17 November 2010

Honeymoon stories.

There are a couple stories from our honeymoon that I've been wanting to share for a while. They're hilarious and only slightly irritating now, and they were pretty annoying then, but they didn't make anything awful at all. In fact, they're fun memories now!

The first and probably more prominent in my mind is when Matt did his back in. It was the first or second morning we were there, and he woke me up around 5am saying he was going to the gym. (Crazy nut, but whatever, lol.) About an hour later, he came back to the room, complaining of pain in his back. I was awake by then, and I chastised him for working out so early and probably with so few of his faculties, as he told me what he did: Tried to bring down a barbell with about 50lbs worth of weight still on it, from shoulder height and, I'm sure, putting his back into it.

Then I stopped chastising when, after breakfast, he hadn't improved... and when he took off his shirt, his hips were literally inches off the center of his spine. A la:


It really was that bad; we were both pretty terrified.

He was in so much pain that he decided to email his chiropractor to see if he could suggest anything, then he asked me to look up anything that could straighten him back out. Not at all to my surprise, I found quite a few yoga poses that would really help (and that I've done before, so I knew the benefits), to which he was actually receptive. Like I said, he was in a lot of pain; he typically would scoff at that, but he was willing to do anything.

Any poses from Table were pretty much... well, off the table, as he was in too much pain to have his back unsupported like that. Not that your back should EVER be unsupported -- your abs help you stay up and your back stay straight -- but he didn't want to do it. He also didn't want to sit, so that ruled out a few other poses. So my only option was something from lying down, which weren't on any sites that I read, so I had to use my own brain. Oy vey.

Fortunately, it didn't take long to think of a spinal twist you can do while lying down, so I got him ready for that. Beforehand, I showed him how to do it -- he's a visual learner and doesn't take verbal direction well (at least, not mine, lol) -- then had him do it. The floor was tile, so we had him on the bed, which was fortunately hard. He went to the right first and stayed there for a while, just letting the muscles relax and go back to where they were. I'd say he was there for about 5 minutes before he was ready to go to the other side. Since the kink was on the right side, I had him stay to the left for twice as long, as the stretch works the opposite side on which the knees are placed, and we needed his right side more relaxed, if that makes sense.

Anyway, so he was there for about 10 minutes, then went to a few minutes on each side to just loosen up. In total, between that and rubbing out his muscles while in the position, we spent about an hour getting him straight again. And wouldn't'cha know it, he stood up after all that... and he was easily inches better. He has scoliosis in the first place, which the chiropractor (who is also a yoga instructor, hee!) is trying to work on, so he's typically about an inch off... and he was back to that "normal" after the stretches.

The best part? He checked his email a while later, and the chiropractor (who knows that I practice yoga) said something about a few poses that are good for loosening the C3 and C4 vertebrae... and they were ones that I wanted to do if he was good enough for Table, then said, "Stephanie can help you out with them." So yay! Take that, Matt; yoga is good for you, and here's a doctor saying so! He emailed back and told him what we did in lieu of the poses he mentioned (Cat and Cow were two that he brought up, as well as some seated twists), and he was pretty complimentary!

Oh, and this same chiro wants to get Matt in regular yoga classes after he's straightened him enough to do so, as he really needs his back muscles to be stronger around his spine. So nyah-nyah again, Matt! LOL

The second involves allergies on both Matt's and my sides.
Matt's not officially allergic to shellfish, though he's definitely predisposed, as both his Nana and uncle are deathly allergic to the stuff. And y'all know about my tree nut allergies.

Jamaica is wonderful for one thing but kinda "eh" for another: Their vegetarian selections are absolutely delicious and plentiful, but almost all their desserts are made with nuts. Needless to say, I had very few desserts that week. Matt was able to eat most everything, including some snook, which is illegal in the US, and the dessert, which I was fiercely jealous about, NGL!

On one occasion, they had a seafood fest of sorts, and that included lobster. Of course, I don't eat seafood anymore (though I was a bad vegetarian and DID try some snook... which is REALLY good, by the way), but Matt helped himself to just about everything there! ... including two lobster tails. Later that evening, he mentioned feeling itchy and nauseous, both of which are symptoms when I have food allergies... so I practically had to force-feed him some Allertec -- store-brand Zyrtec, which isn't an antihistamine, but IS an allergy medication. After a while, he started to feel better, but we took it easy the rest of the evening.

Long story short, he won't be touching lobster tail anymore, and we're going to be hard pressed to have him eat any shellfish from here on out. It's just too risky, especially considering Matt's family history of anaphylaxis.

