Wedding Tragedy...

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.

Christmas Cards & Bobbi Brown

Anyone who is getting married next year, take note... we got THE cutest Christmas card today from our friends... you know, the wedding I can't stop talking about? That was so effortlessly breezy and simply elegant? Le sigh. Check out their Christmas card:

Of course you could see their faces but I edited out for privacy. I think the "Married Christmas" is a cute idea!

Speaking of Christmas, my Mom let me know that she's going to a Bobbi Brown 20% off sale on the 25th. I don't know if this is a nationwide thing, or just the Montclair NJ store. You see, we used to live in Upper Montclair, and so did Bobbi Brown. Her kids, Dylan Duke and Dakota, all went to my elementary school (but were much younger than me) where my mom happened to teach kindergarten. Dylan and later Duke were in my Mom's kindergarten class and she also babysat Bobbi's boys occasionally. I met Bobbi a handful of times over these years... once was when she had a few people at her house while she was pregnant with Dakota. No makeup, jelly sandals, looking GORGEOUS and RADIANT. She even gave us her floor tickets to a NJ Nets basketball game once. Christmas and teacher appreciation gifts from Bobbi were clearly amazing- lots of products!

Ever since then, my Mom has used Bobbi Brown products, and when I can afford them, I have too. It's been a long time since I've purchased anything from her line! My Mom wants to get us some Christmas gifts when it's 20% off, and I'm looking for suggestions! These are the items that caught my eye:

I have been needing some better mascara... I need mascara that is both lengthening and volumizing, so this one seemed like a good option.

I have very oily skin, so I was interested in some foundation as well.

I might have to pop by a Bobbi Brown shop in the mall to test colors.

I must also add that I am SO BORING when it comes to eye shadow. I wear the same thing every day. I will always be a fan of a slight shimmer, but I go for the same boring tan color every. single. day. I think wearing a color though would look very 80's. I have blueish-grey eyes... any color suggestions in this shimmer wash shadow?

Hopefully I'll be able to take full advantage of this wonderful gift! I have gotten a few autographed books from Bobbi before... my Mom doesn't think she'll be there on the 25th, but if she is, I instructed my Mom to drop a hint or two about me getting married... and that I love her makeup... hint hint! She told me to get a life and that no, she would do no such thing. LOL!

What cute Christmas cards have been sent to you (or Hanukkah cards?) this season? And have you used Bobbi Brown makeup before- what were your favorite products?

Not Miss Pug

I just wanted to congratulate the new Miss Pug on Weddingbee. And let all the readers know it isn't me! I feel so awkward having the name on my blog "Miss Pug" and have talked to her about it. She is understanding and wonderful (and honestly, if I couldn't be Miss Pug, she's the first person I'd pick - a creative, funny girl AND pug owner) but I want to make sure you readers know.

As stupid as this is, and as much as I knew it would happen, it still stings a bit. So, I've taken an extended break from visiting the Weddingbee site. I'll be relying on you readers for planning advice now more than ever... so don't stop reading!!!! :-D

Also note that I will try to sign blogs as KJ Pugs or kjpugs now, instead of Miss Pug, out of respect. If you ever get a blog signed by Pug(s) & Bugg, that's me as well! (It's the name of my pug blog!) If you click on the profile for Pug(s) & Bugg it will show all the blogs I write for, including this one, so you can still get back to this wedding blog from there.

Thanks for being so understanding and great friends, readers!

Mandy Leonards Photography

Ok so you all know my crazy obsession with photography. I want to be a dog photographer, I stalk multiple photogs via RSS, etc. Well guess who's lucky day is today? MISS PUG'S! First, a little background.

I moved to Indianapolis in January 2007 and knew, well, no one. I got myself a random roommate, and while it didn't work out for us as roomies, she introduced me to a lot of great people along the way. One of those people was Mandy. She and her husband had a beautiful baby a year ago- Isabella Rose- and Bella awoke the photography genius in Mandy! She started with photos of Bella but now has done shoots of other babies, families, and (my fave...) WEDDINGS! Check out the teasers from her shoot in French Lick, Indiana last weekend:

This bride sure can smile! I love Mandy's talent of really capturing the emotion in a person's face. You can't teach that!

