A Foxy Fête: Smiles and Sun

After our school bus shenanigans, it was time for some actual wedding party photos. (I would say "formals", but I just hate that word.. and they weren't really all that formal, you know?!)

The plan was for our little group to take pictures by the pier and lighthouse, then head over to the lock house and meet up for family formals photos; this was partially to keep the general hoopla of a wedding-party-in-a public-place to a minimum, but also to give the parents and rest of the family a bit more time to get ready before pictures. However, since my dad and stepmom were apparently ready when the rest of us kids were, they tagged along for wedding party pics as well!

All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.

Once we got to the lighthouse, Laura and Alisa rallied the troops and had us get into various poses, combinations, settings, etcetera. You know, all your good, general wedding stuff.

Notice my stupid hand-on-hip arm? I apparently did this a lot. It's become second nature for me to pose in photos like this.. it totes makes your arm look so much thinner!

Are you ready to hate me a little bit? Because you will. See.. I'm not complaining by any means (I promise!).. but we had a really nice day for our wedding. Like, really, really nice - high of 82 degrees, incredibly sunny, not too hot or too cold. There were absolutely some wedding gods somewhere looking down on us.

Except, sometimes.. well, it was a bit too sunny.

Oh my god Mrs. Fox, shut the eff up.

Okay. I KNOW. Why the heck would I even mention that? Well, partially because I'm a whiney pants, and partially because part of the reason I loved our venue was the fact that it was right by the water, where I wanted to get a lot of wedding party pictures taken. Except it was too sunny to do a whole lot of those (think: no shade and squinty eyes), so we only got a couple of just the girls.

Don't get me wrong, I totally big puffy heart love these photos. But a teeny part of me wishes we could have gotten a few more. Alas, I'm pretty sure I'll live. ;)

(Also, you might now understand why there are a whole bunch of photos of us with our sunglasses on - sure, I wanted the fun pictures, but they were absolutely necessary at some points!)

Anyway, most of the photo ops ended up being under or around one of the many shady trees within the pier's vicinity. It was no water, but it still made for a lovely backdrop!

So here's a fun side story for you: I can't speak for all men, but I know that at least Foxy and a few of his man friends don't always like to smile in pictures. They seemed to do pretty okay for the most part on this particular occasion, but Laura definitely called upon MOH Copper at one point to "do something funny" in front of the guys in order to make them smile and/or laugh.

(personal photos)

Not that you can tell from these pictures, but she was definitely.. um, how shall I put this.. air humping Laura. I guess you had to be there. But hey, it got the guys to smile!



It got me to smile too, apparently. (AKA laugh like a moron.)

(personal photos)

"ZOMG you're so funnyyyyyy!"

Now that I think about, I may have also been laughing because of Groomsman Matty's little pants predicament. If you recall, there were issues with his pants being a bit incredibly too tight. He was a trooper, though, and ended up wearing the "right" (read: way too tight) pants for pictures and the ceremony, then changed into a looser pair for the reception. However, this definitely limited the positions he was able to go into for some of our posed photos - like the one below.

Oh hello, hand-on-hip pose. Again.

All in all, awesome picture. But you might notice Matty (far right) not resting on his knees quite as comfortably as the rest of the guys. I mean, I'm sure he could have, if he really wanted to.. or if he wanted a hole in his pants. Fortunately, though, we made it through pictures sans pants rippage!

This was supposed to be the "sasspot" picture. I don't think the boys understood.

And now that I've overwhelmed you with a bajillion pictures and stories of our fabulous wedding party, here's a few more! (You didn't think I would leave without showing you the one-on-ones with our nearest and dearest, did you?!)

My "nice" and "silly" shots with my fabulous ladies of honor, Copper and Blondie. In case you're wondering, bottom left is our ET pose. Obviously.

Bridesladies M, Bunny Love, and A

Groomsmen Carkey, Brother, Matty, and Negs

Another sort of funny story.. remember the whole "it was so sunny" thing? Well Foxy's eyes tend to be pretty sensitive to sunlight in general, so with each and every photo you see above, Laura had him keep his eyes shut until the very last possible second. It was kind of amusing to see him squint them closed super tight then pop them open with a big ol' smile on his face over and over again. And he was smiling, to boot! I'm kind of amazed, really.

So once we were pretty much done with all the wedding party pictures, everyone headed back to the bus while Foxy and I hung back for a few more shots of just the two of us.

