Lobster, Steak and Cake!

First, let me say I'm sorry for taking so long to finish my wedding re-cap. Now that I think of it, I realize I never finished my honeymoon re-cap either. Still a few good posts in this old bee, but this is my busiest season at work and I've been swamped. So, now back to our regularly scheduled re-cap!

Mmmm...three of my favorite things! After the toasts, the sun began to set and our guests enjoyed their meal.


(we took over the second floor for the evening)

We arranged with the restaurant to offer four menu choices. This is one of the perks of hosting your reception at a restaurant -- they do this every day and can be more accommodating about choices.

Sautéed Statler Chicken Breast
Mushroom Trio, Prosciutto, Green Olives, Sherry, Herbed Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus



Grilled Beef Tenderloin
Lobster Béarnaise Sauce, Roasted Ratatouille and Saffron Mashed Potatoes



Exotic Mushroom Ragout
Served over Crisp Mascarpone Polenta Cake and Sautéed Spinach
Paella
Lobster, Shrimp, Mussels, Chicken, Chorizo, Bell Peppers, Peas & Rice with a Tapenade Aioli

I don't have pictures of the other two dishes, but our guests really enjoyed all the options. I had the steak with lobster claw -- mmm. I didn't finish only because I was leaving room for what came next.


People ate...(wasn't the glow of the candles and low light lovely?)


They laughed...


They enjoyed each other's company...


They checked their email?!


After dinner it was time to cut our beautiful wedding cake.


This is something that you don't think about in advance and is much harder than you'd think! I made sure the servers had a plate, two forks and a knife waiting for us, there was no fondant to cut through (it was smooth yummy butter cream) and STILL it was a challenge.


I took the lead here and cute a really small sad little piece, but with everyone watching I didn't think I should try again.



But we got enough to share a bite and a sweet kiss.


And then Mr. Onion thought his job was done and he made off with the cake and left me holding an empty fork! Everyone died laughing, including me....I guess he didn't know how this was supposed to play out! At lease he didn't smash it in my face (we were very clear about this prior to the cake cutting - NO CAKE IN THE FACE)!

Up next...a trip to Ben & Jerry's and see Mrs. Onion's "What, no coffee heath bar crunch?!?!" face!

Photos: Daria Bishop Photography
All flowers: Fresh Floral Design Studio
My Dress: Romona Keveza from Mark Ingram's Bridal Atelier
Mr. Onion's suit: Alan David Custom
Wedding Cake: Mirabelles Cafe
Marzipan Pears: Marzipanworld.com
Reception: Adrianas Restaurant (sadly they closed a few months after our wedding).

What's in your spouse's wallet?

According to an article on CNNMoney.com, a growing body of research shows that married couples are astonishingly clueless about many aspects of their financial life together. In a recent poll, four out of five respondents revealed that they hide purchases from the one they love. A marraige is not just about love, it's about partnership and all that involves.



Your spouse's money secrets: They ask couples point blank just how much they know about each other's money. See the video here.

The solution -- talk to each other. The topics the article suggests you discuss are:
1) All sources of income -- not just base salary.
2) Savings and investments -- do you know exactly what the other has?
3) Any debts or obligations -- this is a big one in long term financial planning.

Read the full article here and get talking!

How much do you know about your fiance's finances? I'd encourage you to have the "money talk" before you get married. If you're already married, how much do you know about each other's fiances?

The Onion Slideshow

Mrs. Penguin's recent post "The Penguin Slideshow," reminded me that I never posted about our slideshow.

I seem to have taken on the role of family historian since my 8th grade genealogy project. I carefully stored all my families historic photos, interviewed my fathers great aunts (who have all since passed away) and soaked up as much as I could. When Mr. Onion and I got engaged I started asking his mother questions about their family history and a few weeks before the wedding I asked her if I could go through her photo collection.



Naturally I wanted to share some of this history with our friends and family at the wedding where we would be starting our own chapter of our families history.

We started making the slideshow in Microsoft Photo Story, but with all the time it took to scan the photos, organize them, etc., we found ourselves at my parents house the weekend before the wedding and it still wasn't finished! My mother has an iMac at work, so we decide to use iPhoto to create the slideshow. The music is a Bill Evans piano version of the song my friend sang at the ceremony - "There is no greater love."

Nine months later I finally made the time to upload the video (it was 654MB and literally took me all day), so I hope you enjoy! It's about 12 minutes long, so I don't expect you to watch the entire thing (there is only so much Onion cuteness necessary), but if you're planning on making a slideshow of your own, I hope this is helpful. I, like Mrs. Penguin, gave up at the end, so forgive the abrupt ending.

The video is in chronological order and goes back and forth between my photos and his, ending with photos of us together. We began with my historic family photos, my parents wedding, then Mr. Onion's family photos and his parents wedding, then my childhood photos, and his childhood photos, then photos of us with our family and friends (we included a photo of everyone who attended the wedding -- not an easy task, but easier because there were only 43 guests), and ended with the obligatory couple photos of our courtship and finally finished with our engagement photos.

