Lovely Tonight: The Rehearsal

So...where did we leave off?

After a wonderful sunset bridal shower, the bridesmaids and I spent the rest of our evening catching up and cleaning up the beach house in preparation for the following afternoon. I was relaxed and having a great time. The clock ticked, and soon it was after 10pm. I logged on to my computer, and it instantly felt like a train had hit me when I pulled up my to-do list.

I hadn't finished writing the vows!

I hadn't made a CD with our ceremony music to play during our rehearsal!

I didn't have a CD player or set of iPod speakers on which to PLAY the music!

AHHH! Weren't these important details? HOW IN THE WORLD HAD I MANAGED TO FORGET ABOUT THIS!?!?

It was going to be a long night...

So...what did I do? I hunkered down at the computer, plugged in my printer, and GOT TO WORK! We tore apart the beach house and discovered a boom box that played CDs in the living room. Whew! Then, I frantically called Justin. He was at his "bachelor party" (yes, I used quotations...it involved the guys playing Putt-Putt golf and eating dinner. I married a wild one, I tell you!), and his brothers/friends wouldn't let him answer his phone. They figured that I was just calling for mushy gushy talk. WRONG!

Meanwhile, MOH L took the opportunity to put together a ribbon bouquet:

After hitting 'redial' about 10 times, Justin finally returned my call. I am pretty sure that I started speaking so fast that he couldn't understand me, but he ended up getting the message that I needed him to go to the 24 hour drug store ASAP and buy some CDs for me to burn music onto. He delivered them, gave me a kiss (or two), and left me to my work. I crashed into bed somewhere between 12 and 1am.

The morning of the rehearsal, I woke early, jumped in the shower, and gathered up copies of our vows, readings, and the music. My parents picked me up, and we arrived at the venue early to meet with the manager to go over the wedding day schedule one last time. Our DOC Kyle (from Weddings by Eventions) arrived next, and quickly began to organize everyone as they arrived.

Apparently I thought it was time for a mid-morning nap...

Our rehearsal was in the morning due to the fact that another wedding was being held at our venue that evening. However, since the weather was nice and the wedding was taking place outdoors, Chuck (Carlouel's manager) had already instructed the staff to set up the chairs for our ceremony!

Dang. This was all becoming a little bit real. My heart started beating at a rapid rate. I had no idea what I should be doing. Thankfully, Kyle and our officiant Rev. D did!

Now, my wedding was the very first that I have ever been a part of, so I am not sure if this is a typical order of events for a rehearsal...but I thought it was very smart! First, Rev. D gathered the entire wedding party in the spot that we'd be standing for the ceremony. We stood in formation and went through our entire ceremony. As we did this, our flower girl, ring bearer, and their younger brother were able to play...

After the ceremony itself was rehearsed, we practiced the recessional. Then, once we had recessed to the lobby, it was time to practice the processional! Everyone took their places and waited patiently for their turn...

Some were maybe a little LESS patient (i.e. our flower girl and ringbearer). Meanwhile, BM A and L were sporting identical pensive looks...

One of the highlights of the rehearsal was definitely our flower girl and her sprint down the aisle. Look at her hair flying: she was on a mission!

MOH L snapped a photo as she practiced her walk down the aisle.

Once the entire bridal party was up front, it was my turn...

And then, as quickly as it had started, our rehearsal was complete. Now it was time for a big beach party!

Did your rehearsal fly by before your eyes? Did you forget to prepare a few important things before your rehearsal?

Need to catch up?

• The bachelorette party commenced
  
• We had a night out on the town
  
• Relaxation, excitement, and slight panic
  
• Something went awry with our rehearsal dinner
  
• We had a sunset wedding shower
  

Table linens: a trial

In my last table linen installment, I broke the amazing news that my amazing Grandma was kind enough to offer her services in creating my pintuck tablecloths!

Well, after I confirmed the dimensions of our reception tables, she whipped up a few samples and sent them to us to test out at Carlouel! They happened to arrive on a Saturday when Justin and my mom were holding a garage sale at our house. They opened up the box, and a few customers happened to notice the tablecloths. We had a few offers to purchase them right then and there! I wasn't there, but I was glad that my mom was not tempted to sell them on the spot...they ARE really pretty! I digress...

So, a few days later, my mom and I made the trek to Carlouel to test the linens out! I have to admit that I was extremely worried; what if they looked awful? What if the fabric was a terrible color in the room? Well, clearly I was crazy for worrying, because they looked absolutely fantastic!

(please ignore the wrinkles in the cloths; the linens will be steamed on the day of the wedding!)

The soft sage green of the linens blends perfectly with the wood beams, green carpet, and white stone fireplaces. They add a pop of color on the table (albeit a soft pop), and soften the ambience of the room (in comparison to all white table linens). Keep in mind with these photos that on the day of the wedding the tables will be covered first with floor length white linens, with our overlay on top (they weren't set with floor length ones on that day).

We even brought a few vases and birds along with us to test out the complete look. On the table as it is, they appear to be very small, but the reception table will be set with silverware, butter plate, napkins, and water glasses at each place setting, which will fill up a lot of the table space that is currently empty in the photos!

Putting together a sample table was such a great experience for me; for the first time I was able to visualize what our reception space would look like on the day of the wedding! Now I am even MORE excited (if that is even possible...)!

Did you set up a sample table at your venue to test out your vision?