I promise to share more of these photos soon, but I'm pretty sure I assaulted you enough with my face for one day. Besides, it was now time to head over to the lock house and get our family "formals" on!

Miss a recap? Catch yourself up!

It's Wedding Week! - The week of the wedding started out pretty hectic, but we made it through (relatively) unscathed.

We're Cool People (who had to deal with a slight change of plans) - On Friday, we made our way to the venue, had a relatable moment on the radio, and learned about some last minute changes that we made an effort to take in stride.

Practice Makes Perfect.. And Crabs Don't Hurt, Either - After most everyone was settled in on Friday evening, we had our rehearsal followed by the best dinner ever - a Maryland crab feast!

Rise and Shine! - Wedding morning was soon upon us, and I woke up at the crack of dawn ready to get prettified.

Pretty Women - Over the course of the next several hours, myself and the girls hung out, got our hair and makeup done, had a photo shoot, and drank champagne.

Dressing Up - Soon enough, it was time for me to slip into my dress!

Dapper Dudes - At the same time, Foxy and his guys were ironing and getting into their suites - and Foxy was opening his wedding day gift!

The First of Many Looks - We had our first look, and both felt so much better after being able to see each other for the first time that day.

A School Bus Photoshoot - Our vehicle of choice for the day was a school bus, which we turned into a photo op both inside and out!

A Foxy Fête: A School Bus Photoshoot

Oh, yes. It's true. I mean, who needs a fancy-pants limo when you can have a school bus?!

All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.

The bus was actually such a last minute add-on.. like, five-days-before-the-wedding last minute. We were planning on having two stops for photos before the ceremony - one by a lighthouse and pier for just the wedding party, then one by a lock house across town for both wedding party and family. I initially thought that everyone could just pile into a variety of cars and car pool to the different locations, but that just seemed like a lot of effort on everybody's part - I didn't wan't to have our friends and family worried about how they would get to each spot on the actual day of the wedding. I also saw how amazingly convenient it was to have one form of transportation for everyone in the wedding party at Brideslady M's wedding a few weeks earlier. And so, (and really, since we couldn't afford anything else,) we took a note from our fab DOC Chasi and booked a school bus from Sutton Bus Company!

As soon as Foxy and I were done with our first look, we quickly reconvened with the rest of the wedding party and made our way over to the bus. This also just so happened to be the first time I saw the guys in their "non-matching" suit combo, complete with the last minute vests we purchased from Macy's just days before.

Hive, I literally can't tell you how freaking amazing they looked.. I'm pretty sure that unless you knew they didn't match, you wouldn't really know. I personally thought they looked awesome - maybe even better with the slight color difference. We seriously lucked out on that one!

So after I raved and loved on the boys and their get up for a hot minute, we all piled into the bus en route to our first photo location!

At this point, both Laura and I were having the same thought: instead of just using the bus as a mode of transportation, why not turn it into it's own photo locale? I mean, if you haven't noticed by now, I'm pretty much game for turning any situation into a photo shoot. So that's exactly what we did!

The best part in all this is that the last photo was the only one that was actually "posed". And while it's probably one of my favorites from the whole day, I still can't get enough of some of the other, more candid photos. I may be biased, but I think we totally had one of the most awesome groups of fun, good looking people to surround us on our wedding day! ;)

Eventually, the school bus shenanigans came to an end as we arrived at our first "real" photo location - the Concord lighthouse and pier overlooking the junction point of the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake Bay. It was time for a few more formals.. and a few without our (clearly much-loved) sunglasses!

Miss a recap? Catch yourself up!

It's Wedding Week! - The week of the wedding started out pretty hectic, but we made it through (relatively) unscathed.

We're Cool People (who had to deal with a slight change of plans) - On Friday, we made our way to the venue, had a relatable moment on the radio, and learned about some last minute changes that we made an effort to take in stride.

Practice Makes Perfect.. And Crabs Don't Hurt, Either - After most everyone was settled in on Friday evening, we had our rehearsal followed by the best dinner ever - a Maryland crab feast!

Rise and Shine! - Wedding morning was soon upon us, and I woke up at the crack of dawn ready to get prettified.

Pretty Women - Over the course of the next several hours, myself and the girls hung out, got our hair and makeup done, had a photo shoot, and drank champagne.

Dressing Up - Soon enough, it was time for me to slip into my dress!

Dapper Dudes - At the same time, Foxy and his guys were ironing and getting into their suites - and Foxy was opening his wedding day gift!

