Miss Pug's Pawfect Wedding

Afterparty Update!

2010-12-20T22:30:00.002-05:00

Hi again everyone! It's me! I'm sure I have a few forgotten friends who have this blog in their readers. Well, I finally updated everyone on our wedding's after-party!

If you want to check out the photos and brief recap, I posted it on my new blog for our nine month anniversary today!

I hope you all will come visit if you haven't recently! And I'm sorry that it's taken me this long to recap. I touched on that in the post as well.

Much love to mah peeps!!!

Our Pawfect Wedding: The Reception Ends...

2010-08-19T20:29:00.013-04:00

After the toasts, it was time for Mr Pug and I to eat our cake! All we could do was share a cupcake, we were so full!

We politely fed each other... we aren't into the whole cake-smashing thing.

And that was it. That's the least red velvet I've ever purposely ate. I normally would not leave so much left over, but we were stuffed from all the AMAZING food!

Then, Mr P's Aunt S wanted to say a few words.

She talked about the first time she met me.

I pinkie-swore on something, but I can't remember what!

She told everyone how she demanded Mr P NOT MESS THIS UP!

Her words were really sweet and unexpected.

The best kind of surprise!

After, we got to take a picture with all of Mr P's family in Missouri. His only cousins are these 3 guys (with their wives - and girlfriend in the case of the one in pink - daughters, and parents Aunt T and Uncle P) and they all live in Missouri.

There are VERY few girls in Mr P's family, one per generation on his dad's side. These are paternal cousins so it was interesting that two of them had DAUGHTERS! They weren't in the formal pictures because the kids were getting fidgety, so we got the picture here.

Then, my MIL wanted to say a few words.

This made Mr P nervous since she has, in the past, embarrassed him a bit at parties like this. I won't go into details...

We had no idea she was going to talk so we were a little nervous.

Can you tell?

However, it ended up being very sweet and we were happy to hug it out!

This would be me telling her how nervous we were when she got up to talk!

I also got to take a picture with my cousin M and Mr P's aunt T, who are both my sorority sisters, all from different chapters!

Then came a great surprise... our photographer printed out a portfolio of some pictures from the day!

I looked over them with some family- this was such a great thing to end the reception with.

Everyone else really liked it too!

Our photographers were priceless. LOVE YOU ERIN AND JOHN! Check out Erin's new website. She added a pet section... some of our pug pics are in there!

Our time at Buca had ended!

I still have some candid guest photos to post though. AND... THE AFTER-PARTY PHOTOS! Including our HORRIBLY AWKWARD first dance, amazing sheet cakes, and a ton of keg stands. Don't forget about me just yet!

Our Pawfect Wedding: Toasts!

2010-08-18T21:07:00.015-04:00

Ok, yes, it's been a full month.

I am sorry. I am just kind of over my wedding!

Yes, there I said it.

Sometimes it's a little hard to talk about it without focusing on what it should be, what we wish we could have offered our guests, and not meeting our own expectations.

Also, I'm really enjoying my new blog. I feel like it's a little healthier to move on, ya know? Focus on the here, the now, the good (and sometimes bad, but mostly good) going on presently.

In the meantime though, I have lots to share and will be better about finishing these recaps!

And now I give you... the toasts of the evening!

First up was Mr P's co-best man, A.

Poor A was nervous and a little shaky.

Everyone was excited, clearly. Who wouldn't be nervous?

Mr P put him at ease with his suaveness, though.

Best Man A talked about living with my hubby, good and bad.

He also discussed meeting me. I met A the same night I met Mr P.

He called me out a bit...

...but mostly kept it sweet and clean.

After, A and Mr P hugged it out.

And I got in on that too!

Up next, my sisters MOH M and MOH R did a co-toast.

They went back and forth and told stories about growing up with me.

They discussed how I was protective and cared about them fiercely.

They told two stories, one that I remembered, and one that I did NOT. My apologies to the kid I beat up on the playground for looking at my sister the wrong way.

These two are wonderful, caring sisters. I couldn't imagine growing up without them.

(Here, it seems, I am pondering how I beat up little Jimmy Jones...)

They ended by saying how glad they were I was there for them, and how glad they ARE that Mr P is now there for me.

Throw in a few laughs...

Maybe a jab or two about how Mr P calmed me down...

And we'll still hug it out too. I love these two!

My mommers hugged them as well...

And then shared a brief few words as well.

She mostly mirrored the sentiment that Mr P is awesome for having calmed me down and made me less... insane.

When did this become a roast?!?!

Mommers finished her short but sweet toast and then it was onto BEST MAN DAN. We call him "The Closer" because of his insane speaking abilities.

I won't lie... I was a little nervous.

D started out talking about how he met Mr P in college.

(Look at Mr P's stepmom laughing in the corner above and my sisters and M's boyfriend laughing below!)

D discussed their mutual love of pizza and "hanging out."

(And apparently, something victorious)

He talked about his memories with Mr P...

Their crazy fraternity days and disgusting house...

D had everyone captivated.

"And then I met Mrs Pug."

"Did you know she talks?"

Cue an uproar of laughter at the obvious truth.

He ended his toast with great thoughts and best wishes, and we raised a glass.

The boys hugged...

And, as awkwardly caught on camera, I gave Best Man Dan a hug as well.

These toasts were one of the very best parts of the wedding, so they're a good thing to focus on here when I'm feeling kind of EH about weddings in general. They were a great memory and a wonderful tribute to our great relationships.

Next? A few... impromptu speeches? And awkward faces to boot!

Our Pawfect Wedding: Enjoying Buca

2010-07-18T22:17:00.015-04:00

We walked into Buca di Beppo and were bombarded with photos! Woot!

My friendor Laura was there:

I swooned over her creations for forever. I still talk about those cupcakes (today, it was with my mom, discussing the cute M&M's on top.)

We settled into our table... I LOVE this pic.

Smoochies were had...

MIL and her sister

BILS A & S (and A's then GF)

Mr P's BFF and Co-Best Man A and his GF, and our friend H (a former Colts cheerleader!)

THE CAESAR SALAD THAT CHANGED MY LIFE...

Mr P's childhood friend and groomsman Z...

Z's sister Lyd and her boyfriend A... again, two of my FAVE people in this world.

Best Man Dan and L. L recently got married (you can see the wedding deets here) to the other best man (A)'s brother E, who was an usher. (Good luck with that association.)

P (H's boyfriend), bridesmaid H, and bridesmaid A.

Bridesmaid L lovin on the booze.

L and AP

Fit and my sister/MOH R

Sis/MOH M and her boyfriend!

B's cousin T and his girlfriend, C. They're holding T's brother's baby L!

The other cousin-baby, A, with her momma!

A with her parents, momma K and Brian's cousin daddy K! They have two pugs, so we clearly approve of them.

The third brother, P, with wife S and daughter L. LOVE!

My cousin M and my Aunt J!

Love the bokeh in this. The server was pourin' us DRANKS!

K with a very tired A.

Me and my cutie MOMMERS!

My girls drinking some wine!

The whole table... basically these are all "my" guests. And I am so endlessly happy that each and every one of them made it. They made my wedding.

THE BFF4L PIC!

Erin did her stuff and got some great ring pics. Mine and Mr P's together...

Wow... it doesn't look that sparkly right now...

The cake toppers (with plenty of cake residue!)

Ring hats!

Then... dinners arrived. I nearly died. It was perfect. Our food was amazing. MEATBALLS bigger than my pugs...

Manicotti (that we didn't eat since by the time it came we said PLEASE GOD NO we are full!)

And lemon chicken!

Everything was WONDERFUL. Someone came up with the great idea for us to do the Lady & The Tramp spaghetti scene.

Romantic AND tasty!

Up next? TOASTS! They were wonderful and I can't wait to share them!

Our Pawfect Wedding: Buca-Bound!

2010-07-13T19:52:00.012-04:00

Ok yes, I suck. But the draw of the easy Wordpress photo upload makes me loath the amount of time it takes me to do a wedding recap, heavy with photos. It's so time-intensive and hands-on! Booo blogger photo upload.

We left off with the completion of our formal portraits. At this point, my new hubby and I left for Buca with Best Man Dan. We parked in a garage downtown, and as you already know, hopped in a photobooth. Best moment of the whole wedding weekend... bliss at being married, happy to be goofy and just let go.

Meanwhile, Erin was at Buca getting ready and taking pictures!

This was our room: (I die. LOVED it.)

Laura, my friendor, was setting up the cake display.

She made us some pug wedding cookies...

And she added our cake toppers that I made...

Our wait staff for the night prepared for the evening. I love this pic!

And of course, I also loved the Italian/Jersey-ness of the room.

Cake topper close up:

Buca wine:

Here are the cupcakes Laura made for us! I seriously was in awe of the awesomeness.

I asked her to do a black m&m on the white frosting to emulate the anemone flowers I had in my bouquet.

Love the little pug tongue!

Buca's wine are actually really good.

At last, we approached!

If you can, make these pictures bigger by clicking on them (sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. So just try.) Below, Dan strikes a pose...

B and I posed in front of the restaurant for a while, using the great natural light.

I love these next few!

We were hungry, but happy to pose for pictures before eating!

MY FAVE!

The Happy Newlyweds!

And what's a wedding without more fisheye?

We were going for the Jersey gangsta look.

Foot pop!

And of course, a little smooch!

Honestly, I wish my dress was more bridal- people were looking at me like they were confused. But I couldn't find a white short dress! (Now, of course, they're everywhere!) But I still had a blast and FELT special.

Next up... our dinner guests arrive and enjoy!

Our Pawfect Wedding: Portraits and Pictures

2010-06-28T19:54:00.021-04:00

After our time chowing down, the group went outside for portraits. First was the jumping wedding party picture. Best Man Dan took it quite seriously...

First the failed attempt... we were all cracking up.

The best one! Love it!

I look like I'm yelling bridezilla-style but really someone was taking pictures and I was obnoxiously waving hi to them.

Mr P and I took some pictures together in infrared.

This one looks normal till you zoom in...

It's Best Man Dan crashing our photo shoot!

This one is one of my faves.

And who doesn't love sepia?

Mr Pug went off to take pictures of him and his family with Erin, our photographer. In the meantime I took some of my own... my fam plus my sister M's boyfriend!

And who says a bride can't TAKE pictures? I used bridesmaid H's camera to take a picture for her...

I can't believe I took this pic! Aren't H and her boyfriend PRECIOUS?

H and I are precious too...

Bridesmaid A showed off HER choice of footwear (she wore heels until this point. I LOVE her personal style being shown off for the evening-time though! She's so cute!)

Baby A wasn't so happy about pictures so she had to be taken home :(

After the initial photo-frenzy, the wedding party gals sat back and hung out while the portraits were taken.

