A Wedding Contest, a Tropical Storm, and two Un-invited Guests : A View from the Sweetheart Table (Part 2)

Another guest post by Felicity Sicre Chappell – THE Bride…

Up to the morning of the wedding, I had been living in a dream state. None of it felt real. Don’t get me wrong, it was beyond exciting, but even telling the story of how it all happened, felt like I was talking about someone else. I still couldn’t believe it was all happening to me (oops, “US”, sorry Jeff).

I woke up that Sunday morning in my amazing bridal suite on the 12^th floor and I had a cold (uninvited guest number one). I had been fighting it for a couple of days, a last minute gift from my fiancé. Poor Jeff, he had been sick all week and did his best to hide it from me so as not to stress me out.  We were living on Nyquil and vitamins hoping to stave it off in time for the wedding. We were determined to not let it get to us. That, coupled with the third eye that had been growing steadily on my forehead for the past week (uninvited guest number two), was just enough to send me into a frenzy pushing me to that fine line between stressed out bride and bridezilla.

Wedding day weather.

While the day before was sunny and breezy, the forecast had called for a 90% chance of showers for the wedding day. I spent all of Saturday praying for the sunshine to hold up because the plan was for our ceremony to be outside surrounding the gorgeous pool overlooking the ocean. (Hence the “Dream Beach Wedding”)  Fortunately, the fantastic team at the Hilton and our Wedding Jeannie had already switched to plan B and had prepared for the ceremony to be inside.  So I had nothing to worry about, but I was still hopeful.

Sure enough, when I opened the blinds of my bedroom window, I immediately recognized what would be the calm before the storm. The sky was grey and the clouds were rolling in quickly, the wind was picking up and the air smelled like rain. It was coming.  I gave in to Mother Nature and reminded myself how they say that rain on your wedding day is good luck. Still, I felt a bit deflated. What wasn’t deflated was the pimple on my forehead. My makeup artist had her work cut out for her. Hope she packed some magic in her bag.

Wedding Day Hair and Makeup…or is that a geisha?

The next few hours went by quickly, and my room was a rotating door of visitors and camera crew. My hair and face had been beautified by Design Visage’s beauty magician Jen, who successfully hid my third eye with tattoo cover-up. Yet, the moment still didn’t feel real. It was more like watching a wedding reality show.

Until, that is, I put on my wedding gown.

As I was stepping into a cloud of ever so delicately tinted blue tulle, and having the custom designer Arminé and my sister zip and button me in, reality hit me that I was putting on my wedding dress — the uniquely created work of art that would adorn me on the most important day of my life and that would grace all the pictures that would commemorate this moment beyond my lifetime.

It was as if someone had flipped a switch. Surrounded by some of the most important people in my life, I was “in it”…that moment that every little girl dreams about but can never quite imagine until it actually happens to her. With help, I put on my red shoes that up to that point had just been some inexpensive red heels, my veil was delicately placed on my head, and suddenly I was a bride. I was glowing and I felt incredible.  I looked out the window and the rain was coming down sideways, and within a few seconds, it turned to hail. Yet nothing could rain on the parade of elation that I was experiencing.

That energy carried me as I prepared to walk into our wedding ceremony. I was standing there with my Dad on one side, my Godmother/Aunt on the other, as I watched last minute stragglers rush into the room. Suddenly, the first few instrumental notes of Led Zeppelin’s All of My Love began, with the accompaniment of Tim the Electric Violinist, and my excitement was kicked up to the next notch. Chills overtook me, and I was so energized to hear the music, it was just what we wanted and it sounded phenomenal.

I didn’t think that feeling could get any better, when unexpectedly my ears were filled with the exploding cheers of our guests as they greeted Jeff and his groomsmen. I had never heard that reaction before at a wedding ceremony, and according to Pastor Dave, neither had he in his 20 plus years experience. It was intoxicating.

Here comes the bride!

I couldn’t wait to see Jeff. I didn’t go with him to his tux fitting, and we decided not to have a “first look,” or what I kept calling “the peekaboo,” so I was as anxious to see him as I was for him to see me.

The music tapered and transitioned to a beautiful instrumental of Here, There and Everywhere by the Beatles, and I knew it was my queue, my moment, and the tears welled up in my eyes as my smile widened.

