Amanda and Tony's Wedding

Going to the Chapel and We're Gonna Get Married!

Saturday July 30th, one of my oldest and best friends got married!  I could not be more excited or happy for her!  She deserves all of the happiness and love in the world because she is not only drop dead gorgeous on the outside, she is equally beautiful on the inside.  Tony is a lucky man!

Our day started early.  I got up at 4:30 to get a run in (It was a futile attempt at exercising because even though this is a healthy lifestyle blog, the past week I have been anything but healthy.  Oh well, sometimes you gotta live!) and then it was time for a quick shower before heading to Amanda mom's house for wedding central!

Nom Nom Nom

My hair and make up time was 8 am.  When I got there, Amanda Atoori was already working on transforming us from regular ladies into bridesmaids.  I went in with a few pictures of the hairstyle I wanted for Amanda's Big Day.  Since our dresses were one shoulder and it was a hot and humid Jersey July day, I opted for an up do.  Amanda and her assistant Patty were amazing!  They were super fun and listened to our hair and makeup requests.  I literally showed up at my ugliest and they shapeshifted me into a glamorous bridsemaid.  Kudos to them!  Everyone's hair and makeup looked fantastic.  One thing that always peeves me is when people get their makeup done and then look NOTHING like themselves!  Amanda made sure that we all looked like ourselves...just the most beautiful versions of ourselves.  Check out her FB page for more information!  She's awesome!

While we were all getting our hair and makeup done, we snacked on the yummy spread Amanda's mom laid out for us.  We had mimosas, donuts, bagels, fruit, cashews, and candies.

Mimosas! 

Meg and me in our Bridesmaid Robes

MOH Monica and me getting ready!

The whole morning was full of laughter, champagne, giggles, friends, and had a completely chill vibe.  

We jammed to Pandora's Bachelorette Party station and somehow the upbeat jams calmed us down and helped set the vibe.  

Once we were beautified, we started getting our dresses on.  

Back of my hair

Around 11 the photographer and videographer arrived and we began getting pictures taken.  We helped Amanda get into her dress (she looked stunning!) and then we rolled out in the limo.

Amanda made a CD to play on our way to the church and we all sang along to Going To The Chapel.  It was such a fun, light, special time with our bestie before she began a Mrs.  

Once we arrived at the church, we immediately lined up and then the ceremony started.  Amanda looked beautiful and was completely calm.  We all said that our tears depended on whether or not Tony cried.  If he cried we were all going to lose it.  He joked that he was biting his tongue to keep from crying and then he was like, "If I kept biting my tongue I wouldn't have a tongue left!"  We all laughed.  Amanda and Tony looked so in love and the whole day radiated with a joy.  

The Newlyweds!

<3

Next we all got pictures at the church and then headed to the Collingswood Ballroom for the reception.

The Bridal Party

The reception was fantastic!  It was so beautiful and full of love!  The cocktail hour was amazing.  Tony and Amanda picked apps that incorporated their heritages and their homes.  They had Maryland Crab cakes (an ode to their new home), Tomato and Mozzarella salad (an ode to Amanda's Italian heritage and they used Jersey tomatoes an ode to their home state), a Portuguese crab claw (an ode to Tony's heritage) chicken satay, shrimp cocktail shooters, stuffed mushrooms, bacon wrapped scallops,  and pasta.  Everything was so so so good!  They had a Mint To Be Mojito as their signature drink and twas daaaaalish!

The Ballroom with an A&T

Amanda and Tony shared a Spotlight Dance.  I'd never seen one before their wedding.  Basically, the couple come out before the introduction of the bridal party for their first dance.  

Amanda and Tony danced to Train's Marry Me.  There wasn't a dry eye in the place.

How beautiful?!  

Once we were introduced it was time to eat (salmon and veggies for me) and then party our booties off!  

In true Tony and Amanda fashion, it was one hell of a party!  I don't think anyone sat down through the entire reception.  It truly was one of the best weddings I have ever been to.  

Monica gave her MOH speech and it was perfect!  A great blend of sisterly advice, love, and memories.  Tony's best man gave his speech and included stories about the two of them moving to America and learning English together.  Amanda's dad's speech was so heartfelt.  

Next came my favorite part of any wedding:  THE CAKE!

Don't they just look so happy?

Could it be any more beautiful?

It was a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting and bling (of course)!  Amanda and Tony also decided to bless the guests with a dessert buffet!  #Blessyouandthankyouverymuch

The buffet featured chocolate mousse with raspberries, cannolis, mini key lime pies, mini creme brûlées, mini cheesecakes, pink chocolate covered strawberries, and a groom's cake.  

An ode to Officer Tony!

I had a chocolate martini with my dessert!

The thing of dreams

Shelly and I ended up cutting the line to get a slice of the groom's cake.

**You can do that if you're a bridesmaid, didja know?**

The rest of the night was spent on the dance floor with my friends.

THE Miami Trio

The beautiful bride!

The bouquet toss

The garter toss!  (They used Pony from Magic Mike and then Tony tossed it to the Cops theme song)

The Miami Girls

Besties since 3rd grade

The happy couple and their frequent houseguest 

Amanda and Tony's wedding was amazing!  They did such a great job planning it and incorporating all of their families and cultures.  It was quite the whirlwind and I'm really sad it's over!  I am so happy for both of you and can't wait to see what the future holds for you both!  You're amazing together.  Thank you for letting me be a part of your special day <3  Love you both!

xoxo,

e

Welcome To Miami

Happy Tuesday!

Please hit play!  **It adds a little something extra**

So I'm a little late on my posts, but here is my Miami Bachelorette Trip Review!

If you are a frequent reader (Thank YOU) then you know I went to Miami for Amanda's Bachelorette Party!

