in sickness and in health

hi there friends! as far as wedding posts go, this'll be the meat and potatoes - the ceremony, the portraits, a lot of kisses. if lots of smooching isn't your bag, this may not be up your alley. but let's not waste any time, shall we?

sam's little sister, sheila, is one of my absolute favorite people of all time - she's hilarious, smart, sweet and wise way beyond her years. we asked her to serve as the minister for us, and she wrote some really beautiful vows. i have no idea what she and sam are giggling about.

sam's older sister, rita, led her daughter and sam's niece, sunny, down the aisle as our flower girl and she was perfect! she can be a shy kid so it was a nice surprise that she seemed to really enjoy it. (and you can see our moms in the front row! my beautiful mama on the left side, and sam's seated on the right.)

my beautiful bridesmaids. (a better look at them soon.) my older sister, emily, is wearing my cutie-pie nephew pete, esther is in yellow, then ashlee, erika, rachel, amy and katie.

sam waits with his groomsmen (his best man is his older brother mike, and then his friends johannes [who makes a mean lobster roll,] brendan, tj, tommy, ryan, and mike) and my poppa walks my down the aisle.












honestly, i can barely remember the vows. i was just staring at sam, grinning like an idiot. i remember he had a hard time getting the ring over my knuckle, and i remember saying i do, and trying not to kiss him too hard in front of all our friends and family. we walked back into the house, hugged everyone we could get our hands on, and then went back out for portraits.




first up, bridesmaids! emily is my older sister, in the red; esther my younger sister, in yellow; ashlee is an old friend from chicago, in the seafoam and headscarf; katie, in blue, introduced sam and i in brooklyn; rachel, another friend from chicago whom i followed to new york, is in the bright green; and erika, the brunette in purple, is another dear friend from chicago, as is amy, the blonde in purple who now lives in portland, oregon. whew! i told them all to pick a bright color and get whatever dress they wanted, so long as the hemline came to their knees-ish. i'm really happy with the way all the colors turned out. and i have to give a HUGE thank you to seychelles - the sweetest people ever - they outfitted not only me, but several of my bridesmaids in the shoes of our choosing and i am so delighted with mine!


that's my sam.


the whole crew.


and now, forgive me, but a round of obligatory sam and audrey kissy shots:




i changed into my original dress for the end of the photos and the reception - much better for dancing (and much less of a disaster if i spilled something on it.)

my siblings and i. . . (colin, my little brother, is on the left, then emily, me, and esther,)

and my wonderful parents.


all right. . . i'll wrap up tomorrow. thank you guys so much for all your sweet words, as always - i really have the nicest readers ever, it always blows me away. if anyone has any questions about anything or would like advice, i'm happy to chat, anytime.


yep, that's me, blowing the jump shot.