I was more ready than I had ever been…

Stay tuned for part 3

A Wedding Contest, a Tropical Storm, and two Un-invited Guests : A View from the Sweetheart Table (Part 1)

Guest post by Felicity Sicre Chappell – THE Bride…

Waiting for the results…

When you plan a dream beach wedding, you undoubtedly imagine sunshine. When you win a dream beach wedding, you go with the flow. This is the story of a control-freak who surrendered her wedding over to the professionals and mother-nature and let what was meant to be, happen.

First, let me address a couple questions that have been swirling in the readers’ minds since the first blog post. “How did you find out about this $100K wedding contest, and how on earth did you win?” It comes down to two words: Social Media, in all of its many forms.

From the moment of our engagement in August, wedding planning became a daunting task. I decided at that moment that I was going to find and enter as many wedding contests as I could, even though I had never done anything like that before. I’ve never even bought a lottery ticket. Then one day in November, there it was, on Facebook. A high school friend had posted that her mom’s friend’s daughter and her fiancé needed votes to win a $100,000 Dream Beach Wedding Contest put on by Your Wedding Day Magazine and the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort. I followed the link, voted for the couple, saw that there were only a handful of couples in the contest at that time, and quickly posted a picture and brief story about us, and suddenly we were contestants. It happened that fast.

The next step was asking as many people as I could to vote for us. Again, Facebook became the channel for putting the word out. From there it became viral. Friends and family were all too happy (well they at least acted happy) to not only vote 999 times, but to post it on their Facebook page, and email their friends and family. Their friends and family did the same thing, and so on.

My Aunt Mary Ann provided the handwritten link in all of her Christmas cards that she sent out! People that we have never met, nor will meet, were voting for us, and they were sharing the link and spreading the word. It was overwhelming and I felt so blessed and fortunate to be a part of such a generous network of people (THANK YOU everyone!).

Watching the online votes jump in increments of tens and twenties was addicting. It was like gambling in Vegas (ok, so I have never actually gambled in Vegas, but I imagine I know the feeling). The voting process was tedious and time consuming. Yet so many people did it for us repeatedly, and as my new brother-in-law Craig said, “It was the worst video game ever.” Luckily, his finger healed in time for the wedding, although now that I think back, he did drop the rings….

In January, and one hundred fifty-eight thousand votes later, we were the couple with the most votes. The next step was the 45 minute interview process in front of a panel of five female judges. Let me tell you quite honestly that there was never a second when we thought we would win. These things just don’t happen to people we know, let alone us.

Now I’ll admit, there was a moment where I contemplated sitting Jeff down and providing him with a list of “do and don’t say” and coaching him through a sort of script. Yet I knew in my heart that if we were meant to have this dream wedding, then it would be ours, and that ultimately fate had already determined the winners. If it wasn’t us, then it wasn’t meant to be.  We would still get married, and like Jeff said, we were winners because we had already won each other.

Now, if you know Jeff, you know right away that he won that contest for us. Sure, I was the one who rallied the team for the voting process, but it was Jeff who charmed the judges without even trying. It didn’t take long for them to see in him what it was that I fell in love with, and he commandeered that interview making me look like a wall flower. He was incredible.

We were both genuine and honest, and totally ready and willing to hand over our wedding to the capable women making the decisions.  Later we learned that those three things won us the prize. The next night, in front of 500 strangers, we were announced the winners. I’ll never forget the look of complete and genuine shock on Jeff’s face. In slow motion, my mouth dropped open as I turned to him and whispered the word, “what?” My legs were shaking, he had to hold me up. Many people congratulated us, and one guy said that by our reaction, he would think that we had just won ten dollars. I decided not to tell him that I had almost peed my pants, nor that it wasn’t my 4-inch heels making my legs and knees wobble.  Well, the heels did contribute.

We had a two hour drive home where for much of the first half hour we sat in silence and disbelief. The rest of the drive was made up of light conversation that toggled back and forth between “did that just happen?” and “can you believe we just won a wedding?”

The shock still hasn’t worn off.

We learned that our wedding was planned for Sunday, March 25, less than three months from the date we won the contest. Suddenly we were on the fast track, and the roller coaster ride was getting started. Everything was already in place from the date to the venue, the wedding planner, invitations, florist and linens, Officiant, gown designer, tux rental, lighting, caterers, musician, photographer, videographer, hair & makeup, the rehearsal dinner, and the ring designer…yes, we got rings! Who gets free wedding rings?

Our biggest sacrifice was making frequent trips down to Orange County to meet our vendors, and neither of us was complaining. As far as wedding planning goes, we got off easily, and we knew that no matter what was decided for us, it would be magnificent and way beyond what we could have paid for, imagined or planned.

