53Blonde Getting Married: 2013

Monday, October 21, 2013

The Otters Do Chicago: Part 2

Hive, I've missed you! I know, I know, I keep saying that and then I disappear for a really long time but this time I'm back and I'm finishing my recaps.

For those of you who may not have met me yet, hello! I'm Mrs. Otter, and I got married six months ago on a chilly - but beautiful! - April day. I've actually blogged almost all of our recaps, but life comes up and gets in the way so I've never quite finished. Since we celebrated our six month wedding anniversary over the weekend (where has the time gone!?), I wanted to come back and finally finish the posts I have for you.

(Photo by the wonderful Stacy Able Photography.)

To jump in right where I left off: we were on our mini-moon in Chicago, and we spent our two days there being as tourist-y as possible. Even though we live in Indiana, I had never been to Chicago and Mr. Otter had only been once, so it was time for us to explore our way through the city. One of our first stops was Garrett's Popcorn. I eat a lot of popcorn, so it had been recommended to me several times leading up to our trip and it definitely did not disappoint!

After that we walked our way over to The Bean, even though Mr. Otter had NO IDEA what I was talking about! If I remember correctly, he recognized it when he saw it, but walking over there he didn't know why I just had so go see this bean thing.

(Not knowing what it was probably made it sound very weird when I said that we were going to lay on the ground to take a photo... oops!)

That night we went back and relaxed at our hotel, ordered dinner in, and just relaxed. We had implemented a no cell phone policy (only a text to say we'd arrived there), and stayed pretty true to that with no texting, tweeting, or Instagram-ing throughout our little mini-moon. It was so nice to just be together with no cell phones interrupting, and it really helped us enjoy the short time we were in Chicago.

Day two was spent doing more tourist things, and lots of shopping, of course!

(My best friend, Kir, who passed away in high school loved rubber duckies, so whenever we see them, I try to purchase twin ducks - one for me, and one to leave at her cross. I had a hard time choosing in Chicago!)

The mini-moon was absolutely amazing. It was the perfect trip for us because it had just the right balance of relaxing and going out to do things. Mr. O would get very, very bored laying on a beach all day but that would be just fine with me, so this was a great compromise for us. If you're planning a trip to Chicago and looking to stay somewhere really nice, I wholeheartedly recommend the Waldorf Astoria! It was a great location and a beautiful place to stay.

Coming up next: how I changed my name in 96 hours. (Yes, seriously.)

Otterly in Love: The Sparkler Send-Off : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: The Last Songs : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: Stand Very, Very Still : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: The Girls Steal the Show : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: We Snuck Off : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: Some Traditional Stuff : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: Let The Party Begin! : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: The Surprises : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: The Toasts and The Dances : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: Daddy Otter’s Speech : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: Craving You More : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: The Middle Part : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: We Finally Get Married! : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 otterly02

Missed a recap? Catch up here!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Details: The Venue

Hive, today is a special day! Today, our beautiful venue, Mustard Seed Gardens, is being featured in the Indy Star! (If you jump to slide 19, you may just see the Otters, as captured by Stacy Able! ;)) I'm so incredibly excited for Megan and her family as they continue to grow more and more popular. I've heard rumors that they're already almost full for 2014, so I can only imagine how busy they're going to be after everyone sees them in the paper! :)

In honor of the special day, I thought I would skip ahead a little and start sharing some of our detail posts (don't worry, I'll come back to finish the story of our mini-moon!).

First of all: let's just talk Megan. The Skipper family owns Mustard Seed Gardens (and they have a landscaping business, so the property ALWAYS looks stunning!) and they're also the ones doing the event coordinating. At our first meeting, Megan was out of town with her fiancé, so her dad Mark showed us around the venue. We came back the next time we were home to sign, and when I finally met Megan, it was like seeing a best friend that you haven't seen in a while. We immediately clicked, and she was so wonderful throughout planning. I even saw her before I saw Mr. Otter on the wedding day! ;)

When Megan and I were looking at options on where to hold the ceremony, we immediately chose the gazebo. Later, we would decide to have our first look there, too, but the gazebo was just so beautiful - we couldn't pass it up!

When we saw the barn, it hadn't been renovated, but Mark had shown us their plans and we were blown away. Personally, I liked the barn exactly as it was (see some before photos in this post), but their vision was incredible and I knew it was going to be even better by the time our wedding rolled around over a year later. They did not disappoint!

It made for a great photo backdrop, too!

Right outside the barn doors, where we sat up the memorial table and sparklers.

Inside the barn was breathtaking. The twinkle lights, hanging paper lanterns, and exposed beams made the space feel romantic without taking away any of the charm.

From the loft area looking down.

The ladder over our sweetheart table let us add even more blooms - so pretty!

Since we didn't need to use the loft space for more guest seating, we had cocktail tables and small floral arrangements spread throughout for guests to come and take a break from dancing.

And the cupcake table! So many of you loved this shot of our cake and cupcakes (I do too! ;)), but what you may not know is that this is one of the many items that Mustard Seed Gardens has on hand for couples to rent. We also rented some chalkboards, barrels for drinks, and our chiavari chairs.

