SAM & NIKKI
January 16, 2010
Sam is my younger brother. He (and his soon-to-be) were one of the main reasons we stayed in the states after the holidays. His wedding was scheduled for January 16, but we were set to fly out on January 12. I promise it really was planned out better. We were supposed to be there when it was originally scheduled for January 7th. However, as many things got in the way, they had to change their date to January 16...which meant we would be flying out only four days before.
As we struggled with the decision of whether or not to stay, I just kept the thought and planned for the fact that we probably wouldn't be. Which meant that my sisters, who are fully amazingly capable, would be left to do the decorations, planning and flowers. (Although they were really not super thrilled about being left in charge... I don't know why. They're so good.)
My sister, Amber, and I spent countless hours trying to figure out what to do for centerpieces, what types of flowers to order, and how to capture Nikki's "look." At one point when we were shopping for fabrics to make runners and to decorate with, I got really bummed that I wasn't going to be there and that I was going to miss out. (And that's coming from someone who doesn't really ever get sad to miss out on things.) I really felt like we had finally captured Nikki's "look", which was something we were all struggling with. Not that we couldn't "get it"...it's just that it was an evolution of ideas that we needed to make sure it all got pulled together. And in that moment when everything was laid out, I really felt like we had "got it"! I saw in my head what it was going to look like and knew I just had to be there.
Nikki's main idea was to have it all black and white with touches of green. She wanted all mismatched designs...stripes, polka dots, checkered, etc. And both she and Sam wanted a sort of "nightclub, party atmosphere, while keeping it whimsical and fun". She also has a very unique vintage style of her own, so we needed to make sure we captured all of that. You see if we did.
Okay, but my post has gone to mishmosh. I can't figure out what I did to make all the pictures post the way they did above, but they're not in order and I can't fix it. So, it's not a big deal. The first ones (above and below) are of the ceremony and family pictures.
I just wanted to say that before I go on with more pictures that I have, please remember that I was a single mom at that point, because Brian still flew back on the 12th. So whatever pictures I did get were random and sporadic. So, to see the real artsy cool pictures, you have to go to my cousin, Amelia's blog, who happened to be the photographer. She and her husband do really amazing work. There's also a slideshow at the end to see more pictures than what they posted. (And make sure you check out the flowers on the altar and along the aisleway... :) )
A lot of the pictures I posted I'll admit were a little vain. I wanted to post more of the flowers that Amelia didn't post about. So, I may make a comment here and there, or may have posted pictures mainly cuz it was a good picture of the flowers. Like the one above. It's of Nikki and two of her three sisters, and her mom. It is also a good picture of the bridesmaids bouquets, one of the corsages, and probably the only picture I got of the flower girls' headwreath bow. Look at all the fun fabrics the bridesmaids wore, and the fun mismatched ribbons we found.
These are Nikki and Sam's daughters. The two on the end are Ryah and Taylen (Nikki's) and the one in the middle is Ainsley (Sam's). They seriously love each other. If nothing else says that this was a match made in heaven, the love these girls have for each other would. It helps that Taylen and Ainsley are like a month and a half apart. More twins in the family! :)
Xanthe and I
Cousins! Ruby, Xoe & Max
(Check out Amber truckin in the flowers in the background)
Reception
I didn't get any pictures of my own of the reception. These are courtesy of my sister, Amber. Those who read her blog probably have already seen them.
I wish you could see the rest of the reception through these pictures, but for sure Amelia has a couple good ones on her blog. Sam had lights shining on each individual centerpiece as well as the most amazing food displays. They had a crepe station with every crepe filling you can imagine, including some I've never heard of before (even here in Europe where they serve crepes all over the place). He also had a bread station where there were workers grilling garlic breads for everyone, and an Italian soda station. Not to mention an amazing buffet with awesome food. Did I mention my dad catered it? haha. Most of you probably didn't know that my dad's a wedding caterer.
Amber
This is my sister, Amber. She was seriously so amazing through this whole wedding. She was originally going to be the one taking over if I had to leave. She helped me make decisions and helped me delegate and organize. We could not have done it without her. I also wish I had a picture of Nan cuz she seriously whips up the most amazing arrangements in no time. I depend on both of them whenever we've done our siblings' weddings. (And everyone else who helped, sisters-in-laws, friends, aunts, etc. you guys were amazing too! We couldn't have done it without everyone! We have such a great support system.)
Hannah
Okay, and last but not least...props to Hannah! She was totally my nanny for the day. She makes me want to have a nanny some day. Just an extra set of hands! I can't even tell you how awesome she was. And she was happy to do it. Just things like, when I was taking pictures she was holding the sleeping Spencer. When I was walking out the door and Spencer wanted me to hold him, she asked, "Here, let me hold your purse and diaper bag." And as we were leaving the house in between the ceremony and reception (I was over setting up for the reception), she already had his bottle made up, he was fed and changed, napped and re-dressed in his reception clothes. Seriously, no wonder celebrities have nannies. I wouldn't leave my children all day with one, but have one just follow me around. She was f'amazing! (Sorry Hannah your eyes were closed. It was the only picture I had.) And how stoked am I that she is my niece! Woohoo!
And lastly, I had to capture this on my blog. All Spencer wanted to do the entire reception was watch the moving lights. He stayed there for seriously the longest time. If you were holding him and you turned around, he would turn himself around to watch them. It was amazing.
2 comments:
Again-- completely blown away by the creativity. Great job!!
Your family can put together an amazing wedding! I can't wait to see pictures of Heather's big day.
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