Our Wedding Video

So I've shared our wedding video with you once before, but you're getting it again. #sorrynotsorry

Hiring a wedding videographer was not something Ant and I agreed on initially.  Not that I blame him, but he was more worried about the additional cost we would be taking on, and not completely convinced it was "necessary".

I pushed the point a little bit, and convinced him to at least come meet with Max from Maxmotion Video with me.  Max had done our friends Jay and Marissa's wedding video, and they had only good things to say about him.

We met up with Max at a Starbucks halfway between us and him, and by the end of it Ant was on board TOTALLY on board.  Max was very low-key - in a way that we found very relatable.  He was no frills, what you see is what you get, and also very willing to work with us to make sure we were getting what we wanted.  His standard package is one fee that covers all day coverage by him with two cameras, a full day edit delivered on BluRay and a short clip delivered online.  He shows up during preparations and stays through the majority of the reception.  No hour limits, no strict schedules, easy peasy!  While we were chatting with him, he mentioned that he was just starting to offer one potential upgrade, to include a second shooter with him.  Ant & I left our meeting with him feeling very good about everything we had heard, and decided to hire him & Matt!

The day of, Max & Matt were wonderful!  They showed up SUPER early, before our photographer and even before one of our MUAs.  They were excited about the shots they were getting, and very personable with myself, my family, and all of my bridesmaids.  They stayed out of the way when it was appropriate, and jumped in to get shots they wanted when it made sense too.  I loved their creativity and am thankful for so so many of the memories they captured for us.

The final edited clip made me cry all over the place....and still occasionally does when I go back and watch ;)  It is such a small snapshot of the day, but captures the emotion and excitement in a few minutes so well. (and my dads speeches are notoriously tearjerkers to begin with)

The morale of the story: HIRE A VIDEOGRAPHER.

There are so many out there, in so many different price ranges.  Find one that works for you, find someone that you get along with, and hire them! and then thank me later :)

You can also view the video on his Vimeo site here.

xoxo

The Little Things: The Sparkly Stuff!

It has been SO long since I talked about my wedding details - I know our wedding was over a year ago.  But there are still so many pretty things to talk about!! 

Once the dress and the veil were chosen, the next step was getting the right accessories.  I've already told you about my long and exhausting hunt for my glacier beauties!  With the shoes and my belt chosen, all I needed was jewelry to match, so my mom, my MOH Melissa and I went to TWD for an accessory appointment!  I knew I was looking for bigger earrings, that would coordinate with my belt.  I tried on a few {gorgeous} pairs from Haute Bride - but they weren't quite right.  Then my mom actually pointed out a pair from Maria Elena Headpieces.  I put them on, and they were perfect!  They were big and blingy, but I liked how they had so many intricate details.    The picture quality isn't great, but I took this photo so you could see that they sparkled just as much from the back as they did from the front!  

My mom had commented before the appointment that something for my hair might be nice - so I asked the stylist to suggest a hair piece that would go with the look.  When I put this one on, Melissa and my mom fell in love and insisted I get it as well!  It was just enough extra sparkle to add some detail to my hair, which was otherwise going to be very simple, just curled with a little bit pulled back.  Here's all my sparkle together, minus the belt:

The day I picked everything up from TWD it was like a better version of Christmas.  I had my hairpiece and earrings, PLUS the 7 pairs of earrings for my bridesmaids!  That is a LOT of sparkle in one little bag :)

I loved the way all of my accessories helped tie my look together, and made me feel absolutely amazing on our wedding day.  

Originally, I wasn't sure that the hair piece was necessary... I didn't know how much you would see it and if it would really make a huge difference....but my mom had loved it so much I'd agreed to wear it.  Looking back - mom really does know best!!!  It was the perfect simple and beautiful addition to my look, and made a huge difference in some of my favorite pictures of us that day! 

How did you decide what accessories to add to your bridal look?  Did you pick them yourself, or bring friends shopping with you??  For someone who usually keeps my accessories to a minimum, I had SO much fun choosing these details for our wedding day!

xoxo

The Little Things: Gifts for Mom

With Mother's Day coming up, I thought this was an appropriate time to jump back into blogging about "The Little Things" - the details that made up our wedding day! Who knows, maybe this will spark some inspiration for you :)

When it came to our mothers, we wanted to give them gifts that would have special meaning, and be a nice reminder of our wedding day.  We knew we would be gifting them photos in the future, but that was after the fact - we wanted something to give them the morning of the wedding as a "Thank you" for all of their love and support leading up to the day.  

After lots of brainstorming and online searching, we came up with two different ideas!

First, we found Sarah Ku on Etsy! {Have I made it clear how much I love Etsy yet??}  She had beautiful and simple designs, and so I reached out to her about getting two custom prints done.  The first, for Ant's mom was a quote from "You are my sunshine" which has always had special meaning to them.  For my mom, we used a part of the poem that she would be reading during our ceremony by e.e. cummings.  Sarah did a beautiful job with the wording and watercolors!  Each one is unique and special, exactly what we were looking for!

