Diary of a Manhattan Actress's Wedding

NYC Bee Meetup!

2011-10-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, some lovely ladies gathered for a Monday night happy hour and discussed all things wedding. Yes, even those of us who are long married :)

Top Row (L-->R): Mrs. Star, Miss Holly, sarahbabs, LGenz, Riki_Bay, bRooklynRocks, jmbrick, redheadem
Bottom Ros (L-->R): KatNYC2011, NYCcaliBride, dovelovesfalcon

It was a really fun time, and I know I had a wonderful time meeting everyone!

Big thanks to sarahbabs for organizing the meetup, and for all of the ladies who came to hang out, especially KatNYC2011 and Miss Holly, who spent the Monday night of their wedding weeks hanging with us!

Looking forward to the next one!

A Star-Studded Cotton Anniversary

2011-10-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

It almost doesn't seem real that it's been two whole years since I donned the most beautiful dress of my life:

Married the man who stole my heart:

Made 80 of my favorite people in the world ride on the subway with us:

Proceeded to dance 'til we dropped:

Spent a lot of time canoodling in Grand Central Station:

Had the most bangin' weekend of my life with my friends and family:

And took this epic trip with my brand new husband:

Last year, we celebrated our Paper Anniversary with an overnight trip to a swanky B&B, complete with defrosted wedding cake and paper-themed gifts (I gave him a hand cut paper silhouette made from one of our wedding pictures, complete with our pups added in; he gave me an ad in one of the big New York newspapers that featured a picture of us and a declaration of his love).

This year, we'll be celebrating at a fancy restaurant downtown with cotton-themed gifts (looking forward to giving him his and seeing what his creativity came up with this year!) and cupcakes from the bakery that made our wedding cake (shh...it's a surprise!).

One of the things that continues to surprise me about marriage is how much more deeply we love each other with the passing days. It sounds like a lame cliche, but I promise that it's every bit as true as you're hoping it is. Engagement was exciting, fun, and new, but marriage is warm, secure, and contented. We've had some rocky times in our lives, and we've had some fabulous ones, but the thing that has been constant is our unmoving partnership. And that feeling is one of the best in the world.

Happy Cotton Anniversary, Mr. Star. Looking forward to next year's Leather Anniversary (sorry, couldn't resist, friends!) :)

If you're new to the Star story, head on over to my Snapshot Sunday post for a good place to get started. And if you really miss me, remember I'm never further than a tweet away!

*Photos courtesy of John Martin Photography*

A Star-Studded Snapshot Sunday

2011-08-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hello there, Hive! Long time no see! I have missed you all so. So as soon as I heard all of us Old Bees were getting to share our weddings again, I jumped at the chance! Are you ready to dive right back in to our day? I sure am!

Mr. & Mrs. Star

Photo by Lauren Brimall Photography

Budget: $20k
City: New York City
Venues: Ceremony -- The Kraine Theater, Reception -- The Midtown Loft & Terrace
Wedding Date: October 11, 2009
Bridal Gown Designer: Stephen Yearick #13068
Florist: Ariston Florist
Photographer: John Martin Photography
Videographer: Skyler Miolla
Music: Talented DJ Friendor Rob
Transportation: NYC subway and taxis
Stationery: Handmade by us
Cake: Make My Cake Bakery
Catering: Exquisite Catering
Coordination: Danielle at 44 Events
Favors: Masquerade masks made by us
Centerpieces: Glass candlesticks lovingly thrifted and purple taper candles
First Dance Choreography: Whitney Stone Choreography
Hair: Jose at Eruan Salon & Spa
Bridesmaids' Dresses: Saison Blanche from Here Comes the Bridesmaid
Spouse's attire and Menswear: Rented tuxes from Men's Warehouse
Honeymoon: Two amazing weeks in Greece (Athens and Santorini)
"Day After" Photography: Lauren Brimhall Photography

Our theme was best described as: elegant/dramatic/New York City/acting-themed/polka-dotted/largely-DIY, and I was working off an inspiration board I made that featured deep purple and polka dots:

And so, without further ado, here are the wedding pictures! :)

Thanks for giving me the chance to relive such an amazingly beautiful and love-filled day! Don't worry, I'll be back to check in again on our second anniversary, which is coming right up! :)

To see more of the Star wedding goodness, check out my recaps here:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

Our Peeps

You Can't Rain On My Parade!

Subway Saga

Next Stop -- Grand Central Station!

We Had The Time of Our Lives

We're Movie "Stars"!

Gratuitous Detail Shots

Friends, Family, and Fun

Shake Your Booty

*All photos, unless otherwise marked, are the work of John Martin Photography*

A Star-Studded Paper Anniversary

2010-10-11T07:57:00.000-07:00

Folks, can you believe it? It's time to open the freezer door, grab the biggest tiny-new-york-freezer-space-sucking-box out of there, and start thawing this puppy out:

You know what that means! Yep, today is our first anniversary. Time sure does fly, doesn't it?

One year ago today, we were partying it up New York Style to celebrate our love.

...with our nearest and dearest friends and family, all goofballs, of course...

...and with all of the Hive cheering us on, as well.

We spent the beginning of our anniversary weekend reliving our Greek honeymoon at the Greek Festival in Queens:

And are headed out to spend the night at the shore in this gorgeous bed 'n breakfast:

Where they have promised to give us a private showing of our wedding video in their little movie theater!

And we will be exchanging our paper-themed anniversary gifts (we've decided to try to stick to the traditional themes each year!). It sounds incredibly peaceful and romantic, and just the way I'd like to end a blissful first year of marriage.

When I first applied to write for Weddingbee, I thought I was just going to be blogging about cake and DIY boutonnieres. And actually, I didn't even think I could write for beans. I had no idea that, not only would I discover a whole new love of blogging, but more importantly, I was really becoming a part of such an incredible community where I would find emotional support during the rollercoaster ride of engagement and beyond, incredible resourcefulness when my best-laid plans went awry, and a whole slew of new friends to be made, both online and in person.

So to you, Hive, I want to say thank you. Thank you for supporting us and "beeing" our friends.

