Our Wedding- The Ceremony 2

When we met with our Officiant she told us to practice "the kiss!" At first we laughed about it...but then we realized we should practice and be ready to go! She said to make it PG and natural. So, the week before our wedding we came up with "the kiss." It turned out great and it felt natural and soo PG!! It felt like the ceremony just flew by! Before you know it...she was pronouncing us as Husband & Wife!

photo: friend





I really like the colors in this shot...and the shadow of us!












The Bridal Party












Photo Credits: Sight Photography
Please link back to East Coast Wedding when posting these pictures


After viewing many of our ceremony pictures...I never realized how the green flowers...and the groomsmen's ties match the surroundings! The ties match the blue skies perfectly!

Once the ceremony was over and the bridal party exited, we walked back down the aisle and dissmissed our guests. This gave us the opportunity to say a quick hug & hello to our guests. This does take up some time so make sure to plan enough!! I would totally recommend this!

I Heart Deals :)

Today, since I didn't work I decided to go shopping...and I simply wanted to share!

I first hit up Pier One...and snatched up one of these adorable lights...

I purchased it for only 29.98 on sale! Reg. 50.00

Then I strolled over to Borders..with my handy coupons in hand. I grabbed a copy of each of these! I have read from some other bloggers about both of these book so I had to get a copy for myself.


photo credits: Amazon Book Store


Have you read either one of these yet? I am anxious to see "The Time Traveler's Wife" in the theater but I really want to read it first!

Finally..I went to World Market and found many things to buy but only walked out with these! I have been wanting an apron since forever but I haven't found THE one.. I know I wanted something bright and colorful...also, I wanted a 1/2 apron. It looks like a skirt... I ordered my girlfriend one of these from Smocks, as a shower gift...but I didn't want to spend that much on myself...Plus, I know I wouldn't use it that often. When I saw the sale price tag of $9.99 I couldn't say no.

Here is a picture of the collection but I only walked away with the skirt apron. It makes me want to bake some cupcakes! The print is just so FUN!

photo credit: World Market


Here is a picture from Smocks showing the skirt apron I purchased for my friend. I can't wait for her to get it in the mail! Her skirt is way cuter but mine will do for now!




I love coming home with some good deals! Let me know if you are reading these books and what you think!!!

Our Wedding- Wine Boxes

I'm going to jump around a little bit with my recaps..

One DIY project that I was able to complete on time, were the wine boxes. Our guests were asked to sign each box with a message! For our first 5 years of marriage we would open one bottle of wine and read all of our sweet notes from our guests. As you see there are 6 boxes..I know we couldn't wait a whole year for our first bottle so we opened the very 1st one the next day:)

We ordered them in plain natural wood and painted them a simple black. I made a little sign to explain what to do and purchased some silver markers. This was probably the easiest DIY project ever! Again-thank you to my Father for painting!!! If I had more time, I would have purchased a table runner or placed flowers to jazz up the area a bit. Again, It was so hard to do everything living across the country!

Here are a couple of shots!
Before...

photo credit: Friend



After...




Each box was completely full of sweet notes from our amazing guests!

Photo Credit: Sight Photography
Please link back to East Coast Wedding when posting these pictures

We also did a guest book but when I heard about this idea I had to jump on it! It also got our guests up and moving around. We had many compliments on this idea! As to where did we find our wine boxes...I honestly cannot remember! We found a site online..and took a chance!

I was very very pleased with our DIY project!

Our Wedding- Love Birds

I'm so glad you talked me into buying these love birds....my photographer is too!

Photo Credits: Sight Photography
Please link back to East Coast Wedding when posting these pictures

I LOVE MY BIRDS!

I LOVE THESE SHOTS!

I'm thinking of putting these three shots in a frame..Since moving into our new place..I have huge white plain walls screaming for some love!

