Sunday, October 24, 2010

Bees, Then and Now: The Trailmix Edition

When I was in high school, I expressed my teenage angst through my hair.  True story. Want proof? OK, I'll show you exactly one photo and then the memories are going back into the deeply-buried vault, where I never have to re-live the awkwardness that was high school again...


Can you believe that was me? Now stop laughing and focus, please.  My hair ran the gamut of colors from the blonde above to red to pink to blue and from short to shorter to (dare I reveal this?) a classic, T-Boz-inspired, mid-90's asymmetrical cut (it was in seventh grade, shut up!)  My friends from high school still won't let me live that one down.  But you can stop right there because there's no way in H-E-double hockey sticks I'm showing y'all photographic evidence of that catastrophe! 

Looking back, it seems pretty obvious to me that the reason behind my ever-changing hairstyle was rooted in my insecurities.  I always felt like a total loser in high school, even though to the casual observer, I probably seemed like a happy, well-adjusted (although slightly kooky) teenager.

But on the inside, I was writhing in insecurity over every anguished flaw.  I look back at journal entries that lamented my hatred of both my physical and mental self and it makes me sad.  I wasted a lot of energy being self-conscious.  What I never realized at the time was that most of my peers were probably feeling exactly the same way (I mean, come on, isn't it a universal truth that high school sucks?) But I never saw this and instead, used my crazy-colored hair as a distraction technique, so other kids would maybe think I was "cool." 

But thankfully, now, as high school memories dim (I'm fast approaching my ten-year reunion,) I can look back at who I was then and feel proud of how far I've come.  A huge part of that personal growth is due to Mr Trailmix.  He clearly adored me from the get-go (I mean, who wouldn't? Zing!) But I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for finally banishing the insecurity demons that plagued me through high school.  Thanks, babe. He also encouraged me to grow my hair out and relax on the coloring/cutting fixations.

So while I'm far from perfect and sometimes, I still get down about my strange little quirks (my natural speaking voice is akin to what some might call "shouting."  Quiet, I am not) but overall, I finally feel happy with myself and who I am.  It only took me ten years to get to this point and while the road here wasn't always smooth, the end result has left me a happier, healthier Trailmix. 

What's your high school hair trauma story? Come on, we all have them, 'fess up!



Monday, October 18, 2010

All My Love, All My Life: Before the Ceremony...

*Siiiiiiigh.  Sorry to wax on a bit in this post but it has a lot of my favorite photos from our wedding day.  Some may say that the little details don't matter come W-day but I will say that I noticed them all and I loved them, which is why I'm goin' a little bit photo-crazy on this one...

Well, that and the technological genius that is Mrs Penguin taught me a fabulous trick over several pitchers of sangria, called "resizing photos" in order to upload the files faster, since it was taking about 20 minutes per photo at the size I was doing them  on Blogger...The site is FastStone.Org and it's awesome. In yo' face, evil piece of conspiring technology that is my computer!

Anyways, enough talky-talky, Trailmix, on to the good stuff!

When our guests arrived, the were greeted by our lovely little rustic sign as they walked around the pond, created by Ma and Paw Trailmix.  Loves!



The rain continued on and off throughout the day but by this point, I had accepted that there was nothing I could do to stop it and just simply let it all go...(Oh, and take note of that huge, green umbrella in the background.  It will re-appear again later on and there is a hilarious story that accompanies it...)



Our florist created a beautiful flower wreath to adorn the outside door of the Tannery...



Guests were greeted with lemonade and cookies upon entering.  I think everyone appreciated the pre-ceremony snack, since the first shuttle run deposited guests almost 45 minutes before the ceremony was supposed to start (and we started 15 minutes late, so some folks were there waiting for almost an hour.  Whooops!)

But you all know I made damn sure to snarf a few before ceremony since I am a complete and utter cookie monster :)



I had arranged our programs in an old basket we had laying around the house a few days prior (yeah, totally forget to come up with something to put our programs in until the last minute, hence said basket) and our DOC set up everything on two tables in the entry way to the Tannery.



Our florist did a few small arrangements for these tables that, in addition to our programs, also held the Beatles sing-along excerpts and the framed generational wedding photos (both below) as well as our yammukahs and guest book (which were later moved to the reception site.)


