After spending the last nearly year and a half anticipating my wedding day both on this blog and in my everyday life, it feels pretty crazy to be sitting here with it all behind me and ready to recap it all …
How do I even begin to put into words what the happiest day of my life felt like?
I knew it'd be wonderful, but I just had no idea how wonderful. And I was just telling my friend, Amanda – who is engaged to be married – earlier today, if there's anything I can tell her as a married lady now, it's that no matter how much you dream about and plan for and imagine your wedding day, it will be totally unlike anything you ever pictured.
I spent hours and hours planning the day out and imagining what each moment would be like, and then when the day came, it was unlike anything I could have dreamed of. It was more amazing, more nerve-wracking, more surreal and more overwhelming than anything I've ever experienced.
It all began Friday when Amanda came over to pick me up so we could go to lunch and then meet Christi at Azana spa in Brookfield to get manicures and pedicures together. After a relaxing, giddy afternoon, the three of us drove to Waukesha to check into the Country Springs Hotel, where the reception would be held the next day. We drank some champagne and got ready for the rehearsal, and then we met Dave's and my families at St. John's Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield to practice for the next day.
It was so awesome to see everybody – especially my little brothers who I don't get to see nearly enough, and my aunt and cousins who had come up from North Carolina. The rehearsal was incredibly hectic and Paul Jefferies, our officiant, ran the show and tried to keep everyone in line. We went through everything twice, and I messed a few things up both times. I was pretty nervous that I would forget what I was supposed to do come the next day.
After the rehearsal, we all drove into downtown Milwaukee for dinner at Cafe Vecchio Mondo on Old World Third Street. We had rented the back room and a buffet of food was laid out when we got there – spinach dip, bruschetta, meatballs, cheese and crackers, chicken cabobs, cheese tortellini, and salad. We had also brought in some carrot cake from Metro Market for dessert.
Dave and I gave the wedding party and our parents their presents after we all ate, and the rest of the evening we just mingled. Saying good bye to Davey was fun, knowing that the next time we laid eyes on each other, I'd be walking down the aisle toward him!
Christi and Amanda and Katie and I went straight to bed when we got back to the hotel, and of course I was the last one to fall asleep. I hadn't anticipated being so nervous, but for most of the night, I was finding it hard to take a deep breath! (which was only preparing me for the next day – more on that in a minute) I only got about four hours of sleep, but of course I felt fine all day – who needs sleep when you're getting married!
We woke up around 7 a.m. and after grabbing some continental breakfast that I couldn't eat, we drove downtown to Neroli Salon and Spa in the Third Ward to get beautified. We had our hair done at 9 a.m. and our makeup done at 10 a.m. and we were out by 11. My photographers showed up by around 9:30 a.m. and didn't leave our side until about 10 p.m. that night. Once we were all done up, we hit up Jimmy John's for some subs and headed back to the hotel to get dressed.
Our videographers met us there, too, so now it was us girls along with four photographers. My bridesmaids got dressed – and looked absolutely ravishing, I must say – and then helped me into my dress. They pulled up the zipper and, wow, I was done breathing for the rest of the day.
I had picked up my dress on Wednesday night, and on Thursday while I was home alone, just for the fun of it, I decided to try it on. I knew I shouldn't since I was all alone and something could get snagged, but I just had to see myself in it one last time before the big day.
I got it on no problem and stood in my living room in front of the mirror and … it was too big. I raised my arms and everything was falling out. I went into a slight panic and wondered what to do. It had fit like a glove at my final fitting less than three weeks earlier, how could I have lost weight since then?
As readers of this blog know, I have a slight obsession with food. I love to eat, and I never in a million years thought I'd be one of those women who said "oh, I'm just too busy and stressed to eat." But it obviously happened!
Luckily my seamstress was gracious enough to take it in again on really short notice, and when I picked it back up on Friday morning, it fit again. It fit a little TOO well, but hey, being sucked in and looking fab was better than falling out all over the place!
After more pictures in the hotel room, my mom and Dale picked me up to take me to the chapel, and mom cried a bit when she saw me. She'd seen the dress, she'd seen the hair trial, so she knew how I'd look, but it still hit her. It was sweet. We all got to the chapel and got our flowers, which were absolutely beautiful, and then we girls had our photos taken. When we got word that the guys were on their way, we scurried downstairs to the not-so-lovely chapel basement to hide out until 3 p.m.
