Adam-n-Andi Get Hitched

When we first started planning this wedding and going over budgets and realizing how expensive everything was going to be, we considered not having a DJ.  We knew we could throw together a playlist on the iPod and have our musical friends bring their PA systems to set up a semi-professional sound system.

When I started looking for services to barter, I was introduced by a client to Lee and Justyn, co-owners of the Tampa Bay Dream Team.   They needed a website; I needed a DJ.  Perfect.

I put together a playlist for the ceremony and cocktail hour, full of my indie favorites and some old standards.  They played through these and added more for their own twist  I didn’t even notice them move from outside on the patio after the ceremony to inside for the dinner – but the music continued seemingly seamlessly.

I didn’t give them much for guidelines for the boogie-down part of the night – except that we didn’t have any formal ‘introductions’ or cake cutting or anything they’d have to announce other than ‘dinner’s ready’ . . . I let them know we’re a bunch of late 20s – early 30s partiers who like to dance to old school rap and a little Journey.

With this vague outline, I can honestly tell you this:  they made the night.   We started off with some MJ followed by some Baby Got Back and a little obligatory Humpty Dance, threw in a little Madonna and the 80s hits kept rockin.  It sounds cheesy – and it was – but that’s exactly what we all wanted.

The best part of having them DJ the wedding is that they’re actual club DJs too – so there was no awkward 1-second pause as they loaded the next song – they were actually spinning records and mixing it all up, flowing from one song into the next.  There was no chicken dance or Macarena (although I’m sure there could’ve been if someone had asked – we just aren’t that kind of crowd).

We broke out the karaoke with a serenade by Ronny James Dio. Holy Diver, of course, sung with full emotion by my brother.  And the mic stayed open for anyone – we belted out some Faithfully by Journey and heard some freestylin’ by a few friends (and quickly put an end to it once the profanities started flying).

We danced.

And hula hooped (yes, they made an appearance on the dance floor).

And at one point, the huge bucket of costumes we’d put together was brought out to the middle of the dancefloor, resulting in some hilarious photos.

And we sang some songs.

And danced some more.

Thanks to the best wedding DJs ever – I can’t imagine having had to deal with a cheesy ‘wedding DJ’ who knows nothing about music or the tastes of a partying hip crowd.  You guys rocked.  My friends have been talking about how awesome you were, and my brother, critic of all things pop culture, was beyond impressed  Thanks for an awesome night.

Gotta get used to that.

More to follow.  After I wake up from like three days of sleep.  I’m tired.

If you were at the wedding and enjoyed the food, please write a review of the caterer (Miller’s Cafe) on Google and write a review/become a fan of theirs on Facebook . . . It will help them tremendously and I really want to support them – they made my life so much easier and were incredibly awesome.

I had a lot of fun picking out music for the ceremony and for the seating and cocktail hours. . . I’m leaving the rest to the DJ.  He is, after all, a professional. All I’ve told him is “lots of Journey; a little Sir Mix-a-Lot and we’ll be all good.”

I spent a good amount of time Googling other’s playlists to find the right music, and then spent even more time combing my library, so I thought someone out there might benefit from my time spent.

Adam has an affinity for the Royal Tenenbaums, so for the processional we’re using “Mothersbaugh’s Canon.”

For the recessional, I chose “First Day of My Life” by Bright Eyes.  I really thought it fit the mood and tone of the wedding.   It’s both of our second weddings – but it’s the right wedding. The right choice. The eyes-wide-open choice.

. . . And so I thought I’d let you know
. . . That these things take forever
. . . I especially am slow
. . . But I realize that I need you
. . . And I wondered if I could come home

As for the seating time and cocktail hour, here are a few more selections from the list:

My Morning  Jacket – Golden
The Decemberists – Bachelor and the Brid
Sun Kil Moon – Lost Verses
Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal
The Darkness – I Believe in a Thing Called Love
Devendra Barnhart – Lover
Iron & Wine – Love and Some Verses
Wilco -  I’m the Man Who Loves You
The Black Keys – Act Nice and Gentle
Reigning Sound – When You Touch Me
The Pixies – Here Comes Your Man
M. Ward – Never Had Nobody Like You
Arcade Fire – In the Backseat
Contantines – Islands in the Stream

And there are more that my brother expertly picked out of his extensive (to say the least) indie catalog for us.   Let me know if you want the full list.

