Our Catalina Island Wedding!

[RosieAngel]

I don't have many pictures, yet! And it seems that ll of my amateur photographer friends were in the wedding party, so I have NO ceremony pics. I'll do my best to tell the story with what I've got!

The morning of the wedding, I woke up at 7:45, which is pretty early for me, and couldn't fall back asleep. While Kane slept in the bed, I got up, washed my hair for the bagillionth time since I arrived on the island, and took a long bath with pampering gifts that Thea had given me during the impromptu hen night that Kane's entire family crashed the evening before.

Before leaving for my hair appointment, I ironed Kane's dress shirt, which was the sort of thing that wrinkles as soon as you look at it crosseyed, so this took me a long time. I also ironed my veil, which was surprisingly wrinkled!

When I arrived with the girls at the salon, the nail lady greeted us and told us our stylist just went into labor (!!!) so they were calling in a more experienced replacement, who would be there in about an hour. So we all got manicures and pedicures while we waited! They had the most amazing massage chairs!

Here is me looking like a dork while being vibrated and footbathed after my manicure:
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_20.jpg

Devin, my best friend, is also getting the works!
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_21.jpg

One of the bridesmaids (I think maybe Thea?) bought star wire crowns at one point while searching for lunch. We padded around the salon in bare feet with them on...

And then Kane, my FH, came in all panicked with the laptop - he got the reception dinner music all set up, but he couldn't think of anything to put in the dance music section! I passed the computer around, and our FG's mom, a Russian lady who loves to dance, did most of the music.

While Kane was there, we had the nail lady give him a manicure and buff his nails:
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_22.jpg

I know the maid of honor and Devin have pics of everyone's hairstyles. When she shares them with me, I will post them to share! Unfortunately, Thea is the only maid who got hers up quickly!

It took us until 2:00 to get our hair done, and we were supposed to be at the country club by 3:00. EEK! We rushed to the house where the officiant was staying to grab some of her Luna Bars, which we forgot to eat. I saw the officiant still working on the ceremony (!!!) while hollering at the best man to tuck in his son's shirt, and tried not to vomit from the stress. The Best Man assured me that she was just changing a few words around. We then had a taxi drive us up to the country club, where we did each other's makeup and got dressed. (Sorry, no pictures yet!)

The country club, right after the ceremony (there was no time to take pics before, for obvious reasons):
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_25.jpg

[mandaj10]

I love that picture of your husband with the crown on, grinning and getting his nails done! Congratulations on being a Mrs. Rosie! I can't wait to see more pictures!

[RosieAngel]

We took silly bridal party pictures before the ceremony, which helped me calm down and practice carrying my monster of a bouquet. It was a small hand-tied one, but that thing was HEAVY! The wedding planner wouldn't let me toss it for fear I'd brain someone. She did, however, throw together a last-minute fake made from leftover flowers.

The ceremony was beautiful. I remember waiting to walk down the aisle on Daddy's arm while the Best Man's sister, an indie band singer, sang some original love songs that she wrote for the wedding and played the guitar to accompany them. We walked down the aisle behind the officiant's husband, who played Here Comes the Bride on the harmonica. This was awesome! My Grandpa, who passed away when I was 15, used to play me songs like that on the harmonica, so it made me really happy that David was willing to do this!

At the end of the aisle, Dad gave me a hug and said "Goodbye, sweetie," which seemed kind of ridiculous to me, since I had been living with Kane for five years and I wasn't being whisked away to India or anything. According to guests, he acted like 1/2 crumudgeon and 1/2 creep the entire time, even during the gratitude gift giving (telling the parents of your spouse how grateful you are that they did such a good job of raising him or her to be the person you love. Dad got a super-expensive aviator watch from Kane, he should have been jumping up and down like a six-year-old in a candy store!). Kane and I were too happy to care and handled his misbehavior with grace.

The Maid of Honor forgot to take away my bouquet right away, so I held one of Kane's hands before the officiant basically told me to give it to her, haha! Kane isn't a dress-up person, so I spent a long time looking at his handsome self all dolled up while not entirely listening to the ceremony the officiant worked so hard on. :bbredface:

While we were reciting our vows, Kane started getting choked up, which got me crying, and everyone else crying! There wasn't a dry eye in the courtyard, so I'm told! I can't wait to see evidence of this!

As soon as we heard "You may kiss the bride" we kissed until we heard giggles from the English family. I guess "passionate snogs" aren't appropriate for weddings! Oh well.

Here is a picture of us that Thea took after cocktail hour, right before we were to be announced and share our first dance:

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_26.jpg

[RosieAngel]

Our first dance was "Annie's Song" by John Denver. We never had a song to call "our song" per se, but when we heard it while browsing love songs we had on iTunes, we just knew it was the one for us to dance to!

You can see our height difference here!
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_30.jpg

This is where my hair got messed up AND I DIDN'T NOTICE UNTIL THE WEDDING WAS OVER. Boo bad hair!
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_31.jpg

Gazing lovingly into Kane's eyes with MY MESSED UP BANGS.
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_32.jpg

And a kiss at the end!
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_33.jpg

[candars]

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_26.jpg
You two look so cute together!

