fabulous/not-so fabulous - #10

Here's the next entry from Lori! Her cake was so beautiful, what a shame they didn't get to eat it!!

"There are definitely a few things that I loved about my wedding as well as a few things that I wish we had done a little differently.

Things I loved (there were so many great things, I don’t know where to start):
Having the sweetheart table – it was the only time that Mike and I had a chance to sit and talk to each other for a few minutes

Taking pictures on the waterfront – they came out beautiful

Wearing a dress that was comfortable
Staying over in the hotel that night…..because we could keep the party going at least for a few more hours
Having a reception line at the church – gave us more time for dancing during the reception

Things I wish we had done differently:
I wish we had a chance to eat the cake!! We never even got to taste it

I wish we made an announcement that the cake was available, I felt like most people missed it as well as the cappuccino bar"


Thanks Lori!

fabulous/not-so fabulous - #9

Next up are some tips from Meredith and Chris who definitely had a relaxed, fun day. I absolutely loved her nephew who had a green lollypop in his hand coming down the aisle. He didn't wear his fancy shoes, but in the end, it doesn't really matter!!

"There honestly isn’t much we would have changed about our wedding day! Fortunately, we both had a “whatever” attitude about the small things that did go wrong (note to future bride and grooms – things will go wrong – so just plan to go with it!)

Here are some of our favorite moments:

We were so glad my sister carried our not so thrilled ring bearer down the aisle. It was so important to us to have him be a part of the day. Now we have funny memories of him not wanting to put on the shiny shoes he was so excited about the day before… and of course him munching on a bag of marshmallows during the ceremony. What else would you expect from a 2 ½ year old!!


We absolutely LOVE the photo of all of our wedding guests that was taken at the end of our processional. It was a fun way to ensure that we have a photo of all of our guests, even the camera shy ones!


We wanted to do something slightly different for our centerpieces – and since I really don’t like the table numbers that you so often see popping out of the vases – we decided to have words to identify the tables. Each word was related to love and marriage - for example our table was “amore”, others were honesty, patience, devotion. And the simple arrangement the florist (A Whole Bunch in Burlington) put together went perfectly with the idea!


We were very happy with all of our vendors… from Nancy and her assistant (of course!!), to our DJ Shannon (Red Hot Entertainment), as well as, Lucille and the caterers from Vinwoods. Our goal was to have a fun, relaxed reception and these people helped to make that happen! We loved the beautiful ceremony given to us by Reverend Elizabeth King. We were very fortunate to have found her. The tone was perfect for us – everything was very personal and relaxed.

My favorite moment of the day was during our first dance. Feeling everyone’s love and happiness for us in the room was really amazing. We were just looking at all of the smiling faces looking back at us – it was a really beautiful moment. All of the planning and bits of stress along the way were well worth it for that feeling!


Our advice to future brides and grooms is to try to relax and to take a step back – a moment at some point during the day to stop and look around to take it all in. Chris and I keep saying we wish we could have another wedding because not only does the day go by so quickly (like everyone warned us it would), but it was also so much fun! I mean really, really fun!

-Meredith and Chris"

Thanks Meredith and Chris!

fabulous/not-so fabulous - #8

The next installment is from Lisa - some of you might recognize her pictures (even though her wedding was before I was keeping a blog!) because I have been using images from their wedding in a slideshow that I show clients when they come to meet with me. My favorite one of these stories is the one involving Peter laying down in the backseat with a belly full of cake after a "tasting"........



"First, I will begin with the good... I truly believe one of our best decisions was to have our 'formal' photos taken before the ceremony. Since we had a fall wedding, it allowed us to take our photos outdoors while the sun was bright and shining. We also wanted to spend every possible moment of our reception with our guests. More importantly, I am a worrier! I spent most of the morning in a ball of nerves stressing about the zillion little things that could go wrong. However, the moment that I met my husband at the park where we were taking photos all of my worries vanished. I truly realized that I could not care less if the cake was not perfect or the trolley was late or the kids wouldn't walk down the aisle.... because I was marrying this amazing man TODAY! From that point forward, the day was nothing short of relaxed and wonderful!