Mr P's portraits... first with his mom.

His mom's partner as well.

And add his mom's partner's son! Her daughter J lives in DC and had newborn twins so she couldn't make it.

Mr P and his Dad.

And step-mom!

I love these "sort of posed but also candid" pics.

Here's Mr P and his siblings and parents.

And then add the parents' significant others and kids! Well, sort of... his step-mom's two sons couldn't make it, and then I already told you about J.

The sibling portraits... Mr Pug kept it awkward.

J, S, Mr P, N, and A.

J is going to Spain for a year in August! S just started a new job today in Chicago! N is engaged and A just cleaned out our gutters like a good brother (well, we paid him.)

Ahh, a normal picture.

Mr P with his maternal Grandmother and Aunt.

Him and his grandma.

Mr P's mom's side of the family.

Then... it was MY turn! Me and my beautiful Mommers.

She's so cute and wonderful.

My mama loves me!

Us gals :)

These are some of the best women I know, beautiful inside and out.

My Aunt M who made the trip from Massachusetts.

My Mom's best friend H who came in from Massachusetts also.

My Uncle / Godfather who reminds me so much of my Daddy. We had lots of laughs that day.

Uncle B and Me.

My uncle's family minus their two sons!

I am really lucky to have so many great family members.

My cousin AND sorority sister!

These are my family members who made it to the wedding.

There are so, so so many missing that it makes me sad. So let's not focus on the negative!

Hubby and me and my family!

Poor Mr P having to be the sole testosterone in this mix!

My mom was probably saying something about "Thank God you calmed Mrs Pug down!"

Or maybe something meaner than that since I look SHOCKED.

I adore this photo. My two favorite people!

Here we all with all our parents. Our poor, future, hypothetical children. That's a lot of grandmas.

The one Dad!

Us with my FIL and Step MIL.

Me with Mr P, his siblings, and parents.

All of Mr P's family that came, with the exception of the Missouri part of his Dad's side, who went back to Aunt P's (also not here) since the babies were fussy.

And last but not least... my melting flowers.

At this point, we were SO DONEZO and ready to celebrate and party!!! The posing was over! Hooray!!! Up next... we arrive at Buca!

Beauty by Crystal!

2010-06-22T20:28:00.002-04:00

My review of my make up artist, Crystal of Beauty by Crystal, made it onto Weddingbee! You can see the post here.

I would recommend her up and down to anyone and everyone! Go check out her site and my review!

Our Pawfect Wedding: Enjoying with Friends

2010-06-21T21:17:00.010-04:00

We rushed downstairs and our guests followed. A receiving line, YES!

What did I learn from the receiving line pictures? I was very excited.

Excited to see Mr P's coworkers...

My cousin M...

Our friends B & R...

I was just really, really happy.

I flashed the bling around!

Seriously.

Everyone sat down, got food, hung out, and enjoyed! My sister R, Em, AP, and L.

Bridesmaids A and H.

Mr P's buddies hung out... too cool to sit, apparently.

ADORABLE father-in-law and step-mother-in-law! Today is their anniversary! Two years!

I got in a hug with Aunt T's hubby. I was telling him how INSANELY GOOD the punch she made was. Secret ingredient? Almond extract. I'm not even kidding.

Somehow (as if by magic?) the guestbook moved downstairs. I literally don't even know how.

There were some lovely babies present as well! First baby A, who is two and a half and shares Mr P's birthday! She's Mr P's cousin's daughter.

This is Mr P's other cousin's daughter, L. All of Mr P's cousins are guys (his sister is the only girl in the whole family!) so his cousins having daughters was a surprise!

Notice that I flat out did not eat. WHY! 3 month wife KJ is yelling at wedding day KJ to GO EAT THE DELICIOUS FOOD.

My awesome fam... Aunt M, my Mom, and my Mom's best friend H, who is like family to me.

I also got to chat and laugh it up with my pug people. This is L who made the cupcakes (yet to be seen!)

And S... check out the face they're making me make!

Aunt P is my FIL's sister. She is just truly adorable.

I got really chatty/excited (scary?) when I saw Lyd and her boyfriend.

I seriously adore these two.

Someone lined up Mr P and his siblings and my photographer caught it.

Below is Mr P's second family. He lived with them for a year in high school. Z is Mr P's high school best friend and like a brother to him (and me!) They are all wonderful, fun people I love hanging out with! I am lucky he has so many wonderful people in his life. And now, my life!

If you are feeling portrait-y... good for you, since that's what's coming up!

Our Pawfect Wedding: First Feeding...

2010-06-16T21:08:00.008-04:00

When guests left our wedding, they walked downstairs to see the church's gallery area in the basement transformed! Aunt P outdid herself and had a spread all ready.

Gorgeous, no?

Naturally, I was too busy greeting to eat anything at all. And I'm a horrendously picky eater. But I'll try and tell you what we had. First there were little rolly things...

Skewers of tomatoes, mozzarella, and artichoke...

Miniature cheese balls...

Little cone things...

Nuts...

Hummus...

And for the sweet tooth there was some candy bark...

And our favor cookies!

We had a sign that I made to tell people about the cookie favors.

I wish you could see it more... there was a great tray that Aunt P and I made to match our theme.

I loved how our plates looked against the green tablecloth.

I couldn't have done it without these two ladies: Aunt P...

And Aunt T.

These two made it possible for us to give back to our guests by way of delicious food and more together time, before we went to dinner with our family and wedding party. And- they coordinated their outfits to our black, white, and green color scheme! Bonus awesomeness points!

Next post? You'll see our guests ENJOYING! And Mr P and I enjoying being husband and wife finally!

PS- Check out Ashley's blog Bride on a Budget since our wedding was featured!!!!

Our Pawfect Wedding: Ceremony, Pug Style

2010-06-10T20:32:00.012-04:00

And there we were. At the altar. I couldn't believe it. And how hot it was up there. Seriously... holy lights.

Our church is so beautiful.

Our officiant started off the ceremony and then passed it off to lovely Lyd for our first reading.

She did such a great job!

It was a great way to kick off the ceremony.

I could probably tell you more of what was said, but 1) I'm too lazy to pull out the ceremony schedule and 2) I could barely keep with it during the ceremony myself. My mind was a combination of racing and focusing on Mr Pug.

And whattaya know, time for another reading.

SIL did her reading.

Mr P's dudes listened intently.

Our officiant gave an amazing homily. Not sure if this picture is of it, but we're listening to him, so why not!

Ohhh my church! LOVE! Still sad the church wasn't very full. Wonder if I can photoshop people in?

We were about to do ring stuff so I handed over my flowers to MOH M.

I'm smiling because in those hot hot lights, my ring was like BLING BLING BLING! Serious sparkle.

We prayed, which was very calming and focusing.

And then... HUSBAND AND WIFE Y'ALL!!!!! I basically attacked him.

Our kiss!

God, I love him.

And although it didn't make it on film, I did a Jersey fist pump with my flowers. We were finally MR & MRS!

Everyone walked back down the aisle smiling and laughing. M and A...

R and Best Man Dan...

H and Z...

L and S...

A, A, and J...

My HOT MOMMERS and wonderful Uncle...

Two of the three MIL's...

FIL and the third MIL...

And we were off! ...To the basement! For our everyone-included punch and appetizers "reception" (I still don't know what we should have called it) that everyone was invited to. That we pulled together pretty last minute. That I could NEVER have done without Aunt P. You'll all die when you see the food!

Our Pawfect Wedding: Walking Begins

2010-06-08T20:53:00.010-04:00

Our ceremony beginneth! (I know that's not a word.)

Ushers H, R, and E ushed them like pros. First up: Usher H and Mr Pug's maternal grandmother. His paternal grandmother broke her hip and couldn't come. We are very close with her so it was sad not to have her there!

Usher R with my MILs.

Usher E with my step MIL and my FIL following behind.

Father in Law pug looked dashingly sharp!

Then came, in my opinion, the guest of honor... usher R escorted her, my mom!

I love their faces! I adore R and my mom is the hottest, cutest, nicest mom out there. I'm so lucky.

Then came the wedding party! BM A walked with my BILs A and J.

It was a (Mr P's last name) sandwich!

Then came BIL S and BM L.

At this point, seeing it all together, I was SO happy with their outfits. Came together great. PS don't S & L look great together? They were visually well-matched.

Then come the blondes... GM Z and BM H.

Z shaved his mohawk off for the wedding... yippee!

Next up was the hilarious pair of the crew... Best Man Dan and my sister, MOH R.

In every picture Dan looks mischievous and R is laughing.

Mr Pug waiting patiently...

The other "bests..." Best Man A and my sister MOH M.

M's boyfriend has the same name as Best Man A. Weird right?

Oh look! Everyone is waiting for me!

You ready for this, Mr P?

I was still stressed but when those doors opened and my Uncle started to walk me down the aisle, I almost lost it. All I saw was Mr P.

You can tell I'm trying hard to pull it together and smile. And not cry.

I got handed off by my Uncle... who is also my dad's biological brother, and my Godfather. My dad was so missed that day, by so many people.

After that... GAME TIME!

Our Pawfect Wedding: Waiting it Out

2010-06-07T19:48:00.006-04:00

After a quick stop at home to pick up that marriage license thingie that the church needs, we were at the church. Mr Pug stayed outside and greeted some of our groomsmen, friends, and family.

"Oh Hi! I'm Mr Pug!"

And here's my wonderful father in law, walking into the church.

Best Man Dan checked out the lovely programs I made. I like to pretend he was admiring them but Mr P said he was reading them dramatically aloud. Nice.

Meanwhile... I was having a bridezilla meltdown. I came in the church and saw something rude that really upset me. Just a guest who, whether she meant to or not, made me lose my cool and get frantic.

I just stormed around setting everything up. Here's my sister M helping me. Check out the look on her face below! She's like... "hellllllpppppp...." as I clearly bitch on and on with no end in sight.

Seriously look, I couldn't even take a real picture with Best Man Dan.

Mr P was cool as a cucumber though! He hung out with groomsman Z. Very Buddy Jesus of them.

Groomsman Z and his sister, Lyd, who is one of my best friends in Indy. She did a reading at the wedding.

Our guests poured in. I love this picture that captured friends WB and Hil in a hilarious pose.

I needed someone to cool me down. Who could I go to? MY MOM, duh.

I got a picture with my mom and my uncle Bill.

My mom is so positive and helped me block out the drama and hurt feelings. With her help, I was ready to walk down the aisle!

Wedding Tragedy...

2010-06-06T13:49:00.004-04:00

I got the pictures! And will post more recaps for tonight or tomorrow. But I wanted to really bring everyone into what's important...