To make just about anything, is a hot glue gun and a paper cutter.

With these two things I’ve made placecards and table numbers, all of our invitations, save-the-dates, and tonight, I made some really kick-ass napkin rings.

Details on the DIY to follow, after the wedding .  . .

Ahhh sooooo yummy . .. From Sweet!

Sweet Tiffany Ashford-Smith will be providing the amazingly cute wedding dessert for the big day – some customized cuppies with all kinds of fun adornments.  Flags, pearls, chocolatey goodness – I am drooling.

She just started a very fun blog all about her baking adventures – and she’s got a lot of them!  I can’t wait to help support this girl as she moves into opening her very own little business offering all things sweet. . . Her cupcakes are ridiculous – and check out the pool party birthday cake on her blog.  Unreal.

Needless to say, she’ll be back for Piper’s first birthday (unless I get unusually ambitious and decide to try something myself).  And maybe for our little Christmas party.  And perhaps even for next Tuesday night.   Tiff, can you just send over dessert twice weekly?  Thanks.

Drink wine. This is life eternal. This is all that youth will give you. It is the season for wine, roses and drunken friends. Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.
~ Omar Khayyam

(Found amidst the wide variety of treasures on 500 Pieces of Prudent Advice for My Baby Daughter.)

In pictures.

Um, yeah, no. I don’t think so.

My friends, by the way, are the absolute best in the whole world ever. Now I know you’re thinking, “But Andi, that can’t be! MY friends are the best!”

But I ask you: did your friends plan an elaborately schemed, full 24-hour bachelorette party, complete with cabana boys, hula hoops, argyle knee-highs, police handcuffs, water taxis and inflatable penises?? (You knew there had to be something dick-related, right? It was a bachelorette party.)

I didn’t think so.

So again, my friends are the best.  They love to plan parties, love to make crazy costumes, and this was a combination of all of that.

We started with a day at the pool at the Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando.  Sixteen-dollar fruity drinks, a cute cabana boy named, coincidentally, Andy, and a hula hoop contest that we didn’t even know about but that for which, my friends had actually brought their own hula hoops. I mean, they brought the hula hoops for poolside fun.  There just happened to be a hula hoop contest.  Another coincidence.   Of course one of my girls won the contest.  Of course.  (We honestly didn’t know there would be a contest – but they just brought the hoops because they’re crazy hippies and like to hula hoop.)

The night portion of the party was equally as awesome and surprising.  We started with an amazing steak dinner at The Palm, where our waiter dropped it like he was hot.  No joke.

I was nervous about what to wear, remember?  To ease my fears, each of my friends brought a few things to choose from.

For what?

For our round of Pub Golf, of course!

One lady-friend made up some awesome laminated score cards on which we earned ’strokes’ for performing different things at each of 9 ‘watering holes’ along our course (of the bars/clubs at CityWalk Universal).  Take a shot at Margaritaville?  Birdie!  Drink a beer at Bob Marley’s? Par!

But it doesn’t end with drinks.  Strokes can be subtracted for performing certain feats, like finding random strangers to give me lap-dances or gathering phone numbers on napkins.  Penalties are incurred for peeing at the wrong bar or spilling drinks.  The list was long, and while we all played the game, a few people were certainly more competitive than others.

It ended up with all of us in the VIP section of a ridiculous 80’s club, drinking Grey Goose and Red Bull that probably cost way too much but that we didn’t have to pay for.  It was a fantastic, memorable night – a night I will never forget, capped by 3-to-a-bed, very little sleep, an awesome Sunday brunch and an hour or so in the pool.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have such amazing friends.  I’ve never been one for a ‘best’ friend, but I like to think I have 6.  Or 7.  Or 8.  Each of them plays a different role in my life, and is there when I need them most and is able to show the strengths for which I need them.  They’ve been with me for a good 6 or 7 years now (I haven’t been in Florida that long . . .), and these are the girls that I see traveling to Piper’s wedding.  The girls that will be there with me through my ups and downs and who I cannot WAIT to see through their own.  I get teary thinking about it.  I don’t know how I ended up with such awesome people around me, but I am certainly glad I did.  I love you all so much and can’t imagine my life without you.