I would highly recommend having some version of a 'receiving line' after the ceremony. My husband and I greeted everyone as they left the church. Since it was only the two of us (my mom and dad are talkers so we sent them over to the side...) it moved quickly, however, it provided us with the opportunity to greet every guest and thank them for attending our wedding. This freed up the reception for us to enjoy the party on the dance floor with our guests rather than spending hours going table-to-table welcoming everyone.


I would also highly recommend not just setting a budget first and foremost, but discussing what both of your priorities are for the wedding. For us, excellent food and beverage, music, and photos were our top priorities. We realized we were willing to 'skimp' on other things but we had to find the best cater, band/DJ, and photographer that we could. After all...if our guest didn't have a fabulous time and we didn't have photos to remember our day by we would have been disappointed. Everyone's priorities differ but it is important to not skimp on something and realize later that it was incredibly important to you!

Now, on to the things that we could have done better... We decided to have our wedding in October in Salem, MA. After booking our venue and date, I worried for months about the logistics of holding a wedding in the midst of a major tourist season. We could not block hotel rooms for our guest and I panicked about parking availability and traffic. I wish I had spent more time prior to booking our date thinking about what it would mean to have a wedding during a 'high season' in a small city. In the end, it all worked out beautifully, however I put many hours into trying to 'control' the logistics which were completely out of my control.


Remind your husband-to-be that it is a cake TASTING! We met with two bakers in one day. At the first bakery he decided it would be 'rude' not to finish the entire piece. They gave us eight pieces of cake...and he finished them all! He proceeded to lay in the back seat of the car the entire way to the second bakery because he felt so ill and inform me that he would not have any more cake. Fortunately, at the next bakery he rose to the challenge and managed to finish the 4 additional pieces of cake.

If you are not 'crafty' and do not have a lot of spare time and extra hands to help...skip the 'do it yourself' projects. Most people will not notice if you have individually created seating cards and hand-created decorations...but you will remember the hours you put into them and the money spent on these projects adds up!

Lastly, I could rave about all of my vendors...I was truly fortunate and had a very good experience with all."


Lisa had all of the wedding vendor rockstars.....Vinwood Caterers, Gina Joubert and Kimberly Fosher, Allegria Bridal, and Paul Natale.

Thanks for the stories Lisa!!!!

fabulous/not-so fabulous - #7

Next entry is from Sarah - they had such a fun day last June up at the Gloucester Elks at Bass Rocks........ (I love her comment about Pringles and M&M's......what could be bad about those? I am also guilty of paying about $8 for 10 Pringles from a mini-bar and loving each and every one....)

"After months of planning and jittery nerves for weeks, when the doors opened to the church and I saw my soon to be husband everything fell into place. Standing up there and promising our lives to one another was thrilling, we kept just smiling and giggling at each other.


The dance lessons were the best investment we ever made! We took dance lessons on Saturdays for a few months before the wedding. We had so much fun spending time together before the wedding learning our dance---laughing, practicing and thinking about the big day. I never thought our guests would love the dance so much or that it would be one of the highlights of our reception. I'll always remember the huge smile on my husbands face while showing off his moves on the dance floor.


The caterers forgot to give us our prepared food plates so when we arrived at hotel at 1AM we were starving. I ate here and there at the reception but the hunger hit us both when we took our shoes off to relax. We wanted a nice sampler of all the wonderful food our guests ate. Instead we ate the entire mini-bar at the hotel! I would have enjoyed the mini-crab cakes or sirloin but Pringles and M&M’s did the trick!