Speaking of anaphylaxis, here's my story. I mentioned before that I was avoiding the desserts like crazy, only having something after Matt, my taste-tester, says that it's okay, which was rarely. Anyway, I was doing a great job with that, and I was feeling great before heading to the spa. Oh yeah, did I mention we had couples' massages, as we were newlyweds? Yes, we did. And yes, they were AMAZING. So we went through our massages and left feeling wonderful.

Matt really wanted to go to the jacuzzi afterward, so I agreed, and we went straight over. While we were there, we met up with a few couples, which was pretty cool, and chatted it up. We were in the middle of discussing politics, healthcare, social issues, and how fucked up Florida is with some Canadians (LOL) when I started to feel itchy. Not on my skin, but in my throat, on my tongue, and all over my face. I also started to get stomach pains, and I was getting nauseous. It was gradual at first, but grew stronger as we sat in the hot water.

Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore, and I told Matt I was going upstairs, then told the Canadian couple that it was a pleasure to meet them. Matt said he'd be up soon, and I took my stuff and went to our room. About 20 minutes later, Matt came back up, and I had already taken a hot shower and was trying to drink some water, to no avail. My throat was closing up, there was mucus building in my throat, and eventually, I realized... I'm having a full-blown allergy attack.

In Jamaica.

With no antihistamines.

And no Epi-Pens.

I was trying not to panic, but when Matt came in, I could hardly talk. He mentioned the gift shop having some Benadryl, and I asked him to run down and get some. At this point, my body was literally trembling from the reaction, and I spilled some water on myself trying to get it to my lips. Matt was back in 10 minutes with the Benadryl, which I gratefully took, and I fell asleep to Spongebob about 20 minutes later while the drugs kicked in.

I woke up a couple hours later -- about 7pm -- feeling better. Not great, but better. Matt and I had dinner reservations at 7:30pm, so I got up and changed, fortunate to see that my throat was opened and the mucus had thinned. I was still trembling a little, and my throat was really itchy, but I felt a lot better. We went to dinner, where I managed to eat about half of what was put in front of me, and we fell asleep really early that night -- probably 9pm or so.

The next day, we were thinking about what could have caused that, as I had been avoiding nuts that entire week. Then it hit us...

"Oh my god, Matt, I didn't even think to ask what kind of oil that was!"

For all we know, it could have been almond oil! Considering my symptoms were gone by then (thank GOD), we didn't fret or ask the spa, but it's a good lesson for the future: Always check what kind of oil they're using. We also figured the reaction was so great because it wasn't something I had ingested, but rather, it was absorbed right into my skin and was accelerated by the jacuzzi. It was terrifying, but Matt was so good to me, and it ended up only taking a few hours out of the day.

So... there are our stories. Dude, we're pretty effed up sometimes...!

11 November 2010

Some wedding photos!


Matt and I were married in South Florida on Halloween/Samhain, 31 October 2010, in an interfaith Jewish-Pagan ceremony. Below are some pictures of our wedding, courtesy of some friends and family members! Once we get the pro shots back, I'll be sure to share them here, too, but in the meantime, enjoy these!

Everyone was absolutely right, by the way, when they said the day flies by so quickly. That combined with our honeymoon (pictures of which you can see at Facebook: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3) was over in a flash; I feel like it was just yesterday we were boarding the plane to get to Florida! I can't wait for our pro pics and video to come in so we can relive that day forever. :)

Also below are vendor reviews for each vendor who helped make our day so special and beautiful. If you're getting married in the South Florida area, check them out -- you may find the perfect vendor for your own occasion!

And now, without further ado... pictures!



Me and my wonderful Mom! :)


The dress!


LOL, this is a fave pic. ;) After the garters went on!


The whole ensemble!


My sister took this one before the photographers could even come around. ;)


Our ceremony space!


My handsome brother and Man Of Honor. :)


Me, my amazingly handsome husband(!!), and my family!


Us and Matt's family! :)


Me and my sister, doing what we do best. XD


... it runs in the family. XD


I LOVE this picture. :)
In fact, I'm glad we got the first look and everything. Matt was hesitant at first, but finally relented, and it was good, too, as we got all the little tears and such out of the way. :) When I put my hand on his shoulder to turn him around, his reaction was instant... his eyes lit up and teared over at the same time, and then I started crying. We didn't expect any of that!

Our interfaith Jewish-Pagan wedding ceremony!


Matt walking down with his parents!
It's Jewish tradition for both parents to walk the bride and groom down the aisle. :)


My brother and ring bearer!
(He had a lot of jobs that day, lol. And performed each one brilliantly!)


My sister and Maid of Honor!


Matt's cousin and Woman of Honor!


I actually really love this picture. :)
Matt about to give WOH a hug, and my brother looking on!


