Tuesday, July 12, 2011

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.
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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.)
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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.
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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.
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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.


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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!

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that's my sam.
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the whole crew.
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and now, forgive me, but a round of obligatory sam and audrey kissy shots:

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

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

30 comments:

  1. Such Beautiful pictures! Your bridesmaids look Fabulous! I Love the colorful dresses.

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  2. OMG. I want to steal all your details! I love the multi colored dresses. So beautiful and creative!

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  3. Audrey, what a lovely wedding! I love the simple elegance, and all of the personal touches that you seemed to bring to the ceremony and reception. Also, I am over the moon about the flowers. I am not a huge fan of matchy-matchy bouquets and centerpieces, and yours all seem like such organic, happy blends.

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  4. Beautiful! Last picture - it looks like Esther is attached to a post holding her up.... interestingly funny.

    Still aching that we couldn't be there to share with you all.

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  5. You look beautiful and I love that you let the bridesmaids do their own thing! The photo of you hanging from Sam's neck is the cutest thing EVER! A million congrats!

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  6. OH MY!! These are just beautiful. You are just glowing and look gorgeous!! Congrats lady. It looks like it was truly a magical day.

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  7. my faves are you kissing under the tree. i'm guessing when it was announced, "you may kiss the bride", & on the right i can see the swing. very precious pix of a precious day!

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  8. I love them all! I love that you had your bridesmaids pick their own color of dress; it's all so pretty and wildflower-y. You and Sam are SUCH a cute couple. I kept scrolling down and thinking "that's my favorite-- wait, no, that one is--wait, no, that one..." Beautiful pictures!

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  9. Gorgeous- and judging from your earlier outfit posts, so you! Congrats!

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  10. i just love how happy and relaxed you all look. congrats!

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  11. so beautiful!! so glad to see the wedding pictures, it's really lovely (:

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  12. Here are my random thoughts:
    I love baby Pete's scowl as he peeks out!
    I also love the swing! Please tell me you got pictures on the swing.
    You're the loveliest bride. You're just simple radiating.
    It's so cool and unique that your bridesmaids aren't all matchy matchy too.
    Your family all look SOOO different (but all beautiful).
    I would love to see a picture of your shoes.

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  13. Audrey,

    Of all the blogs I follow, yours is my favorite. You're so beautiful, yet so unpretentious. You appreciate the fine things in life, but understand that the finest things are things you cannot put in your hands. Of everything out there, yours is the most personable, and it's definitely not because you try to be, but because you're just...you.

    Thank you for putting your heart out there, and for sharing it with us! Congratulations on your wedding...my husband and I have been married 2 1/2 years and it's the best decision I ever made :) Your pictures turned out beautiful and I can't wait to see the rest!

    xoxo
    Jamie

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  14. You are an absolutely stunning bride! Loved your dress and the bridesmaids dresses! The lovey photos of you and your husband are beautiful. Thanks for sharing. :) I also hope you post more photos of the reception party & you wearing the second dress as well.

    <3
    JV

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  15. very beautiful photos! I love how the bridesmaid dresses are all different colours and styles, yet they are perfectly coordinated. congratulations!

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  16. oh audrey, i love looking at wedding photos, especially yours. you can see what care you took to pay attention to the details, which really are the things that people will remember. i love that you allowed your bridesmaids freedom to pick something they all look beautiful in. the bright colors just added to your radiance and the happy occasion of the day. i love all their shoes too....please say you have a shoe picture.....

    something about your wedding reminds me of my sister's wedding, which was also outside on a vineyard. the big tree.....the natural setting...and you allowed it to do all the work for you in terms of ambience. and, this also reminds me of my wedding (almost 13 years ago now)....not too overdone....just right.

    thanks for stopping in at my blog, too. i love reading yours so much, it means a great deal to have you read and comment on mine.
    xo
    n

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  17. These are really just...so beautiful. Two of my favorites are that color shot of you and your dad (right under the two black and whites) and the photo of you and Sam hugging indoors after the ceremony. You guys had a fabulous photographer! I also love your little veiled hat, the multicolored bridesmaid dresses and the amazing flowers!

