Connecticut Wedding

This past weekend Mr. Onion and I attended his cousin's wedding at Wickham Park, a beautiful venue in CT. You might remember them from their engagement photos or their fan-freakin'-tastic save-the-date.



This couple is what people mean when they say "made for each other!" Yes, that is the cake being cut with a battle-ready, high carbon steel, full tang replica of Uma Thurman's Hatori Hanzo sword from "Kill Bill". One of my favorite personal touches of the evening.

I'll share with you some beautiful photos of moments that as a guest, we didn't get to share. The bride and groom getting ready and one of the coolest most hard-core bridesmaid gifts I've ever seen!


The bride's beautiful gown.


Happily putting on the gown.


The detail of the back was the best part!


How romantic and old Hollywood classic is this photo?!


The groom looking very handsome.


The rings.


The bride made her bridesmaids these awesome “strap-on” knives - so Laura Croft! Also note: The music to introduce the parents was the Star Wars theme. The music to introduce the wedding party was the theme from "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly". And the bride and groom entered to the tune of "The Anvil of Crom". So freakin' cool.


Husband and wife!! The highlight of the entire wedding for me was their vows which they wrote themselves and didn't share with each other prior to the ceremony. They were so personal (but not so insider that we all couldn't feel a part of the experience), funny, touching and true to their feelings. The most amazing thing is how they really mirrored each other.

The bride went first and one of her vows was to always make him iced tea and cookies (his two favorite things). She talked about their first meeting and conversation and how she knew he was someone she wanted to know everything about. Then it was the grooms turn and he began with "You know how much I loved iced tea and cookies..." and on and on about all the things he loved almost all of which she'd mentioned..."well I love you more than all of those things combined." I laughed and cried right along with them and their 15 minute ceremony was over in a flash.


One of my favorite photos -- it really captures the beauty of the day.

See more professional photos on their talented photographer's blog. Victoria Souza Photography is a husband and wife team just like our photographers! They worked so well together and the result was just lovely.

For those of you looking for a beautiful outdoor ceremony/reception location, here are a few photos of Wickham Park before the ceremony began...just stunning!






And one non-pro photo of the happy couple taken by my cousin-in-law (Mr. Onion's cousin's wife).

More photos of us at the wedding to come when I can get them off my mother's camera which I had to borrow because I forgot ours in NY. Also, Mr. Onion's brother got some great shots of the wedding and of us all gussied up!

Congratulations to you both!! I couldn't be happier to have you as cousins-in-law!

Location: Wickham Park, Manchester, CT
Photographer: Victoria Souza
Hair: Keri Shea
DJ: After Hours DJ Entertainment

Ben & Jerry's for the bride & groom!

Hello, my name is Mrs. Onion. You may have forgotten me...I was married last September and I am JUST now finishing my re-cap. Forgive me (hangs head in shame).

I love Ben & Jerry's ice cream and when I realized there was a Ben & Jerry's scoop shop directly across from our reception restaurant I knew I had to have an ice cream cone with Mr. Onion on our wedding day. I was so set on this idea that I had the smallest bite of our oh so delicious wedding cake (which killed me) so I could have room for ice cream.


Walking the few steps to the scoop shop.


Waiting in line -- it was so strange that no one seemed to notice I was a bride. I guess it's Burlington so they are soooo used to seeing brides that they don't look twice. However, one family behind us finally asked (only when they saw two photographers), "Are you a bride?" to which I smiled and said "YES! We got married this afternoon." The father said "Oh, if I'd known, I would have gotten you a present!" Only in VT. I half expected him to offer to buy my ice cream, but no such luck.


And here is the photo I promised. This is my "WHAT? No coffee heath bar crunch?! What is a girl to do??" face.


Mr. Onion points out there is mint chocolate chunk and harmony is restored.


Then we notice Mr. Onion's best friend/groomsman saw we slipped out of the reception and wanted to know what was going on so he followed us!


More cuteness...


I'm not sure what warented the hand on the hip anymore, but I'm sure Mr. Onion was teasing me about something.


I love him enough to share...


This is my favorite of this series and it will totally end up framed!


On our way back to the restaurant we ran into my mother and two family friends who hadn't gotten a chance to see my wedding ring and engagement ring together yet.



Taking advantage of the street lamp and empty street on the Church Street Marketplace.


And Daria walked us back to the restuarnt before she and Andy headed home to releave the babysitter.

[This concludes the professional photos re-cap.]

Up next...the after party and how Mrs. Onion wasn't allowed into a pub as the bouncer didn't think she was legal!!

Photos: Daria Bishop Photography
My Dress: Romona Keveza from Mark Ingram's Bridal Atelier
Mr. Onion's suit: Alan David Custom
Reception: Adrianas Restaurant (sadly they closed a few months after our wedding).

Sharing the Joy!

I love photography and my favorite photographs are of people. When I was in high school I took 3 years of photography classes, independent studies and spent extra time on Saturday after class in the dark room. It was with that passion that I decided on our own photographer, Daria Bishop, and it is with similar passion that Mr. Onion's cousin and his sweet fiance picked their photographer, Victoria Souza.



The bride and groom are getting married in Connecticut in August and I just had to share some of their engagement photos. Vickie captured their personalities so well and I've never seen an engagement session where there are so many sweet photos as well as seriously steamy photos.



A la Mr. & Mrs. Onion, no?!


See?


So sweet - you just feel calm and sigh when you see this photo.


A subtle ring shot.


Click to enlarge this one to see the tree -- such great light too.





I'm so happy for them and I can't wait to share in their wedding day next month. Congratulations you guys!!



Vicki and Daria have something in common -- their partner in crime is also their partner in life. Both team shoot with their husbands!

See the rest of the photos on Victoria's blog. She shoots in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New England, as well as the United States and International Destinations. Check out her website victoriasouza.com for more eye candy.

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?!