[RosieAngel]

The tables were gorgeous, just like we planned them! Nobody knew how little we spent on them! :bbtwisted: We did one big, triple-wick candle we found on sale at Bed, Bath, and Beyond ($7.50), simple glass chargers ($1) and scattered rose petals at each table (about $2 each). Compare this to the TEENY $45 flower arrangements the florist was suggesting, and I think we did well!

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_34.jpg

OM NOM NOM DELICIOUS FOOD. It's fun to see what people chose from the buffet! On this round, Thea has picked out our delicious Australian Lamb Chops with crisscross mustard on top, gorgonzola-crusted prime rib, rice pilaf, this amazing cheese-stuffed potato that is standing upright, whole grain rolls, and a bay shrimp salad. I also see some grapes and a decimated chocolate-covered strawberry.

Sadly, I hardly ate any of this amazing food, just a couple of bites of everything. Kane said that the same thing happened to him. I guess we were too jazzed to enjoy eating!

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_36.jpg

The cake was almond with creme brulee filling and marzipan over whipped frosting. It cost an obscene amount, but since we only had 30 people, we could spend more.

It was worth every penny and then some! One of the guests actually started crying, saying that this was the best cake she had ever eaten in her life, and probably would be the best cake she would ever eat. Other guests told us it was the best cake ever, they loved it, impersonated Gollum from LoR ("My preciousss"), made orgasmic sounds, etc.

This picture isn't the best, but it gives you a general idea. The cake was ivory with white dots and a pink ribbon. There were gerbera daisies and scattered rose petals all around!

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_43.jpg

[RosieAngel]

Of course, when you say it's time to cut the cake, all of the kids come running! Here is one of the FGs, though she's really more of a JB, and her brother crowding around the cake.

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_44.jpg

Us feeding cake to each other, NICELY:

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_45.jpg

[RosieAngel]

There was an open bar, which led to some tipsy (drunken?) antics. My MOH is a lady!

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_37.jpg

So is Thea...

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_48.jpg

and so is Kane! Whose wrap is that?!

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_49.jpg

The very talented MoH made those wraps from materials that I purchased at JoAnn Fabrics. All of them cost about as much as one of them would have from the bridal store!

We had some veeeeeerry interesting rocks in our guestbook, many of which were done by tipsy and/or drunken guests. Thea's was so cute!

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/piratethiefnami/KR_wedding/KRW_46.jpg

I also had a lot of fun dancing with the kids and other guests (sorry, no pics yet).

One of my BM's stepped on the back of my dress and ripped the organza overlay at one of the bustle points, and my U(ncle)IL stepped on the front of my dress while dancing and ripped it straight across at the front! My MOH tied it under the satin drape at the front, so it didn't look so horrible and I'd stop getting my high-heels caught in it.

I now fear my dress is ruined, but I was having too much fun at the time to mourn its loss until we were packing to go home, which was three days after the wedding.

At the end of the night, Kane and I walked home (to the hotel suite at the Hotel Villa Portofino) amid the palm trees and the cool night air arm in arm. tourists and locals alike hollered "Congratulations!" from the open-air cafes and their golf carts. This was the closest thing we had to a quiet moment since we arrived on the island, and, I think, we only managed to sneak in a short one (1.5 hours, literally) afterwards, as we were too busy visiting with family and friends to have any time to ourselves. But it was a great ending to a beautiful day!

After the wedding, the oldest guest in attendance, Kane's great aunt, said that this was the best wedding she attended in all of her years of weddings, and she apologized for saying that it couldn't be done on our $15,000 budget, which caused a lot of drama with his family during the planning process. We also heard similar "Best wedding ever!" sentiments from our other guests. I'm glad everyone had such a good time!

[Danielle9608]

Congrats Rosie! What a beautiful wedding!

[RosieAngel]

Oh yeah, and we had a bouquet toss with the makeshift one that the wedding planner tossed together after the cake cutting. The Best Man's sister who played our ceremony music caught it!

We only had one unmarried, heterosexual man in attendance, so Kane gave him the garter all dramatic-like. It was really funny!

[Docsgirl]

Everything looks so pretty! Congrats! I love the wrap pictures. Haha.

[RosieAngel]

OH SO SEXY~
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s65/intaglio_ink/CatalinaWeddingDW060.jpg

Much better! Here is a group shot of everyone minus the blonde FG, who wanted her Grandma to do her hair (How sweet is that?!). Some of us are still barefoot/have pants rolled up from the pedicures!
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s65/intaglio_ink/CatalinaWeddingDW065.jpg

MoH is putting on my veil!
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s65/intaglio_ink/CatalinaWeddingDW078.jpg

Having a drink before the wedding to calm my nerves...
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s65/intaglio_ink/CatalinaWeddingDW079.jpg

[RosieAngel]

Dancing with Kane:
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s65/intaglio_ink/CatalinaWeddingDW082.jpg

Dancing with my Dad:
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s65/intaglio_ink/CatalinaWeddingDW087.jpg

[PGDesigns]

Rosie, what a beautiful wedding! Congrats to you and Kane!