Walking down the aisle! Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous.


Joining up with my soon-to-be husband!!
For our ceremony, my parents and I walked halfway down the aisle. Matt met us there, hugged each of my parents, and escorted me down the other half of the aisle. :)


OMG, WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!!


My poor sister and dad actually barely held it in.
In fact, my sister started bawling several times before the wedding! <3




The kiddush. :)


We were like this a good part of the ceremony. :)
This is when she was reading from our ketubah.


The tallit and the recitation of the Seven Blessings!
We had each member of our family read a blessing:
1. Matt's Nana: “May you be generous and giving with each other.”
2. Matt's Pa: “May your sense of humor and playful spirit always continue to enliven your relationship.”
3. My brother (in place of my Grandma): “May you always respect the diversity of humankind.”
4. FIL: May you respect each other’s individual personality and philosophy, and give each other room to grow and fulfill each other’s dreams.”
5. MIL: “May you appreciate and complement each other’s differences.”
6. Dad: “May you always share yourselves openly with your friends and family.”
7. Mom: “May your home be a haven of blessing and peace.”


Our ring ceremony!
According to Jewish tradition, the ring is placed on the right index finger as the "direct line to the heart." The bride and groom say their vows, then move the rings to the ring finger of their left hands to show a personal decision to willfully enter the marriage.

I, [name of groom/bride],
take you, [name of bride/groom],
to be my [wife/husband],
my friend,
my love,
and my lifelong companion:
to share my life with yours.
To build our dreams together,
while allowing you to grow with your dreams;
to support you through times of trouble,
and rejoice with you in times of happiness;
to treat you with respect, love, and loyalty
through all the trials and triumphs of our lives together;
and to give you all the love I can give
my whole life long.
This commitment is made in love,
kept in faith,
lived in hope,
and eternally made new.



I miiiight have lost it during the vows. ;)

“Stephanie/Matthew, take this ring as a meaning of our life together, for it is never ending and always beginning. With this ring, I celebrate and proclaim my love for you."


My brother holding the ceremonial broom. :)


Our handfasting! We stayed tied until our yichud. :)
We also had an elemental blessing tied (lol) to it:
Blessed be this union with the gifts of Earth, which provides sustenance, fertility and security. The earth will feed and enrich you, and help you to build a stable home to which you may always return.

Blessed be this union with the gifts of Air, for openness and breath, communication of the heart, and purity of the mind and body.

Blessed be this union with the gifts of Fire, for energy, passion, creativity and the warmth of a loving home. From the fire within you generate light, which you will share in even the darkest of times.

Blessed be this union with the gifts of Water, for our capacity to feel emotion. In marriage you offer trust to one another, and vow to keep your hearts open in sorrow as well as joy.


I love his look here. <3


Stompin' that glass!




And WE DID IT!! :D


Heeeee, everyone looks so happy! :D


No one got us actually jumping the broom, but we did it, I swear! ;)

Now on to the cocktail hour, none of it we actually saw (XD), and our reception!




They're next! Getting married in a nearby church on 1 October 2011, with their reception at Woodfield as well! :)


Okay, so we managed to pop in for a second. ;)


This is what I married into. XD


A great photo of the centerpieces!




We launched straight into our first dance: Thank You by Led Zeppelin. :)


My parents, Matt's parents, my sister, and Matt's cousin all gave speeches. :)


I did end up having a dress fiasco. XD
At one point during the reception, the button that was holding up my bustle popped off -- it might have been because the dress was so long and I was stepping on it a lot of the time. ;) Anyway, at one point, Matt saw that I was holding my train up, and he took a pin from his cufflinks (I don't know why he had those on there, lol) and pinned it back on. That one popped, so we had to take the first one he gave me and the second from his other cufflink. This is him and his Nana trying to get me pinned back in. XD Good thing, too; those two pins did the trick!


We ate! :D Haha, this was ALL we ate, but still, it was something!


Joint father/daughter and mother/son dance. :)
The thing with the DJ, he was terrible with letting us know when things were coming. Matt's mom had actually just stepped out to use the restroom, so when he called the dance, she was nowhere to be found. :( My dad and I started dancing, but he was left alone! Finally, his uncle jumped in and danced a bit, but he was kind of an ass about it, even though Matt was clearly uncomfortable. MIL came in to the reception to a round of applause and everything went well after that, but man, what a hitch. :|

Regardless, we still got a picture with Matt and his mom. :)


And she managed not to cry! ;)


Our cake. See what I mean by the scrollwork? Yuck.
Fortunately, though, it tasted AWESOME. Lemon, strawberry, and vanilla layers in each tier with buttercream. :D


