Riding in Style

To be honest, transportation was the bottom of my priority list. I figured we'll get there somehow and it wasn't the top of my list of things to splurge on. Well, then I realized we have a pretty large wedding party with a couple different photo spots. So we really needed to find something that would get everyone from point A to point B to point C, D, E and F.

I don't want to spend the wedding day stressing over a bridesmaid or groomsman or the groom or myself not getting to the church or photos. So I did what I always do. I started to research. Since booking our photographer I tried to relax on the type A personality and slow down on who I contact. When it comes to transportation though, I really just wanted a good price and something that would hold all of the wedding party, our immediate families, the photographers, videographer and ourselves. That is on big group! We are looking at about 22-24 people!

I had no clue how much transportation would cost, but since everything wedding related seems high in Newport I thought $1,000 would work. I contacted about 15 transportation companies, most of whom returned my e-mails. I had quotes for limos, buses, hummers, party buses, and trolleys. Most companies gave quotes for a few different types of transportation. Prices ranged from $780.00-$1,650.00. Each quote includes transportation for at least 22 people. Most did not include gratuity. To be honest, we thought we'd just go for the cheapest choice.

It wasn't until after all the research that I realized we could afford my secret dream choice of transportation- the Newport Wedding Trolley. I originally thought they would be the most expensive or out of our budget, but it turns out they were under our budget! the trolley just screams classic Newport. It has the same color scheme of red and green as the RIPTA (Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority) trolleys we took in Newport during our college years. Our first date included a red and green Newport Trolley. I was beyond excited to get a quote for $900.00 for the four hours we needed. It wasn't the cheapest option we had intended on going for, but it was still under our budget.

Source

I sent an e-mail to the Newport Wedding Trolley asking for a time to meet. I also sent an itinerary for our wedding day with the stops we plan on making. I wanted to confirm that it was ok to have multiple stops before we went any further.

Well to my surprise, I receievd an e-mail letting us know that it was fine to have multiple stops for photos. I was also told that we could get the trolley for $800.00 since all of our locations are local and within a short distance! Without even trying, we saved $200 off our wedding budget! Tip isn't included in the $800.00, but we did expect that.

Although, I did spend quite some time researching and contacting companies, this was such an easy choice for us.

Was there something you thought was out of your budget, but ended up being more reasonably priced?

Michael Sparks Keegan: Vendor Review

Sister and BIL Newport call most of their wedding vendors amazing. I asked them to grade them, quite a few were given A's. So they had some wedding super stars, but there was just something about Michael and Laura that really made them stand out.

They knew from the beginning that wedding photography was one of their top priorities. But, crazy enough they didn't spend a lot of time searching. Michael and Laura happened to be at the first bridal show Sister Newport and I went to. Sister Newport instantly clicked with them and fell in love with their work.

Laura was genuinely excited about showing their albums. She told us stories about each couple with passion in her voice. She felt truly connected to the couples she worked with. We saw one album with a photo that really stood out. There was a colorless photo, with the exception of the brides red shoes. Laura explained the bride really wanted to wear the red shoes, but her mom wasn't to excited about the idea. Michael and Laura knew this, so when it came time to editing, they made this photo especially for the bride. She ended up getting it for her mom as a gift, who loved it. I love that they knew the bride and her mom enough to come up with an idea like that and remembered it in the photo editing stage. It's such a great momento for the mother of the bride.
We ended up spending quite some time chatting with Michael and Laura. They were both so welcoming and comforting. We looked through all of their sample albums. They really stood out. I loved their creative angles. They also incorporated quotes and passages into the wedding albums set on top of photos. It was so unique. Newport mom loved them right away, she felt like they were people "you want to be friends with and hang out with". Sister Newport came home and checked out their website. It wasn't much longer before they booked (she did want to give BILN a chance to meet them).

As you can tell from all the re-caps and the shower photos, they truly are amazing. They went above and beyond. I don't know how many photos were guaranteed in their contract, but they went way over. They ended up editing over 1,600 photos- and in a short period of time!