I'm sure everyone has things that would make their wedding "horrible" like a guest wearing white, or your parent getting too drunk and telling embarrassing stories.

Yesterday, here in Indianapolis, there was a true worst case scenario that changed a would-be happy wedding day.

You can read about it here or here, but I'm typing the text in from the IndyStar.com version, in case the link dies out eventually.

Despite sorrow, bandages, bruises and cuts, the wedding party persevered, with the couple exchanging vows later in the day in a conference area of Methodist Hospital's emergency room.

While they made the best of the situation, those at the wedding said they did not want to dwell on the tragic crash and death with the media.

A shuttle bus from Mavris Arts & Event Center carrying the bridal party was westbound on South Street when it collided at Delaware Street with a northbound Chevrolet Yukon with an Ohio license plate about 2 p.m.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said that one driver failed to stop for a red light, but police still were investigating late today to determine who was at fault, said Lt. Jeff Duhamell, an IMPD spokesman.

The crash caused the bus to spin to face east and tip to the side, landing on the northwest corner of the intersection. At least 16 people inside the shuttle were transported to Methodist and Wishard hospitals.

James Douglass, 29, died in the crash. He suffered severe head trauma, Duhamell said. It could not be immediately confirmed his community of residence.

Police by late today had not yet released the names of the drivers or of those injured. Blood samples will be taken from both drivers and tested for intoxication, which is protocol in a fatal crash, Duhamell said.

The bride works in IMPD's crime analysis unit, Duhamell said.

The wedding had been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. today at Mavris, 121 S. East St. After the hospital wedding, the party did go there for a prayer service and dinner.

At the wedding, nurses transformed into wedding planners, gathering cookies and punch, setting up chairs and using hydrogen peroxide to get bloodstains out of dresses.

Carrying gerbera daisy bouquets, the bridesmaids and bride all wore hospital-issued socks, captured in a photo by the wedding photographer.

About 100 teary-eyed guests gathered for the short ceremony, where the bride and groom exchanged vows, rings and received a standing ovation when they kissed.

‘‘We got their medical needs tended to, and we found out they wanted to get married here,’’ said Kelly Owens, an emergency room nurse.

Owens’ husband went to pick up a replacement tuxedo for the groom while security officers from Methodist went to Wishard to pick up the best man and rings.

‘‘I’ve been here 10 years,’’ Owens said. ‘‘I’ve seen one or two brides come in, but this is definitely the first time we’ve done a wedding. It makes the best of a bad situation.’’

The bride’s father Chuck Magee, Dublin, Ohio, called the nurses ‘‘angels in blue’’ because of their blue scrubs.‘‘The ER staff has just been compassionate, professional and considerate,’’ Magee said. ‘‘Everybody seems to be in as good of spirits as can be expected.’’

I really cannot imagine losing a groomsman on my wedding day. This story should give all brides, and really all people, something to think of and put weddings in perspective.

All text in italics from IndyStar.com's "Wedding goes on -- at hospital -- after fatal crash" By Gretchen Becker, linked above.

I interrupt the recaps...

2010-05-31T21:06:00.003-04:00

...to show you our one and only picture of us from THE day to be in Indy, INDY 500 DAY!

We went white trash. Our whole crew (about 60 of us!) really white-trashed it up with jorts, ripped shirts, and hats. It was a great time.

Unfortunately I dropped my camera and the battery and memory card fell out. I could only recover the battery (since I didn't realize the memory card fell out til later) and lost all photos from this weekend!

If you aren't already, you should be following my new blog, Ordinary in Indiana. More info about the race and everything else will be there.

Recaps will commence when I get pics I'm waiting on. I wanted to post some pics of the time at the church before the ceremony, and one of my friends has a ton! Once I get those posting will continue.

Thanks for keepin' up with me blog friends!

Our Pawfect Wedding: The Church

2010-05-26T17:52:00.009-04:00

Here's our beautiful church!

We are really lucky that we found a church to be married in and to attend in one fell swoop. It's a wonderful fellowship with a GREAT worship band!

Seriously... so beautiful.

Here's what I did to decorate the church:

Candles and a floral centerpiece (that we donated to the church. There were also pew candles (you can see them in the far left and right on this photo.) All candles were FREE FREE FREE! (Well with the $850 church use fee.)

The flowers were OK. I would have wanted less greenery, more white/OUR green, and some touches of black. It looks better from farther though, and while I felt that it wasn't worth what I paid for it ($100-something) I did give him free reign with our colors.

Candelabras...

There were also candles on the registers along the sides. It created a wonderful ambiance even in the sunny afternoon.

Did I mention my church is beautiful? We didn't do a ton to decorate the church and it still looked amazing.

We also can't forget about all my DIY projects... our guestbook!

The big bad programs... heck yea!

The spray-painted birdcage with the cards sign on it...

The back of our photo request cards...

Here's one of my pug friends (mom to Hank and Sally O'Malley) signing our guestbook!

I was glad that a pug person was the first to sign this guestbook.

My pal AP handing out our photo request cards!

And beautiful Em with the programs. I think she needs to make this her facebook pic.

And here's one of my fantastic photographers. This is John, Erin's husband.

Just about this time I was in the back, freaking out...

Thank You! Thank You! Etc.

2010-05-24T21:38:00.003-04:00

I know, I suck for not updating.

Anybody switch from Blogger to Wordpress? Holy shit. Photo uploading on Wordpress makes me want to never use Blogger again. Screw that five-at-a-time bullshit. Le sigh. Anyway, I've been really busy finishing my name change (DONE! Well... ish) and writing Thank You notes (also mostly done and sent) and updating my new blog. I'm trying to make it something everyone can enjoy, and since Wordpress posting is so much easier, Ordinary in Indiana usually wins.

I promise to get back with posting recaps (there are soooo many more, please don't stop following me and forget all about the Puggy Wedding!) really, really soon. In the meantime though, I have a public service announcement...

Tomorrow (Tuesday, May 25) is BLOG BUDDY APPRECIATION DAY!

I wrote about it here on the kjpugs blog. I hope you guys will participate. Comment on my entry (posting tomorrow morning on the kjpugs blog, ohhh around 8:30am Eastern time) if you post for BBAD. I would love to see some of my awesome wedding blog friends participate!

Our Pawfect Wedding: Us

2010-05-16T20:07:00.010-04:00

Everyone left (except Best Man Dan who was waiting with our car) and it was time for us to get our portraits together. I love the beautiful setting of the monument downtown.

He was ALMOST my husband at this point!

The monument backdrop is just so timeless. I am so glad we had the sun to do pictures there.

Smooches!

Counting down the minutes in our heads...

There's that fountain again!

Our best pug imitations!

Hand-holding.

We took a leisurely walk... this is a great shot of my super-simple bustle. The one I didn't want but got anyway, and I'm pretty happy about it.

We smooched for the crowds...

Lots of smooches! I LOVE the bustle in this picture.

And who doesn't love fisheye!?

We also kissed for our flowers...

This one is one of my FAVORITES!

We mimicked the other sunglasses shot and you get me smirkin' into my almost-hubby's glasses!

I snuck a moment with Mr Pug next to the monument.

We posed for a bunch in front of one of the monument gates. I was, at this point, really really really ready to get to the church and do the wedding thing.

One last picture - our shoes with the fast-wilting flowers, and we were ready to go!

But don't worry, the stress/drama/craziness didn't end with our arrival to the church!

Our Pawfect Wedding: My Bridals

2010-05-11T19:27:00.016-04:00

Bridals!!!!!!!!!!! WOOT!!!!!!! After everyone left Mr Pug was a gentleman and waited for our together pics while I got these taken. Check me out, I'm fierce.

This is in front of the monument in downtown Indy aka "the circle."

Contemplating the monument, perhaps?

No?

Oh I definitely had fun with these.

Erin is a sucker for birdcage veils so of course she wanted to take these! They're three different pics... I love how similar yet different they are with the different finishes.

Ohhh if only those were my real eyelashes. Both my sisters have eyelashes like that for real. My makeup artist even pointed it out!

So coy, so coy.

This? THIS is more kjpugs. Miss Pug is judging youuuuuuuu! Sing it with me people... "Judgingggg eyes! (clap) Are judging you! (clap clap)"

I was a little unsure about sitting and then of course I had issues looking up at her towards the sun. So there are lots of squinting pictures to be not shared.

My poor bouquet was melting already. See you can barely see the anemones. I also got those popular heart stick-ons to keep my shoes from slipping. They didn't stay on super well but did their job.

BAM! Here are my flowers.

I'm hiiidddinnnnggg!

I love this one. I love the picture of my dad, I love my ring, I love the hint of flowers, jewelry, and dress, I love the nail color.

Hello boobage!

This one's very me. Typical KJ face. Typical boobs as well.

Also typical. I couldn't really get into the whole "you're a pretty model" thing.

But I tried.

While fun, I was just pumped to be getting married later!

The monument downtown has fountains on either side. I love the pale aqua color it provided.

Something had me laughing!

Loveeee the color!

My two favorite flowers!!!!! Spider mum, meet anemone. Anemone, spider mum.

Soon, Mr Pug would join me for picturesssss! I couldn't wait!

Our Pawfect Wedding: People and Pugs

2010-05-07T20:51:00.012-04:00

Ok and back to the recaps, ladiesss! We took tons of pictures with those most important to us... our peeps and our pugs! First up were the pics with our Maids of Honor and our Best Men.

Here you see M, R, me, Mr Pug, A, and Best Man Dan. Who started to get frisky.

We got into it...

It looks like Mr P is getting a wet willy here?

We loved it.

Then there was... humping? I don't even know.

We all laughed through most of this part of the shoot.

Seriously look at my sisters' faces!

Then we took pictures with everyone!

We shocked them all by -gasp- kissing in public!

Then the rest of the gang joined... my greeterlicious girls and the puggies!

Sophie was tired and not having it so we had to pick her up.

Bouquets in the air... yea we were all ready to get to the church.

We got in some group shots with the puggies as well.

Everyone was doting on them!

Tired pugs do the funniest things so they were quite entertaining.

Sophie finally gave up and slept through most of the rest of the day.

Harles continued to be a gentleman...

Dixie just enjoyed all the attention!

Here's Sir Harles, overlooking the city!

Bridesmaid L, MOH R, and Groomsman S held the puggies up for some pics.

See, I told you... sleepy!

Dixie impressed everyone with her super cute belly.

Harles kept his legs crossed like a gentleman.

And Sophie shocked with her cuteness!

So then everyone peaced out and Mr Pug and I took some solo shots and I took some bridal pictures myself. Those are coming soon!

Facebook

2010-05-05T21:18:00.003-04:00

Guess what today is?