The only bathrooms in the whole place were down where we were, so every time an arriving guest had to use the bathroom, we had to hide out in the other one. I wasn't going to let anyone see me before I was walking down that aisle! We could hear things going on above us, and the more people I heard, the more nervous I got. Mom came down and told me how smiley and happy Dave was, and I just couldn't wait to see him. We were down there for well over an hour and a half, and I just wanted to get things started!
Finally, it was almost 3:00 and Paul Jefferies came down to escort us through the underground tunnel and up to the back of the chapel. The girls went up before me and for a few moments, I was all alone in the cement staircase. One of the photographers told me that my dad was coming down to see me, and when he turned that corner, I started to cry for the first time that day. Between seeing him in his tux and him seeing me all dolled up, and knowing we were about to walk down the aisle, it was just completely overwhelming.
We walked up and peeked around the corner, and I caught eyes with Dave's cousins, who were our ushers. When the last people in our bridal party had walked down, they closed the doors and we positioned ourselves behind them. My dress was smoothed out behind me and I heard the music – a string duo with a trumpet – stop. My heart was absolutely pounding out of my chest at this point, I don't think it's ever beat harder. I said to one of the ushers, "I'm going to get married!" and he smiled and said "right now!" and then they sloooowly opened the doors inward.
The music started again, "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," louder than before, and in one big wave all the people stood up for us. When I imagined this moment, I pictured looking straight at Dave the whole time, but when the time came, I looked at him, and then I looked back and forth at all the smiling faces around me. Cameras flashed and I could see the wedding party and Dave and Paul all standing up there, waiting. Dave had an absolutely huge smile on his face, and both of my brothers were standing up there with tears in their eyes. I tried my best not to cry, and I teeter-tottered between beaming and choking back tears.
We concentrated on walking slowly, and I focused on breathing. It was truly an awesome moment, gliding down toward Dave. Dad and I stopped at the edge of the pews, and Paul asked "who gives this woman to be married to this man?" and Dad answered, "her mother and I." We hugged and kissed, he and Dave hugged, and then Dave and I joined hands and walked up toward the altar. He told me I looked beautiful, and I commented on the smashed flower on his lapel. As the bridal party had come down, each person hugged Dave (loved that!) and someone had hugged him the wrong way. Oh well!
The ceremony was the most emotional half hour of my life. We held hands so tightly and couldn't stop smiling at each other, both of us trying to hold back tears. When we said our vows, Dave went first and he was so quiet, it was really cute. We exchanged rings, then lit the unity candle, my hands shaking the whole time. Amanda did a reading that we'd chosen, Paul gave a beautiful message about marriage, and then he pronounced us husband and wife. The whole time we'd been facing each other, I wanted to kiss him so badly, so when the moment came, I really laid one on him. It was so cool. Then the music started – "Trumpet Voluntary" – and we walked back up the aisle, hand in hand.
After hugging the wedding party when they came back up, Dave and I walked down the side aisle to start letting people out of their seats. Paul had suggested this the night before, and it was one of the best ideas anyone gave us. This way, we didn't have to worry about going around to tables during dinner or finding time to do a formal receiving line. It took about 15 minutes and we got to hug and say hi to everybody. I loved it.
We spent about a half hour taking both indoor and outdoor pictures with our families and wedding party, and then they all went on ahead and Dave and I had some alone time with the photographers around the chapel. It was windy and chilly, but the sun was shining bright so I was happy. We had a blast and I can't wait to see the professional photos. (they'll be back within a month – and I'll surely post some of them when I get them!)
Dave and I drove over to the hotel in his car and when we walked into the lobby area outside the ballroom, everyone clapped and cheered. The relief I felt that the ceremony was over was huge. The big, important part was over and now it was time to party.
We spent about an hour mingling and I was just on a cloud. All my loved ones in one place, here to celebrate us! The guestbook table looked great, and my seating chart, which was displayed on an easel outside the room, was a big hit.
Around 6:00, a staff person came to get us so we could sneak into the ballroom and see it before the guests were let in. We walked in and it was spectacular. The chandeliers and candles cast a soft glow over everything. The personalized menu cards and favors that I worked so hard on looked awesome at each setting. The DJ was all set up, the head table was ready for us, and the cake was displayed on a table in the middle of the dance floor, and it was gorgeous. I couldn’t wait to have a bite!
