In Sunshine and In Rain

"Nicole and Jason: Bringing two families together at a storm inspired wedding in a funky Rochester art gallery."

Lucky for you, this isn't a corny wedding blog so we'll skip right to the good stuff.

Jason got into town on September 14. His suit was mangled by the tailor in Waynesboro (not 100% his fault but still really inconvenient) so we had to find him something else to wear. Commence intense shopping quest. Got a suit. Where is the nearest tailor? Found one. Why is he caressing your calves like that? Whatever. Just suck it up and let's get out of here. I hope this comes out looking halfway decent...

Jason's family started coming to town on Thursday. Since they were traveling from PA to be there, many of them decided to make it a full blown vacation. Spend some time in Rochester, check out Niagara Falls, go to the Finger Lakes... Why not? NYS is beautiful in September so I was glad they decided to take advantage of it. My mom and I had nail appointments that afternoon and Jason took his family somewhere to eat.

On Friday morning, Uncle Craig and Aunt Anne invited us for brunch. Uncle Michael and Aunt Deborah were in town for the first time in years and we thought it might be a nice way to introduce some of the family. Julie, Jackie and Jeremy were there representing the Bayer crew, my parents and I were there, and Josh and Stefanie showed up at some point, too. It was a great way to start off an amazing weekend. The food was good, the conversation went smoothly and everyone was getting along swimmingly. This is a good sign.

We had our rehearsal at 2:00 followed by nail appointments for the ladies at 3:00. I cannot stress enough how much I appreciated the staff at Park Ave Salon and Spa. They really went above and beyond for us. Please go there and give them all your money.

Jason was in charge of the rehearsal dinner, which was being held at the Genesee Brewhouse. Slightly better than average pub grub, tasty beers brewed in house, amazing roof deck with a view of High Falls. This place was perfectly us. Their reservation policy was a little weird in that you can't reserve a table ahead of time but you can call an hour before and say how many people you have in your party and they will get it set up for you. We were aiming for 6:30 dinner time but people were still lingering in the tasting room or driving over from wherever they were so it was at least 7:00 by the time we actually sat down, much to the wait staff's chagrin. Oh well! Take all our money!

We gave toasts, distributed gifts to our bridal party and parents and everyone had plenty to drink. Jay and Aunt Deborah were BFFs by the end of the night and I don't exactly know why but I am not complaining. The one thing I was slightly nervous about was our families getting along and all those fears were put to rest that evening. Relieved doesn't even begin to describe it.

And then it was our wedding day. I spent the night at Josh and Stefanie's so that they could take me to my early morning hair appointment. Jason was getting liquored up and smoking cigars with his friends in our hotel suite. I must admit, I was a little jealous. But then again, I am getting too old to have multiple wild nights in a row so it was probably for the best.

The ladies and I got all glammed up and were ready to roll by 1:00. I was putting my dress on at 2:00 so everyone else went back to the hotel to get ready and Mom and I went for lunch at Wegmans. The butterflies were starting to kick in, which is strange because we're already married, but I think it was just the gravity of it all. There were about to be a whole lot of people looking at me all night and that was a little intimidating.

It suddenly seemed so real. All of the work, all of the money, all of the time. It was all for this.

I could try to describe every tiny detail of the evening but no one really cares and quite honestly, pictures do it better. So I will leave you with the important details and let the pictures speak for themselves. Please contact these people if you are having a wedding in Rochester. Our vendors were absolutely incredible.

Photography: Lisa Barker. See all of the photos here
Venue: ArtisanWorks (Wedding Coordinator: Victoria Benz)
Food: Madeline's Catering @ ArtisanWorks
Dessert: Goodness Cakes Bakery
Dress: Vera Wang
Beauty: Park Ave Salon and Spa
Transportation: Esteem Limo
Accommodation: Hyatt Regency
Invitations: PhiloSophie's
Table number postcards: Jackie Bayer
Other stationery: N+J
Lantern Centerpieces: Recycled Revival
Flowers: Becky Stidd
Music: Aaron Celentano
Nicole's ring: Gabriel & Co.
Jason's ring: ???