Surprisingly, we had a lot more say in the whole thing than we expected. We provided our ideas and our brief list of likes and dislikes and were told to steer the voting process in the direction of our top picks. They truly wanted to give us what we wanted. Wow, did they deliver!

Stay tuned for part 2…

They won!

Locale Magazine Shares First Official Wedding Pics

I’m tinkering away on a few new posts with pictures and more memories collected from Felicity & Jeff’s wedding…so stay tuned.

In the meantime, just had to share some recent coverage on the big event posted on LOCALE Magazine.  Beautiful spread (thanks to Huey Bui Photography).

Enjoy!

The Wedding Bell Blues

It’s a little over a week after the wedding, and I have to admit, I’ve been a little down in the dumps over the whole thing.  Kind of like an “after-my-sister’s-wedding-day-hangover.”  Not because the wedding wasn’t incredible, because it was.  But because I’m so bummed to see it all go by.  It happened all too fast for my liking, and in the end, I DIDN’T EVEN GET A PIECE OF CAKE!

Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!

Whew, now that’s off my chest, let’s get into the details, the highlights, the best of the best.*

The Dress

I told you it was unexpected, didn’t I?  Layers of soft tulle in the sweetest shade of what I’m calling Tiffany Blue, with just the right amount of sparkle.  A handmade design by the fabulous Armine of R-Mine Bridal, what a treat!  Thank you so much for such a delightfully memorable dress, Armine.  Just hanging up in the bridal suite the day before, it looked so pretty, I wanted to eat it.  And the bride wore red shoes…rumor has it she couldn’t stop dancing either.   She was simply gorgeous, and that’s not just me bragging.

The Flowers & Decor

Krista Jon glorified the room with decadent red and turquoise bouquets, which happens to be one of my personal favorite combinations.  I tried to steal one of the vases from the reception, but got caught red-handed.  So, I was satisfied with my bouquet of red anemones and anthurium, tied with a sweet black rose ribbon.  Finally had to say goodbye to it today.  Boo hoo.

The Cake

A masterpiece by Superfine Bakery with four tiers and three different yummy layers (so I have been told, again and again…rub it in, why don’t you).  And weren’t Jeff & Felicity sweet when they cut it?  Nice and tidy.  I give them an 8 out of 10 on that, being as my personal opinion is if one of you (namely him) doesn’t get a little cake on your face, can you really say you tried your hardest?  Get used to it Jeff, from here on out, she’s always right, and you’re just going to have to take the fall, aka, get cake on your face from time to time.

The Food

Over-the-top!  The girls from my Girls Nite dinner group suggested I try to pull that amazingly memorable mushroom soup dish off someday.  Boy, they either a) have a lot of faith in my cooking, b) think I have an in with the chef, or c) were very drunk.  I’m putting my money on “c” for the obvious reasons.

The Music

I have to admit, and this is the music snob in me talking, that when they said there would be an electric violinist, my first thought was, “Oh no you don’t.  We don’t want no new-age superfreak with ruffled cuffs playing at this wedding.”  So now, let me eat my words.  Timmy, the DJ/Violinist ROCKED.  He was incredible, and he had the coolest song list that surprised even the biggest rocker chick in the house.  One of my favorite parts of the ceremony was the bridal party walking in to Led Zeppelin.  Uber-cool.

The Bar

Endless.  Even had an ice-sculpture with shoots running down it.  You’d order your drink, the bartender would mix it up, and then send it down a shoot, chilling it on its way down to your glass.  Nice touch.

The Photo Booth

I now have a stack of crazy-hatted photos of me with any combination of people at the party – some likely, some very unlikely combinations – but hey, it was a party, and we were being social, right?  All I know is that I’m glad there were pictures, because it all happened so fast, I absolutely don’t remember taking most of them.  But it sure looks like I had a great time, as did everybody else.

The Crepes

My personal favorite.  At the end of the evening, from out of nowhere, came a magic stand of made-on-demand crepes.  Savory or sweet, your choice.  I’m hoping that if I close my eyes really tight and click my heels three times, maybe those guys will appear outside my office window just in time for dinner (and dessert) tonight. I highly recommend this clever late-night addition to any extravaganza you might be planning.  Your guests will love you for it.

Ok, so that’s the official rundown.  I’d love to hear your comments and stories from the night, as I didn’t get the chance to talk to everyone (but I sure as heck tried, which is why I missed out on the cake).