The early bird catches the worm and this applies on the absolute best day of your life. Start getting ready early for the wedding. Make any hair or make-up appointments earlier than you think. I never felt rushed and really enjoyed spending quality time with the bridesmaids before the wedding. Once the flowers arrive the day takes off and never slows down. If you get ready early you have more time for pictures, nobody is stressed and then the rest of the day runs smoothly. Nobody wants to feel rushed on their wedding day or not have time to take a few extra pictures with their husband because they are needed someplace else.


I didn't know much about what I wanted for my wedding, but I knew I wanted a chocolate cake! Each tier of the periwinkle and brown confection featured a different flavor: chocolate raspberry, mint chocolate chip, chocolate chip, and (for nonchocoholics), yellow cake. I’m so glad I went with chocolate icing on my cake. I received so many compliments on how incredibly beautiful it was. If you don’t like white icing don’t put it on your wedding cake because the bridal magazines tell you it looks prettier. I walked by the news stand the other day and on the cover was a huge wedding cake, with chocolate icing---apparently chocolate icing is now “in” because it’s different. It’s always been my favorite!


I wish I had not spent so much money on my veil. I wore it for the ceremony, a few pictures and it was off. It was beautiful but kind of a pain and I wore it for maybe a total of 45 minutes. I could have done something cheaper. Perhaps I’ll open up a used veil shop!

For some reason I thought ALL DJ’s were cheesy or bad – mainly just because all the ones growing up were! We listened to all sorts of CD’s and DVD’s from popular bands. We went through all of their play-lists. We made lists of pros and cons of each band; it started to get real complicated. We didn’t really have time to start scheduling appointments to see different bands and my fiancé was insisting that most bands (that cost thousands of dollars) sounded like, “cheesy garage cover-bands” and I was fed up. I almost forgot I was planning a wedding since in my free time I had become a band consultant. After a few months and my fiancé saying, “That doesn’t sound like the original song” I realized maybe DJ’s were popular for a reason. I can look back and laugh because our DJ did a great job the night of and the dance floor was packed the entire night. Even before the dance floor “opened” people were up there dancing, he was awesome. And he just really wanted to make us happy. A good thing I learned, just because you don’t get the most talked about/recommended vendor doesn’t mean that you won’t get a fantastic one anyway. Trust your instincts; not getting a band was the right decision for us!


I am in the television industry so having the perfect videographer was important to me. I’m really happy with the results, but I have watched the video 5 times. I look at our beautiful wedding pictures around our apartment every day! They are truly works of art. It was the best investment we could have made in our wedding. Sometimes I got consumed with the wedding details—bands, linens, place cards, programs...the list could go on forever. At the end of the night the details are all gone and the pictures last forever. "

Ok - please don't feel like you have to say how much you love your pictures in these stories, but I'm so glad you do!!!!!

Also, Katrina Hess, her make-up artist is running a spring makeover special right now! Now through the end of May you can get a consultation and application in her Newbury Street studio for $50! I'm tempted to do it myself! :)

fabulous/not-so fabulous - #6

Next entry is from Sue who had one of those "no way to prepare for it" moments the day of her weddding...........


"I got married on May 19, 2006-the day of a methane truck rollover on the Mass turnpike in Hopkinton-where I live!. No traffic was allowed on the Pike from 10am-7pm-the day of my wedding!!! It all started with a call from a bridesmaid saying she couldn't get to the hair salon because traffic wasn't bad-it was completely at a standstill!!! We called the State Police and they told us what had happened....

I had my cell phone in one ear trying to re-route people and the curling iron in the other ear-while at the hair salon.
As if your nerves aren't frenzied enough the day of your wedding!!! ...

The flowers miraculously arrived on time to my house .....My wonderful photographer was there because she lived the next town over. My parents who live 20 minutes away and usually take Route 135 decided to take the MASS PIKE! They completely missed the pre-photographs at our house.
When I walked into the church-it was practically empty. My very best friend from upstate NY never made it to do the reading- so we had someone stand in...

