Saturday, September 12, 2009

We have a Registry!

Today we went to Crate & Barrel and started our registry! We had so much fun planning out our dinner table and thinking about plates and flatware and dinner parties. We walked around scanning things and playing with glasses and bowls and gadgets - like kids in a candy store - for a good 2 hours! It was really fun and we're so excited that we only have about a year to go before our big day.
The best part came when we typed in who to send things to after the wedding and Matty typed in Stefanie M. O'Shea - it looks so beautiful! I can't wait!
After ward we celebrated by going to Sel de la Terre and discussing our future dinner table over oysters and little necks and ceviche, all of which would have looked fabulous on our fabulous plates! We also talked about our other registry that we have yet to create, at Target, and how we are definitely going to ask for some board games to compliment the awesome dinner parties we are going to be throwing!
I am also looking forward to the engagement party that Emily is throwing us next weekend, marking year to the day before we become husband and wife!
It's getting close and we can't wait to share our love with you all!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

New venue, new date!

Hi everyone! Wow, it has been far too long since we have updated what is going on with the wedding! First things first, we have decided to have the reception where we met - Church (the bar, not the place of worship!). This comes after much discussion about how to make our wedding the most fun and most meaningful it can possibly be - and what better place to celebrate our nuptials than at the very place that we first laid eyes on each other? We think this will be very special, and it has so much meaning to us, (and will also keep us from getting ridiculously in debt to have our reception somewhere that feels a little too stuffy for us anyways). The people at Church have been super accommodating and are going to allow us a lot of room to do what we want, how we want it done. We have free reign over decor, music, everything! We are also going to be able to work with their chef and create a personalized menu filled with our favorite things! Church also has a parking lot so, if the Red Sox are not playing at home that day, parking will be easy and free! Alternatively, we will run a shuttle from the ceremony site to the reception, which is not very far. So there that is! The ceremony at St. Thomas Aquinas and the reception at Church!
Also, due to the availability of ceremony times on Sundays (which are much better than Saturdays due to the Mass schedule) and our desire to pay for an open bar - we have decided to move the date to Sunday 09/19/10 - the day after our original date. We hope this will not mess up any one's travel plans, and hope that our out of town guests take advantage of a Saturday night in Boston to enjoy our wonderful city!
As you can see, planning remains full steam ahead, with a little more than a year to go. We have a lot of the details planned out in our head, and are working on getting those things together and to fruition.
We have been able to secure DJ Brian (of Love Night at Common Ground fame) as our DJ for the reception, which is going to be amazing! Going to Love Night has been a favorite past time of ours, and is something that we love to do with our friends, so having Brian supply the tunes is going to be perfect! As a matter of fact - the night before Matty proposed we were at Common Ground to do some dancing, and he actually had the ring with him, but missed his window to pop the question and decided to wait for us to be alone! So sweet!
We have been watching the Tour de France, as is our annual tradition, and have found some inspiration for our cupcakes in the hills of France. Matty had the awesome idea of making the cupcakes create rolling green hills, and to put our cupcake topper (which will be us on bikes) riding the trail! He is so crafty!
We are also talking about making the reception area look like the Blue Bayou restaurant at my favorite place in the world, with pretty Asian inspired lanterns strung about. I have found some great lanterns in our wedding colors on-line, at a great price too!
Thanks to the wonderful eye of Ms. Jeanne Jo, we have been getting all sorts of great DIY ideas from craft blogs and Martha Stewart, and cannot wait for her to get back to the East Coast so all of the bridesmaids can get crafting!
Dress shopping is also on the horizon, and though everything is going to be a secret - right down to the cut, I have found an amazing website which fits my personality to a tee, and I just have to share it with you!
We can't wait to see all of this come together and to share our immense love for each other with you next Fall! Thanks for following us, and there will be a lot more to come soon, so check back!!
If there is anything that would be helpful for you that we can post - please leave a comment and let us know!

Lots of love,
Stef and Matty

Saturday, February 14, 2009

In Honor of St. Valentine



We have finally decided on our colors!
We are going to go with a dark grey/silver/steel-like color and a light pink, much like my ring.
The grey color will go perfect with the theme of the Liberty Hotel (the old Charles Street Jail) and pink...well if you and I have ever met, then I need not elaborate. Matty is of course an amazing fiance and was really into the idea, and actually was the first to mention pink - I did not coerce him I promise! And the poll results show that you guys were partial to pink and black over all the other colors - thanks everyone! I promise the bridesmaids dresses will be gorgeous, Emily!
Over the Nutella crepes Matty made me for Valentine's Day breakfast we threw out a lot of ideas - stargazer lilies (I got these in my birthday bouquet when Matty was in Ireland), steel bike center pieces that can hold pictures, music, save the date post cards...whew! It was productive and we have all sorts of exciting ideas that we are going to put down on paper and see what we can make happen.

In other engagement news: Last night we were feted at Cafeteria by my HONO family (the wonderful people that I went on a relief trip to New Orleans with), who are more and more like a family to me as the years pass. It was a wonderful time - tasty cocktails and the best sliders and lobster pizza I have ever tasted! It was also a great opportunity for my friends to get to know Matty better and to see with their own eyes the immense amount of love and devotion that we have for each other. He has met most of them at various dinners, concerts, and volunteer events, but it was much different to have us all together for the sheer purpose of celebrating our engagement! Much thanks and love to everyone who came out to celebrate with us, as well as those who were there in spirit.

So there you have it - the colors! We have also been blessed to have Vanessa Embling offer to be our photographer, which is so, so generous of her. She is an amazing talent, and I can't imagine having anyone else document this day - no awkward poses for us! Also, our Priest, Father Harkins, was incredibly excited to hear our news and has offered to officiate our wedding Mass (he doesn't marry us, as I learned in class last Monday - the Sacrament does), which is an incredible blessing, as he has been an integral part of our relationship with each other and God. We are looking forward to sitting down with him and talking more about our marriage and the role of the Church in our relationship, and having him guide us through this part of our lives.
So, time is ticking, but we are right on top of things, and most importantly, growing even closer and more in love as we have fun planning!

Happy Valentine's Day!
I love my new cupcake apron Matty got me!
Stefanie

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

It's True - We're Getting Hitched!




On Sunday February 1st Matty asked me to marry him, and of course, I said "YES"!


We could not be more excited, and are incredibly thankful for all of the love and support from our family and friends.


As we prepare for our big day we have decided to keep a blog documenting our planning progress, information and links for our family and friends, and of course the day-to day-antics of every one's favorite couple!


Please check back often and let us know if there is anything we can include that will help you to be as involved and informed as possible during this very special time in our lives.




With much love and blessings in your own lives,


The future Mr. and Mrs. Matthew O'Shea!