The First of Many Looks - We had our first look, and both felt so much better after being able to see each other for the first time that day.

A Foxy Fête: A Little Somthin' Somthin'

Let's take a super quick sidestep from recaps for a minute, mmkay? There's some details I'm dying to share with you all!

Now sure, I absolutely adored my wedding dress, but I also had a bit of a love affair with my wedding day accessories, too.  For organization's sake, I'm just going to lump them all into one of a bride's four favorite categories: old, new, borrowed, and blue!

I also want to write about them in categories because I realized that I never wrote much about about a few of them previously - probably because I wasn't sure I was actually going to have all of them (old, new, borrowed, and blue, that is) - but alas, it all happened to come together in the end!

Something Old:

I ended up having two "something old's". First, there was my grandmother's vintage clutch that I (aka, one of my bridesladies) carried around for the first part of the day for essentials like lip gloss and my sunglasses.

(personal photo, as I completely forgot to have Laura take a picture of it)

Second, I wore a right-hand ring that was also once owned by my grandmother, one that I also believe has been in the family for quite some time. This just so happened to be the ring that I previously used as my "replacement" when I was sans engagement ring while it was being molded for my wedding band.

(personal photo)

Something New:

Omigosh, so many things.

Aside from the dress, there was also my my hair piece and my garter, both of which I've previously posted about, and both of which I also forgot to get special detail shots of. (Yes, I forgot a lot.) Although, as I'm sure you noticed, it's kind of hard to miss my hair piece in 99% of the photos I'm in from our wedding day. Bling bling, yo.

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

As for the garter.. well.. not only did I forget to get any pictures of it, but I also forgot to wear it. So I wore it to the after party, and that was about it.

(personal photo)

One of my most favorite new things, though, were my earrings. Last I left off with you was my search for the perfect pair of long and dangly earrings - a search that lasted months. And then, a mere six weeks before the wedding, I finally, finally settled on a pair from Etsy shop Bridal Bling Jewelry that ended up being completely perfect!

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

You can also see my grandmother's ring at the top of the photo!

I totally loved these bad boys, and totally loved telling people they were actually rock candy. And having them believe it. Heheheh. (They were actually little Swarovski beads.)

Something Borrowed:

I'm not going to lie, I was so worried about not having anything in the borrowed category, but ultimately ended up having not one, not two, but three borrowed things! Two of which were incredibly last minute.

The first last minute "something borrowed" was from Officiant Em; en route to the venue on Friday, I realized that I didn't have any kind of acceptable studs to wear in my second holes in my ears. She came blazing to the rescue, letting me borrow her grandmother's vintage diamond studs, which I rocked all day long (and even managed to remember to give back to her)!

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

I spy with my little eye.. some studs!

The second last minute "something borrowed" was from MOH Copper. As I was getting into my dress on wedding morning and putting on all the finishing touches, someone asked if I had a bracelet that I would be wearing. I never really had any desire to wear one, so I never thought about it much. However, when I looked at myself all gussied up, I totally regretted my previous decision. I just needed.. something. A bracelet, to be specific. Lo and behold, out of nowhere, MOH Copper pulls out two fabulous ones - one coral and one turquoise - and gives me the option of wearing one or both. And you guys? That turquoise one nailed it.

(personal photo)

I think I got more compliments on that last minute addition than I did for anything else I was sporting that day.. and all thanks to my super stylish bestie and, evidently, one bangin' clearance rack at Banana Republic! I was so super sad to give it back to her at the end of the day, no lies.

Last but not least in the borrowed category was none other than those precious little bee charms you may have seen some other Bee's blog about - I got mine from the lovely Mrs. Hawk, and eventually passed them on to the fabulous Mrs. Scone! They made the most perfect addition amid my summery bouquet.

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

Something Blue:

My shoes. Duh. I mean.. turquoise is a shade of blue, right?

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

So the moral of the story is this: make a list of all your wedding day details. Give it to someone who won't forget about it, or just give it to the photographer. Have them take pictures of everything. Or don't and instead be like me and forget everything. Then take a bunch of weird photos with your dSLR and iPhone months after the wedding and pretend that you're just as good as a photographer. Except your not.

Can you tell I'm annoyed that I didn't get a professional artsy shot of my clutch, just my right-hand ring, my bracelet, my studs, my garter, and even my perfume? 'Cause I am.

I did, however, get a professional artsy one of our wedding rings!