Miami was a whirlwind!  Our flight left Saturday morning at 6:50.  We met up with the guys in Tony's bachelor party for a quick hello.

source

...P.S. I did sleep on the plane and gave my Nap Anywhere Reputation a huge boost!

When we got to the airport we quickly signed her card and presented her with her itinerary!  

Pink and sparkly!  Just like our bride!

The Miami Girls!

We all wore our Bridesmaids tank tops to rep our squad.  **Fun Fact** If you wear said tank top, you will get free things.  At 5:12 am, someone bought me my SMARTWater.  SCORE!

The flight there was easy and relaxing.  Once we landed, the car picked us up and we picked up some champagne to toast our bride.  Next, we checked into our hotel and left our luggage at the desk.  The HANGRY MONSTER had officially taken over and we went down to Ocean Drive and grabbed some Mexican food.  The owner brought over some complimentary and cheekily named shots for us.  He also took 20% off our bill.  Is it wrong if I wear the Bridesmaids tank just for the discount?!   I kid...I kid...maybe...

Lunch Bunch

After lunch, we returned to the hotel and moved our stuff into the room.  We decorated the room with Bachelorette Party signs and banners.  We showered, primped, and toasted our bride with our champs.  

Sashes on!

We went to dinner at Cecconi's at the SoHo House.  Gorgeous does not even begin to describe this restaurant.  For my Sex and the City fellow fans, this is the hotel where Samantha pretends to be Annabelle Bronstein to use the pool.  And after viewing the pool...I understand what she did :)

The food was amazing!  It was all handmade Italian food (a nod to Amanda's heritage) and was so.stinking.delicious!

The restaurant was an open air restaurant with beautiful tea lights hanging from the trees.  

After dinner, we headed over to the Liv Pre-Party at Señor Frogs.  We hung out and danced for a bit before the limo picked us up and we headed over to Liv.  

We never met a step and repeat that we didn't love

Look at that photobomber! 

Doesn't he look like Scott Disick? 

The club was really fun, but the guest DJ was kind of strange.  He was from Norway and he had really solid EDM jams, but it's a little hard to dance to them.  To accompany his set, he brought dancers and they were very...unique!  The club was packed and we had to dance very vertically lol  No big arms or moves allowed.

When we finally returned to the hotel around 3 am, we went right to bed.

On Sunday, Amanda and my high school friend drove in from Orlando to spend the day with our Bride Tribe.

Caitlyn is an amazing pastry chef and brought us some Bachelorette Party cookies!  We devoured them and relied on them to provide us with some much needed energy.

How cute are the baggies the cookies came in?

A champagne flute, a diamond ring, and a calendar with July 30th marked on it!

Cait, her girlfriend, and our Bride Tribe (Meg, Candis, Amanda, and I) headed out to do some shopping on Collins Ave.  We stopped in Dash Miami and Amanda got a candle.  We then headed to a Cuban diner for lunch.  

Bride Tribe!

The lunch was everything I wanted:  chicken, Spanish sauce, and plantains!  

After lunch, we headed to Miami Beach for a beach trip.  The water was amazing!  It was crystal clear and soooooo warm!  

Quick shopping trip!

Sunday Dinner

After the beach, we headed back to the hotel, bid adieu to Cait and her girlfriend, and then got ready for dinner.  We went to A Fish Called Avalon.  We decided to split some entrees and apps between us all.  This was probably my favorite dinner.  Not only was the food amazing (Hello Watermelon BBQ Sauce), but at one point I looked around the table and noticed all of us just laughing, smiling, and enjoying our friendship...it was a beautiful moment.

After dinner, we headed to Nikki Beach to have a beach party.  It was a really cool place, full of palm trees, cabanas, and beach bars.  They also had a pizza bar!  Yep, you can create a personalized pizza at a poolside bar!  

Girls by a changing Teepee

After Nikki Beach we walked down Ocean Drive and stopped in to some bars.  We danced, sang, and carried on celebrating Amanda's last single girl weekend!  

We returned to the hotel around 3:30 am and played some silly Bachelorette party games.  We drifted off around 4:30 am and then were rudely woken up at 8 am...by the alarm clock!  We were all exhausted as we prepped for brunch with the boys.  

We met up at Fontainebleau's restaurant Vida.  It was a great place for brunch.  I got smoked salmon, grapefruit, and a much needed green juice.  We needed a quick detox from the party fun.  We all laughed and exchanged stories from the weekend.  

Afterwards, we headed outside to sip water by the beautiful pool.  

Next stop?  The airport.  I've never seen a more crowded airport!  It didn't help that the Northeast was experiencing huge storms and therefore delays.  We made it to Atlanta where our connector was supposed to depart about 30 mins after we landed, but we ended up having to wait around for 2 hours!  We decided to go wander the airport (my favorite airport BTW) and ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings for some last minute vacation desserts and drinks.  While we were walking back to the gate, we saw Jessie James Decker and Eric Decker!  

Amanda and I LOVE her!  We used to watch her E! show in college all the time!  She was so sweet and agreed to take a picture with us.  

It should be unfair to look that cute in the airport with 2 small kids.

The flight home was long!  Not only did we trolley around the runway for 40 minutes before we even took off, we had to circle in the air for another 20 minutes before we landed.  Every plane going to the Northeast was delayed, and therefore was trying to land at the same time in Philly.  Once we landed, we got our luggage and then began the waiting game.  With the DNC in town, I had to wait for an hour for my parents to drive the usually 5 minute drive from the cell phone lot to pick me up.  Then, it took another hour to drive the usual 20 minute drive home because I-95 was rerouted for security purposes.  

Miami was a wonderful trip and I enjoyed every minute of it! I hope everyone is enjoying their Monday!  Who is watching Bachelorette tonight?!

XOXO,

e

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