I would never say goodbye because, a whole year later, I still read Weddingbee every day, and I'm sure I'll want to pop in every now and then to share something with you all. But my time writing exhaustively about our wedding is done, and I hope you'll come visit me over at my personal blog, Diary of a Manhattan Actress, in my Etsy shop, and on Twitter, where I continue to love crafting, am still a pretty "young-ish" (haha) wife, and I write about what it's like to be a newlywed working actress living in the city that never sleeps.

To my unbelieveably wonderful husband:

May every year be as beautiful as this one has been. May we never stop wanting to hold hands. And may we never forget the overpowering love and joy we felt on our wedding day. Our lives are truly one adventure after the next, and there's no one I'd want by my side for all of it besides you.

Adieu for now, mes amis,

Mrs. O'Star.

*Photo credit for wedding pictures goes to John Martin Photography, Bed 'n Breakfast pictures are via Cashelmara Inn, and the final picture is credited to Lauren Brimhall Photography*

A Not So Trashed Dress Trashing

2010-08-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

Hey, Hive! Remember me, Mrs. Star? I've shared every little detail of our wedding with you, but I've held back a few secrets still...like this gorgeous little photo shoot we did! I'm still unsure of what to call it. A "day-after shoot"? Wellll, we did it three months after our wedding. A "trash the dress"? You all know I love my dress wayyy too much to trash it ;)

So anyways, we found an amazing budding photographer who was looking to expand her portfolio and I squeezed back into my dress with the help of Mr. Star to capture some more couple portraits that we hadn't had time to get in the hustle and bustle of our wedding day (remember how I wanted pictures on the steps of the Public Library?). Take a look at what we got!

All photographs are the work of the awesome Lauren Brimhall Photography.

We started off taking a few solo portraits (not of me, of my dress, haha...).

Then we got all snuggly up on our rooftop, partly because we love to snuggle and partly because it was a below freezing day in January!

Mr. Star lifted me and my very heavy dress up to nab that shot.

And Starbucks graciously allowed us to do some snuggling up with our lattes. Like I said, there was a lot of snuggling going on that day!

Yeah, we love each other :)

We grabbed a drink for two in our local pub...

...And I adore this shot of us because Lauren made us look so hot! Who knew we could look so hot?

Then we made it over to the steps of the library for some truly epic shots.

My dress was so happy to finally be getting its time to shine on the steps of the library! But I saved my very favorite photo for last. I just adore how urban "Gone With the Wind" it is and how much we clearly adore each other:

We were so happy to get some great shots thanks to Lauren's talent, and to be able to get some more couple portraits in the spots that we didn't have time to hit on our busy wedding day!

Are you planning on doing a "day-after"/"trash the dress" shoot? What different looks or locations would you incorporate if you did?

Miss Star = A Rock 'n Roll Bride?

2010-06-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

Some of you might remember that way back when I was a fresh, new Bee, I entered us into a contest over on Rock 'n Roll Bride to win a free "Love Story Video." Although I never mentioned it here on the blog, I know many of you noticed it was us and were a big support during the contest voting -- we really appreciated it!

For those of you who didn't see the contest, it was about a "New York Love Story." So here's our entry:

(Photo by John Martin Photography)

"Our first date was a unique combination of a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and dinner at the crowded Hard Rock Café in Times Square – you have to excuse our touristy bent back then, we were NYC newbies! At that point, moving to the city from Long Island was a dream on the imminent horizon of college graduation. A dream that terrified and thrilled us both, much like our own relationship at first. We moved in shortly thereafter and began to make a grown-up life together working in showbiz and becoming New Yorkers.

You see, our relationship with each other has always echoed our feelings for New York herself. New York demands that you earn the right to stay here, but in return offers a relationship that matures and deepens from those first star-struck days. You grow with New York. And there are always new things to explore.

Our absolute favorite thing to do together is to sneak in under the ropes closing off Bryant Park after-hours and just lay together in the middle of that big, open lawn and feel the awesomeness of being one with each other and one with such a great city. We love the park so much that we had our engagement tea party catered there beneath the trees.

We were adamant that we had to be married in New York, even though our families are both from opposite ends of the country. New York is home to us, and we want the official and legal start of the rest of our lives together to be right here on this teeming and vibrant island, within the city that both tests and buoys our love each and every day."

Thanks to our awesome family and friends (both real-life, and internet!), we won the contest! So just before we got married, we spent a day filming a video about our love story and how it relates to New York City. Wanna see? Don't judge us too harshly, being interviewed is harder than it looks! :)

Thanks so much to everyone who voted for us (and especially those of you who defended us against some snarky remarks in the comments section!).

How would you tell your love story in a video? What would be in it?

A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: Shake Your Booty

2010-06-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

So I know I've kind've left you hanging on the Reception pictures. My bad. Please forgive me?

I've already written before about how one of our incredibly generous friends gifted us his professional DJ services (thank you, thank you, thank you, Rob!). He pretty much saved our butts on that front, because I didn't think I could deal with much more planning by the time choosing what to do about music came around.

He did a great job of mixing in his DJ expertise with our carefully crafted "please play!" list. I mean, who wouldn't want to dance along to stuff like this:

Play it! You know you want to.

Now it sounds like a party up in here.

We're not usually huge party people or huge dancing people or anything like that, but let me tell you, the Stars know how to throw a party when the occasion calls for it:

Even my little sister and parents got in on the party action:

I took a moment out to dance with my new Dad, too:

(Personal Photo)

And Mr. Star took more than a few moments out to goof around with his high school buddies, whom he rarely gets to see anymore. You can see that the purple rock candy on a stick that I had places on the tables was a big hit:

And so were the masquerade masks. One of my favorite things that came about that night was how many brand new friends and connections were made:

(Personal Photo)

Not to mention, my husband had a dance-off with his father and brothers...

...that ended in more than one backflip and handstand...

...and yes, that is my brand new husband doing the worm at our wedding:

Old pals shared laughter:

And our beautiful friends were the most lively and fun guests to be had:

There's nothing like a good girl dance to have a great time:

And we think the fact that a great percentage of our guest list was on the younger side made for the awesomely silly moments like this:

But it wasn't just the younger folk having a blast, my wonderfully un-Mother-of-the-Bride-like Mom was partying it up, too.

(Personal Photo)

And many of our guests grabbed us to get a pose in with their masks:

Little Sister Star adored hers, too:

(Personal Photo)

And we danced until the night was over and I quite literally couldn't stand up anymore...