We played the slideshow on the TV above the bar at the restaurant as people enjoyed their cake. I decided to narrate a little so people would know who people in the photos were. In the end I'm really glad that we took the time to put this together and I think everyone really enjoyed it.






See? Smiles and enjoyment! It was a great way to wind down the reception.

Are you planning on presenting a photo slideshow for your guests? Any reviews of other programs that could be used for those who haven't started this project yet?

If you are married and have done this, did you learn anything about your family history or your fiance's in the process? Anyone as interested in family genealogy as I am?!

It's all in the details...

Okay, be honest. Do you notice the little details when you attend a wedding as a guest? Did you before you were engaged and planning your own wedding? I know I didn't notice pre-engagement. However, that didn't stop me from putting thought and energy into the little things that made our wedding day special. So, without further ado, bring on the details.


Mr. Onion's beautiful tie and belt were gifts from his best friend/GM. The tie was purchased in London and the custom belt was purchased in Spain. The lengths he went to make sure Mr. Onion looked his best on his wedding day! We realized Mr. Onion didn't own cufflinks so we asked my father to borrow a pair -- can you believe he just happened to have purple cufflinks that went so well??


I had my grandmother's pin converted to a hair comb for the wedding. I miss her every day and I was so happy to have her with me this way.


Mr. Onion had a custom suit and shirt made from Alan David Custom in NYC. His initials appear on the bottom of his shirt and on the inside of his jacket.


This is a photo of our wedding rings (on the right of the image -- look closely). Mr. Onion and I both had our rings custom made by a jeweler in Connecticut. In this photo you can see that the inside of Mr. Onion's ring is yellow gold while the outside is platinum. Another hidden detail.


Every bride searches for the perfect shoes. In my case, as my dress was tea length, it was even more important to me that my shoes be perfect as everyone would see them.


My dress didn't have working buttons -- the top of my dress had a zipper and had decorative buttons. Because I wanted to be sure no one could see the zipper I had Mark Ingram's seamstress remove all the buttons and put them back on the other side of the zipper so the weight of the buttons didn't weigh the fabric down and make the zipper visible. Talk about details!


Throughout the planning process I had an amazing experience with my florist. How beautiful is my bouquet? I know all brides must think their bouquet is the loveliest, but this really was perfect for me.


Photos like this make you realize how important a quality manicure is for your wedding day! I had my nails done at Dish Beauty Lounge & Spa on the Church Street Marketplace the day before the wedding.


I was really pleased with how my DIY paper projects came out. Here is our ceremeony program which I laid out in Publisher. The page didn't fold flush allowing the pattern that appeared on our invitations to peek out.


Back to our flowers for a moment. Not that this was an original idea (I was inspired by a Martha Stewart Weddings issue), but I really like how the pew decorations came out. Best part? They were repurposed as cocktail hour table decorations.


And here the pew decorations are in action along with our wish bowl, wish bowl directions card, BM bouquets etc.


MMmmm cake! Our cake was not only beautiful to look at, but it was sooo yummy. My mother's biggest regret is that she didn't get to taste both flavors. I even had marzipan (Mr. Onion's favorite) shaped like pears flown in from Italy via www.marzipanworld.com.


Our favor boxes were sealed with sage green ribbon and monogram stickers from Creative Montage.


We used two different monograms to keep things interesting, and why not?!


We used another monogram at the top of our wedding menus. Pictured is a menu and a lavender bundle which acted as a place card.


On the lavender bundles were tied mini moo cards with a series of engagement photos on one side and the guests name on the other.


To continue with the lavender we had dried lavender sprinkled around candles on each table.


Like many couples, we decided to display wedding photos of our grandparents.


My mother had pearl shoe clips made to go with her green pearl necklace. I thought it was a really nice touch and brought the outfit together.


Immediately after our first dance Moscato was passed for a toast. This was the wine we were drinking the night Mr. Onion and I first kissed.


Inside our favor boxes were three, melt in your mouth, delicious, hand made maple sugar candies.


Our florist had three vases with water waiting when we arrived at the reception for each bridesmaid to place her bouquet. It kept them fresh and it was more re-purposing making our flowers major bang for the buck!

Up next...the reception continues -- cake cutting and a trip to Ben & Jerry's!

Photos: Daria Bishop Photography
All flowers: Fresh Floral Design Studio
My Shoes: Cynthia Rowley Trilogy
My Dress: Romona Keveza from Mark Ingram's Bridal Atelier
Mr. Onion's suit: Alan David Custom
Wedding Cake: Mirabelles Cafe
Monograms: Creative Montage. Mouse over "Standard Monograms" and you'll see our menu!! So fun.