Wedding Day Prep - GROOM

SATURDAY - JUNE 7, 2008
Yet another entry on the wedding... slowly but surely!

The men were cramped into a little hotel room to get ready. But they are guys... what could they possibly need?


You have NO idea, from these beautifully captured photos, that Mark was missing his pants from the tuxedo shop, and half of the groomsmen weren't even there... hahaha they were going out to breakfast ;-) Boy am I glad I found this out AFTER the wedding!

The Groomsmen went to the trouble of getting me a matching toy (female) horse... just like Mark's. It looks like the boys are having more fun with it... I'm sure it was hard to let it go!


They all look so handsome! I couldn't get over how great they all looked. They clean up nice!!!


I hope they had fun being a part of our wedding and it wasn't too much of a chore :-) Each of these men mean so much to Mark and I and I don't think we could have picked a better group of friends and family.

Thanks guys! You were AMAZING!!!

Wedding Day Prep - BRIDE

June 7, 2008

So long time coming... but here are my wedding posts! There will be many since there are around 820 pictures, so bare with me.

The morning of June 7, 2008 the girls and I woke up at 5am to start getting ready! Yeah REALLY early! We reserved a meeting room and got our makeup and hair done in the same room. Coffee and bagels were brought in so we were happy campers!

Deborah did our make up! She is AMAZING! I got her name from my friend Brittany and Courtney because she did their weddings. I was so happy that I got to have all the girls get their makeup done that day.


Our hair stylist Sam came in with his assistant and went to work. We were all rotating in and out. It took a total of 7 hours to complete all 10 of the bridesmaids, me and my mom.


Later in the morning my cousin Kelly brought my little Flower Girl to the room to get ready. Morgan was adorable! She looked absolutely perfect in her "pretty pink dress" that Maria made for her. She went up to everyone and introduced herself as the flower girl. She was so excited and so professional (for a 4 year old). I could not have chosen a cuter little girl! She carried the most precious bunch of flowers. It was a ball of pink roses with seashells through out them hung from a ribbon.



My Bridesmaids... what can I say!! They are the most beautiful group of women inside and out. Each and every one of them are so dear to my heart. It was so much fun to get ready with them and socialize before the ceremony. It really calmed my nerves.



Closer to the time we were suppose to leave the flowers arrived. Bobbe (my florist) did an breathtaking arrangement for myself and all the girls. My bouquet was wrapped in a handkerchief handmade by my great grandmother. My mom used it in her wedding. It was my something old and something borrowed. Mark's mother made and beautiful ring bearer pillow for Logan to carry. It had all my favorite colors.



Time to get into the dress! Let's just say it barely fit! I knew I shouldn't have had so many bagels!



Just before we went downstairs to get into the limo Dana (our photographer) took some last minuet photos... I'm surprised they turned out so well considering we were late and in a rush to get to the church


So I had already been up for 8 hours, and my day hadn't even started yet. More posts to come on capturing out wedding day.

BACHELORETTE PARTY - Part Trois: The Final Chapter

So... the fun continues in Vegas... I know I know it was in May, but there were just so many pictures and fun times...

SATURDAY - May 18, 2008
By the pool all day long... we were so tired from the night before, and some of us weren't feeling top notch, so relaxing was in order. And a little play of course!




After the pool... we all got ready! We all wore matching tank tops and jeans! It was fun :-) We met in one of the rooms and played some fun, bachelorette games, and got some prizes! Leave it to MG... the teacher!



After games and drinks we headed down to the Heart Bar before dinner. Had some more drinks, took some more pictures. I even managed to spill my first drink (bloody mary)all over my new jeans :-( BUT... they were dark, so I just smelled like tomatoes for a little while!


Off to Dinner... Again we took a hummer limo (but we'll get to the limo pics in a few)...we had dinner at a little Italian hole in the wall place called "Battista's Hole In The Wall" yes that is really the name of the restaurant. The food was really good, and it was all you can drink wine! We had a cute little old man who played the accordion, and sang about my future wedding. It was a lot of fun!


LIMO RIDES!!! I can't believe the size of these vehicles!
LIMO #1 - From Planet Hollywood to the Restaurant!


LIMO #2 - From the restaurant to the "Hawaiian Tropic Zone"!

Look closely, there is a bachelor we met on the way who is VERY jealous of our ride!


Onto the "Hawaiian Tropic Zone"... Ladies night! Girls get in free and drink for free! Danga Danga! We even ran into a drunk Elvis! Gotta Love Las Vegas Baby! The girls made me do the infamous "blow job" shot... so tacky! But I guess when in Rome!


So that concludes my Bachelorette Party Vegas Experience! I had the best weekend! The girls spoiled me rotten and showed me the best time! I love you girls! And am so blessed to have you in my life!

