One year old wedding cake is gross...

Just an FYI in case you did not know!

Gross year old cake topper...

Seriously, the taste is still in my mouth.

I made a back up just in case!

 On the other hand petite fours at TRIO are amazing.

Mr. A and I celebrated one year of marriage yesterday and I have to say we did it right.

We started off the night with a drink at the hotel we got married in, the Stephen F Austin Intercontinental. Then Mr. A in all of his awesomeness surprised me with dinner at TRIO in the Four Seasons Hotel. We sat right by the windows overlooking Town Lake and drank a fabulous bottle of wine. It was a truly amazing dinner finished off with locally grown peach cobbler and petite fours. WOW, is all I can say.

Go there, now.

 Then we walked about 10 blocks back to the SFA hotel where Mr. A had be get a drink while he got the car out of valet. It was so nice out and we reminisced about taking out pictures out on Congress Ave.

Little did I know what he had planned. As we headed for the door he pressed the top floor button in the elevator! He got us the "Governor's Suite" with 180 degree views of the city, living room dining room, library and huge bedroom! Too much!

The surprises kept coming, he had the wine from our wedding waiting for us and our wedding album! So thoughtful!

After some screaming like a huge dork we sat town and looked at our album together remembering ever part of that wonderful day! It was perfect and so sweet. We laid in bed until 12 the next morning and ate breakfast looking out over the city we fell in love in.

 I am so lucky to have married the best man in the whole world. I cat wait to see what year 2 has in store for us! Thank you you Mr. A for being the best friend and husband I could ask for.

The Wedding of Mr. and Mrs. S

Kate's wedding was truly a family affair. Her friends and family are all so close and it was so special to be a part of her big day. Kate is a great planner and the day seemed to go off without a hitch. There was food and drinks around every corner (which let's face it is very important to me) and she always had this cool and calm aura around her. Just the perfect bride! So here is a recap of the night in pictures.

We started off at the salon getting ready. Kate's SIL got her this cute little wrap dress with "Mr. S" on it. I totally am going to get one for myself.

The Bride getting ready in her fabulous wrap dress/towel that her SIL gave her. Hair all done!

Bridesmaids getting their hair did. Her friend Amy has the mos amazing red hair I have ever seen

Then we headed to Kate's parents home and got ready. She and her mom had a cute little buffet of snacks and drinks set up for all of us. Her parent's home is so cute and loved. It really felt so cool to get ready there.

Really cute champagne set up at her parents house.

Kate bought all of us custom champagne flutes! So cute.

Kate got ready at her parent's home. In her childhood bedroom. It was really touching. Totally made me cry.

Could she be any more beautiful!? Just perfect.

After pictures at her house Kate was ready to cool off on the bus. Little did we know the air on the bus was not working very well. Here she is still looking fabulous and very cool. I love this picture.

Mr. A and I enjoyed my favorite beer at the reception. I have missed lager for all of these years. He seemed to love it too!

Kate had really pretty centerpieces. They matched her bouquet and her whole theme was black and white. I thought it went so well in the ballroom.

The night was filled with fun, laughter, dancing and great food! We had so much fun with her friends and family. I only hope that we are lucky enough to have a family like this one day where all the cousins know each other and the families truly love each other. It was something I have never been around. It was so cool.

Kate had lots of great details at the wedding, including a "Love" statue in ice during the cocktail hour, a really fun photo booth and a late night desert room filled with every sweet you could ever want! LOVE.

Mr. A and I had a blast. Got a little drunk and danced our butts off! So much fun

Kate and Matt truly deserve all the happiness in the world. I am so blessed to have been a part of this crazy family affair. I think it was a great way to end the weddings I will be in. It was so great to share this with them and I look forward to sharing lots more with both of them in the years to come!

I can't help falling in love, with you Philadelphia/Katie D.

Last week Mr. A and I headed to my “hometown” of Philadelphia, PA for the wedding of Kate and Matt. We had an amazing time in the City of Brotherly Love with two of the best friends a girl could ask for. We stayed with Sarah and her husband Gian in the city. Sarah was in my wedding and is my oldest friend. We actually met on the first day of classes our freshman year of college! For most of the trip we split our time between Philly and Springfield, where Kate and Matt live. Mr. A got to have a real hoagie and learned why I would NEVER have Texasdelphia, rode the train and used a lot of public transit, saw Independence Hall, walked around Society Hill, SAT IN TRAFFIC, drove 90 to the rehearsal because of said traffic, ran up the rocky steps, saw City Hall, saw my huge university, saw the real ghetto, ate at Reading Terminal Market and so much more. Since so much happened, this post I am going to focus on the main event, Matt and Kate’s wedding.

