Becoming the Breen's #6 -- The Day & Night Before + The Morning of the Wedding!

We're SO close to our very first wedding anniversary! 

I can't believe it's been a year since all of these amazing events. Our wedding day was absolutely incredible & doing these posts have allowed me to relive it in detail. It's been such a fun way to look back & remember the perfect wedding experience we had & the moments that made us The Breen's! 

Today (fittingly!) You'll get the details for the day before our wedding & the details from the night before & morning of our wedding. But, later this evening, expect to see all the details from our big day! Tomorrow, on the actual anniversary, see the letter I've written to my husband about this incredible year we've had together!

The Day Before The Day:

My girls & I had big plans for the day before the wedding. The plan was to get manis, pedis & some lunch together. Then a few of us were heading to Antonio's to finish up the preparations. We had to drop off some of the wedding details. Also, since I'm analretentive I planned to set a lot of the reception up myself. My stepmom had put together a candy bar for us & that was being set up, along with place cards, table numbers, favors.... All that good stuff.

We started the day early with some Timmy's coffee. My stomach was so full of butterflies that for a few days prior to the wedding I had a hard time eating. It wasn't nerves, really. Just unbelievable amounts of excitement! I tried to eat a bagel, but ended up just drinking my coffee. Then, Lisa & I were off the the nail salon where the rest of my girls, including my mom & mother-in law were waiting! I decided I just wanted a very plain, very simple light pink color on the full set for my fingers. I just got a french manicure on my toes. I didn't want anything too bold because I wanted all the attention to be on my ring & my brand new wrap/wedding band I'd get to start wearing the next day! 

It was so nice to be able to get our nails done. It was like the calm before the craziness of the wedding! There was a lot of chit-chat & loads of "Oh my gosh. You're getting married TOMORROW!" Those of us who were heading to Antonio's stopped at Red Robin on Niagara Falls Boulevard for lunch. As I mentioned earlier, I didn't have much of an appetite but I did enjoy what little I did eat of my salad! Then it was off to Antonio's to finish up the decorating! I was bringing some of the details I wanted set up, including my place cards & table numbers... But I also dropped off our wine flutes, cake knife & server & the favors. We'd had these items engraved as well. Our wine flutes said "Today is the Start of Our Forever -- Andrew & Rene -- October 20th, 2012" & our cake server & knife said "Forever Sweethearts -- Mr & Mrs Breen -- October 20th, 2012." We also helped to set up the Candy Bar which came out AMAZING & was such a HUGE hit with the folks at our wedding! A quick tip about the candy buffet -- Do an "unveiling" of the candy bar at the reception otherwise this will be completely gone by the time dinner rolls around! 

Once we were done with the set-up, we had plans to go out to dinner. I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed though & decided I'd rather spend a few hours with my fiancé before he left for the night. (Andrew spent the night before our wedding at his parent's house.) So Andrew & I spent some time sitting on our couch cuddling & watching TV, chatting & laughing. It seriously was such an amazing few hours. It really brought us back down to reality & reminded us what this whole experience was about. Those few hours together really refreshed me. I had begun to feel sort of overwhelmed by wedding planning & knowing that it was all over, that we were together for the last time as an engaged couple before our big day just made me smile. I couldn't believe this was all happening FINALLY!

The Night Before the Day: 

Andrew left around maybe 5 or 6pm to get his hair cut & for a night out with the guys before spending the night at his parent's. My girlfriends Jeri & Brittany were spending the night before the wedding with me. Before they got there, my dad stopped by to chat with me & he brought me a beautiful, beautiful bouquet of roses. He was so excited, but I could tell he was getting nervous as well. This was a big day for a lot of people, not just Andrew & I. I knew he was having a bit of difficulty with his only daughter getting married. In the meantime, my Aunt Angela stopped over to give me a card & a gift that she & my Uncle Paul had picked up for me before he passed away shortly before I was engaged. It was such a beautiful gesture & I cherish that gift so, so very much. Both my dad & my aunt hung around for awhile before the girls got there. I was so glad to have had those beautiful moments with my family. 

Jeri, Brittany & I ordered in Chinese Take-Out, watched some girly shows, had some wine & just had the greatest time! I had a hard time falling asleep, but just before I did I got a text message from my sweetheart telling me how much he loved me & that he couldn't wait to see me in the morning. It was sweet & it helped me to relax. I cried some happy tears & thanked God for allowing me to have these amazing moments & for blessing me with so much love in my life. I thanked him for friends & family. I thanked him for blessing me with such an amazing man & for giving me the opportunity to make the love of my life my husband. I didn't get much sleep, but I think I FINALLY fell asleep around 1am. :-)

The BIG Day! -- Getting Ready: 

I woke up at 6:20 to get in the shower & completely wash & dry my hair. Normally they say not to do this, but I couldn't help it. Haha. I slipped on the personalized jacket I'd bought for this day & got the girls up. Our hair appointments at Pecoraro's Salon on Walnut Street in Lockport were staggered throughout the morning, starting with mine at 7:15am. We were the only ones in the salon & we had filled a table with bagels, juice & mimosas! Although my stomach was still very full of butterflies, I felt this strange calm that morning. I was no longer nervous. Just happy. I couldn't keep the smile off my face! ....Except maybe while reading the letter Andrew had written for me. That evoked quite a stream of tears... 

As for my hair. I'd picked out a couple styles via Pinterest that I brought in & showed the hair stylist. I didn't do a hair trial, & my hair turned out exactly as I'd hoped. It took awhile, but my hair isn't the best at holding a curl & the style I wanted was pretty involved. It was basically a teased top with 1/2 up, 1/2 down curls & a cris-cross between the 2 layers where my veil would sit. The girl who did my hair executed it perfectly. I couldn't believe it when I looked in the mirror. I give her serious kudos since I'm EXTREMELY picky about my hair!  We also were having our makeup done at the salon by the makup artist on site. She was pretty good but I did redo a good majority of my makeup when I got home. I felt like my face was too bronze. Not enough blush & not enough highlights in my eye makeup. It was just kind of dark & lifeless. So, I added a silver-ish tone to the arch of my brow & the corner of my eyes as well as some pencil to my brows. I also changed the lipstick since the one she gave me was just... No. I did really like what she did with everyone else though. By the time we left, everyone looked absolutely stunning.  I'd given my girls the freedom to select whatever style they wanted. Some wore their hair up, some were 1/2 up & 1/2 down, but all of them were just beyond beautiful. Here's some more pictures from our morning!

Mimosas & the jacket I wore the morning of the wedding! 

All the pretty ladies getting styled!

Getting my makeup done! 

Even Teddy had a tux for the big day! Ashleigh & I did the flowergirl's makeup

The bride is ready! 

The pictures were being taken in my dad's backyard, which is wooded & absolutely gorgeous. But, I didn't want my dad to see me before I was completely ready. So we got dressed & ready at my house, then jumped in the car & drove down to his house. Of course when it was time to see me, we had the photographer on hand to capture the moment! & what a beautiful moment it was. :-)

This was my dad's first time seeing me. Then putting the penny in my shoe for luck!

The ladies are looking good & ready to go!

The girls texted this picture to Andrew!

My honey reading the letter I wrote to him

The groom is ready! & he got the girl's text message! 

Handsome fellas! Ready to go!

The limo picked the bridesmaids, flowergirls, my dad & I up at his house & took us to the church. The boys all drove up there in my in-law's Suburban & Yukon. The preparation is now complete! It's time to get married! :-)

Next up you'll get the details & (mostly) pictures from the ceremony. Yay!