Since my Uncle J agreed to be our photographer, we have the privilege of meeting with him just about anytime we want to talk shop (Did I also mention he's our landlord??).  Mr. Jet and I have started a list of our must-have shots from before the ceremony (including our "first look"), the ceremony, the reception and of course all the detail shots for me to savor and share with the hive!  Here's what we've come up with so far:

Before the Ceremony:

• Gals and I getting ready (Mr. Jet doesn't care for shots of the guys getting ready - because they will be playing video games and drinking beer until about...ten minutes before they are picked up.  Of this I am sure).
• Our first look
• In & around the trolley
• Downtown locations (our favorite restaurant, downtown city square, old New England cobblestone streets, historical buildings)
• Bridal party
• Fur-baby

The Ceremony:

• Officiant (it's my grandmother, after all!)
• Processional
• My processional
• Vows/ring exchange
• First kiss
• Views of seated guests with Mr. Jet and I and the bridal party present
• Recessional

After the Ceremony:

• Bridal party shots (if any were missed)
• My family
• Mr. Jet's family
• The newly-appointed Jetsetters!

The Reception:

• Cake table
• Escort table
• Guest book table
• Table decor
• Memorial table
• Sweetheart table
• Bridal party entrance
• Our entrance
• First dance
• Father/daughter dance
• Mother/son dance
• Toasts
• Cake cutting
• Guests dancing

The Details:

• Dress and accessories
• Rings
• Programs
• Menus
• Drink straws
• Escort "cards" (more on this later!)
• Guest Book
• Monogram letters
• Cake topper (more on this later!)

We'll get a lot more specific the closer we get, but this is our basic outline and timeline.  Anything you'd add?

I've always been a really sentimental girl who LOVED my family and friend traditions - watching Home Alone every Christmas, midnight line-ups for EVERY Harry Potter book and movie, my annual anniversary date to the Jack O'Lantern spectacular with Mr. Jet.  I just love that there are some things in life that will always hold a special meaning to me no matter how far I look back.  I could go on all day about my favorite traditions, but this is a wedding blog, people!  

Time to segue...

It seems as though even the most traditional of brides are ditching some of these outdated traditions.  I made a list of the most popular ones and talked with Mr. Jet about which ones were important for us to keep, and which we've decided to send off to greener pastures.

This tradition doesn't bother me too much because Mr. Jet has a huge beard and smooshing frosting into it sounds kind of fun.  He, on the other hand, will probably accidentally assault me with a fingernail or something.  Still, it is a funny, entertaining way to cut the cake before serving it to guests and we are their entertainment for the day!

The Verdict: Let's do it - You only live once, and it may be the only chance I get to even taste the cake!

The bouquet toss has always, ALWAYS frightened me.  I've literally backed into walls, bathrooms, and accidentally onto someone's lap to just avoid them.  They're embarrassing and make single ladies seem so desperate!  Even the thought of being the tosser v. the tossee makes my armpits sweat.

The Verdict: Hell no - sorry single ladies!

The traditional rice exit has morphed into so much more these days, with tons of brides doing both ceremony and reception exits with sparklers, bubbles, flower petals or even wish lanterns.  This tradition, while great in theory, can easily be overlooked or not quite communicated well to guests, which could make for one sad exit!

The Verdict: Doubtful - If we were doing a daytime wedding with a specific end time, I'd entertain this tradition, but we want to party hardy into the night alongside our guests - no leaving early for the Jetsetters!

As I type this, I have the Electric Slide in my head and may also be singing it out loud to Bruce as he looks back at me in horror.  Oh, the line dance.  As a kid, I used to love the Macarena, the Electric Slide (parts I and II!), the Cupid Shuffle and the Cotton Eyed Joe, which always used to give me a terrible cramp in my right leg.  These days, the line dances seem to be going the way of the buffalo, as they seem just so outdated and overplayed.

The Verdict: Nah - If our guests want to dance, they'll have to settle for our amazing Janet Jackson megamix.

The dollar dance, while present across many cultures and fairly widely accepted at modern weddings, just seems a little over the top.  While I understand the concept of showering the new couple (especially if they are very young and really just starting their adult lives) as generously as you can to help them start their lives together, I think it's much too much to ask people to shell out their cash for a few seconds on the dance floor with the bride and groom on top of the shower and wedding gifts they've already given - not to mention the cost of travelling for out of town guests!  