First I want to give you a little background on the newly married couple. Kate, was my roommate during the semester I spent abroad in Rome. Kate and I have always said our meeting was fate. Kate was supposed to be roommates with some weird girls from Maine and I was going to be in a room with a Japanese girl (who later turned out to be totally awesome) and another girl from Maine. Well they asked to switch with Kate and she walked into my room and it was love at first site. We quickly bonded, while lying about smoking cigarettes (which both of us did at the time) and lying about not liking to drink “too much”, if you know me you know how big of a joke that is. We proceeded to spend the next 5 months drunk on our balcony and becoming lifelong friends. Kate is also the reason I moved to Texas. I know you are thinking, huh? Well see Kate has a sister too, who she is very close with and Kate told me to move to Texas because family is everything and having a chance to live close to my sister again was more important than anything. Plus she promised that we would always be friends and distance would not matter (she was so right). To this day this conversation makes me get all mushy inside. She, like every one of my truly close girlfriends has changed my life. 

Matt, is a state trooper and was the friend I told you all about over a year ago that was in a horrible accident involving a drunk off duty cop hitting him on the highway. He is an all-around great guy and has been friends with Kate since they were in high school. They are both incredible friends and great people, they totally deserved the best wedding day ever! 

Well, they got it. 

Kate’s wedding was one of a kind. I had never been a part of something so big! It was like I was a spectator in a real life “My Big Fat Italian Wedding”. The wedding was 200 people, it was 124 degrees out on the hottest day on record in Philadelphia, they got married in their childhood church with zero air conditioning and Kate was 100% freaking stunning in her wedding dress and 6 inch heels. The whole day was a blast. If I could have only gotten married after her and Janet I think I would have totally taken a page out of their books. Kate was super chill, got ready at her parents’ house in the room where she grew up in. It was really touching to see her sister helping her into her dress and thinking about all the nights they spent in that room.

After a VERY hot ceremony, including the groom pulling out a hand held fan in the middle of the sermon we all hopped on a limo bus and headed into the city. They took pictures at Love Park, and I can’t wait to see how they came out! Then we all arrived at The Ben:

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 A really fantastic old ballroom in the heart of center city. We took pictures and drank Yuengling Lager and then headed in for the most unreal cocktail hour I have ever seen! It was nuts. Mr. A summed it up with this comment, turning to me he says, “Wow this dinner is amazing, there is so much food”. I then responded, “Oh honey, this is JUST the cocktail hour!” at an Italian wedding you do not go hungry! We then watched emotionally as the groom danced at his wedding. Something that many thought would never happen. It is a testament to all the love and support they have surrounding them and the determination of both Kate and Matt to recover fully from that accident only 17 months ago. 

The night progressed with Mr. A drinking raz and sodas and getting just drunk enough to dance with me. We made fools of ourselves and loved every moment of it. Then after a night of dancing and drinking the trooper of a bride wanted to walk to the hotel they were staying at 6 blocks away… in her wedding dress and 6 inch heels. It was awesome and she cracks me up. The party continued at the hotel until 530 am! Her friends are crazy. Mr. A and I headed home in a cab, with no air conditioning, of course, and poured ourselves into bed.

To my surprise the next day at 12 the entire wedding party was ready to go! We continued the party at the Bride and Groom’s house with a BBQ with friends and family. Kate was a rock star and hosted an event at her house the day after her wedding. I would have had a heart attack. I am totally obsessed with Kate’s house and I was super pumped to show Mr. A the house. We helped get the party with some champagne and hoagies. From what I hear when we headed out the party was just getting started. The whole crew was up late night AGAIN hanging out and drinking 12 bottles of champagne (and much more)! Mr. A and I have learned that we are in no way cool, and our friends are whimps when it comes to drinking. I will just need to go visit PA more often to be reminded of how it is done! 

Katie, you are a great friend and I could not even begin to express how much it means to me that you included me in your wedding day. I hope you had a great mini-moon in Florida and I can’t wait to relive the whole party with you again next time I come to visit.  Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. S! You guys had a fabulous wedding, and I am sure it is just the beginning of many great things to come! 