For the second part of the gift, we worked with Kelley from Aquinnah Jewelry {now also on Etsy!} to create pieces for each of our moms.  She had recently posted pictures of new butterfly charms she had that I absolutely LOVED.  I had her make a gold butterfly necklace for my MIL, and silver butterfly earrings with pearl accents for my mom!

What did you give your mother on your wedding day?? Or if you aren't married yet....what are you getting mom for mother's day???  It is coming up in just a couple weeks and I am ALWAYS looking for good ideas for our mommas :)

xoxo

The Little Things: Flower Girl Gifts

Happy {almost} New Year!!!  Last week was a total whirlwind....I had an amazing time celebrating the holidays with our family, and then we spent the weekend in Boston visiting friends from school!  I can't wait to share some of the really special newlywed gifts we received this year....but in the meantime I'm going to play a little bit of catch up with some posts I've been meaning to share...

I was very stumped on what I was going to get my flower girls as a gift on our wedding day.  There are so many cute ideas on Etsy and all of the wedding websites, but none of them were really tailored to flower girls as young as mine (ages 3 and 18 months).  So I decided to get creative!  I found these adorable customizable crayon rolls on Etsy, so I got them each one in our wedding colors - navy and blush!  {**Side note, this shop makes only the most adorable things.  I am not very frequently shopping for small children, but if I were....I would spend way more time here!**}  I then bought them each crayons to fill them, a number of Crayola activities books and a mini set of blocks.  They were so cute and simple - and I figured might be a good form of entertainment for the girls later on in the night!!

I love the way they came out - nothing too over the top but definitely special and designed for them, as a way to remember the day!  What did you get your flower girls on your wedding day??

xoxo

30 days as Mrs. Mascia.

Ant - When you asked me to marry you, you said we would be embarking on a journey of trust, teamwork, communication, growth and success.

Today, in front of our friends and family, I vow to love and cherish you every day of this journey for the rest of our lives. 

You make me a better, more patient person.  I promise to continue to learn your patience; it is something that never ceases to amaze me. 

For better or worse, I promise to communicate.  You and I know that this is what sets us apart.

There is absolutely no one on this planet who makes me laugh harder than you.  I vow to do everything I can to bring as much joy to your life as you have to mine.

No matter how busy our lives may get, I promise to put you and us first, always.  You always challenge me to be better, and together there is nothing we can’t do.

Ant, I promise you a life full of adventure.  Whether it be discovering the world around us or the adventure of starting our own family, I vow to make every day with you count.  You are my partner and my best friend.

I can’t wait to see what our life brings us, because I know that in the end, I will only love you more.

Happy 1 Month, Mr. Mascia - xoxo

#becomingmrsmascia

Tonight Ant and I are officially kicking off the wedding festivities, by hosting a few members of the bridal party over at the house!!!  Tomorrow everyone has an early start {the boys are playing paintball and the girls are getting our nails done} so anyone who has a longer drive is crashing at our place.  We've got the grill and the fire pit ready to go!  Tomorrow is our rehearsal dinner, and then Friday Ant and I are getting married!  AHHHH.  I can't believe it's so soon - and we legitimately could not be more excited.

Needless to say, I won't have time to blog.  Ant and I head off to Antigua early Sunday, and will be back on Saturday the 16th!  While I'm gone, my MOH will post a few guest posts - because she is marvelous! So look forward to those, and I promise to fill you in on everything as soon as I'm back!!

The next time you hear from me, I'll be Mrs. Mascia! xoxo

My Favorite Seven: ALLY & SARA

Alright, so in this case it's safe to say I saved the best for last...my sisters!!!  Everyone: meet the Tewksbury ladies - Ally and Sara!  You don't get to pick your family, so it's safe to say I lucked out with these two.  They love me even though I have always been the bossy big sister, and are my biggest cheerleaders and support system.  You will never meet two ladies who love and live harder than these two.  Ally is pursing a career in the veterinary field, and Sara is about to be a senior {OMG} at UConn.  I couldn't be more proud of both of them and the things they are accomplishing.  I am also thankful that they love Ant almost as much as I do, and are looking forward to having him around as an "official" part of the family!  

xoxo

My Favorite Seven: KATIE

Ohhhh, where do I begin!  It's time to introduce you to roomie - the krunk to my roach.  Some people also call her Katie!  Katie and I met freshman year...we lived across the hall from each other on the 6th floor of Shippee, the honors dorm.  Katie and I both had less than ideal roommates - and that along with all of the million other things we had in common brought us together pretty quickly.  We ended up living together the next three years at UConn, and she's been stuck with me ever since.  Katie is my rock.  She tells it how it is, in a way that I've always loved and admired - she's my go to for an honest opinion on literally ANYTHING {wedding planning has tested this theory}.  Her advice is usually very sound - except this one time when I met a cute boy.  She told me I needed to stop staring at him from across the room, and I'd like to argue that the excessive staring worked out prettttttty well for me ;)

Katie and I have literally traveled the world together - we started our traveling sophomore year of college when we took a pretty hardcore road trip around the U.S....and visited each other when we studied abroad in Italy and Spain our junior year!  {we have matching tattoos from her visit to Spain!} I am so lucky that no matter which directions our lives have gone, and will continue to go, I know I will always have her love and support - our wedding, and the marriage that follows just wouldn't be the same without her!