The below picture reminds me of Cinderella... the pumpkins and the discarded "slippers," LOL!

This veil picture makes me HARDCORE WISH I was having a veil. Le sigh.

The wedding party:

And yea, because I nearly died of cuteness overload when I saw this, I have to include it- Mandy did a husband and wife shoot which included the couple's pug, Charli. SWOON!

Clearly, she can do it all. I have never seen so much talent from a newer photographer and am so glad to know her! Mandy is up for anything and that is always a great attribute in a photographer. Please go visit her site, Mandy Leonards Photography, to see all her pictures. The babies nearly put me into full-on baby fever mode, I'm serious. And- if you are in the area, or even if you just have to have her, please contact her! If I don't sell my dress, I might have to set up a Trash The Dress session with her next summer.

ps- You can also fan her on Facebook!

Wonderful Wedding and Poor Bernie

A few orders of business... first, this is my 100th post! Hoorah!!!!

Second- my Mac (who I named Bernie, which seemed fitting since it's a black Mac just like THE Bernie) took a tumble on Sunday. Meaning the screen broke. And who knows what kind of internal damage. The Mac people who I visited this evening quoted me a beautiful $755 to fix. Um, I'm sorry, but my two year old MacBook isn't worth that, they don't even make it anymore. So I will be using Bernie until he either dies or until I have enough money to replace him post-wedding. Hopefully the latter!

Onwards to Saturday's wedding! Our good friends got married in a beautiful Catholic ceremony. The Priest was great- he was personal but brief, it felt really appropriate for them. The church was beautiful and modern and both bride and groom got choked up at the altar!

Post wedding ceremony we headed to the reception, which was extremely close to our house- jackpot! This wedding was the first I had been to with a large number of my close friends in attendance. Usually it's one of Mr Pug's friends I don't know very well, or coworkers of ours. This was like a normal Saturday night on crack.

Yea, we cheesed it up!

We also managed to get a few amazing photos! This is one of my favorites! I'm in the pink wrap with Mr Pug right behind me!

And here I am with the beautiful bride!!!!!!! (ps- notice my necklace? Familiar? And headbands hurt- my PSA for the day.)

After we closed down the reception we went out to a bar in town for some awesome dance parties. By the end of the night we were kind of lookin' like this...

And it's bedtime! It was a great night. Our friends altered their centerpieces- half floral, half flowers- and it looked great. They also did not have any appetizers and you know what- I didn't notice until now! There was a great full open bar, and a DELICIOUS buffet. And amazing red velvet cake with what seemed to be an almond-y flavor in the icing. The favor was a donation to Breast Cancer Research. The music was great and somehow my request of Ice Ice Baby started up a dance circle that I found myself in the middle of. Amazing. And now... our buddies are off to TAHITI!

What things do you love about attending friends' weddings?

Gloomy McGloomypants

I'm having one of THOSE days. Where I realize there aren't enough hours in a day and days in a week, and that 95% of my life is work or sleep, and the balance is never, well, balanced. It's gloomy out and I'll be working 9am-9:30pm. That's never a fun day! Plus I can feel myself getting sick. Although a sick day might be nice right about now...

Anywho, I was browsing Weddingbee to cheer myself up, but only felt gloom instead. I had excitedly felt a connection with the newest bee, Miss French Fries and started reading this post about her colors (photo below from post.) Crisp white, black, and apple green. SOB!

Oh, but it gets worse. Someone mentioned the likeness to Mrs. Pomegranate. I decided to see for myself. Looky looky: (Picture from post.)

Adding insult to injury, Mrs. Pom linked to the similar colors of Mrs. Sundae. Who, I found through past post stalking, had multiple similar elements besides color. (Picture from post.)

Mrs. Pomegranate said, "I’ve loved following Miss Sundae’s wedding plans, as we are both green, black and white damask brides, but I know that ultimately we will have two very different weddings. This is something that is SO interesting to me: that two brides with the same exact colors can have amazingly different weddings. I guess it’s true when they say that no two brides are alike!" This did make me feel a bit better. I guess it stings to see people with "my" colors, since I came up with the scheme sans-Weddingbee, sans-The Knot, sans-anything. Just me, Mr Pug, and our visions. And I need to remember what Mrs. Pom said- it will be different. And better yet- none of my guests went to any of their weddings! And none of those weddings had subtle pug themes. Something for me to keep in mind.

