{{the}} wedding day**

First, I would like to say, "Wow! I really fell off the bandwagon with this blog!"

I just noticed that I have not updated for over 3 months. My apologies! I really wanted to, I swear.... I became very busy & this {obviously} fell to the back burner.

On to a better note, our wedding was quite ::fantastic::!

To refrain from a {ridiculously} long blog, I will just discuss a very brief "summary" of the day & then the highlights of the day/night.
--note: The day before our wedding, my radio was stolen out of my car. :( had to explain to my 9 year old niece.... how some people that do not have much money, sometimes make different choices in order to earn money. One being selling stolen radios.--

Nina's Day / Morning --
Woke up, took a shower & started to get ready to host. Made coffee & tea, set out the plates & silverware, cloth napkins, then breakfast {Panera bagels & muffins} when my mom brought them.

Hair stylist came out at 11 am & make-up at 11:30 am. While others were getting ready, I kept busy by asking what they wanted to drink & cutting up veggies.

Purchased lunch {Jimmy John's... sadly, no slurpees} for everyone at 2:30. The girls put on their dresses as I cleaned the apartment a bit more. Then we were off to the farm. When we arrived, the guys were behind the farmhouse. I saw Chris in his tux & that is when it hit me. i.am.getting.married.TODAY!

Chris' Day / Morning--
Woke up, went to Bob Evan's with the Mum & Dad and had some delicious blueberry crepes. Then headed home to relax and get ready. Brian came over prior to take off and rode with us out to Rochester. Getting ready for us guys is much easier than for the ladies.

After getting to Rochester, we hung out in the toasty weather for awhile and did pictures with Robin while we waited for the festivities to begin. Everything looked perfect, was coordinated perfectly, and was just downright perfect. Couldn't have been happier as my bride was getting what she wanted!

Highlights of the day & night--
--Of course.. I loved the flowers, dinner, dancing & celebrating with our friends and family!! --

• ::Lemonade Stand @ Ceremony::
  

I am so happy my aunt Nancy & uncle Thumper set this up for me.
This is one thing I really wanted for the wedding &
I am so happy that they made it happen
...I think the guests liked it too :)

• ::1920's Model T Car::
  

Dad Brown's friend, Tony, was willing to help out the day of our wedding
by allowing us utilize his classic car as part of the "setting,"
for pictures & a ride to the reception!

• ::Ceremony Musician::
  

Our DJ not only was willing to travel to [two] locations for the wedding,
but also learned how to play the song I walked down the aisle to
{You Belong To Me by Patsy Cline/Jason Wade}
on acoustic guitar in less than a week.

• ::Photo Booth::
  

Not surprisingly, many guests took a liking to the photo booth.
Can't wait to look at our guestbook after the honeymoon
{with all photo booth pictures}!

• ::Personal Serenade::

My cousin, Jason,
who has had his own band for a number of years & is
traveling abroad to play guitar with Rod Stewart's guitarist
borrowed the DJ's guitar & performed
"Something" by the Beatles as Chris & I danced.
This was songs & songs after our first dance.

• ::Love Songs::

Matt, soon-to-be-brother-in-law,
explained to the guests that two or
more from each table must stand & sing a love song instead of clinging silverware on glasses
in order for Chris & me to kiss.
Several tables did this &
it was {quite} hilarious.

• ::Piano Man::
  

As a special request from Chris & me,
the DJ played Billy Joel's "Piano Man."

To our surprise......
a circle of swaying friends & family
was formed as we sang the tune.

It was truly...

wonderful,
maginificent,
amazing,
brilliant,
great, {& every other "happy" adjective!}

I cannot wait to see all the pictures from our photographer, Robin. She teased me with these two! I {love} 'em!

Wedding Band... or No?

I recently came across on {{theknot.com}} a post about buying a wedding band or not.

I found it interesting

for Chris & I have been discussing rather or not buying a wedding band for me. ::note:: he will get a wedding band! :)

While reading through the posts, I found {many} good points made....

• Some girls [[do not want]] a wedding band due to money constraints.
• Some girls [[do not want]] a wedding band because it would restrain from the unique engagement ring setting.
• Some girls [[want]] a wedding band because the meaning is important to them.
• Some girls are going to wear the band on the left hand & the engagement ring on the right hand.

I feel that all of these are valid points. To each their own.

let me explain my own...

I ::absolutely:: love my engagement ring! I love that it is vintage & definitely love that it is earth-friendly {no new materials were used to make the ring}.

That being said, do I really want a wedding band too!?