Many of our guests commented that we had the liveliest dance floor they'd ever seen at a wedding. I think it was the combination of our "younger" guest list, how fun our theatre kid friends are, the coolness factor of both of our families, the relatively small (80+) guest list, and the celebratory atmosphere we strove so hard to create that did it.

Are you planning on dancing it up at your wedding? What do you think will add to your party atmosphere?

*All photos by John Martin Photography, except where noted*

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

Our Peeps

You Can't Rain On My Parade!

Subway Saga

Next Stop -- Grand Central Station!

We Had The Time of Our Lives

We're Movie "Stars"!

Gratuitous Detail Shots

Friends, Family, and Fun

A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: Friends, Family, and Fun

2010-04-28T20:04:00.000-07:00

So...yeah...recaps...umm, where were we? Oh yeah, that's right. I last left you with some detail shots, our movie trailer, and our awesome first dance!

After we came off the incredible high of our first dance, we sat down to grab a quick bite and toast to a fabulous evening. My incredibly awesome Maid of Honor gave the first toast and warmed all of our hearts.

I love how luxe our chair bows look. And I try not to look at those damn red cups.

My Mom gave a very sweet and funny toast, as well, where she mentioned how we when got engaged she had asked us to wait a couple of years to get married and, as it turns out, we were getting married nearly two years to the day that Mr. Star asked her for her blessing to propose. Haha.

We opened up the floor to any of our friends and family who wanted to speak for a minute, and some of our people gave lovely and heartfelt toasts.

And Mr. Star's wonderful Dad closed out the toasts by saying how proud he was of us and how moving our ceremony was to him.

We were so happy to be married (and happy to be sitting down for a brief moment):

But we quickly scarfed down a few bites and then made the rounds to squeeze all of our loved ones and show off our rings, of course.

Even in the spotlight, we found an intimate moment or two...

And our families took the time to create new family bonds together. My little sister fell in love with Mr. Star's youngest brother after what a chivalrous gentleman he was to her all night, even going so far as to dance on his knees to be at her level:

And we each spent a few moments with our own families, as well. Baby Sister Star was on her best and cutest behavior.

And you would never know from this picture how much Mr. Star's Momma loves him, right?

We got to cut into our (delicious!) cake and got one of those classic we're-cutting-the-cake-together-as-a-symbol-of-our-new-lifetime-partnership shots:

But this picture is really more "us," complete with me making a goofy face and my little sister standing just out of arm's reach, waiting for the very first slice of cake to come off of that table. In all fairness, we'd been bribing her through non-kid-friendly tasks like getting her hair curled all day with the promise of cake.

My brand-new husband gave me a dollop of frosting on my nose as a wedding gift. I was amused that he had the guts to do it (knowing how particular I am about my makeup!), and I love how proud of himself he looks in this picture:

That bite of cake was the only wedding cake I got that night, although I hear it was mighty tasty. Our frozen top tier had better be good or I'm going to be sorely disappointed. Only five months and thirteen days to go...not that I'm counting or anything.

We even stole away from the party for a few minutes to grab some gorgeous shots up on the terrace. What a killer view, no?

We could've gotten more shots, but I was anxious to get back to the party because everyone was having so much fun. Just wait until you see the dancing shots and you'll understand why. We have my husband doing the worm captured on camera. Not to mention, my new Father-in-Law doing a backflip. No joke.

*All photos by John Martin Photography*

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

Our Peeps

You Can't Rain On My Parade!

Subway Saga

Next Stop -- Grand Central Station!

We Had The Time of Our Lives

We're Movie "Stars"!

Gratuitous Detail Shots

I Now Pronounce You...Mr. and Mrs. Star...Officially!

2010-04-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

Unlike most couples, who either maintain their individual last names after the wedding or have their common surname bestowed upon them nearly instantly by their marriage license, our shared last name was six months in the making. And our new last name was bestowed upon us by a surly county clerk in a dingy office. But that's beside the point.

I wrote about our unique name change decision before, so I won't bore you with how incredibly awesome my husband is again, but I just wanted to thank you all for your support and well-wishes and announce that we have completed the many steps to officially change our names together!

After the hours of trying to figure out what paperwork we needed, the four trips downtown to the civil court, the hundreds of dollars in fees, a publication in The Irish Echo newspaper, and at least a migraine or two, we finally get to start right where brides who change their names on their marriage certificate start the day after their honeymoon -- with trips to the DMV, Social Security Card funtimes, and sit-downs with the bank manager.

Sure, it's been a royal pain-in-the-you-know-what, but worth it? You betcha. We both walked around with giddy grins on all day yesterday and even felt the urge to go out to a celebratory brunch! We finally feel like our marriage is "complete," so to speak.

Care to share your name change headaches to help make us feel better?

Oohing and Aahing my way through my first runway show -- St. Pucchi!

2010-04-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Mrs. D'Orsay and I had the honor of representing Weddingbee at the New York bridal market St. Pucchi runway show. We had a blast sipping on our mimosas and getting tempted into planning vow renewals by the fabulous dresses. Despite the fact that Mr. Star and I live three blocks from Bryant Park, this was my first ever runway show and I might just be hooked. Check out this eye candy and you'll see why!

This collection was allll about Romance and Drama, which is totally my thing, in case you hadn't guessed. These gowns were not built for the practical bride, but rather for the one who truly believes in pain and beauty being bedfellows. I'm one of those crazies, which is why I had both a stunning wedding dress and was barely able to walk the day after our wedding, but I digress. Here are some of the trends I noticed from the show:

1. Lace or ruffles and bling on the same dress. Usually, a wedding dress either falls into the "sweet and romantic and lacy" category or the "bling it up" category, but not both. There was a whole lot of crossover in this show, which was very interesting to see because it was so unexpected. Check out these gorgeous lacy dresses that also feature some bling:

(Photo Credit to AisleDash)

And this dress, which was my personal favorite from the show, features a decadently beaded top half and a bottom cascading with soft ruffles. Love it!