My brother and mom dancing it up with my dad, the ghost. XD


OOH! That's right! We also had a homemade photo booth! Below is our picture series; click the image for more! :D




Oh my god, this was the BEST. He did it to Foxy Lady (o hai, Stephanie Fox, lol)...
... much like Wayne's World. XD NO KIDDING, IT WAS AWESOME!!
Oh yeah, and he totally grinded on me. LOLOL


We also TOTALLY played Thriller. This is Matt's cousin, totally hamming it up. ;)






... and we danced the horah. Of course. ;)








And the cake cutting! We were totally sweet to each other. :)




And the same friend who's getting married next year got some wedding details. :)

Vendor reviews:
  • Alfred Angelo
  • David's Bridal
  • Mens Wearhouse
  • Woodfield Country Club
  • Jodi, Woodfield Country Club
  • Cantor Debbi Ballard
  • Esolis Entertainment
  • We Take The Cake
  • Petal Designs
  • DK Designs
Wedding Attire (Alfred Angelo, David's Bridal, and Mens Wearhouse): A+ all around!
All these companies were amazing to work with! I bought my dress at an AA in Central Florida, then it took the drive up to Maryland when we moved and a plane flight down to South Florida when we got married. It went through a lot, both travel and places (as I had it altered in MD), but everyone was a dream to work with! The alterations woman at the Glen Burnie, MD Alfred Angelo was incredible, and I loved working with her. Same goes for AA in Sunrise, FL, where one of our wedding party got her dress; DB in Silver Spring, MD, where another of our wedding party got her dress; and Mens Wearhouse, where Matt rented his tux.

Venue (Woodfield Country Club, Boca Raton, FL): A++++++
Holy COW, I can't express enough how wonderful this place is!! Seriously, I attribute all the awesome things about our wedding to this place. They provided the catering, venue, linens, and anything else a Country Club might offer for a wedding, and they went above and beyond! I also loved working with their coordinator, named below. Everyone there was an absolute dream! And of course, the venue itself was incredibly beautiful. :)

Wedding Coordinator (Jodi of Woodfield CC): A++++++
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I love, love, LOVE Jodi!! I can't express enough how amazing she was in fielding questions, handling issues, conducting our rehearsal, and just being on top of everything during the day! I adore her!

Officiant (Cantor Debbi Ballard): A++++++
Another amazing person our day of! She had no problem at all conducting an interfaith Jewish-Pagan ceremony, and in fact, she said it was one of the more incredible ones she's ever done. :) She was punctual, asked us a ton of questions, and did a beautiful section of the ceremony where she talked about me and Matt as individuals and as couples that was just so incredibly sweet. HIGHLY recommend her!

DJ/Photography/Videography (Esolis Entertainment): Separate scores, B/A++/A+
Though they're one company, you wouldn't have known by the difference in the quality of the work. Our DJ was kind of lackluster, and failed to let us know when important things were going to come around, like the joint mother/son and father/daughter dance, the cake cutting, and other events, causing a lot of important people (like Matt's mom for the dance...) to miss a lot. We were pretty disappointed in his actual DJ skills, though the music he played was both appropriate and TONS of fun.

Photography, on the other hand, was absolutely wonderful! We had two photographers, Jenny and Julie, and they were fantastic! Knew what they were doing, were very creative, got us all into everything, and most importantly, got some incredible photos. I can't wait to see our pro shots! :D Same with the videographer! He was kind of quiet and in the background a lot of the time, but he did a fantastic job following Jenny, the head photographer, around and making sure to get a lot of great footage. :)

Cake (We Take the Cake): A-
Well, the design was... at best, sloppy. We were kinda disappointed when we saw the cake, as it was leaning over a bit and the scrollwork was nothing at all like what was on the website. However, the taste? INCREDIBLE. That was easily the best-tasting cake I've ever had in my entire life! Almost enough to make me overlook the design. Almost. ;) They were through our venue, though, so we pretty much had to use them. Oh well!

Flowers/Chuppah (Petal Designs and DK Designs): All around A++++!
Both of these guys were amazing! You've all seen my flowers posted here from DK Designs; they were even more beautiful in person than the pictures showed! Absolutely beautiful, amazing, and everyone loved them. :D And Diane, of course, was an absolute pleasure to work with!

Petal Designs had our centerpieces, chuppah, and toss bouquet for our ceremony and reception, and they all turned out SO beautifully! Our landscape was already amazing, so the simple white chuppah was all it needed; the centerpieces, I didn't even notice until near the end of the reception, but they were incredible, simple, and beautiful; and the toss bouquet... well, good thing I had it, as my cousin pretty much destroyed it when she went for it! ;) It was beautiful before the massacre, though. LOL

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