It took us hours to get to the reception in Concord. Miraculously....everyone made it...albeit late. People spent all day in the car driving to the reception. They had to forego the ceremony because it was impossible to get there."

Here's Sue & Shawn in good spirits despite it all before, during, and after the ceremony!! You just can't let the challenges get you down......





"The best thing I can say to brides to be is bring a pair of comfortable white slippers so you can boogie down at the reception after the heels come off! I'm still in wedded bliss almost 2 years later-with a 1 year old baby boy too!"

OK - this is becoming a theme!!


and just for kicks......here's the cutie-pie!!!





Thanks Sue!!

fabulous/not-so fabulous - #5

Here is the next entry from Monica & Chuck, they had a shorter engagement, so did everything on a more abbreviated time frame:
"Things we loved/the best things we did:

* The best thing: getting married!

* We got engaged on Memorial Day in May and were married in October. The planning could only take up about 4.5 months, which were wonderful (and hectic), but we’re really happy to be already married now.

* Three of my very good girlfriends from college, in from out of town, stayed with me for the 2-3 days leading up to the wedding. We had a wonderful little mini reunion... They kept me entertained and relaxed and it was a wonderful way to end single-hood, among close friends.

* Allegria Bridal, in Belmont, was a great place to get a dress and bridesmaids dresses. I recommend them very highly.

* The seamstress who did my dress (Rosa, at Rosa’s Customized Tailoring, Watertown, MA) not only did a fabulous job on my dress, but she also did an impromptu last-minute fix on one of my bridesmaid’s dress. My friend had asked her seamstress (out of town, in a rural area) to put in bust-cups, but the seamstress didn’t have any, so she had cut what we think (we’re really not sure) were shoulder pads in half, and then tacked these in as a pseudo bust-cup. They didn’t quite look right, leaving a sort of horizontal shelf across the dress and my friend was understandably a bit stressed about it. Rosa took a look at the job, tut-tutted a bit about the other seamstress, and then fixed everything there on the spot with new materials, all 2 days before the wedding.

* I had a fabulous florist (Jess Wrobel, in Ipswich) who listened to what general colors and look I wanted, and then who did absolutely everything else on her own. I loved not having someone keep asking me what specific types of flowers I wanted.


* We got married at a site that only does functions, so we won’t be able to go back there easily in the future. A friend who had her reception at the Colonial Inn in Concord mentioned that one thing she loved about it was that it “would always be there” and they’ve been able to go back for their 5- and 10-year anniversaries...

* We took a “mini-moon” for 2 nights after our October wedding, on Cape Cod. That gave us a getaway for ourselves together, but made it really easy to pack for it, and it was a wonderful relaxing 2 days. One of the best parts was waking up at 3 a.m. after the wedding and talking about all the wonderful things that had happened and about how happy we were with everything. And looking at each other and saying “you married me! Wow!”. We were also still able to catch up with some friends in from overseas when we got back. We took our real honeymoon to Hawaii three months later, and had a wonderful time.


Things maybe we should have done differently?
* We probably shouldn’t have left printing the wedding day programs to 4 pm on the day before the wedding, using my home printer. It jammed on the thick paper, and then some small black plastic piece broke off of something inside. A quick trip to the local Staples, handing over the printing job to them, helped to solve the problem, but we were left without time to pick up the printed copies that night, since we were off at the rehearsal dinner. Thankfully, my husband’s best man was able to jump in the next morning to head back in to Staples to pick up the printed programs when Staples opened at 10 am on Sunday morning, and other friends pitched in for a rapid folding session at the reception site before most guests arrived for the 11:30 ceremony.


Things we still don’t understand:
* Men get to rent shoes to go with their tuxes. And they fit! Women would never rent shoes (and they’d never fit!) and women have to spend all this time going around to find exactly the right shoe and right shade, when their shoes will only be under a long gown. What’s up with that?


