2012 February 19

Ben and Ashley’s wedding morning started early with 7:00am appointments at the salon for the bride and her bridal party. A 1:00pm ceremony meant we had to be ready for the first round of ‘getting dressed’ photos by 10:30am.

7 girls + 3 hairstylists + 1 make-up artist = just over 3 hours of beauty making magic.

Ashley’s mother arranged for a beautiful breakfast display of Sunrise Bakery goodies, fruit, and mimosas for everyone to nibble and sip on as we had our hair pulled and faces made up.

The perfect excuse to use our new glasses.

The bride had the honor of popping the bubbly

Every morning should begin with mimosas.

I nabbed my favorite orange date scone and a generous helping of fruit.

Ashley had provided the salon with a photo of a braided hairstyle she had pinned and loved for all of the bridesmaids. Since the stylists already knew what to do with everyone’s hair, the process went relatively quickly.

Chelsea and Amanda went first and looked absolutely adorable in the chic up-do.

There was a tiny hiccup when the stylist got to mine and Kelly’s thick hair, but she made it work.

They saved the best for last.

I loved Ashley’s loose front swoop and low bun of curls. It was perfect.

She really didn’t need the make-up – she was already glowing!

Bridesmaids ready to go!

We left the salon and headed to Ashley’s house to change and take a few getting ready photos with the photographer. Seeing Ashley slip the dress on with her hair and make-up done and the veil in place was definitely had me wiping a few tears away. We did a mini-toast to the bride and made sure Ashley ate a granola bar before she left the house.

Ashley and Ben opted for an intimate first look with only the two of them and the photographer in attendance. While the two of them did their first look at a nearby park, the bridesmaids and groomsmen got to work decorating the getaway cars.

Yes – carS. Ashley and Ben really wanted to leave the ceremony in Ben’s VW Beetle, which he restored in high school and took her out in their first date in, but there’s no way the bug would have made the 25 minute trip to the reception site. Plus, the bug doesn’t have AC – a BIG no, no for wedding day hair!

So instead of making the entire trip in the bug, Ben and Ashley decided to just circle the block, then return to the parking lot to take Ashley’s car to the reception site.

Fine by us, double the cars = double the fun.

The bug had to be ‘picture appropriate’ but Ashley’s car was a no holds bar.

Blow-up condoms? Why not.

All ready for the newlyweds!

I’ll be back with the ceremony and reception!

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It’s official!

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My baby brother is now a husband and Ashley is his beautiful wife.

What a crazy-wonderful weekend filled with love, family, and happiness. I am so happy for my brother and his new wife and wish them nothing but the best in their bright future together.

I’m so sorry I kinda disappeared this weekend, but family and wedding stuff sorta took over. I’m back now and am ready to tell all the tales of ‘wedding weekend’ – starting with Friday night’s rehearsal.

This wedding was a lot of firsts for me – the first time I’ve been a bridesmaid, the first time I’ve attended a rehearsal, the first time I’ve been in wedding photos, etc. – so I really went into the rehearsal and wedding day not really knowing what to expect.

We all met at the church at 5:00pm on Friday night and got straight to business.

Since the priest was unable to attend the pre-planned Friday night rehearsal, the bride and groom had a low-key rehearsal with him on Wednesday night. They had some idea on what they were doing and their job was to instruct the rest of us on what the heck we were doing.

I thought the rehearsal would be easy – we all walk down the aisle, watch Ben and Ashley practice saying I do, and rush to dinner to get the party started. Wrong. There are a lot of perfectly planned elements in a wedding that I’ve never even considered as guest before.

Such as the timing (and order) of seating the grandparents of the bride and groom and the seating of the parents of the groom and mother of the bride

Or the order and release of the groomsmen

And even the right pace for walking down the aisle (apparently I’m a fast walker!)

My brother and Ashley opted for a traditional Catholic ceremony, which included a full mass and communion.

We had to rehearse the timing of the chairs for the bride and groom.

As well as how the bridesmaids and groomsmen entered and exited the pews for the seated and kneeling parts of the ceremony.

Then came the easy part – our departures!

I had a pretty hot escort.

Then it was party time.

My parents hosted the bridal party, their dates, and immediate family at Fish Lips in Port Canaveral for the rehearsal dinner.

My big mistake of the evening was having two New Castles. I’m such a light weight.

Dinner was served buffet style and included seasonal veggies, roasted potatoes, pork, fish, chicken, caprese salad, and a vegetable platter. I know my parents had fun selecting the menu and I think they did a great job – everything was delicious.

I snuck a piece of tiramasu for dessert.

After dinner Ashley and Ben gave a lovely speech thanking all of their family and loved ones for making this day possible.

Then they handed out a few gifts

To each set of parents

The groomsmen

And the bridesmaids

Ben and Ashley did great with the gifts!

I know my brother worked hard building each of the alcohol-filled planters he gave to the groomsmen. Each one was ‘sprouting’ with mini-bottles of liquor, 2 cigars, and a flask.

Ashley has GREAT taste and presented each of the bridesmaids with beautiful hand painted wine glasses that she ordered from Etsy.

One side of each glass displays our names and the wedding date

And the other has hand painted portraits of our dresses.

You really can’t tell in the photo of the glasses above, but the details of the paintings are amazing – right down to the bow on my dress and the one missing from Kelly’s (my bridesmaid dress had a bow and Kelly’s did not). Amazing. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Ashley!

The rehearsal dinner ended quietly around 9:00pm. Afterwards we all headed home to prep for our early wake-up calls. Less than 24-hrs to go until Ben and Ashley were husband and wife!

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