(Photo scanned from the St. Pucchi press kit we were given at the show)

2. Tulle used in unexpected ways. I think by now everyone expects to see tulle in wedding dress designs, so there's no big shocker there, but I liked the innovative ways that tulle was incorporated into the St. Pucchi dresses. Take this dress, for example, which has tiers of mini "tulle puffs," which is the best way I can describe them (hey, I'm no fashion pro here):

(Photo by Patrick Ryan Photography)

And this dress features layers of folded over and pinned up tulle, which I think makes for an interesting texture:

(Photo by Patrick Ryan Photography)

Both of those dresses had bling on them, too. This was not a show for the lovers of simplicity :)

3. Corsets, corsets, corsets! There were sheer corsets, there were opaque corsets, there were lace up corsets, there were...okay, you get the point. Lots of corsets in this show, which I love for creating or emphasizing beautiful hourglass figures. I'm not the biggest fan of sheer corsets in wedding dresses myself, but I do love a good rocker chick who can pull one off.

(Featuring my sad photography skills)

4. Highly detailed gowns. Every gown in this show was worked! Not overworked, but worked. There was beading, there was extraordinarily intricate lace, and there were stunning details everywhere. Just take a look at this beading:

(Hey, did you know how hard it is to photograph white gowns on the runway? Me neither)

5. Lots of dropped waists. There were many gowns that featured dropped waist silhouettes. Gorgeous, but maybe a bit tough to pull off?

(Photo by Patrick Ryan Photography)

6. Floral detailing. There were some pretty incredible floral details and the cool thing was that they weren't all the same. There was lace and embroidery with floral themes:

(Photo by Patrick Ryan Photography)

There were whole crystal and fabric flowers on the strap and running down the side of this dress:

(Photo by me)

There were dainty rosettes on the entirety of this gown:

(Photo by Patrick Ryan Photography)

Flowers showed up everywhere, but no two sets of floral details were the same.

7. The influence of bygone eras. The first thing we saw when we walked into the salon was this dress:

(Photo by my iPhone)

This and a couple of other dresses with similar silhouettes screamed Marie Antoinette to me. But in a good way.

8. The Fairytale motif. We saw a couple of dresses that really made me feel like I had been instantly transported into the middle of a fairytale. Even the model was made up to look soft and fairy-like:

(Unprofessional photography by moi)

9. Very dramatic trumpets. Many of the dresses in the collection were trumpet-shaped. Not just trumped-shaped, though, we're talking very, very fitted and then a dramatic flair into a chapel train. Very pretty and very dramatic. Sorry I don't have a picture that shows this better.

(Photo obviously by me)

10. Accessory trend: headband bling. Each and every one of the models had a killer headband worked into her updo and they were fabulous. I guess the headband trend is here to stay for another year!

(More by me, I was snapping away!)

I hope you loved seeing these gorgeous dresses as much as I did. We've only been married six months and I already fell in love with about three new wedding dresses at this show!

Cheap City Chic

2010-04-11T18:58:00.000-07:00

One of the other things I wanted to write about before my brief time here is up is to level with you all for a minute about us and our city wedding. You see, I had my heart set on having a city wedding. Not just a city wedding, but a Manhattan wedding. Because, quite frankly, I thought I might die if I didn't get some pictures like this:

Trouble is, everything is more expensize in Manhattan. Everything. You don't believe me? I bought a 1 lb bag of bread flour from the grocery store the other day that cost $7. Case in point. And you know what else is involved in that picture up there? A very, very way-out-of-my-budget gown.

So we had to get a little creative in thinking of ways to cut costs to get both our Manhattan wedding and my dream dress (that Mr. Star was 1000% supportive of, I'll have you know -- he's a keeper). I thought I'd share some of our ideas with you, in the hopes that those of you planning a metropolitan wedding on a normal-sized budget might get some inspiration and begin to believe again that it IS possible! I sometimes found it hard to get ideas because we didn't exactly have what many would consider a shoestring budget thanks to the generous help from our parents, but it sure seemed that way a lot of the time with the crazy vendor quotes we got ($15k for catering for 80 people, not including alcohol?!?).

One of the more typical ways we chose to save was the have the wedding on a sunday night. The sunday night of Columbus Day Weekend, to be exact. Sure, we were that bride and groom who "forced" people to spend their holiday weekend with us, but I think everyone involved would say it was worth it and besides, Columbus Day isn't a real holiday, right? Riiiight...

(photo credit)

We also chose to have our ceremony in a very unconventional spot. Rather than being charged thousands of dollars for a "wedding ceremony venue," we managed to nap a fabulous and unique location -- our theater -- for a couple of hundred dollars. A steal. This would work equally well with the NYC Parks if you wanted an outdoor wedding (they only charge a very small permit fee, even for Bryant Park!), or any number of other unexpected indoor venues. The sky's the limit as far as creative locations go!

We really chose our vendors carefully and got some great deals. Our incredible photographer was a friendor who has fabulous and affordable rates. Our DOC (mandatory for me!) was just starting her company up and I found her offering low introductory rates here on the WB Classifieds so she could build her portfolio. Our DJ was also a talented friendor who gifted (gifted!!) his wonderful work to us as a wedding gift. If you are lucky enough to have people like this in your life, take advantage of all the help you can get! And as I've mentioned before, we found our videographer on craigslist and she was also offering very affordable introductory rates to build her portfolio, plus we asked for the gift of videography from some family members who were brave enough to ask us what we wanted! :) I say, never hesitate to take a chance on vendors who are just starting out. When you meet with people, you can tell if they're up to the challenge!

Be flexible with your expectations in areas where you're okay with compromising. I didn't want to compromise on having a wedding in Manhattan or on my dress, so I was flexible with my other expectations. Like, no limo. Good god, do you know how much it costs to rent a limo in Manhattan? Take a taxi. Or the subway. If you really want to have an affordable city wedding, you can't have everything. You can either have a five-course plated dinner OR a couture gown. Sometimes, you're just going to have to compromise, so decide what is not negotiable to you and go from there!

(photo credit)

We also added a LOT of DIY details to cut down on labor costs -- invitations, my veils, our centerpieces...the list goes on. Anything I thought I could make myself (and there are some truly incredible tutorials and inspiration ideas here on WB!) that would be more unique because of it or save us money, I did! Can you say dress money?