(photo by Exclamation Imagery)

Anyway, I loved all of my "somethings", and loved how each and every one truly completed my wedding day look (professional picture as proof or not). Did/Do you have a favorite accessory or "something" for your wedding day?

Miss a recap? Catch yourself up!

It's Wedding Week! - The week of the wedding started out pretty hectic, but we made it through (relatively) unscathed.

We're Cool People (who had to deal with a slight change of plans) - On Friday, we made our way to the venue, had a relatable moment on the radio, and learned about some last minute changes that we made an effort to take in stride.

Practice Makes Perfect.. And Crabs Don't Hurt, Either - After most everyone was settled in on Friday evening, we had our rehearsal followed by the best dinner ever - a Maryland crab feast!

Rise and Shine! - Wedding morning was soon upon us, and I woke up at the crack of dawn ready to get prettified.

Pretty Women - Over the course of the next several hours, myself and the girls hung out, got our hair and makeup done, had a photo shoot, and drank champagne.

Dressing Up - Soon enough, it was time for me to slip into my dress!

Dapper Dudes - At the same time, Foxy and his guys were ironing and getting into their suites - and Foxy was opening his wedding day gift!

The First of Many Looks - We had our first look, and both felt so much better after being able to see each other for the first time that day.

A Foxy Fête: The First of Many Looks

I was so irrationally nervous before our first look. Sure, Foxy and I hadn't seen each other since the previous night, but we've gone days in a row without seeing each other before. Logically, those 12 or so hours we spent apart should have been no big deal. On the flip side, I've never not had access to my phone or not been able to text or call him, should I want to - especially today of all days, with the millions of thoughts and feelings going through my mind. Just that little bit of extra "forbiddeness", if you will, made everything so much more nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time.

This was it. This was the first time he would see me (heck, the first time he would talk to me) on our wedding day, with me all gussied up in my dress, my hair and makeup done to a tee. Would he even like my dress? Would he hate it and think it looks like a nightgown? Is he as nervous and/or excited to see me as I am him?

All photos by Exclamation Imagery unless otherwise noted.

And so, after running over the game plan several times with the photographers and taking a deep breath (or ten).. I started my walk from the bridal suite to the porch, where Foxy awaited me.

My heart was beating a million miles a minute as I carefully closed the distance between us (the last thing I needed was to fall on my face due to my untested glittered soles) - and I distinctly remember trying to make a snap decision of how to signal him to turn around. Do I grab his butt? Do I cover his eyes all peek-a-boo style?

In the end, I went with a good ol' tap on the shoulder. Foxy knew I was approaching, and he started turning around before I even got all the way over to him. I think it's safe to say that we were both feeling that nervous excitement leading up to this moment!

The moment I saw his face, I just remember being so... happy. For one, Foxy was absolutely living up to his nickname and was looking fine in his getup. Not to mention the look on his face in that picture - I seriously die. Even after five years, he still gives me butterflies with just a look.

Oops.. lip gloss on the lips!

We shared a few moments together, just trying to soak each other in before the whirlwind officially started. Thinking back, I'm pretty sure that these were the only few minutes we genuinely had to ourselves that day.

We shared stories about our respective mornings - you know, like how I was running around like a crazy person and he was all locked up in his room - and admired how awesome we both looked. I also couldn't resist the urge to show off my beyond gorgeous bouquet, ribbons and all!

Oh look, a little Bee surprise!!

We couldn't linger for long, though.. the day was really just beginning and our ever-trusty timeline said it was time for a school bus and some wedding party pictures. Intrigued? Stay tuned!

Miss a recap? Catch yourself up!

It's Wedding Week! - The week of the wedding started out pretty hectic, but we made it through (relatively) unscathed.

We're Cool People (who had to deal with a slight change of plans) - On Friday, we made our way to the venue, had a relatable moment on the radio, and learned about some last minute changes that we made an effort to take in stride.

Practice Makes Perfect.. And Crabs Don't Hurt, Either - After most everyone was settled in on Friday evening, we had our rehearsal followed by the best dinner ever - a Maryland crab feast!

Rise and Shine! - Wedding morning was soon upon us, and I woke up at the crack of dawn ready to get prettified.

Pretty Women - Over the course of the next several hours, myself and the girls hung out, got our hair and makeup done, had a photo shoot, and drank champagne.

Dressing Up - Soon enough, it was time for me to slip into my dress!

Dapper Dudes - At the same time, Foxy and his guys were ironing and getting into their suites - and Foxy was opening his wedding day gift!