IF we buy a wedding band, it would have be vintage again {b/c I love vintage design &... yes, the earth-friendly aspect...}

I don't want a wedding band for # of reasons..
--my ring {as any other engagement ring} is gorgeous alone
--a wedding band will only take away from the setting & overall look of the engagement ring
-- most importantly, I rather the money go towards the honeymoon! hahaha

However, I am worry about the delicacy my engagement ring. Therefore, wearing a band would be more practical & safe {[especially while teaching preschoolers!]}

Most likely what will happen is that we will get a band that I wear on my left hand & then I will wear my engagement ring on the right.

I feel that the wedding band does hold sentimental value & showcases our love for each other. but so does

the engagement ring,

our first home {or apartment}

& most importantly

< 3 our commitment to God & each other that we will love one another forever < 3

What do you think?

Wishpot

**A link to the wishpot registry**

View my list on Wishpot »

One {small} problemo with this...

if guests purchase gifts online utilizing the links off the wishpot.com, they can reserve the gifts so they are shown as "purchased".

HOWEVER... if gifts are purchased at the store, the store has no idea that we have this "registry". I can only imagine someone going to IKEA & saying, "This is for Chris Brown & Christina Marti's wedding registry". The IKEA worker may just think they're crazy! haha

So note....to my lovely shower guests...if you're reading this

if you are going to purchase from this list, please PLEASE PLEASE ::with a cherry on top!:: go back to the list & marked as purchased. OR purchase something else. haha.

XoXo :)

Our Registry / Wishlist

{FINALLY}

We are done with our registry(ies)!!! :)

First,
I would like to say that I treated our registries
more of a ::wishlist::
.......than a registry

**Note**
I am not {by any means} expecting to receive all these lovely gifts at the bridal shower. OR even half!

It is mostly a way to organize everything & anything I want for our small apartment. Any gifts we do not receive will be added to birthday, christmas, and shopping lists for the years to come.

So you may look at our list and think, "Wow, they really went crazy!" Yes, we did.

.....well... I did

Chris said, "Sure" most of the time. I could of registered for a relative of Free Willy & he would not have cared.

And, I must add, shoes should be viewed as an okay item to add to a registry. hahaha >

We are & will be grateful for any gift someone showers us with, as the mr & mrs to be.

With that being said, we are registered at:
[FYE, I have included a picture of one of my {favorite} items from each registry]

Macy*s
((Kitchenaid mixer--- AHHH love))


Crate & Barrel
((Okay, I love like everything on this list, but LOVE these glass cafe mugs!))

Target
((Same as Crate & Barrel, there are many favs @ Target, but LOVE these recycled paper bottle vases))

Wishpot.com
::an awesome online registry, you can add to from any websites. Hello {homemade} IKEA registry!::
((The combo of these two lovely IKEA pieces will make up our desk in the bedroom))

PS-- We currently have a desk/shelf combo in the living room that has been "beaten up" while building. Want the desk in the bedroom to make space in the living room... possibly for my piano [i miss it so!] ????

& that's that :)

Review, comment, laugh & enjoy our registries. As we enjoy each of you

Save the Dates & {Other} Updates

Have not updated in a while so here it goes...

First, Save the Dates

When sending out Save the Dates,
you have to think about a few things.
These include, but are not limited to:

• If most people call you by ___ (insert nickname here). Will they know who I am with my formal name?-- Some of Chris' family did not know that my real name is Christina. Not Nina.
• Will people (mostly parent's friends & extended family) know who we are without last names?
• Should we include a parent's address that people are more familiar with-- many people may not know that you move 40 miles away from Downriver.

We have learned all of these from...
well, I'll just say it {our mistakes}. haha.
But you learn from mistakes & you move on.
It made a good story wehaveheardmanytimes to discuss
of how you realized that it was us
Chris Brown & Christina/Nina Marti
that sent the Save the Date cards.
Then the compliments & congratulatory wishes soon followed.

Does that mean you must include last names & formal names & nicknames & parent's addresses on your Save the Dates?

Absolutely not!

But just think about your audience.
A lot of people still knew who we were. haha-- to be honest, it kind of made it more funny.
& we are funny quirky people, so it kind of fit "us".

I must add, our guests definitely now
will remember now that there's a wedding in July!!

Second, registering...

This picture depicts what happened during our
14 hour
or so
{long}
not really
registration
@ Macys--

Chris being goofy. Me seriously thinking
about which plates we should register for
& Rae [our maid of honor]
photographing the memories.

Chris also included a birthday card on the registry.
Which I believe has been {magically} deleted.
Hmm.. I wonder how ; ) (not me, I promise!)

We have also registered @ Crate & Barrel. Just Chris & I that time. I {lOvE} that store! Chris & I walked up to the cashier, stated politely **of course** that we would like to register. The {very helpful & kind} saleslady said, "I could tell! You two had that glow!"