Our Wedding- The Ceremony 1

Early in the planning stages I shared how we were going to have a hand fasting in our ceremony. I loved what it symbolized and meant. We are now bounded for life! Everyone at our wedding raved about this part and how "unique" it was to watch!

Below are some pictures from our hand fasting ceremony. We used simple gold pieces of rope.

I also loved how two of my bridesmaids assisted with the hand fasting. Each person in our bridal party had something "to do." You can see two of my BMs assisting here below. It was also very warm on our wedding day and I had to occasionally help out my sweetie!




Then, each piece of rope was tied in knots around our hands.

Then, we decided to make a tweak in the ceremony and our minister took off all the knots except for one. This last knot joined my left and his right hand. In the Orthodox Church (my religion) it is custom for the bride and groom to walk around the alter three times. We used a little table which sat an icon, cross and a Bible. Walking around three times symbolized the Holy Trinity and the couples pledging to be together till eternity. We incorporated a lot of Orthodox tradition yet made it our own. We worked very close with our Minister who also did a lot of research to make our ceremony very memorable.

Here is a picture of our two GM's assisting with the table.

Here we are walking around the table.




It was such a beautiful day!




I know our backs are to the camera but I really love how you can see our guests in this picture! Oh and the beautiful sky!


All Photos: Sight Photography
Please link back to East Coast Wedding when posting any of these pictures

Always Learning....

Oh geez my dear blogger friends...You will never believe this!

I developed a lesion type mark on my cheek...about a 1/2 inch wide and it looked like I had burnt myself with a curling iron. I was seen by a Doctor at the resort who spoke maybe ten words of English... Soon as we flew home I went to my dermatologist who is amazing... and within 1 minute of her looking at me and asking me a few questions she immediately diagnosed :) Are you ready for this word...?

phytophotodermatitis

Yep, that is what she said. I needed her to repeat herself a couple of times until I truely understood what she said. Basically, when I took a bite out of the lime...which was in my amazing margarita, the juice of the lime splashed onto my cheeks. Add that to the extreme sun exposure and bam you get a burn. Yep, and then you get this huge lesion on your face. Not cool. I have heard about color discoloration on the hands when cutting limes..etc but nothing to this extent! I looked horrible!!! I am happy to report that after 6 days post burn it has begun to peel and new skin has arrived!

So, I guess a lesson learned:

1. Don't get near limes when in the sunlight, specifically when in Mexico.


On another note, I can not wait to download some pictures of our trip, specifically our room! Those rooms were amazingly beautiful and they had it all decorated for us! I even took the door sash that said "Honeymooners!"

Here is a picture of us doing our First Dance! I can't wait to share more with you all!


Photo Credit: Sight Photography
Please link back to East Coast Wedding when posting this picture

SOOOO who is getting married soon??

We are Home!

Yes, two days early.....no worries....we are okay...more details to come....

but Secrets Maroma was beautiful...the blue waters were gorgeous!





I can't wait to get back to blogging!!

Leaving On a Jet Plane....

Tomorrow morning we will be taking to the skies and heading south to Mexico for our HONEYMOON!!

photo credit: Secrets Resorts


Below is a picture taken at Secrets Capri last summer! We instantly made friends and the bonding began :) We hope to do the same in a couple of days!! We are in the middle!

We will be on our amazing adventure for 7 nights! Do I sound excited? :) I will definitely give a full review with pictures upon our return.

So, take care and chat with you all in 8 days :)

Our Wedding: First Look!

Opps! I forgot to do this post! Okay, so rewind about 2 hours.... I am so glad Darin and I saw each other prior to the ceremony. Honestly, I think I was going through every feeling in the book :) Those moments were priceless!

The Ladies and I were all ready and in position!

Our Groomsmen Will being proactive to make sure Darin doesn't peak!

Okay, so I may have tried to get a quick look in...so the Ladies made sure I was being good!

Here I come!!!




I love this picture! My MOH has a huge smile on her face!