My gal pal Katie posted about this before as well- so I know we're all feelin' it somehow. Your original idea will always be similar to someone else's idea- but without the internet, there's no way of knowing it. It's a blessing and a curse. What "copycat" ideas have you seen on other blogs and wedding sites? How do you cope- change your idea or stand strong?

Twinkling Candlelight

One of the things that Mr Pug and I loved about the Palomino Ballroom was their massive decorative window. We'll be putting our sweetheart table in front of it, and since we're having a nighttime (dinner) reception, we'll be utilizing these:

Photo by the one and only Erin Hession Photography, who shot a beautiful wedding there recently.

The Palomino Ballroom offers a lot of in-house things that you can't rent out yourself- everything from their catering to their chairs to these wonderful window candles. It's their way or the highway. Their way for this window will cost you something like $100. Could it be done for less? Absolutely. Is it so beautiful that we're doing it anyway? Yep. Mr Pug especially loved this. And it's just under 50 candles so it would have at least cost us $50 to DIY. One less thing to worry about that will have a huge visual impact.

What wonderful, unique things drew you to your venue?

RSVP?

Wow, what a Labor Day weekend it has been! Between working a ton and partying a ton, I'm exhausted and have been quite clearly reminded that I am not in college anymore! I'm off to work job #2 at the mall today- Holiday time and a half! WOO!- but thought I'd point out something that made me and Mr Pug go "hmmmm...?"

Have you ever gotten an RSVP card like this?? Do I write in a paragraph about how pumped I am? Or do we write "Mr and Miss Pug will attend?" Or just our names and "Can't wait!" I'm sure it's not rocket science and whatever we do will be fine, as long as our names and intentions are on there... but this one definitely threw us for a loop. What kind of RSVP cards have you seen?

Michigan Wedding Weekend Recap

What a wonderful weekend in Michigan! I have a ton to blog about- this is the first of a few tonight. Mr Pug and I left for Michigan after work. We dropped the puggies off to be boarded then hit the road for Lansing- our halfway point! The blocked rooms for the wedding were fairly expensive- $145- so we decided to just stay there one night. I was pretty pumped to get away and see a new state!

We left Lansing in the morning and drove about four hours north to Harbor Springs, where the wedding was. It's a gorgeous town on the lake... or so I've heard, since it was pouring rain most of the time! My friend sent me the forecast, "high of 60, chance of rain." I said, "ugh, that's miserable!" And Mr Pug said, laughing, "Yea, but we'll be LUCKY for 60 with rain for our March wedding!" So true, Mr Pug... so true.

Don't we clean up nice? Note that this was an actual attempt to curl my hair. I might need to pay my wedding stylist extra...

Another one of Mr Pug and myself... I got my shawl and dress from NY&Co where I work nights... discount, cha-ching!

Here is Mr Pug with one of his best men, D. D is one of my FAVORITE people and an amazing friend. He's also the best public speaker I have ever seen- he's going to be "the closer" at our wedding!

Mr Pug is the kind of guy who needs to see things work in order to be open to them. So this whole wedding really changed a lot of our wedding plans. It was beautiful and inspiring! So I thought I'd go over everything for you all, in bullet points :-)

• The hotel we stayed at was literally an Inn. No internet, no irons, no hair dryer. Mr Pug made the mistake of asking why my hair was frizzy... YIKES! I'm sure these were details the bride told her gal pals... but not something the groom would think to tell his friends. Mental note: provide amenity info... and also maybe check it out for myself next time?
  
• They gave us koozies and a map when checking in- very cute!
• The rooms were beautiful- and huge!
• The couple planned to have an outdoor ceremony- and apparently had no rain plan!! They found a small church in town last minute that let them hold it there. This made Mr Pug sure that we should have our wedding in a church- and I agreed. It just felt right! But that's for another entry...
• The couple each prepared little something to say one another at the beginning of the service. The bride's started with "Dear Diary... today I marry my best friend." Annnnnd cue tears. It was beautiful!
• After the wedding we went straight to the reception- it was a gorgeous, one room building with a stage... sort of like a really, really classy auditorium. I believe the lawn out front was where they had planned to have their ceremony. I wish I had taken a photo as we walked in- it was too dark when we left.
  