The Verdict: No way - I can't justify this one at all.  



What are your thoughts - any of these traditions worth your while?  Part II, coming up!

I've been tattooed since the day after my 18th birthday.

I got a TINY shamrock on the nape of my neck to honor my part-Irish family:  (All photos personal)

When I was 20, I added this to each wrist:

At the age of 22, I upped the ante:

Finally, about two years ago, I added this:

Needless to say, I will be a tattooed bride.  I've spent a lot of time, thought, and money on my body art - and I'm not ashamed to show it off any day, nevermind my own wedding.  I've been asked on more than one occasion if I'll be covering up my tattoos for the wedding.

"Do you really want to look back at your photos and see tattoos?"

"Uhh...yes?"

I've chosen this art, and it's not rubbing off anytime soon.  What would it mean for me to "pretend" like I don't have tattoos at my wedding?  They even sell tattoo cover-up for people who want to hide their tattoos!

While I can understand the thoughts of my more conservative family members, I cannot pretend to be something I'm not.  These tattoos are a huge part of who I am, and one of the reasons I caught Mr. Jet's eye in the first place! ;)  (He doesn't have any, too scared of needles - but he thought I was quite the bad.  ass.)

I wouldn't, on my wedding day or any other day, want to hide my tattoo-light under a bushel!  I'll be proudly sporting my ink on my wedding day.

Hive, any other tattooed brides/grooms out there??

I absolutely adore paper suites.  I'm one of those people who truly feels pain upon getting rid of an invitation after an event has passed.  (I'm pretty sure I still have a paper Save the Date up on my bulletin board from a wedding we went to in 2008....)

I really love all of the thought and work that goes into a paper suite - the paper quality, a great letterpress, the calligraphy, the envelope liner (as you already know!), heck...I even love a good stamp!  I'm sure the hive is totally picking up what I'm putting down.  While I do realize that most people won't even give my invitations a second look, I still want them to be amazing.  Scratch that, I NEED them to be amazing!  Having an equally as type-A sister with a background in graphic design and typography does not help my cause.

Since MOH J currently lives in Atlanta, we have to do all of our work via Skype, e-mail and GChat - thank God for this stuff, am I right?!

She asked me to put together a Pinterest board of all of the paper stuff I like so she could get ideas on what to design for me.  We're still in the copywriting/design stage now (I'm not planning on sending out the invitations for another month or so) but I thought I'd share some of my inspiration with the hive and maybe get some valuable input while I'm at it!

For my fellow paper suite lovers, you're welcome....

Anyone else swoon over a fab invitation???

You can thank Barney Stinson for that one, hive.

I do love seeing Mr. Jet in a suit, which happens very infrequently as both he and and I have jobs where a more casual day-to-day look is accepted.  Whenever there's an occasion where I get to see Mr. Jet "suit up", I get a little giddy - our wedding day will absolutely be no exception!

Mr. Jet currently has one black suit that he wears for every wedding, funeral or fancy event.  He also has a navy blazer that makes him look like a fishing captain - totally hot.

For the wedding, he wanted to take a practical approach by buying a suit, versus renting a tuxedo.  This not only made sense from a "I can keep this forever" standpoint, but also allowed Mr. Jet much more variety in terms of style and color.  We also had our guys in mind, as we'd rather they put their money towards something they can own instead of having to return it come Monday morning!  The difference between an average tuxedo rental and the suit we eventually ordered was only $40, so it truly seemed like an economical choice for everyone.

Mr. Jet and I had always thought a grey suit would look great and fit perfectly with our theme so we visited our local Men's Wearhouse and Mr. Jet was actually fitted for this suit:

The suit both looked and felt great on Mr. Jet - but with a $249 price tag, we weren't sure we felt comfortable asking our guys to contribute that much.  (Ladies, what do you think of this?  I've been asked to pay this price and even higher for a bridesmaid's dress - why is the expectation so typically different for men?)  Anyway, we put this idea on hold, and visited a local formalwear shop called Main Street Formals. 