The guests were let in and everyone sat down for dinner. We all lined up outside the room and the DJs introduced first the parents, then the bridal party, then the new Mr. and Mrs. Dave and Erin Nevicosi. Everyone stood up and clapped and I loved every second of it.
We walked straight out onto the dance floor and did our first dance to an acoustic version of "Such Great Heights" by Ben Gibbard. We'd practiced a box step and a few turns in the weeks leading up to the wedding, and despite turning the wrong way a few times, we did a nice job, and we finished with a dip and a kiss. It was magical, it really was. Right after the dance, we got to cut our cake. The DJ played "When I'm 64" by The Beatles for us and we cut into our cake. The knife slid through it like it was butter, and when we fed each other a bite, it was like we'd died and gone to heaven. Everyone was in agreement – it was the best wedding cake EVER. Each piece was half (well, 2/3!) New York cheesecake and half (1/3) chocolate cake, with raspberry preserves in the middle. It was the smoothest, softest, most delicious cake. And since we anticipated 200 people and only had about 177, we have plenty of it left in our freezer, as well as the top tier for next year!
Dave and I went up to our seats after that and dinner was served. We had garden salads, and then Potato Crusted Orange Roughy or Chicken Breast Princess (Dave and I both had the fish and it was awesome) served with new potatoes and sugar snap peas, and then that delectable cake for dessert, of which I only had about four bites. (I made up for it the next day, though.)
During the first course, my dad made a toast and led us all in a lovely prayer, and then Carlo and Christi gave their speeches, which were both really nice and heartfelt. I did a lot of looking around during dinner, just taking in everybody eating and drinking and being merry. I caught my mom's eye a lot, and we were both just so excited about everything going on around us.
During dessert, our videographer showed an 8-minute photo montage that he'd put together with photos that we'd provided him. Me growing up, Dave growing up, and then us together. I think montages can border on being corny, but I think our guests really loved it and we got a lot of compliments on it.
The father/daughter dance started off the dancing portion of the evening. When Dad and Barb came to take us out to dinner the week before, Dad gave me the biggest surprise ever: he'd taken dance lessons so that we could do a waltz for our first dance. We danced to "In My Life" by The Beatles and we glided around the dance floor with ease. He was so good, I was so impressed, and it was a really special few moments. Dave danced with his mom to "How Sweet It Is" by James Taylor for the mother/son dance, and then it was time for everyone to dance.
"Save the Last Dance For Me" by Michael Buble was my pick for kicking things off, and from the very first note, the dance floor was packed – and it stayed that way the rest of the night. The DJs were awesome and the music selection perfect. Dave and I danced probably five or six songs together all night, and I danced quite a few more with family and friends. I pictured myself being on the dance floor the entire night, but there were just too many people to talk to, and I didn't mind not dancing the whole time. I loved visiting with everyone who'd come to be with us, and I loved randomly meeting up with Dave for hugs and kisses.
At 10 p.m. the deluxe coffee bar, complete with cinnamon sticks and chocolate shavings and whipped cream, was laid out, and the popcorn wagon we'd requested was wheeled out, too. I wasn't paying attention to either one, but when I heard how yummy the popcorn was, I went over to get myself a bag and it was indeed delicious.
We had an open bar, which I think contributed to the dance floor being so packed. I had requested some champagne for myself, and they took the liberty of ordering me two bottles, but I barely had one drink all night! I drank a lot of water instead since I was so parched from dancing and talking so much!
On the back of the menu cards, I'd put instructions for uploading photos to a Shutterfly account we'd set up, and some of our guests put their pictures up right away so we have some really great photos of the night and of some of the things we missed – that's how I know people got so crazy and had such fun!
I must say, I did a really good job of getting to just about everyone. I really wanted to make everyone feel welcome and let them know how thankful I was that they were there. I felt so darn special all night, it was amazing. And we really did get a ton of compliments on everything. People told us how happy we looked and how elegant everything was. They all asked how I found the lovely chapel, they remarked on how emotional the ceremony was, and they loved food and the drinks and the music and the little personal touches we added.
The research for good vendors, the hard work on all the small details, and our overall attitudes about everything – it all contributed to a simply flawless evening. I'm so proud of it, I can't even describe it. I really feel like people will remember our wedding for a long time. I sure hope they will, anyway.