Some of these pictures still need editing...to lighten them up a bit..but I couldn't wait any longer! I had to share some of these!!





All photos: Sight Photography
Please link back to East Coast Wedding when posting these pictures


So, there you have it! Our First Look....and I would totally GO FOR IT if you are thinking about having a First Look :)

Our Wedding: Let it Begin!

I was totally ready at this point to get married! Just the normal butterflies!! My Dad was very cool...not too mushy....I think I would have lost it if he did!

I really love how my dress is blowing in the wind!

All Photos: Sight Photography
Please link back to East Coast Wedding when posting these pictures


Here we are! It was amazing to see all of our family and friends together! We had such beautiful weather for our wedding day!

Our Wedding: Anniversary Dance

When we spoke with our DJ Jen, from Phantom Shadow..it was very important that we included the "Anniversary Dance." It targets most of your guests and gets them on the dance floor. We knew ahead of time who the winner would be and purchased them a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant. Let me introduce to you my adopted Grandparents! John and Helen!

Just guess how many years they have been married?

photo credit: Sight Photography
please link back to East Coast Wedding when posting these pictures


I love this picture...

This couple did a lot of dancing in their prime! Every church picnic...social events...we would always see those two on the dance floor. We were so blessed that they were able to come to our wedding. It is so hard to see people you love get older...

oh, and 66 years....

thats right!

John still spoils her to this day...that is his Princess!


side note! If you live in Central PA...Jen from Phantom Shadow was amazing and fun to work with!

Kingston is so Happy!

Yes, this is soo non wedding related ..but I had to share the good news!!






It seriously has been stressful taking Kingston on the planes...he is small enough to go with us but he hates being in the small travel bag. We have tried about 12 different medications but nothing seems to work. I think we were equally as stressed :) When he was a little puppy..he tolerated the plane ride but as has gotten older things have drastically changed. This just might be our answer to our prayers.

They fly out of Los Angeles (yay!), Denver, Washington DC and New York. Prices range from 149-299 one way. In the past we have used United and US Airways and the prices are always changing. Once we paid 100.00 ...then over Christmas they raised the cost to 200.00 one way. Also, the airlines are so rude to us when we bring Kingston along. They could care less that your pet is freaking out and going nutz! So, personally we would rather pay the extra for the extra care and love they are offering the furry pets. Less stress = more peace!

The company is already booked for the first 2 months! We better book our Christmas tickets asap! Go to www.petairways.com

It is a beautiful day in the South Bay! I hope you are all having a great week!

Our Wedding: Moo Cards

One of the last things I ordered were Moo Cards. I decided to use these cuties as an opportunity to share donation information with our guests. Take a peak!

I chose 5 different pictures to use of Kingston. Some of our guests were trying to get all 5! Like it was a collector's item! I was lucky enough to grab these 2! In the end..I am very happy we chose this route versus a traditional wedding favor.

I was very happy with the quality, price and the time it took to order/ship. They are small so make sure to check out the measurements first prior to ordering. There are many different ways to use these adorable Moo Cards.

Mrs. Candycorn from WeddingBee used them as placecards, which you can find right here. Or you could make trivia cards like Mrs. Kitten did from WeddingBee found here.

So, there are no limits to what you could use them for!

Aviator Trend & An Err Moment

So, I have been noticing something lately.... everyone is wearing aviators!!! Where have I been ? I need to go pick up a pair asap. Anybody recommend a specific brand? These are the photos I have come across that have inspired this spontaneous purchase :)

photo credit: Leslie Gilbert Photography



Photo Credit: Raw Photo Design




Photo Credit: Katherine Salvatori Photography



Have a great weekend everyone! We are still unpacking...errrr and I came home today from work to find our garage in the condo complex was broken into lastnight and they stole everyone's bicycles....except for mine...so, what does that say? I guess my bike wasn't cool enough? We have only lived here for 2 weeks...and already theft!