Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Wedding, Part 2

Ha, when I first typed the title, I wrote "Party 2." Guess you know where this is headed.

On second thought, I'm gonna cap this off before the party. If all you're looking for are a bunch of boozed up, dressed up, dancing fools, go ahead and skip this post.

Now, we've come to...


PART TWO: PRIMPING & PRE-WEDDING PICTURES

Because Dave and I had a lot of out-of-town guests (as in, 90%), we decided NOT to be assholes and smartly opted for having the ceremony and reception back-to-back in the same location -- the 39th floor Penthouse/Ballroom at Hotel 71. That meant we had to take our pictures before all of the hooplah. No biggie.

But before I get to all that, let's go through the primping and preparations.


And so it begins.

I LOVED the photographers.

Drunky McDrunkerson getting her hair done.

Priceless look.

Okay, now me!

Finishing up.


Right around this point, I realized that I could NOT calm my jitters. I turned to my mom.

Me: Ma. I can't freaking calm my nerves. Do you have anything that could just relax me?

She's no drug dealer, but she is, unfortunately, an unhealthy person. As such, Mom always has an arsenal of pills. Pills that she likes to keep for herself.

Mom: Um, nothing.

Me: Come on, just LOOK at me here, I'm a wreck.


I know. I was demanding pills from my sick mother. This wedding made me have no shame.

Mom: Well, I guess I could give you an Ativan...

Me: Yes. I don't know what that is, but that sounds fabulous.

Mom rolls her eyes and goes up to her room to grab a pill. A tiny, tiny, pill. Seriously, it was smaller than my birth control. After a while of feeling no change, I asked for just one more. Mom told me I could only have it if I didn't drink. I said okay.


I lied.


The Ativan relaxed me a bit, so I could continue getting ready and be photographed.


Was able to get the back strapped up with minimal confusion.

Loved my hair! I told him what I wanted in the front, but left the back up to him.


And then came time for the Big Meet-Up. Dave and I met across the street from Hotel 71 at the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial.


Posing like a jackass while waiting for the elevator.

The big reveal.

Dave is so freaking cute.

Smiles and corncobs. (You call those the Corncob Buildings too, right?)

Corncobs and Trump.


Then we loaded the wedding party into our party bus and drove around the city to places like the Kinzie St. Bridge, La Salle St. and the Chicago Theater. We had hoped to get pictures by the beach with views of the city in the background, but Redbull Flutag took a big, giant shit all over that idea. Oh well! Didn't turn out bad, I'd say.


Photographers really liked the urban thing, as did we.

La Salle Street. Sweet car on the right, by my brother.

The boys. Even though Ryan, on the left, was MY bridesmaid.

Pretty bridal party.

Dave! Triangle hair!

We were told to strut. Only my sister and I did it.

Twirling in the street. You drop me, you die.

Kisses!

Kinzie Street Bridge. Don't fall, Constance.

Love it!

Clouds, but no rain. That would have SUCKED.

Chicago Theater

This reminds me of a Mentos commercial.

Wedding bands.

Small wedding parties = goodness.

Don't trip on the sewer. Don't trip on the sewer.

My siblings and I pay no attention. Dave and his Best Man do.

Again, Dave steals my friend Ryan. Okay, OUR friend Ryan, but he was mine first.

Waiting while the girls get a few pictures.

Ladies' turn.

More kisses!

Dave wanted to go on the train. Not in my Nicole Miller, sweetheart!

These steps were as far as I would go.

What if we were really like this? Creeptastic.


For all the brides out there, if you really want good pictures, just shut up and let your photographer do whatever he wants. We gave our guys complete and total freedom, and we couldn't be happier with what they did. It pays not to be pushy. For once. ;-)

Anyway, once the pictures were all done -- only took about an hour -- we headed back to the hotel to sit in tense, tense anxiety for another 45 minutes. Just sat near the windows, listened to a bit of music and waited. Well, and I drank more wine. Big shocker.

FINALLY, it was time. My heart was pounding. I couldn't believe that after nearly 2 years of planning, it was all really happening...

31 comments:

Bayjb said...

Wow wow wow wow. Everything is amazing. I love the hair, the dress, the bridesmaid dresses and I love the pictures around the city. The El station is a great touch!

Anonymous said...

Wow, those are the coolest wedding pictures I have ever seen. And, you guys look great.

