The Wedding: Food, Cake and Good Times

When it came to the reception, like the rest of the wedding, S. Monster and I wanted it to be an intimate celebration. A time for family and friends to get to know one another and enjoy themselves. After all, what is a reception if not a kick ass party?

We found a gorgeous historic bed and breakfast a mere 10 minute walk from the church. The site was divided into 3 “sections” if you will. Inside, people could lounge around on comfy couches and oversized Victorian chairs. Outside, there was a huge wrap around veranda where people could sit at large wicker tables while taking in the scenes from the courtyard. The courtyard housed the band, the bar and the action. It was there, under a canopy of stars and twinkle light covered trees that we danced the night away.

{view from the courtyard}
Where the ceremony was a celebration of S. Monster and I, the reception was a celebration of our loved ones. It was infused with equal parts our personalities and those of our families. While the guest book might have been in honor of our soon to be new home (it was a coffee table book of Ireland), it was surrounded by the wedding photos of the people who showed us the value of marriage--our parents and grandparents.


The food was the other big area where we paid homage to our heritages and each other. Bite sized appetizers, a blend of Hispanic, Italian and Southern cuisine, was served throughout the evening and we made sure that regardless of where you were, food was easily accessible. We had butler passed h’dourves, various food stations set up in the courtyard and a buffet of scrumptious fare inside (one of my favorites was the Risotto Balls we served which was the meal S. Monster cooked for me that ultimately won me over)


{The bonds of new friendships being forged over good food, good times and quite a bit of alcohol}

Speaking of delicious food, our cake was, in a word, AWESOME! It was an unexpected additional expense since initially we weren’t planning on doing anything fancy. It’s strange to think that a few layers of cake and butter cream frosting could capture our relationship so perfectly, yet that’s exactly what it did.



Add to that a few custom cake toppers by the very talented Lauren Alane Bradshaw and we had the most swoon worthy scrumptious piece of awesome perfection EVER (of course it is quite possible that I am a teeny tiny bit biased)

{I love, love LOVE everything about this cake! Have I mentioned that already?}


{Booyah! Bring on the dancing...!!!}

The Wedding: The space in between

Our wedding, like every wedding, had a few minor mishaps along the way. There was the fender bender the morning of my little sister got in, the hostile and rude church coordinator we had to deal with, keys (and all the bridesmaids belongings/purses) getting locked inside the transportation, S. Monster and I getting left behind at the church, losing our photographer for 45 minutes, etc. etc...........

Ultimately though none of it mattered and none of it bothered me the day of. At the end of the day all those little things that went wrong only added to the charm and uniqueness that was our wedding day. Despite our little bumps we had the most amazing time and, if I do say so myself, still got quite a few gorgeous photos!

I love this series of intimate shots taken right after the ceremony

This is one of my favorite photos

who doesn't love a spiral staircase?

And last but not least, our ridiculously good looking bridal party 

The Wedding: The Ceremony

For me, the ceremony is the most important part  of the wedding day. It's the declaration of your love, and affirmation of your commitment to one another before God,  family and friends. 

What made our ceremony so special was the intimate gestures made by  our family and friends. It was all of their heartfelt contributions-- from playing the harp, to singing a duet, to giving beautiful readings--that made this event truly unforgettable. 

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
Oh, no! it is an ever-fixéd mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come'
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
-Shakespeare 

We, unaccustomed to courage

exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

- "Touched by an Angel" by Maya Angelou 

After two of S. Monster's sisters gave readings, his other sister and aunt performed a duet...

Tomorrow morning if you wake up
and the sun does not appear
I will be here
If in the dark, we lose sight of love
Hold my hand, and have no fear
'Cause I will be here

I will be here
When you feel like being quiet
When you need to speak your mind
I will listen
And I will be here
When the laughter turns to cryin'
Through the winning, losing and trying
We'll be together
I will be here

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up
And the future is unclear
I will be here
Just as sure as seasons were made for change
Our lifetimes were made for these years
So I will be here

I will be here
And you can cry on my shoulder
When the mirror tells us we're older
I will hold you
And I will be here
To watch you grow in beauty
And tell you all the things you are to me
I will be here

I will be true to the promise I have made
To you and to the One who gave you to me

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up
And the sun does not appear
I will be here
Oh, I will be here.
-"I will be here" by Steven Curtis Chapman

Our ceremony was perfectly imperfect. There were tears of joy, cute nervous mishaps and laughter.  Never before had I felt so at peace nor been so absolutely certain that everything was as it should be. 

We are officially a "Mr. & Mrs." now!

Can I get a 'woot woot'!?!

[last image by our good friend Alec Rojas]

The Wedding: The start of a new beginning

I was anxious and a wee bit nervous waiting in the back of the church, yet with my mom, sisters and best friends at my side I managed to stay calm.

We laughed until we cried and even cried a little until we laughed. I was overjoyed to be in the midst of so much love, laughter and support.

 

As ecstatic as I was, a part of me felt, I don't know... nostalgic, I suppose, and as soon as I saw my father standing nearby, waiting to walk me down the aisle, it hit me. Hard. 

I was awestruck at the bittersweet reality of the moment. Life passes us by so quickly. It felt like only yesterday I was a child who loved spending time with the most important man in my life: my father. And even though I was standing there next to him as a grown woman,  I could see in his eyes how hard it was for him to let go of his little girl. Part of me wanted to stay that way. 

Ultimately though, in those few quiet moments, I knew that I would always be his little girl no matter how grown up I may appear. As I prepared to walk down the aisle, I tucked away every precious moment I had with him into a corner of my heart, never to be forgotten.

Then the Chapel doors opened and my father took my hand, and I stepped out toward a beautiful new beginning... 

The beginning of the end: long overdue

I can’t believe how much time has past since the wedding. It still seems like a beautiful surreal dream that happened only last night! These past few months have simply flown by in one exciting, nerve wracking, disorienting blur.

That said, it’s simply shameful what I’ve done to this poor blog. Here it lies, abandoned and unfinished! The truth is, I’m not sure what exactly happened. Ever since I started this blog I couldn’t wait to share all the photos and details from the wedding… then it happened one magical balmy Floridian night….and now here we are almost 4 months later…...

I obviously tried to start the recap (please note previous entries) but then, as you might have noticed, I just stopped (which p.s. I hate when other people do that crap. Just when things start to get good they go AWOL….hmm note to self: this is what it feels like the call the kettle “black”)! I just got to a point where I couldn’t write anymore….the words wouldn’t come and then of course as time went on it became easier to simply ignore the situation then deal with it (which by the way is clearly the best way to handle all situations) so that’s what I did—until now.

Grumpy and freezing my bum off this morning on the way to the gym I had a revelation of sorts (induced no doubt by a still asleep subconscious)….The truth is that after the wedding my life changed so drastically overnight that I’ve had a much harder time adjusting then I thought I would.

Now don’t misunderstand me. With S. Monster I am frenetically happy [He is after all the peanut butter to my jelly, the hammer to my time, the sun to my shine....you get the idea]

I mean honestly, in the time it took you to read this post I quit my job, got married, moved to a new country, had to settle into a new home, attempt to make all new friends and try to find a new job….(wow just typing that makes me want a drink [or two] right about now)

As uber lame as I know this next statement is going to sound, I think I found myself incapable of finishing the wedding recap because this blog is my last remaining tie to the life I knew. Once it’s done it will be time to move on to a new blog and a new exciting chapter in the book of FuriKuri.

So finally, in its entirety, here is the rest of my wedding. Please enjoy!

The Wedding: Us Girls

A couple of shots before we headed into the church...