Getting Ready

Something borrowed and old: Julie's vintage jewelry

Bridal Party and Family

All of our significant life events involve rain and snow so this was no exception

Ceremony
"Should you ever seek an example of how to make a marriage last a lifetime, look no further than your own parents."

"Do you Jason choose Nicole to be your partner in life, to support and respect her in her successes as well her failures, to care for her in sickness and in health, to stand by her in sunshine and in rain, and to grow with her throughout the seasons of your life together?"

“I do”

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my eternal love and affection. May it serve as a constant reminder of my commitment to respect you, cherish you and love you for the rest of our days."

Look at those smiles

Reception
Each table had a little mini recipe booklet as the favor (Recipes for a Rainy Day) that I had designed and assembled with my parents. The table numbers were postcards that Jackie created and printed for us and the bases were made from corks of wines that we actually drank in Bordeaux. Jackie, Julie and I made the place cards.

There was also a little game that we wanted our guests to play. Each person had a quiz and the questions were all about us. Some people may have known some of the answers but in case they didn't, the number of each question corresponded with a table number and you could find the answer there, written under one of the guests' places cards. The whole reason we had this wedding was for our families so it was important for them to talk to each other. The first table with all the correct answers got a prize. We had a tie so Jason had one person from each table chug a beer for the tie breaker. Patrick totally won (there is photographic evidence!) but Jamie Pratt was declared the winner because Jason doesn't give clear directions. In the end, they both ended up with prizes so it was okay.

Cocktail Hour

Waynesboro Boys

Little Calliope is only 5 weeks old in this picture

First Dance: Come Rain or Come Shine - Ray Charles

Toasts

Josh: Man of Honor

Paul: Best Man

Jay: Father of the Groom

Bernie: Father of the Bride

"I thought weddings were a big waste of money. But I was wrong. This is a great night."

Dinner and Mingling

See? Paul knows that Patrick won.

Putting some stars on our map

Mother Son Dance: What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

Father Daughter Dance: Isn't She Lovely - Stevie Wonder

Anniversary Dance: Forever and Ever, Amen - Randy Travis

Dance Party!!

Didn't miss the cousin photo this time

We played the Shoes Game but without having to take off our shoes. Ama made little signs for us to hold up, Rick was the "host" and the bridal party came up with questions to ask us: Who is a better cook? Who is more likely to start a fight? Who said I love you first? Who do you love the most right now?

Totally winning the award for best grandson

This is why I love my brother.

I will remember this moment as one of the happiest of my life.

Best. Night. EVER.

The after party was at Temple Bar and Grille where some random girl KILLED IT at karaoke, serenading us with Celine Dion and a random chick on her way out of the bathroom stopped to re-bustle my dress. Everyone was buying us drinks and wishing us well. If I'm ever having a bad day, I'm just going to put on a wedding dress and wander around town because people will go out of their way to be nice to you.

We stayed until close and then staggered back to our suite at the Hyatt. We invited folks in for a quick drink but made it very clear they couldn't stay because we had *ahem* other plans for the evening.

Jason and I stayed up drinking complimentary champagne and eating chocolate covered strawberries, recounting our favorite moments from the night. In the morning, we packed up our stuff and headed out to Ontario Beach Park for our farewell picnic. We had Dinosaur BBQ and drank leftover beers from the wedding and it wasn't until about 5:00 when the high started to wear off and I crashed. I think we were all exhausted at that point. 

It was a long and tiring weekend but it was far and away the best three days of my life. I can't emphasize enough how amazing it was to have all of our closest friends and family at hand to help us celebrate our love for one another. I have never felt more beautiful, more fortunate, more loved. None of it would have been possible without the incredible generosity of our parents, who funded a very significant part of the events. We will never be able to thank you enough. Our fantastic vendors made the day run so smoothly and we really appreciate all of your flexibility and understanding even when things weren't exactly as planned! Of course my biggest thank you is to my wonderful husband, for being the reason we did had this whole party in the first place. I still can't believe how lucky I am to have you. 

I love you now and forever, in sunshine and in rain.