The Clownfish, 1 Year Later

I can hardly believe I'm back on the 'bee writing our 1-year anniversary post - time has surely FLOWN by for Mr. C and I since last September. The proverbial "they" say that the first year of marriage is the hardest, and while year one packed a few solid punches, I'm happy to say we came out on top. The genuine friendship, love, and respect we have for one another is stronger than ever, and well, life is the best when you're living the everyday with your best friend.

Erin + Ray Photography

There were (of course) challenges we had to work through together as a team, strengthening the "we", and "us", and letting tiny bits of "I", and "me" fade away. While I wish I could say year one was without fault, I can genuinely say that I am thankful for those challenges. A lost job three weeks before Christmas, a fender-bender in a borrowed car, thousands of dollars in vet bills, and an apartment so small that all of our possessions were considered walking hazards. There were more meals eaten out than lovelingly cooked at home, as my scale ever so kindly reminds me. Arguments over who would scoop the cat crap, how many "guys nights" a week are considered kosher, and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, Mr. C, close the damn door when you're on the toilet. The list seems truly never ending. But the messy, the stressful, all the "what the heck did we just do" moments...it's all beautiful. Because it's all ours.

Erin + Ray Photography

Year one was also full of heck-yeahs and high-fives. After Mr. C lost his "just for now" job in December, an incredible job opportunity opened up for a career in his intended job field. He's been working as a chemical lab technician since the beginning of this year, and couldn't love it more. To see your spouse excelling at something they love is pretty much the best, even when they want to engage you in nerdy lab-tech talk as soon as you walk through the door. My wedding photography business exploded, and my 2016 calendar quickly filled with nearly two dozen beautiful weddings I feel so honored to capture. If you can't relive your own wedding day every weekend, the next best thing is to play such a big part in another couple's day. Also - getting to eat all the wedding cake *praise hands*

Just a week short of our one-year anniversary, we celebrated by buying our first home. Casa de la Clownfish! It still does not feel real that we are upgrading from our tiny basement apt to a brand new (beautiful, sun-filled!) townhouse, but we are so ready to make this place feel like home.

With year one under our belts, we feel ready to take on whatever challenges are thrown our way, hand in hand, stronger together than we could ever be individually. We're still figuring this whole marriage thing out, but one thing I know for sure - I'd choose Mr. C over and over again. Until next year, hive!

xo,

Mrs. Clownfish

Just Keep Loving: Our Wedding in 3.5 Minutes

One of the posts I have been so looking to sharing - our wedding video! Mr. C and I decided pretty late in the planning process to hire a videographer, mostly because we weren't sure if our wedding budget would cover hiring one. We also honestly weren't sure if we needed a videographer, as we knew Kristina would do an incredible job documenting our wedding day from behind her camera. But, after talking with so many of my married friends, most of them said their biggest regret was not hiring a videographer - or, at the very least, having a family member or friend tape their ceremony.

Mr. C were first introduced to Shawn, of Shawn Fisher Productions, after a photographer friend recommend him to me a few months into our engagement. At the time, I was sure there was no way we could afford a wedding videographer, especially since we planned on having a fairly simple, inexpensive wedding day. As it got closer and closer to our wedding day, though, the idea of hiring a videographer was more and more appealing. Maybe it was all of the wedding video's of strangers, or the insight from past-brides, or the wedding photographer in me, knowing this all those little moments will be oh so fleeting and will never be truly captured just in photos alone.

I decided to go ahead and email Shawn, inquiring about his wedding packages, what was included in each one, etc. I tried my hardest not to get my hopes up, but I'll be honest and say that I stalked my inbox, waiting of his reply email. The wait didn't last very long, as Shawn's reply email landed in my inbox just a few hours after my initial inquiry. My eyes scanned over his packages, and my heart could have quite literally leaped out of my chest - we could actually afford to hire him as our videographer! Although it did require just a tiny bit of sacrifice (I ended up photographing a wedding on my birthday to be able to afford him), his prices were incredibly reasonable, which is really saying something considering the cost of wedding videographer's in Lancaster, PA. The package we chose gave us full wedding day coverage (up to 9 hours), a 3-5 minute highlight film, a DVD will our entire ceremony, full entrances, dances, and speeches. I even had the opportunity to work alongside Shawn before our wedding day, as I was the photographer at a wedding in May where he was taking video - He was such a nice guy, and it made me even more excited to have him videograph our wedding day!

While I'll get into the actual review of Shawn's services in my vendor review post, I will preface our video by saying that Mr. C and I are incredibly happy we have such great coverage of our wedding day. We've watched this little highlight film so many times since we received it, although I'm almost positive my Grandmother has watched it more times than we both of us combined ;)

So, without further ado...the Clownfish wedding day! (make sure you click HD!)