I hope that this helps. Chuck says to add in “the very overwhelmed groom was very happy to hand off planning to his bride-to-be”.


Thanks Monica! Many of my brides have a great experience at Allegria Bridal, I'd love to stop by there someday.

fabulous/not-so fabulous - #4

So, the next tip is from Karen & Todd who had their wedding at the Emerson Inn by the Sea in Rockport. Karen & Todd had a more non-traditional day and they paid for everything themselves, so they could pretty much do whatever they wanted!


"I'm so glad that we had the cocktail hour before our ceremony. Obviously, the wedding was a bit non-traditional (but, I like to think, still tastefully done). This unusual element helped foster a relaxed atmosphere. It took the edge off everyone - from the bride and groom to the guests. It allowed those who travelled a distance to have a cocktail & hors d'oeuvres immediately upon arriving and to relax during our ceremony with no hunger pangs! People still rave to us, almost three years later, how much they liked our wedding and how fun it was."





Todd & Karen's event was definitely fun & relaxed from beginning to end..........

Thanks Karen!

fabulous/not-so fabulous - #3

here are some short & sweet tips from Kathy:

#1. Pack a pair of super comfy flip flops for later in the reception. I wore the J. Crew ones with an elastic strap. They were a life saver!

#2. If you're in the Rhode Island area, I loved my florist, Jay at Golden Gate Studios.



#3. Pack one big bag with what you think you'll need- then put someone in your wedding party in charge of it.


#4. A popular decoration at our reception was wedding photos of our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and siblings.

#5. If possible, get all of the the little stuff done two weeks before your wedding day so that you can enjoy the week leading up to it. My mom assembled a bunch of her friends, and we put all of the favors, welcome bags, bathroom baskets, and programs together two weeks before, and it was so nice not to have to worry about that stuff when people were arriving and I just wanted to spend time with them.



Thanks Kathy!!!!!!

fabulous/not-so fabulous - KEEP 'EM COMING!

hey there!
just wanted to let everyone know that I have extended the deadline for the entries until this Friday! If you miss that (everyone procrastinates, I know......), you can still submit your story, and if I am still posting them, then you will still be eligible for the second portion of the contest - getting the most comments on YOUR post! Could there be an easier way to win a $250 gallery wrap???

fabulous/not-so fabulous - #2

The next entry is from Kelly - she has a LOT of great things to share, some do's and don'ts!

"I was hell-bent on wearing a strapless gown on my wedding day! I love my dress and would buy it again. During my fittings however, I decided not to wear a bra underneath. The dress fit me perfectly and held everything in place. Plus, I had been restrained for so many years… I didn’t need to wear a bra?! Well, the one thing they don’t have you do during your fitting is sit down. I had to sit down in the limo on the way to the church, during the ceremony at church (a couple times), back in the limo to the reception, and eating dinner. With all that movement…the dress naturally stretched just slightly and the girls started to fall a little south! I was “fixing” myself and the dress constantly. In hindsight, I should have worn the bra. Go figure! A friend of mine got married the following year. I gave her the stern suggestion to wear a bra even though she’s a bit smaller in the chest than me. She decided against the bra and surprise…she too regretted it.




The vendors…LOVED every single one except the DJ. Hated him even though several people told me they thought he was great! He played only a few of the songs I requested. He was supposed to have another system setup to play music in the cocktail reception area. When we arrived at the country club, it wasn’t set up. He did set it up after my mother argued with him about it, but wasn’t ready in time for the guests. Very unprofessional in my opinion. I thought I was getting a good deal but after I realize some things are too good to be true. Looking back, I would have researched and interviewed more DJs and even paid more money for someone more competent and dependable.


