Treely, Madly, Deeply: The Red Door Pictures

The Red Door that Jimmy found when we were exploring the Cathedral of Learning turned out to be some sort of magical backdrop. Every picture taken in front of it is just stunning. I think that my bridal party would kill me if I didn't share these photos with you all. ;)

*All photos courtesy of Limelight-Images

Treely, Madly, Deeply: Family Photos

Admittedly, family pictures have always mattered the least to me when perusing other peoples' albums and blog posts. They're nice, they're sentimental and they definitely have meaning - but only to the people actually in them, I feel. 

That having been said, there will be absolutely no hard feelings if you skim or skip this post. ;)

It's no secret that I have family drama. As a result, I have little to no pictures with anyone in my family. Even the pictures that existed from my childhood, from the once upon a time when things were normal, have been long deemed MIA. These pictures, although they don't feature my mother or my father, featured people that are related to me and there are some that showcase both sides of something magical and beautiful: Mr. Palm Tree's and my relationship. As a result, I get a little misty when I look at them and feel as though they deserve their feature as well.

Treely, Madly, Deeply: Two May Be Company, But Thirteen Is A Party!

When we last left off, Mr. Palm Tree and I were walking to meet our friends. As soon as the trolley pulled up, Mr. PT announced that he had to take care of business. This is what our wedding party saw as they met up with us:

*all photos courtesy of Limelight-Images

Yup, he's doing exactly what you think he's doing.

If the mood wasn't already perfect, this definitely brought all of us up to that level.

Treely, Madly, Deeply: We Play!

After I stopped the tears, we discussed logistics of riding the carousel. Mr. Palm Tree and Jimmy had already scouted out a creature but I had my sights set on another one, simply because of its cool colors.

True Story: if I regret one thing, it's picking this damn dragon. Look how scary it is from the front!

*all photos courtesy of Limelight-Images

YIKES. 

Treely, Madly, Deeply: Our First Look

Mr. Palm Tree and I decided to have a First Look very early on in wedding planning. It was right after we had decided on The Fez as our venue for both our ceremony and our reception. I had begun to think through the logistics of the day and truthfully, the thought of leaving the space, to try to cram in all of the pictures I wanted during the cocktail hour, only to return to the same space for the reception started to overwhelm me. I didn't want to feel rushed because pictures were really important to me. I didn't want to miss out on any of the 'Must Have' shots that I had been lusting over for what felt like forever. Furthermore, all of my wanted Pittsburgh-y locations were a no-go due to the travel time. I remember the dinner during which I discussed this with Mr. Palm Tree and I remember him surprising me (for the first of many times when it came to our wedding) with his insight (after I explained to him what a First Look even was, for the record). "Your reasoning makes sense, but I don't want you to miss out on something you've always wanted because of logistics. You've always talked about me having that look when I see you for the first time." 

He was right. I HAD always talked about that look. Truthfully, Weddingbee was what helped changed my mind. When I first began to weigh the pros and cons of a First Look, I began to obsess over Blogger Bees' First Look posts. I think it was Mrs. Honey's Sweet First Look. That had me a goner.

Long story short, despite the initial surprise (and not even from just Mr. PT, our photographers and BM Y were both taken aback at first), it was something we both gave a lot of thought to before deciding that it was the best for us. Spoiler Alert: I do not regret it even a smidge. It was one of my favorite parts of the day (who am I kidding? The entire day was my favorite). I'm hesitant to use this word but guys, our first look was perfect.

Treely, Madly, Deeply: Our Last Pictures as Single Folk

Truthfully, I didn't put a lot of thought into Mr. Palm Tree's and my couple pictures. This is partially because I trusted our photographers wholeheartedly after our engagement pictures, but mostly because I didn't know how to put thought into it. I mean, we kiss, we smile, we get serious, we laugh, we pose. . .? Also, it's not like we could miss these shots - they were going to be taken, one way or the other.

And goodness, I'm glad they were. I look at them and every emotion imaginable comes rushing back to me, plus some new ones (like nostalgia. Can I just go back to this day, please?). I don't know how anyone ever limits this to, like, eight or so pictures. SERIOUSLY?! 

I'm just simply too in love (with both my husband and these pictures) to do that. I will, however, do my best to keep the narration to a minimum. It's the best compromise I can muster.

Treely, Madly, Deeply: More Lady Love

Sidenote: So sorry for the mini-hiatus, Hive! Life and work, especially, have been crazy. I promise that even though I may be MIA for small periods of time, I will NOT let these recaps go unfinished. :)

When brainstorming my recaps, I wasn't quite able to decide if I should go in chronological order of the day or if I should group the posts by pictures. I've made the executive decision to go in chronological order in the hopes that maybe it will help others when it comes to planning their wedding days and the various activities involved.

I realize that not everyone particularly cares about the wedding party pictures but, for what probably seems like the gazillionth time, I feel the need to stress how important all of these people are to Mr. Palm Tree and myself. I take friendship very seriously, largely due to all of the DramaRama in my life. I am, undeniably, someone who holds high expectations for the people I call my best friends and I am, undeniably, someone who can be hard to get along with at times. I know my faults better than anyone: I am loud, overbearing, opinionated, borderline obnoxious, bossy, insecure, stubborn, super-Type-A, an over-planner, a worrywart, in constant need of assurance. . .the list could go on forever. Despite all of these issues, though, the people in my life have been there for years. They have dried my tears, they have cried with me; they've witnessed - some of them firsthand - the ridiculousness that was my family life; they've traveled with me, they've taken care of me when I was sick or injured, they've demolished entire cartons of ice cream with me and they've gone to bat for me. These people are my family and perhaps deserve even a little more special treatment for continually choosing to be a part of my life, as opposed to having the blood obligation. As a result, I've decided to give them their time in the spotlight, as deserved. Feel free to skip if it's not the kind of thing that interests you, but I can assure you that this is a post I'll be re-visiting for years to come.

Treely, Madly, Deeply: The Guys Get Dressed

To this day, I am still a little stunned that these guys all got ready and arrived on time without the aid of any of we females. I've asked GM Pythagoras, Best Man R and Mr. PT what they did all morning (at separate times) and they gave stock answers.

Mrs. Palm Tree: What did you guys do all morning?

Guys: Just hung out.

Mrs. Palm Tree: What did you guys do when Jimmy showed up early?

Guys: Hung out, watched ESPN.

Mrs. Palm Tree: What did you do when it was time to get ready?

Guys: Got dressed and did a shot.

Mrs. Palm Tree: Who decided when it was time to leave?

Best Man R and Mr. Palm Tree: Jimmy, I guess.

GM Pythagoras: HEY, we read the timeline. We put it on the fridge! 

Ha. BOYS, amirite? 

Just like in my last post, I plan to let these pictures speak for themselves for the most part (and only partially because it's hard to narrate the morning when I wasn't present for it). 

*all photographs by the wonderful Limelight-Images unless otherwise noted