When we were taking photos, Stacy used the entire property - even the cornfields! Who knew something I complained about so much growing up ("Stuck behind a tractor AGAIN!?") would end up being the backdrop for so many of my favorite wedding photos.

The barn at night was just as stunning as it was during the day, along with the special addition of MORE TWINKLE LIGHTS!

The venue was truly something out of a storybook. As soon as we saw the place, we decided that we were getting married there. Meeting Megan was an added bonus, because I know her and I will be friends for many years to come (plus, I'm totally volunteering to work weddings with her there!). What was your favorite part about your own venue? Clearly I can't pick just one thing... ;)

Friday, August 16, 2013

The Otters Do Chicago: Part 1

Our wedding day was over. With lots of laughs, posing, and sparklers, the day had come to an end way faster than I ever thought it would. The next morning, we taxied a ton of stuff back to our apartment and met a few of Mr. O's family members for a quick, early (like, 8AM early...) breakfast before we headed off to Chicago.

Hive, I'm gonna be honest with you: I don't remember if I ever talked about how upset I was about not going on a honeymoon. Usually it only got to me when I was already down, but it was definitely in the back of my mind throughout planning. We talked about taking a short trip to New York City or Ann Arbor (two of our favorite cities!), but for various reasons, they just didn't work out.

I'm not sure exactly how it came about, since it was a surprise to me, but FIL and MIL Otter gifted us a mini-moon to Chicago! They put us in a suite at the Waldorf Astoria in Chicago, and can I just say - holy wow? They'd never been, but looking at reviews, they thought it would be a good place for us. Good place? By the time we left, we were referring to it as our apartment.

Driving up to see a Marc Jacobs IN THE SAME BUILDING? Yes.

Entering the suite: the hallways leading to the living area and the bedroom, and a great closet!

The bathroom speaks for itself, talk about luxurious!

And then I discovered the built in TV... yes, yes, we will happily move in, thank you very much. (And could there be anything more fitting to turn on than Kim Kardashian? I think not.)

The bedroom, plus the living area of the suite which had a fireplace, bar, and half bath.

My exact quote was "okay smile! Okay, now can you get up so I can take more pictures?" Poor Mr. O! ;)

We made it!

The view from our balcony.

Once we we had settled in (obviously no one had to twist our arms, we were so incredibly excited to be there!) we started looking at the map the front desk had shared with us of what was nearby. In one word: everything. As we had driven up, I had already seen about fifteen places that we JUST HAD TO GO, so we changed, got ready, and out we went!

Missed a recap? Catch up here!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Otterly in Love: The Sparkler Send Off

After we enjoyed our last song with everyone, it was time for our last dance just the two of us. We danced to A Thousand Years by Christina Perry, another special song of ours.

(All photos by Stacy Able Photography.)

While we were dancing, our friends and family were outside getting sparklers ready. Now backstory; since we weren't heading out on a honeymoon (just a quick mini-moon), we planned to go through the line of sparklers and get right into our getaway card. Part way through the evening (sometime between Pitch Perfect and Spice Girls), I noticed that Mr. O had gotten pretty agitated. It turns out that getaway car wasn't outside like they were supposed to be. Which meant that none of our things were in the car, and that we definitely couldn't leave.

Hive, I'm not a let it go type of person - you must know this by now. But that night, I wasn't up for fighting or arguing, I just told him to let it go. They aren't here? That's their loss, because they won't be tipped or given positive reviews.

And seriously, Indy brides, if you're considering renting a car, please get in touch with me before you do! I don't want anyone else to have the same issues we did! When the car arrived thirty plus minutes late, they were arguing about payment (which had already been taken care of). Then, when we got in, the driver asked us for directions. Even though he had a smartphone and a printed map, we had to direct him. I know that probably seems minuscule \but we just wanted to enjoy the last few moments of our night as we drove away, and we definitely didn't want to be giving directions. Those small things, in addition to being late, really upset Mr. O that night.

But back to the fun stuff!

Batman plays with sparklers, I am not surprised!

And here we are!

Since we didn't have a car to get into, Stacy told us to ham it up and of course we obliged.

And just like that, we were in our (very late) getaway car, heading to our hotel. The day that we had planned for so long had come and gone in a whirlwind of love and smiles. We couldn't believe that it was over, that we were husband and wife, and that we would only get a few hours of sleep before our mini-moon.

We got back to the hotel and stored everything away, snuggled up, and let it all sink in. We were husband and wife!

Up next: The Details and more about our beautiful venue! Plus, our mini-moon! (Don't worry, I'm not done quite yet! ;))

Otterly in Love: The Last Songs : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: Stand Very, Very Still : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: The Girls Steal the Show : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: We Snuck Off : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: Some Traditional Stuff : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: Let The Party Begin! : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: The Surprises : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: The Toasts and The Dances : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: Daddy Otter’s Speech : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: Craving You More : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: The Middle Part : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 Otterly in Love: We Finally Get Married! : wedding indianapolis pictures pro pics recap Otterly02 otterly02

Missed a recap? Catch up here!