This is coming from the new Mrs. Fujii!! I am writing this after our honeymoon, but wanted to take the time to chronicle all of the perfection of our wedding and the days leading up to it. For those of you who were there, Mike and I felt so blessed by your love, support, laughter, drinking, dancing and celebrating. It truly was a night to remember, which is why I want to take the time to write about it, while it is still (relatively) fresh in my memory!
So, taking it back to Wednesday, July 14. Mike and I agreed that it was really important for us to have a "final" date night - a night where we could connect and just be together before all of the madness started - keep things in perspective. We went on on Wednesday night for drinks/appetizers/sushi. Here we are - relaxed, and ready for the party!
It was such a relaxing night, and it was really fun to just hang out, talk about last minute things, laugh and connect - after all, that is why we are getting married, right?
After that nigh of R&R, the fun began!! People started arriving Thursday morning, and kept on coming all the way through Saturday morning! Thank goodness, too, because we really ended up needing a LOT of help!!
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| My two Kristin Fashionista Bridesmaids Hot Gluein'!! |
We were able to rally many of our wonderful friends Thursday afternoon - we needed help with the flowers, bubbles and crane arrangements! We seriously underestimated how long everything would take and really didn't see the full scope of what had to get done until Thursday! We gathered at the Fujii's house, and garage, and got to work! We mostly focused on those cranes - 1,000 is a LOT of cranes to figure out what to do with! Mike and I had worked on stringing them (basically sewing the cranes onto fishing line with a needle) earlier in the week. With our flower plan changing a bit late in the game, we thought it would be a great idea to string them behind where we would stand for the ceremony, and then to have them strung across where people would be sitting. So, our little helpers had to fluff them out (pull the wings out so that it looked like an actual bird and not a squashed piece of paper!), and then to put small dabs of hot glue under each one so that it looked like it was floating! A lot of work, even for all of those worker bees! We also had to cut up watermelon, into perfect squares (according to Mike), for our signature watermelon based cocktail. All of this had to happen between 12:00 (when most of the bridal party had arrived), and 6:00 when we were leaving for the cocktail hour! We go so much done, which definitely would have been impossible, if it weren't for our wonderful friends. Here are some photos of everyone working!
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| Our "Reverend" and Crane Master - Brian |
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Erik - Melon Cutting Master!
Seriously - an amazing guy. Met him the morning this was taken, and he helped us SO much!!! |
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| E-Dogg - supervising crane production lines |
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| Monica - fluffing cranes |
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| This is Jack, in "recovery" - what a trooper! |
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| The centerpieces - just waiting for those roses to be placed!! |
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| The doggies were helping too! |
Many people told me that nobody would remember those details, so I was torn about how much time we were spending. But I really think that those cranes made the wedding. They were so bright and simple - I loved them. If you don't remember cranes being at the wedding, don't tell me that. Let me live on with the fantasy that they were amazing :)
After all of that hard, and HOT work (no A/C in the garage!), we were off for cocktails. Mike and I wanted to try and reconnect and get good energy going before Saturday's event! It was a fun little meet and greet with good food, drinks and company!! We went to one of Mike's and my favorite cocktail places - they have great drinks, calamari and pizza! Yum!
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| Dad and sisters |
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| Seriously - I have the hottest friends around. |
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| Nick and Rev. B - plus 1/2 of Erik's head! |
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| Back at our house for champagne and red velvet cake (from Costco of course!) |
We then had a MASSIVE sleepover at the house - 9 people in all! It was crazy getting up and ready in the morning, but fun having everyone under the same roof. Craziness is par for the course with a wedding, so why not ensure complete mayhem!
Friday, the girls went for some coffee and a quick breakfast before treating ourselves to a manicure and pedicure. It was very fun and relaxing girl time - one of my very favorite things in the world! My other bridesmaid, Brittney, and dear friend Jen drove in that morning and met us at the nail salon, so our group was complete!
After our nails were all gussied up, we grabbed lunch and checked into our hotel so that we could get ready for the rehearsal dinner!! We met back at our house, where my friend Mira treated us to Kukui necklaces - a Hawaiian wedding tradition. She is so thoughtful, and even managed to get one of our wedding colors in there! We rallied the troops at our house and then caravaned to the location - we wanted to make sure everyone arrived (it is, as you found, a bit out there!).
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My rehearsal bouquet - courtesy of all of my lovely gifts, crafted by my MOH - Emily
(As cheesy as it is, I love this tradition!) |
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| Mike in his necklace! Thank you Mir!! |
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| Crane fluffing! |
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Our lovely necklaces, from a lovely
friend |
When we arrived at the location, it just took my breath away. The chairs were set up, and that was it. But my heart just sailed looking at how beautiful it all was, and knowing that Mike and I would be getting married in that very place in just a few short hours. During the rehearsal, we strung some of the cranes, and did some prep work, and practiced walking down the aisle (who went at what time, etc.). For all of the practicing, I did forget to do a few things...guess I should have paid better attention! Walking down the aisle with my parents that first time, my dad gave me the longest hug I think he has ever given me. I started crying, lost it actually - and so did some of the groomsmen!! Wouldn't you know it, I forgot to huge him on the actual day!
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| Walking with the parents! |
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| Two of my favorite ladies |
From there, after a successful run through and approval from our planner, Marcia, we headed to our rehearsal dinner at Bucca di Beppo. Mike's parents picked out this venue, and I have to say, it was absolutely perfect. It totally fit with the vibe of our entire wedding, and was such a fun and low key gathering - just our style! This was the first time I got to see all of my family who had come in from the east coast, which is always fun as I don't get to see them very often. The food was delish, and we had two wonderful toasts from our amazing friends, Kristin and Nick. Kristin, who I met in college, cracked us up (as usual), and Nick almost outed my plans for Mike if he didn't propose! It was a great evening, made better by the presence of all of our family and friends.
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| Love this guy!! |
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| Didn't I say Kristin made us laugh? |
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Our toast masters <3
Even after all of that action, we still weren't done!! One of our good friends, Paul, has a brother who works for a wine bar by the hotel where we were staying. We went to the bar, and enjoyed a few glasses of wine and champagne together before turning in.
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Then the hair appointments started! I have a regular stylist who does wedding day hair, so I was glad to have someone I knew pretty well with me on the big day. We were in the styling process for 3 hours - 2 girls each hour. Thank goodness we had a big bathroom with plenty of room!! Everyone of my girls looked so amazing - they look that way every day. But they looked especially amazing on our wedding day!
The flowers also arrived at the hotel and looked AMAZING!! Our "reverend" Brian flew his cousin in from LA, and she did our bouquets for us, so that Jack didn't overdo it! They were exactly what I wanted and looked amazing. So bright and simple - just what I had envisioned! Thank you Megan!!!
We hopped in Mike's car (driven by my sister) and headed toward the venue. We were early (just my style) and so we hung out for a bit in the bridal salon, waiting for people to arrive, and for five o' clock to come! Kristin D. arrived with an assortment of random snacks for us (deli meat, potato chips, Funyuns, you name it!) We hung out and told stories and laughed for about an hour and a half. Many great girly moments. It seemed like forever, but finally Marcia came in and told us to get ready. The maids walked out first, and then she came back with my dad for our grand entrance. It is hard to describe the feeling of that moment. Excitement, disbelief, bliss - all of it, all at once. It is surreal - beyond surreal. I mean, I have been imagining that moment for such a long time, and it was happening. It was unreal, and wonderful.