The recessional inserts (lyrics to All You Need Is Love by the Beatles) were another last-minute project and therefore ended up in another basket lying around the house.  Somehow, they just worked, much to my delight.




Can't forget about my vintage handkerchiefs for "Tears of Joy", which I am pleased to say were all taken by the ceremony's start.



Our chuppah covering was my great-grandmother's lace tablecloth, which held such significance for me.  Our florist created the structure using birch logs and provided the two altar arrangements as well.  I thought the overall effect was perfect: natural and organic but oh so pretty.



Here's a shot from the back of the room...I love the wooden benches and the small-paned windows, it all just smacks of New England simplicity.



One of the cool things about the Tannery is that is has a balcony, providing another angle for both guests and our photographer.



Our florist did the aisle decorations and I loved that she included mint in them, providing a soothing and relaxing scent for guests as they waited for the ceremony to begin (and waited...and waited...and then ate more cookies and waited some more...)



Our "Reserved" signs did their job a little too well, unfortunately.  Family who were supposed to sit there took the meaning literally and refused our usher's suggestions to sit, so the front two benches were empty the whole time.  Dangit.  Not a huge deal but mildly annoying when I look at photos since it was a packed house. Oh well, the signs look super-cute, don't you think?



The stained-glass-inspired ketubah we had matted and put into a vintage frame was waiting at the altar, signed, sealed and delivered, to be read by the Rabbi  during the ceremony and displayed afterwards at the reception.



And while everyone was arriving and getting situated, I was waiting in the back, all jittery, giddy and nervy, unable to contain both my excitement and apprehension that the moment was fast approaching...

I did take the opportunity to do a shoe shot, because, gosh, I heart my shoes in a big, big way.  Sadly, they got completely destroyed thanks to the mud/rain but they had their moment, oh yes indeedy...One of my all-time favorite shots of the day, such golden-shoe prettiness!



Another of my all-time faves.  I think my flower wreath was my favorite part of my outfit, although the dress was a close second, and both are represented so beautifully here.



Another gratuitous bouquet shot.  Since the wedding, I've almost managed to put the misery over that stupid bouquet behind me (almost.)



My bridesmaid's wore gold shoes of their choosing.  I thought the look with their light blue dresses was gorgeous!



Remember how pissy  I was over the bridemaid's bouquets in addition to my own? Well, I totally am eating crow on that one because looking back at these photos, I actually love them now...



The time was nearing. My bridesmaid's waited with me, almost as charged up and nervous as I was...I've told them all this a thousand times but they were so amazing to me on the day of the wedding, I cannot thank them enough.



I think they were watching us during our first look here but I love this shot, so I'm including it anyways...



And then our DOC Beth-Anne appeared and told me that it was almost time.  As in, go-time.  As in, the real deal, holy-sh*t-this-is-actually-happening time. And I was more than ready.

One final primp from a bridesmaid and dear friend/ceremony pianist...



And suddenly, it was on like Donkey Kong.  I took a deep breath as I heard the strains of the piano start and smiled as I realized that I was really, actually, finally, for keeps, getting married!

Up Next: The Walk of a Lifetime!

Follow along, if ya want...









Monday, October 11, 2010

All My Love, All My Life: Portraits

In the hour leading up to the ceremony, we managed to complete the bulk of the formal portraits, as scheduled.  In spite of their traditional nature and the ever-present rain, the formal portraits came out beautifully, thanks to the Tannery's natural setting  I'll try to be as brief as possible with these since unless the loved ones surrounding the bride and groom are your own, formal portraits hold a limited interest for the viewer (but man, oh man, do I love them!)

First, my bridesmaid's and I kicked things off...



Looking at these photos, it's hard to believe how crappy the weather was.  I don't know how she did it but Kelly of Closed Circle Photo managed to make our mess of a wedding look absolutely gorgeous.


Closed Circle Photography

The photo below could definetly be titled "Our Sex and the City Moment," haha!


And you know Mr Trailmix couldn't help but jump in with such a pretty group of ladies!


This photo below is the very first teaser I recieved from Kelly just a week after the wedding.  I literally squealed out loud when I opened up the file and it's one of my favorite shots of the day. Definetly a framer.