Hmm.. "that glow!"
I wonder what that means?

Tonight, Chris & I register @ Target with our bridesmaid Erin. Should be lots of fun! Plan to register for some surprises too ; )

Third, cake & favors...
**No pictures SORRY!!**

cupcakes vs. traditional wedding cake

We have met with a couple bakers
(beyond wedding shows) for the
traditional wedding cake route.

1st was {very delicious} &
the bakers were {very kind}.
However the price was just
a little out of liken budget.

2nd was {delicious} &
the owner seemed a {little too pushy for my liking}.
However the price was just
in our liken budget.

So...
do we go with the {kind} people & pay more?
or go with the {pushy} guy & pay less?

My decision was to try a cupcake place (I mean, come on, I love cupcakes. I bake them all the time!) to help us in our decision.

We went to Just Baked in Twelve Oaks Mall. Met with the owner & tasted some molto delizioso cupcakes. One bite of this {baby}

& I was smitten.Completely smitten.
::Grumpy Cake Cupcake:: courtesy of justbaked.com

Needless to say...
We went this route.
Cupcake tower instead.

They include a complimentary 6 inch round cake for the top of the cupcake tower. We can use this to "cut the cake" or keep for the 1 year anniversary cake. Decided to do about 5 different flavors for variety, with ::Grumpy Cake:: definitely being one of them!

Favors. We met a {lovely lady} at the Plymouth Green Fair last summer that had a booth promoting her company The Biscotti Bar. We finally decided to meet with her. We now have wonderful favors of organic YaY! biscotti in two different flavors.

& At Last, tuxedos

I have researched
& researched
& researched
some more
about what I want
the men to wear
on our BIG day.

We made a trip to Downtown Rochester.
Met with a very nice guy
@ President Tuxedos.
Discussed choices
& finalize choices.

We have the tuxedos picked out!!

All men will be in black suits with
black vest & shoes * & socks too!*

Chris will be wearing a black tie.

Paul (BM) & Brian (GM)
& Matt and Jimmy (ushers)
& other ushers not officially
asked yet
will be wearing red striped ties.

My dad & Chris' Dad
& Grandpa
will be in...

WAIT FOR IT...

black
BOW TIES!
I <3 it!

I am VERY happy with our choices :)

& then there was RaNdoMNess...

I think that's it for updates.

Still finalizing some stationary items. We have to finalize an idea for our "place cards". Or whatever they are called. Escort card. Place cards. I never know which is which!

Only real big thing left to do is choose flowers & centerpieces.

I am very pleased that every vendor we are working with is so
kind &
caring &
supportive.

I think that's important to me. I want a wedding to be complied of good memories to come & kindness & happiness. It starts with the planning of the wedding. Which vendors definitely encompass the planning of the wedding!

Favors

I been mulling this over for quite a while.. .almost since we have been engaged.

Favors

No favors? Eco-friendly favor? Homemade favor? Homemade & eco-friendly favor? Donating instead of favor? Donating WITH a favor?

AhH! I don't know!!!

I {{absolutely}} want to donate. There is no way I am not giving up on the idea. I may just do it without letting the guests know!?

A few other ideas that have passed through my head (sometimes over & over again):

• an Italian & English treat (in honor of our heritages)-- i.e. tea & biscotti
• homemade jam-- organic or not..
  
• homemade cookies (from a hometown bakery OR my Nona's famous delicious chocolate chip cookies)
  
• organic biscotti (that we discovered at Plymouth's Green Fair last summer)
• traditional Italian favor (jordan almonds-- which Big Nona {my great grandmother} used to throw at the bride & groom instead of rice. hahaha)
• muffin mix
  
• Photobooth be the favor (guests will be taking home photo strips)
  
• a good ole HUG & KISS from the bride and groom (just kidding!)

HELP!! Right now, my idea is to do the donation with a small favor in addition to the photo booth (I mean it's already paid for!)

If I do a favor... which one above is the best choice.. .THOUGHTS!?! :)

FYE

In honor of our new idea for the guestbook... MadLibs

We have been conducting MadLibs of our own.

::This is one of them::

**Sing to the tune "Eleanor Rigby" by The Beatles**

Ah, look at all the Happy Hot Dogs!

Ah, look at all the Happy Hot Dogs!

Elsa Poopastink picks up the Chicken in a London where a

Film Festival has been. Dance in a Lightbulb.

Hopping at the Guitar, wearing the Flip flop that

she keeps in a TV by the Kleenex. Who is it for?

All the Happy Hot Dogs, where do they all come from?

All the Happy Hot Dogs, where do they all Blow?