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Up next, we applaud all the vendors that helped make our wedding day so awesome with some vendor reviews!

Just Keep Loving: Some Toasts, A Cake, and Dancing

After the dinner hour, with our bellies full of yummy breakfast foods, it was time for the toasts. Both of my MOH's and Mr. C's best men gave incredible speeches, all of them leaving us in tears - from both laughing and crying! Silly memories brought back to life, and heartfelt words about the impact of our friendship had us both feeling so thankful and appreciative to have these wonderful people in our lives. Although the speeches lasted a bit longer than we had anticipated, we still had plenty of time to get through our cake cutting before it was time to open up the dance floor.

After speeches came time to cut the cake! I had posted during the planning stage that Mr. C and I would be serving donuts in lieu of the traditional wedding cake - and we did indeed serve Fractured Prune donuts! Tragic side note: four months prior to our wedding, the Fractured Prune in Lancaster decided to close it's doors for business. Yes, we were devastated. RIP Fractured Prune.

Being the heroic, wonderful person she is, my MOH and older sister volunteered to have her boyfriend drive 3 hours round-trip the morning of the wedding to the closest open Fractured Prune in Towson, MD just so we could still have the donuts our hearts desired. But you know what? We never even got to eat a donut. Still pissed about it, six months later. Okay, back to the cake story...

Mr. C and I decided we still wanted a tiny wedding cake for us to cut, for traditions sake. Plus, I had a vision of a cute, two-tier cake and had found the perfect cake topper for it. We were able to find an up-and-coming baker in Lancaster, The Flour Child, to supply us with our perfect tiny cake, at an awesome price. The flavor we ended up going with was a traditional vanilla cake with mocha frosting filling. YUM. 

One big "surprise" we had for our guests was our custom-built outdoor dance floor. As soon as we had booked the Firehouse at Landis Valley, Mr. C and I both knew there was no way we could have our dance floor inside - too many tables, a guest list at almost maximum capacity, and no where to dance. So, we had to come up with another plan. The idea for the outdoor dance floor came to me when I saw the Firehouse doors swing open for the first time. I had envisioned a dance floor being placed right against the edge of the Firehouse floor, with the outside perimeter strung with globe lights. The dance floor would be assembled during the dinner hour, when the doors were still shut. Then, when it was time to dance, the doors would be swing open, and voila! A dance floor.

The problem with this vision was that 1) We had no skills to build a dance floor. 2) We had absolutely no room to build a dance floor. 3) Who would assemble it during dinner? 4) How would we possibly get it there/take it back home?

All of these worries and more were put to rest when MOH Schmo's dad (a carpenter!) stepped up to the plate and offered to help build us our dance floor. While I wasn't sure what it would end up looking like, I put full trust in him to help us make this crazy vision a reality. It ended up looking even better than we could have imaged! A romantic, cozy, outdoor space to dance our faces off - we were thrilled. While it could have been made even bigger (the dance floor was packed the entire night!) it was great to have that separate space outside of the Firehouse. We absolutely could not have done it without his help, and we could not be more appreciative.

The rest of the reception consisted of dancing 'til our feet hurt, sweating through multiple layers of clothing (in Mr. C's case), deciding your extra layer of crinoline under your dress absolutely must come off (in my case), and partying the night away with our favorite people, some who had traveled from as far as Florida just to celebrate with us. To say we felt loved was an understatement.

The amount of joy we felt that day couldn't be explained, even if I tried. The day we both had been waiting for for SO long was here, and we both tried so very hard to soak up all of the moments before it was all over.

Before we knew it, the last song was played, Mr. C had a bucket of ice water dumped on his head (couldn't make this up if I tried), and I changed out of my wedding dress and into a more casual "exit" dress.We didn't have any sort of formal exit planned, so we stayed behind long after our guests started leaving and helped our families and friends clean up - before we were both shooed away to our hotel.

So there it is...our wedding day. The most beautiful day we could have imagined, come and gone so incredibly fast. All the months of planning, surmounted to a day better than either of us could ever have dreamed. It was truly the most perfect day, and I got to end the day with my husband. My husband. I still don't get tired of saying those two words, as cheesy as it sounds.

While our wedding day recaps may be over (in picture form, at least!), you can't get rid of Mrs. Clownfish quite yet. I still have a few posts up my sleeve, and I can't wait to share my next post with you -- our wedding day video!

Just Keep Loving: We Ate Breakfast for Dinner

After some dancing and mingling with our guests, it was time for dinner! Well...breakfast. For dinner.   Ch'yeah. 

Since our breakfast-for-dinner planning post was one of the most popular posts I wrote (you can read all about our pre-wedding brinner plans here!), I figured I would follow it up post-wedding and fill you in on how it actually went down, how it was received by our guests, and if we would still have brinner at our reception if we could do it all over again. Spoiler alert: we totally, 100% would.

Photos by Kristina Ross Photography

When I first wrote the "Breakfast for Dinner" post, I was still finalizing the menu with our caterer, and discussing the best options for what foods to serve to please all of our guests. Mr. C and I knew we wanted the traditional wedding foods served during the main meal time, with some breakfasty-h'oerdourves served during the cocktail hour. While I didn't get a chance to write a post on our cake-plans prior to the wedding, we did end up hiring a small, local bake shop to make us a small cake, as well as finger-type foods that fit in with our breakfast theme.

The bakery supplied us with, bite-size cinnamon rolls, mini pull-apart money bread, mini pumpkin muffins, and mini blueberry scones. Everything was so fresh and delicious, and I'm so sad I didn't get to try everything.

The caterer also provided the assorted fruit tray and dip, and my family was kind enough to slice up a fancy cheese-and-cracker tray. There was a huge assortment of different goodies for the guests to nosh on during the cocktail hour, as well as several large galvanized tubs full of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The day-of-coordinator, Emily, was kind enough to bring both Mr. C and I glass bottles of coke and a tray of snacks during the family photos. Sadly, I didn't get to see the spread all laid out, but I do have this photo to show that it did indeed exist!

Another element of our wedding food that I put a good bit of thought and effort into was our coffee bar. I'm a self-proclaimed coffee addict, and I knew it would be the perfect touch for our breakfast cuisine. The hot coffee was supplied by our caterer, while I spent the night before the wedding googling how to cold-brew coffee so that we would have iced coffee. Priorities, people! In the weeks before the wedding I also frequented our local restaurant supply store to stock up on different flavors of syrups, as well as fun straws and stirrers. Although it isn't the fanciest coffee bar, I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. It was a personal touch so many of our guests appreciated, and this bride was psyched to make her own iced coffee during the reception.

After the cocktail hour yummies, it was time to chow down on the real deal - brinner! While I wish I had a photo of all the different stations to show you, trust me when I say that it was the most beautiful display of breakfast foods this side of IHOP. Once our guests were dismissed by table, they had a chance to create their own made-to-order omelette, with a huge variety of meat and vegetable mix-ins. For our one hundred guests, there were four stations, which seemed to make the process go much faster than the two stations we had originally planned on. Definitely a good call on the catering company! After plating their omelette, our guests went down the line of tables to fill their plates with the breakfast essentials - bacon, sausage, fresh carved ham, french toast (with whipped cream and strawberry topping), and hash browns.

Everything was incredibly delicious, and even better than I imagined it would be. When I first told our friends and family we were serving a catered breakfast, a lot assumed that it would be equivalent to a continental breakfast at a hotel at worst, and a Denny's breakfast at best. While I had high expectations for my caterer, we didn't get to sample our food prior to the wedding (no taste-testings for us, boo), so I wasn't exactly able to ease their fears.

My worries were put to rest as soon as I saw the delicious spread and started chowing down. Everything tasted incredible, it was served hot, and it was obvious that only the freshest ingredients were used. It was so fun hearing our guests talking about how different and fun our wedding food was, and I might have heard a few "Best wedding food ever!" comments through out the night. Our vintage plates were overflowing with breakfasty-goodness, and I snagged Kristina to take this photo to remember it by...

Overall, we couldn't have been more pleased with our breakfast-for-dinner wedding food. While it certainly may not be every couple's cup of  coffee  tea, we wouldn't change a thing. We got all-postive feedback from our guests, and if someone had something else to say, they kept it to themselves. Even my naysayer of a father, who doubted this idea from the very beginner, told us afterward that it was a great choice. 

To bride's who are interested in doing something similar at their weddings, I say go for it! My first piece of advice is to contact several caterers, and get their pricing and packages on buffet breakfasts. Not all caterer's will be able to provide the made-to-order options, or meat-carving stations, and it's important to know this when comparing prices and services. Pick a caterer who allows you to mix-and-match items to build your own menu, so you can make it as casual or as "upscale breakfast" as you'd like. While we could have certainly gone crazier with the fancy breakfast options (we explored the idea of a quiche-station, and a yogurt parfait bar), we kept the food simple and fuss-free, and went with the traditional breakfast comfort foods - this ended up saving us a lot of money! Finding a caterer that includes all of your linens and silverware is also something I'd recommend, since it's one less vendor to find and hire. 

So there you have it...the Clownfishes' wedding brinner. It was delicious. We saved a bunch of money. We'd totally do it all over again.

Up next...some speeches and a cake cutting!

Just Keep Loving: Entrances & Some Dancing, Too

Now that the most stressful part of the day was over (family photos, I'm lookin' at you), it was time to party! Most of our guests had made their way inside the firehouse and were finding their seats when it was time for the DJ to announce our parents, our bridal part, and finally...us! The new Mr. & Mrs!

We chose the song "Jump Around" by House of Pain as our entrance song, because who doesn't instantly want to get out cha seat and jump around  dance when they hear that song? It's a ridiculous classic and I knew we'd get a silly dance move or two out of my dad and some laughs from our guests...

Mr. C and I didn't plan any kind of special entrance, so we kept it simple and went with the old bouquet raise and raise-the-roof wave. Oh, and a kiss, of course. The energy in the room was so awesome, and it was definitely a sign of the killer dance party that was to come later in the evening! Walking into our reception space with my husband was for sure one of the happiest moments of my life. The hard part of the day was over, and all that was left to do was party with our closest family and friends, eat some amazing food, and dance our faces off.

Right after we made our entrance, we went right into our first dance. In hindsight, I really wish we would have saved our first dance until after dinner was over. There was such little room to dance (we had to do so mostly in front of our sweetheart table, and space was tight), and the lighting wasn't the greatest for our photographs. During dinner, our "surprise" custom-built dance floor was being assembled by MOH Schmo's dad and brother (more on that later!), and it would have served as a much better place to have our first dance, if only we would have thought to push our first dance back a bit. Not a huge deal, of course, but definitely something I would have changed.

Mr. C and I's first dance was "As Long as Our Hearts Are Beating" by Jenny and Tyler. It took months for us to finally decide on a song, since neither of us was too picky, but picky enough that we wanted a song that wasn't overplayed or incredibly cliche. I had first heard the song by Jenny and Tyler when I was photographing a wedding a couple years ago, and I remembered thinking how beautiful it was. When I finally remembered the name of the song, I played it for Mr. C, and it was decided.

Our first dance was sweet, and simple. No crazy dance routines, not even one dip. I guess you could say our first dance was boring, but it was so special. We chatted (although I honestly couldn't tell you what exactly we talked about. I probably kept saying, "We're married!" and "Holy crap, that just happened"), we kissed, and then our first dance was over.

Up next was the father-daughter dance with Poppa Clownfish. Growing up, my dad and I didn't have a kind of "Butterfly Kisses"-type relationship. I loved my dad, I respected him, and I loved spending time with him, but I was not a daddy's-little-girl. A song like "Butterfly Kisses" would have felt so odd and out of place, so we decided on Tim McGraw's "My Little Girl". Still sappy, still sweet, and a song that more accurately represented our relationship. While I guessed that my dad might tear up during our dance, I did not expect him to full-out sob. When he started crying, I lost it, too (because who can keep it together when they see their dad's crying?). We were both puddles of mush, and I tried to lighten the mood before all my makeup would be cried off. One of my favorite memories from our wedding day was dancing with my dad, and it's a memory I'll treasure forever.

Mr. C danced with his momma next, to Rascal Flatt's "My Wish". I had asked his mom what said she'd like dance with Mr. C to, and to my surprise, she asked me to pick! Like Mr. C and I's first dance song, I had heard "My Wish" played as the mother-son song at a couple weddings I had photographed, and I knew it would make a great song for their dance, too.

After our dances, it was time to chow down on some breakfast foods and hear some amazing toasts!

Just Keep Loving: Reception Decor

The reception space was decorated by us (being Mr. C and I, our entire wedding party, and parents), the night before the wedding, after our rehearsal. We were so lucky to have had access to our reception space, and I really don't know how everything would have pulled together had we not been able to set-up the day before. There was literally an assembly line of setting up the tables, placing the chairs, arranging the centerpieces, and decorating the favor table and cake/donut table.

I am so incredibly happy with how everything came together. Everything I had been planning for almost two years was coming together right before my eyes, and I couldn't contain my excitement. It was the perfect combination of classic wedding with fresh and unique touches. My biggest "splurge" for our guest table decor was was gold flatware and the gold charger plates...to me, they were worth every penny. All gold everything did not disappoint.

I was so excited for our guests to see everything we had been planning!

Up next, reception entrances and some dancing!