It's our three year facebook-official-anniversary!

Yep, in the early morning hours of Cinco de Mayo, Mr Pug and I decided to put our relationship on facebook. Or maybe more like I was all, "can I can I can I can I?" and he was like "sure." LOL!

The nice thing about our anniversaries are that they all fall on holidays. First met on 4/20 (a stoner's holiday?), become official on 5/5 (the real anniversary we celebrated), got engaged Christmas Eve, and got married the weekend after St. Patrick's day. So it'll be impossible to forget anniversaries!

I'm up to my eyeballs in thank you notes and such, but I promise more recaps are coming soon! The best is yet to come! Promise!

Our Pawfect Wedding: It's My Turn, Yo!

2010-04-29T19:46:00.007-04:00

Ok so I lied a little. I said it would be glamour shots of me but those come later. These are just the "my turn" shots with our wedding party and such. Here we go...

Here I am with the boys!

Yes, Best Man Dan, me.

Kisses from the boys!

Here are the lovely MOHs... my sisters M and R.

I love these girls so much!!!!!! I truly have the best sisters in the world.

They clearly agree.

Here are my gals! I wish Bridemaid S could have made it, but I'll see her at our summer celebration. We definitely all missed her, though.

I ADORE this one! L, H, M, me, R, and A.

There were a few cameras going at one time. We had 3 photographers on the case!

At this specific moment I was notsomuch feeling the smile love.

Aren't the green flowers perfect?

I am really glad I went with black dresses and green accents. I think it was more modern but also timeless.

Our shoes! I told them to wear any peep toe or closed toe black shoe, as long as it had a full back (wasn't strappy) and they did great! Here you see L, H, M, me, R, and A. I want to steal them all, especially R's and A's.

These two girls coordinated PERFECTLY! My greeter-ladies, Em and AP.

I've been friends with them (well with all my bridesmaids) for more than 14 years. CRAZY.

Then I got a few family shots. Here I am with my sisters and Mommers!!!!!

Yes I call my mom Mommers. We love her very much. And apparently they love me very much too!

There is no lack of laughs in our family. Just us gals :)

Ok so more pug action next. Seriously I have more recaps than I thought...

Our Pawfect Wedding: Pugs & Us

2010-04-26T19:30:00.013-04:00

Naturally, we couldn't take photos without pug breaks in between.

Uncle Steve!!! Givin Dixie Bugg some love!

Best Man A and groomsmen A & S holding our babies!

Clearly they're not pug-pros like we are.

Mr Harles J Montague...

That special Dixie Bugg aka Bigwit!

And Sophie... passing out.

She was quite tired after getting a ton of attention.

Here's my fave guy with my favorite pugs!

Kisses from their daddy...

(Sophie is Daddy's little girl!)

And here are my boys...

Handsome!

Now it's time for the ladies! Sophie Soph...

She's so glam!

And pretty Dixie...

Our family!

Don't they look thrilled to be handled so much?

LOVE!

Smoochies for Harles

And the VERY sleepy Sophie...

Here are my puggies admiring our rings.

Our photographer discovered at this moment that if she said the "T" word, the pugs would focus intensely.

"Treats!"

We took the pugs for a quick stroll...

Then I got my shot with the puggies.

Look at that trifecta of pugs!

I love that Dixie Bugg's tongue!

Up next? Some glamour shots of ME! Muahahahaha!

PS - Don't forget to check out my new blog!

Bloggy-Blog

2010-04-25T20:08:00.004-04:00

Hey all! So I just did a recap post a day or two ago about Mr P and his dudes, but since I had started it days ago when I hit post it posted... days ago. So if you haven't seen it yet, check it out! It's in the right spot now.

Also I wanted to let you guys know that I started my next blog, since of course this one will be done when the wedding recaps finish. It's called kjpugs: ordinary in indiana. It's not a food blog, or a fashion blog, or anything like that. It's just a peek into my pretty normal life, good, bad and hilarious! You know, judging and self-deprecation. If you are interested, stop by, comment, and add it to your reader!

Our Pawfect Wedding: Mr P & His Dudes

2010-04-24T20:23:00.000-04:00

We started out the monument pictures with my (then, soon-to-be!) Hubby. I married a hunk!

Seriously, Mr Pug is just the cutest.

Here he is lookin' studly...

You might recognize this location... we did some engagement pictures here!

Mr P was probably laughing since we were all being goofy during his photo shoot.

Mr P's bout was a single ranunculus and some hypericum berries. I wish it had been a little more... oomph? Like a nicer-sized ranunculus flower? But I liked that his was different than the other dudes' bouts.

This is one of my absolute faves... Best Man Dan wore super cool aviators and you can see Mr P and his other Best Man, A, in the glasses.

That was the beginning of their Mr P & Best Men photo shoot... D cracks me up (on the right)

A serious one...

And then D takes it to a less serious level again!

Here's Mr P and his wedding party dudes! His brothers J & A, Best Man Dan, Mr P, Best Man A, groomsman Z, and brother S.

Here are their bouts... SO awesome looking! A+!

J, A, Mr P, and Best Man A.

Mr Pug got some time with my gals as well. Here he is with L, H, M, R, and A.

I like these bunchier ones much better than the super formal pictures.

Don't my gals look so cute? I think the pashminas really made the look work.

We were instructed a few times to do these kiss-blowing pictures...

Brian looks overcome with blown-kiss gratitude...

...but then kiss-blowing got too hard for my gals. Check out the looks on their faces!

After Mr P's portion of pictures were finished, the two of us did a ton of pictures with the pugs... coming up soon!

Our Pawfect Wedding: Departing for Puggy Pictures

2010-04-22T21:40:00.004-04:00

After gathering in the lobby, we head off to the picture area, aka Monument Circle, the center of Indianapolis, where we had our engagement pictures taken.

This lady stopped me as I walked out to tell me that one of our pugs reminded her of her pug who recently passed. I showed her how the charm on my bouquet had my pug who went "to the rainbow bridge" (dog term for not with us anymore... I'm so lame) in the picture with my dad, and she had tears in her eyes. I was really glad my wedding gang somehow brightened her day. I love that!

The pug brothers (yep all three of these dudes are my brothers-in-law) A, J, and S were in charge of the pugs. Notice anything?

Yep, only one pug has a leash. The other two have ROPE. Mr Pug called me FRANTIC since they only brought one leash for three pugs. Luckily my photographer and her husband are insanely prepared, like boy/girl scouts or something. They made some rope leashes for us. And Erin told me they put some collars and leashes in their emergency kit for the future!

We drove to the monument (about 5 blocks?) and had a hard time parking. We might've been a little illegal... oh well. My peeps helped me dress the pugs in their dress outfits, which I got from PugPossessed on Etsy (a good friend of mine!)

Harles gets in his suit...*

Sophie in her dress*... passers by were laughing and smiling (in a good, non-awkward way) and shouting sweet comments at us... mostly about the dogs! A few did notice my white dress though. It was a wonderful experience!

The pugs were seriously ready for their close up.

Seriously who can resist a pug in a tie?

The wedding party members were really easy going about the pugs, and were helpful holding their leashes/ropes while pictures were taken.

And yes, as groomsman S shows, it did take some pug wrangling.

So what was next? Pictures of Mr Pug and his dudes! And duh, more pug glamour shots....

(Pictures marked with a * were taken by Erin Hession Photography. The rest are from our pugtastic friends.)

Our Pawfect Wedding: Hotel Lobby

2010-04-20T20:09:00.007-04:00

Meanwhile, in the lobby...

(I just like being able to say that like a cheesy soap opera or movie.)

Seriously though, while we were taking our first look pictures, our wedding party members were hanging in the hotel lobby. Here are L, R, greeter AP, and M.

My fam! R, my mom, and M.

It wouldn't be a family event without some self-portraits of R...

...and some pictures of M taken by R...

Bridesmaid A used ribbon from a present I got them to make a quick hair tie. Hmm... interesting...

L poses with AP...

And oh look HERE WE COME!

It was pretty exciting to walk into the lobby.

There were lots of cameras. However none from our photographer... they were getting ready to go to our next location. All these pictures were taken by friends.

I believe this face reflects my thoughts about A's hair bow... something like "ehhhh you can't be serious right?"

I showed a lot of people the charm of my dad and Oli on my bouquet. It got a little emotional.

Whoa, candid.

I guess there were refreshments? Here we have my soon-to-be-hubby, Best Man A, and groomsman Z.

I got some love from Best Man Dan, naturally.

I then had a moment with my mom...

We got in a few more pictures... here are Em, AP, and L.

And one with my family.

And then it was time to go! Onto the next location... what a day, I'm exhausted again just thinking about it... tune in, I promise you'll see some pugs soon!

Our Pawfect Wedding: First Look

2010-04-18T21:45:00.013-04:00

After getting ready, Mr Pug came up to our suite and we took some through-the door pictures.

We were blocked by the door so we couldn't actually see each other!

Shoved in a corner isn't exactly my look but it was fun to have pictures together before we even saw each other!

We showed off rings (we wore them for pictures even though we weren't technically married yet) and chatted quickly.

Then Brian went down to a banquet room in the hotel and waited for me. Last chance to skip out, man!

I got ya now... tap tap tap...

Checking each other out!!!!! It was so cool to have a first look privately and get to ooh and ahh each other .

I loved seeing him all snazzy in his suit!

We discussed wardrobes and how amazing the weather turned out to be (it was a 60% chance of rain and cold all week and then ended up being in the 60's and gorgeous!)

I couldn't wait to get the partay started!!!

Awkward laughinggggg!

We got some hugs and smooches in...

We also utilized the window lighting.

...more smooching...

Here you can check out my bracelet and all our rings!

I was sooo tres happy with my nail color!

We gazed longingly outside the window...

Then some flower ring pictures...

(I'm telling you guys... anemones!)

Some fisheye bridals...

Then we were ready to join our friends!

Our Pawfect Wedding: My Dress!!!

2010-04-15T21:07:00.008-04:00

Ok peeps it's DRESS TIMEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I got my dress hanger from my sister for Christmas. She purchased it from LilaFrances on Etsy. Who now has a serious wait list.

Look at those gorgeous details!

My dress was less than $400 bucks and from a random tiny shop in southern Indiana. I would NEVER do it differently. Before the wedding, I wondered. Was it THE dress for me? After wearing it to marry my man, there is NO question. I just adore it.

Look at her!!! Paige the dress! (Read here if you don't know why I just called her Paige.) I had a bolero commissioned on Etsy but ended up not wearing it (I wanted to wear it to church for modesty) since it was HOT in our church.

Remember how I said I looked super-special "diving" into my dress? Here's proof...