To The Hilton, The Wedding Jeannie, and the folks at Your Wedding Day, and all of the rest of the vendors mentioned here, thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my sister’s wedding day so incredible!

*Disclaimer:  this is all to the best of my recollection, so forgive me if I’ve missed something.  The real hangover hit the next morning, and was thankfully gone by lunch time.  I’m having to rely on pictures to nudge some of my memories.  Like I said, it was a great party!

Now it’s your turn to share your stories in the comments below…please do.

Did Someone Say “Chocolate?”

Ah yes, I got the BIG invite.  The ONE I’ve been waiting for since this whole marriage proposal came about.

That’s right, Felicity and Jeff invited me to they’re cake tasting!

Truth be known, I actually sort of invited myself, but no need to focus on the minor details.

I was a good guest.  I didn’t push my favorites or make ugly faces when I didn’t agree.  It’s their wedding, after all.  But really, the cake was so good, there’s no way they could go wrong.  That’s thanks to the creative baking skills of Andrea Boudewijn at Superfine Bakery…she’s a confectionery artiste (and a real doll).

These flowers are made from sugar...believe it!

The best part is that this cake is going to be over-the-top beautiful.  Just listening to Andrea describe it and how she was going to construct it was fascinating.  Realizing that the delicate flowers that will adorn the cake will all be hand-made out of sugar amazes me.  Really, if you haven’t checked out her creations, you’ll be bedazzled.

I can’t wait to see it, taste it, and most of all, lick the plate afterwards.  Yum.  And Felicity will be able to keep the confections forever, provided her sugar tooth doesn’t drive her to devour them like hard candy under the dining room table.  (Note to Tina:  don’t let the caterers throw them away or you will be dead meat when they get back from their honeymoon.)

Cake…what’s your favorite flavor?

So, What are You Wearing?

Seems to be the big question around these parts.   What does one wear to a $100,000 wedding??

There is so little we really know about this wedding, being as everything is being voted on, and the vendors are working to create a magical experience, which they’d like to keep somewhat of a surprise for Felicity and Jeff.  While I get their thinking, it does pose some problems for those of us expecting to show up and look like we fit into a grand affair.  I mean, this isn’t your typical jeans or a dress dilemma (not that I’d ever wear jeans to a wedding, even if I was in the wedding and that was the bride’s choice).

I already mentioned in a previous post that my girlfriends donned 2 outfits on my wedding day.  So, you can imagine what fun everyone is having picking out their fancy duds for this occasion.  I love hearing about the colorful ensembles, and of course the heels…the high, sparkly heels!

For My Pretty Little Toes

As for me, I will be in black.  Sparkling.  Platforms, of course.  Nothing too over-the-top, which for those of you who know me, was a challenge, but I know my place.   Truth is, I had to purchase 5 pairs of shoes to find just the right ones.  Unfortunately I had to send 4 of them back.

Ok, so I only sent back 3.

Make that 2 dresses, 3 pairs of shoes, and a bolero jacket.

In case you don’t know what I look like, keep an eye out for me on the wedding day.  I’ll be next to the lovely girl in white.  By the way, I’ve seen her dress, and it is beautifully unexpected.  I cannot wait to see her in it!

How about you?  What are/would you wear to a $100k wedding?

One For Da Boys!

Guest post by Craig Chappell

Bachelor Party…

Wow! What great opportunity. Felicity and Jeff’s lovely Matron of Honor/official blogger/super-mom/all around rockin’ gal Tina asked me to contribute some words to the wedding blog, specifically highlighting the bachelor party weekend. Uh-oh! What a tricky tightrope to walk.  On one hand, I could provide a profound look into this time honored rite-of -passage …punctuated with tales of dignity and chivalry.

On the other hand, my account of the weekend’s debauchery could go completely sideways and derail this thing with tales of …well…let’s leave all that to the imagination.  So, Tina- I appreciate the gravity of the decision it must have been to include the bachelor party update in your otherwise enchanting blog.  Not a bad decision, trust me.

First off, please allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Craig, the older and only brother of our dear Jeffrey.  During a moment of obvious confusion coupled with a severe lapse of judgment brought on by a mis-dosing of cough syrup, Jeff asked me to do him the honor of being his best man.  You can only imagine how quickly I jumped at this opportunity.  Cake will be served, right?  I am all over that.

My first order of business was to immediately clear my calendar …This consisted almost entirely of making a series of phone calls explaining they will need to find a different “Mr. July.”  I then did a couple push-ups and took a nap. Only then was I ready to fully commit to this prestigious role as Jeff’s best man.