With the exception of the few don’ts I mentioned above, I would have done everything else exactly the same. But to mention a few of my favorite (of my favorite things)…

The flowers…it’s been said that you should pick a few things that are MOST important to you on your wedding day when working within a budget. For me, one of those things was the flowers and I wasn’t going to skimp on those. The room at the country club was very large so I wanted centerpieces that would take up some of that space and be the center of attention. Since most the attire was rather simple and neutral I wanted the flowers to make a bold statement without taking away from the simplicity. They were gorgeous! The centerpieces were so unique and fun with the jelly beans and the ribbons. My guests are still talking about them to this day!



The photographer of course! Nancy and her assistant photographer were fantastic! So accommodating, professional and friendly all at the same time. It was just a great experience and the pictures are proof. She captured every minute of the day. Despite the rain! In fact, the ones of us with the umbrella on the walk back to the reception are probably some of my favorites! I love the photo-journalistic shots of the guests and of every single detail. I very much enjoyed working with Nancy and feel like I’ve gained not only a photographer for life but a friend too!




I asked Andy to take dance lessons a few months before our wedding. Though he wasn’t thrilled with the idea, he agreed to go. Our instructor worked with us weekly for several months choreographing a dance specific to our song. And we performed it perfectly that day! I think it was very unexpected for most of our guests but Andy’s family mostly. They can’t believe he even agreed to go! My father-in-law told me just after the song was over that he was just in awe and was so impressed. He had tears rolling down his face. He’s not an emotional guy so that really meant a lot. Dance lessons whether choreographed or not are definitely worth every penny!




We took some heat from Andy’s family when we told them we were hiring a videographer for our wedding. They felt videographers were always in people’s face with a camera looking for a comment. That they were obtrusive. I can see their concern as I have been to several weddings where the camera just follows you around. That’s not the type of videographer I wanted. I found Lynn Valeri online and am so glad I did! She was just fantastic. No one even knew she was there. There was no commentary, no interviews. She just captured every moment as it happened. The result was an edited video to music that had both Andy and I in tears as we watched for the first time. I still cry every time I watch it. She did an amazing job. I’m so glad we decided to video the wedding. Along with the photos, it’s something we’ll be able to share with our children someday.




I asked Andy if he had anything to contribute. He said he really wished there was a way we could have slowed down the day. He blinked and it was over. Don’t we all?! Let me know if you come up with a way to make that happen!!! Haha."



I totally agree with Kelly that you should sit down when you are having your dress fitted. Make sure you are comfortable! Thank you so much for sharing Kelly!!

first entry for my fabulous/not-so-fabulous contest!

I've just started to hear from a few of you, but I know there's a lot more, so keep the responses coming! I will blog EVERY response, so everyone has a chance to win a beautiful 16x20 gallery wrap! The first entry is from Melissa. She looked absolutely gorgeous, but looking back has some second thoughts about her dress choice..........



"First, nothing was more exciting than putting on the wedding dress of my dreams. As I had my friends and family help me into my wonderful Kenneth Pool wedding dress, I felt like a princess. The beautiful satin shimmered perfectly, it fit like a glove, and I loved how the dress accented my mother's pearls going down by back. All this sounds just wonderful until I realized that I could barely fit into the antique Bentley I had rented for myself and my parents to take us to the church because my dress was so big! As my father squeezed all of my dress into the backseat (while it was raining), we configured that the only way for me to fit was to sit completely sideways which wasn't what I had in mind for the 40 min drive. I had a gut feeling at this point my dress would become a little problem for me during the day.





As the day progressed, the dress got heavier and heavier and my energy for holding it up got lower and lower. I was started to get pretty sore around dinner time because the weight of the dress was all positioned around my waist and I felt like an engine running out of steam. It was hard to move around on the dance floor, harder to eat, and harder to drink! I actually had to sneak downstairs into the ladies pampering room to take the dress off for a few minutes and breathe! I never thought I would have been in my undies for a few minutes during my wedding so I could catch a breather!!