I even told Erin that I wasn't sure I wanted these pictures. There are multiple ones of me with a bag over my head to protect my makeup and dress from each other. They will not be shown. I'm not graceful.

My bestie H helping me... isn't she seriously gorge?

These next few black and white pictures are from Bridesmaid A. I was pretty intense.

Sister/MOH R helped as well. And I sipped water.

It's hard work getting into a dress.

Our photographer Erin had to step in and help. My amazing wonderful seamstress begged me to have someone come to a fitting to learn how to lace me up. I didn't have anyone... the only people I wanted to get ready with were my family, best friends, and bridesmaids. Who all live in NJ or similarly far from Indiana. Sooooo I was SOL. Luckily Erin has done like two gazillion weddings and was really helpful.

Once that dress was on, I put on my jewelry...

...while laughing...

(Putting on this bracelet solo is HARD!)

Here's my necklace WITH EXTENDER for my sausageneck!!!!!!

This pic is from A as well... it's us with Crystal. Seriously we all LOVED her!

Back to professional photos... here I am with Bridesmaids L and A. I didn't get the memo as to who was taking the picture.

More paparazzi... my beautiful amazing sister M:

And my fantastic greeter/guestbook gals, AP and Em. Who are both Jewish (I attended both Bat Mitzvahs! Way back when I was EVEN MORE awkward!!!!!) which made me giggle when I asked them to be the smiling faces at the church :)

Guess what happened next? Well first I dealt with a frantic phone call (not photographed, but you'll find out soon...) and then, our first look photos!

Our Pawfect Wedding: Some Details

2010-04-14T21:23:00.006-04:00

Before you get to see the pictures of me struggling into my dress like a special person... here are some of the details that helped put together my day, as taken while we were getting ready! All photos are by Erin Hession Photography.

My beautiful, difficult programs. I finished them that morning as people arrived.

Erin did this shot of our rings on our RSVP card!

And here are our rings with the cake toppers I painted!

Mr Pug's ring...

I have such WONDERFUL blog friends... here's a hankie that Dawn from Lydia & Pugs sent me - I didn't even ASK - she was just all generous and thoughtful WITHOUT BEING PROMPTED. I didn't think people like that existed. (She does products with drawings of many dog breeds, check her out!) Also Melissa from Pug Notes sent over the pug buttons for me... they look JUST like the three pugmigos, do they not?

Here is my jewelry from Luxe Deluxe. I'm wrestling with whether or not to sell them. Not super re-wearable but my Mom bought me the bracelet and it's sort of sentimental. So I'm not sure.

I made this locket the night before the wedding. It's my dad and my first pug, both taken from me too soon.

My shoes! Blogger Stephanie wore them (hers were dyed orange) and recommended them... they couldn't have been more perfect! I was going to send them to Laura but timing wouldn't work for cross-country shipping. Now the question- what color could/should I dye them now for future wear?

I love how my bestie BM H decorated this card...

Ok and FLOWERS!

Here are all the bridesmaid bouquets. Hydrangea with some spider mums and hypericum berries shoved in. Maybe something else, who knows. They didn't hold up well (hello, hydrangeas?) but looked great through pictures so that's what matters most.

My flowers. Dramatic. Different. Gorgeous. Anemones, spider mums, ranunculus, hypericum berries, some orchid-y things I do NOT remember asking for (but liked) and some roses I think (or just ugly ranunculus-es) that I did not ask for and did NOT like. But you could barely see them.

It was gorgeous but also not so great on the holding up front. The spider mums probably survived best (except the berries but they don't count) which was surprising since they're fragile- hit them wrong and they could unravel. Mostly my issue was just wilting... summer brides I do not suggest any of these!!!!

But let's be honest. It was perfect for me and I'd never do it any other way.

Up next... I promise you get to see my dress!

Our Pawfect Wedding: Getting Ready

2010-04-13T19:49:00.012-04:00

I woke up the next morning and went right to the hotel! I left some instructions for Mr Pug and a card and left him sleeping blissfully. Girls gotta get ready yo!

Here's the hotel we got ready at, our guests stayed at, and Mr P and I stayed at that night.

I LOVED The Omni, mostly because of the event person I worked with, Sara Thomas. She was seriously one of the best vendors I worked with this whole time.

I got my hair done before, well, anyone really was there. My bridesmaids, mom, aunt, aunt's best friend, and greeters trickled in. We helped each other paint the bridesmaids' nails, since I got them the nail polish in their bag and asked them to wear it. Here I am doing MOH R's nails...

I called them "talons" and she may or may not have known what that meant, thus my face.

Bridesmaid L was wearing peep toes, so she only did what was 100% necessary!

The room we got ready in was the room Mr P and I stayed in that night. It was a bi-level suite overlooking the southwest side of downtown.

Below is Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Colts play!

More downtown:

While this all went on, my makeup artist was getting us all pretty. Here's bridesmaid A:

MOH M:*

Bridesmaid H:*

We had one heck of a spread!

Since I love you, blogger friends, here I am pre-makeup. Ew.

Crystal is a ridiculously amazing makeup artist.

My day-of makeup turned out even better than I imagined. I was really impressed with everything from the coverage to the eyelashes!

PS isn't Crystal so pretty? Her company is Beauty by Crystal.

A job well done!

Meanwhile, my girls got ready. Here Em does bridesmaid L's hair.

And AP does her makeup.

Em did her makeup as well.

We all finished our makeup and hair-dos and got ready for all the pictures! But before that... there were tons of details and a certain DRESS named Paige...

All pictures by Erin Hession Photography unless otherwise noted by *, which denotes a friend's photo.

Our Pawfect Wedding: The Day Before

2010-04-12T21:21:00.005-04:00

Ok so I was trying to wait for some pictures from friends, but I have about half and can't wait any longer to start recapping- holy ONE WEEK SINCE I'VE WRITTEN!? Yea it's recap time.

Anywho the day before the wedding was INSANITY. I brought the out of town bags to the hotel first thing in the morning. I regret not getting pictures- they were cute! I bought a pack of assorted black and white bags from Michael's and some lime green tissue paper. I put in the bags some water bottles, mini wine, gum, snack packs, and a note with nearby restaurants and a greeting. I think there may have been one more thing in the bag but either way, they were pretty basic. It was really just a hello and thanks for coming bag.

I then got my nails done! I had a spa gift card to use and will never regret the nearly two hours my mani-pedi took. They used top-notch clear coat (on top of my nail polish) and it really held- well into my honeymoon. Plus the scents and soothing music calmed me down. When I was done, my mom, aunt, and sisters were in town! MOH M had to do some work though, so they stayed at the hotel downtown and got some food. I went home and cleaned and finished last minute projects.

When it was almost time for the rehearsal, my mom drove everyone over- my family, my aunt, my mom's best friend, and my friends. They all got to see my house and meet the pugs! Bridesmaid L checked out my fabulous honeymoon hat:

(Yes, we have a random picture of Honest Abe in our guest room. That came with Mr P when we moved in together... and I've grown to love it.)

Then we loaded into our cars and headed to the church, which is only minutes from our house. We all hung out outside waiting for some "fashionably late" people. (Learn from my mistake and tell those people to be there early!) My minions helped carry in my wedding goodies... here are my sisters, MOH M and MOH R carrying our guestbook!

And here are my aunt, my mom, and mom's best friend! My Aunt is holding our birdcage card box! I ended up just getting the generic one at Jo-Ann's and spray painting it black, remember?

We had lots of fun practicing to do. Here are my girls... Bridesmaids A, L, and MOHs R and M. Bridesmaid H had a delayed flight so she had to wing it the next day! And in case you missed it, BM S wasn't able to make the wedding- but was totally missed :(

Here are the dudes with our church's wedding coordinator arranging them.

And here I am with my boo! Tensions were running high all day so it was nice to have that moment to reflect and prepare for our marriage the next day.

After the rehearsal, we went to Cancun, the Mexican restaurant we go to, oh, weekly. (Remember?) They didn't take reservations, just call ahead. It worked out fine, except one server forgot a whole table. One half of us were eating before the other half ordered! They took a little off the price, but it was just a fluke type thing, to be expected with a place that's as casual as Mexican.

Our guests enjoyed drinks and each others' company!

We had a great time eating and introducing everyone.

Above left is one of my step-MIL's... I felt bad catching her at a bad second but she's normally super smiley! However the rest of the pic is too funny not to post.

After we went to one of Mr P's friend's houses to have some drinks and hang out. Bridesmaid J was not so into the dudes' decor...

We kept it an early night and head home (well, me home, them to hotels) while the guys stayed out a bit later. I stayed up until about midnight to wash my hair and blow dry it then, so it would be a little dirty for my hair-do the next day. And then- bed! Lots of excitement the next day...

*All pictures taken by my pugtastic friends.

The Honeymoon: Sandals Dunn's River Villaggio

2010-04-05T20:39:00.010-04:00

Good news! I got my photo discs today! I figure I've been really boring lately (low comment counts much?) so I sucked it up and am just recapping my whole honeymoon in one post, sans sunburn (which you already saw!)

We left the Monday after our wedding. It was AMAZING to have that extra day to relax, pack, and buy those last-minute things we forgot we'd need in Jamaica.

Our flight left super duper early on Monday. We connected through Charlotte and arrived in Jamaica mid-day! There was a Sandals lounge when you got through customs and all the jazz. Then they took you via bus to the resort. Ours was the Sandals Dunn's River Villaggio. It was the smaller of the two in Ocho Rios, and Italian themed. Here we are on the bus:

I'm so greasy and so excited!

We made sure to sit on the coast side of the bus so we'd see the ocean.

I didn't take these pictures until the last day, but anyway here is what we saw upon entering the resort:

Gorgeous Italian themed architecture in their open-air lobby!

It was so beautiful and had a chic, classic European feel.

Because we were concierge level, we were checked in immediately. I was very glad our travel agent, Robert from Beach Bum Vacation, suggested a concierge suite!

We were on the top floor - floor #5 but actually the 6th floor, which was weird - but anyway, we had an AMAZING view. Here was the view in the late afternoon when we were getting ready in our room.

The first day was the most overcast... only got better from here!

It was a small resort which we liked... it felt more private and special, and we didn't have to hike places.

We had a balcony that we'd sit and drink on for hours after our time outside.

Our room was fully stocked with liquor, wine, and beer... here's the beer of choice in Jamaica!

We were also given champagne... oh champagne how I adore you!

I did a little ring-photography with the beautiful backdrop!

The first night we noticed a private dinner above the waterfall... isn't that a crazy place to be able to eat!?

I discovered at this point that my favorite drink was... the MUDSLIDE! Oh yum. You can see one I guzzled on the bar next to us below. We got dinner and drinks and enjoyed the heat.