As luck would have it, they had a nearly identical, charcoal-grey three-piece suit for around $90 less than the MW equivalent.  Mr. Jet tried on the jacket and it looked fab on him!  He said he felt great in it - and with a lesser price tag, felt even better about asking the guys to invest in it as well.  Once all the guys finish their fittings (which had BETTER be soon, Mr. Jet!! ;)), the suits will be officially on order.

We did manage to accomplish something at MW without wasting our associate's time - we found ties for Mr. Jet and all the guys as well as a snappy pair of suspenders for Mr. Jet.

Check out the guys' get-up!! (All photos below personal)

Can't wait to see Mr. Jet all gussied up for our wedding day - love my handsome guy!!

I got so excited about sharing my planning with the hive, I nearly forgot the most important part - the proposal!

I love hearing proposal stories, even those of complete strangers.  I used to watch A Wedding Story on TLC in college and tear up like a little creep in my dorm room while I ate oodles of noodles.  Anyone else?  Just me?  Okay, moving on.

Mr. Jet and I talked about "forever" pretty early on in our relationship and we even moved in together after only 11 months of dating.  We adopted our fur-baby Bruce and had settled in quite nicely into a little family groove.  After 4 years of said-groove, I felt like I wanted to take the next step.  I talked to Mr. Jet about the idea of marriage and we both felt strongly that we were ready for the commitment.  Being the psycho, type-A that I am, of COURSE I had to physically. show. him. exactly. what. I. wanted. for. a. ring.  ;)  Subtle, I am not.

We shopped around and within a few months, Mr. Jet had the ring in pocket - er, in "guitar case" as I later found out.

A few weeks after Mr. Jet admitted to having the ring "somewhere hidden in our apartment", I was packing up for a two-week business trip to China.  We went to dinner alone that night - no ring.  We finished packing my suitcase and hugging it out - no ring.  As I was on my way to bed, and figuring at that point it wasn't P-Day, I told Mr. Jet that I was a little relieved he didn't propose before I left for the trip - imagine how hard it would be to be proposed to then shipped off to a foreign country for two weeks with NO cell phone and NO Facebook?!  (Oh, the horror).

After a very pregnant pause, Mr. Jet revealed that he was going to propose at the airport in just a few hours when he dropped me off for the trip.

Oh.

He quickly added that he had another, better idea for later down the road but it was too late, I was already in tears claiming, "I RUINED IT!  I RUINED EVERYTHING!  I AM LITERALLY THE WORST!"  (Is anyone else noticing my uncanny resemblance to Lucy van Pelt??)

Thankful for Mr. Jet's uncanny ability to talk me down from any ledge, I finished packing and the we arrived at Logan Airport the next morning before dawn.  

As we hugged goodbye, Mr. Jet told me I hadn't ruined anything at all - and that I was far from the worst.

"Huh?"

No matter the conversation the night before, Mr. Jet was determined to send me off to China has his fiancée - come hell or high (tearful) water!  I, obviously, said yes and spent the next two weeks without a phone or Facebook to share the news. (THERE IS NO FACEBOOK IN CHINA, HOW AWFUL IS THAT?!) I did manage to send out a quick text and photo to my close friends and family:

So that's the story of how the Jets got engaged.  I'll tell ya, it was so very "us" and so very fitting to both of our personalities.  He'll spend the rest of his life making me take a step back and appreciate every moment - even those in the drop-off lane at Logan Airport and I'll spend the rest of mine apologizing for ruining the surprise, but loving how it turns out anyway.

For anyone just tuning in, about 40 minutes after I got engaged, I got on a plane to China for a two-week business trip!!

On my way home, I had a few days in Hong Kong (where Facebook is legal, omgyes!) where I got to catch up on all of my congratulatory posts and messages.  I was messaged by my talented Uncle/Godfathther J who immediately offered to be our photographer.  Wow, what a gift right??  He's been doing graphic design and web work for years, and started to foray into photography a few years ago.  Check out some of his great shots.... (all images via James F. Reilly / photography by James F. Reilly Photography)

Mr. Jet and I are really lucky to have such talented and generous family members!  I can't wait to see what he'll do with our wedding shots.  He's got a great eye and a real photo-journalistic style which is exactly what we want.