Full photo recap to come soon! 

I know I am late to the "Party", get off my back.

In my last post I said I was going to post about the royal wedding. I really had planned a huge post about the food I cooked and the drinks we drank and my friend's colorful opinions of all of the hats. But I just never got there. Last week seemed to fly by and then this weekend was like, POOF! So I will give the abbreviated version for you all.

Let me start by saying as a little girl I honestly dreamt of marrying William. I really had this whole idea that because I was part English I could totally marry him. His birthday is the day after mine, but he is just a year older than me. I would look to see what schools he was going to so I could apply to them. I totally looked into St. Andrews and totally would have gone if I could have. Then history would have been different. Kate for sure stole my idea. That B. But now I am in love with Kate too. So I have gotten over my rage of not landing the prince and decided to celebrate their marriage.

By now you have seen THE DRESS. All I can say is WOW. She looked amazing. Every part of the look was spot on. I am so glad I did not get married after her because I would have totally tried to copy her veil, dress and whole lookand it would have totally cost me a lot of money.

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 Then there were all the cute moments, that really brought the wedding down to a level that we could all relate too. I loved that they were not robots, that you could tell how much they were in love. I loved that Harry took a peak at her before his brother. How cute was it that William joked with her dad at the alter? All of it made you realize this was not just a royal wedding, but a wedding of two people really in love.

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I loved the kiss, and I totally love again how real the moment was. Kate even said "Oh WOW!" as she walked out on the balcony. I thought it was so sweet to see both sets of parents taking in the moment off to the side. Charles even seems like a warm person, holding up Camilla's grandchild so he could see. Just so sweet.

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 Most of all I thought it was so cool of them that they drove off in a car together, just like normal newlyweds! Never mind that it was a rare Ashton Martin that is worth more than most houses, and they were driving from one palace to another palace... it was still so cute!

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I will finish with my normal craziness. I am totally convinced that if Mr.A and I moved to Anglesey and we ran into Wills and Kate at the market we could totally be friends. I imagine Kate inviting me over for a glass of wine and a chat. We would totally hang out. I know it. In the mean time I will continue to obsess about everything that Kate wears and grow my hair out just like her. She would not find that weird at all when she met me at the market, would she?

We are bad at being funny....

There was a photo booth at the wedding this weekend. Mr. A and I are just not good at being "bad" in the photo booth. We took our pictures and thought ohhh ok these are great! We put them in her guest book all proud like.

Well then I just saw everyone else pictures (check out Kelly's blog here) and I feel like we were kind of LAME! Oh well photo booths are so mcuh fun if you know how to work them.  We will learn one day!

Here is me with the rest of the bridesmaids, I love these!

Kelly and Amelia did some great posting about the wedding this weekend. Check them out to hear more about the great party the Mr. and Mrs. M threw!  They used this company for the pictures and I think they were one of the best we have seen!

One perfect day... and the winner!

I had the pleasure of being a member of Janet's wedding party this weekend and I had a blast!!! It was the first time I was in a wedding since ours and it just gave me a whole new perspective on the event! I relived so many emotions. It was so special to walk down the isle and see my husband standing there smiling back. Janet has impeccable taste and everything about the whole day just said casual and sophisticated elegance.


I was super emotional about their wedding. I think even more so than I was about ours. Not because hers was more emotional to me than my own wedding but because I actually had time to let all those feelings rush in. I remembered what it was like to slip on that dress (and stuff my bra with chicken cutlets). I knew what those vows meant to Mr. A and I. It was such a special experience to be a part of Janet's day and see her run though it all.


I am sure others with post more pictures from the wedding. Since both the hubs and I were in it we could not take any pictures of the ceremony. Since I began to dance and eat and drink at the reception my camera did not come out much then either. So sorry for that.

Let me just tell you my favorite part of the whole day was the groom, Ben, filling up as he saw Janet turn the corner and head towards him! It was one of those moments that reminds you of all of the emotion behind that day. It was amazing to see between them. 

I will do my best to link to other posts with pictures and details from the day because words can't begin to describe how beautiful the wedding was!

Now, getting away from the mushy stuff and on to the fashion. I know that is what you all care about anyway! I chose the retro dress with the strait neck. Its the one Mr. A liked me in and let's face it that is the guy I care most about liking what I wear! Janet gave us all matching pearl necklaces (so freaking cute btw) and I wore some black low heals. Hair up in a low messy bun. Smokey eyes. I worked it. :-) Here is the dress as a reminder, better pictures will come soon.