The day of the wedding was truly enhanced because of them. They created so many fun experiences during the "photo shoot". How many brides can say they were atop a fire truck on their wedding day? Their excitement for the photos was infectious. They came up with great ideas, got the wedding party and bride and groom excited, and amazing photos were the result.
Michael is the main photographer, and from what I could tell, he's more behind the scenes. He was really down to earth. He came up with great ideas, but Laura seemed to be the one to get everyone excited about them. They are a husband and wife team who work so well together. They really complement each other.

They went above and beyond on the wedding day, and I still stare at their amazing work every day. I can't wait to see what they do for Sister and BIL Newport's wedding album!

* All photos taken by the amazing duo of Michael Sparks Keegan photography.

Talented Friends and Family

One of the things I love about Facebook, is the ability to instantly get access to photos after a big event. Within the few days after Sister Newport and Brother in law Newport's wedding, at least 6 albums have surfaced. My favorite being from Jarett Skeffington. He is a photographer(Jskeffphoto) from CA who has been doing photography on the side for a couple years.

He wasn't the actual photographer for Sister Newport's wedding, but he still got some amazing shots. It helps to have talented friends and family members. I want to give sneak peak at some of his shots, but don't want to give too much away before the re-caps!

I love the moment captured in this shot. Mr. Newport escorting two of the bridesmaids into the reception to "I've got a Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas. The wedding was so much fun and I love that this picture captures thatThere were so many great options for the first dance and father daughter dance to choose from!

The details of the wedding were amazing.I love that this was captured. I'm so amazed at the quality of the photos seeing as I never even noticed Jarett taking these.

I was so nervous giving my speech and I like that I appear to be calm and collected in this one!
And of course, I had to throw some in of the flower girl, my adorable god-daughter.

I spoke to Jarett during the wedding and was excited to hear he's going to be updating his website. I've been excited to see more of his recent work, as most of the site is form 2006. He recently shot a wedding and I'm excited to see what he can do as the real photographer, because I think the shots as a guest were amazing. Jarett is a relative, so I've been following his work for as long as I've known about his business. It's been so cool to see his progress over the past couple years. I can't wait to see more!

Did you have any surprising talents at your wedding?

Proposal Adventures

After Mr. Newport proposed, the real fun began- the pictures!

I happen to love pictures. I take way too many photos, I'm known for my quick facebook photo updates- as in they are up the next morning- before you are. I scrapbook. I stalk photo blogs. I'm pretty obsessed. I thinks it's my obsession with capturing a memory of a second of time that you can never get back. With a photo you get to hold on to that moment forever. Some people are content with their memory, I on the other hand am much more visual.

Surprisingly, after our proposal Mr. Newport was the one to initiate "the photo shoot". I was so caught up in my happiness that I didn't really think to take pictures- so not like me, I never forget to take pictures.

After some time basking in our newly fiancee'd status, the camera started clicking.

First came some photos of the ring..
Then some photos of us.....
Then a facebook special, in which Mr. Newport tagged all of our coupled friends (O yes he did!)...
After the photo fun, came the mandatory calls. We actually didn't do too many right away, just our parents and siblings. My family saw it coming, but his were a little surprised. Which shocked me because the diamond he proposed with was the same diamond his father proposed to his mother with 3o years ago! He said they gave him the diamond, and he just never told them when he was officially doing it. So needless to say, my future mother in-law had the best reaction---she was speechless. I would be too! I would have assumed he'd tell her, but he said he only told my father prior to doing so to ask for his permission.
After the calls to family, we headed to our alma mater, Salve Regina University, to reminisce. We walked through campus stopping at all the places that hold special meaning to us, including Hunt Hall, which was our freshman dorm where we met.
Later in the evening, we had celebratory drinks on the deck at Bannister's Wharf and made the rest of the calls. The woman at Bannister's saw us sitting on the deck and told us we were about to miss a beautiful sunset and recommended we move to the deck on the other side. Gladly we did. We saw the most beautiful sunset while calling all our closest family and friends to tell them the happy news.
After the beautiful sunset and making quite a few calls, we headed to dinner at our favorite Newport restarunt, Sardella's (favorite because in college you can't beat the 2 dinners for $12.00, $20.00 if you include a bottle of wine special every Mon-Wed in the winter, we went at least once a week and it is absolutely delicious!). It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Then....the next day was more Newport fun and of course, photo taking. We headed to an apple orchard in nearby Middletown, went for a ride on Ocean Drive and spent a little more time on the beach and at Salve. Perfect Fall activities.

