Wedding Weekend Pics: Dogwatch Cafe sunset

The Dogwatch Cafe was a fantastic recommendation care of Michael, our new friend/owner of Saltwater Farm.

Very simply, the Saturday night before the wedding was a great chance to slow down the pace, enjoy a great locally made beer, and watch the photogenic Stonington harbor sunset with our closest friends.

Of course I used the ephemeral prime light to grab pictures of Esther, get her looking all glowy and extra pretty.

Ahhhhh...yeah.

(so, brendan doesn't like to take pictures, apparently...this was actually the best of bunch)

Honeymoon Pictures: 2nd Sneak Peek

It's going to be quite the task to sort through and choose which pictures to post from the wedding weekend, never mind the honeymoon.

But, to keep the momentum going

...here's one from a post-dinner moment in Maui

Wedding Weekend Pics: Rehearsal Lunch at Olio

Our post ceremony rehearsal meal was hosted by the parents Tetreault at Olio in nearby Groton...E and I were fashionably late, and were greeted by my pop, smiling widely at the entrance to the restaurant. I know my parents were very happy with their find, and they were 100% right to be...it was perfect in every way for the occasion. It was within a 10 minute drive of Saltwater Farm, they had some really tasty options during the cocktail hour (mmmm, spicy bloody mary), and the space had the feel that was reminiscent of our style: clean and long lines, but still comfortable and gave you the feeling that you were in for a good meal. The service was very attentive and focused on making sure everyone had what they could possibly want.

I could certainly go on about the decadent 'deconstructed seafood ravioli' (the local Stonington Scallops were perfectly seared and tender) or the panko chicken breast (crunchy, moist, and a monster portion... especially for lunch), but the meal took backseat to what was to happen that day.

The main feature was the flood of heartfelt sentiments that seemed to be endlessly showered over E and me. Really...so many heartfelt words, some hilarious 'remember when' stories, perfectly timed zingers. I pulled out my camera after tinkering with the settings to better shoot in the dim mood lighting, but taking photos was the last thing I wanted to do in those moments. Instead, we just absorbed and felt awash in support by our closest family and friends, which was what all we could ever want from the experience.

I was feeling emotionally drained after the experience, but knowing we were really just starting the weekend...E went off with her ladies for pre-wedding finger and toenail re-energizing stuff, and the guys went to the driving range.

So, the images from my camera were pretty limited of the lunch, so I grabbed a few off Facebook that Meg took...thanks Meg!

Wedding Weekend Pics: Driving range

Went to the nearby Birch Plain driving range w/the guys on the saturday before the wedding, gave me the chance to work out some nervous energy, launching some (definitely not all) little white balls off the fake little grass rugs. Jeff, Jason, Kev, B and I went through three large baskets pretty quickly, and my too-tight grip yielded a nice dime sized blister on my left hand thumb.

My default swing is steeped in my years as a little leaguer, so its tough for me to relax and lock out my left elbow, stand up straight...basically do all the things that differentiates a golf swing a baseball swing. Still, even I was able to hit a few straight.

Check out the pics from the range:

overwhelmed...

E and I are enjoying every minute of our maui + kuaui honeymoon.

Now on the 2nd leg, we are armed with an internet connection and have been able to see some sneak preview pictures from the wedding weekend from our family and friends. I'm quite simply overwhelmed, the lifelong memories are flooding back on my laptop screen.

We've got a bunch of pics ourselves, and will be sure to post 'em to the image sharing site soon after our return home.

We are biting our nails, waiting to see what the phenomenal talent of the trio Justin and Mary Marantz + Julia were able to capture...we do hope that these pictures will help us to savor these memories that much better in the years to follow.

We plan to post much more of the experiences we've had, but for now, we'll just put up a quick teaser from our honeymoon!

...oh, and what the heck...here are two from the aforementioned marantz squad:

A Crapload of Cookies

Let me just say that I truly do enjoy baking.

Now, that being said, I never want to spend a morning baking 150 cookies ever again. My kitchen gets too hot, I will inevitably burn at least one finger, and I end up covering every visible surface in a light dusting of flour because I'm too impatient to add the flour to the wet mixture sloooooowlyyyyyy.

What IS fun, though, is spending a few hours with your girlfriends EATING cookies, drinking wine, and laughing about how ridiculous it is to create 120 cute little bags of homemade cookies.

Last night a bunch of my girlfriends came together to help me finish putting together the wedding favors. I stole the brilliant idea from my bridesmaid Gina, whose mother and mother's friends did the same thing for Gina's wedding last year. What I didn't realize was the difference just one generation makes in executing said idea.

Who knew how long it would take me (and my friend Renee) to measure, cut, and tape the cute little recipe cards I wanted to attach to each bag? I didn't. Who would have thought baking 13 dozen cookies 2 days before I leave for Wedding Weekend might be cutting it a little close? Not me. And who thinks about cold storage for 120 bags full of fresh baked cookies? JC, that's who. Needless to say (although I will), I came home last night super excited that my friends and I pulled off this extravaganza and finished all our personalized wedding favors. We packed up all the bags and left them in Renee's (kinda) cool basement to store for a couple days. Well, JC was more concerned about poisoning all of you than I was because he convinced me to go BACK to Renee's at 10:30p last night to unpack all the boxes, clean out Renee's refridgerator, and jam 120 cute little bags into every available space. Thank goodness she doesn't eat much.

So when you're enjoying your late night bag of delicious, non-toxic cookies...please give thanks to Renee, Gina, Katie W, Katie T, Annmarie, Meg, Rachel, Jen, Aunt Sylvia, and Marsha. Enjoy!