There was really cool entertainment... fire breathers and dancers.

The next morning we woke up... oh if only we knew the burns Mr P would sustain that day!

We'd sleep in every morning and go to breakfast around 9:30. These birds would always watch as we had our buffet breakfast!

We saw lots of couples getting married over our week in Jamaica. I was mildly stalkerish and took pictures of this couple getting their photos taken.

We actually saw him around the resort and I was WAY awkward and said "HEY I HAVE PICTURES OF YOU, YOU JUST GOT MARRIED!" Luckily he was nice and enjoyed seeing the photos I took from our balcony. They were getting married all by themselves - no guests! I bet it was so intimate and a really romantic occasion for them.

I couldn't believe we were both wearing RINGS! WEDDING BAND RINGS! OFFICIAL RINGS!

It was great to be able to relax, decompress, and call this hunk my husband :)

I also did a TON of this... sleep. The sun took a TON out of me... I was pretty much only awake 9am-9pm every day.

There were tons of events at the resort over our stay, including some great all-resort buffets. You could see them setting up tables, like below.

It was so HOT in Jamaica too! Great chance to wear my tank tops.

(Lots of honeymooners means a lot of "I'll take your picture if you take ours" exchanges!)

Little known fact- I LOVE pigeons. If I lived somewhere that they were a menace, I'm sure I'd hate them. But they were so cute hanging around our lunchtime spot, and I admit I gave them a few tiny scraps. I don't know why but they just coo their way into my heart.

One of the nights we got a tray of chocolates and a lovely note to celebrate our honeymoon.

I should also mention we got a LOVELY spa treatment, courtesy of the spa credit we got for booking a concierge level suite. It was amazing. We didn't leave the resort, we didn't do any excursions. But the couples massage on our last day? It. Was. Awesome. It took our relaxation to the next level and they also did a sunburn treatment that made Mr Pug's legs feel a lot better.

I was really glad I got my hair cut pre-honeymoon... I couldn't have endured long hair stuck to my neck in that heat. Not sure what I'm doing in this picture...

Ever notice that they serve Coke Light in other countries, not Diet Coke? These recap pictures are becoming random.

After a relaxing spa visit on Saturday, we packed and left the resort early Sunday morning. I was relaxed and rejuvenated, but ready to go. Although not ready for a full day of travel!

Mr Pug braved his painful legs and was a trooper on our extremely long travel day.

After almost having to sit next to a drunken half-naked man, a stopover in Philly, a ton of time in customs, and an over-sold flight back to Indy... we were home! It was very late and thus, very hard to go to work the next day. But we've made it... more than two weeks married! Woohoo go us!

Our honeymoon was exactly the relaxing, "together-full" experience we needed. Now if I could just get another one... LOL!

PS- I promise that my wedding recaps will be more organized than this post!

PPS- Mr Pug's legs are majorly improved and looking better every day! Just lots of peeling right now... still!

Recent Acquisitions

2010-04-04T20:08:00.002-04:00

So remember when I said I had a ton of stuff to write about? Here it is. Don't you love the professional title? Well lots of things have changed since the wedding that I want to show ya!

We got back from our honeymoon on Sunday night (March 28) late. Too late. Sooo freaking late. And then had a full work day on Monday. Which led to an EARLY bedtime Monday. But then Tuesday night? Gloriousness. We took two gift cards we had from our wedding to Williams-Sonoma and used them for a new Kitchenaid Mixer!

I love her so much. So, so much. We got a fancy schmancy one but it was worth it. It has a splatter guard! SQUEEE! Mr Pug wants to make doughs and other manly things. I'm into the baked goods. Oh and mashed potatoes. We together decided on chrome finish... we both didn't like white or black but couldn't decide on another actual color, since we know our decor will change over the years. Chrome = timeless.

Isn't she gorg??? Love! We relocated our George Foreman grill for it, since we have a real grill now and don't use the Foreman at all.

Sidenote: I used the mixer to make a recipe from scratch today! Oreo cupcakes for Easter!

The recipe can be found here on Tasty Kitchen. It's the best recipe site I've found... you need to check it out if you haven't! The cupcakes were great, I needed to add more milk to the frosting and cook them a minute less but they still were amazing.

Anyways, back to our week. So we did that Tuesday, and then Wednesday went to change our phones. It was a hard decision but we left Verizon. I wanted a phone with email capability, but because my contract with Verizon wasn't up, they wanted $559 for the Droid!! HECK no. We decided to go to AT&T and both get iPhones. We ended up paying $4oo for two iPhones... way less than the cost to get me a Droid, and Mr Pug is happier since he had just an OK phone before. Plus monthly is the same as it would be for me to have a plan for the Droid. Also, my job gets me a percentage off our monthly AT&T bill, which is great. I can already tell the service isn't as good, but we rarely use the phone for calls. It's nice not coming home to 2937483 emails since I can check them at lunch now!

Then Thursday... April Fool's Day. I get a text from Mr P. "My car broke down." (Sidenote: his car has like 175,000 miles on it and he drives 6-10 hours a day in the warm months for his job. It doesn't do well when it's driven that much! And it's broken down many a time before.) I realize it's April Fool's day so I'm all "ha ha ha you almost got me." And he's all... "I'm serious." And I'm all "You're so MEANNNN what a mean joke!" Then he called me and I realized he was serious. Another part to replace, another few hundred dollars. We realized his car wouldn't make it through half the summer with him working his job. Unfortunately, due to a bad dealer and his credit out of college, he's majorly upside down on his Jeep Liberty. So selling isn't an option. That leads me to my baby... Bruce the '99 Corolla. Here I am when my parents drove him home in September 2002 (I had gotten out of the shower right before, thus the towel.)

I paid him off and have just been putting off getting him maintained in the past few months. I put $1,400 into him about a year and a half ago, and got a letter in the past year saying that my Toyota dealership wanted to buy him (I guess people are buying more used cars.) So after much talking, Mr P and I realized that we needed a new car. Selling his upside down car and adding that major debt to another car would be like paying off a credit card with a credit card, so we decided to keep his Jeep and sell Bruce. I'll drive the Jeep (now named Barney, since it's a maroon-y color) into the sunset until it dies or is paid off. And that means we traded in Bruce:

(Yes, I cried. Almost 8 years with him... it was sad! PS they found a can of soup in there, which was awkward.)

We used him towards a new 2010 Camry. We got 0% financing and returning customer loyalty, meaning we have 2 years or 25,000 miles of free maintenance. Since Mr Pug drives 30-35 thousand miles a year it won't last him long, but we'll take what we can get! We got a great deal on the new one, which I have named Finnegan:

It looks black or gray, but he's actually a dark, metallic hunter green. LOVE!

Yea, I'm a little sad that I gave up my car for a worn down Jeep. But it was what we had to do to get out of debt, and since I love my husband, I was willing to use the Jeep for the short 10 to 15 minute drive to work each day for the next two years. I know I hear all the time about how marriage is two people looking out for one another as a unit. Naturally I thought I'd trade in Bruce for a super awesome new car eventually. But US is more important than WE because I love my husband and want US to succeed. It feels good to be on the same team!

Oh and that would be team POOR since we didn't have two car payments in the budget. Ugh. Ramen, here we come!

Newzzzz

2010-04-03T09:26:00.002-04:00

Ok I have tons to post but I have some cool news... yesterday was my birthday (YAY 25!) and the best gift? An email from my photographer that my photos were up! As in all 2,226 of them. The CD isn't here yet but that means recaps will start soon! Yea, seriously, she finished them in less than two weeks. Which is like the shortest amount of time ever. (I love having a wedding in a not-popular month to get married!)

Now I know why people take forever to start their recaps... I went through them online yesterday and it took hours. There are SO MANY! I can't wait to share them with you guys though. So stay tuned! Oh and I'll finish my lame recaps of our trip to Jamaicaaaaa soon! I should just photograph my thighs, write "I took all-inclusive as a personal eating challenge" and leave it at that.

(I'm still working on eating normal portion sizes again. It's really challenging.)

Best Man, Best Moment... BFF?

2010-03-30T21:54:00.006-04:00

Ok cutting into my (lame since I barely took pictures) honeymoon recaps to share a hilarious wedding photo with you all. But before you see it, here's some background.

Mr Pug had some amazing wedding party dudes. I have great friendships with them all individually, and love them all for different reasons. Many of Mr P's besties have been a huge part of my life in Indy because I moved here knowing NO ONE with NO FRIENDS.

One of the best men, D, is no exception. He is practically unreachable at times - and lives in Chicago, so we don't see him often - but when we do see him, he's unstoppable. D went to college with Mr P, and I was anxious to meet him after Mr P and I started dating. A few months into our relationship, we had planned a trip to Chicago. D called Mr P and started the convo with "what color underwear are you wearing?" If you knew him, you'd laugh at that. Naturally at first I was like.... "who is this weirdo?" Then I met him and instantly adored him. He came up to me when we first met and said something purposely awkward like "Your eyes are striking!" and then we were all besties.

In his speech at the wedding, D mentioned the first time we met, and asked our guests "...did you know she talks?" Yea I talked his ear off that night. It ended with us doing the Kid n Play dance in the middle of a bar...

(The dance I speak of is more easily viewed here, the part we did starts at 1:16.)

Later that night we strolled the streets of Chicago screaming Rhianna's Umbrella song. It was instant friendship!

He came into Indy a year and a bit later in August 2008... we enjoyed fun times again. He is goofy and hilarious and always brings a great time.

And his next Indy visit in August 2009...

Let's just say he's a REALLY, REALLY good friend to Mr Pug. And is no longer a fan of Indy.

But he's definitely still a fan of us!

Ok onto this awesome moment. So he drove with Mr Pug and I from the church to our reception. The dinner at Buca was downtown, and we had to park in mall parking. (Indianapolis' downtown mall is intermingled throughout the buildings downtown and sort of "hidden.") While walking through the mall to the street, we passed a photobooth. I was giddy with happiness and really just enjoying the moment of being married, finally. And the three of us decided to hop in and savor that moment!

I wish it was bigger on here!!!!!!! We were wacky and goofy and it was such a fun moment from the wedding. A lot of the time that day, I focused on stress and things going wrong (for example- someone may or may not have worn white to my wedding?) and having a carefree moment was exhilarating! I can definitely say that that moment was one of the best moments of the day. Oh and now we're all BFF... 4L.

Yes I realize this is borderline stalkerish to do a post about someone who was Mr Pug's friend first. But he's always been such a good friend to my hubs, and is now a good friend to me too, so it needs to be mentioned! Does your significant other have a friend who has become a friend to you too?

The Honeymoon: Ouchies!