[Thalia_themuse]

Awwww, everything looks and sounds fantastic! Glad it turned out so well!!! :grinhappy::grinhappy:

Congrats again!!!

[Goin2thechapel]

Awwww...You're married!!!!!! You looked soooo pretty!!!!! Congratulations and welcome to the Mrs. Club!!!

[Nekochanpurr]

Congrats!!! Your wedding looked amazing! I'm so happy for you! *^^*

I love that rock! lol

[Thalia_themuse]

RosieAngel agrees: Thanks! I'm especially looking forward to seeing your wedding pics when the time comes! :heart:

Aww you're such a sweetheart! My wedding is so far away, hahaha!

Here's to you, hoping your marriage is as happy and smooth as the good parts of your wedding :cheers:

[vicky_vicky]

Congratulations!!! You are married!!!

Your wedding was so beautiful! I wish I could have just 30 guests!

I especially love how you look with the tiara and veil on!:D

[bichonlvr]

YEAH....everything looks great!!! You both look VERY happy...the tables were awesome....the cake looks good and so does the food!!!

CONGRATS!

[mandaj10]

I got all teary looking at your pictures...How wonderful and intimate and just plain beautiful your wedding was! I'm so glad that you and your guests had a great time and congratulations again to you and Kane!

[gwenshack]

Ah Rosie, everything is so beautiful! :) Everything suits you SO perfectly!

Um, and the food looks so good. Makes me want to cheat on my diet. :)

Love the drunk friend photos.

[TeacherSonja]

Congratulations, Rosie! You are so cute together! Love the drunk friend photos too. :)

[Brian's Bride]

Congratulations Rosie! You were beautiful and the party looked like a lot of fun!

[RosieAngel]

I got all teary looking at your pictures...How wonderful and intimate and just plain beautiful your wedding was! I'm so glad that you and your guests had a great time and congratulations again to you and Kane!

Thanks so much, Amanda! I was so worried that the wedding was going to be too intimate and lame, but it worked out in the end!

Haha, I'm sure you and I can be blubbering messes when the actual ceremony pics get back to me!

[brendalin]

WOW! I just read through and it looks like you had a perfect day! Everything look so elegant, and it is so cool to see how in love the two of you are! Congrats!

[MrsDM]

Congrats Mrs.! You looked beautiful!!!!

[Voiceofreason]

The cake was almond with creme brulee filling and marzipan over whipped frosting. Sounds yummy! Can you ship me some? :-D

[Deanna2112001]

Rosie, You look amazing! I am so happy that you had a perfect day. You deserved it!

[RosieAngel]

FIL's GF took these pictures of my best friends (bridesmaids) and me! I thought I would share.

KT, my maid of honor, who wore a dress she picked up at Macy's and some sparkly pink hair clips she bought online:
http://gallery.me.com/kanedijkman/100079/DSC_1334/web.jpg

Here is a beautiful one of KT alone. I'm going to frame it and send it to her mother, who helped pay for the bridal shower, as a thank you to her.
http://gallery.me.com/kanedijkman/100079/DSC_1324/web.jpg

Thea, the friend who set DH and I up, wearing a David's Bridal dress she wore as a bridesmaid at another wedding a few years ago:
http://gallery.me.com/kanedijkman/100079/DSC_1326/web.jpg

And Devin, my best friend! She picked up a dress at Nordstrom, even though she already had plenty of other cute black dresses that she could have worn instead! I think she wanted an excuse to go shopping. I know I would!
http://gallery.me.com/kanedijkman/100079/DSC_1336/web.jpg

[gwenshack]

Great pics! I love that you let your BMs all wear different dresses. I think it's so practical in a world of different body types. I'm only having one female attendant (and one male) and I just told her to wear something black as well. :)

Everyone looks so beautiful!

[Thalia_themuse]

Aww they all look so pretty! All the pics, I mean. And all the girls, yourself included :winktongue: Your dress looks great and your veil looks fantastic!! :grinhappy:

[RosieAngel]

Great pics! I love that you let your BMs all wear different dresses. I think it's so practical in a world of different body types. I'm only having one female attendant (and one male) and I just told her to wear something black as well. :)

Everyone looks so beautiful!

A lot of people, including the girls themselves, questioned this decision, but I like the result. They are three vastly different girls, both in appearance and personality, so no one dress would suit all three.

I'm glad you were open to doing the same! She'll love you for that! :D

[RosieAngel]

Aww they all look so pretty! All the pics, I mean. And all the girls, yourself included :winktongue: Your dress looks great and your veil looks fantastic!! :grinhappy:

Thank you! :heart:

[Nekochanpurr]

That picture with the rainbow is SO pretty...

[ger]

I love looking at all your pics! You look like you had an amazing day. congrats!! Can't wait to see more.

[june0609]

Everything looked so pretty!
I loved your dress...you looked so pretty!

[BarceloMayaPalaceBride]

Thanks for sharing some pics with us!!! Everything looks great!!! Can you tell me more about your stones? Did you have a pile of them that people just signed instead of a guestbook?