You want thing-a-ma-bobs? I’ve got twenty…

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Yes, please note the Disney movie reference. You know, the scene where Ariel is swimming around her treasure trove of gadgets and gizmos? Ah, so many delightful things…

Well, I haven’t mentioned this previously, but my venue happens to have its own little treasure trove of goodies…

Back in July when we first toured Carlouel, we were escorted into a storage room upstairs…and it was filled with some pretty awesome things…vases, candles, lanterns galore!!! Shelf upon shelf of materials for weddings or events. Chuck (the manager) explained to us that he has had a lot of brides who didn’t want these things at the end of their wedding, and just left them at the site. WHAT?!?! Left there!??! Does…not…compute…I don’t see myself ever doing that, but hey…ask me again in 6 months and perhaps my story will change.

Anyway, Chuck continues to inform us that we are able to use anything and everything we find in this room, absolutely free of charge! The staff will clean containers and have them sparkling and ready to go for us. And, if we want to swing by on the week of the wedding and pick things up so we can arrange/prepare them at home, we are able to do so as well!

When he first told us this, I’m quite sure that both my mom’s and my chin hit the floor. This is un-freakin-real! There are multiple bins FILLED with different tea light candles in different shaped containers…which we will definitely be using on the reception tables…

My favorite shelf happens to be this one…it is packed from front to back with white pillar candles of different heights…these will be topping the mantle in the front entryway, as well as other locations throughout the venue!

So, overall, this wonderful discovery is going to help tremendously with some of the décor cost! Although we’d only be using small candles on each table, I want to use quite a lot of them throughout the venue…and now we don’t have to buy a single one! Pillar candles can add up in price as well, so I am so excited that we can cross that off of our “to-purchase” list!

Did your venue include some awesome extras as part of the package???

Revisiting the venue

So, as you may have heard, I have a jam-packed week! And, thus far it has proved to be extremely productive…I couldn’t be happier!

On Saturday, there was a wedding at our venue. I was so excited that we were lucky enough to be home during a week with a wedding occurring! The manager told us that we could swing by during the early afternoon, before the guests started to arrive. I couldn’t wait to get there!

When we originally visited the venue, it was set up for normal day-to-day club activity. This time, it was in “wedding” mode. I was so glad to see the differences! Now, I’ll share some before-and-after pictures!

Remember the front entryway?

BEFORE:

Last time, it was filled with couches and a coffee table. For a wedding, they remove these and place a skirted table in the center of the room under the light fixture.

AFTER:

…and that…my friends…is where the wish tree guestbook is going to be placed!

Can’t you just imagine it? The tree will be the first thing that our guests will see as they walk through the venue’s door…

Also, behind and to the side are the skirted tables for the gifts, etc. I found some great items to decorate that space with…but I’m going to keep you in suspense until later…

There is a NEW addition to our venue since we last visited! Apparently, there was a wedding at Carlouel in October that used grapevines wrapped with white lights and votive lamps. The manager liked it so much, that he bought it from the florist, and it has remained up ever since! Unless a bride requests it to be taken down between now and the end of May, we are going to keep it in place! And, the manager was nice enough to tell us that they would put it back up for us if we wanted it and it had been taken down! Yay for free décor items!!! And, ooooh I’m drooling at the thought of how it will be lit up during the reception…so romantic!

Just to give you an idea of how it looks lit up!!! So...romantic...

Last time we were at Carlouel, the “birdcage” area (I’m not kidding, they call it that…how perfect?) was set up for regular lunch-time pool activity.

BEFORE:

This time, we got to view the bar/cocktail hour setup! They set up a really nice large bar out by the pool, remove the tables and place them outside the covered area (and cover the tables with linens), and add a few tall pub tables. I’m digging the setup for our cocktail hour (now if only the weather would be perfect….)!

AFTER:

So, I am SO BEYOND excited about our venue after out visit! It really solidified how incredibly awesome of a choice we made. Sigh of relief, anyone???

With subsequent trips, did you just continue to fall more and more in love with your venue???

Venue love…for the reception

Previously, you saw our ceremony location and where the cocktail hour will take place.

Now…its reception time!

During the cocktail hour, the staff at Carlouel will flip the room where the ceremony was held and turn it into a beautiful reception site! Where the chairs are for the ceremony, tables of 8-10 will be assembled.

Some tables will run into the next room, which has a hardwood floor…get ready to put your dancing shoes on! (note: the floor will be clear, unlike in the pictures here!)

At the moment, I am loving the idea of having tasting stations for dinner. They seem to be all the rage right now, and I am quite sure that I don’t mind hopping on the bandwagon…I am a fan of food, and I like that our guests would have many options to choose from, and it won’t be a buffet! Carlouel will set up the tasting stations in an adjoining room, so the serving equipment, stations, etc won’t be eyesores in the middle of the reception.

Directly across from the entrance to Carlouel is their private beach that you access by this boardwalk…

I don’t know how I will incorporate the beach in some aspect of the day…perhaps for a sendoff with sparklers? Can you think of any creative ideas?

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Venue love…for the cocktail hour

Today we’ll continue our photo tour of Carlouel! Yesterday, you saw the spot where Justin and I will be married…

And then, the celebration will begin!

Since we are having our ceremony indoors, after the ceremony is over, our guests will move outdoors by the pool for the cocktail hour! Carlouel is right on the water in Clearwater, so everyone will have a fabulous view of the ocean, boats, etc right around sunset!

Guests can stand on the lawn, or sit at a table by the pool, while hors d’ouevres and drinks are served.

Could you just see a steel drummer performing out here??? ;)

I love the idea of some photo ops with the bridal party/family on one of the boat slips…if only we had a boat to go with it!

After an hour of munching on appetizers, our wedding guests will walk back into to main room for the reception! Tune in for a peek next time!