There are traditionally a few key roles the best man plays in a wedding.  Assisting the groom with various matters, ensuring the groom actually arrives at the ceremony, and giving the first toast are a few common examples.  But let’s be honest.  As soon as the two words “best man” are uttered, pretty much any caveman with a Y chromosome just won’t shut up about planning a bachelor party.  Everything else wedding related will pretty much fall into place, right?

The strategy surrounding the bachelor party naturally rises to the top of the to-do list.  We guys understand it requires a clear effort, as this is our big chance to get together and make asses of ourselves unsupervised. Traditionally, most bachelor party arrangements are immediately hatched around “what we can get away with.”  This mindset, coupled with copious amounts of alcohol and poor decision making usually…well again…let’s leave this to the imagination, it doesn’t really apply here.

Well, luckily for us guys (and all out respective ladies), our man Jeff doesn’t require most of the foolhardy shenanigans of a traditional bachelor party.  Jeff is a man of style and substance, grace and fortitude.  He is a sophisticated urbanite who also possesses formidable outdoor skills that would embarrass a fur trapper.  He has great hair.  All that hair also happens to be in the right places.  He has the focus of a Ninja.  Good stuff.

Seeing to the needs of a man like Jeff allowed all of us who attended to do so with pride and no regrets.  For that, a big “cheers” to Jeff.  Don’t get me wrong- we DID follow through with the “copious amounts of alcohol” – but strippers, drug overdoses, and wrecked Ferraris were left off the menu.

Boys on Bikes with Beer

Anyway, we packed up a group of outstanding young men and descended upon the seaside town of Oceano and the surrounding Oceano Dunes State Vehicle Recreation Area.  What a great setting to send Jeff of to the land of ball-and-chains.

For those of you reading that are not familiar with this area, and why it would be desirable to a bunch of salty dogs sending their friend off to marriage, here is the lowdown…this beach has the unique aspect of being a complete free-for-all.  You can drive vehicles, rent or operate any manner of mechanized mayhem, drink alcohol, and make fires.  There is a somewhat “Mad-Max” vibe going on but mostly everybody is friendly.  This beach covers some crazy amount of acres of which I can’t recall off the top of my head.  Again, the draw here might have something to do with that Y chromosome discussed earlier. We don’t ask for everyone to understand, just accept that we were all thrilled to be there.

To all the guys who attended, you made the weekend what it was.  Greg, Nick, Kevin, Luke, Noah, Tim, Tako, Eric, Mike, Mark, Win, and last but not least, Jeff. A party like this would be nothing if it wasn’t for the company. You couldn’t ask for a better group of guys –words can’t nail down that certain something I saw in this group of Jeff’s close friends. I suppose the quality of the group speaks volumes about Jeff’s character.  Again, a big “Cheers” to all of you. Thanks for coming out and showing Jeff a good time.

So here are just a few of the weekend’s highlights:

•  A campfire was started with gasoline.
  

  Jeff's Bachelor Party shirt - available here for $17.98.

• A dirt bike was accidentally ridden through someone’s camp barrier in the pitch black night.
• Home-cooked meals were drowned down with unnatural amounts of booze.
• All of us guys had a chance to take out Quads, 4×4’s and Nick’s XR 100 and WE CUT THOSE DUNES UP LIKE A SAMURAI SWORD.
• More and more beer and booze was guzzled down.
• Tim got AIR.
• We got to pull someone’s very carelessly piloted lowrider out of a sand dune.
•  Frisbees got thrown.
• Sand got in everybody’s everything.
• More fire.
• Nick’s motorcycle fell off a trailer amidst a particularly spirited river crossing.
• A few guys got up the inhuman stamina to do a mountain bike ride on Sunday afternoon – amazing!
• A majority of the spent beer and whiskey bottles were carted home in fear we would never get our rental house deposit back if THAT was found in the recycle bin.
• I personally came home with a nasty bruise on my belly and I have no idea how it got there. The bruise is suspiciously shaped like the end of a handlebar.

So I am going to proclaim that Jeff’s bachelor party was a smashing success.  A good time was had by all.  The whole spirit of the weekend would be impossible to pass on in a few paragraphs, but I did my best to share some of it with you here.  The fact that I can only convey a taste of the weekend’s circumstances is what makes it particularly special to all of those who attended.

So here’s to Jeff – Enjoy this new journey in life and know that you always have a great group of friends that are right there with you. Cheers.