Wedding Day Part 2 – Ceremony & Celebration

Hi everyone! I am so excited to finally show you the rest of my wedding photos.  In part 1, I left off right before I went to meet Brian for our private “First Look”.  When we first considered doing a First Look, I thought it was a little silly but might make for some cute photos, so I decided to schedule it anyway.  However, I am extremely glad that we did.  My mom walked me to the garden where the ceremony would soon be held, and Brian was there waiting for me with his back turned.  As soon as I saw him, an intense rush of emotions overwhelmed me and I burst into tears.  As my mom held me tight and calmed me down, my crying turned into laughing as my mind tried to process my flood of emotion.  Once I gained my composure again, I went to join Brian.  We shared a beautiful moment as we saw each other in our wedding attire for the first time.  We hugged and I got a little makeup on the shoulder of his Dior suit! Then it was time to get my makeup touched up and prepare to walk down the aisle! As the wedding party lined up, I started getting super nervous and excited.  I was so happy to have my mom there to hold my one arm and my dad the other.  They walked me down to the gazebo which would serve as our huppah (what’s that?) and passed me off to Brian who was already there waiting.  The ceremony was beautiful and our cantor did a lovely job with the service.  He has everyone laughing and even mixed in a few songs.  It was a little long though, and by the end, my feet were starting to hurt and I wanted to exchange rings, kiss, and get on with it! It was an amazing moment when we did…Finally husband and wife! Most of the guests moved to the restaurant to begin cocktail hour, but the wedding party and our families stayed out in the garden area to take some photos.  I’ll spare you most of the family photos, but absolutely love how the pictures of just Brian and I turned out.  And how cute is this one of my maid of honor Teresa and I jumping?! These are my favorite photos of the whole day! By the time we were done taking all the family photos, I was starving! Cocktail hour was over and all the guests were already seated in the restaurant waiting for Brian and I to make our grand entrance.  When we did, everyone clapped for us and we made our way to sit down at our sweetheart table.  The room looked so gorgeous.  We had a cascading floral arrangement in a stone urn on each table, and at everyone’s place was a handmade chocolate dachshund.  Our mint and gold wedding cake stood proudly at the back of the room, topped with my little sculptures of Wendell and Penelope.  A few signs were placed around the room reminding guests our our wedding Instagram hashtag: #EmilyAndBrianFURever.  Once we were seated, the waitstaff came around to take the entrée orders. We chose to get married at Hotel Bel-Air for two main reasons: the beauty of the venue and the quality of the food.  We had selected a four course meal for our guests.  The first course was crisp pork belly.  The second course was Japanese cucumber and honeydew melon soup.  The third course was either broiled Casco Bay cod or roasted prime cote de boeuf.  The last course was apple tartin, and then of course wedding cake.  The wedding cake was two flavors: white chocolate with raspberries and Austrian chocolate. We had such an incredible time eating, drinking, and celebrating together.  It was a month ago now, and people are still telling me what an amazing time they had.  Part of what the guests loved was how unique the event was.  It was very small, intimate, and classy.  We chose to not have dancing so that the emphasis would remain on the lavish meal.  While we were still planning the wedding, we were teased endlessly for this decision, but afterwards–and to this day–I am still having guests commend us for this choice.  I am extremely proud of having put the whole event together almost entirely on my own with just a little help from a pair of awesome wedding planners. I hope you enjoyed this peek into the best day of my life! xoxo Emily Photography by Jennifer Garrett Photo Hair and makeup by Alicia Wheeler Wedding planning by Voguish Events & Design