See you at the Alter

Every blog I read seems to have a first look now. And they always end up with amazingly cute photos. There are some big advantages to seeing each other pre-ceremony. I started considering the advantages and came up with a few.

1. More intimate moment. Seeing each other for the first time without a crowd of people.
2. Relieve my nerves. Mr. Newport calms me down and I feel like pre-ceremony, I'll be a mess. Seeing him pre-cermeony would probably make me feel more relaxed.
3. More time for photos.
4. Elongate the wedding fun with each other. Sister and BIL Newport got ready in the same location, it was a fun morning.

All photos from the Snap! photography blog

So there really are some great reasons to do a "first look" pre-ceremony. The pictures above were good enough reason alone to do it. But inspite of these great advantages, we are opting to skip the "first look".

Why? I'd really love to spend the morning taking photos complete with a photo shoot like Sister and BIL Newport, but I'm really looking forward to walking down the aisle and seeing Mr. Newport for the first time that day. He is too.

It's like in 27 Dresses, how Jane's favorite part is watching the groom's face as the bride walks down the aisle. Everyone's eyes are on the bride, but she likes to watch the groom's reaction to the bride. I honestly always look at the bride, but for our wedding I'd love to see Mr. Newport's face for the first time, as the excitement builds up, as I take my last walk as a single girl.

Are you doing a first look? What was the deciding factor?

Catholic Encounters

I have heard over and over again how complicated it is to get married in the Catholic Church. We somewhat experienced this, but realized over the weekend, it's probably only hard if you don't regularly attend church or are marrying outside your own church.

It literally took us months to find a church in RI that was willing to marry us. We had to agree that our hometown church would sign off on the paperwork, which we were worried about since we no longer attend on a regular basis. We kind of pushed this off for awhile. Then this weekend, we finally met with the pastor at my childhood parish.

He was so welcoming and friendly. I explaiend that I had attended the church growing up. He didn't really ask too many questions. He let us know he'd help with whatever we needed. All he asks is that we start attending regularly and stay for the entire mass. His biggest pet peeve is parishoners leaving after communion, which is about 2 minutes before the whole service ends. Thats a pretty small requirement after all the troubles we were expecting.

This weekend left us with a big sigh of relief. All we have left to do regarding the church is to sign up for and take pre-cana, then have the pastor write the letter to our church in RI, then we're all set. Things look like they are going to work out!

Did something end up being easier than you expected during your planning process?

Booking the Church

I booked the church without ever actually stepping foot inside. A little out of character for me. I typically research up a storm on everything wedding related. The weekend after making it official, I just had to go and see it. Partially to ease my mind, so I'd have no worries. So, the following Sunday after booking, I had two of my bridesmaids come on a mini road trip to Newport..... to go to church.

I had seen bridesmaid 1, the week before and told her about it. The other bridesmaid, I sent a text asking if she wanted to go to Newport, she of course said yes. The night before leaving, I sent them both a text saying mass will be at 10:30, let's leave by 8:45. bridesmaid 2, sent a text back so confused... "mass?" Whooops! Forgot to give that detail. Luckily once I explained, she was happy to go. So the three of us headed to Newport, RI to attend Sunday mass. We figured it couldn't be more than an hour and we'd meet up with another friend in town.

Well, it seemed to have slipped my mind that we were going on Palm Sunday. As Catholics may know, this means there are more rituals during the mass, which means more time. So we sat through a lovely mass, which happend to be longer than expected. This makes me love my bridesmaids even more, they come to mass with me during the planning, not just the "fun" stuff, but the stuff that is really important to me.

We left mass and all agreed it was beautiful. The three of us went to the same Catholic school growing up and have pretty much attended the same church all of our lives. This church has a different set up than ours at home, but we all really liked it. There are multiple lights over the alter that give a beautiful glow. There are multiple aisles, which gives more access to each row, and more front row seats!

Mr. Newport asked me to take a picture, but I really didn't think it was appropriate to take photos during mass on Palm Sunday. So I did a little google search. Faith Dugan, from Rhode Island has a few amazing shots on her blog.

The church is very simple, but I think simplicity can be beautiful. I am so in love with our church! I can't wait to say I do to Mr. Newport. I sat through the mass amazed that this is where we were going to become husband and wife!

Have you had a momemt like this yet? Where you are overwhelmed by the significance of an element in planning that makes it seem so real?

We have a church!!!!!!!!

I am super excited because we have a church!!! We have been looking for one that would allow us to get married for 5 months!!! Mr. Newport just sent news that we got Ok'ed at a church in the same town as the reception sight. It is a huge relief.

Now on to the DJ search. We have three appointments booked and 2 more we are interested in. I know 5 seems like a lot, but I think the DJ's more than anyone need to be seen in person. We want someone with a great personality who will make sure the night flows smoothly.

I'm not really sure what question to ask, does anyone have any advice?