Festivities began to slow down around 11:30 or so, and by 12:15 I told the DJs they could play the last song whenever they were ready. I found my husband and we danced to the song we'd chosen to be the last song – "The Way You Look Tonight" by Tony Bennett. I held him tight and when the song started to end, I had this huge wave of emotion roll over me and I started to just bawl and laugh at the same time. It was over and everything had been perfect. I was so happy I could barely contain myself. The DJ commented on my tears and I turned around and gave a little bow. And just like that, it was over.
We loaded all the gifts and the card box and all our other stuff onto a big cart and headed upstairs. We said our good nights and retreated to our executive suite where we read over the guestbook entries, took a bubble bath in our two-person whirlpool tub and recapped the night and then … went to bed.
The next morning, we met up with everyone who'd stayed over in the breakfast area and ate and drank and talked more about the wedding. I was still on a cloud. After all our goodbyes, we loaded the gifts into our cars and headed home. Mom and Dale helped us bring our loot home, and after they left, we were alone to dig into our gifts and pack for the honeymoon.
Our guests were very generous and it was really fun to open all the gifts together – and all those cards! Dave got his Xbox from his siblings which he was absolutely delighted about. We ate some wedding cake and packed our suitcases and then hit the hay pretty early in order to get up by 3 a.m. to leave for our honeymoon.
I'll post about the honeymoon in the coming days, as this day has of course gotten away from me.
Thank you for letting me share my day with you – I hope you enjoyed hearing about it! Going over it all again has brought back all the emotions of the day. It was just incredible. I feel like the luckiest woman alive to have married my best friend in the world and to have so many loving people around me. I don't take any of it for granted for one second, and I will be thankful for this day for the rest of my life.
*****
Update 11/7: Our video teaser was waiting for us when we got back from the honeymoon and it's really cool so I want to share ... Visit www.frogmanproductions.com. Client login is Nevicosi for both the login and password. (Or just click here and it should start right up on Windows Media Player.) Our actual video won't be ready for six months or more, but this sure is a fun thing to have while we wait!
*****
Update 12/23: To see professional photos of the day, click here.
Congratulations again! You look so beautiful, and everything looks magnificent, and ... I'm going to run out of good adjectives if I keep going. Thanks for sharing!
Best wishes!
Erin
Posted by: Erin | November 06, 2006 at 09:32 PM
I just started crying recapping the evening.
And I promise this time they weren't tears of selfishness =)
Posted by: Christi | November 06, 2006 at 11:41 PM
Beautiful recap. I had tears in my eyes while reading and looking at your pictures. You were a gorgeous bride and it looks like all the hard work you put in truly paid off. Congrats again! : )
Posted by: Elizabeth | November 07, 2006 at 11:54 AM
OMG Erin--everything looked perfect! I'm so happy for you:) Your pictures look great and I can't wait to see more! Isn't it the most surreal thing when they open the doors and you walk down the aisle--I get chills thinking about it!
How did you like Frogman?? Can't wait to see that video!
Posted by: Katy | November 07, 2006 at 01:23 PM
Hey Erin,
I only just remembered you did this! What fun reading your blow by blow account of the day. You are a real sweetheart and it was a delight to be included in the celebration. I wish you and Dave all the best and would be thrilled if you dropped by to see me sometime. God bless.
Paul
Posted by: Paul Jefferies | November 07, 2006 at 03:05 PM
Oh, man. You looked BEAUTIFUL and stunning, and that dress is so gorgeous, and your husband is a doll! Sigh. It sounded magical.
Congratulations. Seriously.
Posted by: Krista | November 07, 2006 at 03:59 PM
That video is SO COOL! I love it!!! That is probably the coolest thing I've ever seen done for a wedding.
Posted by: Krista | November 07, 2006 at 06:28 PM
That was a fantastic recap of the entire day. It made me so excited for when it is my turn! You looked fantastic - I LOVE that removable lace piece you wore at the ceremony - beautiful...and unique. I have never seen anything like it. Looks like a ton of fun. Can't wait to hear about the honeymoon!
Posted by: kelly | November 07, 2006 at 08:08 PM
That video was AWESOME!!! I can't wait to see the real thing.
Posted by: christi | November 09, 2006 at 08:18 PM
You were such a beautiful bride!
Posted by: kenjukenju | November 10, 2006 at 08:54 AM
Hi all!
Looks good! Very useful, good stuff. Good resources here. Thanks much!
G'night
Posted by: rofovnifo | July 03, 2007 at 09:33 PM