A lot of brides getting married in smaller towns lament the lack of options they have when purchasing wedding supplies (I'm pretty sure Mrs. Mary Jane mentioned this), and no doubt, that must be very frusterating. We don't have that problem here in NYC, but we do have another one: a gazillion very over-priced stores with wedding supplies! Sure, I love Papyrus and Kate's Paperie and M&J Trim as much as anyone else, but if I was going to be DIYing projects to save us money, shopping for supplies at those stores wasn't gonna cut it. To combat this, I did a LOT of poking around in hole-in-the-wall garment district shops (one of my favorites is Carnival Trim on 38th between 5th and 6th, if you're wondering!). I also ordered a lot of supplies online from places like Etsy and Ebay. I know it seems counter-intuitive to order a spool of purple ribbon when you literally live right above a store that sells ribbon, but when you can get 100 yards of it for $10, you start to understand why!

We even managed to have an incredible dream honeymoon on top of everything with some creative ideas and more help from our loved ones. We had originally intended on a Mediterranean cruise, but then found out that my parents had bought a worldwide timeshare membership that allowed us to buy a week at a time in any of their affiliated resorts worldwide, which are all five-star resorts. So we were a little flexible and changed our cruise into one week outside of Athens and one week in Santorini and got both for a little over a thousand dollars. Do you know anyone with a timeshare membership? Hit them up!! We also used skymiles to fly over there (thanks, Doc!), which also required us to be flexible, but hello? Free flights. Did I mention be flexible?

Anyways, I hope a couple of these tips are helpful. You CAN have a big city wedding on a small town budget if you're creative and flexible.

What are your best big city cost-cutting tips?

*All wedding photos by John Martin Photography*

The Stars Brave the Name Change Storm Together

2010-03-21T16:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it really been two whole weeks since I wrote a post? Sorry, guys! This whole "finishing up my recaps" thing has been harder than I thought. I have a couple of posts I'd like to share with you before I finish up my recaps, though, so I'm gonna take a break and work on those if that's alright with you. We cool? I promise, I'll throw in some pretty pictures to help keep it interesting :)

One of the things I wanted to share with you is our version of the whole name change debacle. I know many lovely Bee ladies before me have written on the subject, but I'm pretty sure no one has made the crazy decision we did. What can I say? We're kinda weirdos, if you haven't already gathered from our theater space ceremony, our subway ride in my designer wedding gown, or our choreographed Dirty Dancing throwback first dance.

We had a couple of factors working in our case:

1. We're complete and total saps. I mean, come on, look at us:

Because we're such saps, it was really, really important to us that we share the same last name moving forward. We're all about creating a family together (including our two furbabies -- yep, I went there!), and being able to be a true Mr. and Mrs. together was one of our priorities.

2. My name really matters to my career. Yes, I am an actress. Yes, I am a working actress. And yes, how my name sounds to people really matters. There's a reason actors take stage names, and it's not just vanity. As an actor, you're basically creating a brand to be sold -- YOU (or me, rather) -- and your name is a big part of that brand. So, my name has to sound good. And sadly, my name doesn't sound that great with Mr. Star's last name. It's a little awkward. Kind've like this picture:

Okay, maybe that picture is more than a little awkward. And I don't have any idea what we were laughing about, for the record.

3. I really want to have the same last name as my kids. This goes back to the whole "sentimental sap" thing. And I know that if it's as important as it is to me that I share a last name with my husband, that it will be even more important to me that I share a last name with my kids when there's more of this in my life:

Isn't my baby sister the cutest?

4. I wasn't that attached to my maiden name and I officially have the coolest husband ever. I had no issue giving up my maiden name to create a new family with Mr. Star and he felt that it was more important for us to share a name than for him to stick with his, sooooo....

We decided to pick a totally new last name and BOTH change our names! I know, I told you we were crazy!

Shortly after we got engaged, we discussed all of these factors and we started brainstorming all of the potential new last names we might like. We started by trying to combine our two last names and woah, that didn't work at all. So then we started looking at lists of names wherever we found them -- in friends' graduation programs, online last name databases, etc., but it felt so impersonal to just choose a random name out of nowhere.

Finally, we decided to look back into our families' histories and put together a list of all of the last names that any of our family members went by and voila! We came across one that we both loved, that gives a hearty nod to both of our Irish heritages (O'names, anyone?), and decided to go for it!

The biggest downside to our decision is that we weren't able to both change our names via marriage certificate like you normally would, but instead have to go to civil court to do it! One day in court down, two more to go, so keep your fingers crossed for us that it all goes smoothly! Thankfully, our families and friends have been, on the whole, very supportive of our rather unconventional decision. And we love our new family identity.

Not to mention, I love telling people that we're both changing our names because it reminds me of why I love my mister oh-so-much -- he's just that awesome :)

Did you make an unconventional name change decision? Do you know of another couple that both gave up their "maiden names" like us, or are we the only weirdos?

*All photos by John Martin Photography *

A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: Gratuitous Detail Shots

2010-03-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

I hate to say it, folks, but we're nearing the end of the Star recaps. I know, I'm sad about it, too. I have a couple more picture-heavy posts to share with you and then a few posts about our name change decision (it's cool!), what I would do diferently, and some other wrap-ups, but I'm just about out of things to say as far as our wedding goes. Hence why the recaps are slowing down. I'm dragging my feet finished them because I don't want to be done 'round these parts! :)

I would like to share a little round-up of some of our wedding details, though, because I worked terribly hard on them and so I think they deserve their own little moment in the spotlight. Because we didn't want to spring for a second-shooter and we kept our photographer pretty busy throughout the day, I've included some non-pro pictures in here, but I hope you won't mind.

That said, one piece of advice that my DOC gave me was to arrange a little pile of things that I wanted photographed by a professional and have them laid out that morning for him. It was great advice, as he was able to just grab some pretty shots of a few things that would've been otherwise undocumented.

For instance, our invitations:

I know you already saw them way-back-when, but I love that they got a little pro pic of their own!

Our programs:

And the inside:

Major thanks to the Walker Family for helping me and Momma Star assemble these three weeks before the wedding. I'm not sure we would have had programs if it weren't for their help!

And we can't forget the lovely rehearsal bouquet that Fairy Bridesmaid made for me from my bridal shower ribbons:

Isn't it awesome how the ribbons matched our wedding color scheme? Yeah, I have awesome friends and family.