2010-03-29T19:29:00.003-04:00

Flat out warning you that there are GROSS pictures later in this entry. Fair warning!!!

Alright, my honeymoon recaps are going to be pretty lame since we never left the resort and spent the majority of the time just flat out RELAXING. We are not excursion people. Although, any other time, we may have taken a booze cruise or something. What stood in our way? The burnnnn.

The first full day (Tuesday) we both didn't sunscreen our legs. I'm fair, but I still tan a lot better than Mr Pug. See? This was a day or so after the burn went away.

Below is Thursday morning. Mr P's legs weren't as purple as they had been but you can see the AMAZING redness and swelling.

Yea the above picture I was startled by the elevator but here's a centered one:

Note that he's holding up his shorts, not wearing short-shorts. I died laughing a little after I took that picture.

Later Thursday yellow blistering developed, proving that Mr Pug saying he had 2nd degree burns was correct. Here are his legs the day we left (Sunday)... the right leg is rippled with blisters.

Dry, burnt, blistered.

Then we fly, and get to our connection in Philly. And we're picking up our luggage (who knew you had to pick up luggage before customs then re-check it if you have a connection coming back from international travel?) and I all of a sudden am like... "Oh.My.Gosh."

YEP massive yellow blister. Which drained. A lot. And still does. Drains then refills. Constantly. Sorry that's TMI. I warned you though!

See how much worse it is today?

I draped him with a ruler thing to show that it's bigger than an inch across. It is so intriguingly gross.

Just let this serve as a lesson to you future honeymooners.... SPF 50 ALL OVER. IF YOUR LEGS DON'T NORMALLY BURN, STILL SPF THEM. Or you could get 2nd degree burns. For reals.

Ok back to trying to convince the hubs to go to a freakin' doctor!

Blogged!!! (or, "Hi from Jamaica!")

2010-03-25T22:44:00.004-04:00

Ok yea, here I am, on my honeymoon with my HUSBAND!

...who is half Irish and tans like it, and the poor dear is so sunburned on his legs that they're nearly purple. From Tuesday. So yes, internet was necessary in our recovery/shade/"ohmigodnotsunnnnn!" time.

Your sweet comments have literally made my day(s) while I've been checking them! And I'll make you all happier... we've been blogged! Our photog is SICK and posted 45 pictures on facebook (friend me bitches!) and did a great blog post. And yea, now you'll know my last name... oh well. I don't care, it's so worth it.

Sick-amazing-awesome pictures by Erin Hession Photography!

Please comment here AND on her site, show some love for my RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME photog, and stay tuned!!!! So much more awesomeness to come!

(Seriously, how do you all do recaps? There are insane amounts of details!)

Ok, back to put a little aloe on my so-so leg burns and nurse the hubby with some ibuprofen and SERIOUS aloe applications. Say a little prayer for us that, unlike cockroaches and vampires, we can emerge from the shade tomorrow.

ps- someone remind me that "all-inclusive" doesn't mean "eat your own body weight in food & drink until you get your money's worth."

Soooo I'm MARRIED!!!!!

2010-03-22T00:12:00.003-04:00

I'm married! Here are a FEW pics...

This one from my friend's blackberry:

Gang signs!

Then at the end of the night, my photographer printed a folio with eight pictures. Here are a few:

The folio:

Then today, my hairdresser came to the hotel for my post-wedding chop:

SHORT AGAIN! WOOHOOOO!

And just cause I KNOW you wanna see the bling...

They're all soldered! Like us, they will never part :)

It was AMAZING!!!! So many stories... but now it's honeymoon time!!!! I'll update you all soon!

Three days? Holy (#*&$%!

2010-03-17T23:08:00.003-04:00

I had a wedding miracle. I ordered 5 tiny ceramic pugs from this etsy seller (nuudee, she's out of Thailand, but yes that made for an interesting "what did you buy from... NUDE?" conversation when I purchased them.) With the shipping from Thailand, I had a really open window as far as when they arrived. The miracle was them arriving 4 days before the earliest supposed arrival date! Here they are... naked ceramic pugs. They look creepy because of the blank eyes.

I spent the evening painting first, due to the gorgeous weather. I finished up the birdcage card box...

...did an antique white finish on our program basket... (antique white aka "I don't have enough spray paint" white...)

Not horrible...

Then I got back to programs. I had only glued 20 into their green cardstock backings last night. While I was working, FMIL Pug came over and told us great news - she's going to move up to Michigan to be with her partner!!!!! - and hung out with and drank some beers while I crafted. She also gave Mr Pug a hair trim (she cuts his hair) so it would be fresh for Saturday. Meanwhile... the pugs were VERY happy to see her.

I did gloss coats (a gloss spray) on the pug cake toppers after painting them. I didn't have great brushes (buying a 99 cent brush pack = poor decision in retrospect) so the paint job wasn't as great as I'd hoped. I'll add their headpieces as soon as I finish them.

The bug eyes kill meeeeee!

Like my lipstick!?

These are B-TOTs aka "Black Tip-of-Tails." I adore the puggie B-TOTs!

OOT bags are tomorrow!!!!! Everything is bought I just have some putting together to do. Also Mr P and I finished gluing the programs into the green cardstock and punching holes... just ribbon to add. Goodness gracious we're almost done!

More programs....

2010-03-15T22:18:00.002-04:00

So... sick... of programs.

Today was the next step... gluing the 4 pages together. I used a basic glue stick. I'll use better glue to glue them in the green cardstock and further secure them with the ribbons.

120 of these suckers.

Programs... I officially hate you.

Well there you have it, my brain is mush. Tomorrow is Mr Pug's 28th birthday so give him a shout if you could! I love him so much and can't wait to put wedding stuff on the back burner and celebrate tomorrow!

PS- our rings are ready at Shane Co! I knew Tom would pull through. Celeb status pays off. (J/K... obv.)

Less than a week! Productivity continues!

2010-03-14T22:15:00.005-04:00

Seriously people, I had such a productive weekend! I started out on Saturday morning at Aunt P's. FSIL and I went over there to make the cookies. We did half in green and half not-colored (white?) Here's FSIL rolling out the green dough.

We then used royal icing to put dots along the edges and other decorations. We did green on the plain cookies and white on the green.

I left around 11:30 (we got there at 9:00 am!) to get my hair highlighted. I was about 3/4 done getting the foils put in when I get a frantic call from Mr Pug. His task for the day was to take two of our pugs, Dixie and Harley, to the vet so they'd be cleared for boarding while we were gone. (Sophie went a week or two ago.) He went to get gas and while his car was on, he somehow got locked out... with the pugs in the car! He wanted me to come let him in with his spare key (on my keyring.) I tried to explain that I had chemicals in my hair and couldn't leave til they were done. Clearly that didn't make the situation any better. We couldn't find anyone to come pick up my key and bring it to him, so I just took off right after she washed my hair (soaking wet!) to try and help him. By then though, he had a locksmith come and open the door for him. Luckily his car and the pugs are ok, and they made it to the vet. We took some much-needed together time that night.

Today we went to church and then a church fundraiser luncheon. After that, Mr P and I went tanning! I got him signed up so we could get his Irish skin a bit of a base before our sun-filled honeymoon.

After tanning I went to Michael's and Jo-Ann's for some craft items. The first thing we did when I was done shopping? Spray paint!

I got the most boring basic white birdcage card box at Jo-Ann's, but black spray paint gave it a new lease on life. I also got a basket for programs (I need to buy more spray paint for it) and used the spray paint for a business card holder as well. It'll hold our photo request cards.

Aunt P bought this cute little clip stand at Crate & Barrel and I made this sign to put near our cookie favors.

I also made a sign for the birdcage.

I did the linen paper for the wording, then the green cardstock, then black cardstock, then added the ribbon, then finally white cardstock. I think it'll look nice against the black birdcage.

Next up was what I dreaded most. The programs. I went to Kinko's and first got the green cardstock cut in half (less than $2.)

Jumping ahead- when I got home I used the perforation blade on my paper cutter (makes an indent for easy folding) 1-inch in on each 1/2 sheet of cardstock.

Ok, back to Kinko's. While I was there, Mr Pug cut the ribbons I had purchased at Michael's. I loved how much he helped me today! Meanwhile, I was cutting our programs. Each sheet had two program pages on it. Each program was four pages. Which meant I had 240+ sheets to cut, with seven cuts per page. Not fun. It took me more than two hours but I did it! Yes, Kinko's centers have a big industrial paper cutter you can use. Some are good, some aren't. Luckily when mine started to rip up the paper a bit, they brought out the brand new cutter which had come in the day before. Great timing, right?

An overview of the day's projects:

The gorgeous ribbon I got for the programs, cut by Mr P!

The card sign for our birdcage card box.

The piles of pages! I seriously am amazed that I got them finished already. I have cutter's arm now though (paper cutting equivalent of tennis elbow.)

Such a successful day! I seriously cannot believe I'm going to be married to Mr Pug in less than a week!! A week from right now I'll be finishing packing for our honeymoon! CUE FREAKOUT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even MORE Progress (and a permanent milk mustache)

2010-03-13T00:27:00.003-05:00

Yesterday before my dinner I went tanning. My normal, the stand up beds, yada yada. I heard RAVE reviews about the tanning booth teeth whitening system, Twilight Teeth, so I got it. The good news? My teeth are a bit whiter. After tanning next week I should be great. The bad news? The mouth-guard thing you use (it holds your lips back to expose your teeth) during the process? Um it is slightly larger than my lips apparently. Today at work I looked at myself in the bathroom and realized...

I have a permanent milk mustache. Oh, and HOLY PORES.

(Yes I am the bravest person ever for posting that pic, I know.)

Basically the guard-thing covered the areas above the corners of my lips, thus blocking them from tanning. I guess next time I'll just have to adjust it better. Seriously this picture does my milk mustache no justice... it was SO BAD all day. Darn these thin lips! (I am SERIOUSLY puckering them out in that picture. Just FYI. I have thin-lip-itis.)

SO I get home from work and Mr Pug headed out to see a groomsman who couldn't go to his bachelor party (his was last weekend as well!) and I was all, what to do, what to do? And decided to contemplate programs. For the millionth time. I start it off tonight by looking online at Staples for printer ink and - behold - they have mine in-stock!

I run to Staples and buy the ink and a 500 count box of the same linen paper I used in another DIY. I only needed like 250 but the 500 was only like a buck and half more. Well let's just say I'm glad I got it...

Turns out, it took me 23984739 tries to figure out how to print it to scale. Photoshop printed it too small, preview printed it too big. I felt like Goldilocks. Finally I just played with the % until I got what I needed. So I print 40 full programs and realize... a groomsman's last name is spelled wrong. Adding insult to injury? His sister is on there, as a speaker, and HER last name is spelled right. So that was embarrassing. I just printed up more of those and moved on. Sweet paper down the drain.