At the end of day two of our proposal adventure, we headed back home and were greeted by decorations, friends and family. Absolutely perfect.

Was your proposal more than a one day affair? How did you celebrate?

The Venue Search...or lack thereof

Exactly one year ago today, we decided on our venue, The Atlantic Beach Club. Mr. Newport and I knew pretty early on that we had found "the one", and I'm not talking about the venue at this point, I'm talking about each other. We met our freshman year and fell in love, not quite so easily, but when it hit, it hit hard. I just knew he was it.

Mr. Newport was the first boy I ever went on a date with, my first boyfriend, my first everything. Some people need to search further and know for sure that something is right, but when I truly love something or someone, I just know.

When we seriously started planning our wedding, I knew our alma mater had to be involved. I was devastated when I heard our college chapel held a maximum of 150 guests (which funny enough, they recently started building a new chapel, set to open fall 2010 that will fit our guest list). That's when I decided to be creative in including our alma mater. If we can't get married there, at least we'll be viewing it from afar.
The day after Mr. Newport proposed, we went to the Atlantic Beach Club. It was our first and only venue visit. We had frequented the ABC many times during our four years in college, having lived on the same road our junior year (our first apartment together!). I had always been fond of the location, but never dreamt of how beautiful the ballroom would be. The entire upstairs is a large ballroom over looking the ocean and our alma mater. I came in hoping it would be decent enough to consider as an option for our venue, but as soon as we walked in that ballroom overlooking the campus where we met and fell in love, we both just knew. That was it. The first place we looked was our last.

How many places did you have to view before finding "the one"?

The Proposal

It's been exactly one year since Mr. Newport asked me to marry him, and about a year to go until we say "I do"! This past year flew by and I know the time is just going to seem to go even faster until the actual wedding. Some people were amazed at the length of our engagement, just about two years, but I'm really enjoying this time together.

So how did he propose? Well....

Mr. Newport proposed almost exactly five years from the day we met. To be honest, neither of us remember the date we met, but it was in October of 2003 at Salve Regina in Newport, RI. (I'll get to that story later) Five years after our first introduction, Mr. Newport took me back to the very place we met.

He planned the whole thing out perfectly. When we arrived in Newport, the weather was perfect. It was a beautiful fall day. It's my favorite time of year and my favorite kind of weather.

I kept thinking it was the perfect time to propose. Newport is my favorite place, it was five years from the date we met (seems like a good time to propose to me), it was my favorite season, and I had been bugging Mr. Newport for awhile. I told my mom, my sister and a few of my closest friends that I thought he was going to propose. It just seemed so perfect. I had thought quite a few times ( a couple different trips to Disney, other trips to Newport, a trip to NH on our four year anniversary, Christmas, etc. etc.) before that he was going to propose, so telling my friends and family I thought this wasn't anything new. Even though I told them, part of me still wasn't sure because I had felt so sure the other times, too.

The one thing that made me a little more sure this time was the fact that Mr. Newport told me his parent's were giving him the diamond his father proposed to his mother with. Up until a couple weeks before the trip, I thought there was no way he would propose because he and his parents hadn't seen each other in months and there was no way to get the diamond. Then I saw a message on his cousin's myspace page about going to Jersey. That's when I became about 75% sure it would happen. His cousin lives in MA, so do we. She was taking a trip with her family that Mr. Newport never mentioned, he usually tells me when his aunt and cousins visit in Jersey. I thought they must be getting the diamond. Then, Mr. Newport never went to visit them, or so I thought. I went back and forth on whether it would happen. I searched for more clues. I know, I'm terrible. I hate surprises. I find more joy in figuring things out before they happen than actually getting surprised. Poor Mr. Newport, he tried really hard!

Then no clues came, Mr. Newport was being really sneaky. I didn't want to get my hopes up since I had so many times before. Then a couple days before our trip, Sister Newport kept insisting that she and FBILN meet up with us for dinner the first night we go down. That's when I started asking her for clues, but I got nothing other than the fact that she said she wanted to be there if he did propose. Which led me to believe that it was going to happen. At this point I became 85% it was going to happen.