Compare that to my gorgeous wedding bouquet:

My favorite part of my bouquet was a tie between the fiddlehead ferns and the anemones with black centers, AKA polka dotted flowers :)

The boutonnieres that I made with love:

Our ceremony "props" were wine, chocolate, and printed copies of the readings, our vows, and the script for my stepdad.

I also made a suprise gift for Mr. Star to wear -- drama mask cufflinks! He loved them.

(personal photo)

Over at the reception, a very fuzzy shot of our Empire State Building card box next to a bridesmaid bouquet doing double duty as reception decor:

(personal photo taken by a friend, please excuse the quality)

These bouquet holders really helped me use our flower power to the max!

I love the way this shot shows our reception decor hard at work during cocktail hour -- we were still playing photo shoot over at Grand Central!

(personal photo taken by a friend)

Our videographer was kind enough to grab a table shot before the candles burned down.

(Photo by Skyler Miolla)

You can see our table numbers, menus titled "Eat Your Heart Out, Hollywood!", beautiful purple chair sashes, purple candy, and our mask favors hard at work up there.

Notice the plastic cups, as well? That was our one wedding day snafu. One of the hard parts about having your reception in a loft is that you usually have to bring absolutely everything in. We rented everything in that place, down to the forks and knives.

Well, the one big Star wedding day snafu happened because of the rental company, who forgot to bring the drinking glasses we ordered. And because I hadn't given my DOC a list of exactly what the rental company was responsible for versus what the caterer was bringing, she didn't know the glasses were missing until it was too late to do anything but grab plastic cups.

On that day, I was so head-over-heels happy that it didn't even bother me. Looking back, it is the one "what if I had...?" that tortures me. I don't like looking at the pictures with plastic cups in them (for real, right?), but we had such a fabulously incredible day and if the one big thing that went wrong was our guests didn't get glass drinking glasses, I guess I did pretty well, huh? At least it makes for some goofy pictures. Don't worry, you'll see :)

There. That was my big, dark wedding confession. Moving on.

Don't our mask favors look lovely at the place settings?

(Photo by Skyler Miolla)

And check out that purple rock and stick candy that I picked up at an old country store a few months before the wedding to dress up the tables. Of course, I had to paint polka dots on the vases for fun!

(personal photo taken by me)

And lastly (for now), check out our "guest book" wishing tree:

This picture was taken before the wedding at our apartment, but picture it covered in tags filled with happy messages from our loved ones!

(personal photo, taken by me)

I'm very proud of how our details came together, minus the plastic cup shenanigans. All I can say is I'm very glad we had a DOC so I didn't have to flip out about finding plastic cups half an hour before cocktail hour!

Engaged ladies -- what's your favorite wedding detail so far? Married ladies -- what wedding day detail haunts your dreams like my plastic cups?

*All photos by John Martin Photography, except where noted*

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

Our Peeps

You Can't Rain On My Parade!

Subway Saga

Next Stop -- Grand Central Station!

We Had The Time of Our Lives

We're Movie "Stars"!

A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: We're Movie "Stars"!

2010-02-25T06:21:00.000-08:00

If you're in the firm "we really don't need a videographer when we already have an awesome photographer" camp, then I totally get it. I was there. And then I saw wedding videos like Mrs. Kitten's, cried, and changed my mind, of course. SO glad I did.

I cry pretty much every time I watch it.

So now you're probably thinking, "oh, sure, Star, I'd love to get a videographer, but there's no way our budget can withstand one more assault." Well, here are my tips for bending that budget into submission. It was probably asking for it anyways.

1. Get a videographer as a gift. One of Mr. Star's close family friends asked us to tell them what we really wanted as a gift that would remind us of them whenever we used it. The perfect answer was for them to help us get a wedding video. They loved the idea, and we really do think of them and their generousity every time we watch it. Thank you, Cindy and Bill! There are almost always friends or family members or a group of guests (like your college buddies) who don't know what to get you, but want to make it memorable. Capitalize on this and they'll feel special, too.

2. Use professionals looking to break into the wedding business. We knew we couldn't afford standard NYC videographer prices, so we posted an ad on the big ol' Craigslist looking for a student or recent grad who wanted to work for us. What we weren't expecting is that we had several professionals who had done camera work in other areas like commercials or television and were looking to get into the wedding industry get in touch with us and offer to help. They wanted wedding footage for a reel, we got a pro who already knew how to make a great video. The key to this is making sure he or she has examples of their work, even if it isn't wedding-related. We could see that our videographer did nice work, despite having no wedding experience. This probably works best if you're in a metro area.

3. Cut down on coverage time and fancy extras. We only asked our videographer to film for about four hours, which covered all the important stuff for us -- the ceremony (especially our vows), the parade, and our first dance were what we really wanted captured on video. She offered to come a bit earlier and film me getting ready, which was an awesome bonus. Also, you don't need a million DVD copies or a fancy intro title if you're trying to cut costs. You can burn your own DVDs!

If you are in the NYC area and want to check out our awesome videographer, head on over here. She did such a great job for us and we couldn't be more pleased.

And promise me you'll think about the videographer bit? ;)

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

Our Peeps

You Can't Rain On My Parade!

Subway Saga

Next Stop -- Grand Central Station!

We Had The Time of Our Lives

A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: We Had the Time of Our Lives

2010-02-22T09:45:00.000-08:00

Well, my lovelies, you're going to have to forgive me for a picture-heavy post. I couldn't help myself, because these are pretty much my favorite pictures of us from the reception!

When I left you last, we were cabbing it from Grand Central Station to our reception venue, only a few blocks away, but waaay too far for my tired feet and parched self to walk.

So we got to the downstairs lobby of the loft (please note the glam red carpet they rolled out for us!), and my gorgeous bridesmaids, Fairy Bridesmaid and Sassy Bridesmaid, who had accompanied me to my dress fittings, did a quick bustle number on my butt. I still can't describe the magic that went on back there, but suffice it to say, I loved my dress bustled even more than I did with the long train.

Now that I was bustled, Mr. Star and I took a quick moment to run through our first dance steps, since we had never gotten the chance to have a dress rehearsal of sorts with my dress on, and that dress sure has a life of its own! It went really well, and I changed up one quick step because the poofiness of my underskirt was preventing my feet from moving quickly enough to keep up with the song.