• Appetizers were passed for the first hour of the reception- the bacon wrapped scallops were a hit!
• The flowers used were assorted wildflowers. There didn't seem to be a color theme- her shoes were pink, and the flowers, napkins, etc were assorted bright colors.
• This was the bathroom: GORGEOUS! There was only one toilet per gender, but with it being this beautiful, who could complain? Yes.... that's my champagne.
  

• The reception was very casual- no champagne toast, no specific dances, etc. There was a fabbbbulous band playing which inspired us to add a ton of Motown music to our DJ list.
• For dinner, we were served lamb. I only eat chicken, so I requested vegetarian. Vegetarian was the lamb meal- minus the lamb! LOL! So I was a little hungry... but don't worry dessert solved that...
• There was NO WEDDING CAKE! Can you believe that? I've only heard of it, not seen it. They served an "adult" milkshake that tasted a lot like Kahlua was in it... delicious! They also served an amazing cookie.
  

• I was for sure ready for another...
  

• The centerpieces had a childhood photo of the bride and one of the groom sticking out of them. I had previously asked Mr Pug to do this and he said it would be too embarrassing- but seeing it done changed his mind! He said he'd do it... "but I don't want to copy them." I believe we'll do a 3-picture frame (small) with table number in the middle and childhood pictures of us on either side. I can't wait to DIY them... frames, that I can handle!
• There were two bars and wonderful waitstaff.
• They also had a photobooth! It was a huge hit- all these guys who would poo-poo it if their fiance suggested it (including Mr Pug) became obsessed seeing it in action! The bride and groom had a copy of each picture strip put in a guestbook by one of the two attendants, and we then got to write a nice note to them beside our picture. You can tell we are a little sauced...
  

Whew! That is a list and a half! There were so many details to remember. We had a blast and really enjoyed experiencing their wedding. Here I am with the groom:

And here is the bride, playing along with the band on stage! How fabulous is that!!!

After the wedding, we head over to one of the two bars in town. They kept trying to do last call, and Best Man D kept convincing them to just wait a little longer. Eventually Bride and Groom walked in... how can you close down when these two are there!?

Get a little too much booze in me and I sleep. I actually fell asleep at the bar... bad form, bad form. That's when Mr Pug knew to take me home. I promptly fell asleep with my glasses on. Miss Pug... always keepin' it classy.

When I woke up in the morning, I found that something was missing. Something sparkly. But that will be a whole 'nother entry tonight....

E-pics are almost here....

Remember when I told you about my photographer's grandmother being ill? Well this hasn't exactly been Erin's year. She had massive hail damage to her house (and some other issues too, I believe- maybe flooding?) as well as some family members' health issues. Wednesday her husband's car caught fire! Can you believe the year she has been having?!? We both agreed we can't wait for 2009 to get outta here and 2010 to take over.

Anyway, she somehow in between all this managed to finish our engagement pictures. She e-mailed me the link to the online album and mailed me the CD on Wednesday!

Here's a sneak peak of what might be my fave- sorry for the horrible quality, I did the old print screen, paste in Power Point, save as image, change to jpg trick. (Had I been on my Mac it would be been 3 steps simpler and better quality, oh well!) I will post the high-res version when I get the CD. Notice Mr Pug is using the pet hair roller in this photo... a daily occurrence and necessity.

I hope the CD will arrive today, since we are leaving for Michigan tonight! I could use some photo-viewing on our long drive! Mr Pug's college roommate is getting married tomorrow in super-northern Michigan (about as north as you can get without hitting the U.P.) We will drive halfway tonight, then finish tomorrow, since we unfortunately couldn't take off work.

Have you been overrun by weddings this summer? This is actually the first one we could make it to, but we have more this fall. How far have you traveled for a wedding!? This will be a 7 hour trip for us- yikes! I can't wait to recap the wedding this weekend and hopefully share some photos with you all!