Anonymous said...

congrats! those pictures are absolutely amazing.

alexa @clevelandsaplum said...

now im not going to lie - i have seen a lot of those pics before from ang because she was seriously like a proud mother showing of her kids with your wedding.

rightly so - it looked beyond fabulous!

Laurie Stark said...

Your dress is stunning and that is hands-down the most gorgeous updo I've ever seen!

Alexandreena said...

Those are absolutely fantastic pictures!!!

Anonymous said...

The pictures on the bridge are pretty amazing!

Allison said...

I'm in love with your wedding photos in a totally non-creepy way. You look amazing and your hair is fantastic. Congrats to the both of you!

Anonymous said...

wow those are beautiful! kinda makes me want to get married just a tiny bit, only for the pictures ;)

Anonymous said...

Those are the best wedding pictures I've ever seen. (And I've seen A LOT over the years...)

Congrats on getting married and picking a fantastic photographer!

I'll be back to see more.

rachel elizabeth said...

oh my. you looked absolutely STUNNING! and the city as the backdrop for the pics?! ahhhh! i love it. congrats girl.

Nilsa S. said...

Again, this post made me tear up. Hard to tell which of your readers is the bride with a wedding in 24 days, right? :-)

I love your photos - who was your photographer? And I agree - though it may be cheesy and somewhat uncomfortable at the time, the outcome is usually fantastic!

Marie said...

WOW and AWESOME!!! Those pictures are so freakin fantabulous! And love, love your dress and hair! Everyone looked so great. :)

Anonymous said...

Those are amazing pictures. I loved your dress and your hair and looking at these has made me so excited for my wedding.
We are taking pics before too, and doing the big reveal thing, did you like that?

Again, congrats and great wedding.

DShan said...

i'm so impressed. seriously awesome pictures.

Anonymous said...

I'm so impressed! You all looked fabulous, and I love what the photographer did. (And don't worry, I'll be drinking allllll day when it comes time for mine.) Congrats!

TKTC said...

I still love the one of you two kissing (chin chin!) in front of the pixelated screen- awesome!!

Anonymous said...

Those photos are amazing! And you look fabulous! I hate the stuffy "posed" photos so many people do. Yours were so COOL--dumb word to use but they were awesome! Definitely photos to have on the wall for a very long time :) Congrats!

Aunt Becky said...

Those are amazing pictures, dude. Seriously, you all look gorgeous.

jessica maria said...

LOVE IT! Love the pics, your dress - and the colors! I chose a deep purple for my color, too :) Of course, mine isn't until next year. Quite inspirational!

The Alleged Ringleader said...

OMG your pics are AMAZING!
You guys are such an attractive couple and wil have cute little babies someday ;)

Lisa said...

Thanks, everyone!!

I was going to reply individually, like I always do, but I think it would have gotten repetitive with me gushing over how much I appreciate the kind words. Suffice to say that you ALL made my face hurt from smiling. THANK YOU!

To those who asked questions...

Nilsa: We used Orange Squared (orange2photo.com) and Nick was our main guy. He isn't just talented, he's young, fun and absolutely hilarious.

Jess: I DID like meeting beforehand. I thought I wouldn't, but it actually helped take the extra pressure off when I walked down the aisle. :-)

Anonymous said...

Congrats! Those pictures are stunning.

Anonymous said...

LOVE these photos! gorgeous!

XOXO - Maxine said...

I've been to, and worked at, many, many, many weddings and I must say those were some of the most beautiful pictures I've ever seen...Very outside of the box. Congrats and enjoy married life. It's something I couldn't ever do!
XOXO - Maxine

Anonymous said...

Those pictures are FIERCE. And you look amazing.

If I felt like getting married in chicago (and I don't know why I would, but if), I would raid your rolodex.

Anonymous said...

Your photos are gorgeous! Isn't the city a great backdrop for wedding photos? We got married at Navy Pier, and I still love gazing at those pictures, even four years later!

Erin

**Melissa** said...

You look gorgeous! And those pictures are amazing.
What a cute couple!

Anonymous said...

Omg...your photographers were fabulous! Those pictures are incredible and you made a really beautiful bride!

Kyla Bea said...

/swoon.

Out and out amazing - glad you had fun!!

Kaci Johanna said...

Holy crap I LOVE your dress.

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