Now, right here is where I would have shown you the shots of Mr Trailmix with his groomsmen but...*Big siiiiiiiigh...Somehow, amidst all the chaos, everyone (including myself) completely forgot to take this series.  Sucks, right? I know,  major OOPS moment and a major bummer.

It wasn't until Mr Trailmix pointed it out to me the next morning that I even realized this had happened.  I'll admit, I was really sad for Mr TM since that was a moment lost for him but alas, there was nothing that could be done at that point.
Luckily, we did get a few shots of the whole bridal party, what a fine-looking bunch! I have to say, I'm so very happy with how the blue and yellow just pop out in all the photos, don't you think?



I took a moment to get a shot with my mother's parents, Grandpa Morty and Grandma Grace.   I'm very close to them (we have dinner at their apartment in New Jersey every Tuesday night,) so I'm particularly glad they could attend.



I know these next ones aren't that interesting to most of you but they are all so pretty, I just had to share them anyways.  Below is Mr Trailmix and his lil bro...



With Mr TM's immediate family. The ever-fabulous MIL Trailmix wore a gorgeous Elie Tahari  punched-leather dress with a matcing long jacket that was soft as buttah.   I thought she hit it out of the park!



I then took a second to hang with my lil bro, one of my favorite people in the whole world. Absolutely adore the photo below!


Closed Circle Photography

And then Mom and Dad Trailmix joined us for a few shots. My mom's dress proved to be a stressful maneuver but I think it was worth it for how beautiful it was.  She looked gorgeous!



I love how Kelly framed all these photos with the typical Shaker windows in the background and the rock wall adds some beautiful texture (in my personal opinion :). )

And finally, a shot of the two families combined.  This one's framed in our living room.


Closed Circle Photography

And so concludes the formal portrait portion of the show :) I'm very happy with them all but I know you guys are all waiting for the bride and groom portraits because let's be honest, that's what we all like to look at on blogs and recaps.  So hold tight, those will be coming up in my next post!

Follow along, if ya want...





Monday, October 4, 2010

All My Love, All My Life: First Look

You know the saying "The harder you fall, the higher you bounce?"

Well, it's particularly true at your wedding.  Or, it was at mine, anyways.  

After arriving at our venue and witnessing all the chaos caused by the rain, folks, I was majorly stressin'.  But then the rain let up for a few minutes and our photographer wanted to do our first look.

And suddenly (Like magic?) I didn't care about anything but seeing Mr Trail Mix.  In fact, I realized that I was dang excited to see him! Seriously, the transformation was practically instantaneous.  I let go of the worries and stress and once again, wedding day excitement reigned as I hurried out to meet my love.

*Thanks. Kelly, for capturing this moment so beautifully.  Be still, my heart...


Mr Trail Mix strikes a GQ pose while awaiting the onset of his beautiful (*wink) bride...


Here I come, Mr Trail Mix, comin' to getcha!

I never realized until looking at this photo that others were watching us while the first look happened.  We were so wrapped up in our own world, we didn't even notice.


I walked up to him (with a kind of impish look on my face, don't you agree?) and my heart began to pound a little bit.  My arms were shaking but I had to hold up my dress so it wouldn't get soaked!


Hilariously enough, it looks like I'm barefoot in these photos but not so fast, I'm actually wearing my beautiful, gold, JCrew shoes.  You'll see them in detail in the next post :)


Here's the abridged version of how things went down (the long version involves a few sniffly whispers and perhaps one or two lovey-dovey declarations of happiness/fulfilment, etc, all meant to be kept private. Mostly because it would bore you all to death and no one would read the rest of this post!) 


*Giggle, giggle...Tap, tap...



*Tee Hee! Here I am, all spifffed up, one bride-to-be, just like you ordered!



*Aw, You look pretty. No, you look pretty. Let's hug and kiss.  A lot.




Gosh, Mr TM is so handsome in these pictures.  It must be all the love in the air :)


See? I wasn't kidding about the hugging and kissing a lot parts!

And with that, we had officially seen each other in our formal marriage cloth and both parties approved and agreed to go through with things.  Yup, it was time to take exactly one million photos and then do the damn deed.  And despite all the obstacles thus far, we were both  super-pumped! Bring it on, wedding!

Follow along, if ya want!