If I could change anything or advice little brides out there on anything, it would be to pick a LIGHT wedding dress. The day is so much fun and you want to stay as active as possible! I would recommend getting a dress that doesn't weight that much. Honestly, I stepped on the scale with the dress on and I weighed about 18-20 pounds more than I normally do, eek! That's why I was so tired at the end of the day.

I wanted to keep on having fun, so I figured taking off the dress wasn't the end of the world, and I changed into sundress knowing that there had been a ton of great pictures of me in my wedding dress. Coincidentally, my dad forgot the white sundress that I wanted to change into afterwards, so I had to wear a different one.

Which leads me to my next piece of advice, don't sweat the small things that go differently than you planned. So what?, my dad forgot the white dress. When I asked him to put it into the limo, there were a million things going on around us, and he was probably just as nervous getting ready to take his daughter to the church to get married.

I just reminded myself to have fun, smile lots, and look around at all the people who love us. It's a pretty cool feeling and the best experience I have had in my life to date. "

I personally think she looks adorable in her sundress!! What do you think?

tell me a story and get a chance to win a gallery wrap!

this is a call out to ALL of my former brides and grooms!

As many of you know, I have been keeping a blog (like millions of other people), but I want to keep it super-fun and definitely useful!

So, who better to contribute than you, my fabulous clients? And I know time is precious, so I’m going to make it worth your while.

I know that all of you have stories to tell about your weddings, so spill it!!! For some people, it’s something you really wish you had done differently. For others, it’s something you did that you were so thrilled with! For most, it’s a little of both.

maybe........

you wish you didn’t wear a strapless dress?
you sat alone with your new husband?
you didn’t sit alone with your new husband?
your reception was too long? too short?
you broke in your shoes before hand?


or.........

your wedding cake was the best thing you’ve tasted in your entire life?
you are so glad that you stuck around the next morning?
the dance lessons were the best investment you made?
wearing your mother’s pearls meant the world to her?
nobody could not stop talking about the individual mike’s pastry box they got as a favor?


I am dying to hear all of your stories!!! I have been at this for awhile now, so there are over 100 of you out there! I am going to go through all of the responses, and post as many as I can on the blog. And to thank you for your time, two lucky submitters will win a 16x20 fine art gallery wrap canvas print (worth $250!) from their wedding or engagement pictures. The first will be drawn out of a hat, and the second will be the post that receives the most comments (from unique users) on the blog.

Please email your stories to nancy@nancygould.com. The deadline for entries is MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH. I will choose the first winner from all of the entries on February 27th. The second winner will be declared 15 days after I make the last post from this contest.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and I can’t wait to hear from you!

Cheers,
Nancy

ps - I tried to email everyone, but I have some old email addresses, so please pass the word on to anyone I might have missed!

happy valentine's day!!!

I hope that everyone gets to enjoy at least part of this day with your someone special! And for all of you 2007 brides (and a few fall 2006 brides!), I recently updated the galleries on my site, so please check them out - you might see some familiar faces.

Cheers!

ahh....a mini-break!

well, our very good friends Kelly and Joe were nice enough to watch Lee & Jonah for the weekend so Stephen and I could get away. We stayed in Portland, Maine, stopping off in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on the way there and back!

I just love both of these cities. I scored a great vintage coat and handmade hat at the Odd Gallery on Market Street. They have a slew of vintage clutches if anyone is in the market for one!



Then it was off to Portland!



After lots of walking and shopping, it was our pleasure to sit and relax with Steve at Vignola for some delicious cocktails and fabulous snacks.




We had dinner at Street & Company, and then a fantastic breakfast at the Porthole Restaurant the next morning. (Okay, so it was 11:45, but technically STILL morning!)


It was so nice to get away, even if just for a couple of days! Now if only St. John's was a two hour drive..........

and more albums!

I got such a great response from the album layouts that I posted a couple of weeks ago that I thought I would share a few more! These are a couple that I am working on right now. They are both flush mount albums, and these spreads are 12 inches high and 24 inches wide: