Friday night was the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. Everyone met up at the church- myself, Brian, Meghan, Kelly, Carl, Logan, Macey, Aubrey, Torey, Sadey, Grandma, Dad, Mom, Terri, Mark, Alan, Shannon, Fah-Pow, Devin, Sheenie, Val, Patrick, Karen, and Sonia. We ran through the wedding in its entirety two times. Then we all piled in cars, and headed to Buckley's Tavern. We had a blast there, just enjoying ourselves. Dawn (Patrick's wife), Aunt Cheryl and Brent, Mojo all joined us at the restaurant. The food was wonderful, the drinks were yumyumyummy. We gave everyone their gifts there. Here is what we got everyone:
Parents (Mom, Dad, Terri, Mark)
Silver plated double frame with the invitation on one side and an opening for their choice of wedding pics on the other.
Mojo
A Lolita wine glass (Little Black Dress)
Meghan
Lands End Medium Tote, embroidered with MEG
Eliza B. Flip Flops
OPI travel sized nail polishes (5 colors and 1 clear)
Post it notes
Blank note cards
Travel Tissues
Black Clutch Wallet
3 PocketBacs from Bath and Body Works
Kelly
Lands End Medium Tote, embroidered with initials
iHome
Life is Good mug in Purple
Life is Good long sleeved tee in Purple
Black Clutch Wallet
Blank Note Cards
3 PocketBacs
Val
Vera Bradley Bag in Mediterrian Blue
set of 10 Note Cards
Coach Leather Portfolio
Coach Umbrella in Yellow
Coach Passport Cover
3 PocketBacs
Carl
Underdog Tee
6 pack of Killian's
2 Harley-Davidson Beer Mugs
Alan
Camping equipment
(I can't remember what else, I will ask Brian when he's awake!)
Devin
Cars reusable tote bag (from the Disney store, the ones you can use at the grocery store)
Cars mug with straw
Thomas the Tank Engine MegaBloks
Edward (Thomas' friend) MegaBloks
Percy (Thomas' friend) MegaBloks
Ring Bearer Train that we painted
Sadey
Disney Princess clear Tote/Purse
Blue Heart necklace
White little purse
Cinderella doll
Disney Princess mug with straw
Pomander Ball she carried down the aisle
Everyone really appreciated their gifts, which made us feel good- we put a lot of time and thought into them for each of them. I really did not want to do the across the board same gifts for everyone thing; I wanted them to feel like I really thought about them, thought about what they would appreciate, and put some time into it. And before you jump to conclusions, we actually did not spend much money. We tried to get really good deals at many different locations, and that way get more items or nicer items that the person would really enjoy.
For dessert, we did something simple that we both love. Instead of doing a cake (including the groom's cake- that was at the wedding reception for everyone to see), we went to BJ's and Costco and bought some awesome cheesecake. It's a little different and untraditional, but everyone loved it. We did a regular one and a mixed variety one. Everyone said they enjoyed not having another piece of regular cake (since they would be getting it the next day!).
Buckley's really was wonderful. We booked them 6 months in advance, and that is considered late by their standards. They usually book up 9-12 months in advance; we got lucky! There was no problem for guests coming into the room; they were able to just walk right in. They had printed up personalized menus for the night of what we were offering. The food was absolutely delicious (we offered a steak, a crab cake, and a vegetarian option, and the kids could order chicken fingers and fries); it literally melted in your mouth. The atmosphere was the reason we chose Buckley's; it's laidback but still business attire. We like to call it rustic semi-formal. It really feels like an upscale tavern! The room we were in was in the back, and even though the restaurant was crowded (it always is on a Friday), once we shut the doors it was very comfortable and not loud at all. The bathrooms were right there, across the dining area right outside our room; we did not have to cross the entire crowded restaurant nor go near the bar to get to them. The drinks were well done and like I said, yummy. I had several :) The service was okay; they had a new server (it was his first day) and he seemed frazzled by it all. The other guy disappeared for longer than we liked. By the time we got there, it was late and we wanted to get the kids' food first, but it took a while and they didn't bring them all at once. They messed up a couple of drink orders at first, though they were corrected. Overall, the service was okay, but not outstanding. It's not something so bad that I won't ever go back, nor should it deter you from going. The only really big complaint I have is their parking. They have a very, very, very tiny lot, and for as busy as it gets on the weekends, the lot size is just too small. Street parking is available, but some of our guests had to hike a little ways. There were no lines in the lot, except for the handicapped spots, and there were only two of those. There was no rhyme or reason to the parking, and people coming in the out and going out the in- a problem when you couldn't fit two cars side-by-side to get through, and nowhere to pull over to let cars by. I am of the opinion that they have parties and private events enough that they should have separate parking for people attending those events. Really, for as busy and as popular as they are, the parking problem is a huge issue. Overall, I would give them a grade of B+; while everything was wonderful, the parking really was that big of an issue to drop them down to a B+. We had guests show up 15-30 minutes late because of the parking situation. If you plan on going here, organize carpools and adjust your schedules for the trying-to-find-a-spot time.
Consider this your first wedding post. The next one (hopefully tomorrow) will be on getting ready for the wedding (hair, makeup, getting dressed, my only freakout, and arriving at the church). The installment after that will be about waiting for the ceremony to start, the ceremony, and pictures afterwards. Finally, I will talk about the awesomeness that was the reception :) Hey, I have to keep you coming back somehow, right?
One more thing: keep checking out our photog's site. Stephanie Glover did an Ah-Mazing job. I simply can't get enough of our slideshow :) Oh, and our picture is at the top of her website- that's us holding out the rings :) If you need a photog, for anything from weddings to life events to family pictures, I really urge you to go check her out. Switching from our old photog to her a month before the wedding (yeah, that's another story) was the best decision we made regarding the wedding, hands down.
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