Catch Up Blog #2

After not that much sleep, it was the morning of June 10th! My Wedding day! I could hardly believe it was finally here.  Matt and I spent months working around the clock on the decorations, the music, the theatricality of the ceremony, etc. All of the decorations were loaded in the night before by a wonderful group of friends that helped us get everything up. All that we had to do on the day of the wedding was to have breakfast with my family, then go to the theatre for final decoration preparation, then a final rehearsal before the cocktail hour started.
The breakfast was a good idea, since I really didn't get to eat much that whole day. It was also so wonderful to get to actually spend time with and see my family.  The breakfast was at Luna Grill and Diner, Matt's former restaurant that he used to manage.
When we arrived there, the restaurant had put up balloons and flowers for our wedding breakfast with the family.  This was really incredible of them, and until Mom sent me these photos, I had forgotten that detail. So everyone go eat at Luna Grill and Diner in Shirlington.  They are great people. Here are some photos from the Wedding Breakfast...

 Here are some shots of me and Matt with various family members, including my brother and his wife and their children, Tessa and Ian,  my Aunt Gloria, and her friend, Larry, and my Aunt Val and Uncle Tom. I think that I ate half of my breakfast, as my stomach was starting to get upset. While I was enjoying having breakfast, I was starting to feel like I was running out of time to get things done in time. I took the remains of my breakfast with me, in case I had time to eat it for lunch (which I believe I did, if memory serves at all), and headed over to the theatre, with my family in tow.

 After sizing up what needed to be done, I got to work, with help from my family, as they wandered through our half finished "carnival" in awe.  They couldn't believe what we had done so far. It really was a sight to behold, when I think back on the many months of midnight crafting in our living room, and to see all of this and know that WE did it ourselves.  It was a satisfying feeling. Amy McWilliams had designed and sewed together these fabric panels of different black and white materials.  I went from thrift shop to thrift shop looking for any sheets or curtains that I could buy for this purpose. She took all of these pieces and made these sweeping fabric panels that we hung to give a "big top" feel.  Amy's work was impeccable, and I can't thank her enough! My brother and I helped secure these, as they started falling a bit due to the air conditioning blowing on them. As we worked on these banners, Tessa and Ian had fun pretending to be rock stars on the

mini stage in the lobby, that we dubbed "The Sideshow".  They rocked the afternoon away as we continued our decorations prep.

 The Oceana Group provided the most elegant and exquisite flowers. Here are two of the arrangements...

 Ian and Tessa made their way over to the House of Horros, but decided that it wasn't that scary in the daylight.

 I made sure that all of the Ballyhoo flags were secured in place, as they were the first things that guests would see as they entered...these were made with felt, dowel rods, a wooden ball on top, gold spray paint, wire hangers, ribbon, and much patience.

 At the top of the stairs, there was a gift table, and a ticket booth. The take home gifts were these little brown mystery grab bags that were everywhere as you came into the theatre.

 As we finished our decoration prep, it was time to go and rehearse, and for other members of the family to go and take a nap before the festivities were to begin...

  Coming Soon - The 7PM Cocktails and Sideshow!
xoxoSGS

Throw Back Thursday - Jonathan Pryce

This photo was taken backstage during My Fair Lady in Concert at the Kennedy Center.  Chris Sizemore, Chris Mueller, and myself knew that we were about to do Miss Saigon, so all of us squeezed in for a picture with Jonathan Pryce. As we took the picture, he softly sang, "What's that I smell in the air?...The American Dream..."
I will truly never forget it!