The kids are alright!

Here are some fabulous photos of all the kids who were present for the festivities. It was so awesome to see the little ones dancing, twirling, posing, smiling, and having a good 'ol time. We stocked up the kids' table with some glow sticks which provided some very cheap entertainment, as well as kid-friendly foods (fruit kabobs, PB&J sandwiches, corn dogs). We had even purchased and prepared mini root beer floats, but sadly, they were left in the freezer at the house, never to make an appearance. C'est la vie!

Mikey

Andy's 2nd cousin

Ezra

Andy's 2nd cousin

Andy's 2nd cousin

Thomason
This may be one of the only photos of him smiling in his tuxedo!

Chloe, with momma Amy

Hannah

Yawn...

Striking a pose

Chloe

Ezra found a cupcake!

Hannah was too shy to ask Andy to dance!

Cara's 2nd cousin, Brooke

Airee

Hannah and Thomason

Time to go!

Getting Ready

Our photographers (Sarah and Rob Costa) took some really great and sweet photos that I'm very happy to share with you! My dad also took close to over just over 400 photos... the count is crazy! Anywho, here are a few of us getting ready. The boys didn't seem to need much time to throw on their tuxes, but as for the girls, I wasn't used to being primped, poked, and asked if I liked this or that. It was definitely nice to be pampered and spend some last precious seconds with my bridesmaids, sister, mom(s), and nephew (who took the time to nap... smart kid!).

Chaz (with the Red Sox v. Yankees on tv)

Andy, Joe, Rob

The back of my dress!

My garter

Putting on the jacket

Dressing up

Check me out!

Tommy had the right idea.
Thankfully, I was able to get 8 hours of sleep the night before.

Cassie's a curlin', while Sarah is putting in my earrings (given to me by Amy K).

Deep in thought...?

Building up to the first look...

Andy and the boys had been waiting for about 20 minutes while the gals were still getting ready. In his words, "I was excited and anxious for the arrival of Cara, and felt like I had been waiting, and waiting and waiting. It was a pretty warm day, so I was hoping to stand in the shade, but was quite happy in regards to the weather."

Giving thanks

Every day this month until Thanksgiving, think of one thing that you are thankful for and post it as your status. The longer you do it the harder it gets! If you want to do it then repost this message as your status.

I am thankful for my husband!

I have been meaning to post in the last few weeks, but life has been quite busy/stressful/fulfilling. I really do want to share more photos, thoughts, and anecdotes with you all on the wedding, marriage, and life in general. With that, it's time to start dinner.

Rehearsal Night

What can I say? After only 4 1/2 hours of sleep, April, Amy and I headed to the 'Dell for mani/pedis, swung by the chair rental shop to pay the final bill, then met up with Cassie and Hannah to pick out flower supplies and makeup. We may have eaten at some point that day... I know we picked up breakfast stuff at Safeway and maybe munched on something at home. Anywho, we made it to the rehearsal about 10-15 minutes late, but you can't start without the bride! After not having seen Andy since we'd gone to sleep, I was ready for a hug. I pretty much had my get-out-of-my-way-or-I-will-hurt-you moment when we arrived and I was sitting in the car. I didn't want to get out, but I knew everyone involved was waiting for me. I was tired, hungry, irritated, and only wanted to be with Andy. Even behind my sunglasses, my mom noticed something was bugging me.

After the first run through, I started to get really nervous and even broke down a little (it's even on our wedding video... Ian panned over to the wedding party instead, but I'm glad the moment was caught). But in all honesty, wedding planning and the week prior to the big day is/was tough. I felt as if I was pulled in every which direction (as was Andy), money was a bit of an issue, and making sure we had everything ready to go the week of became a massive ordeal. I'd sent out a schedule 10 days prior to everyone, in hopes that it would provide some sort of organization to the festivities (it did!). Thankfully, we had SOO MUCH help from our wedding party and families that we really couldn't have pulled this off without them. So, with that, another HUGE THANK YOU! :D

Anyway, after a quick, second run through of the service, I felt much better. Andy and I were both irritated that Chaz and Brecia didn't show up, but by then we had the mindset of f*ck it! We're getting married, and there's not much else anyone can do to screw it up. Off to the union hall we went for BBQ, decorating, and beer tappin'.

Me, Carroll, Andy



We're not delirious... or are we?



Hannah and Thomason



Prepping the hall!
Martha Stewart's poms seem to be the wedding trend for 2009.
Our poms were DIT (do-it together!)

Photos courtesy of my Dad.