With that out of the way, we were ready to jump on the elevator and head up to the party! I have a confession to make: that day I was WAY more nervous to do our choreography than I was to get married.

Mr. Star, my rock, was there like he always is to tell me that we could do it:

Please press play and jive along with us as we dance our hearts out:

By the time the elevator made it all the way up to the penthouse and we stepped into a gorgeous loft filled with our loved ones, we had our "game faces" on and were ready to go:

Check out that sneak peek at our Empire State Building card box up there ;)

The music started a bit too soon and we weren't in place in time to start our first steps, but as we say in showbiz, the show must go on! I whispered to Mr. Star where we could pick it up a few beats in, and we were ready to roll:

In that moment, I knew we could do it together.

And our family and friends were really getting into it, but this was nothing yet:

I love how much smiling our guests are doing. Oh yeah, and we're smiling pretty big, too...

I love how fabulous my dress looks in these pictures! We threw in a dip for good show:

Oh, and we were showing off our goofy side with a shimmy on my part and some silly chest ogling on the mister's -- check out how amused our friends are:

By this time we were rocking and rolling, and just look at how proud my Momma was:

I'm no real dancer and these were Mr. Star's first ever dance lessons, so we were pretty proud of what we were able to pull off!

Then it was time for the DANCE BREAK! We split apart and headed into the crowd. Of course, I reached for my MOH's hand first. Partly because I love her, partly because I knew she wouldn't say no as I dragged her onto the dance floor ;)

Our friends REALLY got into it, which we loved, of course...

We were partying it up as the dance break jived on. As it came to an end, I realized that it was time to head back to my new husband for our big finish. I was dancing with my fabulous friend Jamie at the time, and she told me only a few weeks ago that in my adrenaline-induced state I said to her, "Oh shit, I have to go find my husband," and ran off without another word. Oh well, she forgives me.

It was worth it for this move to open up the final verse...

One more dip, and a quick wind-up in the middle of the crowd...

And my adorable new husband swooped me and my obscenely heavy dress right off the floor for this incredible picture:

What a rush. It was, without a doubt, one of the most incredible moments in my life to be spinning around with my new husband, surrounded by cheering loved ones, and high on life.

For those of you considering doing a choreographed first dance, do it. And just have fun with it. It ended up being one of our favorite moments of the day, and so much more memorable for us than the Middle School Sway that was our only other option.

SUPER DUPER THANKS go out to our good friend Whitney who worked so hard to choreograph (and re-choreograph once we realized the arm lifting limitations of my dress) our incredible first dance.

Now that you've seen the first dance pictures, I think it's safe to show you our wedding video trailer and give you my tips on fitting videography into your budget. That is, if you're interested in seeing it! ;)

*All photos by John Martin Photography *

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

Our Peeps

You Can't Rain On My Parade!

Subway Saga
Next Stop -- Grand Central Station!

A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: Next Stop -- Grand Central Station!

2010-02-16T12:22:00.000-08:00

I had originally wanted to do our couple portraits on the steps of the main branch of the New York Public Library -- you know, the one with the lions out front (Ghostbusters, baby!):

(photo credit)

I mean, it's iconic. It's gorgeous. It's classy. Buuuuut then my smarter-than-me photographer pointed out that by the time we finished up the ceremony, it would be dark outside already. Duh, Star.

So we decided to do portraits inside of Grand Central Station -- also iconic, gorgeous, and classy. It's my go-to recommendation for NYC brides who need to take portraits when the weather outside is frightful (or dark), if you know what I mean. But don't worry, we got some photos at the library a few weeks ago during our "day-after" session...oops, have I said too much? More on that later ;)

This is about as standard of a wedding portrait as we got, and I love that:

I love that this picture reminds me of classic Hollywood. And it just feels like it could be from a wedding that took place anytime (I'm tooting my own horn a little here, don't mind me).

But just like everywhere else in New York, we were surrounded by people. Drunk Giants fans at that, as a game had just let out. Most of our onlookers were very respectful and sweet. In fact, I heard one older lady stage whisper, "Ooh, who is she??" But I'm pretty sure an underage drunk Giants fan is the one who catcalled me and asked for my number. This was our response to that:

A little late, buddy.

We checked out the train schedules for good measure:

And we snuggled together as we thought up places to hop a train to and escape on our honeymoon early:

And there's a little sneak peek of my third "costume change" -- notice the birdcage is gone, and in its place is a blingy hair comb. Yeah, I love me some drama.

We also did some snuggling and reflecting on the momentous occasion.

And it wouldn't have really been a wedding day without some making out. I mean, come on.

Hot, right?

And just for fun:

Then, since we knew we'd be going right into our first dance once we got to the loft, we decided to spend a couple of minutes practicing:

So romantic...

Except for the fact that there were still dozens of people staring at us and my still-unbustled train was getting in the way of our little "rehearsal." But you wouldn't know it from the way we were intently focused on each other:

Must be newlyweds ;)

Then we hopped into another cab, and were on our way to the partay! Who's up for some reception pictures??

Major props go out again to my lovely MOH, who was just outside of the frame of almost all of these shots holding my crap and helping with my costume changes:

She deserves a t-shirt that says, "I was Mrs. Star's b*tch and all I got to show for it was this lousy picture:"

That's what best friends are for, right?

How did weather (or darkness!) end up affecting where you took/will take wedding day pictures?

*All photos by John Martin Photography *

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

Our Peeps

You Can't Rain On My Parade!

Subway Saga

A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: Subway Saga

2010-02-09T18:12:00.000-08:00

When we last left you, we were busy making a spectacle of ourselves by parading through the streets of New York.

We made it to the station and we were very careful to keep my dress from dragging down the dirty station steps:

Our wonderful DOC (have I said that enough yet?) ran ahead and got the station attendant to take the fully-loaded metrocards we had bought and open the emergency exit so everyone didn't have to squeeze through the turnstiles.

Yeah, we got the V.I.P. treatment on the subway, yo:

Then we stood on the platform surrounded by our loved ones and waited for an unsuspecting train full of civilians to arrive.

And posed for iPhone pictures for our guests. I thought it was kinda cool that pictures from the wedding were going up online before the party even really got started! (P.S. check out the wedding wand making a cameo!):

That is one hot couple right there...