Best of all, he offered his services as a gift to us - we just have to pay for our prints.  Not only are we saving thousands of dollars, but we can put our trust into him that we'll have all the shots we want!  Thanks Uncle J!

Mr. Jet and I LURVEEEEEEEEEEE music.  Mr. Jet's father was an award-winning Fado singer back in Portugual and Mr. Jet taught himself to play the guitar early in life, which led to him playing in several local bands, which led me to be like, "Wow, that is so hot."

I grew up in a largely musical family as well, my mother and two aunts all have great voices and have sung for their respective churches and have won karaoke competitions, two of my uncles were in local bands, two of my cousins are currently in national and world touring punk bands and my sister and I both sang in school choirs and I have always been active with musical theater.  It's just in my bones, I guess!

So needless to say, music is a VERY important part of our wedding.  We found our DJ over a year ago and snagged him up quickly, as he has received stellar reviews from other brides in our area for his knowledge of music and breadth of selections for ALL music lovers.  DJ Frank Baptista of FB Events will be our fabulous emcee for a night of pop, rock, standards, alternative and dance tunes and we absolutely cannot wait! 

To keep things fair for the both of us since our musical tastes only sometimes intersect, Mr. Jet will be in charge of cocktail hour/dinner music as his tastes fall into the more ambient, off-beat genres and I will be in charge of THE DANCE.  I'm talkin' Janet, Michael, Def Leppard, Britney, Bel Biv Devoe, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Journey, Notorious B.I.G., Duran Duran, Eddie Money, MGMT, Earth Wind & Fire and soooooo much more!  I already have a 100 song playlist on my Spotify - a little somethin' somethin' for everyone!  Don't you just want to dance right now?!

Still, there are a few songs that Mr. Jet and I do have to see eye-to-eye on.  Here are our "Special Song Selections":

First up is our "Bridal Party Entrance" song.  We're still torn between a few choices, but I think this one's currently at the top of our list.  It's got a great hook from the start and legit brings a tear to my eye every time I hear it and think of all of our very best friends together on our wedding day!  Check out "You're My Best Friend" by Queen!

Next up is our "Grand Entrance" song!  Our venue has an L-shaped loft where some of our guests will be seated and we get to enter through the loft, down a main staircase, and finish in the middle of a dance floor.  We wanted something EPIC with a killer intro. that will get people laughing and singing along.  This isn't 100% set in stone yet as we tend to change our minds on music almost every day, and while not a true love song in lyric, it's one we both love to hate and hate to love.  A true guilty pleasure, here's "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" by Yes! (Close your eyes and picture this blaring through the venue with a dorky new bride and groom choreographing their way down a staircase!)

For our "First Dance" we chose "No One's Gonna Love You" by Band of Horses.  This band was our first concert together and we both absolutely adore this song.  It struck a chord with both of us from the moment we both heard it.  It's been "our song" ever since and we even talked about using this song for our First Dance before we got engaged!

My next selection has proven to be a much harder one - The "Father/Daughter Dance". I'm SUCH a daddy's girl.  Daddy Jet is the coolest.  We have so much in common and he's been an awesome dad AND friend to me my whole life, even more so after my parents' split when I moved in with him.  He's been an amazing support and a total rock when I needed one.  Trying to find a song that sums up our entire relationship in 3 minutes or less is CRAZY HARD! I've narrowed it down to three, but just can't seem to commit yet!  Your thoughts, hive?

First, here's "To Sir With Love" by LuLu (from the movie with the same name that Daddy Jet and I both love).

Next up, "In My Life" by The Beatles.  Who doesn't love this song and get a little weepy-eyed when they hear that opening chord?

Finally, the lesser known "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing" from White Christmas.  White Christmas is not only my favorite holiday movie, but my favorite musical too!  It's just so classic and SO "my family".  We are the weirdos who've watched White Christmas every. single. year. for the 29 that I've been alive.  It may seem a-typical, but would make total sense for me and Daddy Jet.

We're still cooking up ideas for our Cake Cutting Song, Mother/Son Song and Ceremony Music - so stay tuned, I'll have a Part II up soon!