Hello, Goodbye

I've been putting this off, but with my recaps finished the time has come for me to step aside. To say I've enjoyed being a part of the Weddingbee community is an understatement; I've delighted in writing every post, I've appreciated how much fun we've had together, and I'm humbled by all that I've learned from you. Aside from the photos and video (which I promise to post once we have the final product), we have a couple other tangible mementos of our wedding day that I'd like to share with you before I go. The first is a magnificent keepsake by artist Betty Gjesdal of CurlyArt, where she preserved the flowers from my wedding bouquet and transformed them into a set of six canvas paintings. Four of these now grace the wall of our new home, while the other two will be given to our parents as a post-wedding gift.

{Personal Photo; Paintings by CurlyArt}

Sweet Beginnings: If I Could Turn Back Time

Now that the cake is long gone, the bouquets have dried, and I've had time to reflect on our wedding day, a few things come to mind that fall into the categories of "things I absolutely wouldn't change" and "things I wish I had done differently." It was a daring adventure planning a wedding from beginning to end, and although I'm still walking on sunshine over how the day went, I'm a strong believer in everything being a learning experience. Without further ado...

Five things I would have done differently:

1. Paid for the extra hours of photography and videography coverage

As the wedding approached, I was borderline obsessed with the numbers in our bank accounts. While some might consider that kind of financial consciousness responsible, I wish I had relented a little and spent the money to have them stay the entire night. There were so many great moments after our contracts ended at 10:30 PM that exist only in our memories: after Mr. Tartlet read this post by Mrs. Elephant, he immediately latched onto the idea of having a private last dance. That night, Mary Ann Ross deftly assessed the mood and ended up inviting everyone to share in "one last dance." Marry Me by Train sounded through the speakers, and all around us people were swaying back and forth singing along to the music, some in pairs, others in groups with their arms flung around each others shoulders. It was an incredible display of love, friendship, and camaraderie. While the Twofoot Creative team broke down the Conservatory, a group of us meandered out to the garden where we busted out the cigars that I had gifted Mr. Tartlet earlier in the day. We spent a good 30 minutes quietly chatting and mellowing out, and I desperately wish we had tangible reminders of those moments.

Sweet Beginnings: I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today

Mr. Tartlet and I bolted through the hotel back to the bridal suite, gaily chatting as I yanked my heels off and barefoot finished the race to our room. Unbeknownst to all but a handful of our guests, in addition to the private lessons for our first dance, we also took lessons for a second dance to the tune of Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny). While receiving instruction, we quickly realized that if we were going to pull this number off, a costume change was in order. I flew out of my wedding attire and into a flouncy dress, Mr. Tartlet discarded his suit jacket, loosened his tie, and not ten minutes later we returned to the Conservatory where our day-of-coordinator signaled to our DJ that we were ready.

{Photo by Aruna B. Photography}