Living It With Lisa

Ok, I couldn’t resist when Carol sent me a link to some photos on the wedding photographer, Luanne Dietz’s blog.   So here are some more insights on how anyone can create a decidedly personal wedding: traditional, nostalgic and contemporary. 

Impossible you say?  Read on…

Luanne says on her blog “When I got to the rehearsal, Nancy was dressed in a 1970’s style purple dress.  She proceeded to tell me that it was the exact dress that her mom had made to wear

when her parents eloped in the 70’s.  One of my favorite conversations of the night was right as Nancy was about to practice walking down the aisle and her mother leans over to talk to her grandmother.  “Mom, do you remember this dress?”  Nancy’s mom said to Nancy’s grandmother during the rehearsal. “No, if you remember I wasn’t there!”  Nancy’s grandmother replied through a smile.

Now I have heard of daughters wearing mothers wedding dresses but  the elopement dress to the dress rehearsal?  That is nothing but fun!  I think I may have had a dress like that too!  Ahhh the memories!

Now what the wedding guests were not privy to, was just where some of the photos were going to be taken.  We all knew that the bride and groom were Gators and that the reception was at the Gator Alumni Center.  But who knew that they were going to take photos in between the wedding and the reception in The Swamp!   For you non Gators… that is the stadium in which the Gators play football!

Yes that’s right, while we are munching on a fabulous Caribbean appetizers, the bride and groom are right across the street.  And it wasn’t just any photo shoot… they played a mock game of football!  Luanne says the bride insists she sacked him, but the groom promised that he threw it to his best man for a touchdown!   Now that had to be the most unusual and decidedly FUN photo session.  It helps to have a former Gator football photographer taking your photos. Ahhh… it isn’t always WHAT you know … it is WHO you know! 

When I met Nancy late into the reception I shared with her that having never met either one of them, that their wedding and reception definitely gave me and her guests a window into both of their personalities. It was delightful and refreshing.

The First Dance

I guess if I can bleed burnt orange (Go Longhorns) they can bleed Orange and Blue!

Well done Nancy and Dan!  

Vic and I were honored to be included as guests. 

NOTE:  As Always click on the photos to view them larger and in detail … these are worth the click! 

We recently attended the decidedly personal wedding of Carol and Bill’s daughter Nancy to Dan.  You could tell by their invitation that this was not going to be a stuffy wedding.  The invitations arrived and the colors and design let you know the fun was about to begin.  The invitation colors were orange and purple with a hint that the theme was to be Carribean.  And it was. 

At first glance it seemed to be a traditional wedding, you know the gown, the dresses.  The next hint was no tuxes.  The groom and groomsmen were in kakai colored suits with groomsmen in orange ties and the groom in an purple tie.  The ceremony was traditional and personal.  The groom went in for two kisses which delighted the audience.  What I didn’t know until later that their last kiss had been on Valentines Day!  It was now June 27th!!!  Dan gave her the exact number of Hersheys Kisses for the number of days from Valentines Day to their wedding.  That was her ‘kiss’ each day.   Now I will say that took commitment and perseverance for both them.  Just imagine how special that first kiss was with all that anticipation. 

Okay back to the next hint that the fun was about to begin.  The bride and groom were introduced and the recessional began.  Nothing new there until the best man met the maid of honor and they stopped at the first pew and did a dance move to the recessional music which was  This Will Be An Everlasting Love .   Then each groomsman and bridesmaid did their own dance move to the delight and laughter of the wedding guests. 

The reception was no different.  A Caribbean theme in decorations and food that was delectable, and you know I wouldn’t say it was. if it wasn’t!  Yum!   They had roasted two pigs for the reception.  The caterer told me that the did not roast the heads, instead they glazed them with molasses and baked them in the oven so they wouldn’t shrivel.  Then she got creative … Sunglasses for the groom and eyelashes, earrings and a veil for the bride. 

Now for the cake.  Traditional Brides cake and not so much with the grooms cake … rather castle!   I found out that the groom and his groomsman had put the Krispy Kreme Kastle Kake together themselves that morning!  Using donuts, Little Debbie’s and ice cream cones!   I must say well done and was caught eating my second donut by the mother of the bride!

The most interesting item of the evening for both Vic and I was that the band played lots of older dance music to which everyone young and older danced to all night long.  Their wedding and reception truly was a reflection of who this young couple was and what they stood for, which was very special for all the guests to experience as another girl and boy become man and wife. 

Congratulations  Nancy and Dan!

Note:  You can click on the picture to enlarge it to see some details.  The pictures were taken with my iPhone.

Isn’t this going to be fun!  Over the years I have come across all kinds of nuggets of information that I have shared with friends and family.  These nuggets can be just about anything… personal development, personal style, travel tips, food finds, restaurants, cooking tips, decorating, the neatest find on just about anything.

The name of this blog came about on the wedding bus!   Well not exactly.  You see on January 1st I married Vic Johnson.  So on December 31st, we took all our family members to a real Texas BBQ spot, The Salt Lick just outside of Austin Texas.  You just can NOT visit Texas without getting some GOOOOOD BBQ.  There were lots of out-of-staters (Vic is from Florida) and a truly Texan experience was in order.  So we rented a bus, loaded ‘em up and put my sister Melea in charge of “entertainment”.  

Melea put together a bunch of questions … sort of “game show meets how well do the bride and groom know each other” quiz.  One of the questions to each of us was what was the other person’s number one dream.   Answer:  Vic’s is to build a house in Jackson Hole and mine is my internet tv show centered around cooking & lifestyle tips.   Which no one knew about.  So Melea quickly said… last 4 rows in the bus… come up with a name for the show…you have 60 seconds!”.   Emma, my niece shouted out “Living it with Lisa”.  And thus the name stuck.  Since the internet show is not yet live…a blog was born! 

Now I can share all my nuggets in one place for all to see! 

It’s all about the lifestyle that is YOU!

Enjoy the journey with me! 

Lisa