Choreographed Weddings

Kudos to my gal pal Katie for re-posting a great video of a choreographed "walk" down the aisle someone posted on Weddingbee.com. Like I've mentioned before, I'm kind of an attention whore. I've performed Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice at every sorority formal I've been to. I was in show choir. I mean, I live for these moments.

I saw this video a few years ago:

I wasn't engaged yet but still sent it to Mr Pug. And promptly received a "no." And yea, I know he wouldn't. And I don't even think I'd have the guts to actually go through with it myself. But a girl can dream right?

4th of July NYC Wedding Porn

I'll let you in on a little secret... I am obsessed with red, white, and navy. I attribute this to my bridesmaid A (see previous post) who during high school would always be wearing that color combo! (She has since branched out... slightly :-D) I also LOVE the Fourth of July. Growing up in New Jersey, we spent our summers almost exclusively at the Jersey shore. We'd sit on the beach and watch the fireworks on another part of the shore. They made little *poof* noises. I know we went to "real" fireworks once or twice, but my first memorable, "holy-crap-this-is-freaking-LOUD" fireworks experience for me was in high school. And it just gives me the tingles thinking of how awesome the holiday is! (FYI I am a fireworks purist- only, red, white/gold, or blue fireworks allowed. None of the purple, pink or green stuff.)

While photog stalking (I do that) I found this one, Shira Weinberger. Love. The 4th of July wedding in New York she just blogged gave me that fireworks feeling. Her very real, photojournalistic style is quite impressive. Check her out if you would! Here is the link to that blog entry, and below are my two FAVORITE shots from what she posted. Enjoy!

Cultural Details

Ok- guilty as charged- I am a HUGE wedding photo stalker. Huge. If a friend on Facebook is tagged in a wedding album, I look. I try to get ideas, usually fun things I can incorporate, or sometimes things I know I don't want to do. I always, always, always though feel that little warm-hearted feeling when looking at how happy the bride and groom look.

One thing I most love is looking at the cultural details of the weddings I stalk. I wish I was more culturally centered. Mr Pug and I both have mixed-bag families. I know that my family is mostly Irish, and also some Italian, and I think German? Definitely Irish-European. And Mr Pug's family is part Irish, part Lebanese. But we aren't at all that culturally aware of the traditions we could incorporate into our wedding. The more blogs and photos I stalk, the more I am thinking about doing some research.

One example is Mrs Avacado from Weddingbee. I went a little crazy and read her Weddingbee blog from start to finish. I was transfixed by all the cultural differences that existed side-by-side with our many similarities. The Avacados had a wonderful modern LDS wedding. There are so many different things involved in planning an LDS wedding, but Mr 'Cado's Polish heritage (literally- his family lives there!) added another unique level of traditions.

Here are some pictures from one of my favorite parts of Mrs Avacado's wedding: the Polish tradition of throwing coins at the Bride and Groom. I love how mischevious the family was in this collection of photos- they did it with so much joy and love.

The coins were thrown after the ceremony in the temple. In their religion, the ceremony is a sealing ceremony and only guests who are endowed can attend. Because of this, the Avacados had a few "ceremonies" and "receptions" to celebrate with all guests, but the sealing ceremony was when they truly became husband and wife. Mrs 'Cado- please correct me on any of this if I'm not getting it right! And please everyone go read her blogs from her wedding planning- they are so interesting and insightful! I just love Mrs Avacado's wonderfully upbeat attitude... her blogs practically ooze happiness and contentment.

Also note that her beautiful gown is altered specifically to the more modest dress requirements. She tried on many gowns with shorter sleeves, but opted to have a dress altered to add more sleeve-age and make the v-neck less deep. I think it is contemporary, classic, and gorgeous... what a great job she did finding something so perfect for her!

The Avacado's interest in displaying and honoring their history and beliefs inspired me. What are you doing to honor your heritage? What new traditions do you want to start, if any? And do you think I'll be able to find any Irish-Italian-Lebanese traditions to call my own? :-D

Both pictures courtesy of Mrs Avacado's blog, taken by Jamie Smith.