I'm finishing the 90th set as I type! It will be nice to have these printed as the weekend begins so I can cut them allll week. Friends, it will suck. So, so much. But I have faith. Faith that I will never have to even look at my paper cutter again after this. Faith that my days of failed, pricey, DIY disasters are behind me. MARCH 21 I BECKON TO YOU! FREEDOM I SAY!

Ok, clearly I've lost it. But I really am happy about the progress. I must end with some bad news though. I mean, what would a Miss Pug post be without some complaining, right?

I got a call from the one and only Shane Co today. They left a voicemail. (I failed to mention that on Tuesday or Wednesday, I took our rings in- mine needed to be dipped and soldered to the two bands, and all needed to be sized up 1/4 size. Mr P's was getting engraved and sized up as well.) So I get this voicemail that they're "calling about my ring repair order" or something like that, no details, nothing. I was sure that I'd hear "we lost your rings" when I called. Well, it wasn't that bad, but bad nonetheless. Apparently both their jeweler dudes (technical term) who do the jewelry-fixin-stuff are out sick. And apparently it's stage 7 swine flu or something because they are super backed up. My rings were supposed to be done Sunday... they said it could be as late as THURSDAY. I was all... "I guess you're not asking me anything? So I guess... thanks for telling me?" I did reiterate that my wedding was SATURDAY, as in, you know, two days after THURSDAY. She assured me if something was wrong with them they WOULD have it fixed by Saturday even if we got them back Thursday. I kind of felt bad for her, she said it was, and I quote, "the worst day of her life" and that "not everyone was being quite so nice." So I am putting my trust in Shane Company. My friend in the diamond business. Jeez don't they realize I'm on a commercial? Us celebs have it so hard!!

Up next? Cookie decorating with Aunt P and FSIL in the AM and then a hair coloring appointment!

Progress...

2010-03-11T21:47:00.003-05:00

I have been a machine lately! Last night, I finalized our ceremony. I FINALLY picked the ceremony music and readings. The organist approved, I sent out the readings to our readers, and sent the ceremony for approval. Our officiant is on vacation (LUCKY!) so the other Reverend approved them for us. Here is our ceremony schedule:

Prelude

Entrance of Family
Panis Angelicus (C. Franck)

Wedding Party Entrance
Largo, from Serses (G.F. Handel)

Entrance of the Bride
Trumpet Voluntary (J. Clarke)

Welcome & Declaration of Intent

Scripture Reading from Colossians
Lydia *******

Vows

Scripture Reading from Corinthians
Christina ****

Homily
Reverend Doctor Curtis Page

Exchange of Rings

Prayer
Reverend Doctor Curtis ****

Recessional
Prelude from Te Deum (M.A. Charpentier)

I also emailed everyone about the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Go me! And now programs for the ceremony are ready to print.

Since my new job doesn't allow checking of other emails, I perfected the art of lunch-time wedding calls today. Also, we are allowed to get personal emails on our work email, so I emailed with our photographer to set up the day's schedule. We determined we needed to move our Buca dinner back an hour so we'd have enough time after the ceremony to take family pictures but also enjoy our church "cocktail hour."

So I called Buca- we're good to move it to 6:30! And then I called my friendor Laura (making the cake) to decide our schedule, and even remembered to change my hair highlighting appointment (it was right near my old work, and I had planned to go during lunch next week, so I obviously had to move it!)

Mr Pug's aunt P also stopped by my new work to pick up the cookie cutters for our decorating party on Saturday, and we talked details. I felt good at the end of the day.

Oh and I set up the "guestbook" tonight...

Dixie's totally saying, Wut duh hek?! Onlee fawnz? Were iz da Buggz lyke MEE!?!!?"

It's my picture from Doggie Drawings. I put it in a plastic sleeve and taped it in- a little crooked, but it's ok since I will take it out when people are done signing. The plastic sleeve will protect it. I took out the glass so it's ready to sign!

Tonight I had a bachelorette dinner with my Indy girlfriends! It was tons of fun and great to relax. I know that this isn't the best blog post, and I know I'm not visiting blogs at ALL (seriously I haven't looked at my reader since Thursday last week. Send me an email if you post something I need to see! LOL!) But I promise to try and keep you updated in our final week! GAHH!

PS... 10-day forecast for March 20 is up... 40% chance of rain. PRAY!! ANTI-RAIN DANCES PLEASE!

Bachelorette NYC Weekend {part 2}

2010-03-10T19:34:00.005-05:00

We left off right before we left! We hopped in some cabs and head to Suze's place. She had some wine, beers, and snacks, along with crazy 80's music! Here I am with my FAB sisters M (left) and R (right).

Friends started to arrive! Here's BM L!

Two of my sorority sisters Dev and Kiki came... Dev from NJ and Kiki from NORTH CAROLINA!!!! We may or may not have chugged and sang a Sigma Kappa drinking song later, along with fellow SK Mel who arrived later.

A lot of my family members came. Here's Aunt Mo, me, and Aunt Sue.

One of the funniest arrivals was BM H (right) and her sister Tori. Wearing thong leotards. They had to pregame before getting on the subway to get there.

Here's my happy Family!!! R, Mom, me, and M!

Some of my BESTS were present. Including Em (wedding greeter, came down from Chicago), Riss (came up from Baltimore), me, BM L (came from Boston) and "G" who yes, goes by G in real life.

I made a deal with my sister M's boyfriend that he'd put on his 80's outfit at 9:00pm. At 9 on the dot I started to stare him down until he caved. Behold:

Yea he wasn't messing around. Check out BM H and Tori in the background above!

M and her boyfriend cracking up. I love them.

Seriously aren't they so cute? I convinced him he needs to come to the wedding. He's already booked his flight.

In case you wanted to check out H's butt or my DIY veil, here ya go!

We cabbed it up again to Brother Jimmy's and took over their basement. Here is a pic with ALL BRIDESMAIDS! Top: A, R, me, H, M, bottom: S, L.

This dude was all over my friend Linds but she wasn't having any of it. I tried to play matchmaker!

We all danced and had a great time, especially K-Buzz.

Things got a little crazy. There are a ton of pictures like this.

You've all seen this one...

They don't call me drunkeyes for nothin'. I was telling M we needed to take R home because she was a mess, R was telling M that they needed to take ME home because I was a mess. Needless to say we went home and passed out. Four people in a studio. It was lovely.

I woke up, got bagels with the fam, and then left! It was such an amazing weekend away and I loved loved loved seeing my friends and family. To all of you: Thanks for coming out for the party!!!!!!

So that's it for the recaps. A whopping two :) Hopefully things continue to come together for the wedding so I'll have MANY more recaps after March 20!

Bachelorette NYC Weekend {part 1}

2010-03-10T08:25:00.000-05:00

Thursday I departed for the wonderful Indianapolis airport for my trip to NYC!!!! I found my fave popcorn place had a shop in my terminal... it's called "Just Pop In!" and I think I'll do something from them in the gift bags. This mix is the Indy Mix and it's caramel popcorn and cheesy popcorn mixed... sounds gross but is SO yum!

Oh and here's my ghetto broken suitcase.

I got to NYC around 8pm and met my sister outside her place. It takes moments like that, running towards her on the street and then having her pull out my broken suitcase handle - like straight out of the bag - and having us both laugh so hard we can't talk, that makes me realize how much I love her and miss her. She ordered me REAL AMAZING ITALIAN NYC/NJ FOOD... they forgot to add the bacon but it's fine, I'll take a penne vodka anyday.

We snuggled (since in her 5th floor walk-up studio the only other option was her foamiture) and she let me sleep in. I woke up to a note, which cracked me up.

The bottom says "PS- How much better are my notes than ma's... no chores!" which is making fun of the notes my mom would always leave us in the summer/on weekends, saying to "have a great day but make sure these chores are done before I get home," followed by at least 12 challenging chores. She's tough.

Here's the lovely view from her place:

And her studio! I love it! Part of me was a little sad/jealous that she's doing two things I never did but always thought I would: live in NYC, and live alone. Then I remember her rent is more than my mortgage and start to like my little house a bit more!

Here's the other half! It was a really nice layout for a studio!!!!

I set out on an adventure. I get a lot of anxiety in NYC when I don't know where I'm going so she gave me great directions. I walked to Sephora to pick up a few items, then took a subway to Buttercup Bake Shop, an old favorite of mine from when I worked in NYC. I got a red velvet one and promptly diedddd.

I brought my sis and her coworker (the one with the pashminas) cupcakes to their work to thank them for all the pashmina work. I also got to meet my sister M's boyfriend!!!! I vastly approve. You'll see in part 2!!!!

After randomly running into an old friend (I was all sweaty from walking, ew, how embarrassing) I then went and met up with my Aunt C. It was her 50th birthday celebration weekend with friends! She shared a mimosa and we went to the Museum of Natural History for the butterfly exhibit. She had a blinking "50" pin that butterflies LOVED to land on!

My mom got into the city soon after and we walked around. She also wanted to go to Buttercup and they said "back again?" Seriously, so embarrassing. We stopped into some stores and leisurely enjoyed NYC. Check out the three dogs on a vespa/cart of some sort. I died a little again.

We met up with my sister M and her boyfriend for dinner and then Mom and I picked up sister R at the airport. It was so great to see her!!!! She's so hilarious, coming from South Carolina, and complaining about the cold. Meanwhile, we're all enjoying the amazing weather!!!!

We spent the night at my mom's new condo in Jersey. She moved farther south and R and I LOVEDDDD her new place! It's so much easier for her than our house was. We relaxed and watched Kardashians Saturday morning then headed back into the city. R and I picked up the cupcakes we ordered for the party (from, you guessed it, Buttercup) and then went to M's. My cheapo Wal-Mart "uggs" were so stinky from all the walking around that they found their spot outside...

My mom went over to her friend Suze's (the party host) to help set up and my sisters and I got to hang out. We decided who was which Kardashian (Kourtney = me, Kim = M, and Khloe = R) and watched The Hangover twice (I'm Stu, M's Alan, and R's Phil.) We laughed and reminisced. Luckily I convinced them (and M's boyfriend!) to come out to Indy for the Indianapolis 500 and the hog roast party we have the day before... I'm excited we'll have more sister time soon.

Then it was time to crimp & primp...

Oh yes, I went 100% crimped out.

I crimped M & R's hair a little (they didn't go all out) and we all did some crazy makeup. Here's R working on her neon eye makeup.

We were all 80's out and ready to party!!! And that's exactly what you'll hear about next!