A hungry bride is a cranky bride

The day of the wedding, the hair & make-up "artists" arrived not long after I woke up, so I didn't really get a chance to eat. I also didn't realize that once my make-up was done, I wouldn't be allowed to eat or drink. It was early, and I'm telling you people, I needed caffeine. Note to future brides - either eat a lot beforehand or buy some straws!!

So to pick up from where we left off, after the wedding we headed over to the park to drink a glass of champagne and take some pictures. My dress had a long train and it kept getting stepped on, mainly by C, so I wanted to attach it up. I had a few friends attempt to do it, but it wasn't really working and since I couldn't see anything, I wasn't much help to them. I was starting to get a bit cranky on an empty stomach, so I just let it go and went to take pictures.

Once we got home though, I wanted that darn train pinned up. And we were still struggling to do so, and Bridezilla reared her ugly head again. I was about ready to take a pair of scissors and cut the damn thing off myself (especially since there were a few footprints on them & I didn't want them to show in the pictures). I may have said a swear word or two. But we finally got it figured out and I was able to sit down for a few minutes of peace and quiet (and grab a quick bite to eat) before we had to leave for our picture session.

We took pictures at three spots - Luxembourg gardens (in a hommage to my shoebox), down by the Seine (luckily you can't smell pee in pictures) and over by the Bir Hakeim bridge (note to tourists - if you see people taking wedding shots, get out of the background!).

We'll have to wait two-three weeks to get them back, but hopefully they turned out nice. L's husband also took pictures for us at the Mairie and in the park with his fancy new camera - the few he's sent so far have been beautiful, and I can't wait to see the rest. And Karina and MG posted a few to Facebook as well, which I know my family back home appreciated.

We went straight from the pictures to the dinner. It was a bit confusing since I'd forgotten the list containing everyone's dinner choices in the car, but everything worked itself out and hopefully everyone had a nice meal. A few of C's friends gave short speeches - including one about a husband went on a honeymoon without his wife because they didn't have enough money to pay for two tickets and another who said "Mariage ensoleillé, mariage éternité".

And then it was back home for cake and champagne. We had Cat over at Sugar Daze make the cake, and she did a lovely job. The bottom layer was chocolate and the top layer was red-velvet:
I also have to give a shout-out to Sophie for helping C's dad navigate Paris with the cake and for decorating while we were out taking pictures. Thank you that, and for pushing us to have a reception afterwards (even though organizing it was a pain in the ass lol).

Thank you as well to all the guests who came from both near and far to share our special day with us - we are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends!