Game on...

So all of our RSVP's are finally here! We invited 72 people to the wedding (including ourselves) and our grand total is.....dum da da dum da dum

52!

That's about 72% of the people we invited joining us. At first I was a little disappointed because a lot of the declines were from Mr. Onion's family. I felt bad, more for him than for myself, that so few of them have made an effort to join us. But then I started thinking about all the people who WERE coming and I forgot all about being sad and started to get very excited. As Miss Corn pointed out this morning (we're date twins), 22 day to go! Hard to believe this 17 month engagement period is almost over. I am very excited to be Mr. & Mrs. Onion and start our married lives together.

Now the hard part is figuring out who will attend the rehearsal dinner (still need to send invitations for that out). We waited to see who was coming to the wedding first before we sent invitations to the party the night before.






Our rehearsal dinner is being held at one of the best restaurants in Burlington -- Taste of Burlington. It's right on the water (Lake Champlain) and the owner/head chef is so talented and kind. He is not only a great chef, he's a great painter and his artwork is displayed in the restaurant. It looks like we'll have almost as many people at the rehearsal dinner as the wedding the next night. Two days of fun with the people we love the most -- what could be bad?

My mother decided that she didn't care what it cost -- if they were there the night before, they would be invited! Mr. Onion's parents are helping us with the cost of the dinner but it won't pay for everything as we'll be at least 30 people for dinner the night before.

For those of you having an wedding with many (or all in our case) out of town guests, are you inviting everyone who will be there to your rehearsal or welcome dinner the night before or just the wedding party? Are you paying for your own rehearsal dinner or is someone in your family helping?

Historic Family Photos...

One of the projects I just decided to take on before the wedding is a slide show to be viewed at our reception. While at home a few weekends ago we took some time and went through old family photos. I had the fun project of scanning all the photos from my family and Mr. Onion's brother will be sending me a disc of scanned images from their family.

I wanted to share some of them with you because I'm so thrilled we have this history to share with our wedding guests, not to mention our children some day! Included in the images are wedding pictures from my parents and grandparents.

Miss Onion's Parents at their wedding:



Miss Onion's Parents cutting their cake:



From left to right: Miss Onion's Aunt, Great Grandpa Onion, Momma Onion, Grandma Onion



Miss Onion's maternal great-grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary Party:



Miss Onion's paternal grandparents wedding portrait:



Miss Onion's maternal great grandmother and great-great grandfather (adoptive):



Miss Onion's paternal great grandmother:



When we found this picture everyone noticed a strong resemblance between me and my great grandmother. This is my father's father's mother.

And just ONE more because I love it SO much!

My mother and grandmother when my mother was young:



My mother's mother is the only grandparent I had the privilege to know in my lifetime. She was so very dear to me. She moved to our town when my mother had my brother who is two years old than I am, so I saw her everyday of my life -- she went on vacations with us and was just such a presence.

She passed away a week before I graduated from college, but as she was passing I received a very unexpected gift -- a song my grandfather had written for her when they were first married in the late 1930's called "Is It Love You're After?" That inspired me to record an entire record of love songs from the 30's and 40's that I released in August 2005. If you care to hear my grandpa's song or any others to inspire your first dance selections check it out HERE.

OK, back to the picture talk -- My brother offered to make the slide show for us in iMovie, but I'm not sure if we'll have time to get the disc to him. Any recommendations for free PC friendly slide show programs??

Next up -- Mr. Onion's family photos (when I get them back from Brother-in-law Onion.

Videographer regret....

Ok, ok, yes, I'm getting married in 24 day, so WHY am I now thinking about a videographer? Because I'm nuts, that's why.

I've never really wanted (nor did I think we could afford) a videographer in addition to our still photographer. BUT, that hasn't stopped me from checking out (ok, well stalking really) this website: www.wilsonfontaine.com. This is the only videographer whose work I've come across that stopped me in my tracks. His vignette style is just stunning -- I don't know if he shoots with a 8mm camera or if it's digital post processes, but either way it's stunning, tasteful and amazing to watch. Click on the "Gallery" on his website and you can see for yourself.



I never even sent him an inquiry because I was afraid I'd want to come up with the money. But today I was thinking "what if he's not booked on our date -- [yeah right] and wants to take us on at a discount?!" So I sent him a last minute email just so I don't kick myself later.

If you're wedding is say MONTHS from now instead of weeks, check out the website and enjoy!

Ceremony Planning -- Part II

Last time I told you a little about our ceremony plans. Now I'd like to share our selected readings and our vows. For us this required lots of on-line research. We chose two readings -- one my mother will read, and the other we'll be asking Mr. Onion's mother to read.

First, here are some pictures of our beautiful church:





Reading for Mr. Onion's mother:

"Marriage Advice From 1886", by Jane Wells

"Never go to bed angry.
Let your love be stronger than your hate or anger.
Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is easier to bend a little than to break.
Believe the best rather than the worst.
People have a way of living up or down to your opinion of them.
Remember that true friendship is the basis for any lasting relationship.
The person you choose to marry is deserving of the courtesies and kindness you bestow on your friends.

This reading actually had another line at the end that I just didn't love, so we're leaving it out. It read "Please pass this on to your children and their children's children. The more things change the more they are the same." It just doesn't speak to me and we've included a mention of children in the vows and the hand ceremony.

Reading for my mother:

My True Love
by Sir Phillip Sydney

My true love hath my heart and I have his,
By just exchange one for another given
I hold his dear, and mine he cannot miss,
There never was a better bargain driven
My true love hath my heart and I have his.

His heart in me keeps him and me in one,
My heart in him his thoughts and senses guides
He loves my heart, for once it was his own,
I cherish his because in me it bides
My true love hath my heart and I have his.

This poem really spoke to me because Mr. Onion and I have this cute thing (stop reading now if you aren't very gushy) where he and I say we've traded hearts -- I keep his with me and he takes care of mine. Anyway -- this was just perfect for us!

The Vows:

I Mr/Miss Onion take you Mr/Miss Onion to be my wife/husband, my constant friend, my faithful partner and my love from this day forward. I will cherish our marriage and love you more each day. I give you my promise to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow.

I promise to trust and respect you, laugh and cry with you, support and honour you and love you unconditionally. I promise our children will know a home where differences are celebrated, where dreams are shared, and where imagination reigns supreme.* I give you my hand, my heart and my love from this day forward for as long as we both shall live.

These vows are a combination of something I found on-line and really liked and a line about children from a NY Knottie's ceremony that I just LOVED. It was written by the beautiful BethanyBez for her ceremony this past May. Thanks Bethany!!


Photo by Kenny Pang

Check out her beautiful knot bio with stunning photos from NYC Photographer, Kenny Pang. She put so much thought into her wedding ceremony and reception with SO many personal touches -- she's an inspiration for every bride.

Some resources I came across on-line as I was searching for ceremony ideas:

1) The Knot Library
-- Share your readings
-- Share your vows
2) Elegant Vows
Elegant Vows (2)
3) Wedding Ceremony Readings
4) Wedding Ceremony Readings (another site)
5) Create your own wedding ceremony

How did you plan your ceremony? Did you write your own vows? Did you rely on your minister/officiant? I sent a draft to our minister today and I hope to hear back from her soon. 24 days and counting....eeeehhhh :):):) I'm ok now!

Bride meets Bride

Mr. Onion and I had a fantastic weekend in Burlington. I found a salon to do my hair and make-up (hooray -- sooo relieved), we had a romantic dinner at the restaurant that will be hosting our wedding reception, we got Mr. Onion some snorkel gear for our honeymoon at a great dive shop and enjoyed spending some time together.

Just as we were relaxing on the Church Street Marketplace I see a wedding letting out of the church at the top of the marketplace. I really wanted to go see because -- well who doesn't want to see a pretty bride?! What I really wanted to do was take pictures for the weddingbee community so Mr. Onion, seeing the look on my face said, "Oh go on and get your camera -- you know you want to!" He's so understanding and sweet of my love for all things wedding right now.



