Thanksgiving Prep.

It's no secret that Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love the decorations, the baked goods, and being able to use the word "festive" constantly sans judgment.

My spirit animal.

But first up is my second favorite holiday, Thanksgiving! This year is extra special because for the first time, because Adam and I are hosting the Big Dinner for about 14 of our family members. I'm a little nervous, to be honest. I don't even own a roasting pan yet, we have dining room seating for 8, tops, and I've never cooked a 20-pound bird in my life.

True to form, I came up with our extremely innovative fairly standard Thanksgiving dinner menu about a month ago. Here it is:

Appetizers

Vegetable Crudite (learned that word while wedding planning - score)

Cheese and Bread Plate

Crab Dip

Main Course

Roasted Turkey with Homemade Gravy

Stuffed Ham (a southern Maryland classic)

Red Mashed Potatoes

Glazed Sweet Potato Casserole

Green Bean Casserole

Stovetop Stuffing

Mom-Mom Sheckell's Carrots*

Corn Pudding

Dinner Rolls

Dessert

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Pie

Cheesecake

*Secret family recipe. The recipe is: add sugar. 

Mmmm my mouth is watering already. Luckily our moms are helping us with some of the dishes, so it should be pretty manageable! That is, assuming I remember to take the turkey out of the freezer on Sunday...

We all know how this ends.

What are your Thanksgiving plans? 

Wose Wedding Recap: Speeches and Dinner

After our first dance, it was time for the father/daughter and mother/son dances. Dad and I danced to "Little Miss Magic". Adam and his mom danced to "My Wish". 

All photos by Melissa Manzione Photography.

If I'm being honest, dances and speeches are my least favorite part of pretty much every wedding reception. Being on display, emotions potentially running high, and 130 guests watching and waiting to eat and party makes a Type-A bride verrrry antsy. We almost nixed these, but in the end, I'm glad we didn't because I think our parents loved it. 

However, we did roll right into speeches after the parent dances to try and get to the party as soon as possible. First up was my MOH Hillary, which I was pretty excited about. She's from Chic-ahhhgo, and her accent comes out whenever she's speaking in front of a group. 

She's a champ.

She did a great job. I am so thankful to have a friend that would travel halfway across the country - twice in less than a month - to celebrate with us. Hopefully Adam and I make it out to Chicago for a visit soon!

Next up was the Best Man, Tommy.  He did great too! The dads gave impromptu speeches as well.

Finally, Adam's grandmother led us in Grace before dinner and it was time to eat!

I thought we would scarf our meals down and attempt to go greet each table, but we changed our minds. By this point we were mentally exhausted and just needed to enjoy a meal. We served a choice of chicken marsala or steak, and it was fantastic! I was too excited to eat more than a few bites though, and unashamedly ate my leftovers around 2AM. 

I'm so glad we took a bit of time to relax. The sweetheart table was perfect - a few guests still came up to chat (which was great!), but mostly we got a chance to talk and soak it in. 

Just as we were finishing our dinner, our photographer came up and snagged us for a sec. She said there was an absolutely gorgeous sunset, and could we sneak out and take a few pictures? Umm, YES! And I'm so glad we did. These photos had the stunning light I so badly wanted, and we just look so relaxed and happy. 

It's okay folks, they're married. 

 By the time we joined everyone back at the tent, the sun was almost completely gone and it was FINALLY time to party! CJ the DJ got the party started with one of my favorites - Shout! Before we knew it, the dance floor was packed!

Next up, the party continues and Adam almost leaves me to cut our wedding cake by myself!

Wose Wedding Recap: The Ceremony

Before we knew it, it was almost five o'clock. Guests were in their seats, Adam and the guys were waiting near the boat bar, and the girls and I were killing time in the guest house. 

Pre-ceremony groomsmen toast. Looks brutal, huh?

The next thing I knew, I was lined up with my dad and bridesmaids waiting to walk up the aisle. Dad oscillated between trying not to cry, and trying to figure out how the hell we were supposed to link arms naturally. Seriously, it looks like a no-brainer, but it isn't! DOC Kim finally had to come set us straight. 

  

Notice that our "aisle" was actually a pier. When our original ceremony location flooded, the most viable back-up plan meant a pier for an aisle and about a four-foot walk through a rock bed in full view of our guests. Frankly I really didn't care where we had the ceremony at this point, I was just promising my firstborn in hopes that the rain wouldn't return. 

The location change did mean that I couldn't wear my beloved BHLDN elopement pumps to the ceremony. Thank goodness Bridesmaid Little had an extra pair of nude wedges in my size! And that's the story of the time I got married and wasn't even wearing my own shoes.

My beautiful elopement pumps and bouquet. Le sigh. 

Somehow we made it up the aisle without tripping. Dad hugged me, shook Adam's hand, and the ceremony began. 

The rest of the ceremony went off without a hitch. Actually that's a lie, I honestly have no idea how it went. I was too focused on 1. looking at Adam and smiling and 2. trying to remember what I was supposed to say and when. Thank goodness we hired a videographer and will be able to relive the ceremony soon, because I'd like to know what led to this:

What was so funny? 

Adam's sister, Kaitlyn, obliged us with a reading - twenty bucks, First Corinthians. Yeah it's cliche, but you can't get better than that verse for a wedding reading. You just can't. And it's my wedding day; I can be cliche if I want to! 

Adam's sisters also performed our ceremony music!

The next thing I knew, it was time for the big kiss and we were officially husband and wife! 

The hard part was over and it was almost time to party. As we walked back up the pier/aisle, we talked and laughed and just tried to soak it all in. Our wedding party was soon behind us, followed by our family. Hugs and smiles all around!

I love this picture of me and my Mom-mom. There was a line for bride hugs!

Next up, we get through family portraits super quickly thanks to our amazing photographers, and we take some fun pictures with our wedding party on the beach!