The train finally pulled up and it was already quite full -- watch out, train, we're getting on! We've got a reception to get to!

After making sure everyone made it on the train, we relaxed into the fun of being celebrities, if only for a few moments! All of the strangers on the train thought we were very exciting, as you can see from this picture -- about half of those people are our guests and half aren't:

It was, without a doubt, the best subway ride of my life.

All too quickly (for me!), we reached the stop where all of our guests were to get off and follow our DOC to the loft for cocktail hour, while Mr. Star, my MOH, and I stayed on for one more stop so we could get to Grand Central Station for some couple portraits.

We lovingly watched our guests exit the train before us...

And soon it was time for us to exit, too...

And that magical subway ride where we were packed in with all of our nearest and dearest was over forever.

Don't worry, though, everyone in the station still thought we were rockstars:

I mean, I did just ride the subway in my couture wedding gown...

We love New York, what can we say?

How did you honor your love for your wedding locale on your big day?

*All photos by John Martin Photography *

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

Our Peeps

You Can't Rain On My Parade!

A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: You Can't Rain On My Parade!

2010-02-07T09:18:00.000-08:00

While we were inside finishing up our quick posed portraits, most of our guests were outside getting their wedding wands and awaiting our exit!

And I had to make a quick costume change, of course!

Hello, birdcage veil! It's been so long!

Then it was time to make our first appearance as husband and wife!

We went in for a romantic kiss:

Took a moment to bask in being glamorous rock-stars:

And then it was time to get that parade going!

In case you couldn't tell, we weren't having any fun at all:

Our guests were really good sports about it, too, and seemed to be enjoying themselves!

So much so that someone started a rousing round of "Goin' To The Chapel," hence the incredibly goofy faces...

Yes, it was unconventional, unexpected, and maybe even a little uncouth (or slightly bridezilla?) to ask my guests to walk with us through the streets of New York...

...but that's how we roll here in NYC, and I don't think any of our guests look the worse for wear because of it!

So for those of you ladies out there busy planning your weddings right now, when someone tells you that a wedding choice you're making is "uncool," "unheard-of," "unacceptable," "too out there," "unbridal," or anything else...

...just think back to this post and remember how cool "different" can be. And tell them to shut it.

Because there are a lot of smiling, happy people in that picture up there, and the nay-sayers just don't know what they're talking about.

Oh, and big props to my fabulous MOH who carried my train through Manhattan. After what a huge help she was at our wedding, she's decided to open her own Wedding Coordination business in Huntsville, AL! I can't mention enough how lucky we were to have surrounded by such giving friends and family who made our big day so incredible.

What about your wedding planning has made people raise their eyebrows?

*All photos by John Martin Photography *

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

Our Peeps

A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: Our Peeps

2010-02-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

Take it away, Stevie Wonder!

We were married, yo!

We really wanted a picture with EVERYONE, so I had my stepdad ask everyone to come up onstage for a group picture right after we kissed. At the rehearsal the day before, we had practiced having family members and the bridal party lead the way to help with the confusion. Still, there were a few moments of fun and excited chaos:

And we only managed one "formal" shot before everyone started goofing off, which was A-okay with me:

It wouldn't have really been a group of theatre kids if the jazz hands hadn't gotten busted out:

It was fun to goof off with out wedding guests:

And I love how everyone looks like they're having such a great time in these pictures:

Then we kicked everyone out...er...politely asked most of our guests to leave for a few moments so we could do some quick portraits before the parade!

My Mom's side -- I don't remember what was so funny, but we were very amused, apparently!

My Dad's side!

The new members of my family!

Bridal Party hotties!

We didn't take too many pictures of just the two of us because we didn't want to keep people waiting and we knew we'd get the chance during cocktail hour, but I thought this candid was lovely. We were so happy all day, it was just magical.

We were ready to head outside and start our parade through New York!

Did you do a big group shot or are you planning on it? I'd totally recommend it, we love those pictures looking back!

*All photos by John Martin Photography *

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV

A Star-Studded (Love) Affair: Come What May -- Ceremony Part V

2010-01-24T08:14:00.000-08:00

Our fabulous friends sang this song for us, please play it as you read this post if you can:

Now Kate and Dan would like to invite two very important people in their lives to sing a song together that elucidates the feelings Kate and Dan have for each other, "Come What May."

And two of our favorite people in the world, my Maid of Honor and Opera Groomsman, took the stage:

We watched, humbled by the talent and generosity of our friends.

And overwhelmed by the beauty of the music.

Mr. Star whispered along with the song in my ear, which was just about the most romantic thing EVER:

After their lovely performance, there was only one thing left to do...

Final Blessing

As the Apache Wedding Blessing declares:

Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other;

Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be the warmth to the other;

Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be the companion to the other;

Now you are two persons, but there is one life before you.

Go now to your dwelling place to enter into the days of your togetherness,

And may your days be good and long upon the earth.

And now, by the power vested in me by the City and State of New York, It gives me great joy to pronounce you husband and wife.

We were a little excited to hear those words:

You may kiss the bride!

We were married (and still hadn't stopped holding hands, haha!) !

Our celebratory song came on and everyone was all smiles and ready for pictures! Wanna find out what fun song we chose as okay-we-seriously-just-got-married-and-this-rocks song? Wanna see our group picture of everyone who was at our wedding (I promise, it's pretty awesome!)? Stay tuned, we've still got a whole lot more Star Wedding to go! ;)

*All photos by John Martin Photography *

The Star Wedding Recaps:

One Last Not-So Debaucherous Night

We're Pros at Rehearsing, But I'm No Director

Dinner in Havana

The Girls Get Their Hair Done and The Boys Wash The Dog

Getting Accessorized

We Tackle the Beast

I May Be Biased, But...I Have the Prettiest Ladies Ever

Takin' It to the Streets!

The Boys Goof Off (and Set Up, Too!)

Taxi Time

It's Almost Time For Our Lives To Change Forever

My Big Break

Gathered in a Place of Magic -- Ceremony Part I

The Circle of Love -- Ceremony Part II

Oh, The Places You'll Go! -- Ceremony Part III

The Promises and The Bling -- Ceremony Part IV