ALICIA & JOE

MAY 29, 2010
wedding - Mishawaka, IN

Chuck taylors + bright pink peonies = two of my favorite things. Alicia + Joe = two of my favorite people :) Now, when you put them together... WOW! You get an incredible, incredible wedding. :D Saturday was just FILLED with fun, hip details, laughter (SO! much laughter :) ), and one of the most incredible best man speeches I've ever witnessed. But we'll get to that in a minute :) On to the photos!

Alicia had one beautiful, beautiful dress. And! She had the train cut off. Love. (My own wedding dress had no train and it was one of the best decisions I ever made :) )

Alicia :) The poor girls were off to a rough start in the morning. The bus that was supposed to pick them up from the salon was parked at the church and took forever to finally pick up the ladies and deliver them so they could get dressed + ready for the ceremony! THEN! Alicia couldn't find her veil. Guess where someone found it: In the STREEET! Thank goodness no one ran over it with their car! Alicia, this whole time, instead of being the panicked mess I would have been, was cool as a cucumber. :)

I did nottttt pose this. She was just standing there, laughing with her bridesmaids, just minutes before the ceremony :) (We just happened upon some pretty incredible light! :) )

Getting lined up and ready to rock :)

Speaking of rocking :) (This is just seconds before she walked down the aisle with her dad!)

Look at this beautiful sanctuary! Ceremony took place at St. Joseph Catholic Church.

The boys and their chucks :)

The ladies and their lovely peonies!! :) (Which smelled SO fabulous all day :) )

Familia. :)

Take note of the groomsman four in from the right. That's Alicia's brother. And yes, he's doing what you think he's doing. :)

Alicia, you are absolutely gorgeous. :)

Joe thinks so too :)

Favorite two of the day. :)

:) :) :)

What other bride do you know would be willing to lay down in damp grass for a photo? This one. :) (Future brides, take note: It's always, always worth it. We promise. :) And! We never let you get dirt on your dress. AND! You wear it once, so make good use of it! Hopping off my soap box now :) )

I heard one of the boys say, "these flowers are JUST lovely!" Guess which one ;) (Alicia's brother, again!)

Again, we did nottttt pose this :) The bridal party was over taking photos (hence their expressions :) ) and Joe & Alicia had their own little moment :)

On to the reception! At the lovely Riverside Terrace! (We've been there three times in two months! So random. :) ) Fun! FACT! Andy + I had our senior prom here! We didn't go together, but we were both there :)

Beautiful, beautiful flower arrangements done by Polly McCarthy!

Prepare yourselves :) I am NOT going to be able to do this justice, but I am going to do my very best. :) THIS is the best man's toast I was talking about. And it is, by far, THE most incredible one I've ever seen in 100+ weddings. He was introduced by the other best man (there were two :), the other was Joe's brother) and he said "I think Paul's got something a little more interactive in mind." So Paul started off by taking the mike and walking down to the dance floor and talked Alicia + Joe up a bit. A few thank you's, a compliment here + there, the usual. Then! He walks back up to the head table and whips out an overhead projector. From the 80's. :)

He then begins drawing pictures that all begin with the number "2." (Can you see the # 2 up there, in between the martini and the beer? :) ) So each projector drawing represented the "two" of them. In this particular photo, he described how the two of them met, and that they'd ordered their signature beverages. He then pointed to the martini and said "This was Joe's. An appletini. Heavy on the apple, easy on the tini :)" Each of the other photos had a "2" in it. A drawing of Alicia, one of Joe, one of their puppy, one that spelled "LOVE" (the "O" and the "V" came from the 2 :) ) and it was thoughtful and hilarious :) I wish you could have been there!

See? :) (Don't you love how they're both covering their faces? :) )

Alicia + Joe, thank you both SO much for having us be a part of your incredibly beautiful + memorable wedding :) It's definitely one that Andy and I won't soon forget. We adore you both and wish you all the happiness in the world! :) xoxo, A+A