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  18. @Emma thank you so much honey! @Laura haha, feel free to steal! i think they loved getting to choose a dress that they'd wear in real life. @Kate i feel the same way about flowers. paula (the florist) was awesome - i kind of mumbled something about wildflowers and wanting something a little more organic looking and she put together these masterpieces, in mason jars and all - exactly what i had pictured in my head but didn't have the knowledge to articulate.

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  19. @Angel we missed you guys!! esther's got mad hops, huh?

    @FutureLint thank you thank you! it's one of my favorites too. so happy my face looks like it could crack open.

    @jenloveskev thank you!! it really went so much better than i could have hoped for.

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  20. @Teddi yeah, i think those are my favorites, too. :-) between sam and i it's hard to get a portrait where one of us isn't laughing or making a weird face. we got SO LUCKY with his parents backyard - who has an apple tree with an actual swing in it?? @Mara thank you so, so much! i pretty much grin like an idiot whenever i see any of them. i'm lucky to have such a hot, fashionable group as friends for bridesmaids.

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  21. @SJ thank you so much! @Juneper thank you! it was a lot of work to do so much ourselves but our personalities definitely came through, which meant so much to me.

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  22. @jenvegasthankyou!! definitely photos of the reception to come. i'm trying to figure out if i should keep the second dress as a momento or maybe dye it to try to make it more wearable in the future. . . @Rachael i LOVE that photo of pete glaring at the photographer. hilarious. he's the cutest kid but he seems to have something against cameras. haha, well, we got some photos on the swing, but the photographer insisted that i not sit on it so that my dress didn't get ruined, so i'm kind of leaning over sam while he sits and. . . well. . . the ladies make a little too much of an appearance, if you know what i mean. it's awkward. i'm going to try to dig up a photo of the shoes - i'm realizing now that i didn't request one and i reallly should have one. . .

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  23. @jamie i checked my email this morning, still in bed, and saw this comment and maybe because i was half asleep, but it actually made me kind of teary-eyed. what incredibly kind and generous words. it really means so, so much to me. congratulations to you and your husband and i wish you guys all the happiness in the world - with the sweetness you've shared with me, it sounds like he's a very lucky man. xoxo

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  24. @Norbyah thank you so much for this! i know. . . digging for a shoe picture as we speak. . .

    we got so lucky with the weather - i can't imagine how it would have been if nature hadn't cooperated so thoroughly. i think the casualness of the wedding was really my favorite part. . . there was nothing stuffy about it, the ceremony itself lasted about 5 minutes, and mostly it just felt like a big party.

    i love your blog. you seem like such a sweet woman and your kids are absolutely precious. it's nice to get a peek into your life.

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  25. @suzie wuzie thank you! i got lucky - i just told them to pick what they wanted and they are such fantastically beautiful and stylish women that they pulled it off without a hitch.

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  26. These are so gorgeous! You all looked amazing and so happy! I love your dress and headpiece and I'm totally jealous of all of the fab shoes, can't wait to see your pair. I really wanted to get married under a big old tree, too perfect!

    Krystle
    http://dearwinsome.blogspot.com/

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  27. youre gorgeous
    and i need that yellow dress your sister has on

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  28. congratulations! so gorgeous! I just came across your blog. i can't believe you did it all yourself. that's so amazing!! wishing you all the best and joy for a lifetime together.

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  29. @dear winsome i'm super bummed i don't have a shoe picture! we really got so lucky - that swing has been in their backyard since they were kids but it looks straight out of a painting.

    @nic it's from j crew! she found it on ebay.

    @aisha thank you so so much!

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  30. Ohw my God, the more I scroll down on your blog the more I love your wedding. It looks so great. And it looks like you really have the best day of your life. I adore your wedding dress but also the ones of your bridesmaids. Well done!

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