VEGAS PART DUEX - Bachelorette Party

OK here we go!

FRIDAY, MAY 16TH - NIGHT #1

After getting food in our bellies, exploring the hotel, etc... we came back to our rooms and got ready for a big night out!

All of us met at the HEART BAR in the center of the Planet Hollywood casino for a few drinks before we caught a ride to the Palms Hotel.



After everyone gathered we made our way to the taxi stand. The girls though it would just be easier (since there were 17 of us) to take a hummer limo! Sure why not! I'm not complaining :-)



AND WE'RE OFF! Our destination for the evening was the Moon Nightclub at the Palms Resort & Casino. I've been there before for Erica's 30th Birthday and fell in love with it! Moon occupies the very top floor of the Palms' new Fantasy Tower above the Playboy Club. It's AMAZING!



When we got there we were escorted up to the club surpassing all the poor bastard in line :-) the hostess showed us to our table. There were 2 tables surrounded by a long sofa surrounding the tables. We had a perfect view of the dance floor and were up a few steps secluded from any passerbys!



The girls were amazing! They not only reserved our table and special area... they ordered bottle service which was AWESOME! What was included you ask?...
WAITRESS
BAR BACK
BOUNCER
LOTS OF BOOZE

It was great because our waitress ALWAYS made sure all of us had a drink in our hand. Our bar back kept everything neat and clean... and he insisted we finish our drinks before he took our glasses away... and our bouncer kept all the boys away who wanted to drink our alcohol! It really was the worst bachelorette party for any man to try and crash because out of the 17 of us. only 3 were single! It truly was a girls weekend!


So since the vodka was there... we drank!



And after we drank... we danced the night away... and got a little silly as one does when vodka is involved!



So that concludes our first night in VEGAS! More to come!

BACHELORETTE PARTY - LAS VEGAS (Part I)

It's been a while since my last post, so I apologize because I've been slightly crazy!

On Friday, May 16th the girls took me to Las Vegas, Nevada for my Bachelorette Party! We stayed at PLANET HOLLYWOOD HOTEL & CASINO


I arrived with Mindee, Rachel and Amy...We met up with Leigh and Danielle who had been there since the morning (DANGA! DANGA!) We grabbed lunch and a few drinks in the "Heart Bar", which became our common meeting place in the center of the casino. We were then joined by Sarah and Shelley!




There were a total of 17 of us! Look out VEGAS we were ready to have some fun! We all arrived at different times... some were delayed (story for another post), but we all made it safe and sound!


The Lobby and the Casino were Beautiful! It set a great setting for all the L.A. girls to have a great time!




And the rooms weren't too shabby!


When we all finally got settled with food in our stomachs and a few drinks we were ready for a big night out on the town!

Bridal Shower #3

My BEAUTIFUL bridesmaids threw me a wonderful shower! It was a perfect day. I still can't get over the detail and the creativeness of the whole thing. Bare with me because I have a lot of pictures to post... only because I still can't believe what an amazing job the girls did :-)

The Shower was thrown on Saturday April 26th a Mexican Restaurant called "Cozy Mel's" in Manhattan Beach.

I WAS GREETED WITH A LEI!


The theme for the shower was "Honeymoon In Antigua". Everything was very tropical, which is what I LOVE!


Everyone had a flower shaped name tag, and they were pinned up on a decorated board. As if you couldn't tell already... three out of my ten bridesmaids are teachers... very much in their element :-)


And of course the cake was PERFECT for me!! I didn't want to cut it because it was so pretty.


I'd have to say I was most impressed with the centerpieces. I'm so glad they arrived safe and sound!




The tables looked great! Yummy Cookies!


Even down to the signage!


A cute "fun fact" display about the island of Antigua was posted on the opposite wall.









It was really nice to see everyone!

The Margaritas were flowing. I think MANGO was my favorite.








After Lunch... which was DELICIOUS! We played a few games. The first was entitled "How Well Do You Know Julianne & Mark?" Who ever got the most questions right WON! It was VERY cute!


We then played another game... It was a test on how well I knew Mark. I answered only 11 questions out of 20. But in all fairness... our answers had to match and MARK answered the questions WRONG!!! If he had answered the questions correctly I would have AT LEAST gotten 18 out of 20 correct. I hate not getting a PERFECT SCORE!!

On to gifts! I can't even begin to thank everyone! The generosity was unreal!






And I have to comment on Laura's wrapping job and card... I wish I could do what she does!


THANK YOU TO ALL MY BRIDESMAIDS! I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE! I AM SO BLESSED TO HAVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU IN MY LIFE!

Only missing 2 girls... can't wait to actually have a picture with EVERYONE!