Matty and Janessa
first met in a tree.
A little birdie told them
they were meant to be.
Almost six years later
they're still together
and excited to announce
their promise to forever.
So mark your calendars
for the fifth of September.
I was officially taken off the market September 05, 2010. However my heart belonged to my husbunny long before our wedding day. He and I first met when neither one of us were looking. But we knew we couldn't want to let each other go, so we took it fairly slow. The short of our beginning is that we met in a tree. The long version is we met in a tree, thought each other was interesting and thought we'd let it be. It was only the help of our friends that pushed us together as we both were quite shy. I was the one who made the first move. A month later we were living together. A few months after that we had adopted our first pet - a kitty we named Maggie. A few years later we were living in a larger apartment; Matty had just started his career, I had opened a clothing store below my office and we had just welcomed the arrival of our French Bulldog, Mia. When we announced we were getting hitched, it really came as no surprise to our friends and family. However, like me, my friends love a great excuse to have a party. So everyone was pretty excited about the news.
I truly do have thee best girl friends. We have been a part of each other's lives for so long we are practically sisters. So choosing my bridesmaids was pretty much a no-brainer. Keep in mind my friendship was only just budding with AgenT, otherwise she would have been front and center with the rest. I wanted to make it special and known to my girls how much I loved them and wanted them standing by me during such a memorable moment of my life. About a year after our engagement and nine months before our big day, I asked them to meet me at a local restaurant one evening. Where I was waiting with my Mother, Kathy and best friend and Maid of Honour, Jenny, to surprise them. Each one was given a giant "diamond" ring along with a poem I had written asking for their hand in my marriage. They all said "YES!"
The months preceeding our wedding day Matty and I spent planning, reading, creating, saving and purchasing. I had a couple bridesmaids meetings at which I gave them a survival kit filled with all the essentials and necessities for the actual day. I also had given them the choice for their accent color and made their "kits" that color or a color which would coordinate so they could still carry them around in style.
I am not much of a club or bar party person. I prefer hanging out at houses with friends, playing card games or just chatting. So I made it quite clear to my "girls" I would prefer a classier more intimate bridal and bachelorette celebration. And my ladies did just that! Because my Maid of Honour lived out of state, we had all the festivities set for one wild and fun weekend, leading up to our wedding day that Sunday afternoon.
My bridal shower was during the afternoon on Friday. It was a great surprise to meet and see all of M's aunties and giggle with my lady friends. We played the game of "telephone" (if you don't know that game, it's where one person whispers something to the person next to them and they repeat that to the next person until you get all the way around and the last person, who was me, then says what they heard). Just as I was about to get the whisper in my ear, my girl spilled her drink all over my dress, so I didn't really get the words. But it turned out the real saying was that at the end of the following February, my best mate and maid of honour Jenny would be moving back to the state. I was so overwhelmed with joy I burst into tears. Happy tears!
We sort of forgot to take photos during my shower until the very end.
That same evening was my Bachelorette party. It was PinUp themed. My girls had a male photographer and a male bartender which we used as props in the photo-booth.
The following day we had our rehearsal. The plan was to get married underneath the willow tree on the rooftop of our venue. But it was raining the night of rehearsal and expected to rain the following day. So we made a snap decision to have our ceremony inside on our dance floor. Though not quite the same feel, we had to do what would be most comfortable for ourselves and most importantly for our guests.
After our rehearsal, my maid of honour, bridesmaids and I stayed at our venue . We had a super fun slumber party. We all stayed in the Safari-themed Suite; each room was decorated with a unique theme. We were missing one bridesmaid who was pregnant and decided to just meet us in the morning rather than partake in our debauchery.
Finally the big day had arrived. I was nervous because even though I had planned and worked out all the details, when the day has finally come, there is only so much you can do to trouble shoot or iron out wrinkles. My whole thought in planning and putting together our day was to make it as simple and error-proof as possible, so, should something come up, it wouldn't be the end of the world or allow it to ruin our day. I had enlisted a very dear friend of mine as my wedding coordinator. I gave her a binder with a check-off list of tasks for her to delegate to our helpers while I and my ladies got ready. She also had a time schedule that included cues to silently communicate with our DJ for certain music and special announcements. She had all the info needed to help the event run seamlessly. Had I not had her, I would have been a complete mess and full of stress. So I'd like to once again thank her for making our day just as perfect as it was. I love you Jen!
The BEST wedding coordinator, Jen and Agent J
I can honestly say our wedding day was pure perfection. A few little hiccups and minor sacrifices were to be had and frankly expected. No real drama broke out and everyone left with smiles. Below is our infamous sofa photo, including a few other formals along with a slide-bar of some of our favorites. At the end of the evening, my bridesmaids surprised us all wearing their slumber party pjs from the night before and making their entrance to the Flash Dance song, Maniac. The final image is of my bridesmaid, Tracy portraying the perfect feeling of wrapping our crazy whirlwind of a weekend.
And here are a few more photos of our wedding.
