Wedding Photos: Cocktail Reception

I was going to launch right into the reception photos, but some of my favorite moments were captured during the cocktail reception. In the above photo, I simply remember being deliciously happy in that moment. 

Wedding: The Ceremony

Let's pick up the wedding photos, shall we? My, my it's been a while, and I believe that I last left it at "The Gents." Dum, da, dum . . . the ceremony photos. I really loved how the evening turned out. The weather was gorgeous, the lighting of the candles and fire were just perfect, and the piping hot drinks welcoming the guests set just the right mood. As I stepped out to walk to Philip, it was an intimate setting of close friends and family to witness our moment. Just what we had hoped for . . .

My lovely in-laws. Gosh, I really am a lucky lady; they are wonderful and have quickly grown to become some of my favorite people.

Wedding: The Gents

Boy opening his presents. Remember them here? 

Wedding: Ladies Getting Ready

When someone asks me how the wedding went, I exclaim that I would totally do it again (with the same man, of course). It wasn't just the ceremony, but the moments leading up to it. Moments with my family, friends, and my bridesmaids.  

After a solo drive to finesse my vows, I spent the morning sipping mimosas with my ladies.  Whoever said that weddings are stressful? Not here! 

Wedding: The Setting and Details

Well, let's kick off these wedding photos, shall we? We wed at King Family Vineyard right outside Charlottesville, VA. What a sunset to commence our wedding!

King Family was in a long line of potential venues, but I sure did have my heart set on it. They were tireless in ensuring that our day went off without a hitch, and not to mention, their wine selections are amazing. 

Originally, I had planned to arrange my own flowers,  but a lovely friend introduced me to the creator of The Arrangement Company. I sent her photos of my inspiration, and she replicated it perfectly. The flowers were, hands down, one of my favorite aspects of the wedding. 

Wedding Photos

Psst . . . wedding photos are coming later this week.

Photo Booth

As our wedding favor, we decided to go with photos from a photo booth. We set it up right outside our reception, and everyone loved it! I first saw this idea back in 2008 at my friend Court's wedding; she's obviously too cool and thought of this idea before it was trending. Thank you Firefly Imageworks!

Here are some of my favorite shots.

Signature Cocktails

(photo source unknown) 

One of my favorite things about our wedding was our signature cocktails- the PSM and CNM- titled by our initials. Our lovely friend, Sally, created a sweet little bar menu with descriptions of the cocktails and our list of spirits. The PSM was a Manhattan, Philip’s favorite drink, and the CNM was a French 75. Ironically, all the male wedding guests I bumped into were drinking Manhattans, and  the women seemed to take a liking to the French 75s. Manhattans are fairly straightforward; I’m sure Philip would say otherwise. I found the recipe for my drink on Saveur, and I’d love to share it with you.

Homemade Graham Crackers

(photo via Lemons and Lima Beans) 

I am going to start a series of posts for recipe sharing. I know, I know . . . you're thinking "but Caitlyn, boy does all the cooking." Well, hopefully this series will inspire me to get back in the kitchen after a long hiatus. (And for your information, I was feeling so domestic the other night I whipped up goat cheese and rosemary stuffed chicken- so there!). 

Oh and did I mention that all the recipes will come from my good friend Ashleigh's blog, Lemons and Lima Beans? She's an amazing cook with a discerning sweet tooth leaning towards all things coconut. Every Wednesday or so, I'll be sharing one of her recipes. 

Wedding: Gifts (boy)

(photo via Firefly Imageworks) 

For boy’s wedding gifts from me . . . 

 

*he received monogrammed cuff-links of my initials C (Caitlyn) and N (Nicole), and of course, he wore them to the wedding (via Forever Urban).  

Wedding: Gifts

(photo via Firefly Imageworks, our amazing photographer)

Oddly enough, I want to share some of the presents we gave to friends and family that joined us on our wedding day. I found this task particularly difficult. I wanted the gifts to be ceremonial and symbolic, but with my minimalist tendencies, I tried to find a balance of practicality as well.

Sneak Peak: Wedding Photos

More coming soon . . . 

Wedding Tunes

Let's talk wedding, shall we? I have so many things I want to share, but firstly, one of the most difficult decisions for us was the music selection. Since we didn't get married in a church, we were limited to simply using a sound system, rather than instruments. I think it turned out lovely though; I hope our wedding guests would agree. Here are some of the songs we chose . .  .

Honeymoon Photos

Well,  it's my first day back at work, and I'm still dreaming of sandy beaches, Pina Coladas, and grilled lobsters. I'd love to share some photos with you of our honeymoon in Jamaica. We wanted to stray away from the 'all inclusive' experience, and when I stumbled upon Jake's Hotel in a bridal magazine, I knew it was just the ticket. About three hours from Kingston and located centrally in Treasure Beach, the resort was the perfect location for relaxing and romancing.

 Our first room- Starfish was oceanside and had an outdoor shower- amazing at sunset. 

Later in the week, we upgraded to Abalone- complete with private balcony

Bachelorette Weekend

Chicago was amazing! Boy doesn't know it yet, but the city climbed to my short list of places for our next move. Mid Westerners are so gregarious, and even though it is a huge city, I felt like I was walking around in 'their town.' And, gosh, my friends are so lovely. I am so smitten with the love they showed me. From home cooked meals, cocktails galore, lovely dinners out, dancing the night away, and even to embarrassing sashes and odd bachelorette games, they are the sweetest of friends. Thanks Elizabeth and Leah- love you ladies.    

Weekend Plans

(photo via )

What are your weekend plans? I'm heading to Chicago for a Bachelorette weekend with two of my bridesmaids who lovingly surprised me with a girls' weekend. I cannot wait to see their faces, clink toasts with them, and laugh until I'm exhausted. Here are some of the things we'll be up to . . .

Wedding: 2 things

I just finished updating our wedding website, using The Knot. I wish I had time to make all the changes and additions I'd want up there, but alas this will have to do . . . what do you think?

Wedding Question

(dress via Weddingdress) 

Despite my worry and moaning, it looks like my dress will work out after all. Can I just say, Woo Hoo!? It was a rough go there for a while. Now onto the business at hand . . .

Bridal Photos

I'd love to share some photos with you of my bridal shoot. I'm wildly in love with how these came out, and I owe it all to the lovely BMP, my good friend Brooke. She was a superb director and photographer, making me feel at ease as giant beetles crawled up the tree stumps just waiting to attack me- eek.

These will be a gift for boy; don't worry, he has strict instructions to not browse the blog these next few weeks.

On self pity

It’s been almost a month since I last posted. Heavens, how time does fly. I have about three posts sitting in my draft box just waiting to be posted, but alas, time has not been on my side these last few weeks. Wedding planning is in full gear; oh, and did I tell you that I was in Ethiopia for work these last couple weeks? I just returned Saturday, and it was an amazing time. More on that later . . .