Then came the morning we were to leave for Newport. I knew we were going to have a picnic on the beach. I figured I'd wear something comfy, since it tends to be windy and a little cool in October on the water. I asked Mr. Newport if sweatpants were ok, he said I should wear something a little nicer. Note: Mr. Newport fell in love with the girl in sweatpants and tells me I look beautiful in them all the time, so I was surprised. Then I saw what he was wearing- a nice button down shirt and jeans- a little fancy for a picnic on the beach. At this point, I was 90% sure it was going to happen that day.

So after a long drive with much anticipation, we arrived in Newport. We stopped at our hotel to check in, then headed off to grab some sandwiches from our favorite cafe for our picnic. We got our usual of two griddled English cheddar sandwiches. We drove to the next town over to our favorite picnic spot.

As we got out of the car, Mr. Newport told me he had to get something and to go ahead. I was 95% sure at this point that he was getting the ring and about to propose. Yet, I still tried to block it out of my mind, as I had been so sure many times before.

We walked down to the beach, which was nearly secluded (one other person on the far end) and Mr. Newport laid out a blanket. We ate our sandwiches and reminisced about some of our favorite times in Newport. After our lunch was finished we were rambling on about our childish fight that we've had for 5 years- who love's who more (yes we are that couple, and yes we say it everytime we hang up the phone....I love you more...no I love you more...click)), Mr. Newport at this point said I love you more and I'll prove it.

Mr. Newport knelt down on two knees....at this point I was 100% sure it was about to happen. At this point the story gets fuzzy. I know he gave a little speech and I remember it being sweet and being utterly happy. Yet, I have no recollection of any of his words other than his first of proving he loves me more...and his last..."Will you marry me?"

At which point, I told him your only supposed to get down on one knee. Blah, yeah I said it. And yeah, my family made fun of me. Then we laughed. He got down on one knee, and.......the phone rang.

One of my bridesmaids called at 10:00 on a Wednesday morning. She just had to ask me something, aka she wanted to know if he had done it already.

We ignored the call and I said yes.

We spent awhile on the beach savoring the moment. It sounds cheesy, but it really was the most amazing day of my life so far.

Even though I was X% sure it was going to happen leading up to the proposal, I wouldn't have had it any other way. I had originally wanted him to do it sooner, or in other places, but if he had I wouldn't have gotten my dream proposal, the dream proposal I hadn't known I wanted all along. So many times I told him I don't care how it's done, I just want to be your wife. But, once I had the amazing proposal in a place that meant so much, I am happy he waited and did it perfectly. The poor guy just had to deal with a lot of nagging and disappointment along the way.

Did you know when your fiance was going to propose? Did you have to go through some disappointments before getting your dream proposal?

Breakfast is Served: The Details

Planning the details of the shower was so much fun! I absolutely love themes. Once I have a theme, I just run with it. I wanted to go for something classic, so I did hold myself back on going too crazy with elements from the film.

To incorporate the film, all table numbers were photos of Audrey Hepburn from the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was subtle, but fun.
The flowers turned out gorgeous. If I weren't having a semi-destination wedding, I would so have Newport mom do the flowers for my wedding! They came out amazing. We were originally going with just roses, but she wanted more fullness and decided at the last minute to get hydrangeas, too.
Sister Newport loved the details. After a lot of hugs and hellos, she took some time to soak it all in.

Audrey, a.k.a. Holley Gollightly appeared again on the escort cards. Our two nods to the film.

Favors were little blue boxes from Papyrus filled with M&M's inspired by Tiffany's signature little blue box, but with more of a Martha Stewartesque twist with a more pastel shade.

Shower game prizes were enclosed in Tiffany & Co. bags.

And last but not least, my favorite detail of the day, was the venue itself. The Langham is so incredibly gorgeous with it's drapes, gold chairs and linens and sparkly chandeliers. The room itself needed very little decor. It was so stunning itself.

Did you have a themed shower, or have you thrown a themed shower?

All photos by Michael Sparks Keegan