You guys…I am BACK!   A little over a week ago, I had the wedding weekend of my DREAMS.  I got to stand in a room filled with people I love and commit to the most amazing man I have ever met.  This was all made possible by my wonderful parents, my amazing sister and brother in law Brian, my incredible in-laws, my new brother in law Scott, all of our friends and family, and most importantly, Greg for asking me to marry him in the first place! 

But I have a few more thank yous and I apologize in advance for a long gushy post – but I simply cannot write ANYTHING without saying all of this first:

First, thank you to Christina Zubowicz and Magnolia Events and Planning.   (A special shout out to Tina Adams, as well.  You are exquisite.)  Christina became such a fixture in my life that I considered putting her in a bridesmaids’ gown and sending her down the aisle with my girls.  But instead, there she stood at my wedding, in her chic black suit, holding my train and keeping everyone and everything in line.   This past year, she has been there for me in ways I cannot even describe, from etiquette questions to style advice, she has everything covered perfectly.  She answered my questions before I even knew I had them.  Best of all – Christina helped me to assemble my own personal Dream Team of vendors and on the day of my wedding?  There was a “Magnolia” girl at every turn.  Christina, I cannot thank you enough for your flawless execution.

Next, I want to thank Bold American Events who were responsible for both décor and catering for both our rehearsal dinner and wedding.   I’m on the Bold Bandwagon.  Specifically, I want to thank Steve Bales.  Steve is a genius and I will never EVER get over the work he did during my wedding weekend.  He’s a visionary, an artist, and an amazing person and not only did he create a stunningly beautiful event, but one that truly reflected Greg and myself.  I am GRATEFUL that he was the one who brought our wedding weekend to life.   It seriously was better than my wildest dreams.   My chuppah is now my “happy place.”

Also from Bold, I want to thank Nicki Collins who was able to achieve not only a lovely wedding menu, but also one that was so personal to the two of us.  It’s hard to tell a story through food, but Nicki was able to do so.  It’s also hard to feed 300 people with delicious food – but you guys: Nicki, Chef Todd Annis and the Bold team nailed it. 

The Reichmans.  I think finding a photographer that suits your style is the hardest part, but when we met Jamie and Todd Reichman…I knew we had found “the one(s).”  They’re truly amazing artists and though I can’t show you a lot of their work now, please trust me when I tell you…AMAZING.   (UPDATE: Please check out their blog post for a sneak peek!  Click HERE!)  Also phenomenal is their work with cinematographer Jason Link.  Please check out our engagement video they made: https://vimeo.com/49953023  I cannot WAIT to see our wedding video.  The best part about Jamie and Todd, apart from their breathtaking work, is how much we adore them as people.  Not to get too sappy on you, but it was really special to share these moments of our lives with them because they have truly become our friends.

Also, they were able to capture this moment of pure Atlanta random awesomeness:

Jenny’s Paper, Ink.  Jenny Adair not only has the absolute BEST resources for everything paper-related (from a calligrapher that was able to match my custom invitation calligraphy perfectly to great sources for beautiful paperstock), but also the design expertise to create some seriously stunning custom work.  Jenny also has absolutely IMMACULATE taste and is a complete perfectionist. Her guidance on my paper suite was invaluable.

Custom die-cut menus, hand-calligraphered place cards

Rupert’s Orchestra.   They KILLED it.  They rocked out all night.  They learned the upbeat version of “All You Need is Love” for our first dance.  Per my dad’s request, made a medley of “Isn’t She Lovely” and “Be Young, Be Foolish, but Be Happy” for our daddy/daughter dance.  They didn’t even laugh at me when I requested they learn “Call me Maybe!” (they totally did it)  And at the end of our wedding, when our ENTIRE bridal party was belting their lungs out to “Don’t Stop Believing” in a circle around us will go down as one of the best moments of my entire life. 

Speaking of music, Sarah Paul and Amati Chamber Music set the mood for our ceremony beautifully.  We sat down together and crafted the music and she guided me to a perfect selection of classical and contemporary…all perfection.

 The CAKE.  The cake was amazing and a joint work of art by Nancy Short (formerly of the Flour Shoppe) and Eileen Carter of Eileen Carter Creations.   It was a magnificent 7-tier masterpiece with 3 flavors.  Basically, I came to them with a zillion ideas for this cake… and they didn’t make me choose anything.  Everything I could have ever wanted went into and onto that cake and I can’t think about it without breaking into a huge, face-splitting grin.

Thank you to the Good Food Truck who delighted all of our guests as they lined up for our sparkler exit with their famous “Poodle:” Hot dog with a French toast bun.  Topped with apple slaw and mustard.  Outrageous.

 Thank you to all the wonderful people at the Foundry at Puritan Mill – especially darling Wendy Collins and to everyone at the Buckhead Theatre, especially superawesome Kate Zimmer.   Novare Properties, I love you.  Obviously. 

My Glam Squad: HL Painter and Suzanna (hair and makeup – you can find them at Ambrosia Salon or at DryBar), Mandy Gispert and team (hair!) and Maquilla Farrar and team for makeup.

“Oh, my Lord and Taylor.”  Last but not least, thank you, thank you, thank you to my darling Daniel Jones of Muse Salon.  He’s a saint and a trip and not only did he do a 180 on my poor, overprocessed hair this last year, but he trucked it all the way to my bridal suite just to style me and make me feel like a princess on my big day.  Daniel, j’adore.

Daniel’s handiwork:

All-in-all, I can honestly tell you that I loved every single solitary moment of the planning and preparations and that I learned so much about myself, my new husband, my family and almost every person in my life.  It was an extremely eye-opening experience and I feel so incredibly grateful for all the months of work and attention that were poured into that one spectacular weekend. 

Now I’m married and the honeymoon is over (more on that later… and just in the literal sense – I am still super excited to be a “Sadie Lady” as my grandmother says!) I’m resuming everyday life… which I PROMISE means this blog, too!  Thanks for bearing with me. 

(I missed you guys!)

xx, L(C!)

P. S. For more pix: http://reichmanphotography.com/2012/10/25/puritan_mill_atlanta_wedding/

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