5:45. And it was some crazy high-maintenance drink order that he really shouldn't have memorized. What a nice guy! Also, I'm wearing a UCF baseball jersey because Mr. Lion used to play for the Knights in college. I printed and ironed on his (now our) last name and his old number. Note: this DIY project will not be appearing as a blog post because I did a horrible job with it. Seriously, the last few letters were falling off before I even put it on! Nonetheless, Mr. Lion was psyched when he saw these photos after the wedding.

Lioness Bmaid Jessica was up next for hair...

...while Lioness Bmaid Laura, FMIL Lion, and Mama Lioness got to work on some bagels.

Well, they were kinda working. I was just happy to see the three moms together smiling! How cute are they?!

Next, FMIL Lion got her hair did...

...while Lioness Bmaid Emily got her make-up done.

With less than an hour to go, it was my turn to get my make-up done.

Then, we combed out my big curls...

...while Lioness Bmaid Emily pouted because Lion Corgi wasn't allowed to watch her mommy and daddy get married.

All of a sudden, we had about 10 minutes til go time. I still had two girls without make-up. Everyone was talking and having a good time, and I really didn't want to ruin that. I calmly asked everyone to start wrapping things up, but no one was really listening. I asked a little more sternly, but the girls were still pretty distracted. I know it was a little too early to pay attention, but I needed us to leave. I started to panic. What if they weren't ready on time? What if we got to the venue late?

I yelled, "HEY! I'm the bride and no one is listening to me." Silence, then a sigh of relief on my part. I informed everyone that we needed to leave in just a few minutes, and they reminded me that they were still waiting on make-up. At that point, we didn't really have much of a choice; we had run out of time. (Here's the lesson in this: make sure the bride is ready first, and always always always plan for extra time!)

"They'll just have to do their own make-up," Sister Lioness said. I did NOT like this one bit, but what other option did we have? The two remaining girls threw on their own make-up, and we dashed out the door. We were on time, but I couldn't help feeling like our wedding day was off to a bad start.

Did everything work out? Or did the panic continue once we arrived at the venue? Guess you'll have to wait and see!

Did any of you newlyweds have early morning mishaps on your big day?

Another Mane Bites the Dust

Of course, I'm talking about the Post-Wedding Chop! I've had long hair my whole life...well, that's not entirely true. I chopped it off to my shoulders when I graduated from college. I thought it would make me look more grown up and, therefore, more like a graduate student. Instead, it just flipped out all funky at the ends and never did what I wanted it to do. I simply couldn't pull it off. I also had shorter hair when I was little, but I'm pretty sure I could pull anything off then.

The bottom line is that I never saw myself hopping on the PWC bandwagon because I loved my hair long.

{photo by Shipliketheboat Photography}

Then, out of nowhere, I just got sick of it! It was always in a ponytail at work and at the gym, then I just started wearing it in a ponytail all the time. Then, the ponytail started to feel too long. I'd had enough, and decided to go for it. I figured that if I absolutely hated it, I only had to wait a few months before it was long again. What did I have to lose besides some inches?

So, here we go. Before...

...and after:

That's eleven inches off! Yikes! Sometimes I miss my long hair, but most of the time I just feel a little more edgy and that's fun.

What about you? Are you planning on doing a PWC?