Is it just me, or am I a total baby?

This weekend I celebrated one of my best friend's bachelorette parties. We had an amazing time, filled with dirty comments, penis straws, a party bus, stripper poles and of course "Color Me Bad". Janet, the bride, is going to be totally gorgeous on her wedding day. She is planning a fabulous wedding with so many little details that encompass who she and her fiance are as a couple. More on the party and the wedding plans later.

After the party I got to thinking about my wedding and the events leading up to my wedding. My wedding was a year of planning, thinking about every last detail I possibly could, picking the best photographer and wedding vendors I could. Worrying about everything, so much so I made myself sick. Then just like that it was just over! Like that, a switch was flipped and I was Mrs. A. I never got to really enjoy all the little details about my wedding that I loved so much. From table numbers to handmade place card holders I barely noticed them. Even when I did notice it I felt like I had to rush to do something else and then could not fully appreciate all the hard work that went into every single detail.

So I pose this question, am I being a total baby? Six months later I am still a little bummed that I did not take every moment in like I felt I should have. Is this totally normal and I should just get over myself? I had an amazing day, don't get me wrong, but I just always have this little twinge of regret that I did not slow down enough to take it all in. Another girlfriend of mine said her DOC made her take about 10 minutes with her new husband to step back and observe everything. Should every couple do this? Would it have mattered in the end?

I loved our wedding but if there was one regret it is that I did not slow down enough. From the time I got my hair done until the time I took it out with my new husband it was GO GO GO. Maybe the best thing is that I know how it feels and I can pass along the knowledge to my friends?

For now I will show you some of my favorite little details, some of these you have seen some of them are new, all of them I love:

My bouquet, I had it wrapped in fabric and lace from my mom's wedding dress. My grandma's baby ring was sewn into the flowers. 

Our dog was an adorable ring barer. 

I had our cake toppers custom made for my husband. He loves Spiderman. I loved our cake in general, even though I barely got to taste it! 

I loved the ceremony decor because it was super simple, even though I don't did not even really get a chance to take it all in. I was too busy staring at Mr. A. 

I took months finding these wine bottle table numbers. I don't really even remember what they looked like on the tables! From these pictures I can tell they looked good though! 

I don't even remember eating any of our hundreds of gummy bears! Gosh they look good now! 

I love this picture of us getting out marriage certificate signed. Seriously though, I don't remember it. 

Mr. A got me this necklace as a wedding gift. I loved it! I used his grandma's purse for the big day. 

Gosh I loved my long head table decor. I seriously spent hours coming up with this look. We probably spent a total of 10 minutes sitting at the table. 

I did not even see these! 

My sister was amazing the whole night. She got me these shoes to help with the pain in my foot. She is so sweet. 

Well there you have it. I have griped enough and now. Now looking back at everything, I have to say I had a freaking amazing wedding. I totally am a baby. I will get over myself and remember that I got to marry the best man in the world. I guess it's the big picture that matters.

Wedding Recap - Reception Part 1

Like 17  months later here is my wedding reception recap in several parts because there are some great pictures. Our reception was in the same space as our wedding ceremony. The hotel flipped the space and I have to say it came out really pretty. I had a very strong opinion about having round tables at our wedding reception - HELL no! I attend meetings for a living, I hate those round tables. So with a little negotiation and persuading the hotel they did in fact not have to charge me double for linens because I wanted square tables I got my way. Here is the result:

Our head table was one long family style table. I wanted my wedding party to be able to sit with their husbands and wives so this worked best for us. 

I wanted pretty soft romantic feeling centerpieces. I loved the red tea lights. 

 Here are the guest tables. Loved the square look. 

 These were the centerpieces on some of the tables at the other guest tables. I bought the wine bottle table numbers on Etsy and I LOVED the way they looked. 

This was our "Gummy Bear" bar. Mr. A and his mom took months having fun picking out all the gummies to get for this. We did this instead of a grooms cake.  

This was our cake table. We had the most amazing cake. I loved the way it was simple and fun. Our coordinator did a good job putting the table together with our florist. 

I made the place card holders myself, another idea I stole from Etsy. My MIL did the names on the cards. 

And lastly our cake topper. I ordered this on Etsy as well. Mr. A loves Spiderman so I made him his favorite superhero on our cake! 

Lot's of fun dancing pictures next!