From RedRubyRose on Etsy.

Will someone please buy this purse for me?

It would go just perfectly with my dress and accessories.

It’s the same silk as my dress.

Did I convince anyone yet?  I’d buy it myself, but it’s a little out of my budget right now.

I can use it again and again.  (But will I?  I have no idea how useful a purse with no string is as I tend to set things down and forget them. But this is so gorgeous, I just know I’d use it again.)

I think I’d be equally as happy with one of the below, and they’re cheaper, though still more than I want to spend.

From ClutchThat on Etsy.

From Mermaid's Dream on Etsy.

This one is also the same silk as my dress. From ClutchThat on Etsy.

From Shakuyaku on Etsy.

I think I’ll just stuff my camera and lipstick in my bra or something. Or make Adam carry it in his pockets.

Unless you want to buy me one of these. Then I’ll be a happy girl. I love accessories.

We got our wedding bands last weekend – and I finally picked up mine this past weekend after it was customized and sized.   I thought it might be a good time to tell y’all a little bit about the engagement ring, because it’s a pretty neat story.

Adam proposed to me on bended knee, nervously, on my 32nd birthday.   I told the story that week on my other blog – the one I keep for Piper – but I didn’t know the history of the ring – the diamond or the setting.

The ring Adam gave me, as explained by Bob (Adam’s dad) a few weeks later, is the ring his biological grandfather gave to his grandmother.  I say ‘biological’ because Bob’s father passed away at a young age, and Adam only knew his step-grandfather, John.  But, this is a family ring with history and happiness and love behind it.  The perfect ring.

Adam chose the setting from a variety of family settings – and it’s fantastic.  White gold, squarish and modern looking with a vintage feel.  It made finding a wedding band somewhat difficult but not impossible.

I don’t know how big it is – I only know that it’s not too big and not too small.  I’m not one for diamonds and bling, so I’m glad it’s tasteful and simple and gorgeous.

We went searching for our wedding bands a month or so ago.  Adam found his quickly – a simple stainless steel band.  I had a harder time finding something to match my engagement ring because of the unique setting.

Then, my mom got it in my head that I should choose something with a little color and at that point, I knew what I wanted.

I found a simple wedding band with five diamonds across, exactly the width of the diamonds on the engagement band.  I had the jeweler replace the middle three diamonds with blue topaz – Piper’s birthstone.  And when I went to pick it up, I was in love.

These two rings together are gorgeous. They are a mix of a historical romance and new love – of the family we come from and the family we’re creating together.  I’m a sucker for color, and love the turquoise of blue topaz, so I can’t even imagine something more perfect.

We had planned a trip to Key West, but with all the mommies and babies and classes and work, it became more hectic than fun to plan. So, thankfully, the ladies have stepped up to the plate and are planning something for next weekend.  Next Saturday.  We’ll be leaving around 10 I think. We’re going to Orlando. That’s all I know.

Oh, and they told me not to buy anything to wear.

What?!?

I was so looking forward to shopping for a cute dress, heels, jewelry . . . I so rarely go out that I wanted some cute-overkill.  But the ladies say no.  I asked “shoes?” “jeans?” . . . the answer was “Go buy a new swimsuit and coverup;  get yourself a tan.”  That’s all they’ll give me.

So, I pack for a night with no idea what’s in store – and fear, lots and lots of fear.  I am not one of those condom-wearing, obnoxious penis-straw-sipping girls so I hope that’s not what’s planned (is it?  IS IT? Or, as Maria says, “Um, that’s kinda how it works.”). . .  But, I’ll let go and have fun and take whatever they think will be awesomely exciting and unforgettable.

This is the 3rd ’surprise’ party they’ve planned for me – my 30th being the first and my baby shower the second – and they are fantastic party planners.  So I know that we’ll have a great time and all get drunk and dance and be crazy together.  I’m excited.

Because really?  I have, like, the BEST FRIENDS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.  I do.  Thank you guys.
(We’ll miss you, Laura.  Wish you could make it.)

And you can thank me for not making you drop $200 on a bridesmaid dress, matching shoes and of course jewelry, hair and makeup.  (Even though all of that is kinda fun.)   We’ll spend it all next weekend, I’m sure – but the memories will be worth far more than a crappy dress.