Beyond the sea: Wedding morning

Oh my! Apologies for the belated posts. I was planning to have them go up one after another, but things on the home front (hint hint) took an unexpected turn toward busy last week… Also, I meant to recap in only three posts, but I’m already on the third post and John and I haven’t even seen each other yet. Sooooo, please indulge me — I only get one wedding :)

I stayed up a little later than I would have liked the night before our wedding, but it was for a good reason – I had finished all of my notes for special people (parents, bridesmaids, readers) earlier that afternoon, but I hadn’t had a chance to write John’s. We have written some pretty epic letters throughout our eight-year history, and I knew that I couldn’t just dash this one off as I was getting dressed for the rehearsal. So yes, even though it cost me a half an hour of sleep, it was worth it.

But oh my, morning came early! I am not one of those people that normally hops out of bed chipper, and when the alarm went off at 6:15, even the excitement of W Day didn’t stop me from hitting snooze once or twice. When I did roll out of bed, I simply washed my face, tucked the last few things in my overnight bag, and hopped in the car with my mom and sisters.

A few minutes later, still in the gray of the morning, we arrived at the Steamboat Inn, where Tia, our hair and makeup magician, was waiting for us. (She was looking chipper enough for all of us!)

Once we had set down our things in the spacious room, she immediately went to work curling our hair in big metal clips one by one. In between turns on the chair, we scavenged breakfast from upstairs (I had half a tomato asiago bagel with cream cheese, a hard boiled egg, and some fruit) and chatted. My special playlist was perfect!

John’s two sisters arrived around 7:45 and were slotted into the hair lineup, too. As soon as all of the curls were set, Tia immediately went to work on our faces. The funniest part? She decided that we all needed eyebrow tweezing, and it was the first time for four out of six of us! My brows have never looked so good… I just wish she lived in North Carolina for maintenance!!

In between turns in the chair, we pooled all of the bridesmaid jewelry options and picked pieces for each lady. I also laid out all of the “details” Tanja might want to photograph — invitation, save the date, ring bearer bowl, clutch, shoes, etc. — and snuck away for a few quiet moments to transcribe my toast and vows onto index cards.

Marget made those gorgeous maps — aren’t they lovely?

In case you can’t see, we decided on simply “grateful” (and our wedding date) for the inscription on our ring bearer bowl.

Beautiful Brisa and my pretty shoes!

I also found a moment to check Instagram, and happened to see a photo of downtown Mystic posted by MacKenzie just a few minutes earlier. After a few exchanged texts, we met up outside our suite and they had a chance to greet everyone before heading over to the house to shoot some B roll.

Tanja arrived to begin shooting at 11, and we all ate lunch at around noon – a platter of wraps and chips (and cookies!) from a gourmet market down the street. I was hungry, and would have eaten more had Tia not been itching to start on my makeup! :)

Let me just say this for the record — Tia is a master at her craft. We basically nodded at each other and said things like “loose curls” and “soft swoop” and “pretty eyes” for a few minutes, and then a half an hour later, I had exactly the look I was wishing for. She is so kind and funny, too!

After I slipped on my gown (with a little help — and a few tears — from mom), it was time to open John’s present. The sentiment of his note was so sweet, but what cracked me up was that he had written it on a notepad from his company! Not the most romantic choice of stationery, but I’ll take it.

His gift was oh so sweet, too — a five-diamond necklace which I happily traded for the pearl one I had been wearing.

I remember getting excited at that point, though hilariously not specifically for the wedding, but more because I was about to step foot on “my” property for the first time!! (If you haven’t read the story of this house, you must do so now!) Of course, I was thrilled about seeing John, too, and got more and more excited as we stuffed my tulle into the station wagon and made the quick drive through the streets of downtown Mystic…

To be continued! :)

Photographer: Tanja Lippert / Videographer: Inkspot Crow Films / Day-of-Coordinator: Diana Chouinard of Jubilee Events / Hair and Makeup Artist: Tia Reagan / Save the Dates: Minted / Invitations: Magpie Paper Works / Invitation Calligraphy: MM Ink / Ring bearer bowl: Paloma’s Nest / Bride’s Dress: “Brisa” by Christos / Bride’s Shoes: “Paladin” by Nina from 6pm.com / Bride’s Earrings: “Toulouse” by Nina / Bride’s Necklace: Blue Nile / Bride’s Veil: Chaviano Couture / Bridesmaid Dresses: “2834” by Dessy