So I'm taking some pictures across the street when I notice one of the photographers is shooting me shooting the bride and groom! I was a little embarrassed so I headed back down the marketplace to get Mr. Onion. As I look down at my digital camera I realize -- "What a minute! That's MY photographer!" Then I realized the guy who was taking my picture is her second shooter and her husband. He recognized me from our engagement photos and came right across the street to greet us.

But WAIT -- it gets better. Then I see the bride jump up and down and point at me. I couldn't tell if she was smiling or is she wasn't happy to have a wedding stalker. After they were on there way I realized I "knew" her -- well sort of. I'd seen her engagement photos on our photographer's website and then found her on the Vermont board of theknot.com. We had quite a bit in common and went back and forth via email for a few months. Sure enough, when I got home she had emailed me -- the subject line was "you were at my wedding!" It was too funny. It was great to see our photographer in action and to meet her husband before our big day. Here are the rest of the pictures I snapped quickly with my little digital -- sorry for the low quality of the zoom.







I wonder if I will end up on Daria's blog?!

Hair & Make-up, Part IV (final chapter)

As you all know by now (sorry this is a four part saga), planning my hair and make-up 300 miles away has been a difficult task. The good news is I've finally found my match! Mr. Onion is so sweet and just wanted me to be happy so he insisted we take our last free weekend before the wedding and drive back to Burlington for TWO more hair and make-up trials.

Round 1:
8:15 AM on Saturday morning I arrived at the Indigo Salon in Burlington, VT. My stylist, Tu, was very nice -- she looked at my inspiration photos and then spent an hour and a half working on my hair and make-up. We were a little rushed because she had another bride coming in for her wedding right after me.

Hair Option 1: Half up/half down



Hair Option 2: Loose curly up-do




Make-up:


(Indoors)



(Outdoors)

I came away liking the hair but not loving it. I did feel comfortable that if I did decide on Indigo that she could have done a better job on my wedding day. I liked the make-up as well but wasn't sure how it would hold up in pictures until I saw these quick digital shots. It didn't look fantastic (note the circles under my eyes still there).

Round 2:
After I went back to the hotel, washed my hair and took my make-up off, I headed back to town for my 2 PM appointment at the Stephen & Burns Aveda Salon. First I had my hair done by Britney, then my make-up was done by Veronica. They were both so patient and meticulous. Neither one had an appointment after me so they really took their time. When they finished I was confident I could have walked out of the salon that day and gotten married happily! I guess I should have known then. I did tell both salons I'd let them know on Monday if we were a go for the wedding.

Hair:





Make-up:



Note: The make-up photos in natural light were taken by Mr. Onion so my hair was taken down so he wouldn't have a hint of the wedding day hair.

And just one more because I figured I'd spent all that money on hair and make-up trials and I felt pretty fabulous...



The winner is: Britney and Veronica at the Aveda Salon! I feel SOOO much better and 100% confident that I'll look beautiful on my wedding day a mere 27 away!

RSVP deadline tomorrow...

Our RSVP deadline is tomorrow and we are still waiting on 22% of our RSVP's although that only turns out to be 16 people. It looks like we're going to be approximately 50 people and you know what? I think that it will be intimate and lovely. Any smaller and it wouldn't feel like a celebration. This way we get some room back and can have some dancing which my mother will LOVE. This way we'll really get to spend time with everyone who comes.



The bad news for those 16 people is our discounted room blocks expire tomorrow as well. But I did email everyone a week ago to remind them so I've done everything I can. Tomorrow is the 30 day mark! I am starting to get really excited. The last few weeks have been SO busy with work so I have had no time for wedding planning or blogging!

I just finished running the Litchfield Jazz Festival which my mother and I started 12 years ago along with a Jazz Camp for almost 300 students). Man it was a lot of work as always. I was very proud of myself that I got coverage on all four Connecticut news stations -- NBC30, Fox61, WTNH Channel 8 (ABC), and WFSB Channel 3 (CBS). I love my job!

Here are some pictures from the festival just for fun:


Photo: Stuart Feldman

Photo: Michael Fiedler

Photo: Steve Sussman

Photo: Steve Sussman